I went for a walk with my niece, Pamela, in the Wapsipinicon State Park this week.  The wild flowers were beautiful.  There were lots of Jack in the Pulpits and wild geraniums and wild phlox.  There were also lots of ferns -- all types.  Here are a couple of photos from that walk...with a little extra.

Snow Drops

What a month I've had since I last posted. Almost an entire year has elapsed as we went from winter to spring to summer and now the north wind hints of winter again. I love our seasons. They keep me out of a rut both mentally and in activity. I've resisted pulling the winter mulch blanket off of the gardens not wanting to shock the plants with more dryness and night freezes. The early flowers could care less and others are poking up their heads anyway reminding me that they are late spring bloomers that have to get ready. I got out my trusty camera to shoot the changes. The snow drops were so white against the dull dried leaves that they consistently overexposed. You can see how much fun this overexposure can be in Photoshop from the my new print called Magic. And I finally digitized my late prints from last fall, perhaps just in time to open all the doors and start this year's prints! I got some different colors and blends by working wet on wet toward the end of the year. You may notice the difference in my prints, like the one above. The fact that my art is a stream rather than an even pleases me. I never know where it will take me -- though lately I have been certain it is not going to take me to the box that is the receipts, forms and data that is my taxes. Are taxes grounding or just annoying? I'm glad to pay my share because I value the parks, cops, and bridges they support. And I'm really glad for the moves of late to support the poorest of the poor. My friend Phil is of that group. It amazes me that he is alive every time I see him. He's been a friend for more than 20 years and was homeless for a good percentage of that time. I can't get my head around some of the far right who insist on not paying taxes, carrying guns, and saying they are "Christian." Taxes support the collective good. Guns kill people. And I thought Christ was all about the former and not the latter. These days I'm afraid those guns will be used to kill the poor to guarantee that everyone can keep "theirs." It's such bad karma. And that karma draws similar karma. These are trying times for the individualist culture we've developed. Such a hard edge. One of my favorite activities is to do something that improves the well being of someone else without wanting anything in return. I then sit back in my observant mind and watch that positive energy go out into the community. Sooner than later it comes zinging back to me as a grand gesture to help me by someone else. Spirit energy is so concrete...and amazing. The example of late is that I was going to apply to be one of the artists at the Loring Park Art Fair in August. The application needed to be done by March 15. It required a photo of my booth. Well, I don't have a picture of my booth because I'm so new to this art thing. My Dad and Allen were helping me put the pieces together. Even with all of that, it felt like I was pushing a river. Eventually I decided to do it next year instead of this year because we'd have the photos next year from the other fairs we're doing. The very next moment after I decided to wait, our phone rang. It was my sister-in-law (hmm, I bet that title is why she calls me sis) calling to ask if I would make my niece's bat mitzvah invitations. I was flattered to be asked. And that same afternoon, when I was at my bank depositing a check, they asked me to put my art up there again. I again flattered to be asked back. Since then I've had nothing but encouragement from the spirit plane as people find all sorts of ways to tell me they value my work. My Dad showed his coffee klatch a small book I made of my prints. A couple more purses have found their way to new owners. Friends have introduced me as an artist. Loved ones who have been given my cards have told me again and again how much people have liked the cards. And one of my big prints sold on Friday at the bank. I'm definitely on the right track. Now for those darn taxes!

Fiends in the Woodshop

We went down to Zumbrota on Wednesday in our continued collaboration with my Dad on lamps and tables that hold my prints and light up from inside. The next lamp is about six feet tall. So here are Allen and Dad surface planing a six foot board. It took two of them to get it throught the planer squarely....and I did hear a "hmmm. It's thicker on one side than the other. We'll just run it through again and take off a scosh." Allen learned about the planer. Where was I you ask? They always take off when we first get there to do 'guy stuff,' so I bring book. And a camera. Stay tuned for the lamp.

I need to pick a couple of images for the publicity piece for my show at Crossings at Carnegie www.crossingsatcarnegie.com in September. Any favorites emerge? The Yellow one looks like a dinosaur to me! It's actually a print made from knot grass! Or should I go digital? I'm leaning toward the Dandlion leaves and one of the purely abstract pieces at the top. Hmm. A lampshade might resolve the whole issue. I've never been good at choices and have used the excuse that I need a whole pallet to be fully functional.

Size does make a difference!

I made this bag for my darling husband to schlep his stuff back and forth to school. It has all the features he likes: padded computer space, a gorgeous brocade lining, extra pockets for paper and small items in velcro attached vinyl, a large outside pocket, and a print he really likes and secure handle and straps. Well! It fits my computer, but not his! We both forgot that he got the super delux version of the Mac laptop. It's too big to fit. It was part of being an economist doing detailed analyses -- two full pages can display on it at once. He got out of economics and is not in school to be a counselor at the Adler Institute. Brave and I'm very proud of him. So now I have another completed bag. And a new design for a back pack. Not only does it fit his laptop, but also his lunch and cup for tea. If it's a good bag I'll make one to hold water bottles. I love it when problems allow the space for creative solutions.

Collaborating with my Dad

Well! Amazing and unthinkable a year ago. My Dad is an amazing wood worker. He built this side table that frames my prints. My job was to cut them down to his beloved (and clunky in my opinion) Aristotilian rectangle. In this case he agreed it was a clunky lamp, and was delighted when I suggested a table. That gave me my other task, buying plate glass. Dad lives in a small town where you get everything the day you think of it. He couldn't understand why it took me a week to find a good glass cutting company we can develop a relationship with here in the big city. The wood is walnut cut off our cabin's land. And I'm surprised how well it sets off the teals and meadow greens of these spring time prints. He's just completed a second one. And that will probably be that as he likes to solve new puzzles. The project I'm sure he began yesterday is a six foot tall lamp with three tiers of prints that will light up that dark corner we all have in our homes. It will have maple uprights and walnut horizontals. Cool huh? I'm busy putting epoxy on 12 prints! No small feat! Any ideas on how much to charge for these in the fairs this summer?

Wash that Gray Right out of the Landscape

I took a walk with my camera to catch the last evenings of this glorious winter sun. It is a pale yellow surrounded by a warm grey. The summer sun is honey colored surrounded by pinks and oranges brought to us by air pollution. Last week I was cursing that darn groundhog because I would love another month or two of deep winter. Today I've gotten more comfortable with spring. It could be these puddles. Or the new light. Or the songs the birds are singing. It is a time of discovery. My Dad called to ask if it could be the Norse god of mischief and shapeshifting, Loki, could be responsible for his misplacement of his wallet and glasses. Of course! Monday had incredibly strong new moon energy --- I started six purses and didn't finish anything! And it's the spring energy -- east. Loki is from the East. Gotta get back to Norse mythology again soon.

The trees will soon have some leaves. Hmmph. I do like surprising the squirrels with my gaze. The Bald Eagle in Zumbrota has been cleaning out her nest. She's always sitting on it before the leaves come out on the trees. I so love their shapes without their leaves...kinda like black coffee....great on it's own, but a bit of sugar is nice too. I got a shot of the snow melt around the tree trunks. It's always proof to me that they are starting to move their energy upward. So it's time to enjoy the day as it is rather than as something it isn't... So I dyed a bunch of T-shirts I'd used Shiva Paintsticks on. And a whole bunch of my grandmother's linen tablecloths and napkins. Next blog will be those gorgeous colors and shapes.