fieldtrip

Last week we farmed out the kids and the dog, and headed down to Athens GA to see one of my all time favorite people: Patty Griffin.

She was on stage all alone with her guitar (all right, her collection of guitars) and she rocked!

The next day we ran into her downtown when we were getting breakfast and I was starstruck - I couldn't stop grinning, but I didn't bother her.

My hero :)

these are pictures I took

this is from her actual performance in Athens

more cards

These cards are also being wrapped up for the holiday sale. There are some original papercut cards and tags, as well as silk screen notes and cards. I'm looking forward to making some more, to send out to my people. I think I'm even going to sneak in a halloween one, we've been reading "the Witch Family" - one of my all time favorite books!

crazy days

These days have been full of holiday preparations. Working with two ten year olds to make horse heads for halloween costumes (more on that later). 

 Making things for the  holiday sale at The Arts Center. 

silk screened holiday card

soft toys from upcycled materials

 some examples.....

prints

I've wanted to learn to silk screen for a long time, it just seemed to go perfectly with the papercutting process. I don't know why I hesitated so long, I did some experimenting yesterday and now I'm a silkscreening fool - it's so much fun! I love the crisp results, although I can't believe how long the paint is taking to dry. My floors are covered in small test prints, I'll have to rig up some kind of  drying rack.

Happy friday, what are you working on?

simple

Yesterday started with a happy surprise: I won a prize ! Then, my dog caught a chipmunk, my friend celebrated a birthday, and my daughter lost a (baby) tooth - whew, lots of excitement around here :)

Sometimes the simplest things are the most tricky. I'm having fun exploring the possibilities of this idea,  and I thought I'd show you one of the many sketches I'm wrestling with.

I'm also planning for this years christmas parade float/sculpture and all the pre holiday doings at The Arts Center, I've been adding a lot of pins on my virtual boards  - so many great ideas out there!

local

pitcher plant bouquet

Good morning!

 Here is another dangerous plant, if you're a bug (or in some places even a small frog!) We have some smaller Pitcher plants ones here in South Carolina, and they're very beautiful.

Venus

Dionaea muscipula

The Venus Fly Trap looks nice and dangerous, but unless you're a fly or other small insect, you're safe.

I've been having fun with this series of dangerous plants, it makes a good warm up and helps me think carefully about value and color. Last night I saw an enormous opossum slide into the bushes and it made me think of doing nocturnal animals next. 

Fliegenpilz

Amanita muscaria

I've always wondered why so many people are obsessed with this pretty, but toxic, mushroom. It's associated with fairies, and often found in books with gnomes and fairytales. Looking into it, there is a lot of druidic background to the Fly Agaric, and there are a few opinions on how it got it's name. It's more than a little mysterious, and amply deserves a spot in my October gallery.

IF: Mirror

Keeping with the monochromatic pen and ink approach, a creepy approach to this week's Illustration Friday's subject : mirror. It made me think of Snow White, of course, and I discovered a new (to me) version of the fairytale in a poem by Anne Sexton - powerful.

pretty poisonous

In honor of Halloween I've decided to celebrate October with a series of portraits of poisonous plants.

Phytolacca americana

We have a lot of Pokeweed here in South Carolina, and although I knew it was poisonous and grows like, well, a weed, I hadn't given it much thought. It turns out the US constitution was written with ink made from fermented pokeberries. Once you start looking there is a lot of information about the American pokeweed. It 's a "food and medicinal plant",  native americans used to paint arrows, feathers and even horses with juice from the berries, and although every part of the pokeweed is poisonous, it's also a popular food. Surprisingly enough, the berries are the least poisonous part .