Georgia O'Keeffe

Ever since I was young, I have been attracted to the colorful paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. I remember visiting the Dallas Museum of Art when I was in my 20s and being amazed to see her beautiful flower paintings and desert landscapes in person.

 

Music Pink and Blue No. 2
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1918

Recently I attended an exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute and saw photographs of Georgia O’Keeffe that were taken in 1918 by Alfred Stieglitz.  The photos really moved me.  After further research I learned that Stieglitz and O’Keeffe were married, which explains the intimate nature of the photographs.

 

Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe
1929
Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Stieglitz and O’Keeffe were married in 1924.  He was 23 years older than she.  He photographed her extensively in the early part of their relationship when she was in her 30’s.  The series of photos that feature her hands are the ones I find particularly interesting.

Apparently, the older O’Keeffe felt emotionally distant from the younger Georgia who was the focus of these photographs.  Personally, I enjoy looking at photographs of my younger self, although I often cringe at the many hairstyles I have worn.  Sure, I would prefer to have photos that were taken by a world-renown photographer, but luckily I have some photos that I honestly think make me look good.  

I am not sure that I have a photograph that captures what I believe to be the real me.  What would that photo look like?  Would I be smiling or would I look serious? What would I wear? I often don't know how I should pose when a photo is being taken.  Maybe that is why Georgia is never smiling in the pictures that Alfred took of her.  Maybe she was trying to show the real her.  Or maybe she was just tired of him taking so many damn pictures.

-christina

The Great Outdoors

I haven’t been making art lately.  Complications in my personal life have left me feeling stressed and overwhelmed.  Spending time in nature is one of the best ways to relieve stress, and orienteering is a fun way to spend time in the great outdoors. 

Linne Woods and the DuPage River

Do you know what orienteering is?  Here’s a definition from dictionary.com:

Orienteering is a competitive sport, originating in Sweden, that tests the skills of map reading and cross-country running, in which competitors race through an unknown area to find various checkpoints by using only a compass and topographical map, the winner being the finisher with the lowest elapsed time.

My friend, Linda, introduced me to orienteering last year and I really enjoy it.  You’ll notice that the definition above describes it as a “race.”  That’s not how Linda and I approach it.  We walk briskly through the wilderness (aka, the forest preserve) and solve life’s problems as we look for the checkpoints (called controls).  The only racing occurs when I run to the last checkpoint in order to shave 10 seconds off our total time.  Running also creates a good impression on the people hanging around the finish.

 

An electronic control.
Each participant uses an electronic punch
to record that he found the control.

This is an orienteering map.

Each circle is a control.
Some are easy to see from the trail while
others are deeper in the brush or woods.

Admittedly, I am a fair-weather orienteerer.   I don’t participate if it’s too cold or raining.  I don’t like going into the deep woods, either, because the burrs might rip my clothing.  I definitely don’t like getting my shoes all muddy.  Linda understands that, which makes her a good orienteering partner.

Hopefully there are still lots of sunny days left before the grey winter sets in and I can continue to enjoy the great outdoors.

- christina

This is for my BFF

Enough said. :)
- christina

A Dream Come True for my Friend

My friend just opened a studio called HeARTfelt Create.  Her goal is to encourage people to be more creative.  Her studio is open 2 evenings a week and on Sunday to allow people to join together in making art.  Customers can either pick from projects she has available or they can work on their own projects.  She also has a gallery of artists’ work on display as inspiration. Check out her website here.

I am so proud of my friend for following her dream of opening a studio.  I hope that HeARTfelt Create will be a great success.

- christina

A Surprise for Me!

My BFF is the best!  When I visited her in August, she surprised me with a trip to a scrapbooking store where we were enrolled in a half-day art class.  She didn’t tell me anything about the class in advance. I just walked into the store to discover …

… the class was being taught by Dina Wakley!  I love Dina Wakley!  She is a mixed-media artist whom I have followed online for a few years.  The class was focused on using animals in your art journaling, which is not really my thing, but I was happy just to be working with Dina. 

 

Don't you love Dina?!?

Dina grabbed my phone and took a ton of selflies
with me and my BFF.

Here is a sample project from the class.  We took a photo of an animal, painted over it, and then embellished the piece with crayons and a Stabilo pencil.

 

In the beginning, there was a fox.

In the end, he was painted and embellished.
Now he looks cool.

My BFF chose a pig instead of a fox.

When I got home, I invited 2 friends over and showed them another technique that Dina taught.  We started by gluing parts of book pages on a sheet, then followed up with stencils and stamps.  Finally we decided on the shape for the focal point and painted out the rest of the page.

I loved sharing art with my friends and look forward to doing it again soon.

- christina

Where did the summer go?

School started this week, so I am back to work.  Just like the kids, it's challenging for me to get back into the routine of waking up early and going to school.

Me and my BFF
having fun as always!

So, where did the summer go?  Mine ended with a trip to Florida to see my BFF.

She and her husband took me to Key West and it was wonderful.  Hot, but wonderful.

Most people have seen tons of classic photos of Key West (cute houses, weird people, sunsets).  These are my photos - pictures of signs.  

- christina

I Don't Like Ink

Back in June, I completed my third round of Drawing Fundamentals at the local art league.  The semester was all about drawing in ink.  I had the same teacher as the previous 2 classes, which covered pencil and charcoal drawing.  I made an important discovery – I don’t like ink.

My ink value study

Ink involves a commitment – more than I want to make.  I can’t erase ink; I can only make it darker.  Darker is something I am not very good at.  I like to smudge and erase, add and then take away, but that’s not possible with ink. 

It's a pinecone. Can you tell?

Our assignment was to do a landscape.
I got frustrated and lost interest.
Too many flowers.

This is supposed to be Denzel Washington.
I messed up the other eye hence the framing.

Next session I’m going back to charcoal and pencil.  I feel the need to smudge.

- christina