Happy Halloween

Here's a photo of a pair of ghosts and a dog dressed as a ladybug who mysteriously appeared in the lobby of our hotel this evening. I'm not sure why the dog was so intent on hanging out with those two ghosts, one of them in a wheelchair. Seriously, the dog was so cute and behaved. It was a nice end to a relatively quiet day.

I went back to the bead supplier after thinking about what I bought yesterday and what I remembered seeing as well. The proprietor gave me additional suggestions based on her observation of what other designers are buying and making. I appreciated her suggestions. I
just wish she were in San Diego rather than here in LA. When I got back to the hotel, there was plenty of time to finish the necklace I started earlier this morning. I'm sure there are other places I could go here in LA. I'll have to do some research and plan to come back up here again soon. In the meantime, I found some lovely stones, and I look forward to making them into jewelry. Tomorrow - home.

Photo Lost In Cyberspace

Here's a photo of the place we're staying here in LA. Actually, this part of town is called Westwood, home of UCLA. It's November 2, 2006 as I write this sentence and add the photo to this entry. It was lost in cyberspace, but I have now recovered it and sent it up to the website from which I then downloaded it to the hard drive on my computer.

The bead supplier I particularly like is located nearby. We've been over there already. Tomorrow while my cousin goes to the doctor, I will have enough to keep me busy for hours on end. In fact, I'm good at entertaining myself wherever I go. When I do travel, I make sure I have something to read or write in or draw on or make. And nowadays, all it takes is my telephone. This afternoon I spent four hours playing with my phone, so much time that I ran the battery out.

The woman at the bead supplier admired my workmanship when she looked at my necklace and bracelet. She said she sees lots of jewelry and mine is very fine. She encouraged me to pursue additional markets besides Spanish Village, especially because we don't always get a great deal of traffic. She also told me that photos would be useful. I am heading down the right street or so it would seem.

Ain't Technology Grand?

I've probably said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: "technology is great when it works." I took some photos with my new phone camera today, but I must have unadvertently erased them before they made it to the service provider website, because they're not there now. They've disappeared into cyberspace. So when I got ready to create this entry, I selected a different photo, one I took yesterday. However, for some reason I can't get it to upload. And I never could really get the wi-fi at the Village to work either. So here I am at home, typing on my old computer.

Anyway, it was quite a nice day today, a mild, autumn day. It is the first day on standard time, but it didn't bother me a great deal. And of course, it's inevitable. There's nothing we can do to fight it. I suppose the only solution would be to spend six months each year in the southern hemisphere. But I'm not sure that's a good solution. If we never experienced shorter days and colder weather, we wouldn't appreciate longer, warmer ones when they come around again.

Tomorrow I'm off to Los Angeles for several reasons including searching for beads and jewelry findings. I've packed a little carrying case with enough beads and findings to keep me busy for days on end. I know that the trip will include some time that I can use to make some jewelry. And it's likely I'll find something new that I want to make up right away. That's usually what happens to me. I've had that experience in the past.

I will try mobile blogging. I think I know what to do. I've re-read the directions. Well, really it's very easy. It's just a matter of doing it a few times so that it seeps into my long-term memory where it will be safer than in my short-term one. So, dear reader, stay tuned. Ironically it may turn out to be easier to stay in touch from a distance than up close.

So What Is a Megapixel Anyway?

Here's a photo I took this morning with my new cellphone camera. Last night my old phone turned itself off and didn't come back on when I pushed the "start" button. I knew it wasn't the battery, because that phone has always been really good about holding a charge. However, I knew that it's been long enough since the purchase of my phone that I was eligible for an upgrade with a rebate. So I decided that since I'm going to Los Angeles next week, I'd better take the opportunity to get a new one now. That occupied much of yesterday evening.

Even part of today was taken up with learning about the various features, including taking and uploading photos. This new phone has a camera which produces an image that is 1.3 megapixels. Really, I admit that doesn't make sense to me. I've always understood a pixel to be a little square on the computer screen. My previous camera took photos that were 480 pixels by 640 pixels. If mega means large, does "megapixels" mean large pixels?

Oh, okay, I've done a little research. It seems that 1.3 megapixels is 960 pixels by 1280 pixels. The old camera was 480 by 640 or VGA. Do you remember the term for the VGA monitors? Those were really hot back in the old days. That means the camera on my phone has more pixels on its screen than my old VGA monitor had. Amazing. That really is amazing.

Philip brought in his "old" camera for me to use for taking photos of my jewelry. It's an SLR camera. The pixels on it's screen are 2560 by 1920 pixels. So it has twice as many across and down as my camera does. So it will take a nice photo, very detailed, much better than my phone camera. It has batteries that you can recharge and Philip brought the battery charger that goes with it.

