Blast from Past: Henniemavis Hijacks Ballookey's Mole

I hope this is permissible, but Mary is visiting me in NH & happened to be traveling with Ballookey's book... so... I couldn't resist! These 2 pages are entitled "Conversations Between Friends I" and "Conversations Between Friends II". All imagery is directly related to snippets of tales told between Mary & I. We spent a lot of time outdoors & did a lot of drawing, painting & blabbing. No further explanation will be given. Not that you would want any further explanation, I'm sure :-)

Collaboration, Part I, Cardinal Dream and Two pocket items

Cardinal Dream, by Hennie Mavis, scan
Click this and all images to view larger

Here is a scan of Hennie Mavis's Cardinal Dream. I totally love both the dreama nd the art!  Do click on it to see it larger.  We spent a wonderful couple days together in Syracuse, NY, where neither of us live any more, hiking and doing art.  As soon as I can, i will complete the collaboration and post it; I've been absurdly busy.  Confession:  On top of all the other problems and commitments, I am also trying to do NaNoWriMo this month.

Braid by Hennie Mavis on Banana paper

I have a sketchbook  made of all nature fibers.  The paper is made largely of banana skins.  It is very lightweight, but responds differently than other paper.  hennie did this picture of my braid as a collaboration for me to complete.

Biker Buddy, for Andrea's pocket

Here is a portrait of Biker buddy in water color for Andrea's pocket. I did it last night. We had ML over for dinner, keith's Mom, And I worked hard making a fairly elborate dinner, so then I rested doing art. YAY art.

In the Garden, for Andrea's pocket

When I was with Hennie doing art at the motel, I finished one picture and started this, which I finished when I got home. I did without the benefit of anything to look at, and I also didn't sketch it ahead, just painted directly on the paper out of my head.

Three Poppies, banana paper

This is the painting that I did on the banana paper while Hennie was doing the cardinals and before she did the braid.

a bit of silliness

at the motel

doing art at the motel

Hiking with Scott (by BB)

Steve's Mole Gets Around

Steve's Round 2 mole arrived 3 days ago, just in time to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for the Chihuly exhibit. Wow, what a show! Chihuly's themes & colors provide inspiration for what I will draw in it over the next couple weeks.

Steve's book will now fly to Florida in less than a week. It will attend the Space Shuttle Launch in Cape Canaveral (if scheduled takeoff date holds) & be cavorting with pirates & beach bocce teams at the Amelia Island Shrimp Festival, too. Some books have all the fun!

Seed Orders, Angry Birds & Angry Drunks

Other things I do when I'm sick: order spring garden seeds, yay! Wonder what's all the fuss over Angry Birds. I also read inconsequential magazines... in which I spied an article about people's varied reactions to overconsumption. Am I an angry drunk? Nope. A friendly drunk? Well, sort of, but I'm friendly when I'm sober. Munchy-then-sleepy drunk? BINGO :-) ...and I can barely remember that, since I haven't been more than just "tipsy" in oh, 13 years or so? HA!

Abstracts for Anders (Round 2)

I think I finally did something completely abstract! I started with a blank page & blank mind (that's a first). I made... wavy lines of some kind? I'm not sure the time expended on this outcome was worthwhile to me. But the neat thing was that producing this degree of flowing visual repetition gave me a kind of hallucinogenic experience. Really! Black pen, then acrylic washes, then white Prismacolor pencil... and that's that.

Beers for Aya (Round 2 Collab)

Hey Aya, have a beer with me? If you don't like beer, no worries, I'll drink yours... but please enjoy drawing something on this page first ;-)

Heidi Ships Anders to Aya (Round 2)

Anders gets a 3-tea sampler in his pocket from me, to ward off head colds, HA! Here's my collaborative art in his book, with Ash, who gave me "blaaahh!" to work with. It's me as a sick raccoon, tucked in bed with my current favorite tea. I used black pen & some gray acrylic wash to align with Ash's style... except the tea wrapper & hangtag, which are glued in as collage.

