whiteboard journaling

I took another class of ninth graders out into the wild blue yonder of their highschool campus today. My journaling was on my whiteboard, so I thought I'd document it.

I didn't have the time to shoot the second set of journaling on the whiteboard until we got back into the classroom. The last thing I'd want to do is make kids late for their next class for my documentation!

new drawers

Sometimes it's the little things that make me proud of myself. This week I went over to my local Ikea (which I've loved ever since I first saw one in Germany) and bought myself a small utility drawer unit for the studio. Gotta have somewhere to put those little things, you know. So I took the box of unassembled pieces with me to the studio today & put it all together - I even had to bend metal for the drawers themselves! (It was made to bend easily, I admit.) It just gave me a real sense of accomplishment to have them all done & start putting things into them!

(You can see my cute little set of drawers right next to my worktable here.)

Oh yeah, and I started painting on a pretty cool piece, too... I'm pretty excited about how this is going to turn out as well. ;)

another weekend art fair

I spent my weekend at another weekend art fair, this one in Mountain View, and conveniently documented in this photo.

I'm trying to remember to document my own booth for each of these fairs I do this year, if for no other reason than to remember all the different ways I've laid it out. This time I was fortunate to get a corner spot, so I wanted to make sure to take advantage and leave two open walls on my canopy.

I was also fortunate to be neighbors with my good friend Michelle MacKenzie again - who got the corner spot across the walkway from me.

The neighbor to my side became a brand-new friend, Paul Micheal Meredith, a folk harper and harmonica player. We got to listen to his calm soothing music and then to his cool blues music all weekend long. I'm a blues fan myself, so it was pretty cool.

My booth faced probably one of the coolest bookstores ever, Book Buyers. Not only is this a great place on the inside, but it looks good on the outside, too.

It was pretty hot this weekend, so there always seemed to be clumps of people in the shade of the young sycamores that line the street. In another twenty years or so, this will be one of the shadiest art fairs around.

teaching journaling

Today I was teaching some journaling techniques to another high school class - my white board was my journal sample on the spot. I gave the students the challenge to make observations about one of the trees in the quad where we were so we could identify them when we got back to class. A couple were silver maples, easy enough, but another wasn't in my tree book. I'm guessing it's a landscape tree, maybe my garden books will tell me about it. So I went back to really journal and record the tree myself, for better reference later.


(click on image to enlarge)


(click on image to enlarge)

I got a digital shot of it, too, just for kicks. I'll have to figure this out later in my spare time...

sac building soft opening

The Sacramento Art Complex is officially open and running with it's "soft" opening Second Saturday reception this past weekend. (That would be the weekend I'm just now recovering from.)

Though the reception didn't officially begin until 6 p.m., there was a trickle of people beginning to come through around 5 p.m., as I was darting out the door to go get a bite to eat, then come back, get changed & freshen up from being at the East Sac Garden Tour Boutique all day. It was nearly 6 o'clock by the time I made it back to my studio and opened it all up.

Wendell had been in the studio all day getting his work up on the walls - which at one point meant knocking mine down on the other side - and had left to shower & change at around 4 o'clock, then he got back right around the time I did. (By the way, no artwork was harmed, so all was well!)

More and more people were coming through by six, and by six-thirty, there was a steady stream of humanity until about nine-thirty, when the crowd started to get thinner. We sometimes had alternating crowds in our spaces, and I managed to think of taking a couple photos during a brief pause in my studio.

The whole building was hopping with art lovers and artists, catching all that they could take in and getting a chance to talk with each other in an intimate setting. There were still people coming through at 10 o'clock, when I finally had to call it quits and shut the studio doors - next time won't be so rough, since I won't be working a weekend show at the same time.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I actually caught another artist friend, Kristen Hoard chatting at the top of this image - it's great how the whole complex is becoming a community of artists - and we've already got a few ideas about inviting the rest of the world into our community for more than just Second Saturdays. I'll be posting more on all that later, I'm sure.

