A couple years ago my boyfriend Joe & I went to a film festival in Boulder, Colorado where we saw 2 films: one on Car Henge (Stone Henge made from junk cars- in Nebraska) and one on Burning Man. The experience was one of those pivotal points in life for Joe…after that night he became a “recovering engineer”!! As a recovering engineer he has put all of his awesome engineer skills in to creating art for Burning Man. This year his piece is called “Vishnu’s Dream” and it ties in with the Burning Man theme:Evolution. The chimp evolves into Burning Man as Vishnu dreams our cosmos on the backs of a 1000 cobras.

It’s an awesome project & also very time consuming- I have become a Burning Man widow- I realized I may not see Joe until the actual event so I set up some “dates” where I could help him on the project. So, every other Monday while Joe welds or bends steel or connects point A to B to C x 3 squared (that’s where the engineering comes in handy) I paint or take the rust off of the steel or whatever.

The first time I went over to his house to help him I struggled with collaboration versus worker bee. I had some ideas for the generator box and Joe nixed them- which kind of bothered me - I thought about it as I painted- the way I create my own work is to have a general idea of what I want to say but change happens during the process- often ending up with a painting or assemblage that is completely different from the original idea. With a project like Joe’s that can’t happen- for structural reasons and design wise it has to be perfectly thought out to represent the idea that it is portraying. Look at all of those parts- and that is just the top!!!!

Joe has built a model, done wind load tests and has a notebook filled with all the information to assemble this project- I am in awe!!!! So…I am -happily- a worker bee.
Here I have started painting a cobra on the generator housing box. It looks a bit like a Ninja Turtle but hopefully as the process continues & I progress I will be able to make him look really sinister!

sinister?

the other side:

the twined cobras that pick up on the twined cobras on the project:

since it is about evolution & Joe had to have a fire extiquisher on the generator box I thought it would be funny to show the chimpanzee hand lighting the match picking up on Joe’s design that he is giving on a silk prayer flag to donors & volunteer helpers- Burning Man in a flaming lotus position.

Yep, the title says process not progress because creating is all about processing.  Last year when I first decorated the bike I added glass globules to the fenders & gold sparkly plastic Christmas balls and pink handlebar streamers. Passe!This year I decided to go more Blade Runner/Burning Manish.My bike is called “Time flies” after the large watch face on the handle bars

and since time flies I decided to add wings which I cut & embossed out of copper sheet metal.

I also needed wings to go with the AWESOME set of wings that Joe made me that look like they flap -they have electroluminescent lights on them that are sequenced to look like they are flapping!!

For the Blade Runner look I needed some rust or at least a rust look- thanks to Michael deMeng ala the revealer of the”Secrets of Rusty Things” I now know how to produce RUST!! 

Okay, so far so good but it looked incomplete- I toyed with the idea of putting solar star bursts on the rods sticking out from the wings- they are functional- they go down through the X-mas balls to hold them on to the bike- but I couldn’t find any I liked on the internet- frustration- what to do?

Early this morning in a half dream, half awake state it came to me -what I need to put on those rods- goddesses- so I am off to the thrift store in search of plastic dolls- is Barbie too Barbieish? hmmm…if I only find Barbies I suppose I can alter her too. And this is what I mean about process…ideas come & go & my creations never turn out the way I originally envision them-

So…I went looking for Barbies but came home with dolls-

after I ripped their heads off I could begin to see the possibilities- process.

I’ve started gluing the doll heads on top of the wings with various things projecting from their heads- snakes, dragonflies, dreadlocks…..assemble this, assemble that=assemblage!

I personified “Time” with this doll head & silver flower crown from a Balinese dance head dress- I like it!! Now…what’s next? antiquing will follow…

I love to garden & am very blessed to have a home that backs right up to Rocky Mountain National Park. Outside of my studio  I have a little patio that looks at Lumpy Ridge- I love to sit there on summer evenings with a glass of wine & soak in the beauty of nature. I have a few shrines back there.

This is an assemblage I made called “Welcome Home”- that is how i feel here- I am home- I am safe & nurtured in my little nest. Neuroarchitecture- see the last paragraph of this blog if you have missed the definition in any of my previous blogs..