Heads up, Aya: I mailed Anders book to you today. I'm not sure if I should apologize for lateness or not? I was working on your book, but then happily switched to Anders' when it arrived, since the original plan was that our own books should come home at the end of Round 2, not in the middle of it? I hope that seems like a reasonable judgement call. Somehow, the shipping order got twisted. The only book (besides my own) that has not come to me yet is Steve's, and I expect it should arrive soon.

I'm curious to know who is actually done with Round 2 & has their book back? Anyone?

Sketchbook Fever: Ash Sends Anders to Heidi

On Thursday, just before I got knocked down by a nasty cold & flu bug, Anders' book popped into my mailbox. Here it is, laying within easy reach on my sick bed, near Eddie, also laying within easy reach on my sick bed :-) Ash drew these fun images & I'm posting them to share, because they lead up to a very fun "collab" effort between us. Ash had no idea how appropriate "blaaahh!" would be when this book arrived, HA! I will try to photograph my artistic response later... right now, I need a nap. Sketch, nap. Hot tea, nap. Draw, nap. Cough piteously, nap. Life becomes quite simple when we are sick.

More for Ellen

Alrighty, I posted Ellen's pocket goodie on Sunday while traveling. Now that I'm home, I can more thoroughly & conveniently post the rest of my latest efforts (click on photos if you'd like to see them larger). I did an extra page as pennance for being a total slacker these past 2 months. I don't know what happened, but I just couldn't get focused on art for art's sake. The good news is that while artistically unproductive, I did manage to shore up some other areas of my life. Happy New Year to me :-)

Top image: In keeping to my personal pledge of doing a 2-page spread in the last few large Moles I've had, I painted this image of depression. I did "fall down a well" emotionally, about 3 months ago, so I tried to paint it. (Don't worry, I've long climbed out by now.) I had planned to do a 2nd painting on this theme -- a view looking up the inside of the well to see moon & stars above -- but didn't feel like it, once I finished this. Mood swings can do that to a girl.

Middle image: More acrylic paint & Prismacolor pencil. My Auracana rooster, done from a photo of him. Isn't he a hottie? I hope he stays as nice as he's been, cuz it'd be a shame to end up eating him for bad behavior.

Bottom image: When inspiration fails me, I turn to bananas!

Pocket Goodie for Ellen

Don't drop dead, folks, but I've finally finished (& photographed) Ellen's book. My slump's over, yay! I'm away from home right now & forgot the download cable for my camera, so I took one pic on my cell to share now. It's an ornament I made for Ellen's pocket. I'll post more when I get home this week... but Aya, I'll be mailing out a book on Tuesday (can't send tomorrow since it's MLK Day, government holiday).

I promise to catch up on my commenting as well. Good luck to the new Round 3 artists. Can't wait to see your work :-)

Selected an Owl, tho I'm a Turkey!

I've already confessed directly to Aya that I am shamefully behind on Ellen's book, which I swear, swear, swear to finish over the holiday weekend. As if to punctuate that plan, Aya's Mole arrived from Ash! It seemed only fitting to open the mailing pouch in my local cafe, since much of her work is created in a cafe near her.

Her book gave me entertainment while I gulped a hot cup of coffee, between a 5 mi. walk w/friends & my yoga class. I may be creatively sluggish this month, but at least I'm fit & healthy, HA!

Puzzling me, however: wasn't I supposed to get Anders' book first? I thought Aya's book would be my last one before my own Mole returns, but I don't think I've seen Anders yet. Something else to look forward to, then :-) Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Mary's Pocket Treat: Passion Tea

Tazo "Passion" tea, but I made my own hangtag for it. That's supposed to be a heart (the back has flames). I tied a kitchen match to the string. The idea is that you make the tea & as you drink it, you can actually light your heart(tag) on fire. Interactive. I love playing with matches.

Portraits of Friends: Online & Off

Mary requested a "self-portrait" as a suggested deposit in her book. If she wants that, fine... but it's only fair that I get to draw her too, HA!

