iT'S sNoWiNg!#*

I know it's Spring but it's not done snowing yet, I don't care the long summer days are coming. In the summer I get a little manic the sun never sets, people are busy with all the regular summer activities, boating, fishing, racing, swimming except we are doing it with a crazy intensity, playing and running around like there is no tomorrow. Because really there is no tomorrow the sun never sets. Yes it is a little strange and hard to get used to 24 hour of eternal sunshine it's the opposite of the endless darkness of winter, that's why I'm depressive in the winter and manic in the summer and I love it!

Last night we went to see John Gorka and Susan Werner at the Center for Performing Arts, they were good professional performers with voices as clear as bells they had a good clean sound, the lyrics they wrote were thought provoking, entertaining, funny and interesting, it was very enjoyable night out.

Salmon Update: It took almost a week to properly glue the fins with JB Weld and now the salmon has the first coat of wax. I am going to wait until tomorrow buff and paint some more.

N.L.P. and Me

Yes so tonight I attend a class in N.L.P. Neuro Linguistic Programing and the other night a class on self hypnosis, thinking of a shortcut to 20 years of psycho therapy.
Being a self help junkie like me I keep my mind open to any ideas to improve my well being and help me get off some of my bad habits. N.L.P. taught me how to match an other's demeanor and energy, how to infer feeling, meaning, intent from their body language, eyes, etc. and relate to them by matching, pacing and leading them to get what I want. Ha, I already know that stuff.
While I am not into manipulating others to get my own way it's a skill I should use more often.

While I was at Howling down the Moon Holistic Healing Center http://www.howlingdownthemoon.net/ it I left some art, Angel Cards and encaustic tiles and business cards.
This business offers, massages, herbs, books, classes in everything from Old Way Classes, (it's probably not popular to say Wicca in this town) to Reiki and massage. I support holistic healing, alternate therapies and metaphysical journeys just as long as it's positive and productive. The book I am going to get is The Users manual for the Brain http://www.amazon.com/Users-Manual-Brain-Bob-Bodenhamer/dp/1899836322/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206687689&sr=8-1 The book ranges from 37.00 to 100.00 holy krap!
I guess I am not getting this book. The whole thing seems like too much work anyway, like my grand pappy Abe always said "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.'

Besides I've got a fish to paint.

Have Fish Will Travel

The original fiberglass form.

The first coat of gesso has been applied. With rabbits glue I plan to apply netting for the encaustic wax to stay on the form and later for scales.

I had my rabbit glue ready, but my dog ate it. Benson does look a little green around the gills. Silly Labs they will eat anything! He must have thought it was porridge, thank God it's organic.

Day by day, step by step, Mr. Silver Salmon is going to be simply marvelous, a natural beauty at 50.
Well got to run darlings, I've got so much to do.
Chiao for now xx

Shameless Self Promotion

Today I picked up my salmon at the I.B.E.W. (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers). The news cameras were there, we mingled, listened to some instructions and congradulations, the artists took a group picture holding our salmon forms, then we collected our stipend's, the base, and we all left left. Once in my car, I obsessively think to myself, did I get the very best base? so I went back inside again to look again. Someone asked me if I wouldn't mind being interviewed, quickly I looked around to see if any other artists were available, I was the only one left so I agreed, and besides, I think, it's a chance to self promote. He, He.
I nervously answered some questions hugging my fish.. I felt like a nut....this is a video taken from my TV and the 10:00 oclock news. Hopefully all my friends are in bed and will miss my 10 seconds. I can't sleep! I'm way too excited!

A Natural Beauty at 50!

Title: Angels and Obscure Objects D'Art
Artist: Judy Vars
Medium: Encaustic Wax Description: 15 3.75 X 3.75 X .75 wood tiles
Price: 25.00 each or 250.00"You are the master of every situation."
A Natural Beauty At 50. That's the name of my Wild Salmon On Parade entry and guess what! They accepted my idea! Yipeee, Oh ya, oh ya, happy dance.

Encaustic painting; the technique of melting beeswax mixed with dammar resin (for strength) using natural pigments and painting while the wax is hot. Each layer is fused with a heat gun creating integrity and strength. The fusing is why it is called encaustic.

I plan to use my practiced skills with this medium, along with thousands of iridescent sequins for scales, real silver leaf for the belly, and scribing tools to create a beautiful natural salmon. The look will be a hyper-reality but still naturally beautiful, making people stop and stare, wanting to touch and wondering how it looks so real and how this salmon was created. Encaustic wax can withstand the elements for a time.

This years theme needed to be something celebrating Alaska's 50 Years of Statehood. Friday at noon I will pick up Ms. Salmon. I am soooooo excited to get a chance to participate in this way fun event, each Salmon gets an honorary place somewhere in downtown Anchorage and folks and people from everywhere else come and see the salmon. Fish Fry Dinner and Auction, This is going to be fun!
http://www.wildsalmononparade.com/

Sometimes It's Not All About Me

Title: Begin Again
Artist: Karen Helton
Mixed Media
Price: 200.00
I picked out my favorite piece of art this weekend at G.C.V.A.
I love it! It looks like Tromp Ole in this photo, but is actually a twig, birds nest, feathers, and tiny beads.
The background is a beautiful palate with dark jewel tones (which I love). This is a wonderful, spiritual, uplifting, mixed media painting. I almost bought it.

