Poured Watercolor

Brush & Palette welcomed Cheri Isgreen with a record attendance at our January meeting at the Art Center.  The picture below is watercolor artist Cheri prior to her presentation when she explained how she used watercolor in tubes, thinned with water (to consistency of cream).  She applies frisket in three or more layers, then pours watercolor in similar intensities over the frisket, removing the layers as each is dried, often reapplying  the frisket.

A few pointers Isgreen presented were:

• Draw the idea first; where will lines be emphasized?
• How will I use negative spaces?
• Develop a value study of light using three values: light, medium, dark
• Edges matter in watercolor, so use masking, also spelled "masquing," aka frisket, for sharp, clean edges
• Use lost and found edges
• Counter change space: when light hits and makes a dark or a light image
• Avoid details until the end of the pouring process
• After frisket is removed, soften some of the edges
• Do not shake or vigorously stir frisket at air bubbles may appear
• Do not expose frisket to heat or sun, do not use hair dryers on frisket; allow the product to dry naturally
• Always pour masque (frisket) onto dry paper and outline with a fine brush, filling in the frisket with more from a larger brush
• Always use good, sharp, frisket brushes (do not use fingers for this process)
• Clean frisket brushes with liquid soap first, then dip brush into the frisket while wet
• Always immerse used brushed immediately into water
• Isgreen uses 140# Arches cold press paper, but any good watercolor paper will work

 Be sure to visit her website to view her striking art.

Several new members joined B&P at the meeting, and one new member, Michael Davis, won the mini show.

Welcome to Mike and all new and returning members to Brush & Palette.  Be sure to catch up on news here.

Julie Update:

Julie returned back to the hospital in the early hours yesterday morning and spent several hours in the ER before being re-admitted for infection in her abdomen.  She is resting comfortably and is on IV antibiotics.  It was disappointing that she was able to spend only a few hours back at the manor before an alert nurse caught the infection in its early stages.  But we are pleased she has received and is continuing to receive good medical care. Thank you for all your prayers.  I know friends Sharon, Kathy, Jody, gretchenjoanna, Theresa, Stefanie, Elizabeth, Karen, Carol and others are following her progress; thank you.

Juliet Update

Daughter Julie had a major surgery, planned, three days ago.  It was a GI thing, a procedure removing some bowel and a urostomy revision, among other cuttings.  For those of you who might have encountered this sort of thing, you know pain, quite a bit of pain, is involved.

For the first 48 hours after surgery, she was in pain.  She reported most every time that on a scale of one to ten, it was a 10.  Finally the on-call doc came in late yesterday afternoon and increased her medicine by 400 percent (gradually, of course).  The analgesic is Fentanyl, which the nurse said is one hundred times as strong as morphine.  When I left last evening, they were administering it and assured me she would be closely monitored.  She is on a cardiac unit now where she gets more intensive monitoring and nursing care.

Three angels from the manor staff came to see Julie the day after the procedure.  She laughed, talked, joked and thoroughly enjoyed their visit before crashing with low BP.  So she could not have been a 10 on the pain scale when those staff Angels came with a card signed by many people at the manor.  Julie was extremely touched by their caring (I was also). The pink stuffed creature they brought her is on her pillow most of the time.

Thank you for all your good thoughts, prayers, and warm spaces in your hearts for Julie.  This pain will get taken care of by today so the healing can begin.  I am sure of that.

Today is the second Sunday in Ordinary Times.  I am looking out for the extraordinary, seeking blessings as they occur, keeping eyes open for God's goodness, praying you are doing the same.

"For this very reason, make every effort 

to supplement your faith with goodness,

goodness with knowledge,

knowledge with self-control,

self-control with endurance,

endurance with godliness."

~ 2 Peter 1:5-6 ~

Ephipany House Blessing

Our house was blessed last night! We were privileged to have Father Don Malin from Immaculate Heart of Mary blessing a box a salt, a gallon of water and some chalk, then marking our doors with chalk.....reading scripture, and sprinkling all the rooms in our house with the Holy water and blessed salt.

