Sneek Preview of the Salmon On Parade 2008

There are 25 salmon on parade this year in Downtown Anchorage. The sneak preview at the Conoco Building was huge there were cocktails at the pre-party for the artists and sponsors, finger food, live music, newspaper, T.V. and hordes of people eyeballing the salmon and voting on their favorite, I spoke to 100s of people from everywhere, posed for photos with my fish, talked with some of the other artists, it was a great time. My fish will be at Once Upon a Blue Moose 4th Ave. and L all summer then at the State Fair at the end of summer with the other salmon.
This is Sluice Box Sal done my my friend Jules Wolfe.
Translam"Alaska Pipeline by Kimberly Sikora. I wonder if this entry was political with oil dripping from the Salmons mouth while it's spawned out?
A Natural Beauty at 50! This is me next to my silver salmon throwing my fish face. A Natural Beauty at 70 said to me are you two twins? because you're both natural beauties; How lovely and kind is she. Everyone commented on how real my silver looked. Oh baby

I love fishy kisses......

The day was a total blast I had a great time even Mayor Mark Begich showed up and gave us our cudos :) And we are not finished yet; September 8th there is a fancy fish fry dinner and auction where the salmon will be auctioned off to the highest bidder and I've heard that people really get competitive and bidding wars happen, I've been told people have paid up to eight grand to own one of these salmon! It could happen......
Here is the link to see the other Salmon on Parade

http://www.wildsalmononparade.com/2008art/index.htm

In My Backyard

In my backyard I am blessed with animals all around me, there is the squirrel that lives in the tree nearby; I like this one because he doesn’t live in my walls. The picky chickadees want only sunflower seeds, a robin that keeps dive bombing me. I love the shy muskrat that lives under the dock. He has been here at least 7 years every night he comes home very late cutting a path through the lake; he is getting so huge I thought he was an otter! The two loons that come here every year and raise a young one, the swans that stop by for awhile then move on, an eagle comes from somewhere to hunt (beware little poodles), the ducks, the trout, dragonflies, countless critters cohabitate with me in my little slice of paradise. When I see a spider in my bathtub I’ll ignore it or take it outside, bees don’t bug me either. I wish we had snakes in Alaska they would be welcome in my backyard also.
When I am feeling all stormy and blue, I remember that I am alive in this improbable place and I am fortunate to be so blessed in so many countless ways.

Wax Is Not Your Friend

Be prepared to laugh out loud...I laughed till I almost cried as I could
just see this happening!

All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy,
painless removal - The epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax.

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play
with the kids.

I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few
hours: "Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet." So
I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.

It was one of those "cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, You just
rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart
and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right
off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I
am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck
together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out
the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees.

("Cold wax," yeah...right! )

I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull.

It works! OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad.
I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of
all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I Sneak
back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop
my panties and place one foot on the toilet.

Using the same procedure, I apply the one strip across the right side of my
bikini line, covering the right half of my *hoo-ha* and stretching down to
the inside of my butt cheek (Yes, it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and
brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!

I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!.... OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! Vision returning,
I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip.

CRAP!!!

Another deep breath and RRIIPP!! Everything is swirly and spotted. I think I
may pass out...must stay conscious... Do I hear crashing drums???

Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.

I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused Me so
much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory
that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!

There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???

Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the
hair. The hair that should be on the strip. I touch. I am touching wax.

CRAP! I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now
covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG
mistake...remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I know I need
to do something. So I put my foot down. DANG!!!!!!!! I hear the slamming of
a cell door. "*hoo-ha*" sealed shut!

Butt?? Sealed shut! I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out
what to do and think to myself "Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My
head may pop off!" What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!!

Hot water melts wax!!!

I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, Immerse the
wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off,
right??? WRONG!!!!!!!

I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture
prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together is
having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub..in
scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.

So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cement-epoxied
myself to the porcelain!!

God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put
in the bathroom!!!! !

I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret
of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter

- "So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!"

There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but
she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where
the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or hoo-ha?"

She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and
she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night.

While we go through various solutions, I resort to scraping the wax off with
a razor. Nothing feels better then to have your girlie goodies covered in
hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then
dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!

By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm
pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this
event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the
lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose
at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!!

The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend.
It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!! It works!!"

I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I
successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and
despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE....... ALL OF IT ! !!!

So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could
have amputated my own leg at this point.

The Bat House

This is Dawns new bat house, if you build it they will come.


This cute little moose in my yard just munching away.