So we're making technological changes and upgrades. The repeater was unplugged so I haven't been able to get on the internet. I find myself getting lazy at times about trying to troubleshoot the problem. There are so many things that can go on. One day the antennea on the router was unplugged. The repeater has been unplugged several times. When the electricity goes out, everything has to be reset. But when it working, it's great, so convenient. I can take photos with my phone, upload them to the my provider's website, download them to my computer, and then upload them to my blog. And I can perform the whole process in a matter of minutes, give or take a little time for internet traffic, etc.

I did work on jewelry a little bit today. I finished a necklace I started during the week, and I started another one. I find that I need to constantly check to make sure I have all the proper materials. I was going to make a necklace from some beads that I bought last weekend, but the holes are very small. I'm out of the really thin wire. So I need to stop and get some tomorrow, especially if I want to take it on my trip. I usually try to take a little something to work on. That's one advantage with making jewelry. I can carry enough materials and supplies to keep me busy for several weeks in a pouch about half the size of a brick, about the size of a small cosmetics purse. It's very convenient.

Trying Something New

I'm sending this photo from my cellphone in preparation for my trip to LA next week and with the thought of using it as a convenience at times when my schedule gets really hectic. I notice this method allows more characters than a regular text message.

Remembering and Trying To Understand

Here's a photo I took the other morning on my way to a Spanish Village Board Meeting. I think the patio is so pretty, particularly in the early morning. I enjoy getting here early. I like staying late, too, in the summer when the days are longer. Of course, now they're getting shorter. I use to feel so distressed about the end of daylight savings until a friend pointed out that the shortest day of the year is December 21 and by the end of January the days begin to be noticeably longer. So really, in the overall scheme, the short days aren't that many.

Today was spent on various tasks connected with my role as Secretary. There's still more to do, but I've accomplished the most pressing tasks. I'll go on with them again later today and Friday. Tomorrow night is Fourth Thursday again. It seems we just had one. Anyway, Philip and I will be here in the patio between our two studios. Now that it gets dark so much earlier, I think I have to bring out an extension cord and a lamp so that we can sit outside. I always like to keep busy, so I'll need light to work by.

First I work on Spanish Village business. Then I work on a necklace. Then I work on my artist's statement for my website, then I do a little etching. It seems to be easier than just working on the same task for hours on end. Sometimes if I get on a roll, I can continue in one direction, but not always.

Yesterday was the third anniversary of my husband's death. I spent the day at home, working on my Dia de los Muertos project among other things. The idea of the holiday is to welcome the dead back on November 1 if the person died as a child or otherwise on November 2 and to keep their visit a happy one. In Mexico and the Philippines, where the celebrations take place, they celebrate death as the beginning of a better life, not as the end. And altars are created to show the visiting spirit where to return.

So with this in mind, I plan to take a group of items that belonged to my husband and put them in a desk drawer along with his photo and some coupons for KFC, one of his favorite restaurants. These items will be a remembrance and a celebration of his life, things he accomplished and things he loved. In addition, on the group altar at the show, we will each place a letter. I'm working on my letter now. It's not finished, but I think it's a good task to pursue. In fact, I can see writing more than just one. I think it can help me move on to a new place in my life.

Of course, I have other friends and relatives who have died over the years, as does everyone. But for me, I suppose, my husband becomes a symbol of all those people: my grandparents, my best friend, co-workers, famous people I could relate to, pets. Somehow it seems easier to concentrate my thoughts on him, to attempt to understand death, as much as we can, through my experience with his life and death.

Death is an important subject in that as artists I think we dream of defeating death on some level by leaving our artwork behind to represent us. Many people create children, and they are something we leave behind, but many artist don't have children to carry on their legacy. Those of us who don't are more driven, perhaps, to create a lasting memorial of our lives.

Allowing Words To Last

Here's a photo I took early this morning. It shows the back entrance to Spanish Village, what you see if you come from the direction of the Zoo. The main patio is straight ahead. My studio is in the far right corner of the first sub-patio to the left. The glassblowing platform is there also.

You can see that the sign says Arts & Crafts. I think in the old days we were called Spanish Village Arts & Crafts Association. The Village itself is modeled after an actual village in southern Spain, hence the name. I have never traveled further south than Malaga, Spain, but people who have say the village looks just like the ones over there. It's nice although, unfortunately, people are confused by the name. Some people think it only has Spanish or Mexican import items. I know it works to our detriment. However, we're right on the verge of an advetising champaign that we believe will help us become better known in the community.

