After a holiday hiatus...

The eventful solstice/full moon/eclipse is behind us as well as the Christmas and New Year gatherings, expectations and reflections.  As I sit down to reconnect with my blog and write this, the first week of January is coming to an end, and snow is falling and gently covering the trees and ground with fresh and beautiful white. 

Like the new white, untouched snow, the new year seems fresh and yet ripe with both potential and uncertainty and the unknown.  For me, this new year is not one of joyful resolutions and brightly optimistic plans.  Instead it feels positive but serious...mysterious.  This is a time of deepening and reflecting on myself, my heart, on my relationships and on my path as I continually create the life I lead and desire to lead.  This is what I'll call my striving of being and becoming.  The striving of appreciating and being present in the moments that are my life and the striving of continually and consciously making choices that create a fulfilling, positive, creative and authentic life. 

I missed writing and sharing over the last few weeks as this blog has become a pleasurable way to personally and publicly journal using photos, thoughts, ideas, art work, garden work and music.  Very soon there will be more posts that are already in the works showing recent art work that I created in the time I wasn't posting, trees, thoughts on study & the creative process.... stay posted.  For now, here are some pictures I want to share.  They were taken between my last post and now.  Then, very soon, in a couple days, something fresh and so 2011!

During the hiatus I spent good time in my cheerful and cozy living room, thinking in front of the wood stove and Christmas tree  and enjoying the quiet light and warmth.

My very, very special friend, Gilligan, joined me on the couch for cozy hugs a lot of the time.  Una, my other very, very special kitty friend joined us too!   They are such good company!

Oh, and there was the pre-Christmas Italian food extravaganza at the infamous Northampton neighborhood eatery, Joes, with a dear friend.  We had a blast and honestly couldn't get over the amount of food we ordered!  A couple other diners marveled at our spread, shared some laughs and took our picture before we dug in.

... and finally a photo of a cold and bright winter sundown taken earlier this week as I pulled up the road on my way home from work.  I see this as an image telling of bright and positive things, actions, creations and manifestations ahead.  Wishing you good things this new year...

Night Light in NYC

 

 

I do not have a lot of words to share today...just pictures of sparkly winter light taken this past weekend in NYC.  The approaching full moon makes an appearance and gives it's reflection of light, peaking over and in between tall buildings and lighted trees.  Tomorrow is winter solstice, the full moon and a lunar eclipse.  It is a big day to celebrate indeed.

Study of light

This time of year becomes a study of light.  The days fly by and moments are marked by sunlight streaming through windows.  Light marks it's way quickly angling rays through rooms in my house, the room in the vintage poster studio where I work, through clouds on the western horizon as I drive home in the afternoon, across fields that are cold and dusted with snow. 

Trees become dark silhouettes in the twilight and at dawn with shades of  blues and purples hugging every angle and curve of their branches and trunks. 

In the late afternoon my house darkens and I light candles, turn on lights, the fire sends a glow through the living room.  I have my Christmas tree up and decorated as of this morning and will enjoy my first evening with it admiring it's colorful lights and shiny light reflecting ornaments.

I finished three paintings last week.  All are studies of light.  I made another lighted doorway study and two are studies of glowing light.  I want to share them with you. 

I'm mesmerized by the radiating qualities of light and fall in love with how light changes and shifts our perception of color.  Light silently passes from it's origin and affects all around it. 

 

Above is an image taken of the two light studies in my studio.  You can get a peak of where I work.  And finally a closer look at the glowing, radiating orb.

Walkabout this Saturday

 

Three households on Stage Road, where I live, have collaborated to create a winter walkabout to celebrate our work, our creativity, our industry, our local economy, history and beauty in Cummington, MA.  Above are four postcards showing images that represent who we are and what we do here on our road.  Our group includes artists, designers/inventors, musicians, farmers and cows.  You can park your car and walk our lovely, hilly road. 