(mostly) ready for second saturday

I've gotten more work into the new studio in midtown Sacramento - that would be in the new Sacramento Art Complex at 2110 K Street, near 21st Street, Studio #21 -

Trying to get everything ready for our "soft opening" this Saturday, the Second Saturday of the month is art reception time here in lovely Sacramento. If you're in the area, you are invited to come see me from 6-9 p.m. Heck, you can come in from out of town, too, if you want!

Lot's of activity going on in the building right now - a dozen or more artists are just moving in now like me, everyone going like crazy to be ready for Saturday. I can't wait to see how everyone transforms their own space. I guess I'm a little ahead of alot of artists, but I've got classes to be in tomorrow & a weekend show to set up & do, too -

One of my print racks is in here, the other one will be with me at the East Sac Garden Tour Boutique this weekend (Sat-Sun 10-4 at David Lubin Elementary) leaving me just enough time to run over to midtown for our first reception!

I've pretty much got everything in that will fit right now - even managed to sit down and get some painting done today, for the first time in quite awhile -

moving into new studio

Went and picked up artwork from the Artisan gallery tree show and took it down to my new studio in midtown Sacramento - I actually got a couple pieces of furniture in there last week - moving in little bits and pieces.

Some of the work is from the Visions of Heaven show last December, too. (I'll be rotating some work through here, as it won't all fit!) I thought that the work would take more space, but I've still got room to spare...

More Heaven art pieces flanked by "Quercus Woodland" tree art - still room for more, so I'll have to bring more in soon.

more sidewalk fun

My neighbor on the other side at the sidewalk show now two weekends ago happened to be another Sacramento area artist, Chris Estratis. Michelle already knew Chris, as he had shown in Sac with her & another one of my art buds, Kristen Hoard. Small art world.

I fell in love with Chris's display immediately and wanted to photograph it, which he kindly allowed.

Chris's work is lively and irreverent - sort of like Chris himself - a fun guy to spend the weekend next to.

I didn't get the names of any of these pieces, I just fell in love with the work and the perfect setting Chris had them in.

Unfortunately, I couldn't spend too much time near Chris's art display - my allergies were killing me! If you like his work, check out his website at http://www.chrisefstratis.com/

sidewalk show - part 2

So more shots from the sidewalk art festival in Walnut Creek last weekend. We had wonderful weather and a shady spot, making us pretty pleased with conditions. I made the trip & spent the weekend next to fellow artist Michelle MacKenzie; always great to spend a weekend with a friend!

Part of Michelle's display - I love her river rock pieces that make me feel like I'm right there with my toes in the water.

Michelle touching up part of her display early on during the weekend.

Michelle's colorful hearts and "LOVE" painting made a great street-side display.

Looking all the way from one end of our displays to the other, we even had matching umbrellas, not quite as necessary in the afternoon shade.

classtime

May 2, 08 Friday
afternoon
JFK campus
high overcast, 70ish, slight breeze

kids a little chatty
antsy on a Friday afternoon

birds chirping
lawn mowers
fresh green tips on the redwoods
outside the classroom

In the quad - lots of little birds chirping in the halls - sparrows

(managed to get a bit of sketching done while students were concentrating & quiet-ish)

sidewalk show

I spent last weekend at an art festival in Walnut Creek, CA; set up a booth right next to my art pal, Michelle MacKenzie. I'll post more about her later, but today a few shots on my side of the line.

Pretty cool spot we got, trees and shade in the afternoon. Of course, working around trees and parking meters can be a little tricky, but we managed.

My view for much of the weekend, looking towards Michelle, at a quiet moment - not like I'd stop to take photos while we're busy...

Even without the comforts of a full canopy, I was able to put together a decent display, just at the end of the weekend I had to wash my black drapes that had become pollen-laden.

Looking from Michelle's booth toward my display - more collectors coming -