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![]() Weck's Locations in Albuquerque |
Researching Watercolor Artists (11/27): The NMWS has a large permanent collection of work by artists who have done workshops for the society over the years. I took on the job of searching for information on 18 of those artists. I'm sending the information on to the appraiser who is setting the insurance value on a portion of our collection. We display about a dozen pieces of our permanent collection each time we have a juried show. Otherwise the collection is displayed on the walls of REDW, a large accounting firm here in Albuquerque. Life Is Good: We were in and out of our only Black Friday store in 20 minutes this morning. Then I got my reward for going shopping - breakfast at Weck's. A giant breakfast buritto with hotter than usual green chili. Frani brought 3/4 of her breakfast home for my breakfast tomorrow - life is especially good with green chili. Weck's has eight locations in Albuquerque. It's a hometown chain but now they have one restaurant in Lewisville, Texas - North of Dallas, so we have a place to get breakfast next time we drive that way. ![]() |
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| "Our Menu" Turkey Dressing Gravy Candied Yams Asparagus Povitica Apple Pie |
Happy Turkey Day (11/26): This morning, before Frani gets up, I'm matting my new watercolors. I cut all the mats yesterday, but today I glued the liners into the outer mat. When Frani gets up, later, she will put our 13 lb bird in the oven. I'm not matting the watercolors I entered into the Western Fed competition. If I'm fortunate enough to get one into the exhibit in Salt Lake City - then I'll mat it for shipping. Utah requires a minimum 3 1/2 inch mat. Hopefully I'll get the rejection notices early enough to enter my "rejected" paintings into MasterWorks of New Mexico. On, Monday I need to order a special sized frame for one painting and some sheets of plexiglass. I'll frame my new paintings next week. It's hard to believe other artists actually pay someone to frame their watercolors. |
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| Errors (11/25): I really need to use spell check more often. I just found and finally corrected a whole bunch of spelling problems on my blog. I'm sure I'll be forgiven by my readers - but it sure makes me look bad. But, once in a while someone points those mistakes out to me. They must not have been an Art teacher - probably an English major - don't ya think ? Now - I should leave the errors for facebook, no one there would know or care - IMHO. It's all short hand over there anyway. Cutting Mats Today: While I'm cutting mats for my new watercolors - Frani is cooking for tomorrows feast. She is cooking turkey parts with celery and onion so she can make her fantastic dressing. This morning the newspaper had a recipe for a "creamy green chili turkey soup". I'm going to try it out with some of our left over turkey - Sounds Yummy. While I was cutting mats - I decided to crop Tiffanie's painting >>>
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![]() "Tiffanie Loves Dolls" |
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Around The World: One of the great things about the web is that it reaches around the globe. I can talk with Maggie from Arizona, who is now teaching in Quito, or read updates on Jan who relocated, from New Mexico, to Costa Rica. I even sold my lessons to a teacher in Saudi Arabia. Today, I heard from Melissa who seems to have taught everywhere. She now teaches in Chennai, India. Metropolitan Chennai has an estimated population over 8 million. She teaches art and technology while also creating - as most really successful art teachers should be doing. Melissa currently has an exhibit of her work in a gallery - the Apparao Galleries in Infinity (Southeast Coast of India) . This is a two artist exhibition called ‘Me and My Neighbours'. The exhibit got a great write-up yesterday in a major newspaper - "The Hindu" (from the largest newspaper in Chennai). It is becoming a truely small world due to the internet. It is sure improving my geography knowledge and skills especially thanks to Google and Wikipedia. See More of Melissa's Art and Travels at:
http://web.me.com/melissaenderle/Travel_Journeys_by_Melissa_Enderle/Welcome.html |
![]() Melissa's Art |
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Julie & Julia (11/24): We saw a delightful movie yesterday, at the dollar show of course. Julie & Julia is a comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron. The film depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child in the early years in her culinary career, contrasting her life with Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook during a single year. Meryl Streep does a wonderful job as Julia Child, and Amy Adams appears as Julie Powell. This was a fun movie experience. Meryl Streep is getting better as she ages and plays older women. Critiques: Getting advice about improving one's painting is a valuable tool. I put the request out there on my newest watercolor "Jazz Singer". I asked for it. I received lots of well meaning advice. There were several comments about how great it was. There were also suggestions for changes - even a suggestion that I do it over. But most of the suggestions, while good ideas, were so varied - fix this or that (little changes every where) with little consensus. So, I've decided to just sign the painting and move on to another one. Thanks for the help. |