I'm so happy to be a part of creating something that brings together community, creates community and showcases the diverse talents of my neighbors.  I wish you could all make it on over for a visit and a cup of soup but I know some of you live far away. 

Here are links to the websites of the participants:
  Leni Fried Designs
  One - Off Hand Cycles
  Radio Free Earth
  Gordan's Fold Registered Highland Cattle

The Mystery

"Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist."

~ Rene Magritte

This photo was taken at Mass MOCA from an exhibit called Material World:  Sculpture to Environment  which is on view until February 2011.

A Heart and Turkeys for Thanksgiving

My friend's Lauren and Erik raised turkeys at their farm this year.  I was over at their place a few times this month and always spent at least five minutes watching the flock of turkeys and talking to them.  They would come right over to greet me upon my arrival, probably hoping for some grain.  When I said something to the flock they would collectively gobble up a storm in return.  It was so comical.    They really are neat looking: prehistoric and dinosaur like I think!  These two toms posed in a heart shape for me...handsome, eh?

Hope you have a lovely day....

Art, Cheap?

Claymation figures that were made by my students at Balboa City School in San Diego, CA back in 2004.  Yes, we made awesome movies too!  Past life moment.... I taught visual art for 6 years in secondary schools.

I feel I need to say more about my ideas on art and economics.  This word CHEAP, in regards to The Why Cheap Art Manifesto, has been making me feel a bit edgy since I posted my thoughts on how I am going to go about selling my work here on my blog.

First of all, I see Bread and Puppets’ Cheap Art Manifesto as a humorous yet provocative statement.  I chose to post this on my blog because it is a simple, idealistic, political yet funny statement that relates to some ideas about how I want to sell my work. 

However, I realize that the word cheap is a loaded word especially in relationship to art.

By no means do I think of art which is well conceived and executed with an artist’s soulful expression as cheap, meaning that is of little value, vulgar, or inferior.  Creative expression is hugely valuable!   This word Cheap, as used in Bread and Puppets’ Manifesto, means that there should not be walls between the elite collectors, corporate collectors and museums charging fixed and often high admission fees, and a viewing audience or consumer.  Art needs to be accessible to everyone regardless of economic status.  Artists also need to be valued by society.  It is wonderful when we artists can receive something in return for our energy and sharing.  Money is very nice.  However I believe that art cannot be consumed just to increase one’s investment portfolio or show one’s elite standing or status.

Art is humankind’s life blood.  It moves one, it tells stories, it is a record of where we’ve been and where we are going.  Art is at times mysterious, sublime, painful, exuberant, dreamlike, super realistic, reflective, beautiful, ugly and the list goes on because art’s expressions are infinite.  Art, whether it is visual art, performance art, music, theater, film, poetry or story, is meant to be shared, enjoyed, pondered over and discussed.  How do we put a price tag on this?

Full Frost Moon

"Illumination"  2004    Kimberly H. Wachtel

"If the moon shows a silver shield,

 Be not afraid to reap your fields."

The Farmer's Almanac Gardening calendar that hangs in my studio has the above quote written under the name of this month's full moon, The Full Frost Moon or Beaver Moon.  The quote fits in perfectly with my thoughts and actions in relation to this full moon.

A cool book I have called "The Secret Language of  Symbols" states:  "The full moon echos the symbolism of the circle to signify wholeness, completion and achievement." 

The Full Frost Moon has brought with it a heightened time of self reflection.  As I turn towards winter and the darker, colder months ahead I take stock of the past year.  I think about what I am thankful for, what I have accomplished, who I am, where I've been, where I'm going, what to let go of and what to hold on to. 

