Inspiration Tuesday!

Good morning!

These delightful pieces are by Toshiyuki Fukuda. I just found this illustrator/artist through another fun blog (Majeak Ann) and I must say I am quite smitten. I love his whimsical, textured, colorful, clean pieces. I would own them all. I wish I could figure out how to get my hands on some of his postcards. I think I might have to go to Japan to find them, but I have been wanting to go to Japan anyway. :)

I am posting lots of images for you to enjoy and swoon over. You can find many more at his website here.

Enjoy! Be inspired! Make art!

Oh my! Don't you just feel giddy?

Laser wounds...

This is a very brief post dedicated to my brother. When we were younger he would run through the house with his toast eaten into the shape of a gun. His toast gun always made a "pew" sound because I guess that's what it sounds like when you get shot with dry toast. Some humor for your Sunday evening. :)

St. Francis meets his match

"Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness..." (Keats)

For me it is a new kind of September. We are beginning to see the edges of the trees change color and the morning temperatures merit a sweater. Not having ever lived in a place where the trees change in the autumn, I keep thinking "oh no, that tree is dying". I still have to remind myself that I am not in Texas anymore!

Oh! come October!

Today it is cloudy and grey in Durham. This is great for my nasturtium seedlings, but not great for feeling zippy and getting lots of things done. I certainly need that zippy feeling as I have lots of things to accomplish. Now that we are unpacked, and life has pretty much settled into a good rhythm, it is time for me to work. On my studio bulletin board I have three to-do lists. The first list is for my art making projects, it is full of things like: "color correct photos", "write blog about new pieces", and "work on commission". I also have a general to-do list, which is populated by things as varied as: "make jazz c.d for grandparents", "set up Skype", and "finish thank you cards".

The other list I have posted is the one I am most excited about. It is titled: "To-do list for art classes". Yes! I have been working hard to start my own little business teaching art classes for children. I have a terrific space, some interested families, and a brain full of ideas I can't wait to put into action. My days are full of making slide shows of art works sorted by color to use to teach color and art history together. I have been finding children's books about famous artists, working on my teaching philosophy, and writing answers to questions like "Why should a 4 year old take art?" It is so much fun and so much work. I am very excited to begin.

Here is where you come in: I need your help brainstorming a name for my classes. I would like to use "Art Machine" as part of the name. That way all my art related endeavors are connected. My plan is to add something to make it attractive to kids and families. All kinds of silly things rhyme with art machine, but I don't think I want to name my business: "Green Bean Art Machine". Do you have any ideas? I would love to hear your thoughts. If you wish you can leave me a comment with your suggestions. Thank you!

The classes are due to start mid October and I have a lot of work to do between now and then.

I will eventually get to the line item on my art to-do list that is: "write blog about new pieces". In the mean time here are a few more pictures to tide you over. I am off to write a lesson plan on the color blue. Enjoy your day!

Heart Sleeves (6x14)- Watercolor, colored pencil, paint pen

Stavanger: Birth (6x10)- Watercolor, colored pencil, paint pen

All is well, don't send the St. Bernard

I have not died, nor have I been raptured and left you behind, nor have I become Amish. I have, however, moved to North Carolina, and now live in a house without an internet connection. When you're unpacking a whole house, driving out to find one of only 4 (Alas!) coffee shops in town is rather low on the list of priorities. Today I am camping out at Joe Van Gogh catching up on many emails, connecting with people to find a job, and finishing this blog, which I started last week.

Some things are different in this land of Norte Carolinia, and I have made a little list to organize a few of the more entertaining differences. If you make it to the end of the list you will also find some images from my show at the Laity lodge, which I hung one week before the big moving truck came to our door. I have been dying to share the images with you, but it seemed more important to unpack the dishes first.

Our carito rojo driving under the Durham sign

Things to know about living in the home of The Mountain Goats (listen here):

1. It rains a lot. Almost every day right now. Sometimes all day, sometimes right in the middle of the day for an hour. Regardless of when it rains it's fabulous after the drought of Texas.

2. The grey squirrel is the state mammal. No Texas red squirrels here.

3. Humidity is a real and tangible force to be reckoned with. It deserves personification.

4. Per number three my hair is curlier and a bit more frizzy.

5. Southern hospitality is alive a well. Two complete strangers stopped by this week to invite us to church.

6. Street lights are few.

7. Street signs are low and small.

8. Street names change frequently.

9. Per numbers six, seven and eight, it's pretty hard to get around. Goggle maps can't even help.

10. Limes are really expensive.

11. A Texas accent aint nothin' on a North Carolina accent. Charlotte is "Shaw-lit", tower is "tar". Hearing it makes me want to slow right on down.

