Mountain Muses

Stand by for an important announcement! How many times have we heard that in the media? I will now be doing all of my blogging at...

www.hazardgal.blogspot.com

The site you are now on, will be my choice to post announcements, reviews, work samples, and other items. The blog at blogspot is very user friendly. I have a Twitter link in my sidebar there too. Check out my blogs and tweets over at blogspot. Also, I have a little blog on my Myspace page that I visit only once or twice a month; mostly lists and short comments there. Dew drop in at blogspot... I hate Mountain Dew but it's fun to joke about the atomic stuff! Sure have enjoyed the blogging here, especially the alphabet blog. Blog like the wind.

     My mother-in-law has just mailed us three videotapes. One is of old home movies and the other two are slides. Music has been added. They sit on my side table. I have a great project for the next rainy day! Right now, spring has dressed up the landscape in Easter egg colors.

     At a local discount store I bought this gadget that will run your VCR into your computer. You can make DVDs and it is simple enough for me to use it! Already I've put about 10 of our videotapes on DVDs. Last week I did all the sports ones I could. Before that I put our daughter's high school drama performance of Smoke on the Mountain on DVDs, for us and another cast member.

   The media calls it migrating. I guess you have to change formats for these precious memories every so often. I'm so glad I scrapbooked about all of our kids pictures. Nothing beats an honest to God photo. I had our slides made into pictures.

  Our daughter got one of those LED photo albums from her husband. It looked great on her desk at work. I have a zillion photos saved into my computer and make back-up discs often. As a nation, we have become hooked on digital photography. I'm sure I will take many more this weekend. Now as an artist, I can paint based on many of these photos, even the older ones. They migrate onto canvases as well!

     Today I had high hopes of taking more pictures of trees in bloom. I am painting more and more to have plenty for the Spring shows, especially the one in Somerset. Pear trees like this one look like giant dandelion flowers. Soon they too will have all their white fluff blown away. I just hope they can hang on for a few more days.

     Yesterday, was like paradise; the weather was balmy. Even though the home team lost their game at the Sweet Sixteen, we had a delicious day. I hope everyone bounces back from that setback soon. The rain today seems fitting. Nature is rebuilding; the home team will do the same.

If I seem to be M.I.A., let me solve the mystery. Also, thanks for stopping in. The networking and connections made from blogging really do pay off.  My path has led me into writing the first chapter for my novel and painting much, much more. The first stop on my route is always my sister blog at www.hazardgal.blogspot.com Read there about my Irish heritage and share yours!

Over at blogspot I have posted today about St. Patrick's Day and some really good books. Right now I am reading Isabel Allende's memoir. I keep a clipboard with me when I read and write down words I don't know. Do that if you want to increase your vocabulary. It slows you down but it's worth the trouble.

There are a couple of events next week; an art competition and artisan workshops. Good luck to you on this lovable Irish holiday! Read my blogspot blog and sign on as a follower if you wish.

     Trees are in full bloom but snow has tiptoed back into these hills. March weather is full of drama. The news seems full of drama too with these shootings. Bad winds have stirred the worst of mankind into action. You do your best to keep your mind on what is good.

    I checked and found I had a visitor to this site from Moscow. Now, that is amazing. Also, this week I watched Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises. Holy cow! It made The Godfather look like Barney. Violence is everywhere you look.

     Here are some good things to think about. Both John Haywood and I are going to share our artwork with Art in the Mountains tonight. Come join us at 6:00 at the Perry County Extension Office. UK won today and Hazard won the boys' region finals. Sounds like a win-win to me. March madness is upon us and it feels good.

     Yesterday, we went to Richmond for a few good reasons. First, we saw our older son. His business was in full swing with the warm weather back. I felt right at home there.

     While my husband hung out at Clean Sweep, I ran over to Hobby Lobby. My list was long. I purchased everything but mat board. I got the gouache paint I had dearly wanted and lots of great pens and pencils. Got floating medium and varnish and lots of watercolor paper. Much of it was at 30% off. So, I am good to go. Also, I bought three nice frames.

     The name of the game here is exposure. With my first show coming up at the Mountain Arts Center in Sep. 2009, I am rolling. She has asked for 15-20 gallery ready framed paintings. Right now I have about 25 pieces that should do, and I want to paint another crop to allow some to be sold at Somerset and Lexington.

     No problem. Actually, last night I dreamed about all of this. It was a nasty dream to start; I was getting harassed at work. I grabbed my easel and materials and rounded the corner. Then I  walked in the direction of the sun.

     Dreams tell us so much. They did Joseph. My dreams now tell me that visual arts are my path. Writing is there like a map. I will always need to write to find my way as well. The new materials are like magic wands in my living room. I only wish Hobby Lobby could be closer.

     Here is a picture I took yesterday at a salvage yard. You find amazing things in plain view. I am on the hunt for images to paint. This seemed interesting enough. 

     Today as I dropped off my plastic for recycling, I found a really nice earring in the dirt. Just one of a pair but I may get it adapted into a necklace. Keeping your eyes peeled has its advantages.

     In a couple of days we plan to get the pear tree cut down. Birds love it, but the fruit is tough and tasteless and it litters the yard for months. I can't wait to get the open space to garden in that spot. Spring is tingling the scalp of this land. Appalachia is ripe with fruit of its own.

      The sun is not being shy today. So, I had to drag out some of my curios to get good shots like this one. When you paint, pictures like this are a scaffold and an inspiration for your art. Winter has been a deep well.

     My sister and I used to swap a tale about a man who fell in a well. His name was incredibly long. When a rescuer went for help, by the time he had said the victim's lengthy name, the man had died. Those old long-winded jokes gave us a bond and were handy on boring days. My Dad could spin a tale and pull your leg like the best of them. He still does.

     Lately, I have been trying to write up some proposals in hopes of getting into some artisan circles. It seems like you are rehashing an old story when you tell about yourself or your motivations in art. My bucket is rising, it seems. Don't you love the way crackle glass looks in the sunlight?

     Yesterday, we went to the reception for Kevin Blomenkamp at the Appalachian Artisan Center. Kevin is a master in metals. He also repaired my husband's wedding ring. He is a mellow guy from the Midwest. We enjoyed his sculpture especially the weathervane which kept pointing in my direction. I was sick that I forgot my camera. From now on, it will stay in my purse.

     With a big snow on the way, evenings out are vital.     Again, I have been busy painting and sketching. I just finished the Borge's poetry book and copied three poems to keep handy. I will post part of them soon. He even wrote a poem about his toenails! Most of his work is very "Baroque" but the later poems reveal his thoughts about going blind. Borges is a light in the darkness. Kevin is a genius. Art is like the wind, it seems. The photo above depicts some of the items on sale at the Appalachian Artisan Center.

     Yesterday I was way over yonder in Pikeville, Kentucky. The events started at noon with readings and discussion in Elgin Ward's Appalachian Studies Class at Pikeville College. He has made my book part of his course of studies. My voice is but one of the echoes from Appalachia. I guess you could say my writings are a hybrid vehicle of urban and rural experiences. This class was very attentive and great questions were brought up. I want to thank Professor Elgin for this remarkable opportunity. He made me feel right at home.

     Just across the street, is the Pike County Public Library. There two other authors and I signed books from two o'clock until around six. The quilters were our hostesses. Charlene Hopkins was on the ball. Thanks Charlene! My books and prints were on sale.