The Child From the Sea

Title: Beth
Medium: Oil
Size: H. 20" X W. 18"
Price: 299.00
The child awoke with the sun, as was her custom, and shot up instantly from the nest of blankets, her brown feet reahing for the uneven floor almost before she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was one of the vital Quicksilver children born beneath a star. Even when her father roared at her, "For God's sake child standstill!" she was tense as springy heather beneath his hand on the top of her head, and the moment he lifted it to aim a clumsy blow at her backside she was gone and his language, once more, was cross that her gentle mother bore with such patience.
Excerpt: The Child From the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge http://www.elizabethgoudge.com:80/?gclid=CIOLrPzH15MCFSkziQodPjoCZQ
I love old Gothic romance novels and this is story is one of my favoritesIt's time to reread it. The book has been out of print since the 70s but Elizabeth Goudge's books are coming back. There is a part in the book where Charles II playes his violin for the seals, its so rich I love it.

Get Er Done! Gurrrr

Porter! you could try to look a little more enthuiastic.

It's true men like to be wherever there is work to watch and give advise.

This is Dave he's been a friend for years.

This is Henry, I've known him for years when he is not laboring he is quite a philosopher.

We also had to remove 15 trees today also it was painful to see them go they provided some seclusion from the road but we need room to drive into our garage.

Through this whole adventure my natural bossiness is coming out and I am being very bitchey, I run around saying "GET ER DONE" Gurrrrr.

GET ER DONE!

Today I treated myself to this gorgeous Fushia Dark Eyes the petals look like ribbons, these plants will not survive the winters in Alaksa unless they have a green house, perhaps we can put it in the garage come winter. Our new garage has in in floor heat and will be cozier than our house. That is why I have not been blogging lately, we've been installing insulation and dry wall, it kicked my ass. The dirt man is coming this week then the gas and electricity needs to be hooked up and it is getting closer to completion. My mantra lately has been "Get Er Done" When I moved here everyone had houses in various stages of construction with Ty-Vec exterior. I said; no way! will I be one of those people with a house half finished for years, careful what you say, our the garage has been in stages for years! one neighbor commented; when will they put the roof on that thing? It was embarrassing, so this is the summer we will finally finish. The thing is huge, Peter will have his shop, I will have my paint booth there is room for two vehicles and lots of other things like a boat, Harley, ARGO, snow machines (2) etc. (I'm fantasizing really)

Every true Alaskan has a huge shop/garage for all their toys and hobbies so I'll get mine too. Here we all must make hay while the sun shines, because summer is so short we all get manic to do it all.
GET ERRRR DONE

The Last Day of the Workshop

Beth was our model for the last two days isn't she hot and pretty?

This is my painting the photograph is poor and the painting is not finished so I shouldn't show you this but I want to share it anyway.

This is Dawn with her landscape she looks so proud of her awesome painting.
The class was so much fun and I learned so much and I know in the weeks and months to come I will still be learning and remembering. Tomorrow I'll go over my notes and put them in a journal like Dean suggested. It's late and all this painting kicked my butt but WHAT A GREAT WEEK!

The whole class what a bunch of talented creative artists all assembled in one room.

Day 3

The instructor Dean Larson kept telling me to put darker values in the eye area finally he sat down in front of my painting and lightly glazed dark lines through the whole shadow area, now I get it, the values need to be in the same family. He daubed on some paint here and there and after he did that the painting improved immensely. Today was harder in the afternoon I had a hard time keeping my focus.
There is one guy in the class a 6o years old man that loves to talk about everything from speaking 5 languages fluently, to being the first tax collector in AK, working at the UN, being a nurse, but when he said he was a good fellow (mafia) in Chicago I realized he might delusional. But it was just non stop talking and about totally irrelevant things and personal stuff. I kept thinking how his wife must be enjoying peace and quiet. Finally I stepped out into the other room and discreetly put in my ear plugs and when I concentrated on my breathing in and out I could not hear a thing.
Was that rude? Was it just me? I hope he dosen't read this but its true yatta, yatta, yatta Blah, blah, blah non-stop.
The classroom has no ventilation and some people are complaining so it's not perfect still I look foreward to tomorrows painting class, even the talker.

Workshop day 2 Having a great time and learning alot.

OK, awesome! aren't they? I'm so full of myself right now that I'm floating away, please don't prick me with a needle.

Dean Larson Portrait and Landscape Workshop

http://www.deanmlarson.com/ I'm taking his workshop for the week at the college, last night I was so excited I kept waking up. Dean Larson is a talented and experienced artist from San Francisco he has a relaxed and friendly teaching style. We had a live model which was a happy unexpected bonus his name is James the hubby of Mary.

