Friday, December 28, 2007

My niece, the artist

I have a beautiful and amazing niece, Ryley, whom turned one on Dec. 22nd. Her mom gave me a large collection of art supplies--one of those giant kids art packs--for Christmas. Ryley and I sat down with it Christmas day and she colored! We have been doing art together since she could hold her head up, but she didn't really get the concept that she was making marks on paper until now. She used markers on paper--and chose her own colors. She stayed with earth tones, greens, blues and browns and she is definitely a lefty, like me. I am just so thrilled!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Hometown Holiday


Our town is really lovely in the holiday season. Since I was visiting my other hometown for most of December, I didn't really get to appreciate it until the last couple of days. We have a misshaped Christmas tree downtown that looks beautiful, in a Charlie Brown sort of way. All of the trees downtown are adorned with white lights, the lampposts in the Cone and Kimball plaza are wearing ribbon and light-up wreaths and store fronts are painted with holiday scenes. We were around for the Christmas parade, and that was great--the theme was The Twelve Days of Christmas, and so many groups really took it to heart with their entries. There were several musical groups, and even the low-rider car club entered. (Note: Photo is from www.downtownredbluff.com)

The season of mass consumerism has, for the most part, passed. I am interested in and pursuing a movement called "the Compact" through which you make the pledge to avoid buying anything new for a whole year. It has been neat learning of people's creativity with gift giving and their ingenuity for necessities. Of course, a variety of items are excluded from the Compact; food, of course, toiletries, and medicine. But even in little ol' Red Bluff there are a plethora of second hand stores and antique shops that can yield a variety of necessities throughout the year. I don't know how true to the compact I can be, but it will be interesting to try. It is an especially nice way to encourage myself to be crafty.

Speaking of crafty, I have begun using the Knit Wit and Knifty Knitter knitting devices, and so far love them. I have recently learned how to knit traditionally, but find it frustrating and tedious. I am using the Knifty Knitter loom to make a scarf for my brother (he got to be my new "technology" guinea pig) and while the weave is really loose, I am enjoying the process. I made one Knit Wit rosette, and it turned out poorly, so back to the instructions I will go, hopefully getting the hang of that.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Unexpected Art part 2: Hawaiian Cuisine

Culinary opportunities abound in Hawaii--though you have to be up for anything. Last time we were there, we went snorkling with our neighbor, Fish, who disappeared for a while during the excursion and returned with a giant fish, which he proceeded to clean and we ate. I have never had sashimi that fresh in my life.

This trip I discovered haupia, a coconut jelly/pudding snack. It is made with fresh coconuts and is just amazing. We had haupia cheesecake, a tart/sweet cheesecake topped with the thick, rich and creamy haupia. They also sell it in bricks at the farmers market.

Some of the best Thai food I have ever had came from a restaurant truck at the Hilo farmer's market. I had some fabulous chicken satay, basil chicken and pepper pork.

Our favorite Hawaiian BBQ was at the Pahoa farmer's market. We had the usual smokey/sweet BBQ pork and some spicy grilled Hawaiian sausage--ono grinds!

Fish and his wife, Faith, fired up the imu (BBQ pit) and grilled ham and turkey with taro and breadfruit. I'm still not sold on taro, but the breadfruit was okay when eaten with ham. Both are very dense starches with very little flavor on their own.

We've gotten over the novelty of hibiscus growing everywhere--even the Wal-Mart parking lot. But there is still something magnificent about wild white ginger, anthurium and orchids growing unchecked in our backyard. Sitting at Pohoiki--Isaac Hale--beach and watching the waves is awe inspiring, not just for the surfers but for the crystal blue of the water. The coastline bears many similarities to Northern California in that it is mostly rocky with little beach. Remember, Big Island is the newest and is still growing, so there hasn't been enough time to break it all down into sand. But most of the beaches you visit (on the East side, anyway) are black sand.

Our favorite ocean activity is to snorkle, and our favorite place to go it the tide pools at Vacationland. It is like swimming in a giant aquarium. The water is clear blue and the fish are relatively undisturbed as the area is a nature preserve, so there are huge tropical fish everywhere. There is also coral, a whole rainbow of it in greens, pinks, blues and electric purple. Another favorite spot, Richardson Center in Hilo, gave us a solid half hour swimming with two honu--green sea turtles. We got some great photos.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Unexpected Art

A visit to the Big Island usually means artistic opportunities not found in Northern California. And maybe its the tropical weather, the laid back people, the beauty of the island--or, more to the point, the fact that I don't have to work--but while I'm there, I am more artistic.

Arts opportunities pop up in the most unusual places. In our Hawaiian hometown of Pahoa, almost all stores and restaurants feature local art. In the Aloha Outpost, an internet cafe, the art is African in theme and done (I think) by the owner. Malama grocery store features large posters of various types of palm trees and reproductions of vintage postcards. The cafe downtown has some hippie art--fitting as Pahoa is indeed a Hippie town.

On Friday the 7th we attended the opening reception for a miniatures display in Hilo. Dozens of artists created eclectic and magnificent exhibits. Some favorites were the Little Grass Shack by Lee Manoni-Steiger, Twas the Night Before Christmas, Humpty-Dumpty (pictured) and the Princess and the Pea, all by Carol Hocker, and the Snow Maiden by Dorena Bennett. Another favorite, though I didn't get the artist's name, was the Ugly Duckling as Cinderella. The best part of this exhibition was downstairs, where a room was dedicated to children's art.

