Year: 2012

Notes from the Sky Chair…

Posted on by heather

This is sorta fun…writing a blog about the garden… IN the garden.

Last weeks steamy hot summer days drove me deep inside the air-conditioned studio and forced me to focus back on my day job. Which is a good thing because the Granary Gallery show deadline is looming large and there is much work to be done and time for one, maybe two, dare I hope for three more paintings to fly off the easel.

But yesterday was so beautifully cool and clear that I gave up most of it to the garden. This time of year I am doing a lot of selective viewing. Only half of the beds have been weeded and there are a few of the vegetable beds left to be planted. The Greenhouse is a-l-m-o-s-t finished, the shed has still not been organized, the piles on the porch have grown a bearded patina from the pollen purging of six different species of hardwoods and there are maple trees growing in the gutters.

But from the sky chair…all I can see are the roses, and the herb bed which is thriving. And I can smell the wonderful hay which Pat hauled from the neighboring farm which is now snuggly mulching the veggies.

And the birds…oh the birds. This chair swings at the low end of the yard and I’m far enough away from the feeders to not be a bother so it is a perfect place to watch. This morning they are anticipating the storms on the horizon and busy picking out the last of the Service Berries and the sunflower seeds I put out yesterday.

At the end of the perfect yesterday, and I mean the very end because we didn’t sit down to supper until almost 10pm AFTER we cleaned out those gutters, we had the once a year treat of grilled garlic scopes. With some clams and a beet salad thrown in it was a magnificent feast.

This morning it is cool and cloudy and time to put the cucumbers in their cage. Just one of the experiments in small bed growing that I’m trying this year.

The broccoli is coming along but as this is the first time I’ve grown in I’m not sure just when to harvest. Suggestions ?

The potato bags are finally beginning to flower.

And if these beauties are blooming…

then it must be June.

There’s no stopping this garden now…but the raindrops are threatening the well-being of the electronics…so I am headed inside to the easel…for now.

Coming up Roses

Posted on by heather

Yesterday was one of those days when absolutely NOTHING worked as planned. I had at least fifteen meltdowns and that was before noon. The stalled storm front which dumped steady rain for three days was causing my vertigo to flare up, and watching the creek steadily rising in the background was like having one of those CNN crawls constantly going across the screen inside my eyeballs screaming flood warning. But even with all this anxiety raging there was absolutely NOTHING going on that was worthy of the whining energy I was giving my angst. At the end of the day, with a glass of wine in hand sitting on the porch swing, Pat was able to talk me down off the ledge and that, and a good night’s sleep, has this day dawning a whole lot brighter.

With the countdown looming for the summer show at the Granary, I decided to have some fun painting smaller pieces inspired by my gardens. And this week it’s all about the roses.

Don’t look at the weeding in progress beyond the foreground…but this is the view from my easel window. I have Gulliver’s windchime hanging just over my shoulder so she can keep an eye on me and the first summer after she died this rose bush began to bloom. It now climbs up the chime’s support and reaches out of the dark corner into her light. I noticed this morning that another branch is peeking up over the window sill. Leave it to Gully to know how to cheer me up.

Yesterday I brought this beach rose in and played all day with a still life set up. (Responsible for about half of the meltdowns it was.) This morning that flower is flat out and the studio smells wonderful.

And here’s the first pass which was done last night. With roses behind me and roses before me I am ready to face whatever this day has to offer.

With the promise of a bit of Shiraz and Herself waiting for me at the other end…I can manage anything !

The Vineyard blooms…

Posted on by heather • 1 Comment on The Vineyard blooms…

in the studio yard…

My favorite moment of the spring is when this rose bush first blooms. It was brought back to my studio oh so many years ago as a tiny off shoot from one of the grand dames of rugosas that bloom on the bluff in Chilmark. Now it is happily filling out the entrance way to the yard and this week it is full of welcoming wafting aromas that take me right back to the ocean.

As I am grinding away at the easel, burning the candle at both ends of the day to get the last paintings done for the Granary show in July, it is such a gift to see these roses and a much needed reminder that the treasures of that peaceful island are just there… on the edge of this spring breeze.

The Mighty Blixa…

Posted on by heather

This sparkly smiling little boy is Blixa, the 3 yr. old son of an old friend of mine…Doug, aka Dug, and Lauren Cawley and younger brother to Dregen. Dug and I go all the way back to Harvard Square in the early 80’s when we worked together in the tiny closet of a frameroom at the Coop.

Now he and his wife own a frameshop in San Francisco and Dug tells me he’s some kind of famous in the screaming grundgy music world since he plays and sings in a band called The Grannies. Now…it’s a good thing for both of us that I’m not a music critic… and when we reconnected via facebook a while back I did take a quick tour of his site and listen to some of the music…and for an old folkie like myself it’s downright terrifying.

So consider yourselves forwarned if you dare to go down that road and look them up…although there are sure to be those among you who will be quick to challenge my narrow gereatric musical tastes and enlighten me to the intricacies of lyrics and costume…have at it.

