It's A Giveaway!

Inspired by Cowgirl Goods’and Blanco Bob’s giveaway, I’m giving away two new favorite stickers. Girdwood is a ski town where Dogs rule and Girdwood Pets and Green Goods created this clever sticker as a play on the town’s nickname of Gird. Clever huh? If your not a Dog person (how can that be?), the AK sticker is for our fantastic state of Alaska. Both of these are up for grabs. Post a comment and which sticker you prefer. Two names will be picked this Friday at 5:00pm. Easy beezy, lemon squeezy.

One of my large (over 6’ tall) Tri-Sunflower sculptures sold the other day at the Gallery. We all really liked the sculpture, but it was also one of those works that had languished a bit longer than we all care to admit. Maybe too tall, too expensive, too many sunflowers, too much rust patina, too…? The good news is, it sold,

then wouldn’t you know it, another customer came in and said “I would like to buy those Sunflowers…!” The Gallery called and asked if I would make another sculpture like the one that had just sold. I had to run over to the Gallery and take a picture of it to make another because I had forgot what the composition was like! It's really hard for me to make two pieces exactly the same. I sometimes work in similar themes, or I'll work on a series of subjects but all of my works are originals. Good thing I went to take a look at the sold sculpture because I made it quite differently than I normally do, using thick rebar for the stems and I'd embellished the stems with some cool, thick reclaimed aluminum wire... both materials I had only limited amounts of!

So, after a quick run about town gathering supplies I’m making another Sunflower sculpture for the 2^nd customer. Though no two sculptures are ever the same I hope it will have the same energy that attracted the customer to the Sold Sunflowers!

A Full Blog Post for a Very Full Day

After the morning storm, the day gave way to sunny Fall skies and we could see how much the snow advanced down the Chugach Mountains. Westchester Lagoon, Anchorage.

The blowing wind and pouring rain woke me up yesterday morning at 4:30 a.m. Fine by me because I didn’t want to over sleep and be late to teach my Artful Journaling class at Camp Erin. Though there was really no chance of that because I admit I was excited and nervous for my volunteer gig to go well and hadn’t slept very well –I didn’t want to let the kids down. The 40 minute drive north to Mirror Lake at Camp Carlquist (which is an Alaska Boys Scouts of America facility) was dark and slick on the rain soaked highway, rain gave way to sleet half way there. I was glad all of the camper’s Creative Activities were indoors. Journaling Class was successful but made for a very full day –I had four groups of all age kids from “Littles,” “Middles,” “Tweens,” to “Teens.” To minimize mess and spills I divided the extra long dining hall table into art medium sections. I placed dry collage elements (my son Will's old Snowboard magazines and Cat & Dog Fancy I picked up at the Thrift stores were a hit, the Adult Buddies, perused my old Martha's, O and Simple Living's) with tons of stickers (“Middles” girl’s favorite) at one end and moved to markers, pastels, crayons (for texture rubbings), glue sticks, tape, a water colors and acrylics tray, a basket of rubber stamps and pads, glitter glue sticks (an all-ages favorite), and Mod Podge trays for final collage works. A separate drying table area was also necessary to set up. I was surprised at the diversity of 

interests and mediums used to start their Artful Journaling. Many started with their covers, while some dove right into creating pages. I had to include a photo of the sticker and paper collage area EXPLOSION! I was a bit (A LOT!) panicked after that first group because of the energy the kids used to dive into EVERY supply and their willingness to explore and try it all. A group of particularly inspired “Middles” even hand colored sheets of paper towels using watercolors and glitter glue. As these beautiful sheets were fluttering near the drying table, they looked like sparkling batik fabrics I would want a skirt made of.

One charming “Little” who earlier had a hard time of fitting into his group, bloomed as he created an entire catalog of every rubber stamps I had in the basket. He had a page full of stamps and wanted to stamp your hand. I suggested he stamp and number each stamp (over 30!) in his journal so camp

ers and volunteers could better tell which one they wanted him to stamp. He was so energized by his finished Journal pages he started a “business” to offer for sale (free) stamps of your choice on the wrists of everybody in the camp.