In the morning he lectured and demonstrated then we painted our own version this is mine in the first stage.
And in the afternoon he lectured and gave a landscape demonstration. This is the start of my ocean scape taken in Hawaii some of the students are going outside to paint plenn air. I should try especially since it is out of my comfort zone.
Well,,,,,,I should get to bed at a decent hour so I can be bright eyed and bushy tailed 6:30 am comes early.

Full Moon Friday and Movies

Midnight. I just watched "Romance and Cigarettes" with James Gandofini , Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Christopher Walkin and every actor whose work I like, It was a love story for the ages with all the other love stories combined. There was music, dance, sex and poetry with great oldie songs, but don't let that stop you it was a good movie. I give this flick my ***** star rating.

This photo was just taken from my deck I'll call it "Full Moon and Cigarettes" It's time for sleep,

Good Night mona me.

Announcing the Graduation of

Porter Mark Whitear

Houston High School

Big Lake, Alaska

Class of 2008

Do Something Nice and Sing Silly Songs

My wonderful Friend Yoby called me the other day and left a song on my answering phone "You Are My Sunshine My Only Sunshine" so I called her back and sang "Give Said The Little Stream" a song I learned when I was about 3 years old. She called back and sang "Happy Mothers Day To You" and I in return sent her the "I Love Myself the Way I am Song."

I love myself the way I am, there's nothing I need to change.I'll always be the perfect me, there's nothing to rearrange.I'm beautiful and capable, of being the best me I can.And I love myself, just the way I am.

Silly I know but that simple gesture of hers reminded me that singing little songs that I learned as a child immediately lifts my spirits , it even prompted me to perform a random act of kindness that no one else knows about (except me). It feels good to help others and be more cheerful. Now we are collecting little uplifting songs like "I Am A Child Of God."
Thank you Yobbers for being "you, you, you oh wonderful you."

M-O-T-H-E-R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.

Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

Raven and Salmon #6

Title: Raven and Salmon # 6
Artist: Judy Vars
Medium: Encaustic Wax
Dimensions: H. 16" X W. 24"
Price: 295.00
I just finished this piece an hour ago and it will be on display at the Valley Arts Alliance event, the "For the Birds" Art Show at the Loon Attic, located at 2061 E. Palmer-Wasilla Highway in Wasilla. The Alaska Wild Bird Rehab Center will bring their live birds to enjoy and learn about our feathered friends. The art will be on display until June 13th.
As always if you are interested in purchasing my art please contact me through my e-mail cabinak@mtaonline.net so we can work out the details.
Comments, critiques and cudos are always appreciated.

Whos Been Sleeping In My Bed? or out with the yin and in with the yang

Ok-yes i know how you feel about dead animals me too, I love them alive and left alone in nature to be themselves, however I noticed something today, that we had 2 moose antlers, dall sheep skull, bison horns, moose skull musk ox horns, baleen, reindeer antlers, whale vertebrae, fox skin, wolf skin, raven skull, bear skin, even mastodon tusk and other assorted bones and such. Peter is a carver so they collect over time, YIKES! how did I let my house get over run with bones and such?

Our friend Sheryl gave Peter this black bear skin saying she had no place for it anymore, (like I do) still I accepted the gift. I am leaving it on the bed as a joke for Peter. As for the rest of the things I put them into a big box and took them out to the old outhouse/shed, hopefully he will not miss them for a while. It was all feeling way, way to yin (masculine) for me, now that they have been taken out and the atmosphere in the house is less heavy and dense and balance has been restored temporally at least.

Spring has finally arrived to my corner of Alaska, I had the windows washed, raked some leaves next I will plant flowers, fill the bird feeders and my tree hammock awaits. The ice left the lake today and the loons returned last night waking me up to their loud beautiful call. I wonder if I could get a recording of it and put it on my blog for others to enjoy???

p.s. I was told to bring them back inside lest they detriorate. $%$#^%&^%$T ohhh he makes me so mad sometimes.

Friday when I took the salmon "A Natural Beauty at 50" to the I.B.E.W http://www.wildsalmononparade.com/. I was so proud. The woman at the reception desk was impressed with the realness of it, the woman handling the fish was in love with it and several men came out of their offices to say WOW!
So now it's gone no longer in my hands and I was having some separation anxiety and worries about the fishes life from here on out. While encaustic wax will not melt until it reaches 160 degrees, it might, I've never tested the theory outdoors, also the curious can scratch the body and frequently vandals hurt the art, and unscrupulous meanies steal the fish. So I said a prayer; please God take care of the salmon and please see that it get put indoors a place like the Alaska Performing Arts Center, or the Anchorage Museum of History and art would be the best places for it." AMEN

Last night in conjunction with Dawn and my show Paul Pike of Medicine Dream http://www.medicinedream.com/ was giving a solo performance. Great show in an intimate setting, while it was way too loud the songs were good and he explained them fully. Their genre of powwow and pop music blended together is quite good , but when he sang a native song over a hundred and fifty years old with the drum I felt my goose flesh rising, the words and sounds that I could not understand on an intellectual level resonated in my soul and he played a love song on his flute is was so hauntingly beautiful I just about cried.