The full moon illuminates,  like the title of my painting above suggests.  It provides an opportunity to look at time passing, how the cycles shift and shine light on one's achievements, talents, shortcomings and/or areas of needed work.  I gather my harvest, take stock of what has been gained and lost and move towards the darker months.  This is a fertile time of dreaming and creating.  My gardens are just about put to bed and I'm ready to move forward with the next cycle of growth.  As of this week I'm back in my studio drawing and painting.   A month and a half ago I began studying music theory on the keyboard with a great teacher and I practice, practice, practice.  I sing everyday.  I'm reading books that go along with my interests and relate to what I am learning.  I meet with a talented and gifted artist, mentor, friend regularly for meaningful conversations, reflections and work.  All this is so rich and important to me especially after some big personal decisions that were made earlier this year.   This is coming from someone who was intently considering and applying to go to school and get another formal degree at a college or university but this time in music.   I could have been in Boston attending Berklee School of Music this winter but honestly I am so happy with my decision to create a course of study using local teachers and resources.  I can feed my head and my soul in the comfort of my home and in my community.  I look forward to sharing more thoughts on my studies in future blog entries.  Stay Posted.  Happy Full Frost Moon to you!

The Why Cheap Art Manifesto, Bread and Puppets

I'm changing how I sell my work on this blog because I've been thinking a lot about the economics of art and the current state of the economy.   Before this recent election I became convinced that my voice, power, choices and vote are expressed most honestly and clearly through how I choose to spend my MONEY.  What do I want to support in this world? Art? Yes.  Beauty? Yes.  Local Healthy Organic Food/Farms? Yes.  Local Business?  Yes.  People and organizations that create positivity in my community and in the world? YES!!!  

So, I'm making some changes.  Here are my thoughts:

I've been thinking about how to get my art out there in the world. How can I sell it and share it?  How can I make it available in a way that is fair and takes into account the buyer's budget and/or skills along with my dream to earn some income using my talents?  

A friend of mine from years past and I were very interested in starting a cafe that ran on the principle of "Pay What You Can" based on the idea that almost all human beings are inherently good. The idea is that those who have a padded wallet will pay equal or more than the value of the product.  Those who are more financially strapped will pay equal or what they can. Those who are truly hungry and lack the ability to pay money will be fed anyway and can perhaps trade a skill in return.  I know this idea is idealistic but to me there is something inherently honest about it.  An economic yet energetic exchange can feel respectful from both sides.

Like Bread and Puppets states in its Why Cheap Art Manifesto, art, beauty, the food of the soul need to be available to everyone.  At the same time many artists including myself want to get their ideas, images, songs, poetry out there and share them.  Art requires an audience. The dynamic relationship between the artist and audience -- however difficult due to economic and social restraints -- must exist for there to be an active creative spirit threaded through society.  

In case you are wondering, Bread and Puppets is a theater troupe based in Vermont.  On Halloween I saw them do a political, funny, circus like performance at The Northampton Center for the Arts.  I highly recommend seeing them if they come through your town.

I am taking the prices off my paintings and future creations here on this blog.  Those of you who are truly interested in having a creation of mine can come to me, email me, call me and we can have a conversation.  I can't give my art away, but one can make an offer that feels fair to them and that takes into account their personal budget ($$$ or barter) with the hope from my end that they see value in the time, energy and materials it takes to create something unique.  My idea is that one person might pay $50 cash plus $50 worth of locally grown vegetables while another may have a skill I want to learn that they can teach me in exchange.  A person might have $500 cash to pay for a painting while another person might have a piece of artwork, clothing, jewelry, furniture or other handmade item that we can exchange.  I am interested in having open conversations to see how this approach can work.  If you want something that I have created to have a home with you, lets talk!  If you want to talk more about these ideas, let's talk!

Rescued Hummingbird and Junco

My friend found this video on you tube and posted it on Facebook.  I watched it this morning after having a bird rescue experience of my own yesterday afternoon.  It's so sweet to watch human caretakers nurse an injured baby hummingbird back to health.  Also, it is so interesting for me to see the kinds of attachments animals of all kinds form with one another.