Above the front doors, the markings are this: "20 + C + M + B +16". This symbolizes the three wise men who worshiped Jesus: C for Caspar, M for Melchior, and B for Balthasar who followed the star of God’s Son who became human two thousand and sixteen years ago, and + meaning "May Christ bless our home and remain with us throughout the new year." 

This is Fr. Don writing above the lintel of our doors:

We then shared a meal together in our newly blessed house.

Gene concocted a luscious lamb stew and made crusty bread.  My contribution to our shared meal was a King's Cake because it was an Epiphany blessing.  The King's cake signifies and celebrates the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem and the day Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Most of the King's Cakes I found on Pinterest and the internet called for a dozen jams to make pretty window paned, stained glass effect atop the sweet dough.  But with just two of us living in this house, we would never get through twelve jars of jelly or jam in our remaining life times.  Not even if we each ate a tablespoon of jelly a day!  

Further looking showed up another, simpler cake used in France sans all those jams.  That is what I made with puff pastry.

(using David Lebovitz' recipe here for Epiphany Cake with an almond filling).

Post Script: the Church calendar is sung here.  I had never heard of this solemnity, but it is beautiful (part of the January 3 homily by Father Isaac Karuiki follows).

We feel truly blessed.

Into 2016

Onward and upwards.  Yesterday was quiet on the home front and our activities included an 8 AM Mass to start off the new year, followed by a Mexican food lunch at a quick food place that uses fresh ingredients.  My all time favorite salad is Cafe Rio's sweet pork salad with a cilantro and lime dressing.  HERE is a link for this recipe, a copy-cat one, but it looks like the original.

Julie was quarantined to her room yesterday with the noro virus. She had her first symptoms while visiting us on Thursday, and had to be immediately taken back to the Manor (her nursing facility). A quick phone call a moment ago says the entire Manor is now under quarantine, so I will not be visiting again today. All the halls are closed and patients must stay in their rooms. She said she felt pretty lousy yesterday, so hope by today she is improving.  We are so thankful the Manor is on top of this crazy bug and that she is well cared for.

"Look for the presence of God in your life," Pope Francis says on New Year's (LINK HERE)  It is a good message, and I will be on the lookout for His presence.  Take a look at the homily if you have a chance.  Gene and I are enjoying our new church home at IHM. This is my new app for my phone: The Pope

January 3-17 are the dates our parish will host homeless men overnight, providing food and shelter.  This is the link for the sponsoring shelter.  I am looking at all recipes to make inexpensive but nutritious trail mix, stored in give-away zip lock bags.  Please email or comment on this post if you have a recipe your would recommend that would make 25 or so cups of mix.  Here are a few I found: link

OK, today's update must include a new knit I made from left-over yarns.  It is the Interrupted Striped Cowl by Gretchen Tracy.

It is my first 2016 knit project, made to go with my new Eddie Bauer flannel shirt:

Although colors are not accurate on my monitor screen, the colors really DO coordinate!

My Year in Review

Always a favorite: a review of the year.  Looking over photographs, here is my summary of 2015 alphabetically and by blog category.

ART

Wall Panels (gifted) link here

(August Fence art link here)

CLUBS

Brush & Palette

I won Ten Bucks: link here

Path to Writing (started another blog) link here

(A Party in July with "Path to Writing" students and teacher)

Scrabble

February Tournament in Tempe (link here)

JULIE

Julie and Jack's house

Boarding the AeroJet going back to Colorado from SC, May

Electric Assist Chair, June

Julie and Cindy and Charley in December

KNITTING

NATURE

Ollie the Owl came to live with us for a while in Feb.

We grew a few vegetables and herbs in August

PROJECTS

Completed a few needlepoint pieces in Jan. and Feb.

Path to Writing Workshop in January in Redstone, CO

Yarn Bowl

Painting at the Manor

Started an Art Group on Wednesday mornings at the Manor

Journaling

Fabric Bowls

Eggs with Nail Polish

Dyeing Australian Wool with Natural Dyes

RCIA (Immaculate Heart of Mary)

Gene and I attend RCIA sessions and I became Catholic in December, 2015 with first communion.  Gene and I had our marriage convalidated by the Church on December 19 at a morning Mass.

