The First Week of the Fall Semester

This was my first week of school (second semester) at Boise State University. My first class in the morning is beginning ceramics. Last Thursday we actually got to start working with the clay. The only clay work I have done before was many years ago at Fullerton Community College at a clay sculpture class that did not include ceramics.

My ceramics teacher demonstrated a certain method we are suppose to use called the coil method. It looked fairly simple...until I tried it myself. It's not as easy as it looks! Fortunately, this is just a practice piece and not something we are going to be graded on. I wanted it to be a small bowl but somehow it ended up to be a large plate and I have no idea how that happened! I hated it so much that I wanted to destroy it and start all over again! But my teacher recommended that I not rework the clay and turn it into something else, because reworked clay doesn't work as well as fresh unused clay. Besides, this is just a practice piece, not an assignment to be graded. I think I know what I did wrong and I am anxious to start another piece that will be more successful. I think I am going to have to spend a lot of extra hours just practicing and developing some skill. It would be nice if I could pull at least a 'B' in this class. At this point, I think an 'A' is too much to shoot for!

My other class in the afternoon is Art Foundations for 3 Dimensional work. We already have homework. Next week we start working on our first project. We are suppose to construct a sculpture or shape out of wire and then place some sort of "skin" around the wire. I thought of a great idea that was based on a kid's project that I saw when I did some volunteer work last spring at the Boise Art Museum Art Camp for Kids. I am going to use clothes hanger wire and pantyhose to make a sculpture. I will probably paint it. I actually started on the basic structure of it this weekend.

This past week I also went to a BSU job fair because I'm still looking for some kind of part-time or temporary job that works around my school schedule. Meanwhile, I am making some money from art sales. I will have a check coming in September from the sales I made in August at the Sawtooth Artisan's Gift Shop. I will also have some money for the commissioned portrait I am working on. I think September will be a good month to do some online selling of some stuff around the house that I don't need or want anymore.

New Portrait Commission and Battle Fatigue

Well, next week is the first week of school and I am ready! I have been looking forward to school all summer long and it is finally hear.

This past year has been a year of persecution and battles and I have had to cope with a few unpleasant battles this week while preparing for school next week. I have come to realize that I am suffering from "battle fatigue." I am definitely running on empty! So I am taking steps to get better. I decided to give myself a weekend alone in Banks, Idaho. This is a special event that focuses on healing and renewal while you stay at a beautiful place with great mountain scenery.

I have started on the portrait commission that I recently got of a little boy hugging a persian cat. The photo I'm working with is not quite as sharp as I would like it to be, but I can work with it. So far, it is coming out very well. Not having a job or schoolwork gives me a lot of time to work on this. It will probably be done by mid-September.

Another Autumn Landscape Completed

I finished my second landscape of Hidden Lake from my trip to Leavenworth and Plains, Washington and have posted it above. I think I will call it "Autumn Landscape." I am really happy with how it turned out. I used colored pencil and turpenoid and added some acrylic spatters to give it an interesting texture. I already have a customer who wants a print of it.

After about six months of no portrait commission work at all, I finally got a portrait commission order! It will be of a small boy and a beautiful Himalayan cat. The client has to resend the photo to me by email because the first one was too big to print and the second photo was too tiny to use. I have learned that the most challenging part of a portrait commission is just getting the photo from the client. I had about six other people sign up for portraits, but only one has actually followed through with a photo.

Out With The Old and Painting Autumn

'Autumn at Hidden Lake'

It's only a few weeks before school starts again and I am really looking forward to it. I am taking Ceramics and Art Foundations for 3-D art. Both of these are new areas for me that I don't have much experience in, so I know I will learn a lot.

This is also a time for "out with the old, in with the new." I am voluntarily walking away from my job as a custodian. It was terribly hard on my back, leading to pain and chiropractic visits about once a week. There were other problems which made it very stressful for me and it was difficult to handle the stress and concentrate on my school work. I thought it would be like my previous job at TenXsys and would be a 'light' custodial work, but really wasn't. I never worked harder in my life than I did at this job! Although this is not the best time to be quitting a job and looking for another one, I think I made the right decision. I will be making some money as a art workshop teacher at the Vineyard and I will continue to market and sell my art.

I started another art piece that is a companion to my 'Autumn at Hidden lake' (posted above). It is the same lake, but different view. It has the same beautiful autumn colors to it. It's about half done and I will post it when it is finished.

I recently sold a framed print of the 'Autumn at Hidden Lake' piece and the purchaser would like another print that has the same colors, so that motivated me to start this new piece. Another reason I decided to do another 'Hidden Lake' piece is that I am really enjoying the exploration of painting autumn colors. This is something new to me and I am learning a lot. So many of my landscapes are in colors of brown, gray, green and blue. It is nice to be able to work in a pallet that made up of yellows, oranges and reds.

Refuge In You Art Exhibit & Reception

"Under His Wings"

"Serenity In The Sawtooths"

I just got back from the Vine Arts Exhibit reception at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship. This show is called "Refuge in You." I entered two pieces in this show--"Under His Wings" and "Serenity in the Sawtooths." Both pieces are posted above.

The piece "Under His Wings" actually is an illustration for Psalms 91: 3-4 which says, "Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

Yes, I know it LOOKS like two birds mating, but that is NOT what this is suppose to be illustrating. I took a chance and decided to enter this piece, know that is might cause a few uplifted eyebrows, but the pastors did not have a problem with it, so I don't either!

The other piece, "Serenity in the Sawtooths," was originally a piece I used for my Christmas cards one year. I actually did some touching up to this painting and took out the red Christmas bulbs on the one tree in this piece. The photo shown on my blog site is the version that still shows the Christmas ornaments on the tree.