Gilligan, my cat, brought a Junco into the house through the cat door and proceeded to drop it on the floor next to me as I was making a butternut squash casserole.  I hoped it wasn't dead and it was not.  It picked itself up and flew into a few windows as Gilligan chased it, hot in pursuit.  Luckily I grabbed Gilligan just before he got the bird between his teeth again, put him in the bathroom and firmly shut the door behind me as I went out to the living room to look for the poor, distressed bird.  I shut all the doors in the house but couldn't find the bird.  Where did it go?  I went back to the casserole I was making as Una, my female cat, came in through the cat door.  Then the Junco jumped up from behind the coach and perched itself on the window sill above it.  Una zoned in as I caught her just in time to put her in my second bedroom.  The poor bird was panting and covered in the dust bunnies it picked up when it disappeared behind the couch.  It let me gently take it in my hands and laid there with its eyes half closed as it caught it's breath with one foot firmly gripping my pinky as if to hold on for dear life.  I inspected it for puncture wounds, blood, ect. but it looked okay other then missing a number or feathers from it's tail and back.  I just stood in my living room for a few moments holding this warm, light, soft being in my hand and looked into its bright, shining eye as I sent wishes to it, praying it would be okay and survive this trauma.  I took it outside to a Hemlock tree near where a flock or Juncos were hanging out and gently positioned its feet on a small branch in the tree.  It held on, standing there breathing and resting as I walked away to give it space to fly off when it was ready to be with the flock. 

Rocktober with THEM covering Dylan

I drove home to my parents house this past weekend in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  It was a beautiful drive as the colors of the leaves on the trees seemed to intensify and quadruple as I drove south from the late fall color and barer trees around my hilltown home.  As I pulled off the crowded New Jersey highway onto a beautiful country road in Clinton, NJ, I tuned in to one of my favorite radio stations of all time, Princeton's student run college station, 103.3 wprb.  The young woman was playing an eclectic assortment of music...an Indian raga sounding song from the 60's with a psychedelic electric guitar solo, followed by a discordant and synchopated Indonesian song sung by male and female voices, then the song that really captured my attention and fit my mood and the scenery perfectly.

Here's a little history before I continue on about that moment.  Since high school I always had a thing for listening to Bob Dylan in the fall.  My best friend and I would call October "Rocktober" and put Dylan and Neil Young on heavy rotation as we took long drives around the Pennsylvania countryside.  The feel of the music, the sound and the lyrics pulled at our melancholy, pensive, soul searching heart strings.  Hearing Bob Dylan songs in the fall still does this to me.

Back in my car last Thursday, the sound of a sparse, rhythmic electric bass with a 1960's tamborine shaking slowly filled my car's speakers and pulled me into some hypnotic trance.  Then a twirling, spinning sounding keyboard/organ/electric guitar came in adding a lovely layer of sound.  "What song is this!" I thought.

"You must leave now take what you need you think will last..." sang a male voice.  It was, It's All Over Now Baby Blue, but a version I had never heard before.  I listened for a few seconds... "Ah, that's Van Morrison!"  Wow, what a great rendition of this song!  Van Morrison breathed a whole new life into it and sang the song with such feeling.  Turns out this song was recorded in 1966 by a Belfast band called Them featuring Van Morrison.  Driving over the hills and valleys of New Jersey horse country on that late afternoon/early twilight in a full moon rising moment with this song filling my car and head with it's sound, I was in autumn heaven.  Here's the song for you to enjoy: 

My Friend, Razvan Mitulescu, and His Creations...

