Want to send out a big, “Thank you!” to all my friends who made it to my opening reception at the Holden Gale Free Library yesterday afternoon! We didn’t get any great shots at the event so I thought I would post this lovely Hydrangea that I shot this week. It is the only bloom that we got out of three bushes this year. Hydrangeas were one of my mom’s favorites and I certainly felt her all around me yesterday. Last night I had a dream that I was at a reception for a show and all my relatives - even those that have passed on - were there and were telling me how proud they were of me. I am truly blessed to have such support all around me from all sides of this life!

“Keeping the Seed Alive” 42″x 42″ acrylic and mixed media on canvas

Quote at the top says: “Keeping the seed alive upon the face of Earth once the fountains of the deep and the windows of the sky are stopped”   - Genesis

…back from my weeks of computer freeze (Vista problems again)….

The above is a large piece I reworked from this :

I hung a show at the beginning of the week at the Gale Free Library in Holden, MA. It went well, I only broke one piece of glass! I will have to share a view of that big, detailed illustration after the show comes down as it is now behind reflective glass that doesn’t photograph well. The buzz from the library director is that my show is causing quite the excited commotion with the staff and visitors to the show. My guess is that my work is quite different from the typical post-retirement landscapes that they normally see.

I’m feeling pretty down on myself today…mostly because of very human things but I’m upset that I am being a bit too human lately - mixing up apointments or forgetting them all together, spacing on what time it is and that I should probably be making dinner. I do have a great many balls that I am trying to keep in the air but that doesn’t seem like a good enough excuse.

I’m cheering myself up today with some inspiration:

Isn’t this beautiful? This is the work of Liz Tran: http://liztran.com/artwork/327289.html

Several people have pointed me in her direction because she too paints ark-like vessals and loves circles and similar palettes…and knew I would just love her work. It makes me itch to look at her work today because I think it would be great therapy to do a looser painting today - one I have been dreaming of and wanting to do all summer but haven’t had the time because of commissions and illustrations - that I am grateful for and love as well but wanting to loosen up a bit today but - sigh - there’s that deadline thing again!

 Finally, here’s some Julia to lighten my mood:

“All creative acts require daring, and daring is something that can be learned. We dare, first of all, to accept ourselves as we are in the moment. We dare, next, to accept that that may be enough. Writing from where we are, painting from where we are, acting from where we are, we make beauty of the places we have been. By insisting to ourselves that beauty is present even on those days when we cannot see it, we make the beauty in the world more real. The fact that today I cannot see the mountains in my valley does not mean that they are gone. In the same way, the fact that some days we cannot see our own beauties does not mean that they are gone. It is worth instigating a line of questioning. “

-Julia Cameron, The Sound of Paper

I haven’t left town yet to find a different job! I’m so stressed about getting this illustration finished in time to somehow frame it in a temporary way for an upcoming show that I am grinding my teeth to paste and chewing the inside of my cheeks like they are a piece of Hubba Bubba! I can’t believe how long it takes me to complete just one little piece of this illustration!! I love it but I feel a bit like a monk tied to his chair with only bread and water to keep him alive.

This is what’s happining at my desk right now. The only thing that’s missing is Owen, my new kitten, who keeps walking across my work to get to the water.

…a detail

Went on a date with my husband, David today to the Brimfiled Antique show. We were looking for a new dining room table, which I have wanted to replace for sixteen years. We didn’t find one but we found a few other fun things…

     …loved these wooden idols - wish I could have afforded one to watch over my home.

I would like to teach a workshop some day for adults to make idols in their own image and make little shrines to put them in.

my task over the last few days has been addressing announcements for an up-coming show. If you would like to be on my mailing list and don’t think you are already, please email me with your address and I will include you!

www.janemhoughton@gmail.com

Started another illustration for the book. In this one - it shows the ark covered in little pieces of (what I like to call) “flotsam and jetsam” that represent the memories and lessons we will all leave behind when we depart this short life. I find myeslf collecting ideas for these tiny pieces while I am out and about going about my business. I’d love input from anyone who comes up with some great little things I could stick on to this ark. I especially like things that conjure a memory for whatever reason.

“Nature Boy”

24″ square acrylic and mixed media on distressed brown paper mounted on wood.     

 Quote on the bottom, under the ‘ocean hill’: (from the song “Godspeed (Sweet Dreams));

Dragon tales and the “water is wide” Pirate’s sail and lost boys fly Fish bite moonbeams every night And I Love You”

…and this completes my last commission of the summer! Now - on to the illustrations for the long awaited and anticipated, ‘Daddy’s Boat Grace’ - stay tuned!

p.s.: just noticed that sun beam at the top of the piece that must have snuck in between the trees where I was photographing this - thought I should go retake the photo but - unprofessional as it might seem - I kind of like it!

…”what’s doin?” is something my highschool friend’s father used to ask me and I haven’t thought of it in years - the brain is a strange lump of gray matter, huh?

…this is “what’s doin’” in my studio today !

…and tomorrow and the next day

Took off to visit my friend Barb this weekend at her adorable new home in Madison, NJ. We threw our children on the train and headed into the city to meet our other dear friend, Meghan and her son, Max at the Museum of Natural History. What a treat and an inspiration! I could have stayed in the Hall of Biodiversity for the whole day. This exhibit on one whole huge wall is a work of art that had my heart pounding with inspiration.

The gems and minerals exhibit was also spell binding. My background in museums had me feeling my roots and I was one happy girl.

That evening Barb’s girls planned a very special party for us with a Hawaiin luau theme. Our contribution was sparklers! Never too young to learn about fire safety!

This is my favorite shot of Joannah - reminds me of the photos of Picasso with his light, drawing in the air.