words + pictures from the studio of Joan Colbert
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Svadisthana – second Chakra
block print from the lotus series
Sometimes just a dash of color provides a fresh accent to winter’s monochromatic palette. Orange is a welcome standout on a cold, gray day – appearing here on both sides of the window pane. Kalanchoe and Clivia bloom on the windowsill while a robin brightens the branches of the hawthorn tree.
Sometimes piles of snow are the perfect motivation to postpone the usual activities and focus on something else (in between shoveling). This was the weekend to finally begin to tackle the website makeover.
Although I will miss my little icons, pictured above, there are several reasons for the needed change, besides the fact that, after 5 1/2 years, it’s time for something new. Because switching from a PC to a Mac left me without the needed software, updates have become cumbersome. This time I decided to use WordPress for the content management system. Still, deciding and doing are two different things. Being somewhat snowed in provided the uninterrupted hours and needed motivation.
Although I’m familiar with WordPress as a blogging platform, last year I purchased Lisa Sabin-Wilson’s WordPress Web Design for Dummies and have been reading about its use as a traditional website. After some enjoyable hours playing around with free themes I opted for a premium theme from Artbiz: WordPress Websites for Artists. Kim Bruce‘s designs are created specifically for fine art – they are subtle and elegant and never distract from the artwork. So far, so good! It may be a while before it’s ready for prime time – there are a lot of images and info to upload – but everything is off to a promising start.
Here is a peek at the new look:
Pages from my existing site:
Not yet a year old, Mina, the German Shepherd, still has a lot of puppy playfulness in her. She is a bit of an art critic and, noting that it is not chewed up, seems to approve of her portrait.
Apparently neither Bram Stoker’s character, nor my cat (definitely named after Mina Harker), inspired her lovely name.
Tags: dog, German Shepherd, pet portrait
Eddie, a little guy with a lot of personality, was a delight to paint! His portrait was commissioned as a holiday gift for his owner, who is probably very familiar with that ornery expression.
Eddie
mixed media: watercolor + pastel
Tags: dog, pet portrait, Schnauzer
The late date of Thanksgiving seemed to make the days leading up to Christmas more rushed than usual, so I was feeling extra thankful for the relative quiet of the holiday morning with family. Isaac had a special surprise – a delightful painting on canvas and a wonderful story behind it.
That is me, driving my dog-shaped car past a park where the hounds frolic. It’s now hanging in my office, viewable from the living room, too. It is awesome (as is the elf with the mismatched socks)!!
Just like Christmas decor and marketing in the retail world, holiday flowers on the windowsill are arriving earlier every year. The Christmas cactus decided to bloom for Thanksgiving, adding a bit of welcome color to the days leading up to winter.
The hibiscus is overwintering in the basement, but instead of hibernating, it is brightening up its less-than-lovely surroundings with some festive cheer.
Turkey + Crows
block print
Coming across a bit of art in the storyline of a novel is always a bonus. It can be a piece of art, an artist, or a spy whose resume includes expert painting restoration as in Daniel Silva‘s Gabriel Allon series. A Georgia O’Keefe painting provides the motivation for the characters in the fun mystery, A Dangerous Talent, by Charlotte and Aaron Elkins, while the clues that lead to the perpetrator in Louise Penny‘s Still Life are hidden in a painting. The triptych in Tracy Guzeman‘s debut novel, The Gravity of Birds, holds the key to the lives and relationships of her characters.
The Gravity of Birds opens with a 1963 Mary Oliver poem, No Voyage, beginning with the line,
“I wake earlier, now that the birds have come
And sing in the unfailing trees.”
The book, too, begins in 1963, but focuses on present day as the search begins for the two pieces that will complete the triptych painted over forty years earlier, when the painter and the subjects, sisters on summer holiday, were young. An introductory synopsis can be read on the author’s website, along with reviews, including these words from Natalie Villacorta writing in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “. . . Much like the paintings that the book describes, it is the details that hold our attention: the secrets we learn about the characters that make us care about them…It is only at the end, when the puzzle is completed, that we see all the pieces Guzeman so cleverly layered into the story.”
And, of course, when the puzzle is complete, we can almost visualize the three paintings side by side.
West Hill Neighborhood Organization
2013 Annual Meeting & Celebration
Thursday, November 14
The Balch Street Community Center was the site for this year’s annual get together of WHNO members. There was much to celebrate this year, including a busy schedule of community events made possible by energetic, committed neighborhood volunteers.
It was an honor to receive the Art Design award – a lovely engraved vase! Outside, a bright yellow carpet of recently shed leaves surrounded the gingko tree beside the community center, visible even in the dim light. I just happened to have the perfect container to take home a few souvenirs.
For additional pictures visit WHNO on Facebook here.
“In Ohio seasons are theatrical. Each one enters like a prima donna, convinced its performance is the reason the world has people in it.” Toni Morrison, Beloved
Tags: autumn, hawthorn berry, hawthorn tree, snow