He even had a page of “limited editions!” He was running around “selling” his stamps and said “wow, I’m having a great sales day, I just sold two more!” Very ingenious and hard to resist, I “bought” two, #25 and #9.

Volunteers helped me swab the deck so to speak after each of the 4 sessions. We refilled water containers, washed brushes and sanitized the plastic coated table top. In hindsight, I was probably a bit over prepared with all of the projects I had made curriculum sheets for, but will be able to reuse them.

I did hand out a lot of the blank Mandala patterns that the “Tweens” found cool to color and embellish, but not very many other projects sheets.

With such a diverse group I thought it would be better to be over prepared than under supplied. Another good idea was as I pulled various supplies from my studio, I kept repeating to myself  “don’t bring anything that you aren’t prepared to lose or sacrifice.”  It seems campers and adult buddies were excited to try all of the various mediums especially the large box of pastels –oh and bend my huge wooden Manikin I had brought for a conversation centerpiece. The miniature Maniken had to go in my jeans pocket during the first 5 minutes of the first session, his upper body poked out of my jeans throughout the remainder of the day! The adult volunteers named the large Maniken “George” for a particular camper who had put the poor wooden 

Maniken in a WWF throwdown hold… My Maniken man survived and even won the respect of the other Campers who became protective of him.

Cleanup was fast and furious because I wanted to catch the second half of Gus’ football game. Driving back to Anchorage I was happy to give my back a rest, eat a small bag of Cheetos and smiled as I glanced at the back of my stamped hands on the steering wheel, #25 a Piggy and #9 a Cat. The skies 

had cleared and after the storm and the snow line had advanced significantly down the mountains. My boys were lucky to play in true fall football weather and I was able to arrive during the 3^rd quarter. Coach Daddy-O and Gus’ 5^th & 6^th Grade Eagles won the final game of the season, capping off an undefeated season.  To celebrate the day, I swung by City Market and picked up a Chocolate Mousse Cake, grabbed a couple of Brown Ale Growlers and we grilled burgers on the Lucky Grille. As the Ale went down smoothly, fall leaves covered the wet deck and the last of the day's sunshine peaked through the trees, Derek and I  warmed ourselves standing by the Grille. It was hard to believe that 4:30 a.m. was less than 16 hours ago!

Getting Ready for Camp

Most of my art supplies are laid out in the studio and sample journal pages are in various stages of artmaking and drying. For the last few weeks I’ve been preparing for Camp.  Sponsored by the Moyer Foundation and Hospice of Anchorage’s Forget Me Not Grief Programs, Camp Erin Anchorage is a weekend camp offered at no charge for children and teens ages 6-16 who have experienced the death of someone close to them. Camp Erin combines traditional fun camp activities with grief support and education.  I’m honored to have been asked to be a volunteer

artist instructor and be leading Artful and Visual Journaling. Fortunately, I have wonderful projects and samples from other classes and programs I’ve created and taught. I have been a supporter of Healing Art Therapy since my diagnosis and recovery from AML Leukemia in 2000-2001 which inspired me to be a founding member of the ArtVenture Program at Providence Hospital’s Cancer Center.

Here are some of the sample pages I have made for the younger kids to use as prompts for their Journal’s. With such a wide range of ages at Camp Erin, I have prepared a "little bit of everything" type of art projects, from simple prompt drawing pages, to blank Mandala patterns and more involved Visual Journaling

step-by-step processes using collage, Mod Podge with paint layering.  I spent yesterday morning at Kinko’s making colorful and hopefully inspired copies of my “how-to” projects. These pages not only are great take-home ideas for the kids to do at their leisure but also help the volunteer facilitators help me to better assist the campers. The camp is being held at a picturesque lake setting, retreat, complete with cabins, a main dining hall and incredible woods. The kids as well as adults will no-doubt be inspired by all of the fall colors so I’ve also made up a few 

“My Leaf Collection” journal pages that hopefully will spark a few Nature and gathering hikes.