What I can say, from the bottom of my heart, is that Dug is one of the finest, kindest and dearest humans on this planet. And so it was especially hard to hear the news that young Blixa has just been diagnosed with Leukemia. This is a family that has picked up more than their share of burdens, having been swept out of their home by the mortgage dementors. And, with their lives already out of balance, there is now a different focus to their needs.

I’ve followed along on his facebook page as he kept us all in the loop from Blixa’s hospital bed to his homecoming. That kid is smiling in every single photo and appears to have all the special powers he will need to battle this transformer. But the family could use some help.

The band is doing some fundraising gigs. Their website has some scary posters and gear for sale. And they have just put up a link on Paypal which lets people donate directly to Blixa’s medical fund. I tried that link today and Dug responded immediately so I know it’s up and running and it’s safe….

If you’re moved to want to pay forward some kindness that you were offered when you were in need of  help…

I’m just sayin’…

here’s the info directly from Doug’s FB page…

Also a lot of folks have been asking about a donation site and we now have www.paypal.com set up – just use BlixaHeron@comcast.net as the recipient & it will go directly to a health account for Blixa. Thank you!

Ta,

H

The Circus is in Town…

Posted on by heather

The painting that keeps reminding me what a small world this is…

As I mentioned in a blog post way back in January of 2011, many members of the original Circus Kirk have contacted me after learning of this painting to share stories of their time in that circus, indeed on that very truck.

This week two more people wrote asking about the availability of prints, Ellie who went on to be a teacher and photographer and remembers the “hectic” schedule traveling with the circus, and Terry who actually painted the name on this very truck.

I wanted to update the information here that yes, the original of this painting has sold and YES, I do have prints available. They are discounted for Circus Alumnae and are $125 – printed on archival paper that is 17″ x 22″ and shipping is FREE.  Please send a check or money order to my address (listed on the contact page of the website) and include the address to which it should be sent and off it will go.

Long may the circus live !

Spring

Posted on by heather • 1 Comment on Spring

Don’t know about where you are but here in central Pennsylvania the seasons have abruptly changed. Since we had no winter to speak of it is not a dramatic shift anywhere but in the closet where I’ve had to dig out t-shirts and shorts from under the fleece.

I’ve been remiss in blogging and will set about to fill you all in soon. The “Big Painting”, which I’ve taken to calling it, is still up on the easel. Been a full month and I am churning towards the finish line now. It’s definitely one that needs to be viewed by the public only upon completion. Looks pretty straggely at the moment. But all shall be revealed soon.

Meanwhile I’m sure those of you who are experiencing these warm sunny early spring days are, like me, tuning up the garden beds, planting those peas and spinach seeds, raking and pruning and … watching the daffodils stretch out of their winter’s nap.

My neighbor Sue has come to expect hammering and drilling around this time of year so as not to disappoint I am building some new raised beds and…a greenhouse. It’s all about recycling and son-in-law Pete has come to the rescue with an offer of windows, a glass panelled door and a sliding glass door which will be sweet and Jon and Zoe are headed this way in a couple weeks to lend a hand with the construction.

I’ve got the foundation set and the floor framing done…

It’s been so nice to spend time out in the fresh warm air doing good hard work. Makes it all the more rewarding when I head back inside the studio to my day job sitting in a chair and lifting tiny brushes.

Here’s to the return of the Pinkletinks and the hope that your daffodils are smiling at you…

Saved from the workshop…

Posted on by heather

As you may recall, when our log cabin was underwater in the flood last fall, my basement Chairmaking Workshop was decimated. Among the many attempts by friends during the rescue and cleanup operation was the valiant effort by our friend Susan to rinse and dry the few photographs that I had tacked to the rafters down there.

Oh, it hurts to look back on those days… anyway… today I am in the midst of clearing the office for tax prep and I ran across the tiny stack of the surviving photos. They tell a tale of very early days of my woodworking career and some of the fun that Peter Follansbee and I had and since most of you know me only as a painter I thought I’d share them as proof that once, in a time far far ago… I was a Chairmaker…

The early days
The beginnings at the Follansbee home on Pierce Rd.
Follansbee and Myself along the banks of the Little Conewago Creek...which as you can see is still in it's banks.

 

And now here's his son Daniel hard at work in his Plymouth Plantation workshop.
A chair for nephew Neill
This kid is now in college !
Little Nephew Johnny who is now 16 and well over 6 feet tall.
and...I think this is James, Stephanie's oldest son, Steph being my oldest friend from waaay back in high school...he's now at Brown ...that's my basement workshop in the background.

So there you have it. Now digitally documented for posperity.

When I decided to give painting my full time attention, circa 2000, one of the first things on my easel was this homage to that life of shavings, In the Chairmaker’s Wake…makes me want to sit on my shaving horse and think back on all the happy hours with the old drawknife…