Sunday January 30, 2011

Whew~ another one of those long weekends, so that I feel like this going back to work tomorrow will be a break!  I've been painting in preparation for a few shows and opps coming up (not OOPS;  OPPS!) and feel like I'm kinda getting my grove back~

We are hopefully getting Duane's house on the market this week (and if you know us well, you know what a struggle THAT has been, and you've probably been over helping, so THANK YOU!) and he's actually over there right now clearing stuff up for the Truth In Housing Inspection tomorrow morning that my uncle Dick (who is in town from Baltimore because my 97 year old grama isn't doing well, and he just had dinner with us) said is unique to MN, lucky us.  It does feel like a ridiculous bunch of hoops to have to jump through, and we KNOW we aren't going to walk away from this house without damage, but I really appreciate Duane wanting to do it RIGHT and not just say "screw it".  Though I have to admit there are many (MANY) times that I feel like saying "SCREW IT!" at the top of my lungs.  I'm just sitting here, trying to focus on being grateful for all the glory in my life, and trying to keep the worrying at bay, because I do NOT know what is going to happen and if I keep looking at all the "what if?s"  my life will be full of a bunch of negative crap I have no control over and I'll be depressed and crabby and make my reality a hell.  SO I am choosing to be Pollyanna-ish and just hope for the best and keep foraging ahead.

Yup, that's it in a very large nutshell.

And this is my cat Toby...
he was my solace and comfort from my first apartment on my own to the first house my ex-husband and I owned.  I loved him a lot.

PINE CITY, Here I COME!

I spent the last weekend in Pine City at my friend's family cabin with a pack of my art-car-girl friends and it was WONDERFUL!  Aside from the smoke from the small kitchen oven (oven-mitts in there once, I think spilled-something burning the next time) which entirely filled the small space plus the wood stove's smoke, and the fact that I couldn't breathe until one of the women lent me her inhaler, it was stupendously productive for me, with 15 small paintings completed!  Three are commissions (one I can't post for a bit) and two others are of our accompanying dogs, and the other ten are all of the area around the cabin!

And here's the crazy thing, the thing I like the best, because somehow these things happen when you really don't try, and things magically come together and it really isn't a big deal but it is pretty cool, and here it is; I am having a SHOW at the Pine Center for the Arts in February!  I knew this before I knew where the girls' weekend was going to be!  And when I found out this wonderful symmetry, it just cracked me up!  And I was there with the perfect group of people with whom to chat and paint around a big table while they played Boggle and Frackle and other odd games!  I couldn't believe I got so much done- I can't wait to see them UP!  And it is so great to know they will be hanging in the area they were PAINTED!  Ain't that cheesy great?!
And I have been having a difficult time getting my painting going since X-mas...
whew!
So there it is!  I'll post a couple here~  and put the rest on my Facebook album!

...Yes, it is a new year- and I realized I didn't get June in on that last post!  So here she is~  I've been taking it a bit easy the last week, catching up and getting over a hacking, dripping, sneezy, crabby cold, probably caught from darling Max who Duane is teaching to cough and sneeze into his sleeve but who still mostly blows all over everything in his path including food and us.
I purposely left Jan open, and then jumped on a chance to have a show at the Blaine City Hall this month, with an opening on Jan 18th, 6-ish to 8 I think, with Layl McDill and Rita Schaefer-Seaton-  
To my surprise, Blaine City Hall is within a half an hour of our house, so if you are able to come for the opening, that would be great!
And then mom said she and I are invited to show at Bethesda Hospital this Feb and March, and I have a solo show at the Pine City Arts Center too in Feb, with that opening on Feb 11th!
Wow~  so much for trying not to plan anything...


And I spent some more time working on painting Max over break.  Not terribly happy-  really realizing I need to commit to painting daily again to keep this visual sense of color that I LOVE.  Too frustrating to let it go for a week and then try to pull it up again~
so, a possible "30 In 30" may happen this late winter...
kat~

Crap! December 23rd!!!!!