There are a lot of art project resources on the internet, especially in the area of journaling, that I’ve us

ed over the years for my various curriculums. A valuable resource has been my husband with his years of coaching & 

teaching experience who has offered valuable insights into the mysterious and ever-changing world of the teenage psyche…  –thank you sweetie xox! Here are also a couple of other links I used for preparing for this weekend’s camp, Kathy Barbro’s Art Projects for Kids and Teesha Moore’s Journaling Blog.  I love working with kids and I’m looking forward to going to Camp on Saturday to share some fun ideas for Artful Journaling.  What a great reason to have dusted off all of my cool art supplies and make some art. I'm always surprised at how easy is it to sometimes forget how much I like doing art! 

Even the Weather Was Artful

It’s probably best that it is pouring rain this morning here in Girdwood. Daddy-O has the football game on (thankfully at a very low volume), I’m sipping hot tea and we’re not up for our

usual morning hike. Gus is drawing with his new super-duper mega-marker set he bid on and won in the kid’s silent auction. The GCVA “Fall for Art” was a huge success last night and we’re worn out from so much laughing, dancing, eating and revelry that can only happen when you throw a bunch of artists and joyous patrons together in Girdwood –not to mention a live band, the best beers on tap and wine sold by the bottle (with dinner of course)!

The setting couldn’t have been more spectacular and the beer couldn’t have been better (one of our favorites, Glacier Brewhouse Amber Ale: Made with the finest English floor malts in the world, malty, medium bodied, and balanced with hints of chocolate and caramel…) –sorry, did I mention beer again?! We were surprised and impressed to see that GCVA unveiled their plans, designed by Architects Alaska, which is a beautiful new Arts Center building! This ambitious goal certainly fueled higher than normal bidding.

Alyeska Resort and their employees hosted quite the spread of a full spaghetti

dinner, bar and all you can eat fresh Pie for dessert. Art patrons dined amid the alpenglow of beautiful Mt. Alyeska, the changing yellow birch trees and kids of all ages ran around on the freshly cut resort grounds. There were over 5 huge tables of silent auction items and 6 live auction items. I was honored that “Spenard Kinetic” was a live auction item and brought over $800 to GCVA, thanks to a generous supporter of the arts. Winners of the Pie Baking contest won highly coveted hand thrown pie dishes donated by Girdwood’s best potters, which always heats up the competition even more. The center pieces were hip and creative using shredded paper for nests atop recycled plastic jugs that contained glow-in-the dark liquid and battery operated tea lights. Newsprint painted leaves and origami cranes in various sized nested on table tops. The center pieces came to life as the Daylodge dining lights were dimmed when the auctions ended and the band fired up. Kids and adults hit the dance floor working off a bit of dinner and tons of fresh PIE we all had consumed! 

The Girdwood Center for Visual Art's Annual "Spaghetti Feed" has always been a family event making it fun for all ages, one that we’re glad to have involved our 3 kids. This year the event

got a new name, a new look and some much needed new energy. In addition to all of the adult type silent auction art items, this year there were 2 lowered silent auction tables just for kid bidding and even a Kids category for the Pie Baking Pie Contest. Gus was thrilled to 

have WON the Kids Pie Baking Contest with his Apple-Cranberry-Raisin Pie!!  It was inspiring to see the new vision of a 6,000 + sq. ft. arts building for GCVA and meet the new board and new volunteers. The old “GCVA Spaghetti Feed” used to be held at various artists homes who would spend the day cooking up batches and batches of spaghetti and sauce with the help of friends and family, a job that is now hosted by the Resort and professional staff. The “Spaghetti Feed”  has grown not only into a real fund raising event but a “not to miss” social event and highly competitive Pie Baking Contest.  While the new "larger vision" for GCVA  is inspiring, fortunately, the friends, the fun, support, and everyone’s LOVE OF ART is still the same. 

First Tracks Anyone??

I know what Derek will be bidding on at the Fall for Art event this Saturday night...

