Thunder woke me up from a nap. By the time I went out to look at clouds and see if it was raining, it was literally pouring from the sky. Even though the main portion of the deck is covered, everything on the deck got soaked as the wind was blowing hard.
It continued to thunder in booming cracks that sounded like the sky was falling. Then the power went out. Although the rain cooled things off a little bit (from 98 down to 82), it was still uncomfortably warm in the house. We sat on the screened porch for a short time, watching the rain. About 6, it let up and I fed the dogs and took them out. We still had no power, so there was no means of cooking dinner. I did not want take out again, so I went to the grocery store and bought fresh bread, cheese, and oven roasted turkey from the deli. Sometimes, a sandwich is good enough. The power returned fairly quickly, Internet was back up, and we watched a movie.
One more trip out with the dogs and then off to bed…only to hear the normal “fireworks” of living in the country–neighbors firing off guns. I guess they were disappointed to not have had fireworks. It seems to be the norm here for every New Year’s Eve and July 4th. Fortunately, it did not last long.
I had gotten the back yard mowed, but R has been having an issue with arthritis in his left foot, so he had put off the front–which requires the riding mower. After the copious drenching, it will grow another foot probably. The birds will be happy, though, as the bird baths will be full and the insects will be numerous. At least it is a quiet and calm day today for preparing to start a new week, and hopefully, some cooler weather…cooler as in not as hot as it was this past week.
A storm is brewing, literally as well as figuratively. Nature will be unveiling rain followed by intense heat in the next few days. I finished the piece of larger sea, and instead of the sun setting in the Caribbean, we are off the coast of the Northwest Pacific this time.
This one was interesting, and has taken several weeks. My first attempt at trees was too shiny and green. I reworked this with a different mix of yellow-green, gris-green and it seemed to work better. I decided with the gray with green undertones in the ocean to evoke a moodier scene by creating the formation of storm clouds instead of just fluffy white. Also difficult were the mountains to get the sensation of distance. I do like the sky, clouds, and water, and will work on tutorials for mountains and trees for the next one. I feel rather like I am showing my homework to my teacher for a critique, and then going back to the drawing board!
On an unrelated note, Steffi is fully recovered, got to sleep on the bed last night, and has successfully gone outside off leash and is doing simply marvelous! She has been a happy dog today.
I am happy for her as well, and glad to get that kennel out of the corner! It was a pain to crawl across the bed to reach the chest!
Red and yellow moon grafted cacti in Community’s Mosaic India Pale Ale cans.
When my niece and her husband visited last weekend, they had some of the Mosaic IPA with them, brewed by the Community Beer Company of Dallas, Texas. I liked the graphic look of the cans and decided to plant a succulent in them. I had no idea what a moon graft cactus was until I saw these, and decided the bright colors would look good in the vibrant blue and orange-red cans.
The plant is actually two plants, grafted to join together, which I did not know until after I began preparing them for the transplant to the cans. The top ball is a mutant and lacks chlorophyll, thus it cannot produce its own food through the process of photosynthesis. The plants scientific name is Gymnocalycium mihanovichii, though the common name is Ruby Ball or Hibotan cactus. It is grafted onto a host, which is usually the dragon fruit plant, Hylocereus. It well may be a fussy plant, which means I will not have it very long most likely. I did have a small succulent window box for a while before it all finally succumbed to whatever maladies I inflicted on it, most likely, unknowingly. The two separate plants of the Moon Graft grow at different speeds, so the lifespan is only around one-three years. Because the top ball is sensitive to direct light and will burn under direct hot sunlight, they have to have indirect light. The key issue is ensuring the bottom rootstock gets enough light to produce food for the both of them.
