I just got back from a two week "ski trip" in the Italian Alps with a side trip to the Italian Riviera (Rapallo, Sta. Marguerite, Portofino).
Because I can't really ski much due to a prior torn meniscus, my goal on this trip was to take photos. I ended up taking 1,600 photos. Of those 1,600, I really really liked 12-15 and another 200 or so were great once I did some adjustments to them.
You can see the best of the best on the 4x365 blog as they post daily. For the rest, I'm considering a show or two, some home shows, and already have some people asking for prints as commissions.
I am sure I'll be using some in my print work as well, and wouldn't life be wonderful if I could travel and take photos that paid for the trips? I can always hope.
Italy was so wonderful, especially the contrast between the snow-ful Italian alps and the romantic and lazy Riviera. I want to return there again someday.
Slowly but surely this new art project is taking shape and moving forward. I thought I would have more down-time here in Italy to work on new clothes for the doll. Today, I did have time to sketch a template for clothes and yesterday, while up on the top of the mountain above Rapallo Italy, I found time to meditate and saw some images in my mind of the layout for these pieces.
They are coming slowly, but I am savoring the process of the creating. It is a new thing for me to give myself the time to consider and be in deeper connection with what the piece needs to be.
I've been traveling so I am behind on the jojos. Here are two from last week. Ciao!
We arrived in Milan safe and sound without any travel hiccups whatsoever with a group of 42 folks. That seems like a miracle to me, as people on this tour came from Ca (me), Colorado, and New Jersey, with luggage, skis, boots, etc.
We met up at Newark NJ airport for the trip over the pond to Milan and then a leisurely 4 hour bus ride with Juliano talking non-stop on his cell while driving a manual MBZ bus up past Lake Como and through the Italian Alps to Bormio. I was surprised at how many tunnels there were up past Lake Como.
I have enough shots through the tunnels to make a nice slide show, which I'm going to try to do. In the meantime, here's my best shot of the day, coming into a tunnel along the Italian highway, just outside of Lecco.
Tomorrow morning I'm on a plane to Milan so I'm very excited about that. But bummed that tonight is the debut of the new Alice in Wonderland, and I won't be able to go. My flight is too early for any evening entertainment tonight.
I'm working on a new project involving paper dolls, and bought this nice little one last week while out for the day shopping in the Castro. There's a fantastic hardware store there - just an ACE I think - but they have a great toy section.
Today, I noticed the packaging, just as I was about to throw it away. "new look for the 21st Century." Indeed!
I’ll be teaching a class in Mixed Media/Collage Techniques that you may be interested in taking, or you may have some friends who are interested. If so, please pass this message along. I would really appreciate it.
We have room for 4-5 more students in this upcoming class that will be held Thursdays from 4:30 - 7 pm on April 8 through May 13. The classes will be held in the upstairs classroom at Accent Arts in Palo Alto (392 California Avenue) for a reasonable introductory fee of $160, which includes the tuition and core materials for six projects ($125+35).
Tired of the Whole Affair
Laura McHugh
Monotype/Mixed Media Collage 2007
22 x 30 in
Information on how to enroll is here.
COURSE: MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE - APRIL 8 INSTRUCTOR: LAURA MCHUGH
Mixed media collage has gained popularity in the past several years. There are people doing altered books, artist trading cards, and unique single pieces of art using mixed media techniques. The pieces are often ethereal and complicated looking. This class will help you break it down into simple steps so that you too can create interesting art pieces. For those of you out there who do scrap booking, you may also be interested in this class as the techniques are amenable to making really interesting scrap book pages.
Enticing Course Description
The story begins with the invention of paper in China around 200 B.C., but the earliest examples of paper collage are the work of twelfth-century Japanese calligraphers, who prepared surfaces for their poems by gluing bits of paper and fabric to create a background for brushstrokes. Later, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Near East, craftsmen cut and pasted intricate designs and used marbled papers as part of the art of bookbinding. Today’s collage artists invent exciting variations of these ancient collage techniques.
