SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOTTA BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Winter on Lake of the Isles  -  oil on canvas
all rights reserved

We finally have a December that looks like the Decembers I remember from my childhood: snow, cold winds, clear blue sky, and I’m transported back to the winter my dad created a skating pond. That was a magical time for me. I knew my goal of being a world-famous figure skater would be realized when he snaked the garden hose from the basement utility sink, out the window and onto the small vacant lot that abutted our old duplex. I developed a routine that ensured warmth if not  glamour. I’d shove my skinny little feet into my skates, lace them up (making sure that the bells in the pom poms were loose enough to jingle), button up my jacket, wrap a muffler around my neck, tie on my hat, pull down my woolen mittens from the “idiot strings” that kept them attached to my coat. My imagination told me I looked just like Sonja Henie. (I had a strong imagination as a kid.) In reality, I more likely resembled the Michelin Man. But doesn’t one's reality lie in what one believes?

Gaining Momentum -- oil on canvas
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CHRISTMAS CARDS! GET YER CHRISTMAS CARDS HERE!

Minneapolis' sudden and instant winter of last week got me into the holiday mood early this year. The result is a collection of new holiday cards. They're available at my studio and through FineArtAmerica.com. (Just click on the image and then on "Cards for Special Occasions.") You can choose a white or black background and the size of tree. (Example: for a very sophisticated look, make the tree quite small.) Cards are available as singles and in packs of tens and twenty-fives. FineArtAmerica prints cards of the same quality that you'll find in the gift shops of America's top-notch museums. Everything you order from them comes with a 100% guarantee. I'll be posting more images in the next few days.

GLUE, GLITTER AND TIN SNIPS

Excitement built in me all day long as I watched the clock in my fifth grade classroom tick...tick...tick toward that magical moment when the bell sounded the end of the school day. Normally I loved school, but two days a week I couldn’t wait to be released so I could head for the after-school activities at the Northeast Neighborhood House. We called it the Nut House, a name I never understood until, as an adult, I learned that this Minneapolis settlement house was so named by the local residents who, during the Depression, thought anyone who’d give away food, health information, etc. must be nuts.
By the ’50’s, my girl friends and I saw it as nothing more than a great place to take tap dancing lessons and act in plays. My favorite was the arts and crafts classes. I looked with excited anticipation to see what each new session would offer. I remember with a warm fondness the hours spent making Christmas bells out of the tops of tin cans: cut four equidistant slits toward the center of the lid of a tin can. Do not let the slits to meet. Pound a nail through the center of the the lid, thus leaving a hole. Open a paper clip and slip it through the hole, leaving one end of the paper clip as a hook. Attach the other end of the paper clip to the bell. Bend the four sections of the tin lid downward. Attach a little red bow on the top of the paper clip and a jingle bell on its opposite end. Apply a little glue and a lot of glitter and there you have it...a sweet little ornament.
No one worried about kids using tin snips or manipulating sharp-edged tin can lids. Cuts? Blood? Iodine and Bandaids? Probably, but I don’t recall that. All I remember is the elation I felt when I brought these stunning (to my eye) creations home.
Now I’m in my mid-60’s and while I still love making things, I hadn’t had the opportunity to revisit that eager anticipation I knew back in the “Nut House” days until this fall when Three Rivers Park District (previously Hennepin County Parks) opened Silverwood Park in the northeast area of Minneapolis. It’s a stunning place: 32 acres of oak and maple that wrap around the northern side of Silver Lake. A small cafe serves wraps, ice cream, and the best fresh brewed coffee in town...all organic. But the best part is that it offers some wonderful art workshops, and not just for kids! Pottery, book making with handmade papers, relief printing...and my current find: Intro to Botanical Painting. Under the skilled guidance of Marilyn Garber, recent president of the American Society of Botanical Artists, I’ve discovered a discipline I never thought I’d fall in love with. I signed up for this because I figured that if you want to improve as a jazz pianist, you’re well advised to study classical piano. This kind of discipline and exactitude, along with color analysis, was just what I needed. But what I’m finding is the intense pleasure in a zen-like, focused experience. Just me, the gorgeous colors of nature, and my paint brush.
A few brush strokes and I’m a fifth grader again, happily creating art at the Nut House.

NEW -- HOLIDAY CARDS!

I'm working on one or two stories
While waiting for oils to dry.
The doctor has told me to lay off the goodies --
Bad news as "The Season" draws nigh!
So to conquer my need for a cookie,
And before too much snow fills the yards,
I'm playing with gold and with paints and with plants
And creating some really cool cards!

Giclees (fancy name for high quality reprints) of these are available through Fine Art America at $4.75 each. This includes shipping and handling. You can decide on white or black background, add your own greeting, and even crop the image. Purchases through Fine Art America carry a 100% satisfaction guarantee, but trust me...the quality is excellent.
A click of your mouse on any of the images will take you to my FineArtAmerica.com site.