thelmasmith

Commonly known as Ventura. This is now my home. I’ve a new version of WordPress. I am having trouble figuring out how to send you images. So, let’s do it semantically.

I left the Sonoran Desert last spring after twelve years year round. The climate is extreme, the land is beautiful, and the situation was very good to me and to my husband.

About a year and a half ago I formed a plan for one year, three years, and twenty years. I accomplished the one and three year plan is sixteen months. Age indeterminant has been accomplished. I’ve moved back to the ocean as I had to come back to the water.

I’m about eight blocks from downtown Ventura. I can see the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the end of California Street. I can see the pier that was a working wharf fifty to one hundred years ago.

The view of the town, which was built between about 1860(?) and 1920, most often looks as lovely and peaceful as an oldfashioned christmas card. The old gothic church is just two blocks down the hill. I still have not made it down there for meditation.

I can see the ocean from my deck. It is an ongoing vision of solace. I don’t get down to the beach as often as maybe I should. Looking out the door, sitting on the deck, looking into the floor mirror from the kitchen even gives me a view of the sea.

In August I heard an interview on Bookworm on PBS. An author was speaking about islands and oceans. He said that there is something very expansive about facing open water; psychically and psychologically it teaches your body and your soul that there are no limits.

amen

Thanks to my good friend in Montreal all vestiges of the hack attack have been removed. It is a wonderful thing to have friends you have never seen or hugged. Thank you, thank you! ! ! !

I’ve discovered the media file for WordPress.  When I get figured out how to post my own photos I’ll do that.  For this beautiful Saturday morning with a few clouds, a silvery, glistening ocean and 69ºF, have a wonderful weekend.

OH, and a quick ps.  My daughter just phoned.  I had loaned her my Singer 99K about twenty years ago.  She wanted to know what disposition as I told her it was not hers to get rid of.  It’s being placed in the trunk of my roadster later today.

Did you know that sewing machines are like cats?  All are welcome and we don’t count as all are self sufficient.

I found a two foot cut of Barley Cloth in the box of whites to dye.  Still have not found the card for the other piece.  I expect it is closer to ten yards.  I’ll weigh them to let you know.  Here’s the image of the weave.

Hope this helps.  Next up, once I find the post office information, will be one year and/or multi year sets of magazines that will include free shipping.

In spite of good intentions to write weekly, I’m about ten days out.

Spent the last week in Mount Vernon, Washington.  I went to attend my son and daughter in law’s yard rave.  Wonderful music, skillfully mixed, mashed?, overlaid, and selected was provided by Berto Ross.  He got a big thumbs up from me for taking The Stones You Can’t Always Get WhatYou Want with a heavy drumming back beat from another group of artists.  Lots of good music!

Deirdre,  the mother of my beautiful grandchildren, is an artist in her own right.  I’m sure if you search the link you will find some lovely images.

My daughter, Gabrielle Windsor, was at the rave. Check out her résumé and if you can provide her with a contact, please do.

Her two nearly grown sons did not travel with her.  Check here for lots more images.  She grew up in Port Townsend, Washington, and was one of the original participants in the Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race.

The Mediocrity Award  seemed the best way to reward the artistic efforts at the beginning in 1983.  It remains today.

Enough of old memories.  The Northwest always does that to me.  I am grateful for the years I spent there.  I learned a lot.  It’s nice to visit.  I don’t need to live there any more.

Actually, I need, spiritually and psychically, to live exactly where I am, here in Ventura.  I spent the end of last year and the beginning of this year searching the Pacific coast for just the exactly right small city to live in.

That I found an apartment with an ocean view is a bonus.  I came here willingly and will, no doubt, leave the same way.   No pictures today, the iPhoto says 82 remaining to import.

OH! ! ps,   I will be offering things for sale, here, on the blog.  For the first offering:

White Homespun Barley Cloth

This is 100% cotton; each thread will remind you of kite string.  It has one inch hems on the 92″ wide ends; one selvedge and one zig zagged edge.  It is seven and one eighth yards long.

7 ₁⁄₈  yards

 This  is a spongy drapery cotton.  It is normally used hung crosswize for seamless curtains or made up into drapes.  Homespun House no longer stocks the barley cloth weave; the monks cloth is the closest match.  Barley cloth, originally twice as wide, has more depth and texture.

