Something a little different

Thursday, March 5th. This is a workshop that will ony last a couple of hours but hopefully it will turn out to be an enjoyable time spent making wind mobiles. The fun thing about this is that we will be using old CD's and pieces of plexiglas. Naturally, you will get the bling during the day and the glow factor at night ( but then again, only with a UV blacklight which most of you know is a favorite device of mine ). The event is being held at our local art center which provides lots of space for all our creative endeavors.Anna Johannsen is a gifted and conscientous director and she always seems to have her hands full. I hope that the people that attend will find the experience to their liking. Below are samples of what one might expect as a finished piece.

Hearts a Plenty

 Having Friday the 13th coming before Valentine's day is a curious thing. Trying not to be superstitious, it still can be said that I was a bit hypervigilant that day. There was so much to be done and timing was essential in having things run smoothly.Two things were demanding my attention. One was the rock painting class to be held in St. Helena beginning at five p.m. The other was a Mardi Gras/Birthday party beginning at six (which was an invitation I was not going to decline ). So, what the heck... Just be fashionably late which turned out to be okay, because others were too.

    The rock painting class went smoothly and the participants included two young people who had their parents joining them in a creative activity. After an introduction and presenting a basic methods and materials overview, we got started. Some were ready to jump ahead in using whatever materials were available.Having brought a set of Posca™ Pens proved to be helpful for myself and others in drawing something representational on the rock. Hearts were a popular motif, given the upcoming sweetfest.

    Halfway through the two hour class, one of the young art novices had the misfortune of having her rock painting smudged when mom reached over to retrieve something on the table to facilitate her own creation.Suddenly, it became clear that hurt feelings and a sense of frustration overtook a project that had begun on such an enthusiastic note.

She ended up going outside to regroup, and my attempts to bring her back in weren't helping.Time takes time. 

    Eventually, she did come back in but remained quiet.Others attempted to redecorate the rock or at least bring it back to some semblance of cohesiveness. A Nice try but... No. This project was destined to be abandoned.Mom's attempts at reconciliation did not redeem the situation either, but things did turn around.

    One hope I had at having things end on a positive note was to offer her the rock that I had painted after requesting a straight across trade for her "former" rock. The deal was made, the class ended and most were pleased with their own personalized rock.

    Lastly, I did make it to the Mardi Gras party, and it turned out to be a fabulous feast. Our neighbors, Carmen and Tom turned their house into a New Orleans showcase along with several guests arriving in bedazzled attire.The Lobster, Shrimp and Crawdads were over the top delicious! These folks really know how to do it up.

Thanks to Amy, Alex,Elvie and all the "Rock Starrs" from the Art Collective.

Then...Having a Happy Mardi Gras/Birthday Celebration at Tom and Carmen's house

Episode 41

 The picture below is from a photo I saw about the Kiluea volcano that is currently erupting on the Big Island in Hawaii. My neice Elizabeth has had the residue floating down from the sky over her home for some time now. It is like fiberglass or so I am told. This has been quite an adventure that has been going on for some time now. January has witnessed several episodes that are now up in the 40's. Facebook has been keeping us updated on it's progress.

2026, Oh yea. Happy happy. I'm going to just write (or type) using a stream of conciousness in expressing stuff. Everything that pops into my head is in some way trying to formulate ideas that can be modified or made into something tangible. I can envision, manipulate or create from nothing. So can you. Recently the Calistoga Art Center has invited me to feature another workshop about creating mobiles. It sounds like fun, and I'm looking forward to it. It will be happening on March 5th, so there is still time to enroll through Park and Recs, if you are interested in attending.

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching, so I've taken some time making a few dazzlers for your sweetie. The flip side has hearts emblazzoned with another heart motif in invisible ink, just for that extra surprise.These will be on sale at this Saturday's Farmer's Market in Calistoga, so come on by and claim yours!

Kiluea was done with watercolor and Prismacolor pencils. So you can see that rock painting isn't my only passion. But hey, the rocks are still bringing home the bacon.

Below are the "Rocks of the Week"