ho ho ho!

happy holidays!

my garden

i've been having a blast manipulating photographs of plants in our garden + my paintings of birds into photoshop brushes.
fun fun fun!

i'm sorry!i would guess about eight years ago i bought a fraser fir seedling at a christmas tree farm, which is now city parkland, and planted it in the backyard. abies fraseri are the ideal christmas tree. beautiful symetrical structure, strong green color, lovely needle form and an openness that allows for decorations to shine. well, as our garden has become more mature all my little seedlings, and i have planted many trees of all sorts, have started to obscure my beloved sunshine so i made the decision that i would wait until christmas time and harvest the faser fir. i think the tree grew four to five feet just in the last year, so if it were to come down this would have to be the year to do it. this is the worst part of christmas time to me. i hate that a tree that has grown for years and years is chopped down to enjoy for just a few weeks and then turned into compost. so i said to the tree just before we cut it down, "i'm sorry!".

i must admit that this is the most beautiful tree we have ever had in our house. we cut it so it is just a couple of millimeters from hitting the ceiling. it looks so odd out there were it used to be in the garden, so open, unconfined. the tree was cut right to the ground so it appears as if it were never there. a ghost tree. it has to be the freshest christmas tree ever, just hauled in from the backyard. thank you tree for your years of growth to become our holiday decoration.

happy holidays.

World AIDS Day is Today!

"Visual AIDS Postcards From the Edge Benefit

Hosted by Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
530 West 22nd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues)
New York City

Preview Party on World AIDS Day
Friday, December 1 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Sneak peek only -- NO POSTCARD SALES.
$75 admission includes one raffle ticket.

Benefit Sale

Saturday, December 2 from 12:00 - 6:00 PM &
Sunday, December 3 from 12:00 - 4:00 PM
$5 Suggested Admission

Over 1,500 original postcard-sized works of art."
including one from this artist
"ONLY $75 EACH. Buy four cards and get one free.

Postcards From the Edge is a show and sale of original, postcard-sized works on paper by established and emerging artists. Famous in the art world as the most exciting and affordable way to build a collection of work by internationally renowned artists, as well as young and emerging artists, all works are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The works are signed on the back and exhibited so the artists' signatures cannot be seen. While buyers have a list of participating artists, they don't know who created which piece until purchased. A collector might end up with a work by a famous artist or someone they don't know yet. Either way, they walk away with a great piece of art while supporting the important work of Visual AIDS."

snow day!

the soft crunch under foot reminds me of my month of frigid vermont in 2003. ahhhh snow. thank you for this november treat!

i just learned how to make photoshop brushes from my photos of plants and birds. ooowee this is fun. i have always wanted to design fabric. maybe this is the way i finally get my wish.

in print!

the first publication of my work...
in a local university literary arts journal
my Green Belt project won their green art contest
along with eco-lit winners.

upside down

could there be a denser populous of birdies in my garden than right now? with all the ripe sunflower seeds ready for plucking off the decaying stalks the birds have found their haven. the aeronautics of these little guys is mesmerizing as their supersonic speed catapults them to actually fly upside down just before landing on their seedhead perches. grab seed, eat up in the nearby apple tree, then back for more. the dance is repeated seemingly thousands of times with the flock all in their own individual rhythm. i would like to lay a piece of acetate over the window to trace their path on the sheet and see the sinuous lines of intersecting flight patterns in a abstract perspective drawing of nature at work.

form

simple delights are found in the infinite variability of natural forms. i love the lacy texture of the maple leaves. right now these trees are glowing cadmium yellow, with a bit of tuscan reds peppered in. the usual purply-black leaves of the smoke bush have now turned the most luscious burnt orange on their orbital leaves.

upcoming show.....january 2007

i am drawn to the devotional images of russian icons + paintings by fra angelico. this show is a homage to these with a twist in that my religious icons revere nature.

Breaking News:

My "Green Belt" project (a tribute to Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai) won the eco-art contest for the upcoming issue of a literary arts journal!

altered view

messing around in photoshop today after seeing some hyper contrast photography that i liked on flickr. so here's a piece for the august show, salt water, that i cranked up the contrast on.

august show

the history of strawberry farming here on the island is part of the theme for my latest exhibit of applique works.
ichigo kaku-dako
the kaku-dako part of the piece isn't quite finished yet. photo coming....

sewing through plywood

my latest stitches right through plywood to attach an applique land of strawberry fields. photos to come....

preview to august show