Lying in the Grass with Eyes Closed

Lying in the Grass with Eyes Closed. 13x16 inches. Mixed media on paper. 2010.

I finished up this new mixed media painting this weekend. . . I think I might give it to my friend Sarah, who is having a baby soon. It makes me think of things unknown, things floating out there in anticipation of being discovered. I want to do more pieces like this one.

I’m thinking of dying some of the cooking twine I like to use in paintings. I’m hesitant to do it though, because I already feel like I’m in a race against time. I can’t make things as fast as I can think them up. I’m not sure how to remedy that problem, but I want to see my ideas come to fruition and not just stay floating around inside my head.

I Dreamt of Things: Gun in My Face

I dreamt I was in a courtroom where a kid freaked out and shoved me onto the ground and put a gun in my face. Another kid jumped up and put a gun in the first kid’s face. Everyone froze in place. It was like I was in a cheesy 80’s cop/courtroom drama.

I Dreamt of Things: My Dad

I dreamt of a rainy nighttime road trip up the California coast with my dad. He was driving and singing to himself while I snoozed in the back seat. When I woke up and tried to talk to him, he didn’t respond. I don’t think he knew I was there.

You Knew She Was Out There

Moments of Clarity 03 / You Knew She was Out There 
13x10 inches. Mixed Media. 2010.

I’ve been making a lot of new work lately. . . This is one of my latest. I also finished two big pieces this week (20x26") but it isn’t as easy to get quality digital images of them since they’re too big for my scanner. I’ll have to get the big ones photographed before I can show them to you. I’m really excited about this new work. I love the various materials combined with each other.

I’m still trying to think of the best ways to display this work. I really don’t like the idea of framing them behind glass because of their textural and 3-dimensional qualities. I want them to breathe! I think I’m going to take some advice I found from another artist online here and try to mount my works on paper onto canvas. I think that will look much better than frames . . . and hopefully the process will be cheaper too.

Back Yard Garden

I decided to start a small raised bed garden in our back yard this spring. Matt helped me build the bed and then I got the dirt and seedlings from Bookcliff Gardens Nursery. Mojo is a great helper!


I just planted one or two of each plant. I just wanted to see which plants do best in our back yard. I think next year I might ask Matt to help me build another bed so I can have a bigger variety and at least two plants of each type.


We have beefeater tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, cantaloupe, cucumber, strawberries, and a bunch of herbs — parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, and lavender. I pulled off some cilantro today to make a batch of grape salsa and also a batch of tomato salsa. YUM... More photos to come as the garden grows!