Those Lost to Death

We are reminded of who we lost during the year.  CBS Sunday Morning always puts the Rich and Famous on their last television show of the year.  It reminds me of close ones whom I lost this year.

Jack Heniford York, SC) (1947-2015)

and

Lynn Pillman, Helena, MT (1950-2015) link to photos here

Gone but never forgotten.

Hope your year was good, and that 2016 is even better!  God Bless You, Every One!

The Year of the PIG!

Julie opens up a present.  Her laughter is priceless.

She said she wanted a pig for a pet when she returned to Colorado after Jack's death.  A live, breathing, eating, oinking pig: impossible. Substitutions were made in the pet category. Christmas presents of two stuffed pigs, Olivia the Pig pillowcases and a pink blanket with a pig emblazoned on the front account for 2015: Julie's Year of the Pig.

The robotic pig in the video has been dubbed "Wilbur." He snores, talks in his sleep and kicks his hind leg, all while his piggy belly heaves in deep breathing exercises while sleeping. The whole routine takes about a minute and is amazing.  The entire nursing home staff is enchanted with Wilbur, as is Julie.

Nearing Christmas at Winter Solstice

It arrived at Stonehenge and here, too.  The light is mighty short.

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. God then made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made also the stars. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, to shine upon the earth. And to rule in the day, and in the night, and to separate the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."

~ Genesis 1:14-19; 1599 Geneva Bible ~

Christmas Party at the Manor-2015

Short Testament

A Short Testament

by Anne Porter

Whatever harm I may have done
In all my life in all your wide creation
If I cannot repair it
I beg you to repair it,

And then there are all the wounded
The poor the deaf the lonely and the old
Whom I have roughly dismissed
As if I were not one of them.
Where I have wronged them by it
And cannot make amends
I ask you
To comfort them to overflowing,

And where there are lives I may have withered around me,
Or lives of strangers far or near
That I’ve destroyed in blind complicity,
And if I cannot find them
Or have no way to serve them,

Remember them. I beg you to remember them

When winter is over
And all your unimaginable promises
Burst into song on death’s bare branches.

Photo Credit: Mike Sewell

"A Short Testament" by Anne Porter from Living Things, Zoland Books, 2006.

December Meeting of B&P

Twenty-One entries were displayed at the December meeting of the Brush & Palette organization. Methinks that we all were a bit embarrassed to show off some of our work, but then again, it behooves the B&P to have participation, whatever the enthusiasm level of the artists. All present voted on six of their favorite pictures from the group. The top five pieces receiving the most votes were awarded $10 each and three people had the same number of votes for sixth place and were awarded $5 each.

 Judging took place from 1:00 pm until about 1:30 pm as we milled around and ate pizza, salad, relishes and luscious desserts provided by the B&P Board members. President Elise Lind handed out copies of an article titled "How To Judge Art" both in anticipation of the judging and as an aid to a following critique of member art.

Member suggestions for paintings shown by brave souls were provided by the talented membership; several people showed their paintings.

Trudy Ungaro put forth her drawing in watercolor of Santa,with a tree in the background adorned with rhinestones for festive decoration.

Linda Dembitsky with a mixed media piece. She incorporated musical scores in her piece; great effect!

After eating pizza and refreshments, Elise tallied the votes and named the top point achievers. $10 award winners were Maggie Cook, Nancy McCarroll, Emmi Starks, Laegan McGee, and Elise Lind.

Ten Bucks in My Hot Hand

Three people tied for sixth place and were awarded $5 each. They were: Trudy Ungaro, Russell Mendelson, and Victoria Bianchi.

Come and join us in 2016 at the first B&P demonstration and meeting on January 21 at 1:00 PM at the Art Center. Cheri Isgreen will show us, teach us, inform us about poured watercolor techniques. Don't miss it!  More information here about B&P.