Our buildings are leased to us by the City of San Diego. However, Spanish Village Art Center is a corporate entity with officers and a board of directors. With the City's encouragement and blessings, we've been working toward stronger self-governance. In the past, we had a liaison who worked with us, but she is no longer available, so we are solving our own problems. Along those lines, we spent the morning in a special board meeting called to deal with some problems that have arisen. As the Recording Secretary, it's my job to take notes and transcribe the minutes of the meetings into logical form for all the members to read. Today's meeting also required us to write letters to various members. I volunteered for the task because the Corresponding Secretary is out of town, unable to attend this morning's meeting.

So I didn't take any time today to work on my artwork. I've got letters to write and minutes to type up. It takes time, but I actually enjoy doing the job and will most likely continue into the next term even though many of the officers and board members will change.

I left the house this morning wondering what my purpose in life is. Writing letters and transcribing minutes certainly gives me a task that helps me feel I'm doing something worthwhile. I like the idea that my words will live on. That's an advantage we all have on the internet as well. Sometimes I feel I'm just talking into the huge vacuum of cyberspace, but I know that at least a few others look at my words, because they tell me so. Dear reader, bear with me and hopefully I will tell you something you find useful, entertaining, or informative. That's my desire, my goal.

Ending or Beginning With Sunday

This is a photo I took several nights ago. You can really see the lanterns on the tree in the late afternoon sun. There is that certain time of day when the sun turns everything sort of orange or reddish. Now when you look at the lanterns, they've begun to fade and they're gradually dropping on the ground. Those trees will drop flowers, lanterns, twigs, leaves, until March and then the leaves will begin to grow back again. I think that's what they told me the cycle is. Anyway, the patio in front of my studio, the one I share with the glassblower next door, is always full of some kind of vegetation. But we don't mind. After all this is Balboa Park, the largest urban park in the country. And there was a woman named Kate Sessions who planted a great many trees in the Park and actually throughout San Diego. The San Diego Zoo use to advertise itself as having the largest collection of animals in the world. What they didn't say, unless you took their bus tour, was that they also had the largest collection of plants in the world.

Yesterday afternoon, after I left work here at Spanish Village, I got together with my cousin, and we went to the Gem and Mineral Faire at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I wanted to get some large spring clasps that I haven't been able to find locally or on the internet. I thought I might find them there. I didn't, but I bought some gold-filled chain to incorporate into my necklaces as well as gold-filled wire that I use all the time. I tried to resist most of the beads, because I have so many now, but I did buy a few strands, ones that were a very good price.

Today I spent most of my day working on a necklace and bracelet made from one of the strands, some beautiful, relatively clear green garnets. I interspersed them with small bicone red garnets that I've had for quite awhile. They make a nice combination.

There are a great many people to talk to. I enjoy that. I talked to one woman at length about beads and jewelry. I talked one of the exhibitors of the current show in Gallery 21. She is a printmaker and does etchings the way I do. I talked to some of the artists who stopped at my table to chat. That's one advantage of sitting outside. Lots of people stop by. There's John, the guy who collects cans and bottles for recycling. He's very friendly and always stops to talk, usually about sports. Then there are employees of the Park and Recreation Department who stop to talk and sometimes shop. Usually as I talk, I can work, so I don't feel that the talking interfers with what I'm doing. Sometimes during the week I sit inside where I can think about projects, but I always sit outside on weekends. I'm more visible. Tonight there was a wedding here on the patio. That didn't affect me except that there are lots of people around to liven up the Village. I like that.

My goals for this week are to work on my altar for the Dia de los Muertos exhibit, etch some plates to print, and write some text for my website. I need to work on my bio and artist's statement. Putting down in words what I'm trying to accomplish will be useful.

Learning New Skills

Here's a photo I took this morning and then fiddled with in PhotoShop. Actually, I started out to take some photos of unfinished high rises downtown with the idea of using their general structure and/or shape to create a new series of etchings. However, I wound up playing with them in PhotoShop, at least at this point. This one in particular turned out to have a rather interesting texture. I spent time working with some photos of etching plates as well. This seems to be a way of adding a new dimension to my work.

I spent quite a bit of time today talking to one of the printmakers who is currently showing her work in Gallery 21. She teaches printmaking in fact, and I originally heard about her class about five years ago. It meets on Wednesday nights which might turn out to be more convenient for me eventaully. I'll stick with the one I'm taking now, but later who knows. Anyway, it's interesting to see their show and to look at some of their methods. The teacher herself does quite a lot with aquatint and that an area that is something of a weakness for me. For that reason, I can see working in her class. But my current professor talks about the same thing and suggests I move in that direction. So that's one of my goals right now, along with doing pieces that are multiple plates.