Contact me if you would like to buy this.  I will scan a sample next week.  I will post the image.   Remember this was originally 110 inches wide and has been washed down to eliminate the shrinkage.  Price is $110 for the whole cut.  Shipping cost (FedEx Ground) will be added.  This is quite heavy; shipping may run as high as $35.  I will charge you my cost plus the cost of the container.   I do take paypal through my website; scroll down from the link.

Sorry for the long sales ramble.  That’s what happens without preplanning.  Keep in touch.  I have a second piece of barley cloth that is similar in size; I’ll have to find the card for that one.

Recently, a colleague asked me if I could republish some of my Sonoran Desert landscape commissions.  Let’s see what I can find on this disk I dugout.

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~ Manos Gallery~
Tubac Arizona Winter Invitational
Open to all media

Feb 28 – March 15   2009
Contact Person: Mary Helen Watson 520-398 8144 manosgallery@msn.com
website manosgallery.com

Juror:  Michaelin Otis LWS, TNWS, NPWS avalonarts.com

CALENDAR: Please keep this Prospectus for reference until the show closes.

ENTRIES and Fees MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN Nov 30, 2008.

Deadline for emailing entry images (digital) Nov 30, 2008

Acceptance notices will be sent out by Dec 15, 2008

Opening Reception: Feb 28  2009— 2 to 4 PM

Last Day of Show: Sunday, March 16  2009

Return of Unsold Work: Monday, March 17, 2009— Prepaid shipping labels required or d

All work must be original, created within the last 2 years and not shown previously in
a juried show in Tubac or surrounding area, including Tucson and Phoenix. Frames can be metal or wood. Wood frames must be simple, classic, and 2 1/3” or less in width. Manos reserves the right to refuse anything too ornate. Plexiglas is required if needed. Mat color should be white or off-white. Colored liner mat (fillet) is OK.  No frame larger than 42” on either side.
All artwork must be for sale.

IDENTIFICATION LABELS: Face back of artwork & place in lower left hand corner. Be sure the information on Entry #1 is identical to that on the Title #1 entry form and that
Entry #2 and Title #2 match also. We suggest you photocopy these in order to keep your
prospectus information intact.

Entry #1                                                                    Entry #2

Artist _____________________________ Artist ______________________________

Title ______________________________ Title ______________________________

Medium ___________________________ Medium_____________________________

Size ________ Price ___________ Size __________Price __________

Presentation:  Work will be rejected from the jury process: any artwork not presented
in a professional manner, appropriate for exhibiting  or not accurately represented by slide or image. Frame carefully, making sure frames are in pristine condition with tight corners and wire that is fastened about 1/3 the height down and has 2 to 3-inch flexibility. Mats must be clean and well cut. Plexi should be damage free and have no foreign matter (i.e.. pet hair, bugs, etc.) underneath. If this sounds daunting, please consult a professional framer.  Manos requests that each entry have a brief bio fastened securely to the back.

Entry Fee: Non-refundable $35 for the first entry and $20 for the second entry, with a maximum of 2 entries for $55 due with entry. Entries postmarked no later than Nov 30 2008. Mail to

MH Watson

747 Via Vanilla

Rio Rico, AZ 85748

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO Manos.
Shipping instructions sent with acceptance card.

Bios: e-Mail a 1-page bio to manosgallery@msn.com.

Juror: The Juror of Selection and Awards will be: Michaelin Otis of Green Valley, AZ.
Check her website at avalonartsgallery.com

Commissions and Awards: A 40% commission from each sale will go to Manos
Please price your paintings accordingly. Cash awards will be given including
the $500 Best of Show  Jurors Recognition $100 and 3 $50 Awards of Merit.

Sales and Shipping Procedure: Sales will be handled by the Manos Staff. Payment for sales to artists will be made by April 1.  All shipping of sold work will be handled by Manos Gallery.

Security and Gallery Features: The gallery carries insurance on these paintings (up to
$150,000 collectively) during the time they are in the gallery. Humidity, temperature, and
lighting are carefully controlled to assure paintings are protected and displayed in the best
professional manner.

Opening Reception and Show Specifics:
Saturday, Feb 28 2009, 2 to 4 PM is our opening reception.
Awards will be presented at that time.
The show will remain open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Subject Matter: Open

Pg 3

Watercolor Invitational ENTRY FORM

Mail to Manos   747 via Vanilla   Rio Rico AZ, Arizona, 85648,
Postmarked no later than Nov 30, 2008. Include a check payable to Manos for $35 for one entry or $55 for two entries. Photocopies are acceptable if you do not want to lose the
Information on the back of the form.