Damp, yellow Birch leaves now cover our lawn and the dogs regularly track them into the house. The beautiful low bush cranberry bushes have turned a vivid scarlet. Weird and fun mushrooms are popping up everywhere emitting strange new smells. Fall is my favorite time of year and normally my most productive. Though lately I’m finding it hard to find a good production schedule  that's in sync with times of high inspiration corresponding with available time to actually work. Not 

that I’m complaining, but between homework, field trips, college kids needs, our FUN fall social commitments, the business end of my art and general household maintenance my brain is way full and my feet tired. The shopping, cooking, laundry, meal planning and other domestic items necessary for a happy home are now largely my turn now that Derek has returned to school, which is a bummer, because he is REALLY good at it!

I think when I have a full domestic brain it cuts off circulation to my creative brain. I had a mini creative block (which can cause a bit of panic) for a week or so but was completely re-inspired by getting a chance to help another artist with a new 

business venture. I can’t reveal what the project is but I can show you a couple of pictures of the pieces I’m working on for her! For now, I’ll call them the “covert Octopi” which are oxidizing from their patina bath outside right now!  Can't believe I'm saying this, but we need a bit of rain for the patina to be just perfect. 

Postscript: How cool is this?? Tauzer won the contest from Blanco Bob the Boxer in Maine! Thank Bob, you ROCK and your Mom creates fantastically creative  Cowgirl Goods!

Fall For Art Drive

We delivered the donation sculptures to the Girdwood Center for Visual Arts in Girdwood this morning. On the drive south, we enjoyed seeing Nature working on a whole new color palette. The Fireweed has now lost all of it’s magenta-pink flowers. I was thinking it is hard to compare Alaska’s foliage with the Aspen’s of Colorado or the rolling hills of color on the East Coast. However, in just a 40 minute drive south on the Seward Highway, a Scenic Byway here in Alaska, we saw a Cow 

Moose and her baby, Trumpeter Swans (in the image above my quickie digital camera didn't capture their true glory)  in Potter’s Marsh and Beluga Whales breeching in the Cook Inlet. That’s not including the Ravens, Jays, Magpies, Eagles and other smaller creatures we also saw along the way. The colors of the Birch and Fireweed Foliage added a beautiful backdrop to the abundance of wildlife today and the real bonus was not seeing a single RV!

This month’s featured artist at the GCVA is Anna Young and her water color works featuring “The Lost Art of Alaska Fishing.” The GCVA Gallery was looking a bit too full of co-op member's work, making it 

hard to appreciate all of the talented artists individually. I think it’s hard to strike a balance of “white space” or breathing room with full-on commerce, especially in a co-op setting.

The 3 swimming salmon wall sculpture was completed this week for a client. My clients who commissioned the piece have a house in Idaho they wanted a wall sculpture for. The space for the sculpture was a bit tight and the 

work needed to fit just right. I drew a chalk line out on the shop floor to show how the sculpture would fit in the space and sent a quick digital image of the sculpture to the client for approval and fortunately they loved it. I’ll hook up with them next week here in Anchorage to deliver the piece. 

Summer's Clock Has Struck

The State Fair is over. I picked up the few remaining pieces from the Bad Girls of the North booth yesterday up in Pamer. I was lucky to have great sales thanks to Vicki & Carol's hard work. It was kind of sad watching the deconstruction of the giant rides, people packing up their booths and trucks loaded with carnival remnants -though I’m sure those folks were happy to be finally packing up! The Fireweed has now gone to seed and become fluttering cotton. The mornings are darker and cooler, hard to believe just a few weeks ago we were enjoying record setting heat and midnight sun days.

 Fall is my favorite time of year and not just because I have my birthday in the fall! I like the changing of the season’s, it is usually a time of renewal and heightened inspiration for me. One of our family’s favorite events is also coming up too  –the annual GCVA fundraiser. The silent art auction used to be called The GCVA Spaghetti Feed and Pie Contest. This year the popular event has a new look, new logo, and new blood. Now called the Girdwood Center for Visual Arts “Fall for Art” will be Saturday, September 19 at the Alyeska Resort Daylodge. Great new name and new look for a good cause. One of the pieces I’m donating is called “Spenard Kinetic,” a reclaimed bicycle wheel that has a dog chasing a cat, chasing a bird. It spins in the wind and the dog and cat charms on the collars jingle with the motion. I’m also donating a Halibut wall sculpture piece since there are a few commercial fishing families in Girdwood who I thought might bid for the cause.