Collage has a long and distinguished history. No matter what you may do in collage, chances are it has been done before, but certainly not like you will do it. You can study early collages of the Japanese or Dutch, for example, and then revive an old idea with a new twist, giving a contemporary look and feel to an ancient technique. We will use found materials (yours plus instructor's large supply) to create 2D and 3D mixed media / collage pieces.
We will emphasize color harmonization, use of textures and composition and will incorporate the use of acrylic paints as a cohesive element to the pieces. We will also study different ways to transfer images, methods for creating interesting surfaces and textures, and finishing techniques such as acrylic varnish and beeswax. We plan to have fun, be wildly creative, listen to some nice music while we work, and learn a lot from one another, though the course will be built around a specific project each week to focus our attention on different techniques and skill-building. You will walk away from this class with at least six pieces of mixed media art.
Instructor Laura McHugh is a mixed media artist from Half Moon Bay California. She has been working in mixed media for about five years, building on a foundation of painting, printmaking and a desire to do collaborative art. Laura is drawn to mixed media/collage because it allows her to incorporate images and found materials. Laura is a collaborative instructor - she loves to work with people who want to share ideas, materials and questions.
You can see some of Laura's art at: www.lauramchugh.com
Today's Photojojo challenge is a close up of yesterday's duckie sculpture by my mysterious jojo partner, and a drain in a parking lot during last Friday's hellatious rain storm. The water just couldn't drain fast enough.
Stay tuned for some posts from far, far away in the Apinees soon.
Ciao!
Here's a duck - for a ducky day - and a rim or two taken by me while waiting for the shop to repair my headlights - the guy who Can't Say Can't.
Today's photojojo is one part airplane wing (don't step - from my partner) and one part rainy day scene through my front window, with the dreamy Diana lens.
The Diana lens photo is not retouched in any way. It just takes these blurry, dreamy shots all on its own. That's why I love it so much.
Sometimes it's real skin (partner's); sometimes its a building skin. Remember you can always click in for more detail.
My partner's shot of doll parts pairs up with my photo of a car needing some TLC at the shop.
Yesterday it was raining so hard during the middle of the day. I couldn't believe it was coming down with that volume. I was in South San Francisco, and decided to see if I could find a shop that could put my new headlight lamps in. I had high beams, but no low beams. I bought the halogen bulbs at NAPA auto parts that morning and read up on how to install them on the web, but when I tried to get the lamp assembly out, I couldn't see in the dark and cold, rainy day well enough to do it myself.
I pulled in to an auto shop and asked the owner if he could do the job. He said yes and told me the fee would be $50, based on the VW repair guidelines. I said okay and when he found both headlights were out, he told me it was something the dealer should look at - implying that it was an electrical problem rather than just needing the bulbs replaced. I explained that they didn't go out at the same time. He returned to my car in the shop.
I took some photos of the rain coming down some spouts while waiting, and he returned to say that he needed to take out the battery and some other engine components to get the head light assemblies out.
I sighed, and probably rolled my eyes, because I had read the guidelines on the web and also know that companies don't design cars so that you have to do $200 of labor to put in a $5 component. Harumph.
He went back for another try and I took more photos of my reflection in the mag wheels in his shop waiting room, and another of a sports car race on the television.
I waited, and he returned, saying he wanted the special key for the wheel locks. I cocked my head, and probably rolled my eyes again, and he said it was so he could remove the wheels and fender assemblies. Honestly - did he really believe that all that deconstruction would be required just to fix the low beams?!
I felt like laying into him, but I kept my cool and just asked him to return my keys so I could go to the dealer, as he suggested. After several more minutes he returned with my keys and refused any payment for the time. But, no headlights. By then, the rain had let up and I was able to get on the freeway. I went to San Mateo and found a shop that looked promising.
The technician came out to the waiting area and told me he wasn't comfortable doing the work because he was worried he might break part of the assembly. That shop called another, specializing in European auto repair, and I drove down the street. They were waiting for me and ushered me in the shop. The tech took out the assemblies, replaced the bulbs and refused any payment. I was on my way in less than 20 minutes.
Why couldn't the first guy say Can't? So funny, how people are...and I'm glad I now have legal headlights.
