Tag: art inspiration

March 20, 2023

First day of spring and the rest of 2023!

Welcome to the first day of spring! Not that it’s felt that way here in Albuquerque. It’s been in the 40s and raw the past few days. Very unusual, though we have had some warmer, blustery days for sure this month. And the rain (and snow last week) is always welcome given our drought situation.

You might’ve seen on the WELCOME page of my website, I’ve had a crazy, busy winter. My plan in January had been to extract myself from some of my “busy-ness” so that I could spend more time on my own art and explore the various ideas rolling around my head. I come up with so many plans in the shower (where I think best); then my day starts and the plans are lost. Now winter has come and gone. I refuse to lose the spring too.

Fortunately for me on this first day of spring, of renewal, I get a helping hand. Sketchbook Revival starts today. It’s a FREE, almost two-week long, online program of workshops designed to “help you feel inspired, energized, and revived.” Founder Karen Abend invites artists from all over the world to teach each workshop. Two are offered each day. You can do all of them or skip one here and there as you choose. If like me, you find life interrupts and you miss a class, you can access everything for a couple of weeks after the last workshops are published. That also means that you can join the program after it begins. And if you don’t have all the recommended supplies, no worries. You can wait a day or just use whatever you have on hand. If you’re interested, find info HERE.

By the way, I’ve written about Sketchbook Revival before. Find that post HERE. And it goes without saying, the more I play in my sketchbooks, the more likely I am to come up with interesting hooked art.

Two dogs with hooked art wish you happy spring — Tynan and Bowyn present WHAT’S ON THE FRAME this week. And they wish you HAPPY SPRING!

In that vein, I started a new piece the other day. It’s small, as I’m not sure how well it’ll look on the monk’s cloth. Hell, I don’t even have a good picture of it in my head! But it’s all about experimenting and process for me. Well, mostly. Like everyone, I like to like what I create. LOL. Tynan and Bowyn present it in the photo.

A word about Tynan. He’s really slowed down this past fall and winter. His deafness is profound, and he’s rather wobbly, but he’s still enthusiastic about his food, any food really. Thank goodness for doggie diapers, though in his presence they are “man wraps.” The good thing is that next week he celebrates his 15th birthday. Watch for him and his celebration on our social media.

How are you celebrating spring?

February 1, 2021

A rug influenced by another artist

Hooked art influenced by another artist — I’m calling it “Pat’s Rug” for now. It was influenced by another artist, my aunt.

I’ve finally finished the rug that my aunt, another artist, last year asked me to hook for her. She gave me no guidelines other than that she likes reds, blues, and gold. What to do? Pat works in paint, pens, and pencils and such. More abstract stuff. Fortunately, I’ve got a few of her pieces, so I thought, why not go to a source, her own work.

Work by another artist — Artwork by Pat Croke, my aunt.

Will she be able to tell that I used her drawing to inform my hooked art? Hell, if I know. I’ll tell her though. (And about the African bark cloth influence as well.) Lines and colors. Being a textile piece, though, I get the benefit of texture too: loops of old t-shirts and the sparkly sharpness of the two gold ribbon types that I used.

Close-up of the rug that currently has no name. Hand-hooked with old t-shirts and ribbon.

I just hope she likes it.

May 25, 2016

Tent Rocks rock!

"Kasha-Katuwe" means "White Cliff" in the native language of the Cochiti pueblo people. The tapered rock formations are called hoodoos (or tents). Some still retain their "boulder caps." — “Kasha-Katuwe” means “White Cliff” in the native language of the Cochiti pueblo people. The tapered rock formations are called hoodoos (or tents). Some still retain their “boulder caps.”

“Make sure you visit Tent Rocks,” both friends and acquaintances told us. “Go now, before the it gets too hot.” Actually, they said that back in March. We finally made it Sunday even though we couldn’t take Tynan (the dog) which was what made us hesitate earlier. He loves going to new, outdoorsy places. But even without him there, it was easily the BEST, MOST INTERESTING FIELD TRIP since we moved to New Mexico back in August.

Tent Rocks are the products of volcanic eruptions that happened 6 or 7 million years ago.

Technically, the national monument is Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks. It’s located about an hour north and west of Albuquerque. There are very cool geologic formations as well as a couple trails with wicked vistas that include views of the Sandia, Sangre de Cristo, and Jemez mountains and the Rio Grande River valley.

Entrance to the slot canyon portion of the Slot Canyon Trail.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (because why should I re-write the wheel?):

The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash, and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a “pyroclastic flow.”

Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks, and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet up to 90 feet.

The view from the top of the mesa. Very satisfying. I'm not sure if those are the Sangre de Cristos or the Jemez mountains. — The view from the top of the mesa. The climb there was quite satisfying. I’m not sure if those are the Sangre de Cristos or the Jemez mountains. Either way, we were jiving on the undulating cliffs.

What are the cool, touristy places you can visit in your area? How do they provide inspiration for your art?

It's as if the trees grow right out of the rocks! Check out those gorgeous stone curves. — It’s as if the trees grow right out of the rocks! Check out those gorgeous stone curves. They encourage you to wend your way to the right, to keep following the path. And maybe even to create an abstract rug based on them.

Unfortunately, I'm not up on my high desert botany yet, so I can't give you a name, but aren't these gorgeous? Who says the desert is boring and...brown? — Unfortunately, I’m not up on my high desert botany yet, so I can’t give you a name, but aren’t these gorgeous? Who says the desert is boring and…brown? I see bright orange flowers in a near-future mat…