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Art Season

Winter turned to spring, April to May, and here we are face to face with the realization that there is only a little over a month left of the school year and our peaceful kid-free days. May Day indeed! All is not lost though, May also brings with it a lot of art opportunities! If you’ve been following along at home (read: Instagram) you know that I have been doing quite a bit of screen printing lately. I’ve been printing that moth on anything and everything that isn’t moving – good thing Olive is quick on her feet! I was even able to resolve a series of old monoprints that “needed a little something more”. And the timing was perfect as the Art League of Lincoln put out a call for its first Traditional Printmaking Exhibit.I’m happy to say that 3 of my monotypes are included in the amazing show judged by the talented Vinay Sharma!  The show runs May 2 to June 2, 2018 at Lincoln Arts 580 6th St. Lincoln CA There is an Artist Reception on Saturday, May 12th from 5:00 – 6:30pm. I hope to see you there!May also is the beginning of the Art Auction season at…

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Unhinged for the new year!

I have been asked to participate in a ‘works on paper’ show at BodyTribe next month. I’ve spent the last semester working on several series of monotypes in both ink and encaustic on rice and mulberry papers, so am thrilled to have a chance to share some of them. Since all the pieces will be hung without mats or frames, I’ve decided to show my latest trace monotypes. They are quirky and fun and perfect for this type of display. So come on out next 2nd Saturday, Jan 10th, for the “UNHINGED” Art Show and see the work of some of Sacramento’s favorite artists! The show runs through Feb 7, 2015.  And the next Saturday, Jan 17th, is the 3rd Saturday reception at Blue Line Arts in Roseville for the Hallberg Merit Award Exhibition! The 4 award winners will each have a small selection of their exhibit pieces on display from Jan 9 – Feb 7, 2015. The 3rd Saturday Art Walk reception runs 6:00-9:00pm.  If you don’t want to want until the new year to see some of my work, you still have time to catch the Twelve: Small Wonders show at Viewpoint Photographic Art Gallery! Show is up through Jan 3, 15. Merry Christmas and Happy New…

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Hallberg Merit Award

I am honored to be one of the 4 recipients of the annual Hallberg Merit Awards given each fall at Sierra College!  “For the past six years the Hallbergs have donated a $2000 annual gift to award to four Sierra College art students for their hard work and commitment. Ed and Kaylene leave the selections wholly to Sierra College instructors. There are no strings attached to the monies what so ever. These awards are directed to students that have moved through Sierra’s art program and positively reflect the department.We have a reception and brief award ceremony at the start of each Fall semester. Ed and Kaylene intend their gifts to further and purely enrich each student’s creative desires and future plans.” The show features the work of all 4 artists and will be up at Sierra College through December. After that, a selection of the works will be on display at the Blue Line Gallery in Roseville from Jan 9 – Feb 7, 2015. The 15 pieces I have on display are from my explorations in Printmaking over the past 7 months. There are woodcuts, collagraphs, monotypes, and monoprints in both ink and encaustic. “The Queen’s Mirror” – monoprint (encaustic, ink, collage) by  Dawn Blanchfield…

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Going with the flow… or not!

Someone long ago had painted “ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW” on a sidewalk at the University of Michigan. I don’t know if it was something I walked over once or everyday while I was there, but it was forever etched into my memory. Struggle against the flow. Go with the flow. Fight. Surrender. I don’t have the answers. Some days it’s one. Some days the other.  Making art is a struggle. Sometime you find that flow and go with it. The painting comes easy. Some days not. But I understand the game. “Don’t fall in love with the background!” The “ugly teenager” phase. It’s temporary! The “click” when it starts to come together. And  I know the materials. I feel competent that I can make them do my bidding. No big surprises. And then I started painting with encaustics, and the unknown is as vast as an ocean. I am a beginner here. Any sense of control that I may feel is false. With heat the wax becomes fluid and unpredictable. The lines move. Too much heat and you melt through to the wood panel underneath all those layers. You blow a hole into the painting. And you have…

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An Official Happy Dance

Wow. The Big Names, Small Art event at the Crocker Art Museum last Thursday night was a blast! Saw a bunch of friends, was out-bid on all the pieces I tried to win, and met people who were actively trying to win my piece! It sold for $185. sweet. But the best part of the night? Going inside the museum and seeing this:  Yep. A really bad cellphone pic of my print hanging on the museum gallery wall! Pretty freaking awesome! oh and even thought the auction isn’t until June 6th, you can bid online here! And my encaustic painting “Holy Wound Five” went to it’s new home.   Friday was a day of rest (read: headache) and then Saturday we got the keys to our new house! Greeting from the pool. 🙂 And believe me, that pool is mighty nice after a day of moving garage stuff in the 95 degree heat!    

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Mayday Mayday Mayday

crap. We still have 2 more weeks of May. Each month I hope our stress levels are gonna drop back down to “normal”. It hasn’t happened yet. My fear is that this is the new normal; a crisis a day. And that would suck. My adrenal glands need a freaking break here! Kyle sprained his ankle at volleyball practice on April 30th – the day we closed on the new house. Instead of celebrating, I spent the evening with him in Urgent Care. So April went out with the combo good news/bad news emotional slaps upside the head that life is now dealing us on a regular basis. May has been much of the same. All good things must be offset with an equally bad thing. There is a Buddhist lesson in all this about walking the middle path, but my balance is totally shot. So it goes. 2 days later I got 31 injections of botox in my head, neck, and shoulders to help with my migraines. It hurt. I can’t move my forehead. I was in constant pain for over a week. I had migraines. Last week I  finally started to feel “better”, but I don’t think I…

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