I was very impressed with cuz’ garden, which also includes many succulents of interesting varieties. While I have no desire to create the level of work for myself her extensive plants and gardens require, I did think I could manage two little cacti. I had planned on getting two different types, but when I saw the brilliant red and yellow ones, I thought they belonged together. It turns out that the color is a mutation, and they will die as seedlings without the chlorophyll produced by a cactus to which they are grafted. They do best in a south window, with a sheer curtain protecting them from direct sunlight. Fortunately, I have such windows. If I had known all this before I got them, I might have chosen other options, but for now, I will do my best to keep the mutant alive and see how it fares as they grow.
Back when I was still trying to learn how to pull a print from a magazine page, I had quite a few in the stash. Every single time I tried to use the gelli plate to pull a print, I meticulously followed the instructions in every tutorial I found, with the same disappointing results time after time. I might get a silhouette that was murky at best, but mostly, I just got the magazine print back with a variety of paint colors now on top of the page. I even paid $11 for a copy of Vogue, which is supposed to be the “best high gloss magazine” from which to pull a print. See for yourself the results I got, and finally after wasting a lot of pages, and a lot of time and paint, I decided to go a different route.
This was just two of the many efforts that led to the page peeled off with the print still on the page and not on the gelli plate. The basic instructions are the same in every tutorial, about how to get the thin layer of paint on the plate, smooth it properly with the brayer and leave it for the necessary number of seconds. Even trying less time or more time, we (cuz and I) were never able to get a clean print that was like the examples in the tutorial. I suppose the important thing is ‘what kind of art do you want to make?’ Most of the completed collages on line were prints with a lot of extra overlays–lines, patterns, dots, etc. or various colors, which I also sometimes employ. While they were interesting, and some even beautiful, it just did not work for me, even when I used high quality, high gloss pages taken from a couple of hard-back books with art-quality photographs.
The Color Me Happy was another of those that evolved from playing with different ideas than I had in the beginning. I had quite a few black and white pages that I liked, and while trying out different layouts, it just did not come out in a way that appealed to me. When that happens, I typically go back to my folder of bits and pieces–varying items I have found in the magazines that show up here on a regular basis, i. e. Electric co-op monthly magazine, Farm Bureau monthly magazine, and a random interior decorating magazine that just started showing up. Some went as far back as the Country Living magazines I subscribed to for years and saved items that appealed to me, or the copies of Cape Town’s “The Big Issue” I had saved from my trips to South Africa. Below is my explanation of this one, along with the larger photograph to make it more visible. If you right-click on the image, it will open in another tab and be larger, enabling it to be more easily inspected.
I wanted to anchor the collage with the full page image of Noguchi, sitting in front of his sculpture Unidentified Object, 1979 in New York City’s Central Park. One of Isamu Noguchi’s visions was to “give back by sculpting communal spaces for exploration and play” which also resonated with the reasons I love public art and think it so important. I also hold the belief that the vision of many artists is essential for us to have a well-rounded experience of art in its many forms. The photograph of the woman on the park bench, with pigeons flying all around her also symbolizes New York communal spaces, and I was very drawn to it and anchor the opposite corner with it. Both the right and left lower corner images are intended to evoke movement and direction. And what can I say of the image of a joyous Ray Charles singing in the center except it made me happy to look at it. I liked that the blues, reds, greens and yellows of the pieces with color also shared shades of black, white, and gray. They shared reflections of nature, celebration, and joyous celebration in both realistic and abstract ways. This one collage took weeks to construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct in a manner that I though conveyed what I wanted. My niece who overnighted in the guest room/art studio last weekend said this was her favorite, and she especially liked the woman to the left of Ray Charles with the red hat, and her strikingly assertive pose. I was drawn to that image of the model who is ebony-skinned, dressed in a neutral tan, but her stance and the vivid red hat demand respect amidst the diorama of the men playing music in the colorful township image, while Ray Charles sings and accompanies the horns of the band with the piano and pays that respect. The abstractness of the house in the colorful village echoes the blue dusk of the evening among the aspens next to the distant gray village framed by the tan canopy and the almost mirror images of the railing below and the roof above. Finally, the large splash of random color on a blank canvas signals an organization amidst chaos of the movement, the linear and horizontal lines and the structural juxtaposition of the architecture, nature, human, and animal connection, all of which signify joy in living and creating.