I have various plates that are ready to etch, so really, I need to do that next. I keep thinking I'm going to put plates in the etching solution, but I keep doing other things instead. I need to refresh the solution, which seems to have become weak. Jon gave me a new container that is larger and I'd like to use it for some of the larger pieces I've created recently.

Tomorrow after I leave the studio, I have plans to go to a bead show with my cousin. I'm hoping I can find some of the spring ring clasps that I can't seem to find here in town or even on the internet. Hopefully, I'll find some at the show. I'm sure there will be lots of other things to tempt me as well, but I'll try to resist because I'm going to Los Angeles with my same cousin next week and there's a bead supplier there that I particularly like.

The one good thing is that we did figure out what was wrong with the wi-fi here in the Village. So it's fixed now. It's really very convenient to have it working. I used it today to look up the spelling of a word for one of the artists who was looking for a title for one of his enamel pieces.

On Line At Home

Here's a photo I actually took out in front of the classroom where I take printmaking, but it's a photo of the same kind of tree that grows in front of my studio. In this photo, the pods look lighter than they actually appear. But you can see the way they grow in big clusters from the ends of the branches. They cover the outside and the tops of the trees so that they look as though they're a mass of pumpkin colored flowers. Even though they represent fall, they are very pretty I think.

I went to class this afternoon. Yesterday, I was off because I was working on Tuesday, and so I traded days off. I'll be back at work tomorrow, working on the minutes of the board meeting and also probably working on my altar for the Dia de los Muertos show that begins the weekend of the 28th. I talked to the curator, and it's good I did. They want three dimensional pieces rather than just a collage which was what I planned. However, I was going to make my collage a mixed media piece and include some skull beads that I have and several other items. Then there will be a joint altar that each participant contributes to. They want letters. So that's good to know. I need to write a letter and then create a way to display it if I chose or keep it sealed if I'd rather. I have to see what comes out when I work on it.

Also, I'm rather excited about taking the etching plate that Jon scanned and printing it in different colors. I tried some of that already. I also took a photograph of one of the plates and used that to create a new piece. Then I added some poetry in a large blank area. It works very well. Of course, gettting into manipulating files on the computer can keep you busy for days on end. There's a certain "danger" to getting sucked into that arena.

There is a group of seven printmakers who puts on a yearly show at Spanish Village in Gallery 21, the space on the other side of the wall from me. That's the gallery that has a rotating show every two weeks. The printmakers are there now. I took a turn through the gallery this afternoon when I got back from my class. I'll definitely want to go again numerous times. I'm not so interested in the monotypes, because I know how those are done, but I'm interested in the intaglio pieces. There are some very nice ones that are done with more than one plate. I think that's definitely the direction I want to progress in next. And maybe I can get some of that started this weekend in preparation for next week's class. I'm one edition behind although I did print an edition this afternoon of my favorite plate. It was my first copper plate etching. I'll have to see if I can photograph it for this space.

The wi-fi network was down at the Village when I got there this afternoon. I spent about an hour talking to the technical help desk of the DSL provider with no definitive result. That was sort of a waste of my time. Philip says he'll help with it tomorrow if possible, if he has time.

Sort the Plants, Sort the Paper

Here's a dish garden that Jon created down the way from my studio. I like the way he put the geraniums in with the succulent. It's a rather unusual combination. I spend time trying to photograph his plant combinations, but unfortunately some of them don't turn out very well. I keep trying though. I almost always carry my camera phone with me, so it's very easy to snap a few photos as I walk around.

Today I was here at Spanish Village even though it was my day off. We had a special board meeting with two representatives from Park and Recreation, our landlord, so to speak. We had some issues to deal with, and we wanted their advice. I'm the Recording Secretary, so I took notes. I've started to work on transcribing them, but it will take me awhile. I will take tomorrow and Thursday off, so I won't get back to them until Friday. When we do have special requirements, it takes away from the pursuit of my artwork. But I like being part of the decision making body of the Village. I believe I can provide a valuable voice.

Last night, I got a little shelving unit to hold my paper. I found that with the various kinds of paper I have that it doesn't work to pile the reams on top of each other. I have white and cream copy paper, card stock, cover stock, Spanish Village letterhead and envelops, pale green paper, some manila paper with holes in it for making book covers.