"There is always a heavy demand for fresh mediocrity. In every generation the least cultivated taste has the largest appetite."  ::: Paul Gauguin :::

 

"Supporting" a Good Cause

Finished my Art Bra for the  “Foundations for Recovery” project. My friend Katie is an avid fly-fisherwoman and dedicated volunteer with the non-profit

 organization, Casting For Recovery. Katie told me about the fundraising project and I was excited to make an Art Bra for charity -what a fun idea. CFR offers fly-fishing retreats as an introduction for an alternative therapy to women who have had breast cancer and they believe "To Fish is to Hope." The Art Bras will be on display and viewed for the month of October (which is Breast Cancer Awareness month) then will be auctioned at the First Friday Gallery

Walk in November at Half Moon Creek Gallery in Anchorage.

My bra is titled “Alaska Women’s Training Bra”
It is plasma cut and welded from 22 gauge steel, based on the pattern of bra provided –only fortified with, a pair of reclaimed training wheels, galvanized gate latch for the bra hook, aluminum wire mesh bow and lined with faux fur for “comfort.” The idea for my “training bra” was that most Alaskan women are tough, resourceful, supportive, unique and beautiful and those are also the qualities a woman needs to fight cancer, any type of cancer. From CFR; “Cindy was motivated to work on this project because she is a good friend of Katie H. , one of the founders of CFR in Alaska that continues to be part of the program, she

 loves to fly fish, and because of her outlook as a leukemia survivor.  She directs her energy toward survivorship and the recognition of her mother-in-laws struggle with breast cancer.  She strives to focus on the people that are making it in the struggle to live fully -- to give hope -- in the face of the true but sad reality of cancer. Cindy is an Alaskan full time metal artist.  She was originally an illustrator and graphhic designer.  She turned to metqal sculpture after her leukemia diagnosis.  Her current work is with the commercial and residential market."

Here are some other links to Art Bra Projects.

The artful bras project, Bras for a Cause –Members of Quilters of South Carolina

Chesapeake Medical Center’s Bra-ha-ha 

Fiji Cancer Society

A Great Way to Spend A Day

Get UP & Get Happy is the theme for this years fair and that's just what we did to celebrate my birthday. We found a parking spot in the front row and it was 2 for 1 day under clear blue skies at the Alaska State Fair! After we delivered the artwork to the Bad Girls of the North booth, we enjoyed a fresh tamale from the booth next door. Gus and I rode a few rides (2 for 1!), won a few games and ate some more at my favorite spot, “Taco Dans.”  I won at betting Orange on the Rat Race -10 to 1 odds too! We saw the new world record Cabbage at 125.9 pounds plus other HUGE Alaskan size veggies. Gus and I were inspired to enter the Veggie Art contest next year… Fed some of the livestock and picked out our favorite Holsteins, rabbits, pigs and sheep. We were able to see and visit with a lot of friends who were also enjoying a night out at the Fair. As the sun was setting, Derek and I dreamed of raising cows and goats and putting Gus in 4-H, but in the end we settled for fresh Alaska Berry Ice Cream and a romantic late-night drive back home.

Born to Be Wild

Born: September 3, 1962    At: “Around 10:00 P.M. En Route”  

Delivered By: “Her Father in the front seat of his truck”  

Hospital: “Hwy 101 San Luis Rey, Oceanside CA”  

Weight: 9 lbs. 4 oz.  

Happy Birthday to me, I love birthdays, and each year look forward to celebrating mine! Mixing a bit of business with pleasure, we’re heading up to the Alaska State Fair to celebrate, eat and bring more Ravens and Wind Salmon to The Bad Girls of the North booth. They’ve been rocking the sales and needed more inventory from me –oh darn!