Frankly, the months since January have been good, not good, and sometimes unkind. First, there was the ice storm that caused so much damage, physical and emotional and financial. We are still as a state and a county and a community working on recovery. I am not complaining. The state, the towns affected, the county did all they could and still are. The electric companies, line-men and line-women from other parts of the state and neighboring counties spent hours, days, weeks helping. Local people, neighbors, and friends helped each other. We are still cleaning up, and not done yet.
I could list a long litany of the things that have been emotionally, financially, and psychologically taxing in those ensuing months…and I am well aware of those who could have a worse list, a longer list, having endured those things far longer and far worse.
While I am solidly dedicated to this current effort to explore art in its many forms, I am still faced with the same issues as are we all. For me, art has become my method of self-care. It is necessary for all of us, and particularly those of us who were involved in human services, health care, social work, therapy, first responders, nurses, doctors, and indeed, anyone who must deal with trauma, death, crisis, and helping those who are affected by it, which is all of us who are alive on this planet.
At times, I direct my efforts at art, and at times, it directs my efforts at self-care and understanding. I do my best not to over emphasize the not good, while acknowledging the good. I have always written, prose, poetry, academic articles, short stories, journals. It has helped me to make sense of things that do not make sense, and understand things I have not understood, and sometimes, see things in a different light. You might wonder what being marooned in paradise means…or you might not. Take a look again.
I was practicing on my new large gelli plate with mixed colors. The background of blue, yellow, and green on the final pull reminded me of sky and sea, so I used that as the base for the background. I had torn the line drawing sketch from a magazine, because the garden and columned portico looked so elegant and it seemed to fit well with the blue green of the base piece. The sketch ended with the tiny ledge where the dog is lying, but there were no steps as to how it arrived there. I searched online for curving stairways that could lead up to the ground level, and then created a lower level floor at the sea’s edge, as if one could walk down the stairs, across the little pier, and step down into the sea. A bird is perched on the rail, drinking from the fountain. Home to animals, nature, and plants, it is a welcoming abode. The shells were to give the impression that a beach lay just beyond, rather than more ocean. The elegant lady from a time past, tending her rose garden seemed to fit with whoever might live in this seaside mansion. Beyond the woman is a small island, lit with lights of a small village, and mountain peaks in the background. I had saved the picture of the ship, a painting in a book I bought at a used book library in the basement of an old church near Valley Forge. I used the paintings during the time I was making and sending cards to friends and family during the lockdown years of the pandemic, when we were working from home, distancing, and buying food online. I liked the moody colors in the background of the ship, silhouetted against a darkening sky as dusk began. It also balanced and echoed the hand-painted old tile photograph from another seaside mansion. I wanted to convey that while indeed the location was in an expanse of water, it was not totally isolated, which gave rise to the small island in the distance, and mountains in the background. One might imagine being in the sea off the coast of Scotland, Ireland, or England.
That is what happens when I say the art directs me to the story as opposed to when I am telling the story I want the art to convey. I have one more collage to post about next, and then, I will be ready to unveil the most recent acrylic painting I did on a larger canvas. As I read about the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, I was struck by the amazing painting done by the artist, NjikekaAkunyiliCrosby. While she is indeed an artist who paints, she also included a collage of many significant items representing the background story of the Obamas. I had just finished the piece I display above, and somehow, as it often does, seeing the beautiful and stunning piece completed by Ms. Crosby reminded me of how important art is, and how important celebrating art and artists in the many ways it can be created is as well. See for yourself, if you have not already seen it.
I decided to try something different in art. Although this is the second attempt at painting an actual scene (not counting the first ones I did during the pandemic when I mailed out hand-made cards to almost everyone I knew on a regular basis), I thought a miniature would be a good place to start. We watch Death in Paradise on a nightly basis, and I have become quite enamoured of the fictional island of Saint Marie. It is actually filmed on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.
