possible pyrexia in Miami

Oh my- it is warm like a sauna in my studio! I am at a loss for words...

except for the word "Pyrexia" which adorns many new billboards downtown. It's set against a flaming backdrop and the words: itcouldhappentoyou.com. I may be suffering Pyrexia and need to go up to New York to get over it!

Testing the texture of my days

With school wrapping up I am hoping to get even more time in the studio. I need it to remember who I want to be. It takes work to stay positive and a daily discipline to keep faith. Each day, I set aside time to pay attention. I look for miracles, pray, be grateful about all my blessings (both known and unknown), and ask for help. Keeping a positive attitude doesn't ward off negativity, in fact, sometimes I wonder if it attracts negative energy. I've been called "unrealistic" and "Miss Polyanna". Here I draw myself as Miss Faith... but, using a mirror, it comes out backwards. Somewhat as if I had missed Faith...

Tried to depict the popping braincells above me. I feel, with the workload, the deadlines, the heat and my health as though I am missing brain cells...

I am enjoying the large format drawing sessions... working out ideas and textures of thoughts.

Bikini season trauma

Deep and shallow issues intertwine themselves as fodder for studio hours. Some things probably should not be "drawn" to our attention, though I do it over and over in spite of myself! I am on a mission to use up all my color markers this summer. I am tired of "saving them for a rainy day", or fearing their fugitive nature as an ingredient for generating "serious" and archival honest works. What good is the juicy [color] if it is left in the package? This art is made to get thrown away. This is me looking at all the issues I have within my skin, with my footprint, my age and place. This is a first world problem. Makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Reason number one for going in the studio

To find my voice!

top three reasons- number 2

Number 2 reason to go to the studio:

It is a great place to read my books in a comfy chair

top three reasons to go to the studio

#3- To feel like a diva!

It's all my own space. It's my own world. It is my magical kingdom.

Printing my peacock farewell notes

Over a dozen of my faculty colleagues, friends, are leaving at the end of this school year. It has been hard knowing, and grim facing each day, set in my ways when they seem already faced away from tasks before them. Not an easy time.
I decided to do another peacock linoleum print. A male in the mango tree and a female in the air.
It felt great to carve and print, and each one, because of the found paper I use, has a different flavor.

These last two look like buzzards...which must be related to the peacock. It is what it is.

I won! I won a Fine Art America contest!

"Congratulations to the National Day of Prayer contest winners!
The first-place winner, who received a majority of votes, is Tilly Strauss with her 'Daily Prayer' painting. Good job, Tilly Strauss, our world is being held by women's praying hands!
The second and the third place have been shared between The Praying Hands painting by G. Doroshenko and the Praying Eagle work by Catherine Kerr. Great job everyone, and thank you for your participation.
Gregory Doroshenko"

 

wow!

What does a pill popping surrealist look like?

A Floridian!
Darn it! I'm having to take daily blood pressure medicine, and now I am doodling these large scale metamorphic self portraits. It is so cliche!

 

Don't know how much longer I should stay down here. I'm starting to obsess about my ailments, my un-health and I need a dose of the north east!

The last piece of art for his mother

Michael took one look at his mother's pre-purchased metal urn, and decided he had to turn it into a work of art. I didn't see the original state, though I heard it described by his brother and sister as looking like an electrical box or a metal milk carton. Last night Michael went up on the roof and spray painted the sides with an array of colors reminiscent of the Miami cloud-scapes. This morning while I drove him to the funeral, he embellished the sides and top with winged butterflies/moths.

Like the artwork, the service was light, airy, full of love and grace.

lesson plan abstraction

How do you tackle a still life arrangement that covers a whole length of a room? Selective treatment! That is what these students had to do. They had to select and crop and find what mattered to them. Most of the objects were black or white in real life. Some students chose to add color. I was interested in their ability to recognize and capitalize on good compositions as well and color emphasis.

Two of the students came too easily to their compositions, and needed some selective prodding. I asked them to add an element of relief and a specific MOOD to their works.

happy mother's day

The greatest day of all. ;-)

Is it really May already?

 The heat in Miami is building and blossoms on a majority of the trees creates a profound delight for the senses. (I have no allergies, and am sorry for those who do). My classroom is full of flowers, and blasted with cool air conditioning. I waft between euphoria and dull blindness... no doubt depending on the time of day.
But it is May! The birds are so loud in the morning I think they warn of crisis!
The school year is finally winding down and both students and teachers are exhausted. Everyone seems to be a "full cup" with little room for more knowledge. Teaching is a great occupation, but it is a joint effort of all parties and it waxes and wanes with the seasons like farming.
I look forward to summer time off. That is when I get to gather my thoughts, clear my desk, and just be me... not a teacher, not a mother, not a sister or daughter or girlfriend or artist. In all the busyness of these days (daze), I am seriously not sure who I am, where I begin and end, outside my neediest relationships.
This painting above is a demo watercolor from class for the assignment to paint flowers for our mothers. And here is some student work---from life.

motherhood is a rich experience

Today my colleague has her last day at work. She is expecting a baby boy this summer and the doctors want her off of her feet. I will miss her, and I know that she is torn about leaving earlier than expected. So I made her this card to remind her that some experiences are richer than others and so, as a result, have a price to pay.

I hope the card has a feeling of movement to it. My poor friend has to stay in bed  for the next couple of months and I am trying, through imagery, to convey the surge of movement that will define her future.

I could go on and on about bed rest, but since I never had to do it, I shouldn't joke about it.

But... darn it! I am so tired!

When did I last do bed rest?