studio

lighting it up

272/365: lights/camera

blog100315_lights

I keep adding lights to the studio – a necessity for the many, long, dark winter months ahead (if I want to work past 5pm). The latest is an LED strip to light up the last remaining black hole. I like that it looks like I’m lighting up a marquee, ready for showtime, because that is where I’m at these days…ready to rock.

bountiful harvest

A full day of making in the studio finished up with loads of local harvest prints. Exciting to be back in this season of plenty. I’ll be glad to create some mouthwatering new images while dreaming up the next meal. Getting ready for Art at St. Kate’s a week from Saturday. Let there be sun…

blog063015_veggie-prints178/365: local harvest prints

05.29.13 still sweet

Back to the sweet life with a full afternoon shooting Bistro Meringues in the studio. I did a lot of close-ups, product photos for the website. But I couldn’t resist creating this ode to bygone elegance: a still life set in my grandmother’s gravy boat.

blog052913_meringue still life149/365: still life with meringues

04.12.13 not a painter

I always thought I wanted to be a painter. The colors and the physicality and the mess of it all. In Art History, I loved studying the painters best of all. But, if I was a painter, I think it would break my heart to sell my work, like handing off one of my children or trading on a precious memory. I’m glad my medium is reproducible. Still, I’ll take any excuse to hold a paint brush…

blog041213_mattemedium102/365: red paintbrush

If you’re in the mood, check out the poem, “Why I Am Not A Painter” my second-favorite poem by Frank O’Hara. It has nothing to do with why I am not a painter, but it’s a good poem. My favorite Frank O’Hara poem is “Having a Coke With You“. It’s really good.

03.30.13 i’ve got that on vinyl

Yesterday was big. The 66″ x 29″ vinyl prints for my tree were finally finished and – WHEW! – they look great. Now there’s just the small matter of getting these giant stickers on the sculpture. This project is such an amazing opportunity but it’s also one of those great, challenging, slightly scary adventures that I just can’t wait to appreciate in the rear-view mirror…

If you haven’t yet, please visit my Kickstarter project to watch a little video and learn more about the project – three weeks to go.

blog033013_vinyl89/365: never-ending wood on vinyl

03.10.13 working it

Some days you just have to make hay while the sun shines. Yesterday, I was so busy making hay that I ran out of sunshine and found myself at bedtime without a daily photo. Luckily, the studio where I’d spent most of the day, is within falling-down distance of my bed; I snapped a couple shots of the work-in-progress and called it a night.

blog031013_studiowork69/365: studio table with business cards and utility knife

The work-in-progress: new business cards and spring note cards for my newest retail outlet: Urban Cottage!

02.19.13 color therapy

Yesterday was so bleak, I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for making pictures outside. Instead, I found little vignettes around the house to inspire me. Like this chartreuse foliage shining against the colorful backsplash of Street Music, a favorite photo from my last 365 project.

This is the single surviving coleus slip growing in my studio.  The others rotted away in the meager winter light, their Ball jars long since emptied. But this guy seems to thrive in his place beneath the skylight. He’s got some chutzpah! His thick, tangle of roots and fresh new leaves are a testament to his spirit, his determination to LIVE against all odds and stretch his roots in the warmth of summer’s soil.

blog021913_coleus50/365: coleus with street music