CLICK HERE to go directly to my eight watercolors which will be on display in Placitas |
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| Darks In Watercolors: I sent our a query, this morning, about sources which talked about using darks in watercolors. I have tried to google for "darks in watercolors" and "contrast in watercolors" without much success. When I took my first watercolor workshop at the Sagebrush Inn in Taos, in 1985, I learned quickly that watercolor painting need not be wimpy or light. I started to add more darks and more contrast to my watercolors. Now, it's a major part of the way I paint. One friend who responded converted my paintings to black and white. Wow !! They really stand out. I'm impressed how strong and effective the contrast really is. It's like a value study in reverse. I'm just too lazy to do value studies before I start a painting. ![]() My Watercolors Converted Into Black & White I
never use black in creating my dark colors. As another friend replied
this morning - "using black is like cutting a hole in your painting." I
mix various complements until I get a dark hue that I like. I leave it
on my pallet or mixing dish to use here and there through out the
composition. While the dark tones are still wet - I drop other colors
into them to give the darks more life just as one would in a wet-n-wet
wash.
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Why Do A Blog ? In the movie Julie & Julia - (Which we saw on Monday) Julie Powell, played by Amy Adams decides to write a blog. Her blog had a specific purpose. Her blog was designed to document her progress, day by day, trying to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Cookbook within one year. Most blogs have a narrow specific purpose - But, not mine. Whereas, my blog is all over the place. Sometimes my blog is about my watercolors, or my triplet grandkids, or docent training, or art education, or my political view point, etc. etc. Actually my blog is about whatever I'm up to, involved in, or just what's bugging me at the moment. Do all these things have a reason to to be included in one single blog ? I don't know the correct answer. I suspect that I will keep blogging away. Perhaps, my blog simply represents what a retired art teacher does with all his time. |
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![]() Details |
![]() Some Progress ![]() Jazz Singer Finished |
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Study Links High Graduation Rates To Strong Arts Programs: The Center for Arts Education's latest report analyzes the relationship between graduation rates and indicators of arts education. The study focuses on 200 public high schools in the New York City area. Findings reveal that schools with more access to arts education have the highest graduation rates. Read the report for more findings on the correlation between arts education and graduation. (from Keep Arts In Schools) A similar study needs to be conducted in New Mexico and elsewhere in the country. My own Middle school back in Kansas City cut the art program to save money. This was a strong program that I spent 27 years building. Another Middle school in the district, with a long history of a quality art program, cur their art teacher as well. Perhaps studies like this will enlighten school administrators of the wrong headedness of these poor decisions. Let's hope so. |
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Costa Rica Sunset![]() This is the view from my friend Jan Hart's house in Costa Rica |
Brushstrokes Finished (11/22): It's Sunday morning and I just finished the December issue of the NMWS newsletter called Brushstrokes. I'll send this issue off to the printer as soon as a few kind souls read it over to find my goofs. It's hard to edit your own work. This is my second year doing the newsletter and I still fight with Pagemaker. It's a Micro Soft version that only works on a PC. So, I have to transfer all the items I'm sent over to Franies computer to create the newsletter. I'm on an i-mac which I love - of course. ![]() New Watercolor:
Starting a new watercolor today. It's another one from the French Quarter in New Orleans. I also need to stretch more watercolor paper. I only have 2 sheets of 140 lb Arches left so I will try stretching a sheet of Lanaquarelle Watercolor Paper. I don't think it's as tough as Arches - but I'll try it. |
![]() New Watercolor Started "Jazz Singer" |