My dear friends Mary and George sold their home in Girdwood and are moving to New Mexico. They were having a garage sale this weekend with antiques galore!. I bought tons of good stuff and she gave me even more booty, a whole box of Southwest Art magazines, antique frames, oil painting supplies, the baby tears plant that I admired, baskets, etc. etc.

Friends are relatives you make for yourself.
Eustache Deschamps
I concur.

I'll be in Girdwood, Alaska this weekend

at the Girdwood Center for the Visual Arts next to the bake shop, it's easy to find just ask someone!

Tonights Art

Encaustic Tiles, Personal Icons? I'm interested in the sub-conscious realms this project is taking me. Some of the images I have collected over the years like this anorexic girl with the sharp knife, The next image is a photo that I took last year at the wearable art show, (incidentally the photo of this girl is lifted from my blog at least once a week mostly people overseas). The next one is a cameo with pearls the scanner did not show the carving in the tile and last my favorite icon the raven.
I have ideas for more an eye and a nose, geometric squares, heart, vulva, Botticelli, me, praying skeleton, and more.......Aye to sleep to dream.......

A Vingnette of Venus Rising copied from Bottecelli

My version of Venus Rising by Bottichelli turned out lovely her eyes are bigger and a few other obvious differences, I guess that a career of being an art counterfeiter is out of the question.

Well, I've got a brilliant idea for an encaustic piece. With partners help we bought a 1 x 4 x 9 foot piece of pine and we cut 15 3.5" pine wood squares and with rabbit glue i stuck on the canvas. They are the size of tiles, each one will be different each its own work of art. I'm thinking of icons or iconic things, letters, ravens, hearts, things that create a theme. The idea is that it goes together as a whole but it can be arranged and rearranged.

If anyone has any ideas for images, techniques, colors etc. I am open to suggestions.

My New Web Site Will Be Up Soon and I'm Catching Up To The Digital Age

I have my favorite computer geeks Josh and Brian at http://www.epiccomputersource.com/ and they are going to start my web site http://www.cabinfeverinalaska.com/ all over again from scratch (for some reason my blog stopped accepting a Target allowing me to open links in a new window.) This time my site will be professionally done I think this will save me time and money in the long run. They know flash and do web site design so it is going to be new, different and fresh. I have alot of work to do myself deciding what image I want to project, gathering my art, writing descriptions, prices, check out, making a flo chart, taking pictures, deciding what I want a web-site to accomplish for me etc. etc. etc.
This may take a little while but we are in process............

I have been dealing with our new 42 Phillips HD inch flat screen TV. I thought I could just buy a new flat screen television, but nooooooo it needed play station III for blue ray movies, surround sound system, I needed a receiver so the sound system would work, fiber optic cable, a mile of wires, wire ties, a new credenza, (hubby put it together). Still we're not finished it needs a satellite cable box, Direct TV. It's insane! I resisted cable TV for years because I know how addicted I can become to television, but because they are shutting off the analog signal I had to get a new HD TV. Now I can surf the web, blog, check my e-mails and play War Craft in a split screen while watching Good Morning America (how nuts is that.) My living room is becoming a man cave. This weekend I plan to watch a double feature Pirates of the Caribbean and Spyder Man, there will be popcorn, candy, kids and grand kids.

Darn I missed The Apprentice, who did the Don fire Pearce or Omarosa? These things are important.

Ok not yet ready for U-tube yet.

Fine Religious Art Cards

Spritual Cards
by Judy Vars
$5.00 each or all 4 $20.00

Autodidatic: Self Taught - Eclectic: Choosing From Various Systems

A read an article about Chinese art and the Chinese art schools, basically artists are being trained like Olympic athletics. The Western world has a so called huge appetite for anything Chinese so at a recent art auction at Sotheby’s in London the Eastern art sold for record breaking millions.

This got me to thinking about art schools, being self taught, the elitist mindset, who buys art and why they buy art, and my art making in general, because once again “it’s all about me.” My artwork is to use a big pretentious word is autodidactic. My skills and techniques are eclectic and learned from anywhere and everywhere, I glean knowledge from: books, lectures, others willing to share, studying the masters, DaVinci, Botticelli, etc. I draw inspiration from artist’s lives like Georgia O’Keefe; I love the surrealistic art of Salvatore Dali. Gustav Kilmt is a fascinating artist and I love, love, love Frida Kalho.
Have I dropped enough names yet?

The other night when Carmen and I attended the lecture by Jari-Pekka Vanhala, chief curator at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, he had a slide presentation of photographs and talked about the influences of nature in contemporary art and used the word “tension” a lot. He also mentioned the movement towards “outsider art” people living in the country and making art. When they were asked why the created some of thier huge creations are they said "it was to communicate and bring joy to others." They moved some of the art to public locations but most of was built to stay where is was with nature, so they took interesting photographs. We saw some fascinating photos and got a sence of the people of Finland and their art expressed through photography. I liked the fact that there was a Gothic presence in their art. Check out this site about the museum and watch the slide show http://www.kiasma.fi/index.php?id=11&FL=1&L=0

I always say "if you’re going to copy someone else’s work, then copy a master." Here is my study of Venus Rising by Botticelli, in process.......She is so pretty...

I enjoying the process of learning and practicing my craft everyday,

My art is my personal vision of the world through dreams and imagination. It is my mission to communicate this and to bring joy to others.