Not an art exhibit per se, but seriously cool was the Pahoa Christmas Parade. It was kicked off by the community band playing--they were wonderful--and followed by various floats and exhibits. The only thing marring it (besides an excruciatingly long wait in the rain for it to start) was the fact that, as it is an election year, several floats were dedicated to political hopefuls.

An unexpected artform came from our neighbor, Fish. He is Samoan, has lived on Big Island most of his life, and is a very skillful fisherman. He also weaves wonderful and very functional baskets out of palm fronds. We were given one filled with avocados from the numerous plants on his property (those things grow like weeds). We also met a young woman in Hilo who weaves bowls of palm fronds. We now have two of them as well.

The theatrical offerings on Big Island never cease to amaze me. Two and a half years ago we saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Akebono theatre in Pahoa. This year we saw The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at the Kope Kope Espresso Cafe in Hilo. This production, in the very intimate setting of the tiny cafe (great mochas!) was performed by the Hilo Community Players. It was a highly disturbing and very funny series of monologues which try to unearth the truth about allegations that Santa has sexually harassed Vixen as well as other reindeer. Particularly notable was Mark DeMoss as Dasher, a by-the-books company man dedicated to "The Eight;" the very delightful and funny Dancer, portrayed by Keiko Suda, who told of her hiring, her dismay at reindeer not getting time off for Hanukkah, should it fall on the 24th, and how reindeer are brilliant dancers; and Cupid, the only openly gay member of "The Eight" played by Jake McPherson, a hilariously catty gossip with stories that would curl your hair.

We spent one Saturday at the Hilo Farmers Market attempting to sell my paintings and our family crafting favorite, seashell ornaments. We had very little luck, but did meet some fascinating people in the process. A woman named Linda makes beveled glass boxes filled with sand and shells. These beautiful little gems are a great piece of Aloha to take home. There was a mother/daughter team next to us that wove mats, purses, and flowers out of coconut fiber. The teenaged daughter was also a phenomenal singer, and entertained us with Christmas carols and songs accompanied by her 'ukelele. It was a poor sales day for everyone, but a fun adventure.

While I was on island, I mad a few new paintings specifically for the house; one giant 20"x30" painting of anthuriums, and one 9"x12" painting of Lobster Claw flowers. Real tropical flowers are almost as wild and fantastical as my favorite subject, the fantasy flowers. And I have been working on black backgrounds recently, which is a great effect.

Yesterday we took a drive through Volcano. This lovely but tiny town reminded me a little of Trinidad, CA. For such a small place, it is rich with art and artistic offerings.
I'll write more of my Hawaiian adventures in Art soon.
Love,
Tina

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Hawaiian Art

I had a great time all day today viewing Hawaiian art. I'm in Hilo, on the Big Island and there are a couple of really neat eclectic galleries here. I started out at the Farmers Market, where there were a few booths selling prints--one Hawaiiana style stuff and the other Asian stuff. The gallery near there had a wide variety of styles, mediums, and abilities displayed--from pencil drawing to wire mesh sculpture, oils, etc.

I hadn't noticed before how much local art is displayed in all of the businesses I frequent here. I was just in Hawaii Pizza in Pahoa and there were several peices.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Prisma Colors

So, I love prisma colors--they are the greatest colored pencils ever. I've never used their markers, so I can't say how great they are (hey, folks at Prisma Color; if you are reading this I'd be happy to review your markers--just send me a set!) The colors are so true, they lay down very smoothly, and blend nicely. They are definately a splurge--I bought a set of 48 for about 50 bucks, but it is one thing I will spend the money for. I do hate that they come unsharpened, and if you are doing work that requires a high color saturation the soft pencils are best but you go throught them quickly.

I'm not so picky about my liquid acrylic paint. I'll use about any brand. I do prefer 2 oz. bottles (except for high use colors like primaries and white & black. I'll buy big bottles of those). I always keep on hand a variety of reds, blues and browns as I work a lot in those colors. I also generally will buy 2 shades of yellow, one regular and one more mustard. I don't buy a lot of pinks and purples; I don't use them a lot, and I prefer to mix my own. I do try to avoid air and water contamination as the smell of paint mold gags me.

I bought floating medium on the recommendation of a tole painting website. I'm not sure if I am using it right, but it did give me some interesting results. It made the acrylic more blendable as it stayed wet longer. The liquid acrylics actually behaved more like oil paint. Unfortunately, in the piece I tested it on that was not a quality I wanted in my paint--I wanted to stipple a spray of orange and yellow fire on a black background and wound up with a very muddy result. If anyone can school me in floating medium, I'd much appreciate it.

My goal is to try a variety of supplies and techniques and give you a novice's review of them. I will post photos as is appropriate.
Love,
Tina

Monday, December 3, 2007

Arts are my passion

As the chairperson of the Tehama County Arts Council and a part-time artist (though I am a professional now--I've sold a piece) I am constantly in the market for new and interesting ways that people express themselves. I am determined to comb the net looking for like-minded individuals. I joined myspace, and while I reconnected with a wide variety of old high school friends, I found not a lot of art. I joined zaadz, and rather enjoy the camaraderie there, but have a hard time with how "spiritual" everyone is. I joined another blogging site just today, but will not continue that one, despite how pretty my site is because I don't wish to pay for the privilege. I hope to have fun and make connections here.