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| Stretching Watercolor Paper: I have four sheets of gator board cut to the size I like to paint - slightly larger than 1/2 sheet. I'm working on my last stretched sheet - so it's time to stretch some more. With a mat it will frame up to 22 x 28 inches. I soak a full sheet of 140 lb Arches rough in the hot tub for about 25 minutes. Then I staple the extra edges around the sheet of gator board. I work on top of our bed. Seems like I use the entire house as my studio. I lay the stretched paper on top of the love seat in our living room over night to dry. The paper expands when it is soaked. As it drys it shrinks around the gator board giving me a very tight surface (like a drum) to paint on. |
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![]() Dogs Life |
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![]() "Storm Hole" by Angus MacPherson |
Acrylic Painting Workshop: There is a wonderful opportunity at the start of the new year. From January 4th through the 8th, 2010 Angus MacPherson is conducting a week long workshop for 22 lucky participants. You can learn from the master about what he has learned and about the way he paints. MacPherson paints with wet acrylics on canvas. This is one workshop you do not want to miss. You can download a registration form by clicking on the link on his website. My friend Donna is organizing the workshop so I know it will be a wonderful and fun experience. |
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![]() Edvard Munch - 1895 |
![]() "First Day of School" Finished |
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Western Fed Entries (11/19): I'm mailing off the digital entries for WFWS exhibition tomorrow. 47 New Mexico artists entered 104 paintings in the 2010 competition. The exhibit will be in Salt Lake City, Utah this time. The Salt Lake City exhibit won't be until May of 2010. It was in San Diego in 2009. New Mexico will host the juried exhibition in 2011. One of my jobs as the New Mexico delegate is to collect all the NMWS digital entries and forward them on to Utah. After the juror (Carla O'Connor) makes her decisions - I will then collect the accepted New Mexico paintings and ship them to Salt Lake City. It's a tough competition - so it's a real honor to be selected. I was fortunate to have a painting selected when the exhibit was in Colorado, a couple years back. Getting Ready For Placitas: Now I need to get ready for my own opening in Placitas. As usual, there will a concert right after the opening on Sunday, December 6th. I will need 7 or 8 watercolors for the show. I can't enter anything that I submitted to Western Fed - because all my paintings must be for sale. This will be the third year I've been asked to exhibit in Placitas. Traffic is up on my blog & website - for three days in a row now,
I've had over 100 visitors each day. |
![]() WFWS in San Diego |
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Baby Quilt: Frani made great use of the left overs from her last quilt. She made a new, unique baby quilt out of the scraps. She is getting more creative these days. |
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| Dollar Movie Today (11/18): We took in another dollar movie today. We went to see Matt Damon in "The Informant !" At least I saw the movie - Frani slept through most of it. It was slow - she prefers more action. We then went to eat Chinese Food at Lin's Buffet. As we ate, we tried to remember some of the movies we both enjoyed. Two came to mind "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith and "Gran Torino" staring Clint Eastwood. Next week we will get to see "Julie & Julia". We've been waiting on that one to come to the dollar movie for a long time. Old retired folks like us look for all the discounts. |
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![]() J K Drummond |
Watercolor Demo (11/17): Last night, at the monthly NMWS meeting, we had a real treat. J K Drummond did a demo on the art of lost and found edges. Edges are Jae's specialty. In fact - Jae claims she is an "Edge Nazi". Around New Mexico, Jae is considered a rising star in the world of watercolor. A new member went home with a door prize - The children's book Jae illustrated - "Sophies Castle". Art runs in the family. You may have seen the March 2008 American Artist Magazine featuring father and daughter watercolorists David and Jae Drummond. Jae is an artist you want to keep an eye on. Thank you Jae for another eye opening demonstration. |
![]() Demo Projected |
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| What ? - No Green Chili: In New Mexico, the concern is this year's shortage of green chili - seems like the chili crop started turning red early this year - so not enough of my favorite flavor. Seems like that's not a problem in Mississippi. The menu at the Mississippi Art Museum (where my watercolor hangs) is pure Southern - as it should be. Next weeks menu is shown below and there is nothing green - except for the okra, eggplant and and squash.
