Recent works

In my beginning drawing class we are currently working on "rendering" using a grid system(groan). I remember doing a rendering assignment with Brother Parson at Ricks College, back in the day. I HATED it. Rendering is drawing with pencil or charcoal and you have to go really slowly and fill in all the values with the point of your pencil, meaning there is no smudging allowed. It is painstakingly slow. My students kind of hate me for it. Oh well. We watched a film on Chuck Close and got inspired for this type of portraiture.

I also finished this quick study portrait of a lady who had a bunch of puffy white flowers on her head, and she was also holding a boquet of puffy white flowers. funny. I can't imagine having something so large and puffy on my head, can you?

Artsy or just fartsy?

Don't tell me that you don't fart, pass gas, toot, whatever you want to call it, when you're all alone. Artist studios are no exception. Enough said.

I introduce you to my studio. It's my own downy little nest of creativity. Leaning against the wall is my cardboard box that doubles as a sleeping pad for mid-day napping. It's really nice. Graduate school is a good idea, if for no other reason than studio space and library privileges. Also being "faculty" lets me swim in the pool during faculty swim-yeah!

I also present to you my very first lithograph. After brushing a bunch of chemicals on the stone, then rubbing them off, along with a bunch of other crazy complicated steps, I was finally able to print the image. (printmaking is such a physical process, the class should count for a PE credit!)

Copying the title from erin the print is called "Glory Days."

Love is in the air

My on-going project is typing up the letters that my Grandmother Mossie (Gracie) wrote to my Grandfather. I'm still in 1942. Goodness, wasn't she sweet?!! The letters are full of sweet and tender longings, adorations, and subtle hints at marriage. That woman knew what she wanted. As all I have are her letters to him, I wonder what he wrote back to her, was he just as mesmerized by her as she by him? I stumbled upon this Easter telegram from Stacy to Gracie, eNJOY. Like most telegrams, it doesn't say much, but it does show how thoughtful he was.

a GREAT pet.

Guinea Pigs make great pets. They're small, furry, and make really unique and delightful noises.

Happy happy birthday children dear!

Happy Birthday to Erin! Basically she's my life coach: I do whatever she does. She's a great musician, baker, vegetable maker, dancer, filmmaker, cross country skier, ocean wanderer, friend, and the best of all: a great sister. She is such a positive person. I Love her a lot. Even though she...i was trying to think of a funny childhood story where i was annoyed with her, and I can't even think of ONE. That's how good she is!

Art Processes

I'm learning a new process for making prints: Lithography. I'm lucky to be taught by one of the greatest printmakers in this day: Wayne Kimball. First I ground down the stone and polished it with that round tool. Then I drew on it with a waxy crayon. The anticipation is killing me, I can't wait to see the finished print. You'll have to wait too.

The weekend

Here's my house, Amy and the kids riding her belly, and pupusas with Cami, she's so pretty. and nice.

The cake

I think I showed everyone except Whitney, so here Whit is the wedding cake I made for a dear friend's wedding. Buttermilk blackberry cake with blackberry filling...delish!

Quadruple stuffed Oreos

so delicious!!!

good friends: hard to come by

A shout out to the bellinghamsters

Great Expectations

PMA: Positive Mental Attitude. (Sarah taught me about the power of the PMA.) I'm here in Provo and mostly moved in. Last night I had dreams of myself inconsolably crying and throwing a temper tantrum with much emotion. In today's afternoon slumber I saw she-lions pursuing and killing their prey. It's either my scripture study of Jeremiah or my nerves acting up.
There are two things I did not anticipate about my future: 1. That my rented room is in the basement- I can touch the ceiling of my room, it has a small prison-like window in the center of the room, there is a small hobbit sized door for a closet. I call it Carthage Jail. 2. That I have to make lesson plans for the 100 level drawing class I am teaching this semester- I almost had a heart attack when the art secretary told me I had to outline and plan my drawing class for the semester. Don't they have some kind of quality control? How do they know I'm going to teach proper drawing techniques? What if I just focus the whole semester on drawing lipizzaner stallions? (That would be be ok with me.) Anyways, to conclude this entry: EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT (PMA).