12. Don't wear light blue.

13. People still smoke inside buildings.

14. Spiders are huge! HUGE!

15. Food on a biscuit is a pretty big deal roun' here.

All joking aside, I quite like Durham and all its quirkiness. Adjusting to a new place is always rather fun for me. Getting our lives in order just takes a long time. So, until the studio is up and running again, here are some promised images from the show. I was quite happy with the way it turned out. It's always so satisfying to look at all the pieces hanging together with their big fat mats and plain black frames. Thank you so much to Ginger Geyer for inviting me out, for all her work hanging, writing up statements, and making title cards.

These images are just a taste. As soon as we have internet at the house I plan on blogging on each new piece. I'll explain some of what I was thinking when I made them, and a bit about the themes of this new series. I am working on getting all the images onto my flicker, with sizes and prices for those of you interested in purchasing. The work will be on display at the Laity Lodge until the end of October. Any pieces not sold will come to North Carolina where I am looking for a space to show them.

With Gladness and Singleness of Heart

All the pieces in the new series have to do with actual memories or memories of feelings from childhood. The show is titled: "Adventurers and Adventuresses".

Help Appears to the Kingfisher Unexpectedly

Bears! No, Small Horses.

A Death in the Depths of a Drive

[Artwork: A Portrait of John the Baptist, Bees wax, paper, found objects, 2003]

That is to say: My hard drive crashed.

This is so sad. Not only do I have lots of art related stuff stored on that hard drive. I also have honeymoon pictures and engagement journals. Of course nothing is backed up. It might be retrievable, but only for large amounts of cash.

Life.

Since I don't have hours of access to a computer, here are a few lists for fun and a quote from the Grapes of Wrath, which I'm currently reading, for your general inspiration.

Interesting words from last night's Scrabble Game with David:

1. Quad
2. Talkie
3. Novice
4. Gonad
5. Latex
6. Venus
7. Ooze
8. Jihad

Things we have eaten this week:

1. Spicy Sausage with Fresh Corn and Tomato/Cucumber/Feta Salad
2. Al Pastor Tacos with Avocado, Chips and Salsa
3. Ancho Pepper, Tomato, Feta and Sausage Frittata
4. Buffalo, Rutabega and Imperial Delight Squash Soup
5. Grilled Brie and Tomato Sandwich with Spicy Mustard
6. Beef Fajitas

My To-Do List for Today

1. Make bed
2. Fold laundry
3. Clean kitchen
4. Make GF (Gluten Free, not to be confused with Galactic Federation) bread
5. Make hummus
6. Make granola
7. Work on email
8. Blog
9. Pay bills
10. Make acupuncture apt.
11. Water garden
12. Call Erin
13. Put away winter clothes
14. Get in the studio
15. Swim laps

My list of art pieces to make:

1. Heart Sleeve
2. Kingfisher and chickens
3. Bears and small horses
4. Kids with snake
5. Crouched girl
6. Kids with big tall hats
7. Honey Buzzard
8. Gloynbyw - Butterfly or living coal
9. Paralian, one who lives by the sea
10. With gladness and singleness of heart
11. The beginning and the end
12. Swan song

***********************************************************

"The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog's coat, and foxtails to tangle in a horse's fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep's wool; sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of dispersal, twisting darts and parachutes for the wind, little spears and balls of tiny thorns, and all waiting for animals and for the wind, for a man's trouser cuff or the hem of a woman's skirt, all passive but armed with appliances of activity, still, but each possessed of the anlage of movement."

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck (Chapter 3, Paragraph 1)

Please note that entire paragraph is all one sentence.

I hope you get all your to-do's accomplished today!

Stuff That Makes The Old Wheels Turn

Alexander DeMaria

Rachel T. Robertson (below)

Well. Happy Wednesday to you all!

I wanted to share some music with you that I have enjoyed listening to when working on my drawings. I need music. It seems to help distract my brain just enough for the ideas to come. If I think too hard about what to draw I always get stuck. So, for your enjoyment here are two artists whose music completely inspires me.

1. Hey Marseilles, To Travels & Trunks.

Matt Bishop - To Travels & Trunks from loc on Vimeo.

