North Wall Library Mural (Part 2)

The Earth and Mars came together pretty well. But, Jupiter gave me quite a bit of trouble. During Thanksgiving break, I painted a quick 12 x 12 study with new colors. Thankfully, I listened to an audio book, and to students, and to Miss Sandy. This enabled me to loosen up on Jupiter. It helps to just forget what you're doing a bit, and to not pay too much attention. It's one of the reasons that I listen to audio books in my clay shed. It's a form of "gentle distraction". Your hands and heart take over the project.

After Winter Break, the East Wall will get some attention. The general background color is pink. Michelle, of Heart Room, is working on an undersea mural on the south wall. 

 

North Wall Library Mural (Part 1)

We had a lot of blue paint, left over from Owen's bedroom remodel. So, this wall became solar system themed. I created large circular paper templates, and chalked in the planets onto the wall. Then, I filled in the circles with white acrylic paint. Finally, the process of adding color began.

My students painted some circular stars. This gave the mural some dimension. 

 

A Royal Mess

During a school board meeting power point presentation, one bullet point listed the "closure of the school library"... But, students love visiting the library. They run and skip there each Friday. It is one place where free choice is allowed. Anyone can select any book, about any subject, on any grade level. I usually read a story to my class each Friday. We've learned about Nelson Mandela, the King of Denmark, traveling westward in a covered wagon, and more! 

Parents built a storage shed, and much of this material which had been kept in the library during the pandemic, was stored or recycled. A floor plan was developed and consulted. An office, and a small classroom were created. Eventually, the library was ready for murals.

 

Hiatus?

 

Well, I've still been making art, even if I haven't been appearing on here... At the start of vacation, Percy had emergency surgery to have his right eye removed. We're not entirely sure about the cause of the eye injury, but we're glad that he is feeling better. In fact, despite the sutures, and the cone, he seems to be closer to his saucy self.

I've been working on some paintings, and on glazing some ceramic work. I've also been slowly building this year's basket, in between binge watching a Finnish crime drama with subtitles.

Lousy Facebook

 

Turn that thumb upside down. I have left this social media platform before. My mind was made up to leave permanently after Open Studios. So, I deactivated my account shortly after packing up my artwork from the show. Here are some of the problems, as I see them.

First, I spend too much time scrolling through shoe and eyeglasses advertisements. I purchased some expensive, ill-fitting Danish shoes online. Now, I have been bombarded with ads for similar shoes. I can't even wear the expensive shoes that I purchased, because breaking them in was killing my poor feet. Now, I see ads to buy other colors, or styles of the same shoe. It's a reminder of how stupid I was to splurge on my pair in the first place. I purchased a pair of great glasses that I love. Once again, every spectacle company on our planet is showering me with advertisements.

Next, the content is dull. I thought that it would improve after the election, and that there would be more art being shared. It is not happening. I tried to do my part, on a personal level, by posting my work. It just made me lose friends.

Finally, it is addictive to me, and it makes me sad. When I'm on Facebook, I'm wasting valuable time. I could be reading books, making art, or helping others. Instead, I'm scrolling though a vast junk mail emporium. And now, Facebook is trying to set me up with their dating app. Or, is pitching catsuits to me on their shopping site. Ugh. People are complicated. You can't possibly profile me, based on my online habits.

Farewell. 

My Home

Last week, during Open Studios, a couple of people expressed disappointment about my house not being open for the event. Because I teach children, I decided to keep the event covid safe, and outdoors. Also, sometimes it's difficult to walk in, and to see a customer lying on my bed. Or, to have people bring dogs inside my house, which stresses out my dogs, and causes them to mark up the house. So, it seemed more convenient and safe to take my work outdoors. This involved an investment in tables, and cloths. Also, I bought some new risers. 

It was easier to not have to clean all of my belongings out of my living room. So, I suspect that if I get in again, I might set up outdoors in the future... So, here is a look at my home.

Fall Errands & Wet Clay Day

Today was a good day to make some new tiles. I remade the test tiles from last month, which I ruined with glaze, because I really enjoyed the form. Hopefully, I'll do a better job glazing these. And, I made a new dog bowl, since Eugene the Cat broke our last remaining dog bowl. Luckily, the other new dog bowl was in the kiln firing at the time of the last vindictive "bowl-pocalypse"... 

All during the day, I listened to a new audio book. It was a doozie! There's still a little left for today. I bought basket making supplies for the kids, and Harvest Festival craft supplies. Then, there was some antiquing! At the end of the day, one of my canisters popped up on my Pinterest feed. Another artist was taking credit for the creation of it. Ha. Social media is definitely humbling. The last time that I saw this piece, it was labeled as an "easy slab project for children".