No Power but Flowers Bloom

Ike hit Ohio on Sunday evening with strong winds and stronger wind gusts. Trees came down and with them power lines. (one limb fell on my car, minor damage but needing body work) Here in my neck of the woods, we were without power until last night. Luckily we have a generator, we were able to keep our food, and run cold water when needed. We were reading by flashlight last night when we noticed the ceiling fan was on. We did the electricity dance! I would have made a lousy pioneer.
At least I was in my own home and mildly inconvenienced for a few days. I would think about people who've had to leave their homes for who knows how long...and it wasn't so bad. Or imagine being in a country at war...where power outages come and go, besides all the other stuff of war that you'd 'live' with.
anyway.
One day this week I took these pictures of the beautiful sunflowers and Morning Glories in the front yard.

Rock Wall

This view is of the east side of the barn where Bob has built a retaining wall. Our neighbors built a barn and the rocks are remnants of the excavation for their barn. Bob has hauled rocks up every night this week using our New Holland tractor. Last count there were 140 rocks, which doesn't include what he brought up tonight. He is Superman! The wall isn't done yet, he has to build up more to reach the level where the concrete floor will sit. Crazy!

Wrapping up the series of 12

Earth Shine is when there is reflected light from Earth onto the Moon. We can see the dark side of the moon in a soft reflected glow.

Earth Shine 10 x 10 oil on canvas















World Inside Out 12 x 12 Oil on Canvas


Between Suspension 12 x 12 Oil on Canvas















This summer at the AP Studio Art Institue at Columbus College of Art and Design, I started a series of paintings which dealt with the recent loss of my father. Today, I finished the last two out of 12. The workshop at CCAD was a perfect setting for starting this series, because we were provided studio space and ample time to work in it, along with the expectation that we would produce some work. I had plenty to release. It wasn't my intention to create these paintings, but they are what happened. All twelve haven't been posted here, but over the next few posts, I'll finish up.

Barn Raising

snapshots of the day
August 24, 2008

Barn Update and Swallow Art to Boot

The barn/studio has a charcoal grey metal roof, installation shown here. All of last weekend was spent raising the barn, putting up trusses, laying the roof. Many volunteers helped! I was the camp cook! The weather was great, a bit muggy on Sunday, but no rain. I have lots of shots that I took on my son's camera that show the various stages of construction. Future postings to come.



This painting is posted for Iona who saw part of the image in a previous post about Tom the Russian Blue. It is hanging on my bedroom wall. This is the last of a series of four. One is with my sister at her home in Lakewood and two were donated to an Aids Ward at a local hospital in Cleveland. The inspiration for the paintings came while birding one spring morning. The tree swallows were flying in incredible patterns through sunlight and tall grasses.

Beginnings

Ground has been broken for our barn/studio and the hard labor has begun. Bob and our friend Scuzzy Miller are working together to build it. We'll have more help coming in later in the week and over the weekend.
For now we'll build a pavilion. In the spring we'll put up walls and after that we'll work on the interior. It'll be a year or so before I'm in my new, larger space. It will be well worth the wait. Twice the size of my current studio! I have dreams and plans for holding painting workshops, having yoga classes and other great get togethers.

i just couldn't resist taking more pics of Tom the Russian Blue

Tom is an intriquing cat
His color
Cool Confident