CV

telemarketer
babysitter
camp counsellor
shop girl
employment counsellor
bike courier
waitress
theatre usher
chambermaid
makeup counter clerk
receptionist
graphic artist

Time well wasted.

Have had a bit of a frustrating day with this painting. There are elements of it I like, and others that I don't, and I'm not quite sure how to fix the yukky bits without ruining the good bits. As I've been working on it, I've been thinking about musicians and how different their art experience is. When you are learning to paint and making a bunch of crap, you literally end up with a bunch of crap. Ya, you can paint over them sometimes (and one of the things I love about encaustic is I can actually scrape it off and reuse it), but still. There is a lot of not so good stuff piled around taking up space. (And what about potters? What do they do with all the lopsided bowls and mugs with cracks?)
My train of thought was about pianists practicing a piece of music, making mistakes, and spending time, re-doing, re-doing, trying to get it right. They would certainly not consider that time wasted. But with visual art, I sometimes feel defeated when I've put time into a painting and then end up tossing it. I know there are lessons in the failure - what worked, what didn't, but in the end, when the tangible thing that represents my time is crumpled up and tossed out, I feel sorta... Well, crap, I could have been reading a book... :-)
On the flip side, musicians put all that time into something that is gone the moment it is created. Nothing to frame, nothing to hang up that documents their time and effort and progress and talent.
Just something to think about.

And a cute photo of my studio assistant. Because no matter how crappy I think something is, when I hold it up and say "Jimmy, what do you think?" he always wags his tail in approval.

Book 'em Danno.

I need reading advice.
I went to the library yesterday, and once again found a bizillion books I want to read. Same things happens at the book store. Thing is, I haven't found a system for actually setting aside time to read. I find time to walk the dog, do yoga, surf the web, eat, sleep, brush my teeth, even meditate occasionally, but I just can't seem to find a slot in my day for reading.
And it's the one thing I really really want to do!
I think I may need to swap my surfing for reading...

Announcement!

Photo Tuesday has been put on hold.
I am in a bit of a January blogging slump, so rather than torture you with drivel, I am cutting down to two posts a week.
I'm not totally committed, but for now, Sunday will remain a piece of art from the past week, and Thursday has been renamed "This is my life Thursday".
The art group that I belong to is working our way through Julia Cameron's "Vein of Gold". The first chapter's assignment is to write our life history.
Ugh.
And again - Ugh.
I am having so much trouble with this!
My London: 1988 post was an attempt to attack the assignment from a different angle. It was sort of fun, and did seem to stir up my memory bank (also brought my friend Stephane out of the shadows, and that was nice :-)
At the risk of appearing totally self-absorbed, I am going to use my Thursday post as a tool to get me through this life story assignment. I'll try to include an amusing illustration to offset the possibly mind-numbing recollections of my youth :-)
And sometimes, Thursday will be about life here and now, where I'll slip in a photo anyway :-)
Like this one from our "big snow storm" this weekend...

Just Do It

Had another dry week in the studio. Then at 2 o'clock this afternoon, I decided if I didn't take the plunge and put some wax on my new panels that arrived Friday, the fear of "ruining them" would escalate until I was totally paralyzed. I've been having trouble finding the right substrate to do my encaustic painting on, then finally found this guy online a few weeks ago. The panels are really well crafted (and compared to the price of framing, a total bargain), but because they are so nice, it's a little intimidating to do anything to them.
But I plunged ahead and now have a nice background to work with.
In typical Nadine fashion, I have no idea what this painting will become. Stay tuned.

London, 1988

It's always there. You just have to look.

Yes, there is the crack in the wainscoting. But around 5 o'clock, the sun does something magic through the front door.

Stuff. Misc. Other.