Ack!  Man, I've been SWAMPED which is GREAT but keeps me from things like POSTING to this wonderful blog!  Here's a few of the reasons I've been busy-  this sweet Dobie was just commissioned YESTERDAY but I thought I'd try and be a Christmas elf and get it done by Christmas anyway!  Still gotta dry and be varnished... but I like it~! 
and then there's loveable Duncan and loveable Baby and the solid and trusting and loyal June~  so many great dogs, so little time!  I did decide last night to work on some Max paintings... people are SO much harder for me than dogs, and houses, and power poles, and trees...
So life moves and flows and there is lots of snow on the ground and we are happy and have runny noses and sneezes but big family time is here and there's lots to do and people to see and Duane is working on his house to try to get it on the market by january but I doubt that's gonna happen so we'll need to cover his mortgage for a while longer so if you know anyone who would love a painting of their dog or house or tree, send 'em to me!
Happy Holidays, hope you are healthy too, and loving whatever particular aspect of your world you are in right now!  You do realize this is all temporary, right?  Appreciate the heck out of it!!!!
lovekat~

December 7th!

 Yes, look it is a KITTY!!!!!   What?  And another one!  Wow!  Don't tell my sister, but that's her X-mas present...  the black one there- it is her kitty Boots in the bathtub~  she lives in Cambridge, England and will be home for Christmas!  Yay!  Hmm, is there a British word for "bathtub"?

I had a great time at the Art & Soul Sale this weekend and actually got a couple commissions going and got this one of Boots done!  So much fun~  i do like doing these holiday sale thingies, especially since I end up trading stuff for presents for people so we don't even have to spend money!  LOVE the barter system!

And this here loungey kitty in front of the fire is Bailey~  such a sweet face-  Hopefully, her owners appreciate it as much as I do.  It is fun having a home studio, where my art is out and on view for whoever comes in, because I end up getting spontaneous critiques all the time which helps me clarify in my own head and heart what it is that I am doing.  I had several people respond
strongly to Bailey with affection-  I think it is her eyes and how she is clearly
looking to the viewer to pet her,  her front paw reaching out towards you...

 

Awww, our pets and how much we love them-  they DO teach us how to be better humans, don't they?

Thursday December 2!

Crickey!  It's already the last month of 2010!  I had a hard time adjusting to 2000 as it was, and NOW it's TEN YEARS LATER~  AAAAAAGH!
I am still painting steadily along-  here is a house-portrait I need to deliver darn soon~  and a couple crayon-encaustic things I'm playing with, trying to figure out if this will work with my middle school students or not....  hot wax + adolescents+ creativity can be a great combo, in small controlled doses....

I am LOVING the sunshine coming in my large classroom windows this morning-  I took public transportation earlier this week and have appreciated the fact of being outside for small amounts of time, and then the luxury of someone else doing the driving~  and being in the air is SUCH a good thing, but the SUN this morning, I LOVE!  I drove today because I needed to bring some bigger paintings for our Holiday Sale which starts today at 2pm at St Albert the Great in S Mpls!  Its the Art & Soul 13th Annual Holiday Sale~  I'll be there tonight, tomorrow and sat from 10 to 5~  let me know if you want more info!
love kat~

Wed! Nov 24~

Yippee for winter weather and our warnings of them! Such a lovely day- I constructed two and a half FRANKENSWEATERS and three FRANKEN-shirts and hung out with Max and now Duane is outside with a fire while I try to deal with business stuff.... yup this IS business! And here is the Cat portrait I did for Laurel two weeks ago! See, the deal is that Duane had this on HIS camera because I had to go to work and called and said, "Hey! I didn't get ANY photos of Lori and me and I didn't get any of that painting either! Take some!" and being the wonderfully obliging pic-taking man he is, he took pics for me! SO this is some cats, Lori's roommate's to be exact, and there was a party going on around me while I painted this since there just hasn't been a lot of time lately to sit and luxuriously paint (or bathe, or read, or just good-old-fashioned WOOL GATHER either!) and it was Lori's "Welcome Home For A Few Days After Leaving Us All And Moving To Portland Over Two Years Ago" Party so I HAD to get it done. It was Fun! Have you heard of the band Cloud Cult, where two of the band members paint while on stage performing? Well, really, that's my ideal situation. I hate to feel I'm missing out on anything. I'm not one of those solitary crabby elusive hermit austure artists at all, in case you didn't realize that. I like people.
ANYWAY~
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for listening!
xokat~

Nov 22! MOnday of Thanksgiving Week~

Wow i do NOT like winter driving... maybe someday we'll own one of those heavy thick tired monsters that seem to never get stuck, but for the moment, I keep planning on adding more mirror bits to my hood because the mazda is just SO slidey! It's just not heavy enough, I guess~ and it scares the heck outa me! Ack. Duane actually said if I have trouble leaving school this afternoon, I can call and he and Max will come and get me, because he KNOWS how crazy I get.