Here's a great picture my friend, Razvan, holding one of his sculptures which is made out of wood coffee stirrers.  He is a wonderful person, artist, and friend.  His perceptions, insights and taste are always interesting for me to hear about and see in his work, in our conversations and correspondence.  I really, really love his creations because they seem to come from a world of dreams.  His images and sculptures are akin to those that were made seventy or so odd years ago by the dada-ists and surrealists in France, Germany, New York and elsewhere.  I like his world of fantastic beauty and danger, a world where the mythical and mechanical, the spirited and human-made mingle and sometimes collide.  His drawings on paper spill over with images that speak the language of the visual and dreamlike unconscious.  Some images I read like words on a page and others are what they are and seep into my mind in an intuitive, pleasing and wordless way.  Themes and images repeat themselves in his work: key holes, fish, eyes, mechanical gears, wheels and sensuous organic shapes both abstract and in human, animal and plantlike forms.  Each drawing tells a story with the symbolic language that Razvan is speaking.  I like to create stories about his pieces in my mind.  What do you see in yours?

Razvan came to North America from Romania where my husband, Josh, met him while in the Peace Corps in the late 90's.  I was lucky to have visited and gotten to know Razvan and his wife, Eleana, in Bucharest, Romania while they were still living there 6 or 7 years ago when Josh and I spent a month in Hungary and Romania.  Our friends are the loveliest people and hosts, eager to show us around, make us comfortable, cook us delicious Romanian delicacies and share with us their cultural heritage.  Razvan and Eleana are creative souls who openly talk about their interests, thoughts and feelings and I really love this about them.

Razvan lives with Eleana and son, Dari in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  He's made his home there with his family for the past three years.  He carves out a living for himself and his family as a mechanical designer.  I admire that despite living a full and busy life, spending time with his family and earning a living as a designer,  he still manages to make time for himself, his drawings, sculpture and music.  There is a lot more art, music, and inspirations to check out on his website and blog:  Ochiade  and Ochiade: Blog


Please scroll down to see some examples of his artwork.  The following are some of my favorite drawings of his.  Enjoy!

"Horizontal Spring"

"Falls"

"Late Night Fish-o-Jazz"

 "Status"

"The Legend"

"The Poem Who Stole the Horse"

There's no place like home... Cummington! Part 4

Here are some pictures taken during a beautiful weekend spent here in the hills.  Cummington, MA is an amazing town for many reasons and I'm happy to call it home.  The autumn beauty found across the hills and valleys is breathtaking and one of the reasons this place is so special.  Enjoy!

So much to say...where to begin?

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I have not posted anything on my blog for a very long time.  It's really not for a lack of interesting news, thoughts and tidbits to share.  Life has been full and good. 

At this point, I'm not sure what I want to share, start with ... ?   How about I blurt it all out here then in future posts slowly develop thoughts, stories and examples complete with pictures, songs, poetry, stories, evidence?   Well, I'll just list a few highlights of the past few weeks here...
Hopefully, then, I will feel jumpstarted into continuing to share my thoughts and creations on this here blog.

1. My paintings are hanging in Keene, NH at the Colonial Theater gallery space.  I will be up there hosting an open studio during Keene's world famous Pumpkin Festival.  Friday, 10/15/10.  Yeah, my paintings are pretty nifty but you really don't want to miss the 30,000 or so jack-o-lanterns lining Main St. that night! 

2.  After going to into the recording studio with Appalachian Still, a local bluegrassy, oldtimey, rootsy band, to record one of their original songs back in August, I joined them onstage at their CD release party at the Iron Horse a few weeks ago.  The whole experience was great.  Check out the CD, Feelin' Alive on CD Baby.  I sing "Nothing Left to Say", # 14 on the album.

3.  Singing Jackson (yes that Johnny and June Carter Cash ditty) last Saturday a bunch of times with my friend, Mike Jennings and other guys from The Mike Hooker Experience and (one time that night with) The Bum Steers at a fundraiser in honor of Fred Knittle from The Young at Heart Chorus was FUN! 

4.  Went to a party later last Sat. night where members of these bands, Haunt and Ware River Club, played.  I loved their sound so I'll leave you with a song from Haunt.  Enjoy!