Here is what the Seattle Weekly said about them:

“For all the room-filling beauty of the symphonic climaxes on their first full-length album, there’s just as much power– and passion– in the record’s simplest, sparsest moments. What makes To Travels & Trunks so incredibly intoxicating, however, is something less definitive than notes and measures: A youthful earnestness, a genuine, unsullied passion for song, shines through every last second of Hey Marseilles’ music.”

2. Laura Gibson , Beasts of Seasons.

Here is a blurb on her from the Portland Tribune:

“Her clear voice is riveting and perfectly framed by subtle and tasteful instrumentation – muted trumpet, vibraphone, saw and other recorded and found sounds give the music a wistful feel and let these lovely songs of hope and heartbreak gently shine.” - Barbara Mitchell, Portland Tribune

Both artists performed at a small show during SXSW here in Austin. The moment they started playing I knew that I loved their music. The fact that Ms. Gibson and all the folks in Hey Marseilles were delightfully winsome on stage closed the deal for me.

Since this seems to be a sharing post, here are a few visual artists whose work I have been looking at these days. The images for these artists are at the top of the post. I am using my husband's PC as my Mac died last week and I have forgotten how to use this strange machine. I can't move the images around for you so you will just have to bear with some funky formatting for a while. I see that the text is also doing its own creative thing. I am at the mercy of my ignorance. My apologies.

Rachel T. Robertson (Second image)

Just today I found Rachel on Etsy and I can't get enough of her beautiful layered little collages. Her drawing style reminds me of my dear friend Ben. Maybe that is why I like them so much. I am challenged by how she turns her simple little drawings into such lovely treasures. It encourages me to keep things simple in my own work. I would love to own something of hers some day.

Alexander DeMaria (First image)

I saw his work in either Art Forum or Art in America a few months ago in an ad. I am always interested in artists who are working on creating mythology, so when I read his artist statement I was immediately intruiged. The things he writes about his work reminds me of J.R.R Tolkien and his love of mythologies and ultimate creation of many. For me it is a powerful tradition to assosiate myself with as an artist. When I think about creating my own mythology it gives me the freedom to just touch my toes down in reality and make everying else a little bit out of the realm of possibility. Alexander creates these gorgeous, clean, rich drawings that are feasts for my eyes.

And finally, I will leave you with a little sonnet from my friend John Donne. I figure any day can be made better by having a sonnet in it. Enjoy.

XXV

That our eares sicknesse wee may cure,

and rectifie those Labyrinths aright,

That wee, by harkning, not procure

Our praise, nor otheres dispraise so invite,

That wee get not a slipperinesse

And senslesly decline,

From hearing bold wits jeast at kinds excesse,

To'admit the like of majestie divine,

That we may locke our eares, Lord open thine.

A Return to Quotidian Delights

April has been a very busy month around the Taylor house. Actually, we have not been spending much time in the house. Our hours have been happily full between the Arts Pastors retreat out at the beautiful Laity Lodge, visiting my parents in Houston, Q conferencing, Wedding Showers, Engagement parties, Blessing ceremony evenings, and a wonderful Artists retreat with the good folks of various villages in upstate New York. We are happy to be home now for a few weeks. Catching up on laundry, sleep and conversation with each other!

In between all this movement I have been stealing moments in the studio. Some days 30 minutes has been all I can spare. I find it is good for me to build the muscle of creating in small moments as I am quite sure that life will only get more full of good things as we go on. Uninterrupted hours in the studio are probably not going to be a reality for me in every season of life. Getting right down to business with out long hours of piddling is something I am happy to be learning.

This is a piece from the new body of work I am making. The images come from a photograph of myself and my brother. We drank a lot of tea growing up.

I have a few more new pieces that I want to share with you but the day is very cloudy and all my pictures are dark and damp looking. In the next few days of sunny weather I should have more to show you.


In the mean time here are a few shots from my first attempt at creating a Japanese dinner. Going to the Asian grocery story is one of my favorite activities. My visual self is very satisfied by all the magical looking dried things in colorful packages. My odoriferous self is overwhelmed by the smell of sea creatures, some dead, some still alive. My global self is inspired by trying to pronounce the names of things in Japanese to the kind people working who are from Latin America. Hearing Japanese with an Mexican accent is quite a delightful experience. It made my day.

Miso Soup, Kim chi, Chopsticks.

Salad with Nasturtium flowers and leaves


Warm yumness