California map with surfboard woody

SOLD
I thought to do a small painting today on a remnant of my Los Angeles Maps. This measures 5 x 9.75 inches, and is painted paper on wood panel.
It might be tacky but it certainly is honest: I need to pay the rent next week. I really would like $100 for this painting, but will consider increments, so just ask. We are all in straits these days!
On another note I am participating in a slide slam in Rosendale tonight- hosted by the women's studio workshop- held at the Rosendale theater from 7 to 9pm. I will be showing 20 of the 104 daily paintings that I made while on the transforming intimate journey with my dying friends Steve and Jen. Here are some images from that time...




Stay positive.

School House Show party!

Here I am with Arthur, who showed his sculptures in the adjacent gallery. I feel totally blessed, blissed.
I get to paint, and then hang a room full of my 'babies" and then- on top of all that- I get to have a party where people come to look at the work and check it out. Everyone was so nice today. The time flew by and I hardly expected such a nice turnout. Am I truly the luckiest girl in the world?
Thanks to everyone, all my artist friends and especially to Lee and Quinn who laid out a beautiful tasty spread, and to Bibiana who played notes to linger in the air between paintings.

Last of the antlers

I seriously think this is the last of the series. I am out of the board panels and there have been eleven painted since mid January. Not sure at all what this image means- I just want it to be an ending...perhaps the first one-"Snow day in the basement studio" January 7/ 2009- the antlers in the sky above a snowy road naturally leads to this thaw- this pair of antlers submerged in an icy river...

Only time and retrospection will tell.

26 x 19 inches, paint on panel.

Two places at once- studio openings here and there...

This Sunday, March 29th, from 2-4 I plan to be an hour south of home, in Croton Falls at the School House Gallery, celebrating the spring tonic of a room full of my "art babies"and good friends. Emails, e-blasts, and postcards have gone out inviting people from all over. My friend Bibiana is intuitively playing the piano. Arthur Saltzman has his sculptures in the next room. The last production of the play, "Biography" starts at 4pm. 

When it rains it pours. The local newspaper, a weekly edition, so kindly listed my art event and mistakenly said it is to be at my studio an hour north of Croton Falls, in my town, at the crossroads of Amenia! I am not sure how to be here and there. Luckily my studio mate Emmy Bright is going to for-go the Croton Falls bash and host the studio in town. I am buying her a bottle of wine and some crackers and she plans on cleaning up her side of the space in anticipation of SOMEONE showing up on Sunday (2-4pm). I will spread out my latest winter paintings of Antlers. So if you are here or if you are there- I hope you can swing in and see some art, catch a snack and meet one or two of my friends.

Thank you for being such good lookers.

California map Bird Sings Antler song

This painting has bits and pieces of maps on the surface and the flowing colors of a coastal spring. It started as a doodle on my knee during one of the college tours I attended with my niece last week. Away from my art supplies, my routine and my studio, I wanted to shout and sing notes into the void. The bird has to be leaping into the air and the antlers flow from the bright map-feathered chest up and out and down, casting ornate shadows.

I think I am almost done with the antlers as a subject. I feel the painting is part of the ongoing series I have been working on- though the orientation has shifted to 26 x 19 inches and I barely looked at the antler still life set in the corner of my studio. They have been a guide and a bit of wilderness grounding me through the winter.

In searching the web for other lore tidbits: The antlered one: he who travels between worlds, escorting animal spirits to the afterlife and sparking wisdom and fertility in this world. Likewise, the stag's branching antlers echo the growth of vegetation. In America, the stag represents male ideals: the ability to "walk one's talk," and powerfully, peacefully blend stewardship and care of the tribe with sexual and spiritual integrity. Hmmm. The fact that antlers are part of an animal that cyclically grows and falls off for new growth, they can often symbolize rebirth, and spiritual regeneration.

The idea of traveling between life and death, between winter and spring, is seriously interesting. The idea of a couple antlers to be used as tools to transform the spiritual and learn the natural cycles resonate with me. They have been my muse. Enjoy.

CHOPPED UP APRIL 2

Suitcases on antlers and Curtains with Obituary

This "antlers..." is the same work I started the night before leaving for vacation. I think it is finished now. I wanted to glaze paint over the collage and bring up the suitcases a little bit more.

19 x 26 inches. 

One year since Steve died, I found myself a tourist in a small catholic chapel for St. Peregrin. I had to write the names of my lost friends in the alter prayer book after reading the story about the saint. He was an Italian gang boy who suffered from cancer in his leg and, legend has it, the night before his scheduled amputation he prayed to Jesus fervently before he fell asleep. When he woke his leg was totally in remission. So I finished this collage, "Curtains", for all my friends gone to cancer. Collage and paint on paper, 18 x 24 inches

Spring egg

What better way to greet the spring than with a bunny picnic on a wooden egg?

I'm back.

Had a full and adventurous vacation. I have had time to upload a few more of my painted eggs onto my etsy shop. you can find it by going to www.tillystudio.etsy.com

This little egg measures about 2.25 inches tall and 1.25 inches wide. It has a flat bottom so it can sit on it's own as well as in a stand. $20 includes shipping.

