A New Favorite

Another reading update. I hope I'm not becoming one dimensional here, but I have to share a bit about the book that I just finish today - Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos.

I read this book specifically for Summer Reading Challenge and boy, am I ever thankful I did.

This book is an immediate all-time favorite. It follows the path of two people: 1)Cornelia, a 27 year-old coffee shop manager, drifting her way through life and comparing almost everything she encounters to a classic romantic movie, and 2)Clare, an 11 year-old, struggling to cope with the abandonment of her troubled mother and seeking solace in orphan characters from classic children's literature. I loved and connected to them both and marveled at the wittiness of all the characters throughout Love Walked In. I recommend this book to all who like deeply drawn characters and a pace that keeps you turning the pages.

Reading Update

What I liked most about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was the variety of character voices presented through their letters. The result for me was that I felt closer to the group as a whole, and their struggles through difficult times, than I did to any one character. Without much connection to the characters, particularly in the beginning of the book, I could keenly imagine the emotional impact the wartime events would have made on me. I feel very lucky that I have not had to experience such challenges in my lifetime.

Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner was a re-read for me, but loved it, loved it, loved it. Cannie, the protagonist of book, is one of my all-time favorite characters. I'd definitely have her as a dear friend if given the opportunity. This book is characterized as chick-lit by many, but it is far surperior to anything I would put in that genre. There's a lot of life-truth weaved into this often funny, sometimes heartbreaking tale.

Still really enjoying my summer reading. I have two more Jennifer Weiner books to read. One even continues the tale of Cannie. I would definitely recommend any of Jennifer's books as a good summer read.

Check back here for my updates and feel free to ask questions about any of the books I've read.

4 Days of Fun

This is the start of a 4-day weekend for me. I definitely have some fun in store for myself that I would like to share.

I signed up for a doll workshop online this week. I’ve wanted to do this workshop for awhile and this weekend is a great time to start. The coolest thing about this process is getting to sculpt a face for my dolly. The doll will be made of fabric with paint and paperclay applied to the body form to create features. Very exciting!

Here are some of the dolls made by others who’ve participated in this workshop:

• Rachel's First


• Moira


• Circus Trio


• Antonia

I’ll be sure to take photos of the process and final product.

In addition to starting on my doll this weekend I plans with a friend which involve lunch, visiting Spool and Loop on South Street and helping her start a sweater for her first baby due in November. I also have plans to go see the Phillies with a large group of folks from my neighborhood Monday evening. Let’s hope they win.

Cracking the Books

So what have I been doing with my summer?
READING…
I came across a great website for those who enjoy books, Goodreads. I’m participating in the Summer Reading Challenge on the site which has gotten me really reading. Here are the books I’ve read since June 1st:

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker (4 stars) – One of my very favorite movies. So glad I’ve finally read the book.
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (4 stars) – Really enjoyed the movie. The book was really good as well, but I have to admit I hoped it would be a little racier.
• The Whiteness of Bones by Susanna Moore (2 stars) – This is by the same author as In the Cut, which I enjoyed. Didn’t like this book half as much, primarily because I found it somewhat depressing.
• Under the Skin by Michel Faber (3 stars) – Read specifically for the Summer Reading Challenge. It started out really good, but really didn’t have a satisfying ending.
• The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (4 stars) – I really enjoyed this book, although it was a little long for my taste.
• The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman (4 stars) – By the author of Practical Magic, this book also has a family with magical abilities as its center. I liked every single character in this uplifting book.
• Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy (5 stars) – Another book I read specifically to fit a category in the Summer Reading Challenge. This book remarkably captures the thought processes of childhood and sheds light on growing up with a visible disfigurement in a society that values beauty.

I’m currently re-reading Jennifer Weiner’s Good in Bed. This book has one of my all-time favorite characters, Cannie. Weiner has a new book out with this same character. I’ll be reading that as well in the next couple of months. And Weiner’s newest book is coming out next week. She scheduled to appear at the Central Library next Wednesday. I’m hoping to go and see her speak.

Agnes Martin

Agnes Martin - With My Back to the World

I saw a very interesting documentary last night on the Sundance Channel. It was about the art and life of Agnes Martin, an artist I had not heard of before. She describes her work as abstract expressionist, although her art is often associated with minimalism. As the movie progressed, I became more and more fascinated by her somewhat mystical approach to her art. Abstract art is fairly difficult for me to connect with, but listening to her speak of what she was trying to express through the grids and horizontal lines that predominant her paintings I traveled to a deeper connection to what art, even my own, could express. Perhaps this is the path to "true" art.

Peace & Happiness by Agnes Martin

Her description of her work that I found most intriguing was the idea that so, so many painters were painting about painting, and she wanted her art to be about life. This is the primary reason for the abstract, minimal approach to her work. In this way there is nothing between the idea and the art. She waits... and waits.... for inspiration on how she can express whatever concept/trait she would like to express and how that can be done through the use of lines, grids, color fields. It is only when she has been visually inspired that she starts painting. Very fascinating. I think I'll look into whether the Philadelphia Art Museum has any of her work on display.

Feel Like Traveling?

Well all you need to do is listen to one of my favorite new musical groups, Rodrigo y Gabriela. I heard them first on WXPN, the only radio I listen to here in Philly. The station has introduced me to so many of my favorite artist... RyG are merely the latest. The video is pulled from their website. The best part to me comes near the end of the piece when the crank-up the speed.

I'd love to hear what you think about them. If you'd like to see more videos you can see them here.

