Planning

Never my forte. I write notes, make lists, and loose them. I think in piles.  Lyn\n Krawczyk's recent Messy Studio Blogroll gave me a lift.

Yesterday I dug out my studio. The problem is all those ideas. Purses, scarves, installations; class prep,  products, art. Too many. I have a poem posted in my studio, Marge Piercy's The Sabbath of Mutual Respect.  "Every row dug in spring means weeks/ of labor." Art, like abundance, is "the spirit of labor and choice."

So, up this morning at 5AM, to go through calendars, proposals, plans. May the morning's clarity pierce through the mists of the day.

Stitching this now

Grey day. Soup on the stove. Gospel music on the radio.

 Almost finished with the stitching.

The piece has no right-side up. 

Troubling or intriguing?

Or is this really two pieces conjoined?

Still pondering that question.

Stitching this now

I have rediscovered hand-stitching: therapeutic, productive, portable.

This is the second piece of three.

After the it was stitched, I went back in with paint, to bring out patterns, relationships. I'll take pictures of it tomorrow. This is the pre-painted look: interesting up close, but doesn't "read" across a room.

The image of the hand is a thermfax print, made from a drawing I made over 15 years ago, in art school. The assignment was "draw 5 feet and 5 hands." Funny how clearly I remember that. It felt huge. The evening was hot. A friend had us over for dinner. I drew hands and feet as we talked into the night.

Working on this now

Arlington Center for the Arts - Spring Classes

2011 Screen Print on Fabric Linda B. Dunn

I look forward to teaching two classes this spring 

at Arlington Center for the Arts:

2011 Journal Collage

Visual Journaling 

Ursula K. LeQuin has it right: “It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters, in the end. ”  We'll explore a variety of ways to wake up your hand, eye and heart with an art journal. 

Go from an empty book to pages bursting with color, texture, text and line.

Four Thursdays, 7:00–9:30pm May 17, 14, 31,  and June 14

2011 screen prints from stencil

More Seductive Surfaces

Make and use simple screens to create wild, original fabric. We'll play with resists, use store-bought and hand-made stencils, and painting directly on the screen.No sewing - just fun with paint on fabric.

Returning students and beginners will work side by side, a supportive group of adventurous souls, who  play with color, technique, and design.

Four  Wednesdays, 7–9:30pm  April 4, 11, 25, and  May 2

Ideas on the work table

If I have time, I might even sign up to take a class myself. Tempting offerings include Creative Book Building with Alice Stanne, Drawing Ordinary Objects with David Andrus, and Art and Meditation with Ian Schaff. There's always more to learn.

I love my job

I love my job. It lets me regularly revisit the miracle that is painting.

A spring scene for the activities room

I take flowers or other still life materials into a local nursing home.

Together we launch ourselves, again and again, 

into the world of color, shape and feelings.

 Most of the residents say "I've never done this before." 

A few say "It's been so long."

Some just want to watch. That's fine too.

 

Some rush forward, with great swaths of color.

Others "see" with great imagination.

 

A few want me to draw first, then they add color.

 One or two are great painters, from whom I learn.

But everyone is happier at the end of the hour. 

It's always an adventure, a performance.

Cumulatively, the art amazes me.

Working on this now

 Take a garbage bag of canvas scraps. Add one stencil, plus sponge and acrylics.