Well 2020 was the year that "didn't go as planned." Need I say more? All shows were cancelled as well as workshops. I really missed the teaching as I love the human connection when my students are learning to do something new or outside of the box. I missed seeing all the friendships we make while discovering not only the art, but ourselves in many levels. 

On the other hand, I found solace in the "pause" in life. Taking time off was in a way, gave me time to discover and explore my own artistic journey. I tried new things, took some of those desires I had put on the back burner for so long, and was able to bring them to the front burner for letting my inner creative side go wild. I found I desired color in an incredible way. I had to bring flowers in my garden as I was stuck at home. What I found interesting was I also gave my inner world color through sculptures that I created with wire, clay, Powertex and paint!

A colorful deer spiritual animal for the 8" x 8" auction for the Crossing Arts Alliance in Brainerd Minnesota

And even put a huge, bright, colorful peacock in my front yard, which I had done the previous year.

All in all there was some good that came out of this past year. I anticipate 2021 to be even more of a journey to expand my inner drive to create. Only time will tell...

Waiting Deligently for Spring

It's February and Spring is coming soon!...at least I hope!

Winter in Minnesota is, well you know, just too darn cold!

BUT, that is also a great time to create more art. I mean that as not that I have more time in the winter, but well yes, I do. Summer is shows, shows and more shows. This year's agenda for 2020 shows so far will be..

June Dorset Minnesota date TBD

July Nisswa MN date TBD

July 18th Moose Lake MN

August 8th Hackensack Moose Lake


I teach year round and I LOVE it. The most beautiful part of creating art


WAIT!!!!!!!

I started to write this in February then all hell broke loose!

I will say I had a lot with the new year and so much to focus on so I will admit, writing here went on the wayside.

Coronavirus came to the U.S. Uncertainty now with the upcoming shows this year. Not only that. I am President of the Brainerd Area Art Guild in Brainerd MN. We had our first gathering in February and now that is on hold.

Sooooooo, I found in this grey-ist of time of winter leaving to spring, to all the brown icky lawns with doggy do-do always has an effect on me anyway. Now we are quarantined so stuck at home, which being an introvert I find quite delightful. But I need color.

I have always been drawn to neutrals and on the flip side color, but never before have I felt the need for color.

I found being hunkered down in home I have been seeing color in such a different, profound way like never before. I have been reaching more to my insane collection of fabrics, wool and beads that I started creating more with these elements. My Mother Earth Totems I have been working on for quite some time started very neutral but lately have been incorporating more color.

Lately my totems have become more "colorful" which is crazy for me but I cannot deny I need this at this time of refuge using what I have on hand. My latest is to me quite colorful, though some may find I have always been here all along.

I will be adding more work of lately that I have been finding "uplifting" in my next post. As far as upcoming shows, I will be posting updates.

New Dog October 2019

Well I have to say it seems to have been a long time for me to get on here. With season shows (and another one still coming up next month), I have been doing a lot of teaching, and preparing for teaching, doing my role in my art groups in the local community, trying hard to create more art for upcoming shows, expanding my abilities as an artist, and yes, the ho-hum,... laying new flooring in my home. Sure you did not need to know that and probably didn't want to know, but it is a true fact that artists just don't get to "play all day." This is a devil of a project, ripping up 30+ years of carpet and trying to find a place to put all the stuff in this space, which includes the majority of my art supplies is in no way an easy task. I SOLEMNLY VOW I WILL NEVER EVER DO THIS AGAIN!

I will add, we artists do have the usual, everyday stuff like washing and folding our laundry, cleaning the home, cooking and doing the dishes, addressing the fact that we have four chihuahuas and a corgi in the home and they do have their needs too, you get the point, that we don't like to post. Well... with the exception of the last part with our furry babies, I just had to add that in. But now that I got it out, I can move on.....

Speaking of furry babies. I cannot believe how many breeds there are! I love them all so don't get me wrong! I have not researched how many breeds there are, but off the top of my head I can imagine in the 100's. That may be an exaggeration, but I am telling you a LOT when I am working hard, when I can, to create more of this spectacular species of "woman/man's best friend." Not to mention once I get one of each breed of dog, there will equally be more cross breeds out there!

 With that said, it will take a lot of due diligence and time on my part to create what I am so passionate of, and to appease all the dog breed owners and requests. I get a lot of "do you have a ????" breed? If you don't see it, then my answer is no, but I will add it to my growing list, not that I mind at all :)))

Anyhow, I have one of my newest and dearly loved canine breeds, a Husky. I have never owned one myself, but I can tell you their blue eyes and striking colors do, well, "strike" me.