Find more artists like Haunt at MySpace Music

Twilight is a time for sharing -

Twilight is a time for sharing - and a time for

remembering - sharing the fragrance of the 

cooling earth - the shadows of the gathering 

dusk - 

Here our two worlds meet and pass - the

frantic sounds of man grow dimmer as the light

recedes - the unhurried rhythm of the other 

world swells in volume as the darkness 

deepens -

It is not strange that discord has

no place in this great symphony of sound - 

it is not strange that a sense

of peace descends upon all living things - 

it is not strange that

memories burn more brightly - as the things of 

substance lose their line and form in the softness 

of the dark - 

Twilight is a time for sharing - and a 

time for remembering - remembering the things of 

beauty wasted by our careless hands - our frequent

disregard of other living things - the many songs 

unheard because we would not listen -

Listen tonight with all the 

wisdom of your spirit - listen too with

 all the compassion of your heart - 

lest there come another night  - 

where there is only silence - 

A great

and

total

    silence - 

                                                                                                     ~ Winston Abbott

September Harvest

On Sunday I harvested a bunch of goodies from the garden and spent time in the kitchen making yummy things.  Here is the evidence, a picture of the bounty, then a picture of dinner, before we sat down to eat it all up that night.  Flowers, tomatoes, purple and roma beans, carrots, tomatillos, eggplant and finally basil (which is not pictured) were harvested.  

I processed 8 cups of basil leaves and made a bunch of pesto to freeze and to enjoy this week.  

The highlight of the harvest and cooking spree was the pretty lavender eggplant that became a successful and delicious Romanian dish called salata de vinete .  I first learned how to make this dish from my Hungarian friend (who was born in Romania), Videa, who Josh and I visited in Budapest about 7 years ago.  She taught me to make a fresh mayonaise with egg, oil and lemon to then whip in with the fire roasted, peeled eggplant.  This dish requires that you use a wooden spoon to mash the roasted eggplant against a ceramic or wooden bowl so the eggplant doesn't turn color or become metallic in it's flavor.  I haven't tried my hand at making this dish on my own since my time with Videa until I was recently inspired by my Romanian friend, Elena, in Toronto, who made it for us when we were there last month.  She made such a wonderful bowlful of this treat for us to enjoy that I had her talk through the recipe with me so I would have the courage to come back to my growing eggplant and cook it when it was ready.  It was ready to be picked on Sunday and that night we dipped fresh tomato, cucumber and carrots from the garden in it, then all of a sudden it was gone.  It disappeared quickly in our stomachs because Josh and I love eating it so much.

Submission

I spent some time with my sunflowers this past Friday.  I took their pictures and cut four flower heads for me and a friend from some of the plants that toppled over due to their height, weight and the wind.  The sunflowers grew very tall this year...I'd say they average 12 feet!  I planted seeds in the old chicken yard so I'm sure that the nutritious chicken compost was the magic trick.

I've always had an affinity for sunflowers, like their plant spirit and my spirit have something in common.  They have a lot to teach me as I watch them grow, move, follow the sun, ripen and provide seeds for the birds and animals.

The word that came to mind as I admired and thought about my sunflowers the other day was submission.  This time of year the heavy flower heads, full with developing seeds, weigh down and make the plants appear to bow in reverence, bow in their majesty and humility alike, and bow in loving submission to their cellular knowledge that there is a greater power.

Their tall shrouded figures stand like wise women in my garden and bow gracefully to the reality that they are maturing and summer is coming to an end.  Time is moving onward in the cycle.

The sun rules the sun flower.  I love watching the sun and sunflower dance throughout the day as the flower head reaches for, faces and follows the arc of the sun moving through the sky.  The sunflower is graceful in it's dance with the sun as it sways, turns and bows through it's life with truthful expression.  This is a beautiful submission.

What does submission mean?  The sunflower teaches me a pure meaning of this word.  This meaning is not about one's will over another.  It's not about abuse of authority.  It's not about renouncing one's pure essence or expression for the sake of another.  This idea of submission, after watching the sunflower, is about submitting to the divine.  The sunflower is comfortable and confident in it's growth from a seed to grow tall and strong, sway in the wind, follow the trajectory movement of the sun and blossom into a cheerful bright yellow (or red or orange depending on the variety) flower. 

