Full Capacity by Diane Swanson

One day I was visiting Diane in the room she uses as a studio in her house (It’s also the guest room) and I asked her how she does her paintings. ” Oh you know” she said and went through the complicated process of sketching and painting a watercolor as if it were common knowledge, as if everyone did it.

When I saw her painting “Full Capacity”, which she made for Anointing the Goddess, I couldn’t begin to imagine how she did it. I was mesmerized by the range of colors and the loose forms which create solid structures and transparent, frothing, flowing, reflective water.  And she does this all the time in her paintings capturing the feeling of a bird, a pasture at midday, or a tree in full bloom.  Whether it’s watercolor, acrylic or pastel, her pleasure and confidence in the medium and subject matter come through in her paintings.

In the video below, Diane talks about her work and her choices about what to paint and how she does it.

Our new dog Red, Freida and Lenore in front of the Pig Barn Gallery

By the end of last week I could feel it coming.   The choice between panicking about Anointing the Goddess or…

The “or” made me realize that I had a choice.   I could go with my prevailing thoughts of  you should make another pillow, why not make another quilt, you need more potholders…. or…. I could make one more pillow (which I did, just a little bit of crazy) then spend the week before the show getting things ready and enjoying it.

I realized I had this idea that if I wasn’t rushing around like a maniac, stressing and panicking and suffering, that I wasn’t working hard enough and I would screw something up and the show would be a failure.  Or when it went well, I could be greatly relieved and feel good about all my “hard” work.

But what if….what if I did just the opposite.  What if I told myself I had enough work, and I’d get everything done I needed to and anything I forgot or didn’t get to do wouldn’t matter.  What if I enjoyed myself.  The answer that came to me was that I’d have fun and the show would be even better because it was created joyfully. I reminded myself of the true meaning of my art shows. To expose people to good, local artists and their work. To create a welcoming and loving and safe environment.  To sell art to people who want to have it in their lives. To have fun, always, to have fun.

So, yesterday I cleaned out the Pig Barn, today I’m printing labels  and signs for the artwork and sorting out the paperwork.  Tomorrow Jon and I will meet Kim Gifford for lunch and pick up her work for the show,  get Jon’s prints from the Image Loft in Manchester and do a little “Artist Reception” food shopping.  Thursday Diane and I will hang the show and Friday I’ll take care of the loose odds and ends. In between I’m having lunch with Jon, walking with the dogs, visiting the sheep and donkeys, getting to know our new, sweet and loving dog, Red, reading my book (Smut by Alan Bennett) and going to bed early.  In a way, it’s like a vacation, a break from the normal routine of working in my studio.  And I’m spending it cultivating Joy, getting ready for the fruitful and festive weekend.

“We Stand in this sacred space and welcome all who come to share love, work, hope, and the Spirit of Creation”
Dedication prayer of the Pig Barn Gallery by Mary Muncil.

By Joyce Zimmerman

I first met Joyce Zimmerman last year at a Gallery 99 show in Glens Falls, I liked her work so much, I bought one of her pieces.  It was one of her small 3-d collages in a plastic food container and when I went to her studio I was intrigued by all the different mediums she works in from clay to collage to painting.    She’s been working feminine imagery for years and often blends the ancient with the contemporary.  Her choice of materials are a mix too, using found objects as well as creating objects  from clay and paper to use in her collages.    She also uses words as a descriptive and visual element.  I find her pieces direct and fresh working with archetypal ideas in a personal way. I knew right away her work would be perfect for the last show in the Pig Barn Gallery.  In the video below, Joyce talks about her work and the process of creating it.

  Congratulation Nancy DiRienzo,  you won the Stone Wall Secrets notecards!

