Now through August you’ve got the chance to cool off with a tasty juice or smoothie while feasting your eyes on some work by yours truly. Jars Juice on Stewart at the foot of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood s a sprawling, airy place with comfy chairs and a laid back vibe. Come on in and find yourself something straight up fresh and delicious for your eyes and your taste buds! Show runs June thru August, 2016.
In 1990 I was working in watercolor and creating my own hand embossing in the paper. Back in the day my subject matter was animals and nature and that year I’d painted a wolf on a clean white background with embossed wolf tracks titled, appropriately enough, Tracks.
‘Tracks’ – 1990 – Watercolor on hand embossed paper.
Through the miracle of Facebook I was able to reconnect with the patron who bought that painting and she posted a photo. The piece was so well received I thought I’d revisit the subject matter in my current work style and process.The new painting is titled Ghost.
‘Ghost’ – 30 x 30 x 1.5 – Acrylic and oxidized gold leaf on cradled wood panel.
Ghost detail – A pattern is produced by blocking color into the natural shapes created by scratching into the wet background. Aging the metal leaf adds an organic, earthy appearance, mimicking weathered canyon rock.
Both paintings were a lot of fun to paint and I found it interesting to see how things have changed and how they’ve stayed the same. Thanks to patron Joyce Lindsay for the use of the Tracks photo.
Visit Artsyo to price the painting. Prints are also available so contact me for sizes and pricing and keep channeling your inner wolf.
When I was eight-years-old my mother appeared at my classroom door and we began our walk. We walked for days across the wide open New Mexico desert, straddling a cracked and crumbling Route 66 with no water or food. The journey would lead to an eclectic cast of saints and sinners tucked into a Catholic boarding house for Navaho women in the fading jewel of Gallup, New Mexico. It would lead to steely mental institutions, literally, pants-on-fire, and a murdered rooster (strictly self-defense, I swear!).
This work has been a labor of love and at times a bumpy self-examination. I wrote it in an effort to share my story and to illuminate the countless families navigating the turbulent waters of mental illness and homelessness. Every time I have a reading or speak about this book, I am approached by another good soul with a sibling, child or parent suffering the paralyzing symptoms of schizophrenia. I was luckier than many. My mother was defiant and loving in the face of her illness and I wouldn’t be here were it not so.
The following is the first of excerpts to be posted in the coming days. You can find retailers for the book at Goodreads.com or buy the book at Amazon.com.
The Long Hot Walk
After walking all day, we had dinner in a run-down diner and found a trailer park that had a makeshift launderette in a drab little cinder block room. It consisted of three washers and dryers and a couple of molded plastic chairs that were scuffed and ready for the landfill.
I sat on the stairs out in the growing darkness, smelling detergent and residue from the dryers as it mingled with the frying of various trailer park dinners.
A chill crept up across the desert as stars winked on. It gets cold in the desert at night. You wouldn’t think so in the baking oven heat of the day.
My feet were sore and I was so tired that I imagined myself to be an overcooked noodle as I slumped my ribs over my knees. I took a look at my shoes, black numbers, open on the top with buckles on the sides. Mary Jane’s. They were shoes made of dirt now. I couldn’t even see my socks through the top strappy part, just dust. I attempted to wipe some of it off and clean them with my thumb and a bit of spit, but it just seemed to rearrange the dirt, so I gave it up.
No one came to do their laundry that night, which was good because we looked pretty suspicious, hanging around with no clothes to wash and no money with which to wash them.
After awhile, sleep got the best of me and I curled up on the washing machines. I’d wake throughout the night, fluorescent lights painting everything with a green tinge, including Ma. She was always awake, sitting up straight in that hard chair, lips working, as if reading an invisible book or magazine. Now and then she’d laugh, her eyes glassy and unfocused. I’d turn over and go back to sleep.
I woke up in the morning, stiff and cold. She was still in the chair. She looked up at me and said, “Well, good morning.”
I just wrapped up an exhibition at the Urban Lights Studios Gallery in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle. The Gallery there boasts a bustling artist’s community with permanent studios housed in the downstairs belly of the photo studios above. I met some innovative and inspiring artists there working in everything from urban street art to found object sculptures. We had a great turnout and a good time was had by all. The show wrapped up last week and I highly encourage all to get out and participate in their Art Walk which takes place the 2nd Friday of each month.
Meanwhile, across town I’ve got pieces hanging in the Modify Hair Lounge, Jodi Loomis’ hip and stylish salon in the South Lake Union part of town. Jodi does a lot to support local art so big shout out to Modify and to Jodi! I’ll be on display there through December so go check out the work and get yourself a stylin’ holiday doo.
More than forty 2- and 3-dimensional regional artists are exhibiting in Everett’s Schack Art Center Art of the Garden. Last night’s opening was a lovely event with a good turnout and lots of lively conversation at the beautiful gallery in downtown Everett, WA. I’ve got four pieces in the show which runs through August 1st. Check out more on Facebook
I’m pleased to announce that I placed 2nd in the Light, Space & Time online gallery competition, as well as receiving a Special Merit award for a separate piece. The exhibition, entitled Seascapes received 629 entries from 22 different countries around the world. You’ll find some excellent work in the competition and I urge you to take a look.
You can see the entries that placed in the competition in the Fish Gotta Swim and the In The Abstract galleries.
Photo shoot for the new Rainy Ladies series in Volunteer Park, Seattle.
I had a very good time going to the park recently to shoot pictures of my friend Flamenco dancer Savannah Fuentes for the Rainy Ladies series. She kindly agreed to hold a red umbrella and prance up and down stairs while I snapped away. The new paintings have a nice depth and emotion. Savannah is a wonderful dancer and produces her own tours. Take my advice and don’t miss a chance to see one of her shows. – Deb.