Here's my 9/11/01 story.

I remember the day well because I saw what turned out to be the 2nd plane to hit the World Trade Center.  We crossed paths on the top of Sharon Mountain. 


I was on my way to Millerton.  I went early to the place where I work let in the guy who was installing a dishwasher.  Much earlier that morning my computer crashed and I lost the entire guest list for a show I was doing in Woodbury in one month.  I also lost all the information for a grant I was applying to in ten days.  I was in a dark & horrible mood as I drove from Litchfield toward Millerton.  Somewhere around Warren, I noticed that it was a gorgeous day and that I wasn't appreciating it with my dark mood and thoughts, so decided to let it all go until later and enjoy the beautiful day.  As I drove up Sharon Mountain I could feel my positive mental energy coming back.  When I got to the top of the mountain the 1st thing I noticed, coming my way at an angle from the right,  was a huge commercial jet cruising low over the treetops.  It was so close I could see the windows and the insignia on the tail.  I gasped from the beauty of it because it was so low & reflecting the early morning rising sun which made it appear to be pale pinks, yellow, orange....   It also seemed to be going quite slow, just cruising slowly at a low altitude.  It was approx. 8:10am and the encounter probably took less than 10 seconds. As the plane crossed over the highway, I drove through the shadow it cast on the road.  It didn't appear to be in trouble -- no smoke or parts falling off....  It was huge thrill -- uplifting! -- to see it, as if I'd spotted a rare and hugely unusual bird.  I thought to check out the 6 'o' clock news that night to see if there was any mention of a plane flying low over nw CT but as it turned out, I didn't have to wait that long.


I drive to Millerton every week and every week at the spot where I first spotted the plane, I always think about the encounter and remember that day.  My thoughts and prayers are for all the souls that day who experienced the planes in a less innocent way and for the rest of us who are no longer innocent of the threat of terror. 

Arrangement of Pigment on Flat Surfaces

Wed, June 29, ‘11

Life has been busy in recent weeks and with one thing or another, I just haven’t written.  One of the things was computer meltdown, another, an out of town friend in town,  more social life overall now that spring/summer’s here and more employment , some of it teaching, some of it a calligraphy commission and the resumption of a cleaning job I’ve held for many years.


Because of the computer melt-down I'm back to using my Netbook, which isn't as satisfactory or as fast as my former laptop.  It's painfully and woefully slow.  Trying to get anything done with this tiny computer seems to take forever and blogging with it isn't a very appealing feature.  I'm saving my pennies for a new laptop.

The difficulties of last winter are fading.  I told that to a friend today.  He said, yes, they are but don’t forget that next winter is looming.  Well, I haven’t forgotten but today I choose to worry about today and let next winter take care of itself.  It’s a beautiful, poetic June day.   Around here, we’ve had more rain and gray days than sunny so the past 3 or 4 days of sun and balmy air is making everyone giddy.

I’ve been spending more time doing calligraphy and selling Serenity Prayer’s on eBay.  That’s been an interesting experience and also a lot of strengthening in my hand.  With every Serenity Prayer the lettering is a little stronger, a little tighter, a little more uniform overall.   I didn’t/don’t make a lot of money this way but every little bit helps and it helped a lot when gas was up over $4. Per gallon.  I’m calling it paid practice.

Other than sketches, I haven’t been painting.  And other than the early preparatory stages, my calendar sits untouched.  I’ve accepted that I’m in a phase of Stop, Look, Listen and am going with that for now.  Until further notice.

While I haven’t been painting, I have been doing a lot of sketching and am going to share them here.  They’ve been a great source of amusement, pleasure and learning for me.

Some thoughts on Calligraphy and Ink

For many years in the past, I pursued an interest in calligraphy.  I'm largely self-taught but got to the point where I took a few classes as well as a year long workshop with a well-known calligrapher, Annie Cicale.  I did OK, did a lot of documents and Wedding Invitations plus some well-paid and interesting work for a poet. for more than 8 years.  When The Poet became ill and moved to a nursing home, I no longer had interesting & well-paid work to do illuminating and transcribing his poetry so I let it all go and spent my spare time pursuing my interest in Plein-Air Painting.  Recently I offered to address wedding invitations for a nephew’s wedding and in order to do a good job, began to practice my calligraphy.

