The Heron

Sketch 2

Sketch 3

Sketch 4

Concerning the Art in Transit project, I thought I would keep a journal of my thoughts and ideas.  After reading the prospectus for the project I spent a few days researching hispanic figures in the civil rights movement.  The Flint Arts Council provided me a list.  Of all the people on the list I like Dr. Hector Perez Garcia the best.  First of all I was drawn to his name…not that his surname was Perez, but that his name is Hector Garcia.  It is also the name of one of my favorite uncles who past away this past year from cancer.  Both Dr. Garcia and my uncle lived in Corpus Christi, TX.  After reading about Dr. Garcia I was 100% certain about my decision to portray him in stained glass.  That’s because Dr. Garcia’s parents and many hispanic families I know, including my own, believed education to be the key to success in the United States.  

My first sketch before I met with Pat Deere was a representation of Felix Longoria, the Mexican-American soldier who was killed in the Philippines and later denied burial in Three Rivers, Texas because “the whites wouldnt like it”.  Dr. Garcia petitioned then Senator, Lyndon B. Johnson to redress the issue.  Johnson secured Longoria’s burial in the Arlington National Cemetary and became the first Mexican American to be buried there.  This sketch only represents about 1/7th of the window and has been revised since it was created last week.

I officially started dreaming of the Smoky Mountains today.  I started by rummaging through some photos from last year.  K took this one on top of Mt. LeConte.  Then, this afternoon I cross country skied the Hiker Trail at Hidden Lake Gardens and it was by far the BEST day of Winter so far.  It was 35 but it felt like 75.  There’s nothing like being in the woods on a warm winters day.  Another thing that reminded me of spring was that I heard a “cheeva, cheeva, cheeva” and a “Feee Beeee”.  You birders know what I’m talking about.  Birds stop singing in the winter.  Singing is used by birds in the spring and summer for breeding and marking territory.  But in the winter they stop singing and only use call notes.  BUT, today I heard the song of the Tufted Titmouse and the Black Capped Chickadee.  Apparently the warm weather was making them feel a little frisky too.

 Yesterday, K and I went show shoeing at Hidden Lake Gardens.  On every trip I carry my camera and binoculars.  I try to capture bird close-ups whenever possible to use in my art.  When it comes to Cedar Waxwings I learned that it’s best to let them come to you and not go out to actively search for them.  Flocks come and go.  When they show up they show up in large numbers.  As my luck happens to be…they usually show up in very large numbers when I dont have my camera with me.  But yesterday I was ready.  And, still I only ended up with one usable photo.  Is it frustrating…perhaps.  I recently read a blog by a fellow artist about frustration and wondered how I deal with it personally.  In art, photography, or flyfishing I can control the many fine details of the craft to the best of my ability.  But sometimes there are things I have no control over.  Sometimes things happen the way I want them to, but most often they do not.  Is the search for perfection a fruitless task?  Is the end result what means the most?  Or is the means in which we get there more important?  I’ll probably ask these questions the rest of my life.  But, whether I can capture a Cedar Waxwing, or catch a Smoky Mountain Brook Trout is not up to me completely.  God has given me the tools and I can chose to use them to the best of my ability or not.  But God controls whether a Cedar Waxwing lands in a tree facing into the sun or away from the sun for a photo.  Had I not gone back to look for K’s lost pedometer I may have never seen the flock.    My point is that there are too many variables in life to say that we are in control.  I try to deal with frustration by simply accepting what God gives me and thanking him for allowing me to do the things that bring me joy.

“Theobroma cacao”, hand painted linocut

paper:  Rives BFK

Press:  Richeson Baby Press

Ink:  Daniel Smith water soluble oil based ink.

Cutting tools:  Speedball

linoleum:  Dick Blick Battleship grey on particle board.

Watercolor:  Winsor & Newton

This linocut titled, “Theobroma cacao” was designed and printed especially for the Chocopalooza Festival at Adrian High School.  Adrian High School alumni teamed up to exhibit artwork to be auctioned off during the event.  All proceeds will go towards the Adrian Public Schools.  

I plan to water color this over the weekend and have a finished piece by Monday.

“Theobroma cacao” is the latin name for the Cocoa Tree.  If you are familiar with cocoa trees you’ll notice the flowers are about 10 x their normal size.  That’s called artistic license.  I love the flowers on this tree and wanted to show them in more detail than I could if I put them in proportionally.  Inspiration to do this print came from the Theobroma cacao tree at Hidden Lake Gardens.

 In preparation for my next project I’ve been collecting photographs of Mexican plants from the Arid Room at Hidden Lake Gardens.  This one is Palmer Agave.  It’s one of my favorite plants in the arid room.  I love the subtle squiggle which adorns the center of this plant.  I love a lot of the plants in the arid room.  Some people race through the conservatory like a Nascar race.  I like to take my time.  I like to pick out patterns in nature.  I use these patterns in my artwork.  I recently picked out about 10 Mexican plants in the arid room to feature in my next project.  I’ll talk more about this project in the weeks to come.

  I recently joked with a fellow birder about driving long distances to see birds…only to see them when you get home in your own yard.  Well that happened to me today.  I went snow shoeing this morning at HLG but didnt see any new species.  On my way home I bought a new shovel at ACO Hardware.  Of course I had to try it out when I got home.  While shoveling I heard some birds fly over that I’ve never heard before.  They landed in the field next to my house.  I ran inside, grabbed the camera and walked right up to these guys (after identifying them from a distance with binoculars).

This evening I attended a watercolor batik demonstration given by Susan Sitterly at the LCVA Gallery.  She let us make a small batik.  I made this little mayfly.  It’s about 4″x 7″.