This one is a stone carved piece that my sister got for me at the Santa Fe Flea Market for my Jubilee Birthday. It is  from India & has a spider goddess in it- she is the weaver of beautiful webs -the strands of which represent my connection to my loved ones- when 1 strand shakes it effects us all- to paraphrase my Balinese friend, Panji. (meaning shapes seeing- I think when you know why I chose this figure to put in there then it makes more sense)

Joe & I pulled up at a greenhouse one day & they were having a sale on concrete yard ornaments. I spotted the concrete shell shrine (with Mary missing), the price was right & I said to Joe “Quick, please stand here & guard this so that no one else buys it out from under me!” (one person’s trash, another’s treasure) I am going to alter the figure featured here some day- she represents gratitude for abundance.

My backyard Kuan Lin- the Goddess of Compassion that my Dad got for me.

my prayer wheel- Joe made it for me and I painted it with 4 images that symbolize earth, air, fire and water in addition to gratitude for the abundance in my life, appreciation for the mystery of life and it’s beauty, and seeking balance.

This concrete Spirit House is a gift from a Thai friend- it offers a home to the spirits that were displaced when the house was built.

I come home through the garage door most days- these 2 naked, carved guys on either  side of the door make me smile and my old 1950’s portrait of my family of origin that I have hanging in the garage by the entry door always makes me laugh!!

Quan Yin- she stands as a reminder of compassion & loving kindness at my front entry. I found her 1 magical day in Santa Fe at the flea market:

Neuroarchitecture “The premise is to consider how each feature of the architectural environment influences certain brain processes such as those involved in stress, emotion, and memory,” says Eve Edelstein, PhD, adjunct professor at the New School of Architecture & Design in San Diego and a research consultant to the Academy of Neuroscience for architecture. “Decorating with an original piece of art not only puts your unique fingerprint on your place, it transmits a sense of authenticity and trust”, says David Lewis, PhD, research director of Neuroco, a British neuromarketing company that uses EEGs (which measure electrical activity in the brain) and other techniques to understand consumer behavior.

Sometimes my whole house is my studio- right now my bike for Burning Man,”Time Flies” is waiting to get antiqued in the living room. Since my kids have left home, one bedroom has turned into overflow for storing paintings & supplies and my kitchen table has become a depository for all the stuff I need to start creating a new idea called “Memory Maps”. When I am out of sorts and need to ground myself I go into the studio & start cleaning up. It makes me smile. Ahh…neuroarchitecture- read on…             This is a paper body memory map that I created of me in a Gail Rieke workshop (speaking of Gail, I think she has one of the most aesthetically beautiful studio spaces I have ever seen- she opens it to the public every other year & will do so this year July 31-August 2 in Santa Fe- go if you get a chance!!!):

Neuroarchitecture: “The premise is to consider how each feature of the architectural environment influences certain brain processes such as those involved in stress, emotion, and memory,” says Eve Edelstein, PhD, adjunct professor at the New School of Architecture & Design in San Diego and a research consultant to the Academy of Neuroscience for architecture. “Decorating with an original piece of art not only puts your unique fingerprint on your place, it transmits a sense of authenticity and trust”, says David Lewis, PhD, research director of Neuroco, a British neuromarketing company that uses EEGs (which measure electrical activity in the brain) and other techniques to understand consumer behavior.

a sign I had made in Bali for my studio

my work table

bulletin board

my muse & goddess Saraswati- the goddess of knowledge & the arts- on top of my bookcase-plus a few of the endless notes I write to myself to remind me of creative inspirations & goals along with my painting:”Water Under the Bridge.”

my day of the dead studio companions and silk prayer flags that I made

my music source- I really have the wants for a Bose system- anyone out there have one? your thoughts? plus a couple prayer flags & a Hindi poster about Working Women

my studio patio- I’ll blog about my yard & outdoor shrines in a later post

A friend of mine recently turned me on to one of Somerset Magazine”s latest creations: “Where Women Create”.    I create in the beautiful town of Estes Park, Colorado- here is the view from my front deck:

I have so enjoyed lingering over the pages, inspecting other women artist’s studio spaces- intrigued by the colors, textures, collections, storage solutions and the materials used along with the life styles represented within the pages. The same evening I looked at this magazine, I also perused “Architectural Digest”. Most of the houses/rooms that were featured looked “soul less” to me- clean cut, white , stainless steel, sharp, antiseptic or a multitude of patterns & features that looked very “put together” but impersonal. “Yeah, I think I’ll buy that painting or that object because it matches the couch versus it speaks to my soul” or “I love pink & orange together but this year’s colors are beige & sea green so…”, or “I could never put silly photos of my kids/the people that I love up around the house because I might get judged by guests in my house for my lack of decor taste.”

