Discovering A Beautiful Public Garden

This past Saturday, Mrs. Pom called me and said, 'Let's go to Wave Hill and do some plein aire."  "OK!" was my reply, afterall, I had a couple of hours with nothing to do (never mind all the graduation parties that were scheduled for the weekend).  Well, I did not know how beautiful Wave Hill is.  I have never been there and to this day cannot fathom why.  It is gorgeous!  Flowers, trees, birds, bugs, beautiful vistas of the Hudson...How is it I never knew this gem was here?  Well, I did more photography than painting...enjoy!

 this is a tree believe it or not.  i couldn't find the name, but so cool

lace bark tree

This tree was immense in size.  In hindsight, I should've had Loretta stand over there

so many specimens

my favorite, something about this relaxes me.   I don't know if it is the shape or the hues of greens AND it has been turning up in my intuitive painting...hmmmm....

there is a wonderful water garden complete with carp (although i failed to photo one)

pods!

don't you love the twisty viny wisteria?

love love love

nice little bench to rest

just as we came out of one garden and looked up...ahhhh!

clematis

I want to do all these dish gardens

poppies, poppies, poppies

and poppies

and poppy pods!

I just love this whole setting, from the pot in the center to the little bench including the ppl sitting...

how cool is this?

stunning

oh right, the reason we went there in the first place!

succulents in the gift store

I guess this little guy seeds himself...right in the sidewalk!

and Mrs. Pom with her beautiful journal
(I should've  photographed the finished product, it came out gorgeous)

I have about 90 photos in total.  from herbs to perrenials this place is amazing!  It is truly inspirational and the perfect place to go when I have artist block.  The array of texture, composition, shapes and color!  oh and now of course, I want to replant all my flowers!  

Art Is....2011

I'm part of a family, a big art family called ART IS...  It is headed up by Ellen Legare and Sallianne McClelland and I love them and all the attendees.  When you walk into an Art Is Retreat the first thing you think is, I'm with my people!   You can wear what you want, you can behave how you want, you can eat what you want.  no judgement!  In fact, more than likely someone next to you will even join you! It's a place to share ideas, get inspiration, be yourself and be supported.  It is the most wonderful weekend of my year and I look forward to it every year.

This was the 5th year of ART IS...  Loretta presented Sal and Ellen with mixed media canvases celebrating  the anniversary.  They were signed on the back by the attendees.

This year I taught there for the first time and had the BEST students ever!  I am looking forward to teaching again next year.  Thank you for your support, Dawn, Loretta, Linda, Angela and Pat.  You all did wonderfully and am so proud of your first attempts at woodburning!


here are some photos i took,( i usually forget to take pics as i get so involved in what i'm doing.)

I learned coptic stitch binding with Diana Trout.
and now i am hooked on making my own journals.  i use the kind of paper i want and the size paper i want!  thanks Diana for sharing the art of bookmaking with me!

My class space set up and ready to go.

I gave each student a goody bag filled with not only the supplies they needed for class, but also a hand painted, hand bound journal filled with drawing paper.

display of my work in the style of the class i was offering.  the class sample is in the center.  tall poppies.

look who i shared my class space with!  so excited...i love tracy!!

This is Dawn Gold.  She was the first student to sign up for my class and came all the way from England to attend ART IS...  I've known Dawn 'virtually' for years through an online trading site.  It was so wonderful to finally meet her in the flesh!

Linda Willis took my class!  She is a fabulous artist...particularly in fabrics and quilting!

Pat was one of the brave ladies learning a new technique!

and Angela concentrating to hard!  we call her angel hugs!!!

and my dear friend, Loretta.  She did a nice job too!

After woodburning my students blocked in color and added other  mediums.  (you'll have to take a class with me to find out how we do this!)

my students with their finished/semi finished projects!  i'm so proud of them!  you did fabulous ladies!!!!

After I taught my class, I took a class with Tracy Stilwell.  I admire her work so much and love to spend time with her.  so inspirational!  I glammed up my old pair of jeans.  i wear these in my studio a lot and wanted to spruce them up a bit. 

I opened up the leg seam and created this little garden out of fabrics and embroidery stitching.  this was SO much fun to do and reminded me of my high school days!  These were also a big hit with the children at the nursery school I teach in!!!

My friend Dawn and I saying our goodbyes...
until next year...maybe ART IS will go to LONDON!!!

i'm published!

Back in june i showed you this tease: http://kathleen-nesi.blogspot.com/2010/06/trade-magazine-submission.html

It was a long journey, but it has happened!  i'm published!  find my piece, 'remembering our military' in the jan/feb 2011 issue of somerset studio.

jan/feb 2011 issue

page 115





true colors of the piece



poppies

another poppy painting.  this one is woodburned on 12"x24" birch plywood and then layered with lots of fun textural goodies...tissue paper, acrylics, printing, stamping, fluid acrylics, stencils, colored pencil and gold flakes and finally beads in the centers of the flowers.  this may be offered as a future class, for now...enjoy!



art auction piece

I just finished my piece for an art auction happening at the Art Is...East Coast Art Retreat in October.  The auction will benefit the Little Baby Face Foundation.   It is titled  Poppy Pods.  It is my signature style, woodburning, bold saturated color and layers upon layers of paint, tissue paper, prints, gold leaf, colored pencil and india ink.