I am really loving the colors coming out of my recent dogs and do see me creating more in a "colorful" kind of way. There is something relating to color that does appeal to the soul of humans, at least for the most part. So let me know what breed you would like to see and I will definitely add to my "list"!

When I get done with flooring project......

2019 Art Shows and Exhibitions

Summer has been incredibly busy with art shows, art exhibitions and teaching. I have somehow let time slip by on updating here but sometimes you have to set your priorities just to keep on track.

I started in June with shows in Dorset, Nisswa, Moose Lake and Hackensack, all in Minnesota. All events were great and I met a LOT of new people!

Hackensack I achieved First Place for Best in Show which was great since this was my first year there.

In June, I entered the Salute to the Arts Exhibition at The Crossing Arts Alliance in downtown Brainerd and received first place for my Opposing Views below

I can't even begin to say how honored and excited I was, and still am. There was so many beautiful works of art there that I know the judging had to be a tough one.

I then also entered the 2019 Biennial Juried Exhibition this summer with my Reach for the Stars giraffe and received "Honorable Mention"

 Again, I can't say how excited I am.

The fall will bring new events as I will post quite soon. Thank you all for all of your support and love for the arts!

How Do You Make a White Dog Look Colorful, Yet White?

I will have to say some of my most challenging Urban Collage Dogs are the long haired dogs. For example, my Hungarian Sheepdog took many many hours with all those locks!

Layers upon layers cutting paper and applying EACH ONE individually was quite a tedious task. Then of course after that was done I had to apply the shadows on each strand. I was happy with the end result but was even more happy when this cool guy was done!

With that said, my next dog ended up by special request a Bichon or Bichon Frise. They are quite popular these days because they are hypo-allergenic and non-shedding, which to me, a dog owner, can really appreciate.

Well starting with the white dog was no challenge until I started adding color with paper. I noticed the more I went, the less it was looking like a Bichon! So I started painting in more white and paper. But something still was not right.

I got out my trusty stencils focusing on more of Seth Apter's stencils which are perfect for my dogs, and brought out the bright colors. Adding in transparent bright colors made it all the much better, but it needed more.

I started mark making and that was the touch that brought it out all together! I am finally happy with how it turned out!

Artist of the Month

I am pretty excited to be chosen as Artist of the Month for April at the Crossing Arts Alliance in Brainerd, MN.
Included in my display is some of my oil and cold wax, collage, assemblage, sculptures and more.

Here are a few images of what will be there.

My reception is Saturday April 13th at 10 am to noon, so if you are in the area please stop in!

Working Intuitively

Working intuitively. I love working this way. No concrete idea of where I am going with a piece. That is not to say I do not have an "idea" of what I am going to create, but rather laying out pieces before starting and letting those pieces speak to me. A direction. That is a good start.

I will say that many more times than not, those elements I chose may not make it into my finished piece. Again, it is allowing that inner voice say "let's not go there, let's go here".

This piece started back last summer when I found this really cool, old tray at a garage sale. One of those items I had no idea what I was going to do with it, yet I had to have it. A small price for my easy to please palette.

Over the fall and then the winter months in Minnesota, life can become dreary and somewhat cumbersome, it was tucked away with my other myriad of stuff I found at garage sales, flea markets, estate sales etc....not forgotten, just put on the back burner because of other experiences that take the front burner of importance in usual life. Below is the wood substrate with me "gathering" a few ideas for the piece.

 By the time I brought this sad and somewhat forgotten "tray" back to the front burner, it was in the later months of winter. Being a very harsh winter in Minnesota this past season I was somewhat depressed and needed some nature that inspired me. The first thing I thought of was birds.

I have all winter been making sure the birds are fed outside with the feeders we have out for them. Heck, they have called our home their home under our deck. I had to make sure they had food to sustain. It has become a very positive in my life in the dreary months of winter. Knowing we are feeding them and keeping sheltered. Alas, my outdoor babies :))). Yes I know it sounds crazy but I have been called worse so I can accept this.

So I rounded up some inspirational elements like old tea bags that I painted a bird out of pan pastel and pencil, handmade rusted papers, old book parts, rusty metal, rusty wire, fabrics, twine, eggshells, beads, an old music roll, sticks, and many more elements I have kept in my stash for eons.


What I created surprised me at first. After looking at this piece I did not realize at the time, but I incorporated a "story". An emotion that was speaking to me. I just let it in, I just let it happen.

 I started adding to this old tray a roll from an old music roll, pages from a calculator book (yeah didn't know they existed), my bird painted on a saved tea bag, found fabrics, a part of an old ruler that I embossed with Seth Apter's and Emerald Creek's Vintage Beeswax embossing powder, a bird embellishment that was also embossed with Seth's/Emerald Creek's newly 2019 released embossing powder, an old rusty hinge, a medallion I made from resin and hand painted. Eggshells that were painted from my technique from here https://www.mysticspringstudios.com/awa-2019-shop/yctt-2019-pal.  