Didn't paint a thing this week.
Didn't draw, sketch or doodle either.
What I did do was be crafty gluestick girl :-)
I decorated a new Moleskine for my January to-do notes and grocery lists, made some glass pebbles I'll leave here or there for someone else to find, and put together this cute little filing system for all those important but where-the-heck-do-I-keep-this? pieces of paper.
It ain't the Mona Lisa, but it was fun :-)

6.6 Billion timelines to manage.

Working on my new header the other day got me thinking about the whole "How did I get here" thing. The question of course isn't just about how did I end up in the US, or the South, or Winston-Salem. It also covers, how is it I became a graphic artist? Married a scientist? Got into yoga?
I have this theory about God and a chess board and how life unfolds. Like, maybe those years I spent travelling weren't really about making sure I saw the world, but was just a way of keeping me occupied so David could get through a marriage and divorce, putting me back in Ottawa at the right moment for our time lines to cross. It's that whole "everything happens for a reason" thing, it's just that sometimes the reason is something seemingly unrelated that isn't going to happen for 2 or 20 years. Maybe living here has to do with lessons here, but just maybe, this is one of God's early moves in the chess game; he's already thinking 8 moves ahead.
I was walking to work one morning and ran into an old friend I hadn't seen for years. Our walking routes were completely perpendicular to each other; there was a window of maybe one minute in which we would meet. If I had spent another minute brushing my teeth, or stopped to tie my shoe, or a million other distractions, we would have missed each other again, just like we had been doing for months. I often wonder how much of that is going on all the time and I am totally unaware. Missed opportunities, missed encounters, missed dangers. I like to think I've been saved from many a car wreck because I forgot my purse and had to go back in the house :-)

This is why I must go back to Puerto Rico.

In 2003, I tagged along to one of David's meetings in Puerto Rico, and fell in love with the place. When we returned home and I had the photos developed, I discovered at least half of them were blocked by a big fat close up of my knuckle.
Harrumph.
I present the photograph above as supporting evidence in my case, that I should return this year to San Juan with my fancy new digital camera with its instant "view and delete" function.
David, I promise not to get drunk on Mohitos and dance in the street every night like last time.

In other news...
New Year, new header for HDIGH! It's doing something weird and falling out of the border on the right. Will keep working on it.

Look up. Look waaaay up...

coloured pencil, beeswax and oil paint on paper
I was doing a little New York daydreaming yesterday. January always finds me cruising Tripadvisor and Travelocity - armchair travelling to fill the void left after the long and exciting buildup to Christmas.
The Empire State may be taller and have more movie credits, but in my book, nothing tops New York's Chrysler Building.

After the first scan, I added some red balloons and the "Toyota birds". I like the added bit of red, but don't love the placement. I also used some of that old wax I scraped off the first wheat painting :-)

Ooops.

When I got home from work yesterday, we didn't have any water. The temperature had dropped well below freezing overnight and hovered on the brink all day, but we had taken nice hot showers in the morning, so it didn't seem likely the pipes had frozen. After calling Carol next door and confirming her water was ok, I called City Maintenance to see if they were doing work in the area...
"Ma'am, your water has been disconnected for non-payment."
Ooops.
Most of our utilities are set up with automatic bank draft, but not the water. I guess I overlooked the December bill. Funny though - no Final Notice, no tag on the door with a number to call to get it turned back on, no chance to fill up the bathtub in preparation...
It turned out not to be a big deal. I just gave them a credit card number and someone was back out here within a couple of hours. Made me think what a little crisis it could have been though if I was say, a single mum with kids in diapers. Perhaps without a credit card, having to scramble to find the cash, maybe take a taxi or bus to the office to pay in person. Could I go a few days without running water? Sheesh, I brush my teeth ten times a day.
Just a little something to think about next time you turn on the tap.
Gratitude.

*photo found on www.chinadaily.com.cn

Calendar Girl

Don't ya just love hanging up your new calendar?
I'm a little addicted, so my cubicle alone gets two or three, then one for the kitchen, one for my studio... Is it weird to hang a calendar in the bathroom?
Happy New Year all :-)