December artwork

stamped totebag for Mayumi
handmade stamps on canvas bag

I combined several stamps using an ink pad made especially for other surfaces. After stamping, I heated the pattern with an iron for making the design permanent. Mayumi is the assistant at one of my Elementary Schools, she is great.

Happy New Year
hand made rabbit stamp and letter stamps on note card

2011 is the year of the Rabbit. I used a star punch for the top of the
note cards to tie presents with ribbon.

Dragon
Chinese Zodiac Series
handmade stamps and cut out paper

I made this one for Kimura Sensei's birthday.

New Works

Library Card Series for Vidhi The Lotus, Turtle and Dolphin Stories

stamps on painted library cards

Our friend Vidhi asked for a Lotus, Turtle and a Dolphin on the recycled library cards. Thanks for your inspiration Vidhi. I hope you enjoy.

Library Card Series 555

stamps on library card

Snail on Lotus with Turtles

stamps on wood disc

Drawings from Koyasan

Okunoin Study

pen on paper

While walking through the famous graveyard, Okunoin in Koyasan, I took some time to do some sketching. The day was great for taking photographs too. The graveyard is about 2 kilometers long and has some interesting sites throughout.

River Scene Study II at Takahara

pen on paper

Pyar and I spent time at the river on Saturday, November 20 at Takahara. It is a short walk from the Bed and Breakfast where we spent my wonderful birthday celebration weekend.

River Scene Study at Takahara

pen on paper

Study of Rocks at Okunoin, Koyasan

pen on paper

Paintings

Trinity UMC, Savannah, Georgia
watercolor on strathmore
5" x 12"

I made this watercolor for Trinity Church's new website banner.
http://www.trinity1848.org

Trinity United Methodist Church is located on Telfair Square in Savannah, Georgia. I wanted to capture the glow of God's work here and its amazing members. It is situated between the Jepson Center and The Telfair Museum of Art. Trinity Church's members and the Pastor, Reverend Enoch Hendry made Savannah my home for many years. It is one of my all time favorite places in the world because of the people. It was the first Church I visited in all of my life that welcomed me in the most heartfelt way. I was not asked my age or if I was married or why I was there, simply loved. They are a big part of my family and life. An arena to work out your faith, a must see and do when in Savannah, Georgia.

Sketch/Study for Trinity UMC watercolor

Takahara Kirinosato
watercolor

We have many favorite places in Japan, and this beautiful place is in the top three. Kirinosato is a beautiful bed and breakfast in the mountains along the Kumano Kodo, only about a 4o minute bus ride from our home. This scene is from the outside deck looking down a short distance. The leaves are a lovely golden yellow and many shades of red. I tried to capture the season and mood through color and gesture.

Circle in Blue with Lotus
mixed media

I used the painting Circle in Blue to experiment with the platinum stamp pad and
my new lotus stamp.

Among Friends
mixed media
20cm x 20cm

I reworked this painting from May and finally feel it is resolved.

New Works

Circle of Lotus
stamp on wood disc

I used the watermark stamp pad for this design. Thank you MaryMom and LewisDad.

Sea Life
handcarved stamps on paper

Florida Box Turtle
handcarved stamp on paper

As I mentioned previously, Vidhi asked for a lotus, dolphin and a turtle. My first two pets, Terender and Shoelace were Florida Box Turtles. I was about 7 years old and always dreamed of being small and riding on their backs and feeding them gigantic food.

New Friends

Great Blue Whale
stamp on wood disc

Pyar helped inspire this new friend. I really love the gesture in his expression.

Baby Dolphin
stamp on wood disc

I made this one as a set of three from a request by our friend Vidhi. She wanted a turtle, lotus and a dolphin. I tried to not make her too cutesy.
Hopefully Jewel gives her approval.

Baby Piggy
stamp on wood disc

Lotus and Higanbana
handcarved stamps on purple paper

Chinese Zodiac Sheep Drawing for Mitsuko san

Sheep

pencil on paper

One of our dear friends Komori, Mitsuko is a sheep in Chinese Zodiac. I made her this drawing for her birthday recently. She enjoyed it. She is one of my inspirations for learning Japanese since she is such a wonderful person and I would like to get to know her better.

Some of Our Friends

Bear
pencil on paper

Study of Bear the kitten from one of Pyar's photographs. At this point they were barely two weeks old and oh so sweet.