So much stuff. No matter how much time I spend straightening up my large worktable inside, it gets so messy so quickly. I guess the trick is to just keep working at it. Eventually, I hope I'll have a place for everything as the saying goes. I'm getting there. I admit though that if what I want isn't within easy reach, I get lazy and don't like to get up to get it. I guess I could say that's because I went for so long with a sore knee.

Sunday In the Park

The plants here in Spanish Village seem to change location as often as the artists. This plant is now sitting in the back parking lot. It was down in what we call the "alley" between several of the studios. I'm not sure why it's been moved, but I'm sure someone will cart it off to a new location at some point. Actually, I might claim it myself, if I could carry it. Or maybe I can get Jon to bring it down for me.

Today was a quiet day, overcast and gloomy. I would rather have been home curled up with a good book myself, but I was sitting out at my table. The problem I encountered was that my chair was still rather damp and I wound up with a damp bottom. I'm sure that added to my sense of cold. Philip said, "It's winter." And I said, not until December, and that for someone from the East Coast, that was a rather odd remark. He said, "in California, if the sun isn't shining, it's winter." We are spoiled.

Anyway, I worked on some of my etching pieces and began a necklace for my Dia de los Muertos piece. I'm going back and forth about exactly what form it will take. I may go back to the idea of a collage or a sort of mixed media collage with a cross and some beads. I don't know yet. I want it to be more creative and outlandish than my usual work.

Dia de los Muertos

Here's a printout of a scan of one of my etching plates. In other words, Jon took one of my etching plates home with him and scanned it into his computer. Then he opened the file in PhotoShop and played around with the color some to come up with an image that he printed. I then took a photo of it with my cellphone camera and that's what you see at the left. Talk about going through lots of steps to capture an image! But when he gives me the file, I'll play with it myself in PhotoShop and create a series of prints using differne color combinations. At least that's my plan.

Last night it rained and it was raining when I arrived at Spanish Village this morning about 9:00. It rained until about noontime. At that point, I went outside, thinking I was going to sit at my outside worktable and draw on some of my etching plates. My chair had been out in the rain, but I thought if I covered the back and the seat with some plastic bags, that would protect me from the wet seat. What I didn't realize was that the seat is somewhat curved and acted like a shallow bowl to catch a large amount of water which soaked into my pants even though I tried to sit on the plastic. So Philip helped me take it over into the sun and turn it on its side to let the water drain off. Then this evening Jon brought it in my studio. Hopefully by tomorrow I can sit on it. In the meantime, I spent the whole afternoon standing and working at my table. Fortunately my table is high enough that I can do that.

In addition to some of the etching plates that I've been working on, I began a new one that will be an etched cross in preparation for the Dia de los Muertos show at Mixed Media. That show takes place at the end of the month and celebrates the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead in which families seek to welcome their deceased relatives back and keep them happy so that they will intercede for them. I think that's the way it works. Anyway, my plan is to make a necklace with wooden skulls and a large etched copper cross. I have participated in the show before. I had planned to do a sort of collage, but that's what I did last time and so I'd like to do something different this time.

Etchings, Websites, and Weddings

Here's a photo I took this morning in the patio. You can see a new addition to my outside worktable, if you look closely. Jon took the temporary legs off the bottom and added a shelf between the legs and the top of the table. The shelf is surrounded by a "skirt" which looks a little odd right now because of it's pale color. However, we plan to stain it dark like the top of the table and it will look better. Or, the other option is to paint it and the legs a bright color like green or purple. But in either case, I sat at it today and find the height just right for working on my etching plates.

I did work on some etching this afternoon. It's amazing how there's a certain period late in the afternoon when the angle of the sun is just right and it makes the lines so easy to see. At this time of the year, that period is around 3:00 to 5:00, I think. I'm not sure of the exact time, but around then. So ideally I could always work on a plate at that hour.

Aside from doing some etching, I spent time earlier in the day working on some of the information that Philip requested for my website. We've come up with the menu items and have talked about some of the content. This evening I've been working on some content. I've written a bio that includes shows I've entered. I also want to look at my artist's statement again and maybe change it. Then I need to write a description of the etching process. That will be useful for the website, but also for a brochure and/or an explanation to hang on the wall in my studio.

This evening there is a wedding going on here in Spanish Village. There's another one planned for next Saturday. The wedding itself took place right on the edge of our little sub-patio beside the agave plants that have the great tall bloom stalks on them. They set up chairs and put out some carpet to protect the bride's dress. I didn't peak out, so I don't know what they looked like, but it did seem the ceremony was very short. I think it would be nice for it to go on a little longer. But anyway, now they're down at the other end of the patio having dinner and listening to music. A typical wedding. Renting the patio for weddings and other events helps with some of the expenses we incur in running Spanish Village.