Over 200 people visited my blog in the last two days - many were there to critique my recent watercolor - "Ticket to Ride". Thank you for all the compliments and especially the suggestions. I'm sending a digital image of the painting off to Utah for the WFWS juror to decide. |
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![]() "Ticket To Ride" Finished |
Time To Quit (11/16): Well, perhaps not quit - but stop fiddling with this painting. So, I photographed my newest watercolor and switched it with one of my entries into Western Fed. I appreciated the critiques I received via e-mail and on facebook. I made a few corrections here and there - but, now it's time to move on. This one was a challenge that I enjoyed solving. All three of my entries into Western Fed are images from our recent trip to New Orleans. It gave me new resources and a new perspectives. So, "Ticket To Ride" is ready for the show - of course it's up to the juror. Two of my entries are full sheets - matted the newest watercolor will frame 36 inches high and 28 inches wide. It might make an interesting game to try and find the dozen or so changes I made. |
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I posted my newest watercolor on the American Artist magazine site "Artist Daily" |
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![]() Time to Stop and move on ![]() |
Lazy Sunday (11/15): I straightened up my studio (just enough) to get back to painting. Actually, straighting up - means moving the piles of stuff from here to there so I can make just enough room to paint. If I get my new watercolor "Ticket to Ride" finished, and if it turns out OK - I switch it for one of my entries into Western Fed. There are lots of if's, always lots of if's - aren't there ? I also set the radio to a good classic country station to keep me better focused on my painting. click on photo for a larger image >>>
I'm almost finished with my newest
watercolor. I often think the one I just finished is my best - perhaps
because of all the pain of birth. I'd sure appreciate some critiques -
just send me a message at woodyduncan@comcast.net - Should this one be entered into Western Fed ?
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![]() "Ticket to Ride" Almost Finished |
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| Snow On Our Mountain: It's 42 degrees in Albuquerque on this Sunday afternoon. They are predicting snow. I hope it stays in the mountains where it belongs. We will see what happens tonight. I took the photo below at 3:30 pm mountain time today - Sunday, November 15th, 2009. |
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I'm almost finished collecting entries for WFWS exhibition. The exhibit will be in Salt Lake City, Utah this time. The Salt Lake City exhibit won't be until May of 2010. It was in San Diego in 2009. New Mexico will host the juried exhibition in 2011. One of my jobs as the New Mexico delegate is to collect all the NMWS digital entries and forward them on to Utah. After the juror makes her decisions - I will then collect the New Mexico paintings and ship them to Salt Lake City. It's a tough competition - so it's a real honor to be selected. I was fortunate to have a painting selected when the exhibit was in Colorado, a couple years back. |
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![]() Today's Progress |
Friday The 13th (11/13): I made some progress on one watercolor this morning at the Friday Painters Group at the Unitarian Church. I also took a few more photos of artist's paintings for entry into Western Fed. We took a break from painting for lunch with friends. Afterwards, I picked Frani up so we could go to the annual Weem's International ArtFest. It's the major art fair in Albuquerque - we would hate to miss it. While at the Fair Grounds, we also took in the NM Pastel Show. Looking at Art makes for a good day. |
![]() Jane Painting Horse |
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![]() Now On Facebook |
Art in the School (11/12): I'm on the board of a program in Albuquerque called Art in the School. It's both an in-school and an after school program that's been going for some 24 years now. I hope I will be able to provide some constructive input into a new after school Middle School program that's being developed now. It should begin in January. Currently Art in the School serves 6600 students in 12 buildings with 131 volunteers. Art in the School just started our own Facebook Page - click here to sign up. I encourage all my facebook friends to join us as friends of Art in the School. We held a board meeting today to discuss fund raising activities. |
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![]() Inking Printing Plates |
More Color Printmaking (11/11): Tuesday, I taught another Multicolor Collograph Workshop - this time here in Albuquerque at the Palo Duro Community Center just off San Mateo. This is the second time I've taught an art class at Palo Duro. I took a few shortcuts this time and all 12 of my senior students were able to finish printing in the two hour time frame. These are some very talented ladies. Everyone seemed to enjoy learning a new process. They plan to put the finished prints on display at the center. |
