Today I took a new collage to the San Antonio Visual Artists ongoing venue at the Foundry Coffee House. Members can enter one piece at this popular cafe for a $5 hanging fee. I’ll go on Thursday to the opening, but I’ve never seen such an assortment of art – every size and medium. The SAVA website reflects this diversity. It’s as much a non-elitist all-inclusive super-eclectic arts group as I’ve seen in the area. I’m looking forward to seeing how it works and participating a bit more in the future. Today was a small start. Here’s the piece I took – it’s called Pearadigm – I almost didn’t have the nerve to use such a corny name, but I did anyway :).

There has been no real rain here since September of last year – today we got a wonderful rainstorm. It’s amazing how rain in a drought can make everyone feel happy and optimistic. There are no half-measures, though. Right now there are flood warnings, but that will pass. Hooray for rain!

It was a good night! The collages were nicely displayed- Matt and Carole do such a fine job. There was an annoying but interesting glare on the plexiglass framing, so you can see the outside street and the inside gallery reflected on the paintings. Layers of reflection. Lots of friends and good food and music. I sold three pieces, which was very nice. One of the best moments was when my former art professor, Bill Bristow, came by and discussed Art with me and some of my techniques in particular – that was perfect, things seemed to come full circle since I was in his class in the 60’s. Yay for art!

Finished this cover last night – it went together quickly, which is a good sign. I used a photo of Georgia O’Keeffe and in the process read again about the timeline of her life. What a remarkable artists’ journey she lived. Here are some photos – even the fittings and inside cover went together well. Woohoo 🙂

Here’s another cover that came together like magic – it’s called Seance. It made me think of Madame Blavatsky and her Theosophists, and that whole group including Yeats who studied religion, science and philosophy in the early 20th century. Wonder if Yeats would be surpirsed that people read his poems on a Kindle? Hmmm.

I took a break from gallery work to do a new Kindle cover – am also working on a commission cover. This one is called Coco’s Cat. It sold almost immediately – a tribute to the enduring allure of Coco Chanel, no doubt! I am looking forward to doing some more covers this summer. It’s such an effective way to “sketch” and try out new techniques and media.

Here’s something really – well, disturbing and whacky. Saw these while looking for Easter basket treats.

They’re rabbit-design camouflage plastic Easter eggs with an attached package of little toy soldiers shooting at other plastic soldiers that you apparently stuff in the eggs as prizes. What??? That’s nuts!

Quick – give me a peaceful organic antidote! Here’s a cool video on natural egg dyes from CurblyVideos. Whew, I feel better now.

I really, really like this piece. It seems like more than the sum of the parts. It’s called Luna. Mixed media, 24×28″ framed. Even the details are interesting – it’s great when art works. Favorite discovery – rice paper over silver leaf layered with walnut ink – wow.

Saw this wonderful video on OpenCulture – here’s a link to more information about it and what inspired it.

It’s getting close to the end of semester and there will be time to read the books in my TBR pile, see what other people are doing via their blogs, reimagine stuff around in the house, and try some new things in the studio – including getting back to some new ideas for Kindle covers. Here are some blogs I intend to peruse for inspiration with when I have vacation time:

Planet Green
Treehugger
Inhabitat
Jetson Green
Dwell
Huffingtonpost Green
Blisstree
design*sponge
Remodelista
Apartment Therapy
Design Milk
Decor8
aqui pelo campo
Desire To Inspire
Craftzine
CraftyPod
EcoEtsy
GOOP
Sweet Paul
Slow Love Life
The Greenest Dollar
Nest by Tamara
A Way to Garden