One of our Journey Daybook alums and a board member, Anne Seraphine, is an artist practicing in Gainesville. Anne began a photography project on January 1 which she calls Project 366. (This is a leap year!) Each day she posts a new image on Facebook that she makes during her daily activities. If you are interested in seeing more these photos, ”friend” my friend, Anne, and admire samples of her work - anne.seraphine January 30 Olives
As 2012 begins, I wish each of you a blessed and beautiful New Year.
I received a lovely New Year’s gift yesterday - a bright red hermit crab either “walked” from the sea to my yard or else was dropped by a seabird - maybe a bird roosting in the 500 year-old oak tree that covers much of my yard. As I was walking in the yard, I noticed the large, upside-down snail shell which looked like a 4 inch grey baseball in the pine straw, and when I picked it up, Voila . . . there was the bright red crab “reaching” out of its home. Unfortunately, the crab was dead but it was freshly dead since there was little odor and the color was still intense. I researched and classified the animal and discovered that it is a Giant Hermit Crab which is common and native to the Gulf. It lives in deep water in grass. My friend, the waterman, Johnny Squires, speculates that a bird may have grabbed the crab and its moving shell from one of the many piles of discarded clam shells in Cedar Key. However, Johnny reminded me that this big, strong crab is capable of moving on land. Ah . . . behold the first magic moment of 2012!
Below, I am posting the final (prototype) crab painting. I need to give this one a name. Any suggestions? 
Below are three other paintings in different stages of development. Thanks so much for your watching my weekend work as it unfolds.
I was recently inspired to return to a subject that I both know and love. The blue crab, Callinecthes sapidus, thrives in pristine Gulf waters here, and people here have sustained themselves for generations by savoring the delicious back fin and claw meat of these lively little crabs. I have just begun a series of small crab paintings. The small square icon-like works are painted in acrylic and contain spots of gold leaf. The little crab portraits show only the colorful females so far and they are shown in their natural environment - one that I have recreated in my studio. Ricky Cooke of Cooke’s Oysters & Seafood, furnishes me with the “live models” which I transfer to the little sand and sea water tank from my studio refrigerator where they hibernate between studio “sittings.” Take a look at two of these little paintings that are in process.
I recently returned from Minnesota. I spent a week at a guesthouse on the campus of St John’s University in Collegeville and enjoyed a few days beforehand in St Paul and Minneapolis. Two friends from Gainesville, Ann and Anne, accompanied me on this spiritual art pilgrimage. We viewed the extensive collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, visited a terrific art supply emporium, Wet Paint in St Paul, suggested a few years ago internet friend, Roz Stendahl, and we enjoyed eating at Afgani and Mongolian restaurants in St Paul. I went to mass at the monumental St Paul Cathedral – a beautiful, huge domed church built largely by German and Irish immigrants that was erected on the highest point in St Paul.
But . . . the actual St John’s Bible was the real “drawing card” for me! Four years ago I discovered this remarkable project – a hand-lettered, hand-illuminated Bible that was then being made in Wales at the scriptorium of calligrapher, Donald Jackson. I went with a small group of women to the Mobile Art Museum in March 2009 to see completed pages that were part of a traveling exhibit. Then a few months later, others of us went to St John’s for the first retreat, Visio Divina I. Kathleen Cahalan, a professor at the St John’s Graduate School of Theology/Seminary hosted this first retreat. Many of the original St John’s pages were exhibited at the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library on campus and we got to see them and pray before them. Visio Divina is a spiritual practice adapted from a 4th century practice of Lectio Divina, described by John Cassian and monastics of his time. The viewer gazes at the image while an accompanying biblical text is read. The practice involves reading and seeing the literal message, looking for symbolic references, and seeking moral and mystical messages that may emerge from the text and/or the art. Two years ago, Kathleen gave all of us strong, supportive, and sound instructional assistance in this process. I was eager for more!
