My Creative Journey blog

Please visit Trish's fun blog for an interview with Nita Leland. Oh, that's me. Well, okay, so you can get the rest of my story there. The link should work now.

Books in high places

I can't help myself. I have to tell you how good I felt when I saw Confident Color on the shelves of the bookstore at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. That is such a thrill. It was also at Barnes & Noble in Cambridge. When my first book came out in 1985, I visited my son in Boston, and we went to an art store in Cambridge. I slithered around looking for a book department, but there wasn't one. As I made a purchase, I mentioned that I was looking for Exploring Color, but I noticed he didn't carry books. He said, "Well, actually, I do carry that one--it's the only book I have." Sure enough, there it was, in the middle of the painting department. He was so excited to meet the author that he had me sign all the books he had in stock. A shining moment for me. I can't believe that was 24 years ago! I seldom mention my books in stores, although I suppose I should, for the sake of marketing. But, I do check to see if they're there, and usually, at least one of them is. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I see myself with four books in print at the same time. I thought the first one was a lucky break.

Weird connections

I take my laptop with me when I travel, so I should be able to blog while I'm away at workshops. It would help if I knew my passwords, wouldn't it? I forgot to pack my cheat-sheet, so I didn't have them, except for a few I have memorized. Dopey me. Also, I didn't have secure connections in some places, and that always worries me. I go online, grab my email, and go offline as fast as I can. Am I paranoid? Yes. My laptop security program won't let me send email from these connections, so I have to wait until I get home to send my replies. I also have to forward all my received email to my main computer. Is there an easier way to do all this? Just wondering. Anyway, I'm back from Louisville, Cazenovia NY, and Boston, and just about unpacked. It has been a great two weeks--meeting terrific people, teaching a great class, and enjoying my son's company and events. I have book orders to ship and new projects to get started, so not much time to kick back. But, no travel on the schedule for awhile. Yay!

I love fog

I have no idea why, but when I saw today's post The Colors of Fog on one of my favorite blogs, colourlovers.com, I realized what part of the attraction is. The differences in fog colors aren't usually so apparent, but certainly for an artist or photographer there are innumerable ways to generate color excitement in what most people think of as dull gray. Don't you love it?

International Art Materials Association Survey--do your part!

Katherine Tyrrell reports on her Making a Mark Reviews that NAMTA and American Artist magazine are sponsoring an industry-wide survey of artists, art retailers and art suppliers to better understand the needs of artists and how the art materials industry can meet these needs. Do your part and take a few minutes to fill out the survey. The details are on the blog link.

Conservator at Work

Daytonians have a rate opportunity to watch a professional conservator at work restoring a painting at the Dayton Art Institute for another couple of weeks. I hope I can stop by this week before I go to upstate New York to teach a workshop. Per Knutas will be working in Gallery 220 and is happy to answer questions as he works. He's on site from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until completion of his task. Admission is free.