I am turning each door into an interior wall with a view out of a window. Each one is different. Each one can “stand” alone visually or with one or all of the other panels. I will connect them all with hinges to form a free-standing screen

Yesterday was the “Dirt Show” at the N Space in Baton Rouge.  I participated happily, having dreamed for weeks that I would build a Gaudi-esque wall out of my cubic yard of dirt.    I enlisted the help of a friend, Jamye St. Romain, to assist me in creating a mosaic covered side of a pile of dirt that I shaped a little bit by mixing water in the dirt and moving it around.  So at 8 am I started.  It was about 43 degrees and windy. I had my thermos of coffee.  

My pile of Dirt. In the parking lot. In front of my studio.

The beginning of the mosaic. Bowls of glass shards.

 

More glass, more mortar, the color will be coming around the mountain.

 

 

 

 

Mark Nikoff, the mastermind of the idea of the Dirt Show (and of the N Studios), moved wheelbarrows full of dirt on the night before the project so that they lined up along the curb in front of the studios.

Jamye and I had fun cutting colored glass as we ran out.

 

 

Nearing Completion.

Here I am with my assistant, Jamye St. Romain, who spent over four hours helping “Gaudi-fy” this pile of dirt.  It was a windy, shady, 43 degrees.  But the fun of creating kept us going, along with hot coffee.

A long view of the piles of dirt and some of the projects along the curb in front of the studios.

The final version, all cleaned up. In the end, we won the prizes of future publicity in the magazine "Our Louisiana" and a gift certificate for Mestizo's Mexican Restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Between Land and Sea" and "Moon in the Garden"

Last night at the Grapevine Cafe and Gallery in Donaldsonville, we had an opening of the show — “Moon in the Garden” art by two sisters Sheryl Southwick and Billie Bourgeois.  This is a shot in the front of the space.

In the back of the restaurant, just in front of the wine cellar, there are about seven works.  Here you see two by Sheryl on the left and one on the right by Billie.

This is the opposite wall from the above picture.  I love the brick walls.  Here are four pastels by Sheryl.  These are in a very nice dining area separated a little from the rest of the restaurant.  The table accommodates a larger party.

Four Pastels by Sheryl

Four by Sheryl

In the front dining room, as you walk in on the left you would see these four of my works on paper.  The white mats really set the colorful works off very nicely from the brick wall.  People are happily dining on the delicious food served by fabulous people!  After a very short time the place was packed with diners and art and music lovers, not an empty chair to be found.

And all the while, we were being treated to the wonderful jazz sounds of the Bill Kimbrell Trio!  Feasting for the ears, the eyes and the mouth — soul-full all around!

The artworks will hang until November 6.

http://www.grapevinecafeandgallery.com/calendar_art.html

On August 6, I went to Fly’s Coffee House at 109 N. Main in Breaux Bridge to sketch the musicians who were playing at the Cajun Jam Session.  I took the sketch home and started a painting from it last Friday.

The fun thing is that there were two boys sitting outside the window.  I haven’t nearly finished this.    I’m looking forward to developing it.

I am painting with acrylic on 22×30″ Folio paper from Art Supply Warehouse.

Tonight I made another work in the series that is on the wall of the studio.  I used a small thumbnail to work from.  

Yesterday I worked three hours on the two totems. More mortar, more water and rubber gloves. I broke many bits of glass for the more slender one which is going to be totally glass. The first one is covered with broken pottery. My next door studio friend Linda supplies me with leftover bits from her stained glass work. I am able to cut the thicker pieces of glass with tile cutters.

Here are some of the pots glued head to head, then stacked.  With this number of pots, I should be able to make several totems.

Most of the pots are about 6″ across the top.

There are a couple of different shapes.

Here the first shards are attached to the pots with mortar.

The totem starting out.

Another view. I worked about 3 hours on the totem today.
The mosaics hanging on the wall are made of broken ceramic shards.