 A Mother Earth totem made from fabrics, beads, twine, branches, a polymer face, and moss were also added.

Here is the kicker......

I was all along creating my own story.........

My love of my LA Cali suburb upbringing, my love of nature moving to the Midwest later in life, my love of all things lost, forgotten, tossed aside, yet still have have history, my love of birds, my love of fabrics that have meaning in life itself as fabrics clothe us, and give us comfort on a cold winter's night, my Mother Earth totem, also comforted with various fabrics, wool and meaningful elements that not only comfort her, but me as well. Maybe the Mom I had only such a short time in my life with and so dearly miss, and me, the little girl with a bottle of bird seed beside her,  taking care of the birds; the mother role since my own children are grown up now.

I reflect back on these elements that made this work a "whole" and can say it is complete. Until of course, the next project that comes........

Boy has it been busy the last few months. Between holiday shows and teaching, I have not had time to post for quite some time.

Our holiday show in Brainerd went well. It was over the course of two weekends in November. Then I also had for two weekends in December.

January really kicked off with teaching and it still continues!

I have been trying to find the time to do my own art at the same time which I will say has been quite a struggle. One evening I needed some "comforting" unwinding zen and looked at some pieces I had started quite a while back.

I had some mixed media sticks I had done some time ago and felt I needed to do something with them. So on I went. I created a face out of polymer clay which I painted. Grabbing a few elements and scraps of material in my stash and wire I started to wrap my sticks.

 I was months after finishing a project for Art Walk Alchemy 2019 that includes 24 artists for a year long course, which left such an impression on me. I did not at the time realize how much. Here is the link https://www.mysticspringstudios.com/awa-2019-shop/yctt-2019-pal

I have some of my fondest memories of being with my family when I was ten. Coming from a broken family at such a young age, this was truly a time in my life I will never forget, and appreciate. My mom, dad and me drove up the west coast from southern California all the way up to Vancouver Canada to meet my grandmother at the train station. That trip has always left such wonderful memories and a huge impression on me. When I saw totems nearing Canada I was always in such awe of these somewhat scary, mystical, yet beautiful poles, at the time not at all realizing what they were or what they meant.

When I was asked to be a featured artist in Art Walk Alchemy 2019 and was told what the theme would be, Totems and Talismans, I was of course very excited. What I did not know was what emotions would come out of me from this project.

I finished my project with something stirred deep inside me that has not left, thankfully. Sometimes we may not necessarily “forget” fond memories, but rather they get pushed back due to every day life and what is important at that time. We are all just humans.

So recently I started a few projects that depicted a “woman” if you will. Nothing against any other gender, but just because it made sense to me being a woman myself that I could relate to.

My daughter and I have been gathering sticks and rusty metal objects for the past few years while out on our walks. I have always been drawn to rust, I think of the old weathered buildings my mom and I use to walk by on our trips down L.A.

I started my project with just twigs, sticks, material, rusty metals and beads. I painted her face with a patina and a dimple that I had impressions before baking her clay face :)

As I added her hair from moss and grass, attaching the two together with metal wire, she needed more stability as her “frame” was rather weak…. in the beginning.

She need more stability, a “strong backbone” if you will. So I grabbed larger twigs and branches to give her the strength she needed.

But now she felt “cold”. No protection. She needed more material and wool to keep her warm. I felt very “comfortable” now. Warm and protected from the cold. But she needed more. So I added more yarns, moss, beads, anything I could find in my stash to give her more “life”and comfort.

What I noticed was she was needing more stability to hold together. So I wrapped wire around her to help protect her even more. I kept adding more material, wool, metal objects, wire and yarns. When was she going to be complete?

What I did not realize was, was that I was “trapping” parts of her, emotions that she was keeping safe from harm. So as I looked at her and I felt compelled to “loosen” some of her fabric, then wool, then beads. What a release this was for me. I say that because as I was loosening some of the tight fabrics, I was also releasing a lot of what has been “held” inside of me for so long.

If one were to unfold her, there would be so many more treasures inside her not easily seen from the surface as I have left some emblems hidden, for she needs secrets to herself too.

Struggles, confusion, loss of self confidence and self esteem, and fond memories that are painful to remember, yet what I must, are what I have felt working on this project.

I added more metal wrappings but have found I have “loosened” them a bit, yet strong enough to hold her together.

