Our Lady of Guadalupe

I found this lovely Guadalupe in a Taos shop across from the San Francisco de Asis Mission. It was made by Lydia Garcia.

From the CHAC gallery site: Lydia Garcia, known to the community and her collectors as Lydia, was born in Taos to a Hispanic family and as the eldest of five daughters was trained in the craft of the Saint makers. As a young girl Lydia worked alongside her father while he created Santos (saints) and wonderful objects in his wood working shop. Her hunger for art brought her to the studios of Taos’ artists, Ward Lockwood and Andrew Dasburg. In their studios, Lydia sat without saying a word, so that they would permit her to watch them work. In this manner Lydia initiated her own training, Lydia still paints anything she can get her hands on, recycled wood, old tin cans, old furniture, and treasures left outside her home by neighbors and friends.

December 12 is the feast day of our Lady of Guadalupe and celebrated in Mexico and the American southwest.

From the Bookshelf

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this series that has done such a wonderful job of preserving old photos and memories of towns and villages in areas across the world. (I was delightfully surprised on a trip to England to find 2 volumes on the town of Witney, near Oxford, the locale for the Thrush Green series by Miss Read). For those of you who love Taos, or those that would love to get to know Taos, this is a real treat and a fine addition to this important series. Authored by our own Lyn Bleiler, lots of research and love have gone into this project. I know you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

You Say it's Your Birthday!

Two years ago at Lynne's Taos workshop I found out that Lyn Bleiler (wonderful artist, writer and event coordinator) and I share a birthday. And it's today! The two of us had planned to celebrate during a week of mixed media pleasure with Lynne Perrella, surrounded by glorious Taos, but not to be. Happy Birthday to us anyway!

And, a very Happy Birthday tomorrow to wonderful artist, True Colorist and intriguing writer Marylinn Kelly.

February is the month for birthdays!

Not Off to Taos

Today I was supposed to fly out to Taos, New Mexico for a week long workshop with Lynne Perrella. But early yesterday morning we received word that New Mexico is in a state of emergency due to extremely cold temperatures and running out of natural gas. Luckily in time for everyone to be contacted and to cancel before people ended up stranded or anything. There's talk of rescheduling, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime - I have a whole lot of unpacking to do.

Juried Show

Doorway to Paradise 24 x 36"

Allied Arts of Cambria is mounting a juried show this month and the above piece has been accepted! This is my first juried show, so I'm very pleased. The piece, done on gessoed red rosin paper features string, cheesecloth, foil, collage elements and acrylics. I did this piece last year at Southwest Passages in Taos, a marvelous workshop I attended, taught by Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby. The show opens tomorrow, opening reception from 5:30-7:30 at the Allied Art Gallery in the Old Cambria Grammar School. If you're here on the central coast, drop by.

From the Bookshelf

Behind Adobe Walls

This week's selection is a feast for the eyes and the soul. Wondrously conceived and decorated homes, large and small, full and spare. Ranch houses, centuries old adobes, cabins and haciendas. I especially enjoyed this, it was like a return visit to Taos for me. The author takes us through the gates and doors for an insider's peek at riotous gardens and peaceful courtyards, stunning views and warm firesides. Beautiful photography and descriptions, you can almost catch a whiff of pinon smoke as you cross the thresholds of these hidden homes and gardens.

The Taos News, Too

The Taos News, Too

I've always been intrigued by Sas Colby's The Taos News - a diary of sorts, that she created from found object street finds on her daily walks in Taos. She affixed them to the front page of several editions of The Taos News.

detail from Sas Colby's series "The Taos News"

When I was in Taos, I thought it would be fun to do my own small tribute to her marvelous series. One cold early morning I left the Mabel Dodge Luhan House around 6:15 and went off into the snow and ice to see what I could find. In the course of an hour's walk, I was able to fill a bag full of delight detritus - but found it was sometimes hard to pick things up with gloves on, so my fingers ended up very cold! Also found, that a few of the best things - including a wonderfully rusted bottle cap - were frozen in the dirt and wouldn't come out. I stopped at a cafe for a latte and to warm up, and what should also be there but the new edition of "The Taos News". It all came home with me and was finished yesterday.

deatil from my tribute to Sas - The Taos News, Too

From Snow to Spring

Japanese Magnolia outside the window of the Cambria Library at work yesterday.

Trembling pink petals

Dancing in a chill breeze, yet

A promise of Spring.

And less than 3 weeks ago I was in Taos under a blanket of snow.

Snow falls silently
We sleep and dream unaware
And wake to magic

Red Rosin, Red Rosin

Anyone who's taken a class with Lynne Perrella know about red rosin paper. It comes on a huge roll of a gazillion feet and costs around $8.00 or $9.00 at your local Home Depot or Lowe's. It's used by house painters to cover flooring to catch the inevitable drips and spills. But... gesso it, add layer after layer after layer of paint, texture, and collage - and then add some more - and WOW! The results are truly magnificent. This humble paper takes on a fabric or leather-like feel and becomes a work of art.

These are the two red rosin pieces I did with Lynne at the Taos workshop. In the top one,
Path to Hades, I covered the entire paper with cheesecloth, sandwiched between two layers of gesso, allowing the cloth to extend beyond the edges of the paper. The bottom piece, "Doorway to Paradise" makes extensive use of diamond shapes and cord embedded in the gesso undercoat.