Adding Color To Etchings

Here's a photo I took several evenings ago. I'm sure there's another one similar further back, but I think it's so pretty with the warm light shining in the open doorway and a glimpse of the wonderful architecture that prevades Spanish Village and all of Balboa Park. It's a wonderful place to be. My one regret might be that I don't have time, or don't take time, to walk around the Park more. Certainly I should be making more of an effort to go to the museum more frequently.

Today I was here in the studio early this morning looking for a photograph I found in a magazine that I wanted to take to my printmaking class. It was a photo of a work of art, although I don't think it was an etching. Anyway, it gave me an idea. However, when I got to my studio I couldn't locate it. But I found several others on the internet that I was able to print copies of so I could show my professor. I want to add more color into some of my etchings by creating a second plate to print along with the first or by doing some hand coloring with watercolors.

I worked on a plate while I was here this morning and attempted to bite another in the etching solution. However, I think because I recently etched a brass plate in the same solution, it seems to no longer be affective for etching copper. I left it in the solution for almost two and a half hours and almost no etching occured. So I think I need to dump out what I have and begin again. Or actually, I might dump it in the other dish where I have the other solution in which I previously etched brass. I have to remember that I can't mix the two metals in the same bath of etching solution. However, I'm actually not planning to work with brass much anymore if ever. I prefer the copper.

I went to class this afternoon. I'm behind in that I haven't printed an edition this week. However, my goal is to print two next week. I have at least one new plate ready, and I have various old plates that I could print, ones I first created several years ago but didn't print editions of. I have three fish that are rather nice. I know there's one company that makes a pale blue etching paper. That could be very nice for a series of fish. I could print them in a dark brown or olive green on the blue paper. I might consider that.

The other thing I want to do is take some of my watercolors or watercolor ink and try putting some on the etchings that I printed as proofs, ones that I just printed to see how the plate looked. There are lots of those that I could work with. So that's my plan for part of the days ahead.

Self-Contained Gardens Versus Infinity

Here's a photo I took several days ago of the agave plants. Now I think you can see that the flower stalks have grown as high as the roofline, or so it seems from our angle. And there are branches off to the sides that will support the flowers when they finally bloom. They seem to have grown quickly, but it does seem as though quite a lot of time has gone by since we first noticed the sprouts. It will be interesting to see how long the actual process takes. And I suppose, like the changing of the trees, the time period depends partly on the amount of sun, heat, and water that the plants receive. Today is a little gloomy, although as I sit here and look out my studio windows and door, it does seem the sun is coming out.

Yesterday I went to the printmaking class and then came back to the Village to transcribe the minutes from the monthly regular board meeting. We have several issues brewing here at the Village, and I wanted to get the minutes done as soon as possible, while the events of Monday's meeting were still fresh in my mind.

We had a critique at school, each of us in the more advance section of the printmaking class presenting our works in progress. When I presented what I have done so far, the comments I received concerned my choice of colors and the placement of my subject matter. I love etchings and pencil drawings. I always have. However, I admit, that when I see the paintings that people here create, I tend to be seduced by all the bright colors. I like color.

And color is tricky in etchings. The inks themselves are traditionally not very bright. And I'm not excited about black ink on stark white paper. However, it occurs to me that I could use black ink on tan paper. I might like that. The professor and my classmates agreed that they preferred the darker colors that I had chosen compared to the lighter ones. Originally when I was going to my friend's house to use his printer, I was printing on Reeves tan paper using Indian Red ink. The color is quite striking.

Another issue I have personally with my own etchings is that when they hang on the wall, sometimes they sort of "disappear" until you get up close to them. I'd like to create ones that are strong and eye catching from across the room and then reveal more detail as you walk closer. And actually, I now think I can do that. I have tended to use patterns to fill in areas of space. And the closer together and the more lines there are, the darker the area will be. All the lines will hold the ink. So now, I think I need to begin thinking about how I fill in each area with pattern so that the dark areas create a pleasing composition from a distance as well as close up. I need to plan the pattern rather than just randomly putting it anywhere.

The other comment my professor made had to do with a comment he's made to me many times in the past. He has repeatedly said that my images tend to be floating in the rectangular space of the plate and are not anchored. He says that's not necessarily a bad thing, but he keeps bringing it up. He says the images look as though they are planned for the space and at occasionally when the images do bleed off the edges, the effect is more dramatic, more interesting. Yes, I agree with that. Nowadays, if you look even in magazines or on television, you see closeups of people's faces with portions cut off. You don't see a person's whole head, just a shot of their eyes and mouth maybe. The idea is that you are zeroing in on the important part and also that your eye can fill in the rest. So, I'm thinking of making a change in that respect as well. I will look at my drawings and then "crop" them.