I’ve long known that my supplies were short but decided to make-do with the best I had.  A friend had given me a huge package of pointed nibs so I decided to use those rather than purchase the kind I’d rather have.  I’ve really enjoyed learning to use these nibs which are most unlike the chisel-type nibs I used in the past.

A few weeks ago, as I was practicing my lettering skills with one of these nibs, I calmed down my racing mind with my mantra, the Serenity Prayer.  Which got me to thinking along new lines that went somewhat like this; if I had a nickel for every time I’ve slowed down & balanced my mind with the Serenity Prayer I not only wouldn’t be as calm or relatively sane. I’d also be quite well-off financially.  While I thought these thoughts, I started writing the Serenity Prayer.  The new thought was if I had a dollar for every time I wrote the Serenity Prayer, I’d be better-off financially. 

One thing I’m enjoying is the freedom to make mistakes and allow them to remain on works that I’m selling.  I’m working on one of my Stumbling Blocks, Perfectionism.  Were I to upload a copy of a ‘perfect’ piece, I’d still be re-working my 1st one and I doubt my mind would be calm or ‘sane.’

I’m also enjoying using the equipment and supplies I’ve had on hand for many years, making-do with what I have and not feeling that I have to invest in new.  I’m enjoying re-inventing my skills and use of.  Today I used 2 Schaeffer calligraphy pens that have been stored away for years.  Someone who tried their hand at calligraphy and felt they’d failed gave them to me, thinking I might be able to use them.  Little did they know....  Well, in the day when I bought 10 or 15 new nibs to make sure I’d have enough for a particular job, I inwardly turned up my nose at one of these pens.  Today, I’m loving them.

I’m enjoying the practice; it’s a good discipline for me.  I’m enjoying thinking about all the things I can make on decorated watercolor paper with a few pen nibs, some ink and a paint box full of gouache.  I’m enjoying learning to break my well-established rules of semi-rigid perfectionism & recipes for failure, enjoying the honest work of art that come out of my daily practice – ‘warts’ and all.

I did purchase a bottle of new ink to use on the Wedding Invitations.  It was to me, somewhat pricey, but it sounded good – matte black, waterproof – which one needs to use on outer envelopes in case the mail carrier delivers it in the rain.  As it turns out, I struggled with this ink through 95 addresses and have come to the conclusion that it’s horrible ink that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone for any purpose, unless maybe you’re into Graffiti Art and need a fast  splash of black –  which would finish off what’s left in the bottle. 

This morning, I shook the bottle before using and commenced dipping my pen into the ink.  The ink positively would not flow.  I looked into the bottle and what was there was the consistency of pudding.  I watered it down a bit so I could finish what I’d started,  constantly dipping and wiping a lot more than I did actual lettering.  It took me a very long time to letter the above Serenity Prayer. 

A thumbs-down to this ink.

 

An overcast and gray day, today, but with a sense of dim light.  When I first sat down to sketch the one thing that was prominent in my mind was Green.  Lush, thick, pervasive, cool and everywhere.  It’s interesting to me that these sketches appear to me now so different than they did when I was making them.  On the scene, the greens seemed dulled down and properly morose.  After being scanned and mildly edited, the greens appear as pale, yet oddly garish.    

Today is the 2nd day I’ve painted at the farm since last fall.  Painting at the farm last season, I had the feeling of someone who has returned after a long journey, seeing the familiar with new eyes.  So far this year, I have the feeling that I’ve been here awhile, settled in, part of the landscape....  Not a sense of newness but a sense of being more firmly rooted.  

I got to the farm at 10 and settled into my spot on the road near the orchard and stayed until noon.  I’d thought to do more drawing than painting but these 2 sketches are what I actually did.  I’ve been inspired by sketches at a website on the Internet called Urban Sketchers where artists from around the world upload recent sketches.  I love to look at this work and think about relating what I see in other's work to what I see me wanting to do with what's around me that interests me.  I was inspired to try brush and paint sketching this morning and this is how it came out. 

Thank you, Jackson Pollock!

“Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end. He didn't mean it as a compliment, but it was.”  Jackson Pollock 

“It’s all a big game of construction, some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen.”  Jackson Pollock

“The method of painting is the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them.”  Jackson Pollock

I recently volunteered to address Wedding Invitation envelopes for my nephew and his bride-to-be, as a gift.  After they accepted, I started practicing my calligraphy, something I haven’t done in years.  I was feeling discouraged and down about the results of my practice as well as many other things going on in the world and in my life.  As is my practice when my mind starts reeling & feels overwhelmed, I thought of the Serenity Prayer and began writing it as my practice piece.   Over and over....   As I wrote I had the thought that if I had a nickel for every time I said the Serenity Prayer to calm my mind I’d not only be a lot less calm but a lot more rich.  As money is one of my worries at the moment, I decided to make something of the practice I’m doing.  As ‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without’ is one of my mantras in my recent economic downfall, I decided to start doing these practice pieces on watercolor paper that I’d decorated with color applied loosely and that I’d spattered and had set aside for a few years, for a project I never carried further.

I’ve been listing these practice pieces on eBay for .99 and lo and behold....!  One of the pieces has 2 bids and is now up to $1.29.

I’m now working on 2 more and feel that with the practice and the focus, I’m getting better.  I’m going to continue this practice as long as I can.  Who knows, maybe I’ll sell enough Serenity Prayers to actually have a few extra bucks.  I’m hoping that the Serenity Prayers I’ve recently offered for sale on eBay will get better and better because the first few I’ve listed aren’t that great.  Worth all of .99.

I’ve discovered that within myself I’m eager to do more of this work, to get better.  I’ve enjoyed the out-of-time moments in the real-time hour or so I spent this morning working on the 2 I finished today.  I’m enjoying getting back into a routine of practice and the thinking that goes with it about how I’d like to do the next one, how I can make these pieces look better, how I can work more efficiently, how I can best make use of my crumbling tools and cranky pen nibs...

Wahoo! Painting Outside, First time in '11!

Looking South through Orchard on corner Bassett & Linkfield; Apr 30, '11

Apr 30, ‘11

Not the perfect day for painting outside, but not the worst, either.  It was windy and cloudy, but also green and bright.  The temp was in the low 50's, the clouds made dark shadows over the landscape with bright spots where the sun shone through.   The wind was chilly so I put on my windbreaker with the hood and put a blanket over my knees and feet.  As soon as I was settled, the clouds moved away and the wind died down.  Birds were singing as well as darting about gathering nesting material.  As I sat on the side of the road near this orchard, a man on a tractor was down the hill running a mulching machine through the branches that were trimmed off the trees a month ago.  So, a very busy but also a very quiet morning on the farm.  Very beautiful and most peaceful.

My heart was full of Thank you, thank you, thank you this morning – for all the spring beauty that has been my privilege to enjoy all week and especially today.  I specifically want to thank all the people all over Litchfield County who have forsythia bushes in their yards.  The display has been spectacular this year.  Today it was most beautiful.

I enjoyed making this sketch in my sketch book.  I started out with a Sharpie Fine Point and then painted over the drawing – kind of like a Coloring Book.  What excited me were the tiny new leaves on the trees but they were the most difficult to portray plus I wasn’t doing a good job of mixing paint thick enough to splatter nicely because of the cold, wind, eagerness to get going and because I was trying to work so fast.  But, I did have a great time just being there, so that’s the most important thing to me.  As I was working I was thinking how I could turn this into a painting for my calendar.  Time will tell but I’ll be sure to post the results.

While I was working, I knew there was a car coming but didn’t bother to look up until it stopped in front of me, which was then that I noticed the driver was my sister B.  She laughed, said she saw a person sitting in a lawn chair by the side of the road doing some kind of painting and wondered who it would be painting outside on a chilly day like today.  When she recognized the person as me she then realized it could only be one of her relatives.

I’d planned to leave-off my painting at noon & go to lunch at mom's, but left a half hour earlier; I was chilly and hungry.  I would have left even sooner except the owner of the farm came along, stopped to talk for a good long chat.  I haven’t seen him since last November, so we talked about how winter sucked and how glad we are that it’s spring.  At mom’s,   Sister B was digging up Daylilies, so I took a few clumps to plant at home.  She and I had a nice chat and then mom came along and we all went inside, out of the wind.   They messed around with mom’s computer while I heated up the Corn Chowder I made this morning and brought for lunch.  I was glad to sit down to a big steaming bowl of chowder after my chilly but exciting artist morning and feel most grateful for a serene and tranquil day of painting and being with loved ones.


I'm so glad it's truly Spring and so glad for my first day of Painting Outside.