What does it mean to gracefully submit?  The sunflower trusts in the sun, in the rain, in the earth and submits to the flow of its life expression.  It doesn't control a thing.  It doesn't have an agenda.  It is not impatient. The sunflower doesn't need to do any of those things and doesn't try to.  It is what it is and oh, what a beautiful, strong presence it has in the garden.

In this time of personal growth, I look to the sunflower as an ally.  I need to trust, be patient, grow strong roots, stand tall, sway in the wind and grow towards the sun.  I need to submit gracefully and reverently with the knowledge that there is a greater power, a greater meaning and a greater mystery. I must dance with the divine as a partner and follow its lead.

Alison Fleming: Artist

Ali is a good friend of mine who I met when I studied abroad my junior year in Glasgow, Scotland.  She is from Winnipeg, Canada and now resides in Toronto.   I was so happy that we could make the time to visit each other and catch up while I was in Toronto recently.  Her intellect, creative spirit and sense of humor shone brightly just I like I remembered from the time we shared living in the same tenement house and wandering through the streets, pubs and cinemas in Glasgow back in 1996.  It's a real gift to share time with an old friend who you haven't seen in years and years and just pick up from where you left off.

Ali has been an artist from before the time I knew her.  I met her on the front steps of the tenement house that served as student housing within a few days of our arrival.  She had paint brushes holding up her messy hair in a bun instead of barrettes or a rubber band.

I'm featuring six of her paintings here on my blog because I really like her work and I admire her drive to keep making art.  She paints contemporary urban landscapes using oil paint on gessoed wood.  When I first looked at these paintings I couldn't help but think of how she evokes the feel of an Edward Hopper painting.  However, her present day urban landscapes are all her own.  She visits neighborhoods, businesses and buildings that are on the verge of or have suffered from economic collapse.  I find a sad beauty and nostalgia in her work.  Unlike Hopper, her paintings are purely cityscape and there's not one single image of a human figure in these paintings.  This heightens the haunting, lonely feeling that pervades the gritty beauty she creates.  I'm sure that every city in North America has images like these peppering its streets.  Especially during this time of recession, depression, economic downturn... whatever you want to call it.    Ali obviously has a very steady hand and her technique, patience and care show in the way she re-creates the lettering, glass reflections and pealing paint on the buildings she paints.

Visit Alison Fleming on line to see more of her artwork and to contact her if you are so inclined.

Melancholy

It's a cool breezy day here in the hills.  I just glanced back behind me and out the window to my side yard full of brush; dying crispy, brownish ferns,  blooming golden rod and aster.  There is no going back now.  Autumn is on it's way and right around the corner.  The crickets chirping and the drone of small single engine airplanes remind me of the turning of the season.   I'm also aware of and visited by familiar feelings of melancholy, vulnerability, sensitivity and longing this time of year.   It's an unsettledness and sweet pain that's a bit uncomfortable at times.  The drive and push of late spring to mid summer slows to allow more time for reflection.  With this reflection I take stock of who I was, who I am and who I want to become.  I crawl inward to the chambers within the cave that is me and visit places that are familiar yet different at the same time.  I feel vulnerable like the cooling down and dying back that is happening all around me is outwardly mirroring a piece of me that is dying, changing and moving on. 

Mountain Man

Mountain Man, a trio of three  beautiful young women, were a unexpected treat and a highlight of my festival experience and I want to share them with you.  They and their voices in harmony (with simple guitar at times) were an authentic breath of fresh air that literally brought tears to my eyes.  I bought their cd, Made the Harbor to take with me so I can try to recreate the magic moment of hearing something so sincere. Go hear them if you ever see that they are in your neck of the woods.