Yes, it’s true, my Dad delivered me in the front seat of his truck, 47 years ago on Labor Day. Being their first child (and large), my Mom was a very brave woman and my Dad probably a bit frantic. Or more accurately, Dad was relieved that after the BIG event on the side of the road, once back at Camp Pendleton, his USMC buddies cleaned up his new truck while Mom & I rested at the base hospital. Being born in my Dad’s truck has turned into a bit of an urban legend in our family. A few years ago, the story was last told in fantastic, bard-like style by my Dad in what was probably the best version yet at my 40^th birthday party. We had a “Princesses & Banditos”  themed party, with authentic Mexican food, Margarita’s and everyone dressed in costumes –hence, princesses and banditos. We handed out glitter, crowns and fem for the women and girls in prom-like dresses and sombreros, mustaches and fake ammo belts for the guys in tough jeans and boots. Everyone laughed and danced to Fiesta and Salsa music all night long under a huge outdoor tent –which is really funny because when you “Google Earth” our house, the party was immortalized by the satellite capturing an image of this big yellow tent on our deck! I know I’ve said thanks to my Mom & Dad every year for being brave on the side of that dark road 47 years ago, but I know they’ll read my Blog so I’ll say it again “thank you and I love you both!” Oh, and mark your calendars, only 3 more years to the big Five-Oh, PRINCESSES & BANDITOS PART DEUX!

Public Works "Bicycle Bloom"

The deadline to submit proposals for 3-5 sites needing Public Art Sculptures was Tuesday at 4:00 pm. I kept the e-mail announcement and RFP that I had received in August live in my in-folder but wasn’t too serious about applying but decided, kind of at the last minute, to apply. Submitting a proposal for the 1% for Public Art can be daunting because there is a lot of prep work that needs to be done, separate from

 coming up with a good design. What prompted me to apply was a call from a first time applying artist who wanted to submit a design but while the RFP encouraged first time artists to apply, they should list the support of a more experienced “mentor.” I think this is a great idea and hopefully this will encourage more artists to apply for Anchorages 1% for Public Art projects. The very talented first timer and I met and I think we encouraged one another. I reviewed his designs and showed him mine –his are better! He also raised some VERY GOOD questions while putting together his proposal that couldn’t even be answered by the projects listed contact person… not a good thing. After a little research, an e-mail or two and a couple of phone calls, I THINK we were able to find out the answers to his questions (which also became my questions) –we’ll see. This whole process had my mind in over-drive since last week with everything from needing to revamp my portfolio, the public art processes, budgets, cool designs for outdoor art and to the importance of encouraging emerging artists. My head hurts and I’m much busier in my head than my production schedule shows.

Some positive steps that did result in forcing myself to go through this process were that I hired Heather Thamm to shoot some of my recent installations. I’ve been el-cheapo lately and haven’t kept up on my portfolio, as I should. My quickie digital photos just don’t cut it. My works are too large and I never have the appropriate backgrounds nor photographic expertise –or time. Just putting the shot list together for Heather took all weekend, deciding which installed pieces to shoot, get a quote from Heather, logistics, contacting the various businesses to get permission to shoot, figuring out the locations, coordinating the times etc. was a job.  I remembered why I’ve put this off for so long. Another necessary component for the RFP was to update my resume, something else I’ve put off but tidied up and it felt good to cross off my to-do list. The RFP also required a Narrative Description, Materials and Budget for artists design. I included in my budget; -Design and Project Management, -Architectural Scale and Concept Model, -Fabrication of Sculpture Components, -Structure Fabrication and Assembly, -Powder Coat Finish, -Installation, -Plaque and Documentation, -Insurance and  -Project Contingency

…all of which left very little for my actual design. Again, though difficult, it was a good exercise even to write the narrative of my idea, thinking through why I had the idea I had and why does the design work. I don’t do rejection very well which is why I don't submit proposals for the majority of Public Art Opportunities. Needing to do all of the prep work left me feeling a bit unqualified.  I reminded myself that the thought of being rejected is a distinct possibility and one that artists know comes with the profession. As far as dealing with the rejection, as I tried to encourage the first time applicant (and myself), we can't be selected if we don't submit and let's just keep moving forward and learn from each project. It seems that the smallest part of this latest process was the easiest part for me, and that was to come up with the design!