words + pictures from the studio of Joan Colbert
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A month ago the studio was in complete disarray under a coating of soot, plaster and drywall dust from the wall repair. With a new coat of paint (still deciding whether I like the addition of subtle color as opposed to white), it’s sporting a slightly new look. Now, to get back to (art)work!
Yes, the Monty Python reference is a bit obscure, and no, my larch will never reach 60 to 150 feet in height like its cousins, but the weeping larch in my garden is one fascinating specimen. There are 10 to 15 species of Larix, all of which are deciduous conifers, losing their needle-shaped leaves each autumn. In spring the leaves reappear fairly early in the season. Unlike the needles on more familiar conifers, larch leaves are very soft and touchable.
And, about that Monty Python reference? That little bit of silliness is viewable on YouTube.
With the possibility of cold temperatures and more snow, early April seems a bit too soon to do any serious garden clean-up, but when the weather permits it’s nice to get outdoors. The remaining pods of the Chinese, or Japanese, Lantern Plant, Physalis alkekengi, have taken on a lovely, lace-like appearance. The delicate look of the weathered lanterns in spring guarantees that they will continue to have at least a small presence in the garden, although their invasive tendencies can be difficult to contain.
Several years ago the fragile lanterns inspired a small series of pod prints, using both wood and linoleum blocks.
left to right: Lantern Plant, Peas + Pods, Framework
Tags: garden, linoleum print, relief print, woodcut
Who knows what lurks behind old plaster . . .
Because the bathroom sky was falling
it seemed logical to repair the adjacent bulging studio wall, too.
Whose idea was this, anyway?
No longer can I view the switch to daylight savings time as simply the loss of an hour of sleep. Even though three years have passed, it still has the power to remind me of the weekend that time started changing in ways not measured on the clock. Of course, I didn’t know it at the moment, but it was a bellwether for a future that was to be completely and permanently altered.
Wallace Stevens referenced the overcast, snow laden clouds of a midwest winter in Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird: “It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow. . .” His words aptly describe Ohio in its coldest months.
Every so often, though, there’s a welcome interlude from the usual gray palette. Despite, or maybe because of, the bitter cold, on this day the sky was a marvelous, intense blue. Had I not been standing around waiting for a couple of indecisive hounds to finish their business I would have missed the subtle aerial show. Had the sun not been at its late afternoon angle, the high altitude fliers would have passed by unnoticed, rather than sparkling overhead. The ‘daylight stars’ were visible for over an hour, continually heading north. Considering their size, flight patterns and altitude, it’s likely they were snow geese. With the snow birds heading north can spring be far behind?
Dylan takes his Sunday afternoon sofa time seriously, doing his best ‘casual dog’ imitation.
Tags: basset hound, dog
As part of Upstairs Downstairs – works of art from the penthouse, a series of demos and workshops was scheduled to invite visitors to meet the artists, learn more about their processes, techniques and media, and try their hands at creating their own artwork. The first scheduled event, three art talks by Carolyn E. Lewis, Connie Bloom and Bradley Hart was nearly snowed out. A couple weeks later, in anticipation of Valentine’s Day, Cari Miller, Terry Klausman and I presented a Be My Valentine Make & Take on a less snowy Saturday afternoon. Cari uses a lot of recycled materials in her colorful creations, so it was no surprise that she came prepared with an assortment of papers suitable for collage.
I supplied linoleum blocks, ink (red and white, of course) and supplies for monotypes. The monotype process was kept simple: apply ink to the block, embellish with a design and pull a print.
Once dry the little print could be affixed to card stock for a one of a kind Valentine.
It didn’t take long before everyone was combining materials into some fabulous heartfelt creations!
Cari caught a lot of the fun in her photos below. Check out Cari Miller’s art at Sunthing Special on Facebook.
workshop participant images above courtesy of Cari Miller, all rights reserved
