Oh my, time does fly!

I'm not doing so well at blogging more regularly. I wonder...should I schedule a regular day & time for blogging into my calendar?  Maybe that would help.

Since my last blog, I have been telling stories and creating new stuff as per the norm. Read a Stephen King book too. Now that is RARE. Reading for fun is not something I do much of anymore. Most of my reading time is spent researching artists and stories for future storytelling programs at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Here are some pictures of a recent sculpture I made for an Autism Awareness event at the museum.

 Alberto Giacometti's sculptural work served as inspiration for this piece. The butterfly wings are made of woven puzzle pieces.
The symbol for autsim is a puzzle piece, so the wings are symbolic.  They represent the transformative power of discovering the unique gifts that autism brings to individuals on the spectrum.  
I linked this art piece with a story for a program at the DMA last Saturday.

Been Busy Creatin' Stuff

Things are still crazy busy with me - especially in the creative sense. I have been very productive making new stuff! Just about everything has been connected with my work as a storyteller at the Dallas Museum of Art. It is such an inspirational place.
Here is an oil pastel that goes with a story from Chiapas, Mexico. I began it in front of a live audience while telling a story and finished it later at home.

A second one has been begun along the same lines as this one.

I am trying my hand at weaving and Jeff made me a loom. No photo yet though - not done.

This one is hard to explain. It was created as part of an interactive storytelling program at the museum. The inspiration was Jackson Pollock's, Woman and a Dream. See Below.  I recreated the most relevant lines of the woman with black ribbon on window screening. Then encapsulated 3D lines within the screen. It made a very uncomfortable pillow. There is a feather embedded in it for a story I told. The name of my piece is Feather and a Dream.

Here are dolls and a bird marionette I made from recycled wool sweaters. Jill Foley's work in the installation The Living Room inspired me. The bird and doll with the red cap are characters in a story I tell. The skinny blue fella at the end is Jack Sprat who could eat no fat. His wife is not yet complete - she could eat no lean, so she's good & plump!

My Dad's birthday was last week. I made his gift using a 1975 photo we took together with Grandpa Peterson.  The photo was greatly enlarged & transferred unto a 12" X 12" board. I added copper coated old wallpaper that I cut & shaped into a tree.

Here is a close-up of us, if you want to see what we looked like back then. I was 11 years old, Dad was 29 years old, and grandpa was 72 years old.

So that's a little catching up for now.  There's other artwork that I don't have photos of to share. I have one sculptural piece that I left at the museum for this coming Tuesday's show, then I'll take it home. It's double as a story prop.

I'm off to finish up some projects and create new ones. Ta-ta!

Summer Camp Classes

One of the reasons I got so far behing in posting was due to my teaching four, week-long summer camps at the Dallas Museum of Art. I did this in addition to my usual storytelling programs for them.

My creative working process is total immersion into whatever it is I'm doing. I become super focused and the ideas just flow forth. There is a sacrifice involved. The house doesn't get cared for, I go for long periods of not eating or drinking water like I should, I don't keep in touch with people who are outside the scope of the project, and exhuastion becomes my constant companion. But by golly! I can do some of my best work during times like this. So, as you can imagine, a sizable recovery period is necessary.

I was not going to share photos from my camp classes because you can see me age visibly before your very eyes, BUT I had such great kids and the last camp in particular was really neat. For "World-Wise Art!" I was able to fully merge visual art, storytelling and performance into a complete package for the kids and they were awesome in the final show!!!

Here are the Flickr links where the Dallas Museum of Art posted photos from all their summer camps. You can see all kinds of photos taken of past Dallas Museum of Art workshops, classes and events. It is a fun, fun, fun place!
My camps were in this order:
1. A Picture is Worh a 1,000 Wordshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/centerforcreativeconnections/sets/72157624588965854/

2. ArtCycle!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/centerforcreativeconnections/sets/72157624464290439/
3. Sculpture Mania
http://www.flickr.com/photos/centerforcreativeconnections/sets/72157624595786706/

4. World-Wise Art! Http://www.flickr.com/photos/centerforcreativeconnections/sets/72157624595972494/

Where do I start after getting so far behind?

Let's see...

How about the trip I took to Reno, Nevada? Jeff went to the national bowling tournament. We asked my sister Ruth who lives in Boise, Idaho to meet us there. She did and boy did we have fun together. While Jeff bowled and visited the casino's with his friends, Ruth & I went exploring together around Lake Tahoe & downtown Reno. Jeff spent a day with us and we went to Carson City and to a rendezvous festival in the park. Here are some photos. Ruth's dunce cap photo is sideways, and by golly, I can'tfigure hout how to correct it without losing this whole post.

So, it's just going to have to stay sideways.

OMG!

So I know I haven't been blogging lately, but I had no idea how much time had passed! I have lots of stuff to write about.

Stay turned.

Outside the Bath House Cultural Center

After viewing the artwork (see post below), we admired the sunset over White Rock Lake. The sunset photo is a bit blurry, but without my glasses on, that is what it looks like. Kind of soft & peaceful to me.

"Todo Sobre mi Madre/All About my Mother"

Photos from Maria Teresa G Pedroche's artwork opening called "Todo Sobre mi Madre/All About my Mother" It is a perfect theme for an artshow during Mother's Day. The exhibit ends June 5. It's at the BATH HOUSE CULTURAL CENTER, 521 E. Lawther Dr., Dallas, TX. Maria Teresa works at the DMA in the C3 area. She and I are in the first photo. She is a very lovely lady, inside and out!

My favorite work of hers were the flower scented, glycerin shapes that had images and other items embedded in them. Leah Hanson, who works at the DMA admired the pleasing scent.

The last photo is one of Gayle and I. We had a really good time looking all the art.