Updated Photos for My November Class

Did some more work on the sample mini-books for the November 9th workshop I'm teaching at Viva Gallery in Sherman Oaks - Working on the box to hold them all - contact me privately to sign up for the workshop -

(Just a reminder that all artwork, photographs and writing content on this blog, is the property of the artist and may not be copied, or posted anywhere without written consent. Thank you for respecting the hours and hours of work that goes into creating this site and its contents.)

Five mini-books will be housed in a box

Five mini-books opened

Book 1 - Scroll Book - tied closed

Scroll book opened - back

Scroll Book - opened interior

Book #2 - Accordion book - stamped cover - front view - tied closed

Accordion book - interior - side one opened

Accordion book - side 2 - opened

Accordion book - stamped back cover

Book #3 - Cover - cardboard paper bag book

Inside cover - cardboard paperbag book

Book #4 - Vintage starbook closed

Vintage starbook opened

Book #5 - Tag book

November Mixed Media Classes and more

Just a quick post - I'm off to a screening at the Israeli Film Festival 2008 of a documentary - Praying in Her Own Voice - about the struggle of the famed "Women of the Wall" movement. This group has spearheaded the battle for female equality in the religious world. Their main focus has been on the Western Wall (Wailing Wall in Jerusalem) - the holiest site for Jews where Orthodox, Conservative and Reform women are not allowed to gather and pray in community. For the past decade they have challenged the Israeli government and the entire Jewish world by raising a lot of media attention both through colorful protests and by their unstoppable legal battle - which has ended several times at the Israeli Supreme Court which made some very controversial rulings. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker- Ravit Markus and Myra Newman - member of the Pluralism and Religious Diversity in Israel Committee of the LA- Tel Aviv Partnership. When I was in Israel at the Wall, we were herded into a small section on the side with a tall fence dividing the main area where men and boys prayed. Mothers, sisters and other female family members were not allowed to attend their son's bar mitzvahs happening on the other side of the wall because they were women. Should be an interesting evening!

I am teaching the following classes in LA - open to traveling and teaching in your area - contact me privately to discuss -

NOVEMBER MIXED MEDIA CLASSES/WORKSHOPS - Los Angeles

Please save these dates and RSVP:

Sunday, November 9th - 1pm – 5 pm - @ VIVA Gallery upstairs studio, Sherman Oaks - $70 – MUST RSVP to me prior to class date - A GAGGLE OF BOOKS IN A BOX – in this workshop we will create 5 mini-books of various styles that are housed in a box – After picking a theme for your books through some short exercises to get your “juices going”, instruction will be given for making each book – a star book, a corrugated cardboard/paper bag book, a shipping tag book, a scroll book and an accordion book. After creating the 5 books, each student will be encouraged to collage/decorate/embellish the books and the box to reflect their own style using the five samples taught in class. The class is designed for all student levels. No prior experience required.


Miniature corrugated cardboard/paper bag book

Shipping tag mini-book

Vintage miniature star book

(photos of scroll book and accordion book will be posted later)

Saturday, November 22nd – 11 am – 4 pm - @ a studio in a private home in Thousand Oaks - $70 - MUST RSVP to me prior to class date – THEMED WALL HANGING/BANNER – this workshop will be based on the “Freedom Banner/Wall Hanging” that I created and won 3rd Place at the Art Unraveled Art Contest 2008. Consisting of four panels with hanging word tags using collage, aging materials, crackle paints, ribbons, buttons and more, this art piece addressed the idea of Freedom – both personal and political – by using a few short exercises and a guided meditation, each student will pick a theme for their project and then incorporate the words and ideas that come from the exercises while creating this paper wall hanging/banner.