And now for the last Jon Katz notecard give-a-way…

"Judy" notecards by Jon Katz

A true Everyday Goddess, Judy Baldwin, dairy farmer on the Rouse Farm.  Jon writes about Judy on back of the notecards:

“It is humbling to watch Judy  work, to see her push the cows along, clean the manure, haul the milking tubes around, sweep up.  Then kiss her favorite cow McKenzie on the nose and go sit on the floor with her kids and play…The is something vulnerable, and also very strong and classic about Judy.  And like many women, she relates to animals in a particular way, and they to her.”

This is the last notecard give-a-way. So if you’d like a chance to win, just leave a comment on my blog.   I’ll announce the winner on Friday at 4pm the day before the Last Show at the Pig Barn Gallery, Anointing the Goddess.

I just got a call from another goddess, Mary Kellogg, she said she has some new poems to read at the show and will be there Saturday for the artists reception from 1-3pm.

"Open Your Heart and Bless the Night"

I was working on a new pillow for the show, not thinking of Father’s Day when memories and feeling of my father, who died over 15 years ago,  started to come up, just like that.  The feelings were mostly anger and shameful vulnerability.

I thought of Veronica Hallisey’s poem “Bless the Expereince”  where she wrote ” For if the experience has been a negative one, has left me with a hurt so deep, has filled me with anger, then I must bless it.  For in blessing I remove it’s  power to hurt me again.”

Bless it, I thought as I stared at my pillow, it’s meaning changing before my eyes.  I  blessed the memories, the anger, the fear, my father and myself.   I thought of something else Veronica wrote to me just a few days ago,  “There is a balance to life’s experiences if we can look at them as worthy, there is so much to learn from them all. ”

And later, when I was sitting behind  Jon on the ATV,  riding through the woods with Lenore running ahead of us, I thought all of my life’s experiences have brought me to this moment, the good and the bad.  And my father, no matter how I may feel about him, is a part of that.  So I’ll continue to bless him and work on forgiving him.  Knowing that without him I wouldn’t be where I am now.  And where I am now is where I’ve always wanted to be.  Loved and happy and  fulfilled and grateful for my life.

Donna Wynbrandt and some of her paintings

This afternoon I picked up Donna’s work  for the show in the Pig Barn Gallery, next weekend (oh, it’s getting close!).  I know I chose too many of her pieces, but I just couldn’t help it, I love them all.

Her paintings range in size from 22″x40″ portraits  to 4″x 5″ cards.  Donna is an Outsider Artist, meaning she is untrained and working outside of the traditional art world. An Outsider Artist’s work often comes from a religious experience, a personal tragedy or mental illness.  I love Donna’s work because  it deals with darkness of the real world with, wonder, beauty and sense of hope and humor.    Although her forms are abstracted, Donna captures the essence of what ever it is she is painting through expressions and body language. She often uses  words which are descriptive as well as part of the imagery.  Her paintings seem to dance with line and color.  They are joyful and they allow us to see the  world through truly unique eyes. Donna has a new blog, just 2 days old.  Have a look at donnawynbrandt.com.  In the video you can see Donna talk about her work.

ooh ooh potholder

Along with Everyday Goddess Potholders, I made a bunch of potholders from an old quilted pillow cover for the Anointing the Goddess Show.  Mary Muncil gave me the pillow cover, made up of small squares, of strips of fabric.  Maybe from the 1940′s?  I cut out the squares then worked my fabrics around them to make potholders.  It’s really a collaborative piece, me and this unknown (most likely) woman from the past.  We connected on the colors and patterns and Mary ( who will be at Anointing the Goddess on Saturday  June 23rd around 12 noon for any of you who would like to meet her)  brought us together.

There are some days where images fill my mind  and  words elude me.   Today was like that,  the colors and patterns came together, a familiar language.  I scanned the pillow cover choosing the patch that appealed to me at the moment and when I cut out the yellow one above, making sure I got a piece of the red, white, yellow and blue fabric that was next to it, I could feel it like something  caught in my throat.  And when I laid the last two colors down, the hospital green and gold, the sound ooh ooh came out of my mouth. I squinted my eyes and shook my head, those colors went right to my gut.