The lake ice is about 25 feet out from the shore now, Benson our choc lab has been for a swim I saw two trumpeter swans today, some green headed ducks, and heard the cranes flying so high you can hardly see them.
Spring and Summer is coming again to Alaska and during this time I cannot even dream of vacationing anywhere else, the natural beauty and wildlife it is beyond description. This summer I am getting out in nature more!

Stop by Make-A- Scene under the clock tower in the Meta Rose Square,
Wasilla, Alaska all month long and see……….

ENERGY IMAGES
By Dawn Diaz

Angles and Icons
By Judy Vars

Briony writes in the editor notes of Make-a-Scene says, "Judy Vars is a local artist and one of my personal favorites. I'm glad to have her art featured in this issue. Read more about it on page 18." Then she wrote a beautiful one page article interview style about me and my encaustic wax art.

Make-A-Scene is a local Magazine conceived of just one year ago by Josh and Briony Fryfogle to promote, teach music and art in addition the paper promotes events and opporutinites happening all over the Matanuska-Suitsna Valley. I am so impressed to be included in the magazine. Here is their link http://www.makeasceneak.com/
p.s. There is also a nice article about Dawn Diaz.

A New Earth

Awakening Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle my daughter Charmaine sent me this link~
http://www.oprah.com/obc_classic/webcast/archive/anewearth_archive_main.jsp
Saying, are you ready to change your life? Well yes! Being a huge Oprah fan I linked up and am now up to chapter 3. Isn't the internet wonderful anyone anywhere in the world can watch these discussions get podcasts, participate live on Skype or catch up like I'm doing. I'm also reading the book, doing the exercizes and blogging at the same time.

It's good spiritual stuff.

A Spring Snow In Alaska plus Moss and Moose Turds

When the phone woke me up this morning at 9:00 am I was still warm and cozy under my down comforter snoring and dreaming. The party on the other end was embarrassed to have woken me up. How could I have been sleeping so soundly at that time of the morning? Then I looked outside and noticed it had snowed 5 to 6 inches and was still falling. The snow always makes me sleep so peacefully it's like a cozy cool comforter. Lately I love cold sheets and frosty pillows. Alaska is a good place for me espically when I'm going through memopause you know hot flashes and all............................................

This was taken 10 minutes ago at 10:pm


On my walk the other day I was looking for evidence of spring
and found this lovely moss ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and moose turds ah Spring I can smell it in the air.

It's been an interesting week

While reading a book that Mary gave me called "Making a Living as an Artist" by different contributors, I read this article titled "Overcoming Myths About Being an Artist" by Carolyn Blakslee, here is a quote that helped me; "Recognition during one's lifetime is much more fun than playing dead, but it is more risky and it takes planning. Resisting negativity, whether it comes from within yourself or from others, is a necessary life process if you are going to "succeed." Your unique talent is built into the miracle of your own unique being and it emerges with practice, life experience, and time. It is your talent, unique and precious, and only you can mine and discover its depths."
I like what Thomas Wolfe said, "If a person has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has gloriously suceeded, and won a satisfaction and a triumph few men ever know.

Junque Into Art and Earth Day Celebration

Title: Junque Raven #3
Medium: Found Objects and Wax
Artist: Judy Vars
Price 100.00

I met a cool lady last week with a passion for recycling Terry Koch she runs the Valley Community for Recycling Solutions http://www.valleyrecycling.org/ and a U-Tube video http://youtube.com/watch?v=-P1VSo9xgO0. I stopped by the recycling place to gather junk for my art. She was positive and helpful when I admitted that I wasn't as good at recycling as I should be she just said "start with one thing and go from there", I can do that! More later about my worm fertilizer farm. If we all make little changes then we all can make a huge difference in our planet, take care of your Mother.

CELEBRATE

EARTH DAY &

VCRs 10 yr. Recycling Anniversary

Join us at the Palmer Depot
Sunday, April 27th, 2008
2pm t0 6pm
live music featuring"
LULU & the AQUA NETS

My Assemblage Art will be there also.

Presenting - A Natural Beauty at 50

Could this Silver be any more juicy?

I'm ready for my closeup Mr. De Mille.

