Happy 1st Birthday Hannah!!

It has been quite a year filled with joy and laughter.

Update on the house

Things are looking really nice. The drywall is almost finished, so it shouldn't be much longer.

Much work has been happening around the house, the front porch is almost finished and the heating system is being hooked up. My painting has been restricted to that on the walls. This is a new venture for me. I really have never had the time or resources to decorate the way I really wanted to, so now I am really taking my time to pick out exactly what I want. This past summer I got hooked on the show, Design Star. I got so many ideas, I am now officially addicted to HGTV.

I have been keeping up with what has been going on in the art world, via the blogosphere. One website that I found, thanks to a blog, is www.dailypaintworks.com. Many talented artists are featured, I highly recommend visiting this site, especially if you are an art collector.

What I Have Been Up To

As some of you might know, I teach art at a private school. Every year there is a fund raising event with a dinner, dancing and a chinese auction, silent auction and live auction. As the art teacher, I contribute to the event by doing an art project with each class that is then auctioned off at the event. I started working on these projects at the beginning of the school year. The last month has been spent matting and framing and putting all the finishing touches on the pieces with each class. There was 9 projects created. Pictured is a paper collage that I did with the 4th grade class, the cross made by the 2nd grade class, a print project by my 3rd graders and, my favorite, a performance project that I did with the 8th grade. Each child in the 8th grade posed as part of a letter to spell out "dreams". Each student is pictured and the class worked as a whole to create this work. They even chose the quote to use. I am very proud of this class. This piece went for $3,000. I was soooo excited and am happy that the school will benefit. So that is what I have been up to, but now that the event is over I can (hopefully) get back to doing my own art.

Extreme Makeover

It has been a while since I have been blogging, but, I'm back!!!!!!

As you can see by the picture, things in my part of the world are changing. My house is transforming from a 2 bedroom, 1 bath to a 5 bedroom, 2 bath with an extended living room. This is something that I have been dreaming of for many years. The kids and I are sooo excited. We are hoping that the construction will be done by Christmas (fingers are crossed). I will post pictures of the progress. Yesterday they finished with all of the wiring and Friday the last of the plumbing went in. I am not much of a carpenter, but with the electrical and plumbing done, I am hoping that it will go quickly.

I have been on a long hiatus from creating my own art. Since May my studio has been packed up. This past summer I purchased some vine charcoal and paper but, to be honest, have not done much with it. I have had great intentions but no time. I guess that is one of the reasons that I am starting up this blog again, to get me going in the right direction. Things at work have calmed down and with the addition getting closer and closer to being finished I am dying to do some art. Since the space I have at the moment is limited I have purchased some small 5x5 and 6x6 canvas boards. I figured, new house, new studio, new direction in my art. Could be fun!!

Its been a while......things have changed quite a bit, in many, many ways.

Hannah is a joy!! She has brought such life into our home. I have finally gotten use to not waking up in the middle of the night when I hear a baby cry ( after 5 children its kinda hard-wired into me). My house is still in a state of chaos, which is why I have not posted any art in many months. I am having 3 bedrooms and a full bath added onto my home and a new septic installed, and needless to say, it has been crazy.

I am sad to say that my studio is no longer existent. I had to temporarily box up my supplies and put them into storage until the construction is over. This brought a dull cloud over me as well as a pit in my stomach, which has kept me from doing any kind of art in my limited spare time. The only things that I left out were my charcoal and graphite pencils, some kneaded erasers and a sketchbook.

Even though I have not created much art work myself I have spent a bit of time researching a variety of artists and techniques. One artists that has just infatuated me is William Bouguereau, his work is just incredible and it is his influence that has generated a desire to work with the figure again. When I was in college, I loved my life drawing classes and found a drop-in life drawing class on Wednesday nights. I am really excited to start them. That dull cloud is starting to lift.......drawings posted soon.

New Digs

It's been a wild couple of weeks. The sketch you see here is one of only 4 sketches that I have been able to produce since the baby has come home. I have forgotten how much work one little being can be. Also, last Wednesday construction started on my house to add on 2 bedrooms, a full bath, extend the living room and replace the septic system.

So, given the circumstances I have given myself permission not to feel guilty because I am not able to get into the studio as much as I would like. In fact, my studio will be moving as soon as the constuction is finished. I have decided to change the studio into a den, the family could really use the space, and my studio will move into my bedroom, since it will be quite large. I am not sure how this will work but I though that since my bedroom is the one area that I can get some quiet it would be the best place to create. Also, I have a habit of waking up in the middle of the night with some great vision for a painting and then never putting it down on paper, hopefully this set up will somewhat remedy that. Now if I can only get myself out of the bed.