This effort enabled me to work up my courage to try a larger canvas, so I just put the gesso on a canvas. After it dries, I will see how far I get! I am finishing up a new mixed media collage and it is in the drying stage for the next few hours.
My niece and her husband will be overnighting with us Sunday, so I have a lot to do between now and then. I am slowly working my way through the necessary chores for entertaining, so better get back to it, now that I have had my water break! How is your Tuesday going?
Tuesday morning we had to be up at 6 and on the road by 7 to get Steffi to her 4 week post op check in Tupelo. She was a little anxious, as usual, but loaded up the ramp into the back seat without any special assistance. Apparently she has discovered it is easier to walk up (and down) the ramp to enter and exit. Similar to the 10 day stay in the hotel during the ice storm aftermath, she adjusted fairly quickly to her new routine. She was mostly calm while we waited on the doctor to come in, but paced enough to leave them plenty of white dog hair to sweep up afterwards. We had hoped she would be released from having to be on leash or confined, but we settled for being able to remove the cone.
It has actually been amazing how well she adapted to it, and when we take her outside, she always leads and it was amusing to watch her shift her head from left to right continuously to ensure she could see where she is going–kind of like the old bobble dolls one would see on a car’s dash or rear window. Although her incision had healed well, we continued to leave her cone on (Technically, an ecollar for Elizabethan collar) because she is a licker and a chewer. Better safe than sorry to have her be able to reach the healing incision and chew on it or lick it. The doctor had been very deliberate about the need to keep her in the ecollar and restrained. He asked us about her recovery and we were happy to report she had done excellent, and followed her routine. After each time we took her outside, she would head straight back to her bed in the exercise kennel, sit, and wait for her treat.
She needs to stay on leash or in her exercise kennel for another 3 weeks, gradually increasing her time out to walk, still on leash, and gradually increasing the amount of time we walk her. Still no getting on the couch or bed until the 3 weeks are up. Since humans generally need at least 6 weeks following surgery before we can resume normal activities, it makes sense. Especially as dogs are impulsive when they see something they want or want to do…like run, or jump. We did not spend the money to get this issue fixed just to have it recur because we did not follow instructions for recovery. Reminded me of my knee surgery and how I had to put on the brace before I got out of bed to go to the bathroom and come right back to bed. It was annoying, and time consuming…but not as annoying or time consuming as if I had not followed instructions and had to go back for corrective surgery.
I am ignoring you, and then you cannot see me.
She is having no issues thus far with the increased walking, no limping or holding her leg up or not putting weight on it, so that is a good sign. If this increases the quality of her life and prevents further damage, that was the goal all along. Perhaps it is also similar to how human development evolves and progresses. In the right environment with consistent care, met needs, love, and understanding, we just do better. Steffi has amazed us at how well she adjusted to the major changes of being in the hotel and out of her known environment, how well she adjusted to being overnight at the Vet hospital, and how well she has adjusted to the confinement and change in her routine following the surgery. It seems to have been another little boost to her self-confidence that she is able to handle something new and different, and still is okay.