Have a great spring day!

Pressure vacation

This is a collage,waiting in my studio. It is not quiet done- but I have run out of time- I am going away and not blogging for at least a week... It has been a year since my friends Jen and  Steve died. I need to pause. My kids are out of school. 

It's called a "vacation" and everyone needs to take one.  

Thanks for your patience.

Tilly

EGGS ON ETSY

I HAVE PUT A FEW OF MY EGGS ON MY ETSY SHOP.  www.tillystudio.etsy.com  

They range from 16-20 dollars.

Cupid on egg

A wooden egg painted with cupid and arrow about to pierce a pink heart. Watch out!

2.5 x 1.75 inches

$35

Shrinking Nest Egg

It's getting to be that time of year... Tax time is upon us. Easter is next. I am caught between a longing belief of some hopeful future and the dark, introspective collating of the past year's detritus. 

This is a fiber nest with attached painted papie mache egg. It measures 5 x 5 x 3 inches. Fits lovingly in the palm of your hand. Sits comfortably on a shelf. Originally it measured twice the size, but, like most financial accounts, it has recently shrunk.

Catch it, and make it yours, before it disappears, for the low price of $55 plus shipping.

Moods of the baby

COLOR PENCIL, Paint on paper, 9.5 x 8.5 inches

This is a picture I did years ago. Found it searching through my drawers for something else. Just reminds me of the many moods that happen in a single day of "mommy-dom". I was aiming for a little symmetry. The center panel background was finger painted  by my son. Now, that same son, my baby, just received two acceptance letters to boarding schools next fall. He is very excited. His father and I are a little sad by how fast they grow. 

$100.

Cup over House

Time out at home.

Cup over house. 5.25 x 5 inches ink and pencil on paper. $25

Today was the artist reception for the A-Home show at Restaurant 121 in North Salem. All my boys (husband incl.) decided to come along. I definitely enjoyed their willingness. My cousin and my little nephews were there. Everyone seemed high energy besides me. We didn't stay long... like 25 minutes.  

We stopped at the Schoolhouse show in Croton Falls and said hi to the staff. 

Here is a photo of one of the walls in the main gallery room- all sewn paper pieces dealing with travel in one way or another- celebrated with a drink or memorialized with a suitcase. 

I do find that within the pause that a sip necessitates, there can be held seconds of wisdom and hours of solace.

Cup on deco border

6 x 4 inches, pencil on black paper. 

Catching an early cup of joe. 

Last night thirty women from surrounding towns and states gathered in the living room of Teri Goetz and talked about how we could promote forward thinking positive changes and healthier communities. I only knew a couple of the women previous to the event, so it was quiet exciting to me. Teri is going to start a webpage and blog on Healthy Being. And we are going to help! The most wonderful part of the event was when each of the women stood and introduced themselves and told something about them...a  simple story that made a connection to each one of us. Sounded as though each woman was, or is, on a journey.

Now I have to run!

Antlers with road

19 x 26 inches 

painting on paper board

This whimsical scene- a dreamy image that rises like a mirage of signs- was done almost with my eyes closed.

Birds Map with Suitcase

Painted wood panel with collage, 9 x 8.5 inches.

Last night I dreamt I was carrying this huge soft duffle bag with all the fixings for a holiday dinner sliding around inside. I am talking several roasted turkeys, a pig carcass, platters of cranberry sauce, and plates of china. For a while my father-in-law and I were in a car driving curvy wet roads, but then, when the roads got too flooded and I saw cars jack knifed on the sides, we continued traveling on foot. The bag was heavy and my feet were underwater. My father-in-law kept loosing his watch and I had to pause to find it and re-strap it on his wrist. I crossed huge bridges without railings and worked at not slipping into the oncoming traffic lanes. Once at a terminal I had to tread carefully up a small waterfall, push my father-in-law up ahead of me and place the suitcase on a conveyer belt for an Xray machine. At that point I was cut off by a pack of asian tourists. And I watched my father-in-law, up ahead, sail through the lines and never look back. The fate of the holiday rested on my shoulder strap.

Reflecting on March

A pencil drawing...

11.5 x 22 inches

No time to paint. I am working on my taxes and bills.

Tea cup Life Saver

Inhale...
IT'S A SNOW DAY! The kids start their official spring break on Thursday. How will I paint?

For now I must listen to my friend Chris Farrel's C.d., "Love Sustained" and have a cup of tea.

Pen and ink 5 x 5

Birds and wild places

Painting 19 x 26 inches 

This painting seems to tell a story of tentative leaps of faith. 

Acrylic and collage on paper panel.

It's always risky to divide a surface in half. The birds are two elements- one full of movement and the other, in a pause. 

That is actually how I painted it- a flurry of decisions and then a wary pause followed by trace of regret. Repeated by another flurry... this went on for days.

Outside my studio, I am trying to find enough connections to create a ladder out of my emotional unrest. I have a couple exciting projects in the works. I think I will write about them tomorrow. CHOPPED UP APRIL 2