I want to make art, but I don't want to be an artist anymore.

Mosaics Everywhere

I've been looking at this sign for years thinking, wow even Safeway used to be into mosaic work!
Eureka, CA
unknown artist

The List

24 unfinished projects!
Well, this should keep me busy for a long time!

Starting the List

85 Little Paintings

The first unfinished project for my list is "85 Little Paintings".
I started this on April 10, 2006 (wow, 3 years ago). I have a mentor that gets stuck in my head from time to time, and I have to do a project with him in mind, so I started this series of paintings, and every time I finish one I photo copy it, and send him the original to hold on to until they are all done (I wonder if he still has them). They are 4 x 9 3/8 inches, and I currently have 25 completed and sent.

Las Vegas

Mosaics at the Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas.
Not me, I still need to look up the artist who made these.

Arts Alive!

Come out to Arts Alive! in Eureka, Ca tonight from 6-9pm! I'll be at the Morris Graves Museum of Art checking on
Encased in Concrete 88!

Unfinished Table Top

I started this table top a while ago, and just dug it out today thinking I should finish this.
I seem to have a lot of partially finished projects at the moment. I'm feeling the need to wrap some of them up. So, when I get back from LasVegas in a week I'm going to make a list (I love lists, I am one with the list) of all of my unfinished art projects, and start tackling them.

Thank You

Thank You to the anonymous weeder who weeded the Melvin Schuler Sculpture Garden last week.

My husband and I were pleasantly surprised when we stopped by the Morris Graves Museum to check on Encased in Concrete 88.

Nature

Nature doesn't care that I'm procrastinating over the Ice Box project.

Distraction

The Distraction Project seems to be turning into a Puzzle Project.

Distraction Project

I became distracted by this piece of scrap wood in my studio today. I think it used to be a gate, maybe.

So, I painted it with black gesso.
I'm hoping working on this will get me started on the concrete work I'm wanting to do, but not doing.
Looking for inspiration.

Puzzle Pieces

Puzzle Pieces
132 inches x 18 inches, hanging in a gallery in Eureka, CA 2007
Each pieces is cut out of an old chair back from the Eureka Theater in Eureka, CA.

Puzzle Pieces
Hanging in their current home, my studio.

Egg Art

Eggs, Paint, Canvas...

My grandson and I are doing an art project together.
We're going to throw eggs full of house paint at a 8 foot by 8 foot plywood backdrop. The backdrop is where the Nicker piece used to hang, but it it being repaired before it moves off to a new home.

Character Counts

Concept drawing.

Character Counts Mosaic Mural
Agnes J. Johnson School Weott, CA
June 1999

One World Installation

Blank wall ready for mural.

First 2 panels up.

The students worked on the squares along the outside edges. Each younger student was paired with an older one to work as a teem. The interior design was done by me working on my living room floor (no studio space yet).

All 4 large panels up, and 4 smaller side panels in place, ready for the last of the tiling to be done.

World finished and last hand added.

Tiling finished ready for grouting.

One World

"One World"
mosaic mural at Agnes J. Johnson School Weott, CA
February 1999

This was a joint project between me, Mr. and Mrs. Andersen's classes (kindergarten and 5th grade I believe at the time), husband Leo (help with installation), daughter Mara (help with the kids), son Justin (also help with installation), and daughter India (who was in Mr. Andersen's class)

detail

Fountain

Ferro Cement and Mosaic Fountain

Hippo?

The Hippo is gone...

This one's more like it.

Leggett, CA

This one is more like the one I'm working on, or wishing I was working on. I'm very inspired to work right now, but it will be at least a week before I can get back to art work.
Such is life.
Why is it that I can be sitting looking at a canvas with no inspiration, and all the time in the world, and then at another moment have a head full of ideas and no time to sit at the canvas.

Half Moon Bay

Rooster in Half Moon Bay, Ca.