Each panel begins with an ordinary collage exercise (this is panel #4)


Completed wallhanging/banner

Watch for other dates and locations – TBA… I will send photo links in the next few days but wanted to get this info out to the group – thanks!
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Sunday, November 2nd – Monthly gathering for So. Cal. Mixed Media Group – 1 pm – 5 pm - @ VIVA Gallery – upstairs studio in Sherman Oaks – must be approved and join the Yahoo Group connected to this group. Contact me privately for further info.

FYI - I am a Creative Life Coach (10 years), mixed media artist, published writer, and teacher. I am celebrating 30 years in the entertainment industry including TV/Film/Theatre/Music and have taught creative journal writing classes for over twenty years and mixed media classes for the past year and a half - I combine mixed media projects with thoughtful self-reflection exercises encouraging my students to dig deeper into thought as they create their art projects, thereby blending process, project and creative thought into a meaningful art piece for their personal enjoyment.

20th International Sketchcrawl Day!

Meant to post this earlier but .... anyway today is the 20th International Sketchcrawl Day - Oct 25th - in case you're not familiar with this event - here's the site - but basically the idea is that on this day people all over the world either gather together at a location in their town and sketch or go out on your own and sketch - there are no rules - anyone can participate - sketch for 20 minutes at one location or spend the day traveling to several locations - any level - from beginner to professional - any age - from kids to seniors - The cool thing about this is that as you are out and about sketching know that people from all over the world - literally - are doing the same thing (be sure to check out the forum on the site to see what others are doing on this day all over the world) - it's such a simple but wonderful idea - would love to hear from anyone who goes out and participates today and let us see what you've sketched - have a wonderful day! and a special thank you and shout out to the founder and creator of Sketchcrawl - Enrico Caruso (that's his logo at the opening of this post) - such a simple but joyful and inclusive idea - if only more people in the world thought this way - artists rule!

Downtown Columbus Walking Tour - Part 3 (cont'd.)

Didn't realize I took so many pictures on this walk - here's the next section - enjoy!

Beautiful tree on the way back to the hotel.

Plaque on the wall outside the Court House - it was quite small - maybe 4 x 6 - placed on low wall as you go up the steps to walk to the door of the building - not prominantly posted - note it says: "No Weapons Allowed - pursuant to the Ohio revised code" - does that mean that before posting this sign and the revision to the code you could bring weapons into the court house?

American flag made out of flowers outside the Court House.

Sunflower installation photographed from across the street.

This was at the base of a flag pole in front of the Court House - the base had 4 seals - one representing each of the armed forces - I only photographed the Army and Air Force - for my brother (Army Colonel retired) and my niece's husband who just completed his 3rd tour in Iraq/Afghanistan - age 25

The description plaque reads: "Dedicated to the Men and Women of Ohio Who Have Served in the Armed Forces of the United States"

Air Force Seal...

Entrance to the Court House

Close up of one of the doors

There were several of these trash cans lining the walkway up to the court house doors

The sunflowers ...again!

This is a portion of a large curved art installation just to the side of the Court House - each one of the sections is a letter from a member of the US Armed Forces who is deployed to a war zone - Some from WW I , WW II, Viet Nam, Iraq, Korea and some earlier - The wall is simply the letters - no explanation - no embellishments or trim - simply the letters - very powerful to see in person -


Close up of one of the letters - It reads: " Dear Darlene, Yes, I've seen the Iraqi POW's. They're just like normal people. Most were soldiers in their country by threat that if they didn't fight, their families would be killed. Most surrendered. So when at first we were returning them, they were killed. It's such a sad story. Then there were the babies that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't wait to come home. Looks like May. I'm ready to get back to the great US of A. Love, Shirley"

Directly across from the Wall of Letters - very close was this fountain ...

More letters...

Walking from the Wall of Letters to the street to go back to the hotel, there was a cluster of several of these trees - not sure but they might be 'buckeyes' - wanted to pick one but decided against it -

Looking back and across the street at the sunflower installation to include the painted poster on the wall of the building that reads "Home & Flower Show" and has a huge sunflower painted on the poster - what's up with Ohio and sunflowers?