During last week’s retreat at St John’s we were offered long periods of personal restorative silence for rest and reflection. Eight of us were part of a second group organized again by Kathleen. This year’s retreat was given specifically for those who had already attended Visio Divina I, and we were all artists. We were recipients of Benedictine hospitality at the exquisite Abbey Guest House. This facility, only a few years old, gives its guests a sense of serenity because of its resonance and the beautiful simplicity of design and construction and the touches of exquisite art that are found unexpectedly here and there. Nearly every element was made by the monks – an absolutely amazing phenomenon in this age of technology that does not always value the handmade. I felt supremely nurtured by the monks, Kathleen, and her staff as well as by the members of our closely-knit group.
Herewith I have posted some photos and some of my journey daybook pages. Please follow the links for information on people, places, and to view the amazing St John’s Bible illuminations.
I have enjoyed the lovely sunny fall in Cedar Key, often working outside, exploring different neighborhoods around town, enjoying drawing and painting in my journey daybook late in the afternoon when the sun is low and the shadows are long. I am working on a project that will be rooted here, but more about the project in a later post. Last Friday, I spent seated by Route 24, enjoying intermittent traffic sounds, food aromas, and time with dear friend, Hedy, who stopped her car to visit for a while. This image shows the journey daybook page I made of the old Key Motel, that is now home to Kona Joe’s Coffee House and Cedar Key Canvas Shop. The open breezeway here has been a very comfortable work place in past weeks. If you come to Cedar Key, be sure to stop by my studio to see more . . . .
My friend Kim recently returned to her home in Idaho after a few weeks traveling around the San Francisco Bay area visiting friends. This morning we talked and she regaled me with praise for an exhibit of small gouaches she saw at at the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum. The story of this young woman artist, Charlotte Salomon, who died in Auschwitz in 1942 at the age of 26, is doubly tragic as the text on the website explains to us. She recorded, both in image and writing, the story of her quite disfunctional family as she hid from the invading Germans in tiny village of Villafranche in southern France. She was captured but her paintings, thank heaven, were saved. How sad but exquitely beautiful to find these images. You can read more on the museum website. Let’s hope that this exhibit travels to the East Coast!
On Saturday I finished my last class with Phil Sandusky at the Art Academy. This class, a plein air landscape painting class, was held at the same corner in the “Uptown” area of New Orleans for the past 8 weeks and I have talked about the experience in earlier posts. You see here another member of the class and new friend, Kathleen. In the end, I learned a great deal about working fast and catching “the moment” in shapes, values, and colors in very different weather conditions. I learned a lot more about discriminating these factors out in the sometimes uncomfortable landscape. I also moved out of my comfort zone of careful drawing into a more painterly approach. I am so very happy to have had this valuable experience with Phil, a true plein air master. Below, I am posting two of my last paintings - one made in the figure class that also finished this week and one made in Phil’s plein air class.
My friend Sandra Burshell established a figure drawing group for artists four years ago. This simple group for artists to practice their skills found a home in the upstairs room at Fair Grinds Coffee House in the Bayou St John neighborhood of New Orleans. Initially, I found this group on the Internet before I came to NOLA for Christmas last year. Now, when I am here, I am a regular, enjoying the diverse group of skilled artists and artist’s models. I am posting a few recent drawings that I made in pencil in my journey daybook on recent Thursday evenings.
Recently a friend stopped by the carriage house in New Orleans to visit me in my small work/living space. Some of my current work (paintings and drawings) are posted on the side of my staircase and some are propped up on the stairs. I explained that I study these developing pieces during the day and often get ideas for adjustments. Then, she asked me why I hadn’t posted any of these pieces on the blog. After thinking about her comment for a while, I realized that I had little faith in my picture-taking skills. So . . . after getting a little direction from the good people at Bennett’s, a local camera store, I proceeded to make copies of two of the value sketches and some of the paintings using my little Canon point-and-shoot camera. I will try and continue this practice since I suspect the problem was more a lack of confidence rather than the actual quality of the digital photographs. I hope that you agree.
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