![]() Finished Print |
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| Docent Training (11/10): Yesterday - Andrew Connors, our new art curator, took museum docents through another portion of the Albuquerque Museum. The docents are learning why as art curator he decided to arrange the pieces in our Common Grounds gallery the way he did. We are also finding out how very knowledgeable and passionate our new art curator is. |
![]() Art Curator |
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Blossom and Balloons: Blossom does not like hot air balloons. Like most dogs in Albuquerque, she goes crazy barking as they float over our houses. Yesterday, I hung a balloon inside our house. We bought it while we were in New Orleans. Blossom looks up and starts barking. I have to put her outside so Frani can get her morning rest. The balloon hangs high over our living room. Blossom does not want to even go upstairs where the balloon is hanging. |
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| Western Fed Entries (11/9): I don't really have the time to finish up my newest watercolors - so I've picked the three I will enter into WFWS 2010 in Salt Lake City. Two are brand new and one was from a year ago. At some point you have to just spin the wheel and see where it stops. It might land on my number - again, it might not. If the juror, Carla O’Connor, were to select one of my watercolors - I would hope it could be my newest one, from New Orleans, titled "Street Dancer". No artist can have more than one painting in the exhibition. Of course all three of mine might be rejected - it's a tough show. That's why it's such an honor to be selected. ![]() My WFWS 2010 Entries My job as the New Mexico delegate to WFWS is to collect entries from NMWS members and send them on to Utah. The entry deadline is the 15th of this month. The UWS will give the entries (perhaps over 1000) to Carla O’Connor so she can make her decisions. Eleven watercolor societies, through out the west, are submitting entries for this prestigious exhibit. We should know which watercolors will be in the exhibit before the end of January. It will be my job to collect and ship the paintings to Utah for the NMWS members who are fortunate enough to be selected. We will ship them matted, ready for the frames Utah is having made to fit the paintings. The watercolor society in Utah will return the matted watercolors and plans to sell the frames to their members to recover expenses. In 2011, New Mexico will be hosting the Western Fed Exhibition. Our 2011 WFWS committee meets at my house tonight to work on plans for 2011. |
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![]() Pulling a Print |
On the left, I included a pic of one participant pulling a print off her printing plate. We rolled three colors onto the plate before printing. The subject matter was to be a figure in action. On the right, is one of the prints pulled by an art teacher in my workshop. We used three colors - yellow, magenta and cyan (all printed at the same time). The three color process is a great way to reinforce color theory. |
<<< My Demo Finished Print
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![]() NMAEA Board in Ruidoso, New Mexico |
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| Playing With Photoshop (11/5): It seems that I have way too much time on my hands when I start playing with photoshop just to entertain myself. Hopefully Pavina will forgive me for seeing what I could change in her photo. click photo for a larger image
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Always An Art Teacher (11/4): The Van is packed with supplies for my workshop in Ruidoso. It's a four hour drive from here through some beautiful mountains. I'm heading out very early on Friday morning. Looking forward to doing a bit of teaching again. I've got a 3 hour slot on Saturday morning. We will be doing Multi-Color Collograph Printmaking but this time using figures in action. As usual, I will poke my head into as many workshops as possible - shooting pics to put on the NMAEA web site. The day before I leave for Ruidoso, I'm attending an organizing meeting for a new "Art in the Schools" project. We have a grant that we plan to use to start an after school art program in oner of the Middle Schools. I hope I am able to provide some good ideas about teaching art at this level. |
