Today I sat in the blazing late September sun. A white plastic chair and table provided by Elkins Perk Coffee Shop gave me this view of my local SEPTA train station, Elkins Park. Built nearly 120 years ago this historic gem now features a community space run by Elkins Central. In this space, I've personally been to a yoga class, an art show, and an author's book tour event... and I taught an art class there so that a group of girl scouts could earn a badge. I hope to make it to a jazz concert there soon. If you ask me, Elkins Park rocks!
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I have no idea why it took me so long. Yesterday I explored a little nook that felt like a portal to the 17th century. The funny thing about this place is...I have driven by it nearly every day for most of my life. The Richard Wall House was built in 1683 by a charming Quaker couple from the town of Cheltenham, England. They were among the "First Purchasers" to obtain land from William Penn in what we now know as Cheltenham Township. My outdoor painting quest of Cheltenham Township has taken a dive into its rich 300 year history. Since it's still plein air painting season (meaning it's not too hot and not too cold to paint outside), I went to High School Park and found this lovely spot along the meadow walk built in memory of Joshua Schwartz. It only seems fitting that if I am a resident artist in Cheltenham that I paint Cheltenham. I foresee "Meadow Walk" as the first in a series. I'm putting on the hat of being a tourist in my own town! That "Tourist in my own Town" theme, by the way, is an excellent writing prompt that was given to me by the great Mt. Airy writing teacher, Minter Krotzer. I, in turn, assigned that topic to countless unsuspecting 10th grade students when I taught high school English. We read an essay entitled "A Tourist in my own Town" by an American author for inspiration. I'm a bit embarrassed that I can't remember the author. Can anyone help me out? In Alaska, this lone cottonwood tree sat in a field behind the Glacier Bay Country Inn where I stayed with my family earlier this month. I painted this on the only day we saw sunshine and one of the few glimpses that we had of those distant mountains of the Fairweather Range. I saw my first moose walk across this field later in the week. The inn is situated in Gustavus, Alaska: population 428. To get there we needed to travel by plane since, as opposed to Rome, no roads lead to Gustavus. Not far from my house, there is a river of rocks. I could see two patches of it pretty clearly from this vantage point on Hawk Mountain in Kempton, Pa. The story of this river goes back to the Pleistocene Epoch, the Ice Age that ended about 11,000 years ago when glaciers left the rocks here. There is a trail along the "river" that I have yet to hike. As I research Glacier Bay, Alaska and Yosemite Valley in California, I find this local connection to a similar geological process utterly fascinating. Today I painted outside with my daughter while my husband and son went for a bike ride at Valley Forge National Historical Park. Since I was a child, the view from the ridge where Route 23 cuts through the park has always impressed me. From this little area next to the parking lot of the Washington Memorial Chapel, we could see quite far into the layers of foliage that distinguished themselves chromatically from each other in the midday humidity of August. While the boys rode a loop around the site of the 1777-1778 encampment of Washington's ragtag band of Revolutionary soldiers, my husband stopped and took a picture of our location from the further hill visible behind the third tree from the left. I'm so glad our ancestors decided to preserve this beautiful expanse of land. Our national park system is truly integral to our national identity. I feel pretty comfortable when I do drawing demonstrations for the classes I teach. However, I realize with this painting that I started a few weeks ago as a demonstration for my current outdoor painting class that it's hard to explain what you are doing while you do it! When I paint in watercolor, it's a deeper experience than drawing. The act of explaining does take me out of the zone where I create somewhat spontaneously. In fact, I needed to work on this painting for about 20 minutes without my students watching because I felt that there were some issues that needed to be resolved and I honestly wasn't sure yet how I would address them. I'd say it's mostly finished now, but I've saved several things that I have in mind that I want to show them.. One day my demonstrations will likely be more polished. In the meantime I appreciate the fact that my students accept my vulnerabilities as an authentic part of the process. To practice for my first plein air festival this Saturday in Chestnut Hill, I went out with all of my gear to see if I could paint a 16 x 12 inch painting in one day. What happens at a plein air festival, you ask? Essentially, a few dozen artists will all paint outside at the same time and a judge will award prizes to the best work produced. We will have about 4-5 hours before judging. This sounds like plenty of time, but this painting took me three refills of my parking meter (in all 6 hours) to complete...and I still got a ticket*!!! Lessons learned: paint smaller (or faster) and park in a lot! *Note: Chestnut Hill parking enforcement personnel have a superhuman ability to write tickets the very second your meter expires. Here I go. As I embark on this kid lit adventure, I find it to be so satisfyingly challenging. Not only does it involve writing and art making, but it also requires a deeper synthesis of details than either of those two activities compels by itself.
In 1879, John Muir visited Glacier Bay, Alaska for the first time. He was accompanied by Native Tlingit men and a missionary. To envision this historical narrative I've needed to dive into another world, informed by historical resources (both primary and secondary) and images. In August, I will return to Alaska myself with eyes wide open to fill my story idea with the spirit and the feeling of the place. I can't wait! Hey! It's spring break here in my township so school is out... all week. Needless to say, my studio time has taken a hit but it's been replaced by some time with my kids where I have really had a chance to see how they've grown! Part of the secret to our success has admittedly been the amazing weather we have been having. This first painting is of our new favorite spot at Morris Arboretum...next to the stream and under the weeping cherry trees. We spent an hour there on Monday. The weather has also brought many customers to my son's lemonade and sweet tea stand that he has been managing everyday all week from about 4-5pm. Notably, I also got a new pen, a Pentel color brush, which I bought at the new art store in Chestnut Hill that I finally found last Saturday. It's pretty awesome, both the pen and the store. (And if you are looking for the store, it's called Artist & Craftsman Supply and it is on Germantown Ave, a bit south of Willow Grove Ave, down an alley and in a courtyard.) I've never posted two images in one week, but due to the split vote from my children I am including both paintings I finished today. This second painting features my daughter's terrarium, named Hobette, and three mini figures from my imagination. It is agreed among the kids that Caitlyn is the figure on the left, Dylan is hanging from the rope, and the third figure is Dylan's friend Barry who spent the day at our house today. I can't say that I consciously intended this connection to our day, but I do know that the idea of small people inhabiting these terrariums that I love has been floating in my mind for quite a while. Maybe it is the beginning of something... |
Little Bee:
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