Uncle Cliff agreed to puppy-sit so that Meg and I could adventure out to climb some frozen waterfalls on my birthday. We had a blast!
Happy Birthday and Valentine's to me...!
Meet Tala - the best little soft fluffy fat enchanting Birthday present ever...!
I have never actually had a puppy...! Zaydee was a rescue dog and Shiva found me by showing up at my door with scabs from a gunshot wound.
Born January 2 on a ranch near the Judith River, this BIG spirited little being arrived in my life last Sunday. She landed in my lap the day after Valentines. We arrived at her name the day before my birthday. I am in love with my precious 6 week old klutzy bundle of joy.
Unseasonable Valentine's Day
Weeks of untypically warm weather have shocked our mountains with spring-like temps. I grew up here and have never experienced warm winter weather of this intensity and length. But Valentine’s Day was surreal. I joined friends visiting from Jackson for an afternoon climbing rock at the local crag. I actually peeled off the long sleeve shirt I was wearing and climbed in a sports bra….!
As if climbing hot rock in February isn't surreal enough, by the time I got home, made dinner and soaked in my claw foot tub the view from my cabin had transpired back into a winter wonderland since a storm dropped a blanket of snow after the sun went down.
Raising funds for the airport sculpture project
Thanks to a generous pledge of $10,000 – the Bison Bench “Sojourn” is one step closer to being placed permanently at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. Three pledges totaling $26,000 have been promised for the project. I carved the life size bison in black walnut before casting it in bronze. The sculptural bench will be at the top of the stairs near the fireplace to greet people arriving in Bozeman.
Making sawdust without Zaydee
I have never created in this studio on my mountain without Zaydee curled up nearby. I find it difficult to return to work without her. Creating the frog sculpture at home helped keep me from the sadness of walking to my studio without Zaydee. I cried while I swept up the sawdust from our last project together. Tears dropped on lids of cans filled with stain as I put things away and readied for the next chapter - the next project - the next inspiration. Patience. Grief. Baby steps…
A new month and a sunshine-filled studio beckoned me into work without tears. The satisfying smell of sawdust and a head full of ideas helps drive me forward.
Celebration of the Arts
The Emerson Center’s biggest gala of the year includes a Quick Draw event. I was honored to join 3 other artists on a bright-lit stage to whip out an artwork for the auction. I was so busy chatting with people during the 2 hours I was creating on stage that I imagine the drawing only got about 20 minutes of my time (but that didn’t keep me from getting plenty dirty in the process). The drawing was slipped into a frame and sold along with the bronze “Munch” during the live auction. I love the crazy energy shared during a live Quick Draw event. The money raised adds warm fuzzies.
Finished "Froggy"
Love, love, love...
The first week of this new year I put a file together from images on my computer of my dear Zaydee girl. The first part of our life together was before I had digital images or this computer but the file is bulging with more than 700 photos of our life together. Precious memories. Dear dear sweet soul.
Yellowstone Art Museum Opening of Works for the Annual Art Auction
If I was totally on top of things rather than pulling through the grand grief that comes from losing my dearest little constant companion dog Zaydee - then I might have actually gotten an eNewsletter off to everyone to announce the opening at the Yellowstone Art Museum before it happened. Then again, I might not have gotten that done. But I am pretty certain the event on January 22 was a special "members only pre-view" night with the artists rather than being open to the general public anyway. The roads were dry. Weather was friendly. The gala was a blast (and a fine chance to wear my new beautifully fashioned one-of-a-kind suede fringe jacket gifted to me last month). I love the opportunity to visit with other artists and find myself honored to have had two works selected for the event this year. My large reliquary sculpture titled "Live it Gently with Fire" is in the live auction and can be seen in a photo of the main museum gallery on the YAM's website.
"Silent Dreams" - one of the sculptures from my recent "Neruda Series" is also on view at the museum and is open to bid for the silent auction with a "Buy it Now" price.
Blast from the Past
Recently I was challenged by my Chicago artist friend Joanne Aono to complete the "Facebook Artist Challenge." Which means I have been asked to post 3 images of my art each day for 5 days in a row on Facebook. So for fun I pulled a few photos from the past - starting from the very beginning. You can see the posts/photos on my FB page.
So here is a detail photo from my very first carved sculpture. I am not counting the 4' tall santa claus I carved my mom for Christmas that year when I found myself too intimidated to whack away at the beautiful logs I had harvested with some smokejumper friends that autumn when I was a wilderness ranger. After the santa, I got to work on the biggest log - a beautiful 11' tall spiral shaped lodgepole pine - the first in a series of five sculptures created as part of my Honor's Thesis about Magical Realism in contemporary Latin American literature.