When I create drawings to be used on bracelets, I don't concern myself with creating a self-contained piece. I just draw and the lines go all the way to the edge of the plate and theoritically continue on into infinity. Certainly if I'm going to create plant life, it continues on into infinity, unless it's planted in a container, the way the plants here in the Village are.

More Etching Experiments: Copper Versus Brass

Here's a photo I took several days ago, looking across the patio toward the San Diego Zoo. You can see the lantern pods coming out on that middle tree as well. The tree on the right in the foreground is one of the jacaranda trees. You can see a few of the seed pods hanging from its branches as well. They are a two-part pod that turns woody and eventually bursts open. The lanterns on the other tree are a three part pod that bursts as well but is actually the consistency of paper rather than wood. I remember several years ago seeing a branch of the lanterns on the counter in one of the studios. They could be preserved like dried flowers and used in arrangements. Technically, though, since we are in the Park, we're not supposed to pick anything off the trees.

Yesterday someone suggested that I make jewelry for children. Other people have made that suggestion as well. I spent some time this afternoon looking up children's jewelry on the internet. The bracelets seem to run anywhere from 5 1/2 inches to 6 1/2 inches long and necklaces seem to run from 12 to 16 inches, the most common being 15 inches. I think it might be worth a try. I have lots of little beads and some of my work is very small and delicate, the proper proportion for children's jewelry. The person who suggested it yesterday says he has trouble finding jewelry for his daughter, that there seems to be very little available and it's of limited design.

Today I'm concentrating on etching in preparation for my class tomorrow. I hve one plate that I need to "repair." I used a ball of masking tape to hold the plate up off the floor of the etching dish and some of the lines did not etch deeply enough to hold ink. I have just attempted to re-etch them and hopefully it will work. I'll see tomorrow when I take the plate to school and try to print it. Now I have another plate in the etching solution to etch some of the area that I have covered with rosin. If it works as I foresee, the areas will be aquatinted and will hold ink, creating areas of solid tone. On this particular plate, I want to create several shades of tone, so I'll etch it, take it out, print it, and then probably add rosin again and etch it again to create a darker tone. I could cover some of the exposed area and put it back in the solution before printing, so that I could get it done today, but I'd rather take the time to make sure I like the results.

One of the plates that I etched which will be part of my current plant series is a brass plate. It seems to me, at first blush, that the brass doesn't hold the aquatint as well as the copper. But I'd like to reserve final judgement until I've tried it more times. However, for now I think I will most likely stick with copper plates and not create anymore brass ones. The one exception might be that if I'm doing some three dimensional pieces, it would be very nice to combine and/or layer the brass and copper together into one piece. But for now that's probably a little further down the road.

Trying To Do Everything At Once

Here's a photo I took of one of my etching plates. It still has the asphaltum on it and hasn't been submerged in the etching solution yet. The "white" lines are the exposed copper and they will be etched down into the copper. After they are etched, I will remove the dark resist, the asphaltum, and you will see the copper with the grooves in it. After I finish with the etching, I'll cut the plate into strips and make them into bracelets. It also occurs to me that I could bend the sheets of copper and make them into three dimensional pieces, rather like sculptures. Then people could put them on a table where they would be more visible. So I might consider pursuing that possibility.

I was back at my outside worktable today, working on the etching and also on a little bit of jewelry. A fair number of people came by including a brother and sister from Phoenix. They both make jewelry, and I enjoyed talking to them about what they are doing. The brother made Indian figures cut from sterling silver that sold at Goldwater's, an old department store in Phoenix which has since been taken over by one of the large conglomerates. I remember going there in the 1960's when I was going to college at the University of Arizona in Tucson. What a small world it is.

Jon moved a chest over near my outside table, under the window. It is just there temporarily, but it's nice because I can hang one of my etchings on the front of it. Philip was looking at it, and we were talking about creating a place on the other side of the patio where we could hang framed work. And Andy, the glassblower, had suggested that we could hang artwork on the railing of the glass platform, too. That might be nice. Also, I'd like to get a print rack that sits on top of the chest to put some matted pieces in. I don't have any that are already matted, but I could work on that.

There's so much to do. I was sitting at my table today and thinking about the fact that I really should get busy and make a sign that points to my studio. I did use the computer to create a paper one to tape on the door that tells my hours and days off, but that wouldn't work for outside in the garden. That's the quandry. Do I create art or do I work on business stuff. I'm trying to do both, but it makes my progress slower. Oh, well. It will be awhile before I can say, "look out CocaCola."