I do love a refrigerator filled with photos as you can see here- it is sort of a layered archaeological account of my life and every time I open the door I smile at the memories:

Okay, so I am probably being a bit judgmental here…and I know that when people come into my house they either really like it or think I have terrible decor taste- I hear “your house is ahhh….different, outside of the box, or wow! I love it!” It doesn’t really matter because my house is my home & I put the things in it that I love and make me feel at home- safe & loved!!

Yes, I am a collector of stuff- mostly from my travels but also from the ground ..when I am out walking in the woods-feathers, interesting wood or rocks or even at the Pushkar Camel Fair in India- great Hindi advertisements & rusty metal.

I have told my kids & loved ones several times- “I love my stuff- it represents fond memories for me- but when I am dead & gone, do not feel that you have to keep it - burn it, throw it away, take it to the thrift Store- I certainly won’t care!!!”

Here’s a little tour of some of the rooms- I’ll do my studio & gardens in other blogs.

my entry way stained glass- I used to do stained glass in an earlier incarnation of my life:

the hand collection with mosaic glass

a bookcase

an ancestor house from Thailand

my ancestor shrine

a water puppet from Vietnam

The red collection

some huiples and ikats etc.

My angel suit wall

I am a believer in Neuroarchitecture. What is Neuroarchitecture? Read on…

“The premise is to consider how each feature of the architectural environment influences certain brain processes such as those involved in stress, emotion, and memory,” says Eve Edelstein, PhD, adjunct professor at the New School of Architecture & Design in San Diego and a research consultant to the Academy of Neuroscience for architecture. “Decorating with an original piece of art not only puts your unique fingerprint on your place, it transmits a sense of authenticity and trust”, says David Lewis, PhD, research director of Neuroco, a British neuromarketing company that uses EEGs (which measure electrical activity in the brain) and other techniques to understand consumer behavior.

I hope your home makes YOU smile!!

Traveling is such an eye opener and the influences from my trip to Bali & Borobudor in Java are showing up in my most recent painting which is my biggest painting ever- 35″by 35″! The Tree of Life and bird women idea came from the stone relief carving I saw at Borobudor and the carved wooden bird woman that I picked up in Bali.

I started out with my background color as a lovely pinkish tan color that picks up the color of the woman’s dress in the postcard and developed the tree with Golden Interference blue paint curlicues and a lot of texture- especially in the petals around the eyes.

The postcard I am using has a blind man in it & a woman with an open umbrella walking past him- it is titled “Pity the Blind”. An uncomfortable title in our politically correct times but I do pity the blind that they cannot see the beauty of this world…that is why I started filling in the background with nature shapes- flowers, fruits and animals. You will also see backgrounds completely filled in by shapes of this theme in traditional Balinese paintings.AND in this painting, which is about recognizing the sacred feminine,it is about pitying those that are blind to it’s existence.Right now I am struggling a bit with the painting because the background has become so prominent- I think I will sand it down a bit. I am unsure of how I will paint the bird women or the flower petals- I am in that stage of painting where I am intrigued by the possibilities of problem solving! Stay tuned for furthur developments

I recently posted a blog about the daily life of the Balinese which made me reflect a bit on my own daily life- get up at 7, shower, fix oatmeal with yogurt & fresh fruit which I eat on the way to work. I’m the director of the Craft & Design Center at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park. On May 2 &3 we hosted a wonderful work shop taught by Alyson B. Stanfield on “No Excuses Art Marketing”- Here I am with Alyson and Carol McIntyre. Alyson offers free marketing advice with her weekly newsletter. I have an interesting job that involves art- I’m grateful for that!!

