I know, two posts in one day…and after I whined about being so far behind…
but a few minutes ago Pat called and made me come over to the log cabin because tornadoes had been reported from a storm moving in our direction…fast.
Sure enough we got two whopping doses of wicked weather… the skies have cleared and the temperature dropped 20 degrees… and the studio yard is now a carpet of ice.
This time of year is always stressful. The big show of the year, summer show at the Granary Gallery, is now only weeks away and I’m typically working extra long days to finish paintings, haul them up to the photographer, and back and forth to the frame shop to select framing.
The usual stress releasers, aka therapy outlets such as tending to the gardens and sitting at the spinning wheel or taking long hikes with the dog, are my favorite detours this time of year.
But this year is different. The challenges of this last winter have set me back almost two months in the painting schedule and the spring has brought a whole new set of complications. The demands on my time away from the easel have upped the ante in the stress department and I’ve gone into emergency painting mode.
Finnegan has been taking some of the slack by pulling out the tallest of the weeds, the spinning wheel sits idle and the new fleece is safely stored in a pillowcase and the weather has turned much cooler and rainy in the last week which isn’t good spinning weather so that helps, and Pat has stepped in to take Finn for some play time each day and the yearling pup is running like a champ on her newly recovered elbows… so all is being looked after and it is more than ever a team effort here in the studio.
I know of many other artists who are scrambling these days to get ready for shows… and I was just wondering how you guys stay sane ?
Pat will tell you I’m not doing a very good job of that right now… and her oft told joke that she has me chained to the easel…well I’ve better get back to rattling them chains before she notices I’m at the computer…
The Two Dudes Painting Company ( founded by our son-in-law Pete Barber and his friend Brian when they were hungry college students…and now a thriving innovative community give back organization in downtown Lancaster, PA.) … is sponsoring an art show.
The Illuminated Image – A photo based installation from the students of Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. Hosted by Two Dudes Painting Company…. Friday April 23, 2010 6-8pm 750 Poplar St. Lancaster Pa.
Contact for more info… 717 396 – 1207
If you’re in the area this promises to be an interesting show…
and their facility is a showpiece of design and function and reclamation of a rundown city warehouse.
You can read more about the Dudes and their road to success on their web site… Good job guys !
Thanks to our friend Susan who suggested we try calling the electric company to see if they would come and take down the 100 foot tall fir tree that was threatening to topple onto their wires that traverse the studio yard. I have been fretting about this tree for a couple years and this winter it began to take on a lean that was terrifying. The roots were lifting out of the ground and I layed awake through the last two nor’easters listening for a crash.
So I called, Micky came out the next morning and said yep we’ll treat it as a storm damage so we don’t have to pay for it and she actually thanked me for calling them. This morning the trucks showed up with a crew of happy hard working guys who quickly and professionally took that baby down…. AND they hauled the wood to the corner of the yard for us AND they raked and cleaned up ! I am impressed and grateful.
Pat and Finn and I watched the show with awe and when they left we sighed a big relief and crossed that chore right off the big list. Now we’re taking suggestions as to what nice shade tree we can plant there …
Here’s a slide show of the tree felling adventure… PS- after a few days I removed the slide show because it was causing the blog to open very slowly…
One small step for our studio garden….one giant THANK YOU !!! to the Zink family who showed up in force yesterday to help haul two truckloads of dirt to the new raised beds out back.
These guys really know the meaning of hard work and humor and friendship and kindness. Saren, Chuck, Dana, Jim, Jake and Ryan….we are so grateful to you for making a monumental chore into an evening of fun and good company.
Here’s a little slideshow of the dirt moving party… and the snap-your-fingers-progress that has these new beds ready for planting way ahead of schedule…and a much appreciated random act of kindness… [slideshow]
When we go to auctions I am notorious for getting caught raising my number a wee bit too enthusiastically. It ‘s just so much fun…and I really, really want that hundred year old pharmacists chest that has a locked compartment and a lost key !
Well, ok, I did go over my budget at the time but that piece of furniture has been featured in enough paintings to have paid for itself many times over…
And today the tables have been turned and it’s kinda fun to see some people bidding on my artwork…and for a good cause. Here’s a link to check out the Westtown School Online Auction where some of our new HN Studio Prints are included … WESTTOWN SCHOOL ONLINE AUCTION
Fellow Artists and dear friends Wendy Weldon and James Langlois have a show opening today at the Chilmark Public Library at 3pm, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
Sending by Wendy WeldonBerta by James Langlois
I hope all our island friends will stop by to give them a hug of congratulations and support from Pat and Me. The rest of us here on the mainland can view some of the artwork here.
I lift my brushes to them !
Ross by James LangloisSketches by Wendy WeldonEmbracing by Wendy WeldonNat by James Langlois
This cardinal and his mate have been tap tap tapping on my studio window incessantly for …ever.
I have tried closing the blinds, leaving them half open, open all the way, hanging strings in the window… putting up tiny signs that say hush… and still…every day…he and his mate come back a’ knockin’.
I even suspect that this is the second generation because last year the female had a strange growth on her head…probably from knocking it all day…and this year it’s gone.
One morning this winter, while I was eating breakfast, a cardinal slammed into the kitchen door. I mean kamakazi. He didn’t make it and what with the three feet of snow on the ground the best I could do for him was to throw him in the garden. He sank like a stone. Yesterday I found the bright red feathers amongst the brilliant green chives.
Perhaps he was the patriarch and the current pair are keeping up the family tradition of trying to get into the studio…or just to get my attention…