I finished the piece I have been working on for the past week or so. I was trying out several new ideas, and some of them worked okay, and others, I will not likely use again. One of the tissue prints I made from the gelli plate seemed to mimic texture, so I increased the texture by scrunching it up before using it. I had also used pieces of previous prints, and used water colors to provide some contrast. A couple of misjudgments on the border necessitated some changes. Part of the border worked out well, but the bottom did not, so I will probably not try that one again. It reminds me too much of the “Crazy Quilt” design that was popular in the late 50s and early 60s. My grandmother made a few of them. None the less, learning what did not work and I do not like is as important as finding what I do like and what did seem to work. My self-worth and self-esteem is not tied up in the outcome of perfection, but rather, the outcome of development. I think the most important thing I could change is realizing when less is more. I am drawn to color and texture, but learning where to say enough is enough will be important as I continue. I was reminded of the time I decided to paint the walls of the dining room and kitchen in a terra cotta clay, and there were already red laminate counter tops when we bought the house. I added a blue and white gingham check wallpaper on the soffits and blue and white gingham curtains on the bay window of the dining area. A friend came in, looked around, and in all earnestness said, “I think somewhere deep in your soul beats the heart of a Latina.” And then there was the time Randy came home from work in our latest new house to find I had color-washed the white wall in the bedroom with a dark midnight blue, hung terra cotta clay colored curtains, hung a green metal porch support over the bed and draped a linen swag. I could go on with the things I did that spoke to me about color and texture and vibrancy, but you probably got the idea already.
Last night as I went to bed, I noticed how the screen saver on my computer had enhanced the blue of the walls and how it changed the color of the piece on the wall at the foot of the bed. I used the flash function to take a second picture to note how it changed the tone. The screen saver is a background of underwater in a dark blue, and dolphins swimming around. It is a soothing interlude that sort of mesmerizes me as I prepare to sleep.
Blues in the City is a recent work, and completed except for finishing the sides of the canvas, and/or framing.
Birds in Paradise City
Birds in Paradise City is ready to frame. Cuz liked this one, and it does remind me of her many bird-themed Mardi Gras costumes over the years…see for example:
Miniature abstract water color and acrylicSilver and gold background to mount the miniature abstractAddition to Better South/Better World
Can you spot the new addition? In addition to the change to BS/BW, I have been trying out additional new techniques using sculpture tools. I am leaning in to the process of getting several pieces going at a time, since I have to allow for drying time in between prints, paints, and completing collages. It also seems to help me with creative thinking as I shift gears and find I am developing new ways of looking at and seeing things around me.
In addition to creating art, I have been busy on some research, finally feeling back to normal after recovering from illness and the side effects of the medication to treat the illness, and now accomplishing a few things around the house again. What’s on your plate at the moment?
First up, a shout out to The Bitter Southerner, whose stories and photographs never fail to inspire me. Their motto is Better South/Better World, and a sticker was attached to the book I recently ordered from them–a great read about Gas Station food, with fabulous photographs of the places along with the food. Thank You Please Come Again is by Kate Medley. I saved that little sticker knowing some time, I would want to use it. Quite by accident, back in March I read a story in Elle Decor about Mickalene Thomas and her newly designed art studio in Brooklyn. I was impressed with the interview, her mission, and her vision, and I ripped out some pages to put in my “I will use this” pile of inspirations for a collage. Sometimes I have an idea of what I want to create, and other times, it just emerges when I begin to sift through images, colors, textures, and begin to tell a story. While trying out my new larger gelli plate, I stamped the back of an insert in a picture frame with the Dollar Tree plastic place mat I had purchased for a new project. The green acrylic fern stamp was really just testing out the process, but as often happens, I liked the image and put it in the stack of prints. The little pink mesh bag held confetti that Auntie had asked us to release to the wind during the interment at her life celebration. When I emptied the bag, I had put it in my pocket, and on arriving home, found the little piece of purple confetti on the back seat as we cleaned out the vehicle. It was symbolic to me and I saved it “for my next art project.” I find Ms. Thomas’ art inspiring, as is her vision for community, like “living out loud” might feel. The forms, colors, and images seemed to come together in a way that made sense to me, like putting together a puzzle that offers comfort, emotion, movement, solidity, hopefulness, and life in ways both subtle and loud. I plan to hang it on the gritty gray ocean fog brick wall of the studio/guest room. It seems like a nod to the artist–Mickalene, in her abandoned auto garage turned creative headquarters.
All photographs are original images with all rights reserved unless otherwise credited. Kindly request permission prior to using.
Suzassippi's Lottabusha County Chronicles 
