As 2022 begins, I'm dreaming of warm weather...

It's been rather cold in Illinois this January, so I've been making art of warm vacation scenes. 

"Blooming Desert" is comprised of multiple digital alterations of a desert photo all cut into strips and combined with colored pencil, handmade papers and vintage stamps. 14H x 11W.

"Steadfast" depicts a view up from the beach at a regal palm tree made of multiple digital alterations all cut into strips and combined with handmade papers, book text and vintage stamps. 11H x 14W.

"Join Me" depicts 4 chairs at Ephraim, WI facing Green Bay. The altered imagery was cut into strips and pieced together with additions of handmade papers, vintage postage stamps and shredded U.S. currency. 10H x 20W.

Two April Artworks

These were two pieces I made at the end of April. The cardinal piece is called "Checking out the Neighborhood" and is a 12" x 12" piece that includes additions of ledger paper and pieces of paperbark birch. The lake artwork is called "Early Morning Flight" and includes additions of blue ledger paper, vintage US postage stamps and a grassy handmade paper. (I heard geese that morning but they were too far away to photograph. In this artwork, I digitally moved a squadron of geese into the scene from another photo.)

Three more for Door County

I'll be taking 15-16 pieces of art up to the Plum Bottom Gallery in Door County in early spring. These three will be added to the group. Vintage postage stamps, newspaper text and handmade papers join the filtered photos to make the mixed media work.

Momentum

 I've been working on art using photos of my friend Ellen McDowell's for our joint art show Nov-Jan at the Galesburg Civic Art Center. My gallery in Door County, WI, just asked me to send them 3 recent pieces that I was making for that show! They've sold 5 pieces of mine from their gallery and wanted more... so I'll be busy making new art with Ellen's photos for November!

The sunflower piece below is one of the pieces they chose and then I worked on the weekend to make the 10" x 20" mixed media piece of 4 chairs in front of a B&B in Door County that face the calm Green Bay.

Each of the pieces have a lot of vintage postage stamps embedded in them (including probably the only all yellow stamp the postal service ever printed!). I also added shredded US $1000 bills in the grass around the 4 chairs.

The third piece is a 20H x 10W collage also from one of Ellen's photos. After layering up strips cut from the 3 filtered versions of the photo, I added handmade papers, 1850s ledger paper and shredded money.

Turning my sights to the southwest

Once the shelter in place orders lessen, I'll be sending or delivering 16 pieces of art to Plum Bottom Gallery in Door County, Wisconsin. All of the pieces are made from photos taken in Door County.

Now I'm working on imagery from Arizona and New Mexico for a gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona that is interested in my art. YAY! The three below are: flowers along a path at Ojo Caliente, NM; mass ascension of balloons at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta; view of the Grand Canyon from Tonto Trail.

Off-site studio results

My husband and I drove to Florida at the end of February and returned 5 weeks later (very surreal road trip home with restaurants closed and hotels strangely quiet due to the pandemic). We were in Florida to help our daughter and son-in-law before and after the birth of their baby. I took my drawing board, 7 panels with the wood edges already stained, 7 sets of filtered prints I'd made and all my art making tools. These are the results of my labors. All but the one with the pink/magenta field of flowers are made from photos taken in Door County, Wisconsin.

New work for a Wisconsin gallery

I've been asked to send work to a gallery in the touristy town of Egg Harbor, Wisconsin (look for my work at Plum Bottom Gallery starting in April). These are new pieces for that gallery.

Finishing up 2019

I made several more pieces at the end of 2019. I completed another balloon piece using a photo from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, a summer dock image from Door County WI, and two Arizona images. Looking forward to 2020 and preparing for two shows and making inventory for an Arizona gallery!