Welcome Home Hannah

We brought Hannah home yesterday. She is adjusting well, but grandma and mom are exhausted. I forgot how much work a newborn is. Mom has been nursing her and I have taken burp patrol so mom could get some rest. The problem is this little angel wants to eat all the time. Boy how easy it is to forget this part of parenting.

As you might guess I have not been doing much painting. I have been invited to participate in two shows in mid January, but after last night, I am not sure that I will have the time or the energy to get the work done. I am also a bit concerned about using turpentine in the house with the baby. I started working in oils about 2 months ago and would like to continue but if the fumes are harmful I can switch to acrylics. I will be doing some research on the internet about this, but if anyone has experience with this issue I would love to hear from them. As for now, I am working things out in my sketchbook, that is, if and when I have time.

The Most Beautiful Baby in the Whole World

My beautiful granddaughter was born at 7:37 last night. She and Mom are fine and doing well. I have been extremely busy getting the house prepared for this new little one and also getting Christmas for the family so I have not been creating much art. I am hoping that things will calm down a bit for the new year and that I will have some time to paint. Happy New Year to All!!!!!

Life Goes On

Breakfast in Bed by Mary Cassatt, 1897


Today is the first real snow of the season and it is beautiful. I live in an area called the "snowbelt". The wind and snow come off of Lake Erie and if the lake is not frozen over (with this warm autumn it will be a while before it freezes) moisture is picked up, changes to snow, and is dumped in a three county area, mine being one. Roads are terrible, schools closed and I just love it!! This weather has given me an opportunity to get back to blogging. I have not been able to blog in a while because, as I hinted to in my last couple of posts, life has changed considerably for me. Thanks Ed, KJ, and Martha for their words of encouragement, they really are very helpful.

I am now able to talk about the twists and turns that have taken place. It all started when my oldest daughter called from college in late September asking for help. One of the things that I always say to my children is, "if you get in trouble call me." Well the first words out of her mouth was that she was in trouble. She told me that she was pregnant and due January 1st. I didn't know if I was going to pass out or get sick, this is not what I wanted for my daugher and it was not anything that I thought would happen to one of my children. Being a single mother, I have always told them that parenting is a two person job, its to hard to do on your own and someone is always on the losing end. I won't go into every detail but I told her that I was very dissappointed but I love her no matter what. She has always been a really good kid and she made a big mistake and is now paying for it. Many conversations have taken place and the bottom line is that she has decided to keep the baby and move back home to finish her degree. So now that I have gone through a huge array of emotions I am now able to accept what is happening and I am looking forward to meeting my first grandchild. I have been to two doctors appointments and have seen the ultrasounds. Both mom and the baby are in good health. She is having a girl and she is just beautiful. It is amazing how good the ultrasound machines are, we could see her little face and so many little details, we even saw her tongue.

I am picking my daughter up this Saturday and moving her back home. She will be back in her old room until the baby is born, which is only 3 weeks away (personally I don't think she is going to make it till then). I am now in the process of converting my studio into a bedroom for her and the baby. Hopefully this will be a temporary solution. I am working with a contractor to add on more bedrooms, but this may take many months. So, until the construction is finished I must change my way of making art. I have started some small canvases, 8x10. I am not use to working so small and they really are not very good, but I am taking this as a challenge. I have also started using my sketchbook and drawing more. I really miss doing life drawing and have started doing some figure work. So as you can read things have changed quite a bit, but now that I have adjusted, life is OK, no note just OK, life is good.

Home Sick

I love this painting, "Smaraged, Red and Germinating Yellow" by Hans Hofman. It hangs in the Cleveland Museum of Art and has been one of my favorites for a long time, like an old friend. Unfortunately most of the museum is closed for renovations right now, so I have not been able to spend time with this piece in over a year. You see, life has recently thrown me a real loop. I'm sure that I will talk about what is going on in later posts, but for now I just can't. I have not been able to paint, read, exercise...etc. I am just kind of numb and I would love to go to the museum and just walk around. I love the quiet, the smell, the sound of shoes against the floors of the museum. Going to the museum has always been a somewhat spiritual experience for me, it is tranquil and stimulating at the same time. I don't have to talk to anyone or do anything other then sit and look at the art. Its a whole different world. I really miss going there. The renovation will not be finished for 5 more years. I am sure that it will be incredible when it is finished, but I miss my time there. I miss seeing the incredible masterpieces in the different galleries, the Carvaggio, the Rodin, the Hopper and the Picasso room. Two weeks ago I went to the Cincinnati Museum of Art. It was very nice and had an incredible Miro but it wasn't the same. I miss my sanctuary.