Oh My!
pencil on paper

Study of the kitten Oh My from a photo taken by Pyar. She was the smallest of the four abandoned kittens that Pyar found only a few days earlier. She is all white with a little gray at the top of her head and oh so sweet.

Works in October

Eggplant Friends
pencil on paper

All of my schools have some kind of garden, usually several kinds that are maintained very well by students and teachers. These eggplants are from Shinjo Elementary School. My teacher, Satake Sensei gave them to me after a visit to her second grade class. When she gave them to me I gestured them toward each other mimicking some kind of conversation since they both seemed to have long noses and odd shaped heads. We shared a laugh and a knowing look, since we mostly communicate through gestures and our mutual limited shared languages.

Wara
pencil on paper

Tanabe is a farming and fishing town. The rice harvest season is over now, but many of these have been built or rebuilt from the rice reeds. Depending on who you ask gets you several answers on what these are called and how they might be used. This one is along a road on the way to Akizuagawa and just before one of my favorite coffee shops, Kirara. To the right of the structure is the rice field and to the left and behind are mikan trees. It is a lovely green space. Further back along part of the river, you can see many turtles basking in the sun along various logs and river edges.

Doodles at Kinugasa
pencil on paper

Many of my schools have great areas to sit outside and think or draw while enjoying a shady corner of the ball field. Kinugasa Junior High School is one of those schools. This was done in a few minutes between periods while enjoying the cooler weather.
I am happy to see that bees are thriving.

Higanbana
doodle on paper

There are many of these around town in red and white marking the autumn equinox. They are lovely signs of a cooler time of year, though the deep red seems very hot in clusters across the many fields around the house here in Tanabe.

Cut Outs for Danielle
paper on paper in Journal

Danielle religiously mails me a letter from the States each and every Monday. Depending on weather and some strange time line created by the Japan Post, I get a wonderful treat about once a week. One reason is, she knows I love it and because she includes a recipe and some cut outs from magazines or newspapers, she fills me with some English reading. The best reason is she likes me, but more than that, she has lived away from her home for two years when in the Peace Corp. She lived in Gabon, Africa. She knows what mail means. What it means to be thought of in such a meaningful way that a friend would spend time to create something so special as to put a stamp on it and mail it to the future. What a special gift and a special friend. I am lucky. I love her handwriting too, this is part of one of her letters. And since she is a designer and artist, she does not at all flinch that I use her envelopes and letters for my own projects.
Thank you, Danielle!

New Works

Small Lime

watercolor on paper

This study is for our friend Kubo Sensei. She has a tree outside her lovely home with many of these little limes. I am not sure of their name in Japanese. They are great for making juice and squeezing over bean burritos. We had a wonderful meal with the Kubo Family and as one of our many gifts, we got to bring home a whole bag of these!

Small Lime Study

pencil on paper

Two Beavers

(aka Terrel and Jerence)

pencil on paper

I told Pyar about my comic idea for my drawing of two beavers and showed him a drawing a little different than this final piece. Like always, Pyar was encouraging and let me finish it the way I wanted. He added some great text, to see his comic, go to

http://rockthetoilet.org/?p=1109

thanks boolovey

Mystery Me, Self Portrait from the Past

pencil on paper

Someone recently told me that we share a common experience from my past. It was an awful reminder of how I have put myself in unhealthy situations. This was me, masked and in solitude with flowers waiting to grow. Now, I am grateful that my gardens are in full bloom.

Thanks be to God.

Library Card Series

Birds and Scissors

Flowers in Birthday Harmony

Library Card Series

Who

Owl on Branch

Grrrr Scissors

Blossoming Tea

Blossoming Tree

Library Card Series

Balancing Bicycle

5" x 3" mixed media

Jessica gave me some library cards from discarded books. I erased some of the entries and painted over other entries before stamping the designs.

One of my fondest memories was waiting for my Dad at the law library at George Washington University in D.C. What certainly must have been only a few minutes to exchange books felt like hours to a six year old. Honestly, I do not remember how old I was but I do remember the treat of pickles at the corner deli afterwards.

Counting Elephants

Carolina's Tree

Library Card Series

Octopus on Bubbles

Directional Tree

Along Numbers

Camera on Flowers

Pushing Happy Birthday Block

Shirahama's Goonies Rocks

Sunset for Lindsay Hadley
acrylic on wood disc

Pyar and I have an amazing view from our apartment's balcony. Since we first arrived we often watch the sun change along this portion of the sky. The rocks across the bay are at Shirahama. We think they look like the "Goonies" rocks from Astoria, Oregon.