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| New Mexico School for the Arts: As The New Mexico School for the Arts prepares to open the School in the fall of 2010, we are now beginning our faculty recruitment. Our Head of School, Jim Ledyard, is seeking to fill the positions described below. If you are (or know of anyone who might be) the perfect fit, encourage their application. More news is promised shortly. Contact for the New Mexico School for the Arts is listed below. Christina Aranda Martinez Executive Assistant New Mexico School for the Arts 505-310-4194 admin@nmschoolforthearts.org ![]() New Mexico School for the Arts Faculty Recruitment: Arts Department Heads New Mexico School for the Arts, located in Santa Fe, is a state-wide charter high school opening for grades 9, 10, and 11 in August 2010. It will be an arts mastery program where students will earn a New Mexico high school diploma and concentrate in one arts discipline from a curriculum that includes dance, music, theater, and visual art. Students will be selected based on promise, aptitude and passion from throughout the state. During this planning year, NMSA expects to hire interim art department heads as part-time consultants. If the consulting contract is successful and the match with the school is excellent, this position may turn into a full-time faculty position at the school or the associated non-profit for the 2010-2011 school year. However, the Head of School reserves the right to post the permanent department head position prior to the 2010- 2011 school year. The consultant deliverables during the planning year will include an excellent pre-professional arts curriculum which is creative, innovative and align to the state benchmarks and standards, audition planning and management, and faculty and student recruitment. Successful candidates ideally will be practicing artists, hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher, have considerable experience working with high school students and in supervising faculty, be eligible for a New Mexico teaching license, and be passionate about both teaching and the arts. Please send vitae and cover letter to headofschool@nmschoolforthearts.org no later than November 13, 2009. |
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Our team took about fifty 5th graders through the museum today. Lots of other visitors were in the museum today. Glad to see the public coming out for culture in Albuquerque. Besides the History of New Mexico section (Four Centuries) we have diverse art in three major galleries. "Albuquerque Now" is a fantastic new exhibit (Contemporary Art from around Albuquerque), plus the restored "Common Ground" (New Mexico Artists) and finally the "Miniature Show" when the art is for sale. These three exhibits make it a good time to visit our museum. Keeping Frani Happy: One of my major objectives in life is keeping my bride happy. She was cussing her sewing machine earlier today. So we went out and traded it in for a better model. Moved up from a Chevy to a Buick - couldn't afford the Cadillac. So far I haven't heard any vulgar language coming from her sewing room. That's the test of a successful upgrade. |
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![]() Moon Over Sandia from our backyard Sunday Nov 1st |
![]() Artist Friends Peter & Ming |
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| Geocaching ??? An art teacher friend of mine in Western Kansas partakes in a new sport called geocaching. I'm learning something new here. She posted on facebook that she has located 500 caches so far. So I went on line to Google the sport/hobby. About geocaching I found this: "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment." Click Here to learn more. |
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A Very Busy Month (11/01): It's hard to believe everything that's going on this month. The New Mexico art teachers gather in Ruidoso on the 6th and 7th. I'm doing a workshop there on Collograph Printmaking on Saturday morning, the 7th. Of course I'm also shooting photos of many of the activities, in Ruidoso, so I can post them on the New Mexico Art Educators website. Judy Chicago will be there - she is our keynote speaker. I'm doing another printmaking workshop at the Palo Duro Senior Center on the 10th. Then of course I need to collect and enter all of New Mexico's entries into the WFWS exhibition in Utah. That's not mentioning regular docent training each Monday, and a couple of tours with students at the museum. On the 15th I need to put together the NMWS newsletter for our December issue. I could go on and on - Frani keeps trying to teach me to say no, but I never seem to learn. <<< Artists Picking Up Watercolors From NMWS Fall Exhibit >>>
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| Frani's Creation: Frani laid out the two sections of her newest quilt top to see what it looked like. She is finally happy with her newest quilt - and I agree, this one is a winner. When I'm gone to Ruidoso, she will start adding edges on the quilts from earlier this year. |
![]() Blossom Finds A Warm Spot |
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![]() Cartoon Heroine |
Pavina was one of the most creative art students I ever had. Below is where she got her inspiritation for her costume. |
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