So, you see, this potholder is pretty special to me.    I thought of keeping it for myself, but I have a draw full of potholders (all my mistakes, and there are a lot).   I thought someone should have it that feels the way I do about it.  Even though I made it for the show, if there’s anyone out there who looks at this potholder and finds themselves uttering ooh ooh and would like to buy it (It’s $15 including shipping)  just email me and let me know.  Otherwise I’ll sell it at the Goddess Show next weekend.  Or maybe I will keep it for myself.

Congratulations Hannah,  winner of Jon’s Flowers and Light notcards!

Next Give-a-way is Jon’s notecards Stonewall Secrets….

Stonewall Secrets by Jon Katz

One the back of each card, along with Jon’s signature, Jon writes:

“Stonewalls are spiritual to me.
Their time has come and gone.
But they wait.
And if you listen, they whisper lost stories from the
past and inspire meditations that brush the soul”

Once again, if you’d like to have to chance to win a free pack of Jon’s Stonewall Secrets notecards, just leave a comment on my blog.  I’ll announce the winner on Monday at 4pm.  And remember you can buy any of Jon’s cards here or at Anointing the Goddess the last show at the Pig Barn Gallery on Bedlam Farm.

"My Pet" by Kim Gifford

Kim Gifford talked about her photo collages when she came to lunch at the farm a couple of weeks ago.  This is some of her work which will be in Anointing the Goddess.   You can see more of Kim’s work on her blog pugs and pics.  She’s also a wonderful writer.

Drowning Jester

Tess, Socks, and Suzy

What fun, I thought after the sheep arrived, now I get to name them.  Tess’ name came to me right away.  She’s the oldest of the three and as soon as she settled in she walked over to me and checked me out.  I scratched her neck and she let me.  Some names are just good sheep names.  Tess is one of those names.

But Tess also has meaning for me.  Tess, the person,  bought my first quilt.  When I  started my company (it was YesNo Quilts at the time)  I was only selling quilts and Tess was my best customer.  Sales were slow back then, but Tess always seemed to come through just when I thought I might never sell another quilt.  And she stayed with me, though all the changes.   We got to meet briefly a few times, then last year she came for a visit.   We found we had so much in common,  If we lived closer to each other we’d be good friends.  As it is, we’ve become long distance friends.  Naming the sheep, Tess, seemed just right for my new business venture, which is  also a personal  venture into another  part of myself.  I feel a different kind of  responsibility  for these sheep,than I’ve ever felt before,  like it’s up to me to make it work.

Suzy

Suzy is named after another internet friend.  I first met Suzy when she  and her family she came to visit Bedlam Farm.  I liked her right away.  We kept in touch on-line and met from time to time at shows and readings. Last fall I invited Suzy to be in the Functional Art Show at the Pig Barn Gallery.  She’s a spinner and knitter (has sheep of her own) and she made hats and shawls from her wool, which were a bit hit at the show.   Although we live far from each other and  have very different lives,  Suzy and I just “get” each other.  Especially those things that I might think twice about saying to just anyone.   Suzy, the sheep, is still a bit shy, but she did let me get close enough to get this picture.  Soon I’ll be scratching her neck.

Socks is the smallest of the three.  She’s the first to run, when I come around.  I’ll probably have to get the grain out for her, and just be patient.  Mostly she hangs around with Suzy.  I was thinking about all the things a person could make with wool and socks came to mind.  It’s a cute word and that little sheep, who keeps running away from me, is pretty cute.  I thought it was a good fit.

Today, as I was walking down the hill from the pole barn where the sheep were resting, I thought again of my responsibility for them.   I saw myself in the New Bedlam Farm, surrounded by a  large flock of sheep, my sheep, and we were in it together, taking care of each other.  Me providing them with a good, safe, nourishing home and them providing wool.  One of the old stories.