On to new ventures.

How time flies! I really did mean to post something this week....well you know how it goes, anyway, the show went up, and now, its down. I will be going tonight to pick up the paintings that did not sell and the check for the paintings that did, cha-ching. What a great experience it has been. If any artist in the Cleveland area gets a chance to show a True Art Gallery, I highly recommend it. Joanie and Jim are just wonderful. Mary and I have been invited back, so there may be a part 3 to the "Shari and Mary" exhibition tour.

I'm hoping to start work for the shows in January. I must confess, I still haven't gotten my studio 100% back into shape, like I mentioned in the post only two short weeks ago, boy did I sound determined! I had every intention on getting everything organized, but, as they say, "the road to hell...." Well, today I have no choice but to finish. It is homecoming day today. That may not mean anything to most people in this small town, but for those with teenagers its everything. I will have two daughters going to the dance, so this day will be spent in a mad rush getting the house perfect as well as the hair, nail, makeup, jewelry.......hours and hours spent working, only to have them rush off , POOF, gone in a cloud of powder and perfume. As a mom, I must say, it really is fun, plus by 5:00 tonight my house will be beautiful inside and out.

The painting is "Centralia I", acrylic on canvas, 12"X48". While preparing for this past show I went to the store to get 24"x48" size canvases and found the 12"x48" on sale. I have never worked in this size and thought it would be really interesting to try. I bought two canvases, brought them home and started working right away. I don't know what it is but I felt less restricted using a non-traditional size canvas, free and spontaneous. The paintings came easy and were really fun to paint. Lesson learned: when going crazy preparing for a show, try something unfamiliar, unknown and non-traditional.

Just a quick note

Anthracite
30"x30"
Acrylic on canvas


Good news, I just got a postcard from True Art gallery for their next show, and the owner, Joanie, wrote a quick note telling me that another one of my paintings sold. I am so pleased and coincider this show a great success. Its all been very exciting. I will be visiting my daughter at college this weekend, but plan on being back in the studio on Monday.

Carpe Diem!

The LeHigh
30x30, acrylic on canvas


Things are rolling along rather smoothly, I sold another painting from the show and have two more shows to do in January. The shows are group shows so I will only be putting a few pieces into each show, but hey, its a show, and the pressure is not so intense. I rather enjoy doing large, group shows, it gives me a chance to get to know other artists in the area and to reconnect with friends that I may not have seen in a while.

I am excited to start painting again. I have not set foot into the studio since the opening on Sept. 9th. I retreat after an opening and try to reflect/enjoy what is happening. This time gives me space to analyze the work that I have done and helps to set me onto my next path. So, today will be clean up day in the studio. I would post a picture of the studio,but to tell you the honest truth, its just a wreck and I would be mortified. The last week before the show opened I started teaching and my children went back to school. Life was one, big whirlwind and my studio looks like it. But no more!! (sponges and mops in hand) today I take back my studio and start anew.

The painting posted is a piece that sold from my current show.

Mary, welcome to my world

I've been telling my friend, Mary Weimer Green, how great it has been to blog, no you don't get instant, international fame or have a meteoric rise to the level of artistic genius, but I have met some great artists that have given me insight and inspiration, and posting my paintings has allowed many friends, relatives, strangers, art stalkers, perspective buyers, bored computer geeks (yes, I sometimes fall into this catagory also), to view my work from all over the world. Also, not to mention, the thousands of dollars I am saving on advertising, marketing and therapists.

So, Mary, welcome to my world. Visit her blog, Mary Weimer Green - impressions from the matrix, view her work (which is great), and read her witty repartee.

The Opening

Everything went GREAT last night for the opening at True Art Gallery. The owners, Joanie and Jim, did an incredible job hanging the work, in fact, when I walked in the gallery I was so excited at how the artwork looked that I wasn't watching where I was going and tripped, almost falling on my face, talk about making an entrance (thank God it was before the show opened so the embarassment was kept to a minimum). The evening was phenomenal. There was a nice size crowd, good food and I sold three paintings!!!!



One of the paintings that sold was a piece that consists of 5 small 5"x7" canvases. I usually don't work small, but this summer I found these canvases for $1.oo a piece, I figured I would play around with them in the studio and see what happens. I ended up with 3 pieces for the show. I dropped off all my work on Tuesday and explained how I would like small canvases displayed, well Jim had taken the paintings and put them on a beautiful wood backing, you can see one of them hanging on the back wall in the photo. I was thrilled with how nice they looked.