ANYWAY-

this is the first human NOT related to me that I've painted! And it didn't turn out half bad! It was for his 2nd birthday and for his privacy I will not reveal his name unless you e-mail me and ASK me! And some of you know who he is, I am sure! But I was happy to see I CAN paint other people than those I live with. I am not ready to start painting people for other people yet so don't ask. I am only just starting on cats!

xookat!

November 15th MOnday!

And here we are smack-dab in the middle of November! Wow!~ My best friend from my mid-adulthood Laurel is in town and it's been a HOOT but dang, I have conferences tonight and tomorrow and she leaves wed noonish- bummer... and this weekend is the HandmadeMN sale at the Ballentine VFW on Lyndale near Lake, from 10 to 5! Come see me! It will be fun- new FRANKENstuff! Just finished a couple black acrylic skirts~ we'll see how they go- We had a funeral for my Aunt this past weekend and I needed a black skirt... turns out the funeral was an awful lot of FUN! Max had tons of cousins to romp with and I couldn't stop grinning... I may have been offensive to a few people, but I figured the kids need to know one another, and the living need to live!

And I have been cranking on Commissions too! If you or someone you know thinks they want one done by Christmas, tell 'em to get a move on or it ain't gonna happen! Here's a couple sweet pups to be getting on with, and I have a number of new cats coming up next.....

"Happy!"

this is Happy! I haven't met her yet, but she sure seems to epitomize the word for me so far! Such a fun face to paint! And this summer I was complaining about painting white dogs....

Wow! So if you or someone you know was wanting a commission for X-mas, let 'em know there's still time! We're needing to pay the 2 mortgages yet, so we need the extra! And I have some slots open!!!!

And it looks like I'm being forced to paint cats now too....

stay tuned- I'll let you know how it goes....!

xokat

Thursday October 28th!

Sheesh! Yes, I HAVE been painting, just not having time to post- HERE! these are Tessa, a Sheltie, a commission from South Dakota~ I'm liking them quite a bit~ a few more to go for this particualr order! Then I have another house, a few more dogs, a cat and a request to try another child...... we'll see about that!

Mom & Max Movie....

just thought you could use a laugh.... it was a long weekend- not very successful at the Convention Center and felt lousy most of it, so took a sick day yesterday~

I'll be getting back to painting tonight! watch for another commission or two tomorrow...

xokat!

oh and me and some FRANKENSWEATERS will be at Sue Hensel's Wild Wool Market this sat 10 to 4! click here for her gallery link!

Thursday October 14th!

Wow~ life is freaking FAST these days! Monday night I made 2 FRANKENSWEATERS for this weekend at the Expo at the Convention Center, Tuesday I took down my stuff at the Firehouse for the L-7 show (SUPER fun! Hope you were able to make it!), and last night after getting a really snotty Max in the tub and then into bed while Duane went to Ethan's Memorial at the Cedar all night, I got one more FRANKENS done, and another fixed as the button broke while it was in the "fluff" setting in the dryer... and now I am uploading student work to our Artsonia gallery- here is a sample!

These are "Scrap Paper Monsters" made from ACTUAL SCRAPS out of my classroom scrap paper boxes.... aren't they GREAT?! I showed them how to just pull out any old scrap and determine it as the head, and then another and make it the body, ect ect ect.... kids are just SO MUCH FUN!

I wonder if adults would be such a hoot to teach? Maybe if I were to include some alcohol in the mix.....

tuesday Oct 4th!

Whew~ feel MUCH better today- had a bit of a mental crisis the last few days, feeling overwhelmed with responsibility and financial strain, and not enough relaxing time, and really NEVER getting to sleep in because of the wee one's sleep habits (not that they are BAD, seeing as he goes to sleep before 7pm most nights... he just wakes up around 5:30am....). Somedays you just want a day off. Ah well. As they say, plenty of time for sleeping when yer dead-

SO here is a very recent commission I completed on an evening when darling Max went to sleep before 7pm, and Duane was watching a PBS show about black mamba snakes in South Africa and the woman and her husband who rescue them from houses... I don't think there are any snakes in this house tho...

It has been WONDERFUL the number of people who have seen my houses and now are commissioning me to do theirs! I guess it never occurred to me that people might want a painting of their house...

This is in the Seward neighborhood, by the way....

Kat!

Sept 30th~

Today, Max is officially a year and a half! Seems like he's been around forever. The amazing ability of humans to change and adapt and accept and grow never fails to bring me to tears on really good days.