This plaque is a tall street sign that sits almost at the corner of State Street. It is even more relevant today as we count down the last few days of the presidential campaign. Think about the fact that the events talked about in this sign are about slavery in the United States of America and people helping slaves to escape via the underground railroad. Human beings having to be hidden and escaping to freedom in the dead of night here in our own country just a little over 150 years ago. And today 2008, a black man is running for the Presidency and is in the lead. No matter who you are voting for, that is a remarkable sign of the times. The plaque reads:

BLACK CONDUCTORS OF COLUMBUS – HISTORIC UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Early legislators did not want slavery in Ohio, nor did they want Blacks to settle here. Declaring people of color a menace, they passed the Black Laws. Outside the Statehouse, Blacks weren’t unnoticed. The turnover of black waiters and porters at the Buckeye House aroused no suspicion. White customers overlooked barbers James Poindexter and Andrew Redmond. No one saw John T. Ward, clerk at Zettler’s. These men were invisible to all but the desperate faces secreted in attics, barns, smokehouses, and in wagons traveling northward at night to Clintonville. Teamsters Louis Washington and his son Thomas were drivers. “The UGRR was actually going on here in Columbus when I came in 1828,” recounted James Poindexter. Conductors David Jenkins, NB Ferguson, and John Bookel were all members of Poindexter’s Antislavery Baptist Church.

In 1842, John T. Ward began assisting Shepherd Alexander to convey runaway slaves through Columbus. William Washington, William Ferguson, Jeremiah Freeland, and others were involved as well. “ Some one or the other of us was with Alexander on every trip, “ stated Ward.

(Co-sponsorship of ODOT and Friends of Freedom Society)

Downtown Columbus Walking Tour - Part 2 (cont'd.)

So here are more photos from my walking tour of downtown Columbus just before getting ready for my cousin Amy's wedding while winds from hurricane Ike gathered strength...enjoy!


Small courtyard at front of church...


Front door of church ...


Close-up of church's front door...


Church courtyard from another angle ...

Ohio state office building...


Across from an official state office building was this amusing art installation... three giant metal sunflowers rising from the parking lot next to the sidewalk ...




This adorable little house is actually the office for a parking lot - if you look closely in the window you can see my reflection taking this photo...
A new high rise office building just down from the Hyatt Hotel with a large poster advertising an Andy Warhol art exhibit in town...


Close up of Andy Warhol poster....


located at State Street...


Curtains on the window of one of the older official state office buildings next to the Capitol...


Entrance to that same building...



Loved the lamp posts at the building entrance...


Another old church in the same block ... this one Presbyterian...

Close up of church door...


Railing around this church courtyard...

Old tree in the small courtyard...

Fire hydrants downtown were painted orange - this one's for you Andrew!

Just past the church was a small park filled with very old trees - if you look closely you'll see a big nest on one of it's branches...

Another angle of the small park - surrounded by state capitol buildings...

Just past the trees - was this amazing tribute to fallen firefighters and police officers - this statue is of a firefighter, a police officer and a young child wearing a firefighter's jacket holding a helmet ...
The above statue faces this dedication and flags...

I looked down at the ground and saw that the patio was made of bricks - and each one had a dedication to a specific fallen public servant or a group of them... very moving...


All around the patio were benches like this one - this one reads " in Honor of all Cleveland Police Officers who make the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty - Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association"
Back view of the statue above ...

Walking back to the hotel - The Renaissance - I noticed that the trees along the curb each had this around them...

Old fashioned parking meter ...

Another church in that same block ....

Interesting bark on tree along the sidewalk....


Older office building ....

Fountain in the back of Hyatt -

Close up of fountain ....

Close up from another angle ...

Another larger park down the street from the smaller one... metal barriers for security ...

Decorative iron fence lining the side of the park...

Tree on the park border ... looks like it would be fun to climb...


Entrance to underground public parking at the park ...

To be continued....