Moonlight Memories

A dirt road . . .
acres of potato plants
white-flowered under the moon
Robert Spiess

There has been a lot of reminiscing going on around my family lately and I came across this beautiful haiku that brought to mind a personal memory of my own…

A moonlit night, a dirt road and a sense of adventure…

I had the wonderful luck in my early teens to go to Camp Pinecrest a number of times; for summer camp and also for church youth group retreats. I’m pretty sure it was on one of these retreats that a number of us from the group went on a nighttime hike. Our ultimate destination was a dilapidated old shack that was covered with kudzu, presumably haunted. I vividly remember walking down a dirt road with my friends and the moon shining so bright. At one point we came to a soybean field and it was so bright that the light was bouncing off the leaves in the field. I was immediately struck by wonder at this nighttime world that I had no idea existed. I wanted to stay and look at the field, forget the creepy house. I wanted to drink in this scene; become one with the night.

We took a pause in our journey to gaze upon the field, but soon the more adventurous, less contemplative kids in the group urged us on. I left the scene reluctantly, but carried it away with me, enriched.

A good memory. I’m glad it was awaken by the words of another.

In the Works

Here's a sneak peak at a knitting project I started yesterday. So what do you think it is? Hint, I've never made anything like it. I'll post the end product as soon as it's complete, so you won't be in suspense. Off for Sunday breakfast....

Challenging Myself

Jukebox Days

Acrylics & Collage on 8"x8" canvas

I joined a creative challenge this week. Crowabout has organized a weekly challenge where she posts a group of collage elements for us to work with every week. I'm not particularly excited about this piece, but excited about participating. I joined mid-week so I did not have a lot of time to work on something. The next set of collage elements posts tomorrow and I'll have a whole week to work with those. I can't wait.

It's All About the Music

John Mayer
Originally uploaded by jay west photography

"It's all about the music" is the catch-phrase used by my favorite radio station here in Philly, WXPN. It's a public radio station that plays a variety of music; mostly singer-songwriter. And there are no commercials. I've been so spoiled that I just can't listen to commercial radio stations any more; the commercials are just too aggrevating. If you'd like to listen to the station yourself, they offer online listening here.

In order to make my blog a little more personal I thought I’d add a little music. I made a small playlist at Playlist.com. They provide handy code so all I had to do was add a new page element and, there you go, music. I’ve tried to make the player handy to access so if our musical tastes aren’t the same you can easily pause the player in the left hand column.

I hope you enjoy.

Opening Up

LOL ATC

My blog reading has changed a lot over the last year, moving away from Art & Soul teachers and participants, to individuals who may not even participate much in “art”. Instead their art is living and they share intimately their thoughts on that in their blogs. It’s inspired me to want to share more of myself here. Rest assured, I’ll still continue to post my art & craft doings here, but you can also expect to see other aspects of what occupies my mind and life on a daily basis. Hopefully that will mean I’m posting more, even during times when there’s no time or inclination to create.

Look What I Made

My oldest niece had her first baby a couple of weeks ago... a girl... Magnolia Clare. That makes me a great-aunt. Shocking! I'm very excited for my niece and felt inspired to pull my sewing machine out. It's been far too long since I've used it. I'm very pleased with the results. I hope it fits her. It looks sooooo long, but I guess she won't be tripping on it at 3 weeks. Look for more sweet treasures like this one to be posted soon.

True Colors ATC

I made this very colorful ATC today. I'm really not very satisfied with it, but I did give it my best shot. Colored pencils are still more difficult than charcoal in my book. It's for a swap at Illustrated ATCs entitled Colorful Stylized Portraits. I'm much more please with a couple others I did for the swap. You can see them here and here. I found iATCs last month. It's a juried site, so you have to be voted in by a panel. I really hope my cards measure up. The swaps there are very inspiring. My first swap card returns are in the mail. They may even arrive as early as tomorrow.

Up & Running!

As the saying goes, "Out with the old and in with the new!" New computer that is. I'd hoped to get back to blogging as soon as I returned from Art & Soul, but my old computer had other ideas. My new one came this week and it's so nice and shiny. I usually don't get this way about "things"(or at least I like to tell myself I don't) but it's been 7 years since my last computer purchase. At this point I am enamored with my brand new toy. Tomorrow I'll share about what I've been doing art-wise, but I just wanted to dedicate today to my new toy.

Still Alive!

I've been away for so, so long... But I'm starting to get really excited about Art & Soul later this month. This year all my classes are painting classes.

Tweaking

Who? Me? ATC

I received some additional guidance from Marta, and decided to work on her just a little bit more. Now I think she's done. Although I'm ready to move on from this piece, I'm always open to a critique. I've been drawing for less than six months, so I know I still have a lot to learn.

Helpful Critique

Who? Me? ATC

I reworked this ATC after the helpful critique of Eli Edmundson. You can see what Eli had to say about the piece originally in the comments here. Although it looks less like the photo that inspired my drawing, darkening the background made this pretty little subject really standout. Thanks Eli.

Discovery IF

Who? Me? ATC

Charcoal on Stonehenge

Even though the card is labeled with the innocent plea "Who? Me?" I think it could just as well be labeled "Ooohhh!" and work very well for this week's Illustration Friday theme, Discovery. It was inspired by this sweet photo. I'm pretty pleased with the resemblance. I do believe her mother might be able to recognized her from the drawing. What do you think?

(For those of you who've stepped in from IF, take a look at my main blog page for changes to this piece I've made since this post)

A New Look

Baptism

Mixed Media Collage

I thought I'd spruce the blog up a little bit. The new banner and icon are part of the piece above which I did for a class I took at the University of the Arts back in 2005. All feedback on the new look is appreciated. Have a great day.

New Icon

Here's my new icon