SO this is Amos the Bobcat, I painted him for my friend who works at the Wild Cat Sanctuary for a fundraiser they are having in the next week or so. She was showing me a short video last night of a gorgeous tiger they just got from Texas... you may expect a few more cats to show up shortly...

Sept 27th Monday!

Working my way through a lovely pile of commissions! THIS one I would almost like to keep! Sweet Westie in a pile of leaves, really fun to do, lots of blue with orange accents...

The Birchwood Cafe show has been an amazing opportunity for me- so many people have seen my work there! And it is just a great place to be! I will be there again this Sat, Oct 2 from 2 to 5 for the Seward Art Festival and will be taking down the show on Sunday eve~ and THEN a bunch of it will be at our L-7 3rd Annual Firehouse Show on Sat Oct 9th! So many fun events coming up!

I also spent most of yesterday SEWING- man, I forget how much I NEED to do that side of my creative brain too. Making FRANKENStuff is like sculpting and designing and thinking three-dimensionally because I have to figure out how the piece will fit better with what I add or take away. It is all pretty intuitive. I've wanted to teach classes on how to cut up old clothes and reclaim them, especially as I've gotten older and my body has changed and so has the style of my clothes, but I have those old favorites that I want to hold onto somehow... so many Art Car t-shirts that were from that "cropped" period... don't really expect the muffin-tops to melt any time soon. So my biggest challenge has been to figure out how to extend a t-shirt for more coverage....
I will have the newest ones at the Firehouse show, if you are interested!

so much to do, so many things to make!

September 24th!

Mom and my Art Opening last night at the Women's Building (550 Rice St, St. Paul) went beautifully! It took Duane and Max and I an hour to get there through rush hour traffic and flooded streets and two stalled cars on 94- Never let me forget how thankful I am to NOT have to drive on a highway to get to work...

Mom and Dad had a great time too~ and the WARM Board arranged to have their meeting THERE in a smaller conference room so they all got to see our work too. Everyone was very helpful. We had a drawing every half hour and gave away art and cards- SO much fun!

Now, tomorrow, Sat the 25th, I will be somewhere in Uptown near the VFW on Lyndale and Lake St for a street festival with the HandmadeMN crew- I don't know much about this event, but click above for some info. I guess I will be there from 2 to 4 with FRANKENSWEATERS and some small paintings... lots of bands... we haven't done it before. I'll letcha know if we do it again..

And I will be at the Birchwood next Saturday, Oct 2 from 2 to 5 for the Seward Art Festival if you care to stop by! It has been wonderful being there! I will have a drawing for a small painting too!

xokat!

Sept 17, Fri

It has been a busy and fullfilling week. What is this, the second week of school? It is funny how we humans so easily adapt to new situations. It feels like a very long time ago that I was home with Max, avoiding the heat by going to the lake, altho our electric bill is reflecting the air conditioner use... what I mean is, now THIS is normal, to be in my art room again, talking, teasing, cajoling, convincing, learning along with my students as we explore the various aspects of art and how to use it in our lives. I am so lucky!

And here is a breakfast experience for you to enjoy! This sunday is the 3rd Sunday of September, so we will be having our 3rd Sunday Brunch! I started them about 6 years ago and have missed a few, this July for one. If you are around and would like to drop by, come on over!
kat~

Sept 15th!!!!

COME to the Birchwood tonight!!! 7 to 9pm!

I will love to see you!

And we can share some wine!

xoxokat!~

Ha! Septemeber 12th~

Cripes is it HARD to find time to paint! I tell ya, what with hanging a show with mom and painting the trim on Duane's house's porch and laundry and dust bunnies the size of alligators crawling down the stairs I have to do a LOT of pretending not to notice things that usually I would be all over taking care of in order to get some GOOD WORK done!
I've been working on a lot of commissions which is simply amazing and what I've always wanted to do~ and so to give myself a slight break from the "pressure" of striving really hard to get an excellent piece done that the client will really appreciate, I decided to dig into my "when you have free time, maybe you could paint my dog.." file and pulled out this one~ excellent crazy blurred full speed photo~
This is Claudia's wonderful full-size full-speed dog Charlie~ she took the photo~ I think it pretty well expressed his personality~ I do really like it when I get to meet the dog~

and so don't panic if you've asked me to play with your photo of your dog- you never know- I may get to it sooner than you think! Of course, if you really want it done by a certain time frame, you'd better let me know~

xoxokat!
oh and COME SEE ME AT THE BIRCHWOOD ON WEDNESDAY! 7 to 9! I'll have WINE and SWEETS!!!!
and art, of course...