On NPR some time ago, I heard part of an interview with someone who was discussing a depression era photographer by the name of Walker Evans. He quoted Mr. Evans as saying, “the truly hard part [of photography] is capturing the light in the air”. I realized in that moment that this is exactly what I am continually trying to…
Thirty six members of the Orange County Artists Guild were assigned quotes to illustrate for a sequel to the book TREE: a Community of Artists Explores the Meaning of Nature. This meandering blog is about Ruthananda’s experience creating her illustration for RIVER. Planning ahead is a really important part of any project and many details are considered along the way.…
After much heartache, my husband and I decided to sell our 30 foot sailboat, Sea Otter, last fall. Our final vacation on the boat was to Cape Lookout, the southernmost outer bank of North Carolina. This trip was memorable as neither of us almost died and nothing on the boat broke. We didn’t even run aground once. Despite all this,…
I sent my newest young adult novel Brother, Brother out into the world today, or rather my publisher did. I delivered the manuscript nearly a year ago and uncorrected review copies have been circulating for months, but like the robin fledging that left its nest outside my studio over a week ago, my book’s truly soloing today, completely on its…
I have always been interested in exploring the theme of community. In this series titled Women in the World, I examine the supportive essence of womanhood. In the past I've lived and worked in communes where I've felt the strength that comes when everyone works together for the common good. Since the beginning of time, women have come together to…
My painting style has always been realistic, whether I was using watercolors or acrylics, whether I was painting flowers, mushrooms, or people. Toothy Grin is a recent example of my realistic work. At the same time, I’ve always appreciated looser, more abstract styles in other people’s work. Several years ago, at a meeting of the Orange County Artists’ Guild, members were…
This article provides you with a glimpse inside Volume IV of my 25-year Handmade Book Series. Every year I take a lot of the art I’ve done, write about it, and turn the adventure into a book. Within the following paragraphs is a snippet of how the fourth volume of the 25-year Handmade Book series is coming along. This is…
This spring I attended a class in marbling silk at Penland School of Crafts. It's something I had tried many years ago and wanted to swim back into again. I say swim because you start by mixing up a very specific gooey bath. You carefully dissolve methyl cellulose into the bath so that a viscous substance floats on the surface. After…
A couple of years ago I had one of those “aha” moments. I was looking at a bunch of small 4” x 4” canvases from a project that I somehow had lost interest in, wondering what to do with them, when I started putting them into a grid pattern. I was reminded of those sliding number puzzles that were so…
Despite the February snowflakes falling calmly outside the window, I can feel myself starting to feel hot in my clothes. My heart is beating too fast, my head begins to ache slightly, and my feet turn to ice. I am amazed by how I felt so calm just a few minutes before. This is it, I think, the day I…