The Joys of Old Journals - Clean, Hard, Fast

Know I need some promptings toward new things.
So found a journal from 1998.
In it, found a yellow Post-It note reading:

June 18 - 1998 -
  Clean
  Hard
  Fast  -

Use
the words as
a trigger -
don't think -
just write

-----------------------
So I did. For many days. At the beginning of most journal entries I'd print, in three rows, first - CLEAN: (and write first thing that came to mind),  HARD: (do the same), & FAST: (do the same).

Some days words came tumbling out of pen. Other days a bit of mulling had to be done.

The CLEAN part forced me to be aware of home/studio messes that got much better over time; or the satisfaction one gets over cleaning one kitchen counter for the few hours (minutes) it will remain uncluttered. This time, among other cleanings, I'll do as my sister does on her Colorado Springs walks, and carry a bag for the bits of litter one encounters along one's way. Entry from Dec. 1: CLEAN - part of top of desk shelf - I almost threw out $30.00. It was in the dusty posies.

HARD can be hard, but one becomes more aware of what one considers hard. Or it can simply be the truth of parched lawn. Or, from Aug. 8 entry: HARD - to believe I don't have enough brown sugar to make chocolate chip cookies.

FAST makes one aware of time, or not eating (hahaha), speed of decision-making, or of speeding up some part's of a day's production. From Feb. 10 entry: FAST - the fast has disappeared. I must get back to the discipline.

(Perhaps SLOW might become part of exercise - but not for now. YOU may use it if you choose.)

So, back to blogging, again. Sort of like the beginning of the "Bob's Burgers" cartoon. Re- Re-Re...

And with thoughts of all the world spinnings going on & regular local life, too - quoting Mr. Kurt Vonnegut ("God Bess You, Mr. Rosewater") again: "There's only one rule that I know of, babies - God damn it, you've got to be kind."

Going to play with some "easy" printing techniques today - to hopes of producing a few things good enough to show at Stillwater Art Guild Print Show in September. Do have a decent woodcut to frame, but have to try new things. On to the Grand Adventures!
And on to The Bikery - just for the halibut -

Fare-thee-well, (be kind)

Sue

What an Artist Might Do in a Day

* Eat breakfast
*Spend a bit too much time on Facebook
* Think about ordering supplies
*Look out at the garden
*Do some of the dishes
*Wash some of the laundry
*Visit the post office while hoping to get a check or two (and no bills)
*Look at the studio
*Listen to TV (Ken Burns' "Jazz" at present
*Start working on show prep list - always a few hours too late
*Try to remember to pack clothes/air mattress/food/camera/art supplies/Thermos/business stuff & ART
*Make another cup of tea
*Look at stack of art magazines (not read - just look)
*Think about pile of stuff on desk
*e-mail or call some customers (maybe)
*VISIT AN EXCELLENT ART SUPPLY STORE (buy 1 white gel pen 'cause the house is already filled with art supplies)
*Promise frames that they WILL be used some day
*Look at too many unfinished pieces of work
*Check weather report for weekend's show
*Put air in van tire
*Mat some new prints
*
*
etc etc etc

Maybe work on a drawing or painting. Maybe. hahahahahahahahahahahaha

On to the next minutes and hours. May yours be going the way you'd wish!
Back to Charlie Parker and Miles Davis -

Next week I will work at the artist part of being an artist. Crossing fingers & knocking wood.

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

Why I Am An Artist

This won't be the whole deal, of course. But here is a tiny book that was a HUGE reason.

"Harold and the Purple Crayon," by Crockett Johnson (I really never thought about the actual artist/author at the time) was a book in Gurney Grade School OR I picked it up on one of the monthly Bookmobile runs from The Vaughn Library in Ashland, Wisconsin. It really doesn't matter.

What mattered was that with a crayon ANYTHING was possible. It was my first experience with a "page turner" book. You just never knew! Trouble brewed. Fun might happen. Relief could come.

All with the mark of line on paper. And so it continues today. Hooray!

Thank you, Crockett Johnson and Harold, for the adventures and the showing of the liney way.

You have YOUR reasons for being creative or wanting to create. Dare to share?

On to delivering some reproductions and other bear goodies to The Grand Hand Gallery in St. Paul, MN. On Grand Avenue, of course! We will be having a Truck Show and some drawing sessions in a couple weeks. I am both nervous and excited. Come join in the Adventure!

