You Can Go Home Again - It's Just a New Experience

It's day two of life in Philadelphia. This mural on our apartment building (temporary until we find a house) captures the spirit of the Northern Liberties neighborhood. We'll play tourist, Liberty Bell and all, before our cars are delivered and the moving van arrives later this week. The weird glitch in the last hours of escrow's close on the old house is fading like a bad dream. After thirty-three years in San Diego, I have awakened in a new land that is a return home.

Koi Reflections

Our house has sold, the moving van is arranged, we are surrounded by boxes. We will miss the unique beauty of San Diego. The Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park is most wonderful in cherry blossom season. The Koi fish like it too!

Chihuly Glass!

Seeing a monumental installation of Dale Chihuly's glass in the afternoon sun rather than in a museum or gallery with artificial lighting was a remarkable experience. It was fun to get there as the installation was just finishing up, and we could see how the chandelier pieces were put together. The Salk Institute in La Jolla California, a world class non-profit scientific institute, is an iconic architectural landmark designed by Louis Kahn.

With my studio packed up as we are getting ready to move to Philadelphia, my best art supplies are my camera and computer! No wonder my latest blog entries are all video. Much as I look forward to having new larger studio space, this experience of being without my beloved mixed media materials makes me certain that video will remain a significant part of my life as an artist.

Janet Cooling: Still Life Meditations

Janet Cooling describes these mixed-media works on paper as grounding meditations that represent infinity. It was fun to document both these recent paintings and the dialogue with her about them.

I have footage of Janet and various phases of her painting from 1997 onward. I hope to digitize it and edit it into several YouTube videos, now that I finally have a new iMac. Today I got an updated firewire cable, thinking I would then be able to import it. (The old cable didn't fit the new computer.) For some reason only a few minutes of it imported... Yikes. I'll solve this yet.

When I first started documenting Janet's work, there was only linear video editing, no funding, and I had never heard of YouTube, if it even existed. Now we have easy digital editing, no need for funding, and YouTube! All I need is to get it to work. And get to work...

Who Does She Think She Is?

This is a great trailer for a documentary film about women balancing their lives as artists and mothers! I can't wait to see the full film, which is in my netflix queue. I already know, these are the voices of my sisters. My friends and I have been living this for decades. We are not alone! www.whodoesshethinksheis.net.

Inside the Magic Circle

This incredible sculpture garden, Queen Califia's Magic Circle, by Niki de Saint Phalle, is in Escondido, California. Our grandsons, Noah and Charlie, had a blast in this most unusual playground!

Watercolors at Water's Edge

Landscape painting in its natural context, the source of its inspiration, is a joy to see... so different than framed and hanging on an indoor wall. I happened upon this plein-air class of the San Diego Watercolor Society on my morning walk,and was grateful to have my camera with me. It was fun making it into a video!