Windows and Doors

Glass Mosaics by Karen Robbins

I love these.
Karen Robbins makes custom stained glass mosaics at 161 Ocean Ave. Cayucos, Ca 93430. They are made using old window and door frames.

Hippo in the Woods?

I went on a road trip this last week with my husband. We were surprised to find this concrete hippo at a wooded rest stop near Confusion Hill.

Swains Flat Ice Box

Ice Box at Swains Flat Store

Here is a photo of an ice box similar to the one that I'm currently working on. Still going and in much better shape than mine.
Ice Box

Stinky

Stinky's Tag

Stinky in its new home.

Stinky was going to be one of Encased in Concrete 88, but something went wrong. When I went to coat it in concrete I couldn't believe how bad it smelled. Something gooey must have ended up inside with the garbage. I wasn't sure if it would still smell after the concrete went on, so I used a different one for Encased in Concrete 88. Stinky now sits out in our orchard under the apple tree we planted when we first bought our property. So far Stinky is not stinky anymore!

Ice Box uncovered...

Ice Box in progress

After a few hours work, removing blackberry vines and poison oak (some how I didn't catch any) I have the Ice Box uncovered. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I stared it a few years ago, but now I'm ready to go. I have to reopen the front and put more garbage in it. The garbage I originally filled it with has settled, so I can fit in more, yay. I want to mosaic this one after the concrete work is done. Nothing has fully matured in my head yet though. Maybe, blues and whites.
I'll try to take a photo of an ice box that is still in good shape to give a better representation of what it used to be like, and post it later this week.

Mother's Day!!

Genetic Engineering

These 2 pieces are part of a series I did in the 1990's on genetic engineering. I was living in Davis at the time, and they were trying to make the perfect tomato. Also, at that time there was a lot of testing going on with human parts and pigs.


When I was 6 or 7 my mom was a graduate student at Tulane University in New Orleans. I remember there was a floor in the school that had babies/fetuses in jars (all development levels, extra limbs, etc.). I was fascinated! I was always asking to be taken up to see the "babies".
I'm sure this was part of my want for children. I wanted one of those babies of my own, well not in a jar, but to love and hold. I have been blessed with 3.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Vacuum?

Vacuum

I've been doing housework now for almost 30 yrs. Once, when I was feeling a little fed up with the process I encased my vacuum in concrete.

Old...New Project...Ice Box

Ice Box
I had forgotten about this project, as can be seen by the blackberries taking it over. It's an old ice box that I filled with debris when we first moved to our fixer-upper in the woods. Tomorrow, I'll pick up some expanded metal and get to work on wrapping it up for concrete. I'm thinking about mosaicking it, too. The flat sides are wonderful for mosaic work. It measures approximately 2.5 x 5 x 4 feet with a slopped edge were there use to be doors.

Also, I was reviewed in the North Coast Journal today, and on May 5th Redheaded Blackbelt mentioned a past piece I made titled "Nicker".

Rain

Rain, rain, and more rain! Even though it was raining quite a few people came to the opening and walked around and admired Encased in Concrete 88. I also did a short radio interview with KHUM, which was a first for me.
I've been thinking about my next projects. I want to get Muddy Gnome Ceramics going this year. A garden oriented ceramics business my husband and I are working on together. Also, on the encased in concrete end I've already started on more boxes of garbage for The Block Wall.

Everything is set for the opening!

Today, my husband and I weeded and picked up garbage at the Museum to get ready for the opening tomorrow night. While my work is there my husband and I are donating time to keeping the sculpture garden clean. I am saving all of the garbage we pick up and making a sculpture for the museum at the end of the show. It will represent how much garbage passes through the Melvin Schuler Sculpture Garden over the next 8 months.
Opening reception is tomorrow 6-9pm come by if you can, and if not tomorrow Encased in Concrete 88 will be at the museum for the next 8 months, so try to go by.
Morris Graves Museum of Art
Eureka, CA