The trip from Sunnyvale

We love our old vw vanagon, "Gordita."  She has become the official van of art festivals, since everything we need for the set up fits inside of her.  She has faithfully been hauling the E-Z up canopy, propanel display walls and paintings all over California and Nevada.  On our way home from Sunnyvale, she decided she had enough of this hauling crap.  About 10 minutes outside of Delano, California, the battery light came on.  I am grateful M was with me, because I would NOT have known what that meant, nor what to do about it.  He decided it could be the alternator.  We looked for the nearest AutoZone in our GPS, and I called them on my cell phone.  (Modern technology never ceases to fill me with wonder.)  Amazingly enough, they had an alternator for an '84 Vanagon IN STOCK!  We decided the best thing to do would be to get the part, in case Gordita decided to konk out in the middle of the desert.  At least that way, we figured, we would have the part to fix her.  When we got to the AutoZone, a kind man behind the counter gave us the part.  There is a "core charge" for alternators, and he told us to bring the old alternator in so he wouldn't have to charge us that "core charge."  We explained that the old one was still in the van, and then explained why.  When he found out that we were traveling, he suggested that we take the old alternator out in the parking lot. 

The new alternator.

We proceeded to unload the van, and Matthias got his tools and took the old alternator out.  Sure enough, that was the problem.  The kind man at AutoZone discovered that the old alternator was an AutoZone part, which was under a lifetime warranty.  So he didn't even charge us for the part!!!  M put the new alternator in the Gordita, we RE-loaded the van, and were on our way once more.  As we drove along happily, we congratulated ourselves for our fortunate alternator replacement.  Maybe 15 miles later, the battery light went on once AGAIN.  Within moments, the Gordita overheated.  OH NO!!!  We had to pull off the highway, and found one small tree to shelter under while we once AGAIN unloaded the Van.  This time, the alternator belt had broken.  M is a smart person, and just happens to carry spare parts in the van, so he had another belt.  He was able to replace the broken belt, we reloaded the Gordita, and were on our way once again. 

                                      We were rewarded for our efforts with hillsides just outside of Temecula covered with orange poppies and Farewell-to-spring.  (clarkia rubicunda)  M was good-natured enough to pull over so I could get a closer look at those purple wonders on the hillside.  Gordita did manage to get us home, at long last.  She did limp along toward the end of our journey, and both of us were thankful when we finally pulled into our dusty driveway.  I am happy to announce that with a little more TLC from M, Gordita is back in good health, and ready for the next journey to La Jolla, where I will be selling my paintings in the La Jolla Festival of the Arts.  This festival takes place June 26th & 27th from 9 to 5 pm each day. 

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!

The wildflowers in spring

This is the flower blog. I have been awed by the flowers recently. I especially love wildflowers. As I mentioned a day or so ago, I have already packed my wildflower book, so I won't be identifying any of these flowers for you. I think you will find them lovely anyway. I cannot seem to chose a favorite. I had a favorite picked out, in the form of these exquisite purple flowers, but then two days ago the red prickly pears began to bloom. (I wasn't sure if they were prickly pears, but Matthias seems to think they are.) These red blooms are so vibrant! I don't remember seeing so many of them, last spring. Yet, that may be one of those things that memory decides to trick you with.

The other flowers I would like to share with you are the old fashioned roses that are growing in our backyard. They are the most magnificent color! If I wasn't busy packing art, I would be out there with my paints, capturing them that way. The photo was quicker...

It is quite green around the Arkansas Valley right now, and I am drinking it in, knowing that we will be surrounded by brown desert soon enough. I wonder if it's possible to stockpile green in your mind. I think it is. There are flowers of every color, that we have been discovering on our morning walks with Mr. Pono. The Arkansas River is raging, with all the rain and the early snowmelt. It is brown and high. Pono still loves to go in, although he is not much of a swimmer. Mostly, he enjoys wading. Matthias was throwing sticks in for him, so I got a photo of Pono, daring to stretch his neck out for a stick in the turbulent river. You don't have to worry about Pono in the river. He will not go out further than he can wade, and even if he ends up deeper than planned, he is an excellent, if reluctant, swimmer.

Tomorrow, the big truck arrives, and the loading begins. This move is coming upon me more quickly than I was really ready for! Sunday is the day we plan to leave. Who knows if I will have the energy to continue the blog through this whole adventure, but I will do my best.

Colorado wildflowers, spring

The wildflowers are wonderful this spring. We have had enough rain, so there is plenty of color. I would identify the ones in the photos for you, but I think Matthias packed away my wildflower book already. So you are on your own. I can enjoy them without knowing what they are called, but I have always had a desire to say, "oh yes, that is a mountain four-o-clock" or whatever it is. (The mountain four o clock I do know, but they are not blooming yet.) Here are some of the favorite ones I've seen while walking with Pono and Matthias in the morning.

We are slowly but surely getting the packing done. It is a little sad, taking the art off the walls and then seeing them blank. Boy, do we have a ton of art! Not just my art, either. We have been collecting Aboriginal art from Australia, and combined with the art I've collected locally, it is mind boggeling to see what we have amassed. Yet I love every piece we have. Now I know how collectors feel. You buy work because you love it, and then the challenge is to find a place for it where you will be able to enjoy it. Not an easy thing to do, when you live in a house that's only 1100 square feet!

I leave you with one more monotype from last weeks printing session. It also needs a title, if you are struck with any brilliant ideas... please post them! I'll give away a free notecard to the title I end up using. How's that for temptation?