Lynne Perrella

Black Paper, White Snow

Lynne Perrella always starts her workshops with a "black paper" exercise. She has her students study a copy of an engraving by Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I (1514). Lynne tells the students to pick one element from the engraving and cut it out of the black paper. Using a blank wall (or in this case, a window with a lovely snow scape outside) the students tape their contributions up , working together to create a cohesive whole. And then Lynne has the students bring up all (and I do mean all) the left over bits of black paper and tape them up as well. The result, as you can see here, is stunning. I've done this many times now in Lynne's workshops and I've never failed to be amazed at the beautiful pictures and designs this exercise creates. (To see the black paper exercise on a white wall scroll down to Feb. 7th entry - Lynne at ArtFest 2007).

What a crew!

There we are - the lucky 13! Lucky to be in Taos, lucky to be studying with Lynne and Anne, lucky to have 5 whole days to do nothing but art. From left - Lyn, Leslie, Jinna, Shelly, Anne, Linda, Sheri, me, Lynne, Alice, Salley, Jill and Holly. Thanks to Mike Waterman for the great picture. We posed in front of the row of dove-cotes at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. Fascinating to look at. I took a myriad of pictures to use in later artwork. Even though it was chilly winter there were lots of birds in evidence - little wren-types filling the bushes as I'd walk by and very impressive huge black and white magpies strutting around as though they owned the property.

The Somnolent Prince

One of the things Anne Bagby had us do in the workshop was to spend some time each evening drawing. Practice makes perfect - or at least a lot better - so if you draw everyday, it will become easier. She had us doing faces to use in our Santos projects. I've dabbled in watercolour and sketching, but usually landscapes and street scenes. I very rarely have attempted figures or faces, so this was a real challenge. I did about a dozen and was pleasantly surprised that a few of them were OK!

But what's with noses?! All of my faces look like they had had a horrible mid-face accident. And yet, if practice makes perfect - I should have some better noses as time goes by.

I used my best face for this little piece that I call "The Somnolent Prince". He's backed by canvas with cheesecloth laid over it and painted. The figure is made from collaged paper and his wooden hands and feet are covered with the same. His buttons are made from doilies with buttons in the center. A chipboard crown, painted gold, is embellished with a lacquered and embossed washer, and his scepter consists of two decorative wooden squares, again painted gold, attached to a coffee stirrer and tied with lengths of French ombre' ribbon.

More Taos snow!

Show and Tell

Nuestra señora del Oxido

Our classes with Anne Bagby resulted in Santos - depictions of saints, sacred clowns, etc. - representational or abstract. I was able to complete two and am pleased with both of them. The above, uses a rusted piece of metal for the female saint's crown or corona - hence her title, which translates to "Our Lady of Rust". The body is canvas, the face polymer clay, wooden crosses and canvas boards are painted and covered with bits of collaged paper.

Anne Bagby

The second piece "Mano de Dios"-"Hand of God" started with an old painted board that I found in the woodpile on the porch by my room. Delightfully worn and peeling, it became the perfect backdrop for a plastic backscrather, painted red and rubbed with gold,and then adorned with the face of a peasant saint outlined in gold acrylic. This was placed atop a length of frayed burlap. The small wooden dowels at the top of the piece reach to heaven. Two found hardware objects, one in the hand and one at the bottom of the board complete this Santos.

Mano de Dios

Winter Wonderland!

What a treat to have several days of beautiful powdery snowfall during the Taos Workshop. Growing up in Azusa (about 20 miles east of Los Angeles) snow was something we "visited" by going up to Mt. Baldy on a Saturday afternoon in the winter. And now, living on the Central Coast, it's an every 40 year occurance - maybe. So getting to be there and see it actually coming down, and then getting to go out and walk in it, and make a tiny snowman and throw snowballs - WOW!! As if the art wasn't enough (and I'll be talking about this in the next several posts, there was this magic winter wonderland.

What a workshop!

Anne Bagby, Me!, Lynne Perrella

Back from Taos - what an amazing week! 5 full days of Lynne Perrella, Anne Bagby, the beauty and magic of Taos, new friends and art, art, art!! Lots of pix to share, lots of new artwork to show- will be posting over the next couple of weeks and unfolding the whole story. I'm unpacked and slowly coming back to reality. Hoping for a long night's sleep tonight and up early in the morning to shower my oldest daughter with good trip wishes as she leaves to start a new life in Springfield, Missouri.

Window from D H Lawrence bathroom

Mabel Dodge Luhan House

Taos, New Mexico

Off to Taos!

For the next week I'll be in Taos, New Mexico attending "Southwest Passage" - a mixed media workshop with Lynne Perrella and Anne Bagby. Excited? Boy-howdy! Have been packing all week, trying to fit in all the art supplies and still find room for clothes too. The weather looks pretty cold back there - especially to this native costal Californian. I'm not taking my computer with me, but will post again when I get back - with lots of pictures and wonderful new artwork.

First post from the coast!

Well, I'm finally doing it. And I actually figured out most of it myself. Thanks and kudos to Destiny Carter for the very cool banner and to my wonderful wife Margot for computer support and hand-holding. This is my birthday month and I had made a promise to myself to take the blogging plunge in February, if not before, so here goes!


It's a lovely 76 degrees here in Morro Bay today, the ocean is five or six shades of blue, the sun warm, the sea breeze cool. Doing an amazing amount of errands and packing, getting ready for a trip to Taos this Saturday. My Christmas/birthday/anniversary present is the Lynne Perrella/Anne Bagby joint workshop at the Mabel Dodge Luhan house next week. Woo-hoo! Very excited, nervous, as always before a workshop, but hearing Lisa's wise words in my heart; "retain your authentic self BEFORE walking into class."

Mabel Dodge Luhan House - Taos New Mexico

Welcome to my little piece of the coast here at Altered by the Sea.