the winter beach

this is the first winter i've been this close to the pacific. I can go every morning just to watch the waves. It so exciting the way that the sea rises and reduces the beach. there's really no place left to walk, even at low tide you can get cut off. I went down from the bluff at fort funston through the beach access and followed a young fellow as he scampered over some rocks to the next section of beach. by the time i'd picked my way over the rocks, he was long gone to the next section. then the waves were coming fast and high and the rocks i'd just climbed over were under water! now i'm not so agile any more and i got kinda scared as i climbed over a higher section of rock and slid down the other side on my tush. with the seat of my jeans wet and sandy i saw that a cement protrusion was about to become a major roadblock if i didn't hustle! the tide was coming in fast so i jogged down the beach past the cement ruin to the safety of the bluffs! fewie! so this dizzy shot is fitting cut that's how i felt as i worked my way back up the bluff.

time moves faster when the days are so short!

I just can't keep up when the daylight hours are so short!
But i did make it to the beach and got some wonderful flowers before it got too darn cold. this one is a more delicate yellow. others that i took were so deeply yellow that i could not get a good shot, it must be a limitation of the digital format cuz it's maxed out on the yellow and all detail was lost in much of those petals. This one was much more delicate. and i call it follow home because i feel like i could crawl right up in there!

show at Adath Israel was a great success

i was so busy getting ready for the show at Adath Israel, my local synagogue.
it was a great success!
i donated my latest mixed media project (pictured here) to the raffle. we raised over a hundred dollars through the raffle and more through sales. i donated 10% of the proceeds to the shul.
this was such an exciting event for everyone involved. the new Rabbi, Joshua Strulowitz, is revitalizing the community by starting educational opportunities, bringing in families with young children through a play group, and creating more opportunities for socializing - this show being the first of many events to come.
i was thrilled with the feedback about my work and having a chance to sell a few things - to know my work is out there. the toughest part was the artist's talk. I spoke directly about the spiritual connection i feel in my work and that's hard to talk about. i don't have words for that. everyone listened and i got through it.

the wall hanging is made with a lovely gold material i got in and India Saree shop in Berkeley (but it is much heavier than a saree). the image of a flower was printed on silk - a luxurious silk with some texture -and the hebrew words were printed on silk as well. the Hebrew says "east" in English because it is to be hung on an eastern wall so you know which way to face when you pray at home. The silk is from colortextiles and it's called silk lines.

now i know how Jackson Pollock got his start!

now i know how Jackson Pollock got his start!
he discovered that the paint companies were ripping him off by making it seem like the paint cans were empty when in fact there were gallons of paint left inside. but the only way to get the paint out was to poke holes all over the cans and whack them, throwing paint every which way in his studio. some of it landed on a canvas and he kept it a secret cuz he figured punching holes in the paint can was probably a copyright violation for reverse engineering them!

similarly i now have Pollock-esque scarves having discovered that those "empty ink canisters from Epson don't have a few drops left when they tell you it's empty. there's the whole Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in there!
i started out all controlled taking little drops of pigment out of the holes where the air locks are on the bottom. but soon they were leaking everywhere - especially that crazy cyan. soon enough i was feeling my anger boil and my sense of humor take over and i started whack the so called empty canister onto the silk scarf i was working on.
talk about abstract!

well it won't sell but i will wear it proudly to proclaim that i did not reverse engineer it, i got what was rightfully mine!

in this drawing (from MOMA's website - follow link in the title to this post) Pollack has discovered that the black and sepia ink containers have hidden reserves of ink the company never intended he be able to use. just pay for.

Jackson Pollock. (American, 1912-1956). Untitled. (1951). Black and sepia ink on mulberry paper, 25 x 38 3/4" (63.5 x 98.4 cm). Gift of Lee Krasner in memory of Jackson Pollock. © 2006 Pollock-Krasner Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York