"Out to Pasture" - acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 20" x 20" x 1.5".  Click here to purchase this piece on Artfinder.

Day twenty has gone to the cows.  I couldn't resist.  One more go at yellow ear tags, contemplative stares and goofy muzzles.  This time a more texturized and impressionistic rendering.  I smile every time I pass by this trio hanging on the wall.

Our house has been construction-central this past week.  The sound of drills, hammers, things falling off the roof (oh yes!) have been the background music to my days.  The mid-point of a six-month process of converting a home to 100% solar energy.  We've got rows of sleek panels on the roof now - George Jetson-like in their modernity.  It is fascinating to watch the face of the panels change as they reflect the sky above.  Now the waiting begins.  Waiting for inspections, waiting for the power company to install our new meter - a meter which runs backwards as we send excess power to the grid to store for future use.  All I want for Christmas is no electric bill.  By golly, I think it might happen by then.

We might be a little over the top in our pursuit of energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.  We are a three Prius household, thrilled with our 45-50 MPG cars and silent idling at stoplights, quietly gliding through neighborhood streets like stealth hippies.  Our hot water has been solar heated for awhile, which helps us cringe less when the kids are all here and the line for the showers goes on for hours. We obsessively recycle, often making food purchases based on the packaging, then feeling quite guilt-ridden when our japanese take-out comes in styrofoam containers.

So the opportunity to harness the sun here in Florida was simply too tantalizing to resist. The sun here is the lure for tourists, retirees and vacationers.  It brings gorgeous sunsets and verdant landscapes, warmth and glowing light.  The thought of capturing a small bit of that brilliant orb and creating power is fascinating.  That, and the bliss of cooling the house to delicious temperatures without sweating over the bills.

There have been many hiccups along the way, likely since the bulk of the construction took place during mercury retrograde.  But the things that fell off the roof weren't human, and the snafus have been corrected. And soon the  new entertainment in our house will be watching our meter run counter-clockwise.

It's catch up Monday.  

This means I will not complete a painting today.  I will be painting (oh yes oh yes!) and have a large one in process, but it will take more than one day.  I am still creating, though, so today you get a little peek into the process of deconstruction.

In preparation for the "Tangled and Bound" class with bookbinder Jackie Radford, I rounded up a big stack of completed pieces of art to tear up.  Yes!  You heard me right - pieces to destroy!  And so I collected art on paper which was languishing in a portfolio, things I don't really like or were practice pieces for something larger, things which were a one-time display or things that were just plain ugly.  And I found a heap load of them.

Using a metal ruler and a 5 x 7 piece of cardboard as a model, I tore all of the art into pieces just the right size to bind into a journal.  Yahoo!  It felt so wonderful to remove these misfit pieces from the studio and deconstruct them into purposeful pieces to build something new.  In the journal, some of the pieces will be turned upside down or backwards, and each of them becomes something completely different in this new format.  

Destroying something I worked hard to create should feel awful.  But in this case, it was a liberating activity which made me super excited for the upcoming class.

If you're in the mood to deconstruct your own art and bind it into a special book, sign up for day two of "Tangled and Bound."  Want to make your own journal pages?  Sign up for day one.   And if you want to both make art AND create a one-of-a-kind hand-bound journal, sign up for the two full days.  Either way, we are going to make beautiful books together!

Sign up online at www.cielcharlotte.com or click on this link: Tangled and Bound

And if you need a lift along with way, Sparky says he'll help you out.  

"Yetta on Friday" - mixed media on reclaimed wood, 6" x 18".

My bovine obsession continues.

Luckily for me, a sweet collector commissioned a painting of a bull she encountered during her recent stay in Ireland, so I was able to spend more time with one of these soulful creatures in the studio.  This one is a strong but elusive male with massive horns.  Shaggy and adorable.

