Posted on May 6th, 2011
 I’ve been yearning to show at Art Dubai but haven’t quite made it there – yet. My father lived in Bahrain as a teen and having grown up around Middle Eastern art, stories and imagery from my father and grandparents – well, a seed was planted. So, imagine the thrill when I was invited last February to show my encaustic paintings in Dubai at a conference. I can’t tell you much more about the conference but I promise to share more in the future.
The pieces shown were Seed Pod VIII (left) and Seed Pod IX (below). Seed Pod VIII is 6″x6″ and Seed Pod IX is a 12″x12″ diptych. Both pieces are available at DragonFire Studio & Gallery.
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Posted on May 1st, 2011
I was delighted to discover via Google alert that I was featured in Coast Explorer Magazine as one of the new artists at DragonFire Gallery in Cannon Beach. They showed my encaustic painting, Indian Paintbrush, which is one of my favorites!
 Indian Paintbrush
Posted on July 15th, 2010
 Earlier this spring I applied for my first grant. I hadn’t written a grant before. Much to my surprise, I found I loved reading through the application, sleuthing out requirements, researching and writing, writing, writing.
Needless to say, it was very rewarding to receive a Professional Development Grant from theRegional Art and Culture Council which is being used to develop my website. You may have already noticed some changes – my website is growing up from a blog to a full on site. I’m quite excited about the changes as I work with my wonderful WordPress guru, Emanuel Sferios. Stay tuned, because there’s more to come as the summer progresses!
A few more thoughts on my grant experience…
Georgia O’Keeffe once said I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. I have to agree. It’s difficult to find words for all this “art stuff”…especially when it comes from a place that forms far before words ever do. This first grant made me dig for words and find a language to talk about myself as an artist and my work at a level that I hadn’t encountered before.
One of the surprising benefits of this intensive process was the quantum growth that occurred within. A few of the many things I learned are:
- I have a deep connection with the environment so my subject matter and materials and how I use them are essential to me.
- My love of drawing is the foundation for my abstract paintings. The drawings help me study my subject intimately so I can capture its essence as I paint.
- I enjoy the unexpected unity between the plants that inspire me, the bees that pollinate them and the beeswax in my medium.
I will be applying for more grants and similar opportunities (I’ve already recently submitted two others) because I like this process of finding words for who I am and what I’m doing. It’s another new puzzle to solve…very similar to those that challenge me when I’m painting.
Posted on June 24th, 2010
I had the pleasure of meeting Doug Zanger, an exceptional man, writer, involved in The Life Portlandic and Exceptional Women NW Presenter, pdx.fm fella, blogger, producer, voice actor, teacher, proud husband + dad. He’s involved in a fascinating project he launched, collecting and cataloguing the stories of exceptional women throughout the Pacific Northwest. The site says:
Exceptional Women NW is an exploration of achievement, led by women, in Portland, the state of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. We highlight leaders in business & social causes, entrepreneurs, writers, bloggers, artists, designers, free spirits — any woman — anywhere in our area, making a positive impact. These 30-minute conversations celebrate stories of hope, inspiration and success in all walks of life.
Doug interviewed me on pdx.fm and our conversation is posted on Exceptional Women Northwest. We had a great time recalling my path as an artist and where I am today. I love opportunities like this because it gives me a moment to pause and recognize how I’ve grown as an artist and where I’m headed now.
Posted on May 13th, 2010
Last month, on April 17th, I spent the day at Muse Art + Design on Hawthorne creating an encaustic painting for An Artist a Day, an annual event that auctions off original works of art to benefit Schoolhouse Supplies. This wonderful event is a great community builder dreamt up by Muse Art owner, Peter Rossing. Each year 30+ artists contribute their time and talent and spend a day painting in the Muse art window. It’s wonderful to see how different artists work and develop a piece. It was great to talk with all the visitors who came through the store to learn more about the work. I even got to spend time with some of my former students which was really nice! It’s also fun to see all the different kinds of artwork that are available for auction. The auction ends tonight, Thursday, May 13th. Opening bids are $75 and can be placed over the phone or via email. Join us tonight for the reception and auction from 6-8 PM. Below are some pictures from my day painting.
Here is my set-up. Very bright and comfortable. I enjoyed painting in a big window and having people watch and ask questions.
These are the first layers of my piece. There are about 8 layers here. People asked when I was going to start painting. It made me laugh! Building a surface is painting!
Here I’m fusing the layers of wax together. I love my new big blow torch!
I begin my paintings with a blind contour drawing by scribing lines deep into the wax. I need about 6-8 layers of wax before I can do this which is why it takes so long to get “to the painting” part. I also always paint from a subject. This day I was working from a photograph of a beautiful, purple hibiscus flower. Once the lines are carved into the wax, I drizzle hot wax, in this case Payne’s Gray, into the lines.
Once the drizzled color has cooled lines, I carve away the drippings which reveals an inlaid line of color.
After the lines are cleaned, I begin to add veils of color, building layer upon layer.
Here I’ve added red, yellow and other colors to the layers.
This is where I stopped at the end of the day.
Another three hours of building color, blending edges and fusing layers resulted in the finished piece. Come tonight and bid on this piece!
Posted on March 20th, 2010
I was interviewed earlier this week by Dr. Lorraine Haataia who is an expert in business improvement and green design for environmental sustainability and waste reduction. She wanted to see my studio and why I’ve adopted a greener, more earth friendly approach to creating my art.
We had a hearty conversation about how being green is a personal choice and while we can’t eliminate what influence we have on our environment, we can certainly make choices about how to minimize our impact. Here is an excerpt from the article:
As being green and sustainable practices are being implemented in business, I would like to see businesses take their commitment a step further by purchasing/leasing art from artists who share the similar philosophies about being green. I would like to see a new breed of art patron emerge, that of the eco-art collector. These are people and organizations that use their dollars and support artists and their art who are considering their materials, studio practices and personal philosophy and in some cases, even their subject matter.
You can read my interview in it’s entirety on Lorraine’s blog: Greening Business Everyday.
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