hello there

I don't think I've ever gone almost a whole month without writing a blog post in all the five years that I've been blogging! I was sick for a little bit, as was my little guy. Then we went on a family vacation to Seattle and had an amazing time. I was in a beautiful wedding and after that we went to Orcas Island to just sit, be still, and breathe in the fresh air. And stare up at the unbelievable stars in the clear night skies. Those starry nights took my breath away. I will never forget it.

Needless to say I have not had much studio time and so I'm just not here blogging away about my putterings in the studio. I hope that will change soon!

I'm back here in Chicago and getting settled back into the swing of things and gearing up for a couple of shows coming up. This weekend is the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival. Milwaukee Avenue is a looooooooooooong stretch of road. I'm not sure, but I think it spans north to south Chicago. This festival takes place in the stretch that runs through the Logan Square neighborhood. I am participating in the Logan Square Connections Exhibit.


The Seed is Hope
encaustic on clayboard
8x8 inches
-sold-

I will have 3 encaustic paintings hanging in this show. Jane Michalski, who I met at the first FusedChicago meeting, curated this show and I know there will be some fantastic work to see.

Logan Square Connections
at Voice of the City Studio
3429 W Diversey Ave., Suite 208
Chicago, IL 60647
Opening Reception: Friday, July 31 5pm-10pm
Gallery Hours: Saturday, August 1 noon-8pm
Sunday, August 2 noon-7 pm

I will be there the opening night in the early hours. And then I am scheduled to gallery sit on Sunday 12-2pm. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hello!


There will be several art shows exhibiting during the festival. For a full list of galleries and locations, go here.


I'm excited to announce that two of my encaustic paintings were just accepted into the member show at theLill Street Gallery. That show will take place in late August. I will post more about that later.

And of course the Barbie Redux show is coming up very very soon! Unfortunately I won't be able to fly out to California for that. But it looks like it will be a good time. Patricia Anders just posted a photo of my encaustic barbie on her blog. Be sure to browse around and see what other artists did to their barbies!

all things seen and unseen

all things seen and unseen
encaustic on clayboard
6x6 inches
sold

My family came to visit this past weekend. It was a full and noisy house with 3 kids running up and down the hallways. After everyone left I managed to catch a nasty cold and am still on the tail end. Been feeling pretty run down lately, but thought I'd write up a little post while my son naps.

I worked on this little piece much longer than I usually do. It was one of those struggles. But then I happened upon Lisa Kairos' blog and she jsut happened to write a post sharing a technique called Intarsia...which I had done a long time ago but completely forgot about! How does that happen?!

Anyway, so I decided to experiment with it on this little piece as I had in my previous painting "Patterns and Cycles"- the red line was done with the intarsia technique as well as the little "o" shapes along the bottom. I really enjoyed rediscovering this technique. Ever since my ceramics class I really have been obsessed with surface. Not like I wasn't already. But it's been tweaked a bit.

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I am so excited to share that three of my encaustic paintings were juried into the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival in the Logan Square Connections exhibit! The show will be at the end of July. I will post the details as the date approaches. My first show in Chicago...hopefully the first of more to come in the future.

I still have a few small encaustic paintings at Sacred Art Gallery in Lincoln Square, here in Chicago. They have asked me for more paintings and I've been working on it. Hopefully by the end of this month I can replenish what I have there.