Mary's work was wonderful. I love the new new direction she is going in with her latest pieces, I can't wait to see more. We had such a good night, Ahhhh all that work and anxiety really paid off.

The countdown begins 3, 2, 1 ...........

I am in the process of putting the final touches on my paintings, varnishing, framing .... I have 2 paintings that I am not 100% happy with, so I will probably be doing some reworking over the weekend, I think. I hesitate to start because the paintings are not bad, I'm 90% satisfied, and whenever I rework one area of a painting I tend to rework the entire painting, also I tend to overpaint in these situations. My fear is that I will really mess it up and run out of time and not have the paintings ready for the show. I have to deliver them on Tuesday. So, I have been "living" with these paintings in my living room hoping that I can look at them long enough to find out EXACTLY what they need, also in hopes of saving myself from endless hours of doing and redoing and redoing and redoing.

I will also be photographing the paintings this weekend, in between going to the Great Geauga County Fair, getting everything ready for school, and trying to instill some obedience into the newest member of our family, Jasper (named after Jasper Johns, one of my favorite artists).He is a dalmation/hound mix that we got from the pound. He is housebroken (thank God!!) and can play a mean game of fetch, but he has chewed up 2 stuffed animals and both of his leashes and he thinks that my white couch is his personal resting area. I know he will be a great addition to the family, but we have some work to do.

Summer's over

Haven't had a lot of time in the studio since Saturday. We had to pack up my oldest daughter for her second year at college. What an undertaking, why did I think that it would be easier the second time around. We still had the mad rush to Wal-mart for those little things that we forgot to get, even though we have had lists going for weeks now. Anyway, I am so glad that she is at a school that she really likes and is inspired to excel this year. She's a smart cookie and has a bright future ahead of her, as a parent, its really exciting to watch. Of course the leaving was emotional, and the 5 hour drive home seemed to take forever, but I am secure with the fact that she is where she is suppose to be, so I am missing her but not sad, which is good.

Her 2 sisters started high school today. They were up at the crack of dawn to do their hair, make up and make sure that they had the right outfit on. It was fun to watch. I know that they will be exhausted when they get home, so to give them a boost I will make the proverbial chocolate chip cookies, something that I have not been able to do for the past 5 years since I usually start teaching the same day they start school. Since I don't even start meetings for another week I will have time do a little baking and finish the last of the paintings for my show.

I am excited for my show and the new school year. Its like a brand new start for the whole family, there is an energy around the house that is refreshing and exhilarating.

MINE: images of descent, again

Yesterday I made many attempts at publishing the information about my upcoming show, but had major technical difficulties. So this is basically a contiuation of the previous entry.

The title of my show is:
MINE: images of descent
new works by Shari Jamieson and Mary Weimer Green
September 9 - October 1, 2006
True Art Gallery
410 East 156th
Cleveland, Ohio 44110
Opening reception is Sept. 9th 6:00-10:00

All are welcome, it should be a really good time. The owners, Joanie and Jim, are great and I know we will have a wonderful opening.

I am really happy with the way this series of work has been coming out. For this show Mary Green and I decided to focus on a word that has many meanings and connotations and then create work from our interpretations. The word that we chose was MINE. Mary's work reflects her spirituality. She took the word as a challenge to what is it that she truly owns? what can she really call "mine"? She realized that it is only her beliefs, her faith, that she can control, she can call her own.



The above print is one of Mary's from 2003. I am really looking forward to seeing her new work. We are good friends and have shown our work together before at the Boot Gallery in Little Italy. We had a great show then, and an incredible opening. Its going to be great to do it again.

For my work I chose to focus on the literal meaning of the word MINE. My mother grew up in a Port Carbon, a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. As a child my family visited there at least once a year, and I visited regularly once I was on my own. I always enjoyed the visits, seeing my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I have a lot of family in that area. Two years ago my grandmother passed away and on a summer visit the family had to clean out my grandparents house to sell it. We spent one last night in the living room, going through boxes of pictures and wearing my Mam's hats. It was hard to let go, it was the house that we gathered in for so many years. It seemed to be the anchor for my family. It was from this experience that I drew my inspiration for my work. I asked myself, how did mining effect the towns that grew up around them, like Port Carbon? How did mining effect the people that lived in these towns, like my grandparents, and their descendants, me? These coal mines that seem so distant from my everyday life have had an impact on who I am. This is where my inspiration began.

Mine: images of descent

untitled, acrylic on canvas, 24x48

I have only 4 canvases to finish and I am completely ready for my show.