Return from snow bound Colorado

It seems like I have been away for an eternity.   The snow and cold in Colorado brought back things I had forgotten:
-the leather of Pono's leash becomes stiff on walks
-how much more I eat in cold weather
-The sound of snow crunching under boots
-The grey sky
-How much I love fluffy white flakes of snow - what delireum!
-Pono's joy in the snow.  Never have I known a dog who loves the snow and cold so much.  Makes me feel sad that we moved him to the desert.
-How I could live my whole life and never shovel snow again.  Ever.
-The way frost glistens when the sun finally comes out

It brought back a rather strange and wistful longing in me, being in a place where I have spent most of my adult life.  My husband and I keep moving away from Colorado, only to find ourselves drawn back to it. I wonder if we will move back again, someday.  

We have returned to a pretty cold Joshua Tree, but it feels warm, comparatively.  I am happy to be home, and I am anxious to return to the studio after so much time away from my art. 

I have missed you, my dear blog readers!  I hope to catch up with everyone this week.

Return home

I have finally come home from Colorado. I am exhausted from the travelling, but as always, there is nothing like my own bed. I can't believe I have neglected my blog for so long! Overall, it was a good trip. My mom is out of the hospital and home. Colorado in the summer is such a magical thing. I did meet a wonderful person at a gallery/ frame shop in Denver who has agreed to sell some of my unframed monotypes. If anyone is interested in checking it out, it is called The Framed Image. It is located just west of I-25 on Hampden, in a shopping center called Happy Canyon. I am excited about this new connection!

I was fortunate enough to spend several days - nearly a week, actually - in Salida. My friend Sally Mather and her husband Greg Mihalik were kind enough to take us in for the duration of our visit. Matthias was with me for two days, but he had to return early for work. That was hard, since I was hoping on having his help for the drive home. The day after he left, poor Gordita, the VW van, began having some trouble. So I ended up taking her in to the auto doctor. Fortunately, he was able to get her running for not too much money. It did keep me in Salida a bit longer than I had planned, but I won't complain about that. I got to enjoy some beautiful hikes with Sally and Mr. Pono. I also reconnected with a few friends. I have so many dear friends in Salida. I was not able to see everyone, mainly due to lack of time, but also due to fatigue from Denver. So if you are reading this, and you are one of the Salida friends I did NOT see, please don't be upset. I love you too, and I wish I could have had another week of reconnecting with you all.

I left a new painting in Salida, at cultureclash. It is hanging up on the wall, and will be there for Artwalk. For those of you who don't know, next weekend in Salida is the biggest art weekend in Salida. Called Artwalk, there will be art everywhere, and the regular galleries have extended hours and usually food and music. There is a cool fundraiser with miniature art for sale. If you want some fun with art, I highly recommend Salida next weekend! For more information, click here.

I realized that I feel the most at home in the mountains of Colorado. Matthias agrees that it is a favorite place. Maybe we will be able to move back in a couple of years. For now, I remain a desert dweller.

Sally pointed out some beautiful wildflowers on our hikes. One of them is this divine Calypso orchid. It is not a large flower, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in beauty. It was named for the character in The Odyssey, Calypso, who was also beautiful and lived on a remote island.

The drive home was long and hot. I had forgotten what it is like to drive a vehicle with no air, no cruise control, and not a lot of power. As much as I love that Gordita, I certainly missed my other car, which is much newer, and has all of those niceties.

I hope to be in the studio this week, so new art will be coming soon. I missed you, blog readers!

Spring rain and other adventures

It was a pretty good weekend, despite the fact that most of it involved packing more boxes. We managed to take a break, thanks to our friends, Sally and Greg. They invited us for dinner at their house on Saturday night. It was a much needed break. They live out of town on county road 251, in a beautiful house that they built themselves. Our good friend Padgett was also there. We spent some time before eating out on the patio, watching hummingbirds. I was trying to take a photograph of hummingbirds close up, but Sally was the person who got the shot. She also got a shot of me, trying to get a photo. So I got a picture of her, taking a photo of me, and you can see Greg, gallently holding the hummingbird feeder so we could get our closeups.

It has been typical spring weather in Colorado. It is warm in the morning, and then it clouds up for some thunderstorms in the afternoon. I like the weather - you just have to remember to be outside before the rain begins. Pono the dog, on the other hand, hates this weather, since he is terrified of thunder. He basically hides in the bathroom, shivering. I have tried to comfort him, but he is not to be consoled, apparently. I took a photo, looking out our front door this afternoon, so you could see the rain. It was coming down really hard, but I am not sure you can see that in my picture. Maybe you can. You can definitely see how cute our neighbors house is.

Here is a parting shot of Pono, chewing the feet off of his new hedgehog stuffed toy.

Art goes on

I can't believe it's been one entire week since I posted a blog! Sheesh. Here are the EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. There. Got that out of the way.

The good news is that I did manage to drive up and use the printmaking press in Buena Vista on Thursday. It had begun to snow already, but I decided if I didn't go, I would be mad at myself, so I just went. As it turns out, that was a good decision, because it stopped snowing in the afternoon, and I drove back to Salida on clear roads. I had an okay day in the studio. It wasn't great. I was struggling, trying to mix the colors I had in my mind. Plus, I hadn't had time to make any more of my cardboard bugs, so I wasn't feeling particularly inspired. Despite all of this, I am still really happy that I went. I feel much better when I can create art.

It snowed all day yesterday, and I stayed in the house for the most part, cleaning. It was just in time, since I got a call at the end of the day for a showing this afternoon. So that worked out nicely. I am ready for someone to buy the house, now, so I can get back to doing art, and not worrying so much about a clean house. What a waste of energy that is. I mean, I get the floor swept and mopped, and Pono the dog comes in and puts those cute but muddy paw prints in a trail to the living room. AAARGHH.... If anyone is looking to buy a fixed up Victorian in Salida, CO, please contact me immediately!!!

Today, Colorado is making up for two cloudy, cold days with that brilliant blue sky and some much missed sunshine. So I have almost forgiven it. Almost.

I am now headed out to the Salida Galleries for Second Saturday. It's like a miniature Artwalk the galleries have once a month. I am enjoying this event so much more as a spectator, than as a gallery owner! Yay!!! I get to see new art, talk to friends, and eat some nibblie food, all with no preparation. It is a vast improvement to being the owner of Cool Mountain Art, my recently closed gallery here in Salida (for those of you who don't know about this.)

I will leave you with another one of the "bug" monotypes from the last printing session.