As I look her smile on her face, I know I have given myself an “ok” to be happy, let myself have moments of self doubt yet realize them and overcome them, to be strong, to also loosen up a bit because it is “ok” I am human too.

Things Have Been Busy In a Good Way!

Things have been very busy lately so I apologize for not getting on here lately!

I have work now showing at the Brainerd City Hall and the Brainerd Public Library for the next few months so I have been working on getting these two exhibitions ready for this fall.

We had our show with the Brainerd Area Art Guild at Rumbly Hall downtown Brainerd MN with a great turnout in our new location! Here I am showing one of my 3 demos at the show...

I also have been teaching classes at Canvas Expressions at the Westgate Mall in Brainerd and have my next class on November 27th. Plus I will have a spot the two weekends also at Canvas Expressions the weekends of December 8th and 9th and 15th and 16th selling my creations.

I hope you can join me. If you have any questions please let me know and I will answer asap!

Happy Holidays!

New Online Workshop!

I am teaching an online workshop in 2019! This course runs all of 2019 and you don't want to miss it. The theme is Totems and Talismans. Below is the project we will be working on. For more details click on the link below!


https://www.mysticspringstudios.com/awa-2019-shop/yctt-2019-pal

Make sure to sign up for the early bird pricing!

July 2018 Show

Wow, a very busy past few days with my Nisswa MN show. We had a great turnout of people come to see 8 artists including myself. I met some very wonderful and enthused people this weekend along with a couple of local art councils who are interested in representing some of my work!

Here are a few images of my work on display...

We were set up at the Journey Church in the Nisswa square. I had a huge response from my fiber art, my Urban Dogs and my Giraffe.

Stay tuned for more updates as I have a new project that I will announce in the near future!

Making of a Philosopher King

I love relics and artifacts and I see this coming up in some of my recent works of art. I created "Making of a Philosopher King" that started with some hand textured papers and a piece of found rusted metal that was found on a walk.

I will say that some pieces just come together while some have their challenges. This piece I found the latter to be the case, but in the end I like where it ended up.

My textured paper was started on a 90 lb watercolor paper that was initially textured with gesso. I then applied color with Paper Artsy Fresco Finish in Steel Grey, Mud Splat and Venice Blue, Golden's Payne's Grey and Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold. I then distressed areas with StazOn in Stone Grey and Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.

Laying some pieces out to get a composition I was happy with.

I knew I wanted to use this awesome piece of rusted metal that my daughter found while out walking her dog, which I attached to a piece of vintage paper which was treated with Seth Apter's and Emerald Creek's embossing powder in Vintage Beeswax, and some Amate paper behind the metal piece to bring out the metal. This was then attached to an old vintage cloth book cover in a mustard-like color.

Next came more laying out with another vintage book cover that accidentally ripped. I kind of liked this "one of many happy little accidents" that happened with this piece so I just went with it.

I started "orchestrating" other key pieces such as one of the relic's from Sandra Evertson's  "Persona" amazing collection and two mixed media sticks along the two sides, which were sewn onto the book cover and watercolor paper.

I felt something was needed in the rust piece even more ( I am never satisfied that easily):))) so added a rusted star and a turquoise bead. 

Adding in some depth...

and along the top to add another element I added a spine from an old book that I sewed 3 X's on it.

This piece is finalized adhered to a cradled wood panel.

Like I said I had a lot of challenges along the way but those challenges were worth every moment!

Now is the Time

I have been going through some recent changes tin my life hat have been showing in my creative process. I am finding more and more that I am striving for significance in my work. Now is the Time really sums it up for me in recent life changing events.

I started with a 6" x 6" deep cradled wood panel. My first step was to gesso in a deep gray. Then I used crackle paste with the Ornamental Compass Screen stencil by Gwen Laufleur Stencil Girl Products.


I then used Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Chalk paints from Seth Apter's collections of a combination Turquoise, Caribbean Sea, Granny Smith, Green Patina, Midnight and of course Mud Splat.

I needed somewhat of a border since I love borders so did so with Seth Apter and Emerald Creeks embossing powders of Ancient Amber, Chunky Rust, Patina Oxide and my go-to Rocky Road.

The sides I used texture medium and again used the embossing powders. Still doing the "what ifs" I decided to add the same Paper Artsy paints on the sides to add more color.

Still hungry for more I sprayed Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain in Rusty Hinge and Tattered Angels spray in Coffee Shop. Ahhh just what this needed!

Onto the emblems.

I used Seth Apter's Steering Wheel die cut offsetting half of the 16 layers which I had the perfect center piece, one of my vintage watch faces from my steampunk jewelry collection. It fit perfect!

I textured and finished the wheel along with the die cut rectangular frame below with the Prima Marketing Finnabair Rust Paste.