Artist (print)

______________________________(Sign*)_______________________________

*I confirm that the work submitted is my own unique, original creation. It is not copied or
derived, in whole or in major significant part, from the work of another artist and/or photographer without his/her written permission. I also understand that, although all possible care will be afforded each entry, Manos Gallery will not assume responsibility for damage or loss.

Address ______________________________________________________Zip _______

Phone _______________________ Email _____________________________________

TITLE#1_____________________________________ Frame Size _________________

Medium _______________________________________Price _____________________

TITLE #2 _____________________________________Frame Size ________________

Medium _______________________________________ Price ____________________

Brunswick Building Gallery

233 West Railroad Street

Missoula, Montana  59802

new oil stick paintings

Nancy N.Erickson

Four Day Exhibit 2008

Opening:  Thursday, October 2, 5 – 8 pm

                       First Friday, October 3, 1 – 8 pm

                         Saturday, October 4, 11am – 5 pm

                                Monday, October 6, close, 11am – 5pm

                              exhibition will be removed after 5pm

OK, First things first:  Nancy Erickson is one of my heroes.  She has subtly influenced my work for at least ten years.  Click on the image for a larger format.  If you are any where near Missoula, please, go visit the exhibition in my stead; send me thought images through the ozone.

Second:  I believe the address above to be a gallery I visited in Missoula in the mid nineties.  It was filled with art quilts before we were really thinking about them.  The trust of the exhibition  made white cotton gloves available in the absence of human monitors.

Third; What seems like a red herring.  Planet.textilethreads.com provides all sorts of international artists and calls to artists.  I underwrite this site as part of my contributions to my artistic community.

Fourth:  My web master and I have never bluntly or openly asked for voluntary donations to subsidize the continuing stream of information of this site.  I think it is time for each reader to contribute what they can.

Please visit my website and scroll down to the paypal button.  It is grouped with the purchase of the European Edition of Changing the World One Thread at a Time.  You need not purchase the catalog.  You have full decision making power in the amount you wish to donate.

Fifth:  If there is some wonderful philanthropist out there in the audience, I would love to own another of Nancy Erickson’s works.  I have a fondness for her polar bears.  thank you, thelma

American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the National Endowment for the Arts sponsors performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational programs across different art forms that reach large and small communities in all 50 states. For further details see http://www.arts.gov/national/masterpieces/index.html.

The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress announces a new pilot program that will train members of indigenous communities to document their own cultural traditions, archive this heritage for future generations, and undertake the task of protecting their intellectual property rights to these recordings and the traditions they document. The project is a collaboration among the AFC, the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University in North Carolina, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) based in Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-095.html

deadline September 30
Open to all artists living in Arizona, California Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. For the exhibition of the Art of Democracy posters we will be show original print posters, e.g. screen prints or other traditional printmaking. Submit unframed and the Union Gallery will mount in a uniform way. These posters will not be returned. and/or for the Political Art original prints is the primary focus, but we will also accept a variety of work in different media as well. For artists exhibiting original work (who will want it returned) we will need to have an exhibition application. Download it here or at the website.

http://www.union.arizona.edu/csil/gallery/exhibiting.php deadline September 30. Artists who would like to submit are encouraged to contact Holly Brown at brownhb@email.arizona.edu or at the gallery, 520-621-6142.

a national women’s art exhibition – deadline August 1
Sponsored by the Oakland Community College Womencenter, Farmington Hills, Mi., From Our Perspective is accepting digital entries, with a deadline of August 1st. This juried exhibit will feature women artists and will include two- and three-dimensional works of art.  The Juror, Susan Goethel Cambell, lives and works in Detroit, Mi. and has work in many public and private collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The New York Public Library, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Toledo Museum of Art and The University of Michigan Special Collections Library. Fee: $25 for up to 3 works. Awards: Best of Show $800.00, President’s Award $250.00 and a Purchase Prize of $250.00 (for smaller pieces).  To view full prospectus, and to upload images online, go to www.oaklandcc.edu/womencenter/artshow.htm.  Exhibit runs Sept. 18-Oct. 10 2008.  Please contact Arlene Frank with any questions at womenart@oaklandcc.edu