In Touch With Your Soul

Here's a photo I took yesterday, later in the day than the one on yesterday's entry. Anyway, I particularly like it because it shows the lanterns on the tree outside my studio, and it also shows the flowers on the tree to the right. That surprised me when I noticed it, but I guess it's because that tree gets less sun or is in a warmer more protected place. Once again my botany knowledge fails me. I know there are places where a row of trees will bloom at different times depending on the mini-micro climate they exist in. That seems to be the case here as well. Anyway, I love all those trees. I think they're so pretty.

I spent the day printing out photographs. It's a long process especially with the inexpensive little Epson printer I have. The printer is fine; I'm perfectly happy with it, but it is slow. Of course I have to take into account that I was asking it to print the photos at the very best quality setting that it has. It was working pretty hard. I did go yesterday and buy more ink and some Epson photo paper. So I was all set. It worked out fine. This evening I'll deliver some of the photos.

Aside from the photos, I spent time working on a box again to put my jewelry in when I sell it. I managed to print it at a higher resolution so the text doesn't look as though it came off a dot matrix printer. And I managed to add a layer so that it printed a pale green color. That's not ideal, but it's a start. I'm giving one of my keychains as a gift tonight, so I have a little box to put it in.

I think that the lower gas prices are bringing more people to the Park. I had quite a high number of folks walk into my studio, maybe more than I ever have had in the past. So that's encouraging. I enjoy talking to them. I talked to one woman who draws, but she says she can only draw from life, so I showed her how I draw from my mind and some of the ways I make it happen. She seemed interested. I hope she'll go home and try it. That's part of our purpose at Spanish Village: to pass on information to people, to instruct them. It's important because when you create art, you're in touch with your soul.

Working On Regular Stuff Again

Here's a photo I took from across the patio. You can see the "lanterns" on the top of the tree outside my studio. There are trees like this all over town. They do look very pretty at this point, as though they are decorated for the season.

My special friend pointed out to me today that I've been negligent in my duties to write in my blog. I apologize, dear reader, for not writing. I do feel guilty. I can only tell you what I say to myself at times like this: I'm not a machine; I'm a human. I would go through periods in the past when I would neglect my journal writing for long periods. It is the same thing there, too. I'm not a machine. I have to try to be gentle with myself, as long as I'm not indulgent.

Various activities have kept me from my computer. Am I making excuses? Maybe. We had the Autumn Art Festival here at Spanish Village over the weekend. Because of an unrelated problem, the Village president whom I normally work with on the Silent Auction was unable to help me. It was left mostly to me to run the auction. I managed and we achieved our goal which is to give people a chance to buy our artwork at sometimes very reasonable prices and to raise money for Spanish Village at the same time. I'm happy about the success we had.

We had another problem which I think we have solved now. Apparently when the electricity goes off for any reason, the DSL line and the wi-fi network are affected. Last night Jon mentioned to me that he had briefly turned off the electricity the other night. So this morning, I went down to the computer office to reset the wi-fi router. I discovered the president talking to our DSL provider on the phone concerning our interruped service. And I could see myself that the electric clock was flashing the way it does when there's a power outage. I remembered that Philip and I discovered a similar situation several weeks ago when we went to check the router and noticed the clock flashing.

I live near Spanish Village, so I was puzzled by the previous outage until last night when Jon said he had turned if off. So now we know that if the clock is flashing, we need to reset everything and then we'll be fine. I like getting to the point that I can fix the problem myself if there's a problem and not have to wait for Philip who happens to be out of town this week.

I've spent the last several evenings calibrating and printing some photographs for my family. However, going through the whole process has enabled me to prepare to print photographs of my jewelry in preparation for creating some marketing information. I don't count the time lost although it's been a multi-step process. Nowadays I feel as though practically everything is.

A Quick Note

Here's a photo I took yesterday early morning when I first arrived at the studio. Jon swept the walkway Friday night and it looked so clean and nice. By this evening it was covered with flowers and leaves again.

It's been a busy weekend working on the Autumn Art Festival. I handled the silent auction both days mostly by myself. The President of Spanish Village usually works with me, but he was out of town. Well, really, usually I work with him, but I know what to do to run an auction now.

It was a pleasant weekend for the most part. I enjoyed interacting with various artists, some who were guest artists and some who are Village members already. Now I'm looking forward to making an early night of it, so that I can get going again at an early hour tomorrow. Hopefully when I get to my studio, I can spend more time writing. This evening I wasn't able to get the wi-fi to send me a signal. Oh, well, tomorrow is another day.