Then there is the glamorous part- haha- the Art Openings!!The Dreamland Show in Fort Collins opened the night before the workshop- here I am (notice the hot pink metal embroidered top that I had made from a sari in India- that’s the glamor part :)) at the show with Laurie Zuckerman who builds breathtaking altars, has awesome photos of shrines and creates “Memory Jugs”

and Suzy Foy who uses painted papers and mixed media to create colorful 3 dimensional “paintings”

After work and on at least one day off I get to paint or create assemblage- this is my latest painting that I am working on about the sacred feminine. It is heavily influenced by some relief stone carvings I saw at Borobudor and by traditional Balinese painting. The postcard says:”Pity the Blind”- it works on two levels- pity the blind that they are not able to see the beauty of our earth & pity those that are blind to the sacred feminine.

Burning Man is coming up-Labor Day Weekend- so I have started on transforming my bicycle- it has a big clock in the front & is called “Time Flies”

It has 5 sets of wings so far- that I will pull together with antiquing color a la the secrets of Rusty Things taught by Michael deMeng.

Joe is getting started on a very BIG project for Burning Man called Vishnu’s Dream- this is just the tippy top!! I’ll help with the painting later on in the project.

And then there is the spring projects for the yard… I had a stand of pine trees at the end of my driveway that were heavily infected with mistletoe- I knew when they were all cut down- (which I had to do because the mistletoe spores burst out of them & infect the surrounding trees)-

there would be a BIG bare spot- the trees weren’t big enough in diameter to chainsaw carve them so I decided to turn them into a “grove” of painted poles.      Joe cut them

I hauled them     and in the fall I’ll paint them

It’s essential to my well being to fit my social life in there somewhere too- Joe, my sons, my friends and family- including my dog, Joy who had 30 stitches 2 weeks ago from a big hunk taken out of her side by a coyote!!

Whew….busy but never bored (and I am NOT having to carry 23 bricks on my head- thank god!- see the blog of: April 12, 2009!!

Around & around we drove switch backing up the dense green forested slopes to the Dragon Temple, Pura Lempuyang. One must wear a sarong & sash to gain entry into the temples of Bali.                                          My boys & Joe checking out their sarongs:

Me and my favorite mythological animal- the dragon (I also happen to have been born in the Year of the Dragon)

Here are some photos of this amazing temple:

Okay, I’m going to wind up this series on Bali with some scenes from daily life. Here is a washing machine that has an anti-rat proof base (and with all the mice that get in my rural house in the fall I like this idea!) Speaking of daily life I thought it would be fun to share some of my photos of my studio & the art I have collected in my next blogs…..

Scooters are the vehicle of choice- with families of 4-5 riding on one scooter-including the babies!

a shoe repair man

a country store

a snack cart

a gamelan player (the music of Bali)

a trash can made from an old tire-clever!!

a typical toilet- admit it- you were curious- they also have squat toilets but many are flush with a water bucket or hose for rinsing yourself & 2 buttons for the flusher- one for #1 & one for #2 to save on water- also clever!a

and last but not least- our typical daily view from our cabana on Sanur Beach-see the volcano? (it looks like it is across the water but the land curves around)- big sighs of good memories!!

Where was Mighty Mouse today!!!!?????There was real trouble- it wasn’t just the repetitive dream that I have, where I am in deep trouble & then way off in the distance I hear “Here I come to save the day! Mighty Mouse is on his way!” and as he approaches, getting bigger & bigger, my troubles disappear.

(I chose the postcard of a burning, sinking submarine titled “The Destruction of the Virginia” because Virginia is my first name. )

My dog, Joy, had a big chunk taken out of her side today - I don’t know if it was a coyote or sharp stick that caused the wound. She was running loose on our walk through the woods …she ran super fast ahead of me as I reveled in the aspen trees budding out- a sure sign of spring. Suddenly Joy ran back toward me, every hair standing up on the back of her neck crying in pain-with a big gaping hole in her side. Mighty Mouse where were you!!?? I grabbed her up- no easy task- she weighs 30 lbs, jumped a small stream & struggled up the side of a steep hill to the road- luckily we got a ride to my car & then quickly made it to the Vet- Joy will be fine- lots of stitches and a drain in the wound…….whew!!!

Anyway, this is a painting that will be in the Dreamland Show in Fort Collins at the Poudre Valley Art Center during May. I have 2 others: “To My True Eyes”- where the devil was whispering in one ear while the angel whispered in the other and “My Sister of the Night”  which is about comfort offered during a dream. Check them out on my web if you are interested. In the meantime I am feeling so grateful that Joy will be okay!!!