Froggy Day
My intentions were to just work on the frog sculpture at my dining room table for an hour or two and then head to the studio office to catch up on piles of desk work. But the light was just right. The audio book I was listening to was engaging. And - well - honestly I have had a hard time being alone at the studio without Zaydee. We spent more of our days together at the studio then at the house I guess. I don't know why it is hard for me there but I have never been in that studio without her. Anyway - here is a glimpse of the frog after a steady day working from home:
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE climbing ice?
After climbing 1/2 way up this section of the frozen falls we got to peek down into the abyss behind the frozen ice we'd just climbed. Magical and endlessly sculptural clean fun. [embed]http://youtu.be/lR3kTi44FG0[/embed]
Little frog progress...
The past two years I created the little collectable bronze at my dining room table rather than in my studio - just because clay and sawdust don't get along too well together. Usually I would spend an hour each morning before the sun came up drinking tea and working on the little bugger during the whole month of January. I am grateful for the "studio" time at home the past two weeks but have skipped the early mornings to wait for sunny moments to soak up the bright beams by my dining room window.
New Year Blessings
I was triple blessed to bring in the New Year in the heart of Yellowstone Park with wonderful peeps. Triple blessed because:
1) Yellowstone is exceptionally magical in winter - I haven't been to Old Faithful in winter for nearly 2 decades...! 2) Being a national park, Yellowstone is one of the few places Zaydee and I didn't share adventures together, thus the trip was a welcome bit of ease during the raw grief stage of losing her. 3) The adventure was shared with a deep hearted kind loving new family (my boyfriend's folks, sister, her husband and her two extraordinarily bright children). Full of gratitude and good memories for an unforgettable beginning to 2015.
Palm-size bronze for 2015
The first few weeks of the past two years I have created a small collectable sculpture for the year. The critters are cast in solid bronze - making them heftier than they look in photos but I love the way they feel in the palm of my hand. First "Wee Bunny" was created, followed by "Little Bird" (you and see them here) Now....for 2015...
Plenty of tears...
How does one carry on after losing a companion like Zaydee? My girlfriend Wynn texted, “Cry it out sister and then cry some more. You’re honoring her with every brave tear.
Zaydee and I as "calendar girls." We were actually asked to pose (and paid) for the month of... (can't remember but obviously it was a winter month) during the beginning of our 12 years together. She wasn't too sure about the photographer guy and kept her eye on him while staying close to me. Zaydee was still getting over her abusive years, her fear of men back then was so engrained that she would cower and pee uncontrollably when a man entered the room. Patience and love along with her spunk and spirit moved her away from her past.
Zaydee was a special spirit.
My dear little Zaydee
The video below shows Zaydee and I making snow angels on top of Black Mountain a few summers ago - shared with you in celebration of the precious life we embraced together. What a gift of a partner these last 12 years! Zaydee was a sweet sensitive athletic adventurous loving soul who came to me after her first two years of horrific abuse. Patience and boundless love coupled with her tenacity for life, Zaydee overcame the kinks, quirks and fear-based mental blocks forced upon her early years. My lifestyle as an artist living at the end of the road near the top of a mountain allowed us to be together more than not - our days in the studio, nights in my cabin and oh-so-many adventures. Dr Colmey braved a snowstorm on the last Sunday morning of 2013 to come to my home with kindness so that we could ease my girl effortlessly from her pain-racked body. Deep grief (but worth it). We live forever in the loving...
[embed]http://youtu.be/dTnUDwOI3tc[/embed]
shhhhh (Christmas Eve peek at the goodies)
Images of my studio work have been lacking on the blog the past several weeks for good reason...CHRISTMAS is coming!!! I've been playing santa in my studio - creating gifts - thus the "silence" although at moments I've been excited enough it has been tough not sharing peeks. Woodchips and sawdust are piled up, brushes are drying, garbage cans are full of stain rags and my holiday sparkle nail polish has worn off but fresh carvings are drying in front of the fan - ready for ribbons, bows and their new homes.
Winter Solstice
Light is an integral part of sculpture. Lengthening days are a source of celebration. I embrace darkness and of course I rejoice in light.
May the return of the sun brighten your days and warm your heart.
BIG city life in Montana (mixing business with pleasure)
From fancy dining and art world (work?) to the Chase Hawks rough stock rodeo- I gotta love "big" city weekend in Montana.
Unseasonably warm temps and dry roads made the Friday afternoon drive to Billings a snap. I schlepped two sculptures to the Yellowstone Art Museum for an upcoming exhibit and fundraiser. The weekend was a spin of art world meetings and art shows along with a top-notch rodeo – a perfect mix of whiskey and wine.
Chase Hawks showcased the world’s best bullriders, saddle bronc riders and bareback riders. The annual event celebrated its 20th year, a fundraiser in honor of six-year-old boy Chase Hawks who lost his life in a farm accident.
Money raised from the events helps Montana families of children challenged with farm/ranch related accidents.
The T.L. Solien exhibit at the YAM was a shot of good juice to my soul - made my fingers itch to be in the studio with nothing but TONS of time to create (and create and create).