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

Never Give Up

Only TEN years after being created - this little oil-pastel found a new home... Yay! We've hung it a few times this art fair season and at Minneapolis' Powderhorn Art Festival a lady came to inquire about the piece.

She'd seen it two shows ago, and yes, she'd like to buy the cubbie.

So

this is a short lesson

on 

Not giving Up.

On to preparing for the art fair at Duluth, MN's Glensheen Mansion, Aug. 10 - 11. May the air be warm and calm, the grass be green and cool, and our backdrop of Lake Superior be it's usual Superior backdrop.

On to the drawing up of lists, and then the brave attempts  to cross off those those little boxes of completions.

The sun is peeking out from somewhere, Mozart is tinkling from the MacBook, and I must tear myself away from Facebook updates.

Here's a peek at our garden. It continues to amaze and mystify:

On to our hours. Have fun. Make something. Make somebody Happy. Pat yourself on the back. Relax? Breathe in. Breathe out. On to it! (Ain't got time to make pesto right now. Argh.) (So it goes.)

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

August 2, 2013

The sunflowers are blooming.
Thanks to seeds planted by  squirrels we have sunflowers in the patio.
Thanks to sunflowers in the patio we can watch goldfinch eating sunflower seeds from plants fifteen feet from back door.

Now if giant clumps of tomatoes would show the faintest hint of red.... That 59 cent pack of Rutgers tomatoes produced 45 plants - but time is ticking on ripe tomatoes...

Time is also ticking on MAKING time to make pesto from another great crop of basil. I'm not panicking yet because at Stillwater's ArtReach St. Croix's Front Porch Thursday we got to chatting about ALL THINGS. One was gardening - basil can be chopped, water or olive oil added, and then frozen in ice cube trays. Whew.

On to a bit of art stuff. We are thrilled that people are buying original pastels and acrylics on a regular basis at the Summer art fairs. We are grateful, but do miss some of the favorites. Yes, it IS hard parting with certain images, but inspiration to head back to the studio. Plans are for more birds on bear heads and some longer lines of bears in motion.

We are also planning a possible August event at The Grand Hand Gallery in St. Paul, Minnesota. Combination drawing and writing demos/workshop and bears for sale. Let folks at The Grand Hand  or me know if you'd be interested in attending. We'd be playing with art supplies, ideas, and words - a no-pressure to make a masterpiece type of let's trust our fingers to make some fun! I'm thinking about colored pencils and crayons for starters and Sharpie Markers for the braver sorts. A day or two for simply making marks.

This weekend holds the lovely Powderhorn Art Festival. We'll be in Booth #89.
Next weekend, Aug. 10-11, we'll be at Duluth's Glensheen Art Fair. Our booth is down by pine trees and close to shoreline of Lake Superior.
Then we shake things up a bit and are going back to our flea-market roots, vending at the large Gold Rush show in Rochester, MN. Spent YEARS doing flea markets and antique shows. Whole other stories than with the art fair crowds, but great times with mostly great people.

Last week's three days at the Ely Blueberry Fest was dampened - literally - by Friday and Saturday being cold, wet, and windy. Sunday was fine - sunny, blue, warm - but sales were half of usual event. Blueberry pie was Delicious, and I got a bit more ice cream because I was wearing my favorite vintage ('95-'96) Green Bay Packers sweatshirt. Do like those tiny daily miracles. Hoping some will happen today. Heck, finding time to blog is the first this morning!

Here's a bear for the day: The original is at American Gothic Antiques in downtown Stillwater. In our booth where the bears began.

And in September we will be brave enough to try a different art fair. We'll be at The Lakeville Art Festival in Lakeville, MN. Expanding the range of the funny furry ones - come visit! Dates: Sept. 21-22.

On to the day! A bit of tennis; then prepping for Powderhorn. Rocked in hammock for five minutes last night simply to know that summer is here to be enjoyed. Rushing through the days, only to be hit by frosts zooming our way, well, yes, insane. Make time for blogging. Make time to sit on art center's front porch. Make time to cut pesto. But then I have to note these things in journal, or in my brain they never happened. Sigh. So, time for tea and tennis. Make TIME for a Summer treat for yourself - then write a few sentences to prove that you've done it! It'll be our only Summer 2013, and August is hinting at September already. State Fair is zooming near! My first-time attemt at turnips could have been contenders...

Fare-thee-well,
Sue