I Am An Artiste' and a Few Other Things

I tend to look at people who have a wonderful talent with awe and respect, artists have the power to touch others souls and spirits in some way, transport them somewhere else if even just for a moment. The definition of artist is less romantic:
Artist
1. One, such as a painter, sculptor, or writer, who is able by virtue of imagination and talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value, especially in the fine arts.
2. A person whose work shows exceptional creative ability or skill: You are an artist in the kitchen.
3. One, such as an actor or singer, who works in the performing arts.
4. One who is adept at an activity, especially one involving trickery or deceit: a con artist.

To the end of honing my skills as an artist I am looking foreword to a class by Dean M. Larson
of San Francisco http://www.deanmlarson.com/ five days immersed in art learning from an accomplished artist for me its as good as it gets.

Max my 9 year old grandson got just back from a field trip to Washington D.C.! He told me about visiting with Lisa Murkowski, Don Young and Ted Stevens, he is funny desccribing Teds speech to the class; "blah, blah, blah, oil, blah, blah, blah, north slope, blah, blah, blah, oil production" one poor kid fell asleep. At National Museum of Art he told me of a wax painting of a man that looked like a photograph when you steped back and he said his most memorable sight was the painting of Mona Lisa the eyes really follow you.

p.s. to Hypnotic Steve if you think that I would give you or anyone else 20% of my earnings for coaching services, all I can say is "on what planet? you're not just a little nuts you're a con artist."

p.s.s. How dissapointing the fish eyes were too big for my silver salmon so I still have to wait.

Time, time, time

If the average lifetime has approximately 30,000 days then 68% of my days are spent. It seems strange thirty thousand does not seem like a huge number in terms of days, weeks perhaps, the weeks in an average lifetime is a mere 4,286.
Time the phases of the moon, the click of the second hand the beat of the heart this is linear time. This is the way we measure time. Einsteins theory is that time depends on the reference of the observer. In altered states one might say it's 10:00 but what does 10:00 mean? A psychic relates to time in a non temporal way catching glimses of the past and future. Wise people tell us " If you regret the past or worry about the future you should on your present" (I paraphrase).

This has been my day swimming around in circles, wondering why I don't seem to get anything accomplished and simultaneously knowing that I am.

But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day. ~Benjamin Disraeli
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
~William Shakespeare
It's time to sleep says that nagging voice in my head, but I might miss something.
~Judy Vars

Salmon Update: and Six to 12 Inches of Snow

It's a snow day six inches of cold spring snow and still coming down. Today I wanted to stay home and paint but I had to keep some appointments so I dutifully dusted the snow off my car and drove off at 10:23 am, the radio said the Parks Highway is closed because of an accident with injuries. I waisted no time turning my car around grateful I heard the traffic report in time.
I painted all morning and most the afternoon, I even played Mozart.

I hope the people are doing OK, I hate it when I hear of an accident or someone was killed, there is always a chance that you know the person or heaven forbid.....

This is how the salmon looks today, I am waiting for some taxidermy eyes and praying that the oil paint stick that I used will be fully dry by May 4th drop off time.

I've nothing much to say tonight so I'll say; adieu adieu to you and you and you

He Who Eats Here Must Trust To Fate

I found this little framed saying at an early garage sale, and put it in my kitchen window, everyone agrees that it suits me and I've got miles and miles from it already, hubby has cooked delicious meals most of the week while I work on the salmon. It looks awesome by the way. Funny how inspired and productive I become when it's time to cook.

In my moms kitchen there was a plaque that said; I'm not a slow cook, I'm not a fast cook, I'm a half fast cook. Get it, half assed, ha ha. I'm getting a little punchy got to go to bed.

New Moon Tonight

I see the moon,
The moon sees me
God bless the moon,
And God bless me.

Welcome To My Mess and Left vs Right

While I try very hard to be neet and organized for me it's very hard. Because I'm a Creative and people like me think on the right side of the brain. Example: I am chaotic and disorganised, though I know where most things are, when I'm creating time passes by quickly almost unnoticed, when I get an idea I just jump straight in and see what happens, I am very intuitive and make most of my decisions based on my gut, I never forget a face but names are harder, I have a very hard time being on time for appointments, when I begin a painting I have a vision in my mind of what I'd like the painting to look like and then jump in.

I thought I suffered from AADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder) because I tend to space off and daydream allot, and being organized is a skill I cannot seem to learn, being right brained is preferable to having a disorder. Don't you think?

It's all in the way you see things and say things.

Salmon Update

This is not a great picture Mr. Salmon is not finished yet, but look, how georgeous is he!
The silver leaf is working out beautifully if I do say so myself.

This week I am being a test proctor for 4th graders so I must get to bed at a reasonable time.

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.