collage papers

Open to Spring?

Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Spring!

There’s no little ones here to go egg hunting with today and so I’ve been watching butterflies and following a vibrant buzzing to the bumblebee nest outside my studio wall. It’s actually a birdhouse that’s been taken over by nectar drunken bumblers. Yellow pollen is dripping down the outside, giving away their hideout. And there’s always at least one of them, tipsy and hanging out on the edge, with buddies just inside.

But I was inside for a bit too, and finished this piece from a lesson earlier in the month, adding words from today.

glassinepapercollage2

layers of acrylic inks and glassine papers with monoprints

Are the windows in my mind open to spring?

Can my animal heart relate to the heavy breath of blossoms and buzzing bumblers?

I was a bit overcome today with the warm scents, the rapidly unspooling ferns, the snowy cloud of apple blossoms, and the tapestry of weeds calling out to be pulled!

Ah Spring. Is your mind and heart open to it? It’s a very strong cocktail!

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I went back to take a picture for you, and the party had grown! Sounded like they were really getting down!glassinepapercollage1

Another one, with a tree theme, and lots of layers, collaged and painted.  I was shooting for golden light shining through the orchard and those birds, and maybe a yellow brick road for Dorothy to skip along with her friends and Toto.  But then there was this blaze ripping through the trees and across driveways. . .it’s hard to forget about that fire. . .

If you want to join us this spring and summer, for my mixed media workshop titled The Playful Muse, here’s the new dates, just published!

May 20, June 17, and July 15, 1:30-4:30 in my Sebastopol studio. (You can sign up for one or all three.)

4-week August Session: August 5-26

For more information and to register contact me.

 

 

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For My Valentine

tonight

collage, acrylic, ink on w/c paper, 10 X 11″

Tonight – same time, same place.

Let us meet in lustrous moon bright, yet concealed all round by garden shadows, whilst unicorns prance and nymphs play hide and seek. There shall we bathe not in moonlight, but in fine embraces.

Ours is a time of courtly love and care must be taken not to be so discovered by lords and ladies, uncles and aunts, milk maids and game keepers.  We shall kiss in hushed silence, my love, and pray the night will tarry to prolong our rapture.

Can you tell?  I’m a lover of Masterpiece Theatre, costumes and historical novels. The Muse Groups did the “My Love Relations” lesson, where we play with the figure and collage to express a love relationship (here’s some others from last year you might want to see)

For this piece I started out by collaging old love songs all over, then copied an outline of the figures from the painting “The Kiss” by Francesco Hayez (circa 1859).  Then more collaging and painting over.

Have a happy valentines day!

Angel of Dissolution

kiel

by Muse Kiel Hemenway, CitraSolved and other collaged papers

Angel of Dissolution, inspired by broken arrows of divine light, blessed with clarity and foreknowledge, bless this world with your powers to dissolve. With greatest wisdom and compassion, with the intrinsic power of awareness, melt the hard edges of fear and ignorance. Direct the Divine Light into all the darkest corners. With the greatest Love, and awareness of the Ultimate Truth, bring your powers to bear now on all the realms beset by suffering and strife. Let no dark corner, no benighted being remain untouched.

  May the Light of Truth reach all and everywhere.

  Amen.

by Kiel Hemenway

Sometimes I wonder at my great good fortune to be in the presence of Muses who can channel such wisdom and blessings (through art done in the short 3 hours class). It is the culture of the group that each person’s art becomes an offering to everyone in the group, whether that is in the form of discoveries made about technique, color and design or words of wisdom shared.

This piece by Kiel was done in the Monday Muse Group, which will be continuing/restarting a new 8-week session in June (in my Sebastopol, CA studio).  There is one space left, if you are interested.  More info on my website.