Happy Halloween

My making today is these portraits - of my boys at Halloween.  I'm thinking about this tradition of portraits in costumes each year and I'm thankful they continue to cooperate with my documenting their growth and creativity.  Thankful too for friends who hosted gatherings.

Halloween Making

Today I hollowed pumpkins, practiced hair gel for a costume and made a fall favorite...

...roasted pumpkin seeds.

Collaboration...

Tonight I collaborated with my son on this Halloween costume accessory.  I helped with shaping the plastic and he just painted it.

Will be fun to see the whole costume come together...

Repetition

I completed a third labyrinth ball today.  There is something comforting and meditative in the repetitive act of crafting this form.

Something Small

Today my class at St Aidan's focused on humility and blessing of small selves.  We began with natural materials and arranging and drawing them inspired by descriptions of Wabi Sabi art in the book. I found myself drawn to small objects and created a small drawing.  

I also like to reflect on how I create creative space for others - here is my table setting for our beginning of class.  

Today...Making and Makers

I began the day with very young makers - exploring construction with loose parts.  

My own making centered around clay and returning to a practice of creating clay labyrinth balls.  

And this evening I was inspired by getting to meet and hear a talk by Callie Curry, the artist best known as Swoon.  

Also discovered the inspiring work of Liz Ogbu and delighted in their discussion and sharing of ideas about building and connecting with people who will inhabit built environments. 

Clay day

Spent the afternoon working with clay today.  Here is one completed labyrinth ball...

...and a couple more that will be completed another day - they are in a plastic bag to keep the clay soft until I get back to add the coils to make the path.

I also revisited this sculpture along the Potomac river.

And I'm thankful for my morning with young makers learning to bend and attach objects with wire.

Wabi Sabi

I'm reading "The Artist's Rule" by Christine Paintner and the sixth chapter introduces the idea of Wabi Sabi.  It is an Japanese aesthetic that speaks to finding beauty in things that are imperfect, broken and impermanent.  I have been thinking about how beach glass or in this case river glass embodies this for me.  Tonight I spent some time sketching a couple of my favorite finds this week.

Framed!

Bald Head Island collages now complete and ready for delivery next weekend.

Also got back to visit this amazing sculpture at high tide...

Incomplete...

These are in process.  Since the commitment is to the making not to what's made - even small things might happen in stages.  In that spirit, I share these here even as they are: half complete...

Costume making

Work tonight on accessory for a Halloween costume - a good reminder there are all kinds of making. This is a material I don't know well - a moldable plastic.  Reached a good stopping point for tonight when I realized that going further while tired was likely to ruin this beginning.  It's good to know when to work through frustration and when to take a break and return with a fresh mind and hands.

Moments for practice...

I continue to work on mini collages for Art-o-Mat, enjoying the way I can fit in small moments of making as a practice in otherwise full days.  

Making, Mindfulness, Pizza and Frames

Today I co-led two workshops for early childhood teachers on collage.  It was fun to see people enjoy playing with materials and trying different approaches to collage.  At the end of the afternoon workshop, one person told me she doesn't really do meditation but for her this creates her space.  It is lovely to see this theme emerge again and again in working with people.

Tonight I made pizza - a different kind of making but they are pretty.  AND it was a good reminder to myself to take this making commitment lightly.  A full day of presenting and being "on" doesn't leave a whole lot left for creating new work of my own.  Cooking is self nurturance as well as nurturing my family.

This evening I completed two more frames so I can finish and frame my series of collages of Bald Head Island.  I look forward to seeing them complete but it's a little bitter-sweet, as I wonder what art project will be my next thing...

More practice...

Mini collage practice - this makes 32 for toward my next series of 50

Practicing...

...with mini collages

Huntley Meadows

Here is the photo transfer on my collage from Huntley Meadows last Thursday...will add some more layers of collage next. 

And some views from today's walk - I'm loving the light through the trees in the afternoons.

This is a tree in our backyard.  Last spring it was the subject of "backyard sapling" a piece exhibited at Huntley Meadows this summer - thinking I will try a fall version soon...

More making in the kitchen...

My making today was cookies - some baked and others frozen for a sweet treat on another day.  We so enjoyed the frozen cookie dough from my son's orchestra that it seemed like a good idea to freeze some of our own.  

And I enjoyed a long leisurely walk with the dogs at Huntley Meadows - enjoying beginning to see the colors of fall...

Making pesto...

I love how artist, Ann Hamilton ties together her roles as mother, artist and teacher by saying she is always a maker - sometimes the next thing to make is soup.  

I have been pulling flowers off my potted basil for weeks trying to keep it from going to seed before I can make pesto.  Today I harvested 4 cups of basil and made two batches of pesto to freeze.  I forgot to take a picture of the fresh pesto but here it is frozen... my making today was in the kitchen.

Return to a Familiar Landscape

Walking at Huntley Meadows today it was lovely to return to a familiar landscape and notice how colors move toward fall.  Below is a photo and the collage it inspired...transfer coming next...

Sanctuary Studio

I led a Sanctuary Studio gathering tonight at St Aidan's.  It was fun to watch creations grow as participants worked.  The photo below shows two collages in process.

We used this poem by Mary Oliver to begin our meditative time...

My own making included this treeish collage...

... and a close up drawing of a willow oak branch.

Salt Marsh Collage

Feeling complete...now I can begin to focus more attention on framing.

Transfers and tweaking...

Scrubbed the transfer off this collage today - think this is the 5th or 6th layer on the water in the foreground - still some paper to remove and will add a bit more color back in but getting close. A good reminder too that it's about the time practicing more than the results so there isn't always a dramatic change to show.

Catching up and new space to work...

We had planned to be away this weekend and plans changed so we find ourselves at home.  It's good time for catching up on projects and process toward creating better spaces for working.

Here are a new batch of labyrinth touchstones for Art-o-mat...

Some new frames - the large one was completed today and the smaller ones were cut a while ago and assembled today.

Here is my new workbench space in the carport, complete with a new miter saw for frames.

And the latest layer of photo transfer on this collage - trying to be patient and wait til morning to peel it back so that the glue fully dries and I get the best transfer.

Water collages...

Playing with the color in the water in the foreground in this collage and adding new texture with the white paper that represents a new photo transfer...

Also created some new collages in my water and stones series for Art-o-Mat...

Glazing and Portraits...

Newly glazed batch of labyrinth touchstones - glazing small things works well while watching the Nats game with my family...

And portraits of my sons on our apple picking outing this afternoon.