But it got me to wondering...what does the bull symbolize?  A symbol of power, virility and physical strength, the bull is a spirit sign you definitely want the positive aspects of in your life.  Celtic legend hold the bull as a symbol of luxury and wealth (and who couldn't use a little more of that?) and leads to easier, more abundant times in life.

Of course, the bull also stands for stubbornness and strong-mindedness (I know a few "bullheaded" people), but I think this can be a real positive when called upon in the right situation.  Sometimes we have to dig in an hold firm in the face of opposition.  

In Native American medicine lore, the bull asks you to gather your strength, mental and physical, during tough times.  But the bull also encourages you to look around you - there is something in your space which has the potential to create abundance for you.  Perhaps a talent or connection you have overlooked or forgotten about.

The bull also represents the ability to see into past lives.  He offers insight and healing for previous life journeys, and the ability to call on past experience to create a better future.  

As Conley was emerging on the board this week, I got a little sense of his stubbornness, but also the wisdom and calm strength he exudes.  He is the perfect energy for the halfway point in this 30 day painting marathon.  It was a delight to spend time with this big lug, and I am so thrilled that he is going to a loving, spirit-centered home. Hooray!

Usually, each character I create has a name, often bossily shouted at me but occasionally politely whispered This regal lady is mum on the subject, so I'm putting the call out to you, dear reader.  If, to you, she clearly has a name, reach out and let me know.  It appears her story is a communal one, and audience participation is required!  

A day with freshly-baked, delicious bread, for a gluten-free girl, is like Christmas, Disney World and the Clear the Racks sale at Nordstrom Rack all rolled into one heavenly moment.  My faith in miracles, restored, I now rename this painting, "Red Sky Night" (Sailor's Delight!)​.  Thanks, Sid!

The gallery invited visitors to write on a piece of ribbon - hopes, fears, prayers, dreams - and tie it to the structure.  This was a lovely, gentle way to give wings to dreams and let worries sail away on the wind.  And after a few weeks, the structure was covered in colorful ribbons fluttering in the breeze.

I think it's time to build a small one in my garden - a lovely place to turn worries into ribbons and release them to be transformed.  

To read about the bowerbird and its delightful nest building habits, click here.

  "Queen Margaret" - mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas, 16" x 20" x 2".  Ready to hang.

This week is all about getting ready for a trip to Charlotte at the end of the month.  Five days, three workshops and 1400 miles.  When I think about it, I am overwhelmed.  But I have a strategy for breaking it down into bite-sized pieces, and an attitude of treating it like the AMAZING RACE OF ARTING!  Complete with long road trip, rushing from one destination to the next, hauling gear, overcoming obstacles and unexpected prizes along the way, this race is one I love to win.  And sometimes there is even the opportunity to eat strange food - at Block and Grinder last trip, the wild game burger of the day was kangaroo.  I chose the steak instead.

With this trip, I am trying two exciting new things: collaborative teaching with a fabulous bookbinder, and a shortened workshop at a groovy new venue in Indian Trail.  As fearless as I am, (well, not fearless enough for kangaroo, apparently) I also get nervous and pre-stress about anything I haven't done before.  And yet it is these artistic stretches that inspire me, energize my art and make me leap out of bed in the morning.  

This new piece, "Queen Margaret", is the sample for the shortened workshop.  I didn't expect Margaret to be a challenge, as I love painting puff-haired queens.  As with all these girls, Margaret had a mind of her own, and wanted to look a certain way.  Sometimes these paintings are like wrestling an alligator.  She and I sorted it out in the end, much to my relief.  So here she is, the boss of me right now, and the self-proclaimed queen of the studio. :)

​September 30 at Ciel Gallery  "It's Good to Be Queen" 10 am - 2 pm sign up here
October 1 and/or Oct 2 at Ciel Gallery  "Tangled and Bound"  10 am - 2 pm Saturday and/or 1pm-5 pm Sunday sign up here
October 1 at Painting the Park "Guest Artist Jen Jovan Walls" 7 pm - 9 pm sign up here