So here we are, 2 friends. We have been friends for 20 years. I was thinking of our upcoming visit when I painted this, "Remember when you blah, blah, ha ha! Remember when I blah, blah, ha ha ha..." I intended to record some of our funny stories on the painted lines between our portraits, but I sure as heck wasn't going to do it before the photo, for all to see... too embarrassing! Sorry folks, nothing to see here ;-)

Mary's Book Leaves NH for NYC

Finally got these pics taken so Mary's book can be mailed to Aya in NYC on my way to the airport Wednesday. Fall apples & garlic on top with an apple for Aya as the collab below. Ebony pencil & acrylic paint with a touch of white Prismacolor highlighting.

I'm off to Detroit to visit Mary. Ellen's book is going with me. Her book's already been to Mary's once. It'll be there again, but this time I'll be filling it :-)

Cackling with Amusement

Today must be "Artists in Publication" Day. Not our art, tho, HA! Mike just posted that delightful "centerfold" of himself on the same day I received a complimentary issue of Chickens magazine, courtesy of the editor. I am featured on pgs. 35-39, Fall/Winter 2010. That's right, there's a magazine about backyard chicken farming (I was surprised too). They had a writer interview me, sent a photographer to our home & whoops, I'm in print.

If you want to know about keeping your food sources as natural, fresh & "close to home" as possible -- in your backyard, for instance -- I'm a credible expert, apparently? I sure hope this wasn't my only chance in life to be "famous," HA!

Art by Train

Did these on the train between Philadelphia PA & Brattleboro VT on Tuesday. Aya & Anders, I went thru Penn Station, did you see me waving?

Top image: Bananas on blueberries, mixed media (acrylic, black marker, Prismacolor pencils).

Bottom image: This is a collab with Andrea. She drew the woman at left. Tucked in the blank pages of Mary's book, I found the photo she worked from (yes?), so I did the pencil portrait on the right & glued the photo between our 2 sketches.

Books Wide Open

Back when Aya was airing some fears about going to an A3-size, while others offered tips & encouragement... that got me thinking about working BIG, which I never do. It certainly did sound intimidating, to use big space in full. You know, big art says loud & proud? The bigger we work, the more exposed we are? Yikes!

Since I have all large Moleskines in house lately, I am trying one double-page spread in everyone's to force bigger art into my regular repertiore. Ballookey's book was my first try, that 2-pg. Monarch butterfly. That went OK, but filling that much space was daunting for sure. Mike got this frog, which went a little easier. It's more about background textures than the frog itself, but hey, it's BIG so I think I'm building confidence. I used glitter again, so this frog is loud, trust me.

Oh, and I photographed this on a bed of tomatoes... cuz I had to work the garden into it somehow, HA!

More in Mike's Big Book

Top image: "Potatoes wishing for more expressive eyes." Really, they do, you know :-)

Bottom image: More garlic & a potato. What can I say? The garden is almost over, I swear. But while it consumes my life, it permeates my art...

Both are acrylic paint, colored pencil, Crayola (kids) marker & black Pilot pen. I am going hog wild with acrylics lately, as part of my mixed media stuff. Much as I love water soluable pens for water washes, they bleed thru Moleskine paper something fierce while acrylic does not. So I'm trying to use the water soluable washes very sparingly, while I compensate with acrylics.

Collabs, Coming & Going

Top image: I added a little Capt. Ahab Moby Dick Pepper Sauce to Andrea's whale bones. Mmm, now those are some serious ribs, HA!

Bottom image: Aya's getting homegrown garlic. There's a lot of it in Mike's book now. Hope he likes garlic! Click here to see what I made for his pocket. I posted it once already, with description, as part of my "Creative Every Day" participation & don't feel like uploading again, so please forgive my lazy diversion :-)

Collab for Aya in Ballookey's Book

Oh yeah, here's a milkweed drawing w/real seeds & fluff, for Aya to play with :-) Have fun!