STANDARD POODLES RULE

This is a photo of Asher. The most wonderful companion a person could ever have. His original family could not take him to the retirement community and they gave him up to St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ. I worked there at the time and as Asher was an older dog (8 1/2 years old) he might have been difficult to place. But I was lucky lucky lucky. I think people who live with Standard Poodles know this. They lean on you. It looks wonderful and feels even more wonderful. I miss him still. Anyone who adopts an older dog is getting a treat.

Some Recent Work

Well, I started these pieces in the summer. That is I applied wax as a resist, then applied diluted blue dye with a foam brush. A month of so later, I ironed out the wax, then the three pieces of paper sat in my studio for several more months. Well to be honest there were four, I made several awful mistakes on one piece, leaving three.

After I ironed out the wax I totally lost control and did the very baroque piece, gradually I just followed what the design told me to do. That was very satisfying. I hope you enjoy them and welcome any comments.

Thanks for looking.

GINNY SENT PHOTOS-YIPPEE!!! AGAIN

First and second are: Martha and Fran (class assistant extraordinaire), third is a closeup of Martha's packets. Next a photo of Pippa and what might be one of her pieces. Again, I need to do another post to add more photos. I guess I'll need to make each photo file smaller. Thanks for looking.

If you have any comments or questions about how the work was produced, just write and I'll try to answer them.

GINNY SENT PHOTOS-YIPPEE!!!

Ginny sent great photos of the class at Peters Valley. As said we had a really good class, extremely intense, lots of hard work. I had a hard time identifying some of the work, so if it's yours claim it in a comment to this post. First photo is of Ginny, second is another one of her pieces, third is Barbara with one of her pieces, fourth is a closer view of the piece. Fifth is a photo of Alice.
That's all I'm allowed in terms of photos. Check next post for more.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

Give me some feedback here? Will women vote republican just because Sarah Palin is on the ticket? Am I crazy, but is that one of the most insulting ideas republicans have ever come up with? Or is it something else? They're pushing the "maverick" idea, but neither McCain or Palin are mavericks; they're traditional, no new ideas, lets just follow bush, he did so well for US (not U.S).

Let's vote them out. Get rid of them. Out!! Out!!! Out!!!!

Go to www.womenagainstsarahppalin.blogspot.com

September 11

This post is to remember my friend Brian Paul Dale who was on flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles. When he died he left a wife and three children under the age of five. He was a wonderful, smart, warm hearted, generous person with enormous patience - he taught me to drive a car when I was 36-years-old. I think of him often and know his family misses him terribly. He was so dependable and honorable, he had wonderful parents and siblings. He had such a big presence that it's hard to believe he's not alive. So this is to remember him.

I made this collage right after I found out he died. I thought the two legs represented both the twin towers and how it felt like there was a big weight pressing down on everyone.

Thoughts on the Democratic Convention

I'm not one to watch conventions, and I really wanted Hillary to be the nominee, but that didn't happen. I've been watching this one, and it's not so awful. John Kerry and Joe Biden spoke well and truthfully about John McCain. It's interesting that there were two speeches saying that Obama would pass health care for everyone when I think that wasn't the plan he put forth, at least not last time I looked. I'd be happy if everyone could get health care. It's a major worry. Health care is so important. I'm reminded of that whenever I think of people outside major metropolitan areas. Not that there aren't terrible doctors all over, but if there are many doctors to choose from you can always go somewhere else. If you're in a rural area you're stuck with the one awful doctor. I know this doesn't have to do with being covered, but I thought I'd just throw it in anyway.

New Class Knowledge and Photos

I took an interesting class taught by Hollie Heller last weekend. It was basically a collage and transfer class. In a strange quirk, Hollie knew some of the students in the very first collage and transfer class I ever took - taught at the 92nd Street Y in NYC by the fabulous Pennie Umbrico.

Most interesting, for me, was being able to translate anything that was remotely two dimensional into a transfer by putting it onto an ink jet printer with special transfer paper. Then ironing in onto a piece of sheer polyester and use it in a collage. The other processes were familiar, but I was pleased to be able to put them together again as I have been concentrating on other art forms and had forgotten how much I enjoyed collage.

Unfortunately, my camera went kaput while I was photographing and so only a few photos will appear here. Ginny promised to send photos to me; if that happens I'll post additional ones.

The first photo is of one of Ginny's collages (still on the screen), next are a few examples of the scores of "packets" Martha was quietly making for two days. Unlike the rest of us, she put all of them very neatly into an envelope. The next three photos are of my collages, a lovely portrait of Randi wearing a perfectly ironed silk shirt is next and an example of her work follows.

Of the collages I made, my favorite is the one with a light blue background and line drawings. Hollie encouraged me to start a series but much larger and now I have the beginnings of four collages each about 2' x 3'. I'll post photos as I complete them.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and met some interesting and talented women, I hope to see some of them again-you know who you are.

Jane Mayer - The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals

I've been watching Bill Moyers interview Jane Mayer about her new book. The reason I feel compelled to write is that he raised the issue of psychiatrists working with and in some cases designing the ways to torture. I'm sure I heard surprise in his voice - I'm hoping that was a way to encourage an answer because if it isn't he is demonstrating significant naivete. I thought Jane Mayer's response also was in the same tone. Historically doctors of all kinds have been involved in designing torture as well as making sure prisoners being tortured are tortured just enough, but not too much? Have Moyers and Mayer not been reading any recent history about the CIA and its training of torturers in South and Central America in the 1970s and 1980s? Can they really be surprised that the CIA would use the same methods, and even more, when this country was attacked. Unfortunately, not only does it show naivete, it also shows a conceit that the United States and its ideals are above that. I hope my perceptions are not accurate. Maybe they see their role as one of balance and fair mindedness, no commentary, just the facts. But in the situations Jane writes about, when one human being is debasing another, anger and horror are more appropriate.

More Photos From Experimental Mark Making Class

These photos were here, and then they were gone, and now I've put them up again. Hope they remain here. But who knows. The first photo is Lori Glessner who taught the class, second is Rae, in her Liquitex official work apron, third is me looking tired. I think I may need different color hair - maybe red?

OsGemeos

Tuesday I saw a terrific art exhibit in Manhattan at Deitch Projects on Wooster near Canal. It was an exhibit by Os Gemeos (the twins which they are) who use latex house paint and found objects for their art, assemblage and music. I've posted a few photos of the exhibit called Too Far Too Close. It's up until August 9th. If you have a chance it's worth trying to see.

MarkMakingClass-July4thWeekend

Fabulous Markmaking class at Peters Valley in Layton, NJ over July 4th weekend. Photos are below. I was lucky to get most of us with our work, but for two they appear separately. The minimalist work belongs to the woman contemplating it from a distance. The collage belongs to the woman taking photos with her cell phone. I mixed those photos up and they are not adjacent to the artist who made them. Sorry, my first post and I'm not proficient yet. And most unfortunately, none of Lori Glessner who did an excellent job teaching us all and I missed getting a photo of the teaching assistant and one other artist. Rats.

GalapagosIslandPhotos

Thanks to John Shore for the two photos of the baby seal and to Susan Bachurski for the photos of the rays. All were taken in the Galapagos Islands. Sounded like a fabulous trip.