As we watch...

what is going on in the United States right now, I am reminded that learning to love others is an ongoing process, not only in the US, but around the world.  We are none of us free of the tyranny of racism, judgement, intolerance and injustice.

It seems to me that we could all pay attention to those traits in ourselves,

and if we'd

we could

The more we practice love, the more we understand that we are all one

 and that

How do you practice love - in your artwork, in your life?  Do you have some tips for eradicating racism, judgement, intolerance and injustice?  I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

You could be forgiven...

...for thinking, after viewing this post, that Valentine's day is fast approaching.  Given the heat and fiery skies, that's definitely not the case.

We will make love an art and we will love like artists.  Marianne Williamson

It's my meditations that are taking on the heat, so I've been playing with hearts and love for the past week.  I tore a mask or two,

and burnt a stencil,

and before I could stop myself, there were hearts and love everywhere.

Art must be an expression of love or it is nothing.  Marc Chagall

The art of love is who you share it with.  Neil Diamond

The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing
more artistic than to love others.  Vincent van Gogh

Art is where work meets love.  workisnotajob

People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary
 to understand, when it's simply necessary to love.      Claude Monet

In art, as in love, instinct is enough.  Anatole France  

Some are in my journal, some are on the wall, and there are many more in the works. As I find more fabulous quotes (all, so far by artists of one type or another), I'll add to the pile.

So here's your quest for the week - do you have favourite quote about love and art?  I'd love to know about it.  I think having a half-day playshop ready here for locals to create their own heart-centered artwork would be a great idea, especially if it were ready for January and armed with quote ammunition.  

Send me your quote(s) in the comments below, or to the email top right.  I'll pick a name from a hat on September 15 and gift the winner one of these heart pieces or a spot in the class just for fun.

As we wind down...

...the playtime and ramp up for Valentine's Day, it was obvious that we'd have to do a heart-filled morning of play.  Of course, I discovered that in my Purge to the Max I'd cleaned out most of my red/pink/purple paper (or did I use it all?!).  This necessitated a Gelli-printing session, always a fun way to lose a day.

With lace,

a plate, and my trusty brayer (along with a journal for cleaning it),

I made several sheets of paper and some tags to start the day off right.

With a supply of paper, tags and ephemera, the excitement was high.

Linda M was as colourful as the paper, 

and Deni dressed for the theme - gorgeous, right?

 Lynne was a whirlwind and had half a dozen pieces made before we could even blink!

I was drooling over the results from all of us.  Here they are, with Deni's first three (I may have missed two or three of hers),

a couple of beauties from Linda, 

 and a host from the ever-prolific Lynne.

These are mine, although I think I've misplaced my 'Quiet Colour Brush' somewhere in the madness.  The good part is that I've obviously retained the Wilfully Wonky look everywhere, right Linda?

The funny thing is that I don't see a piece of paper lace anywhere, nor any of that oh-so-carefully-created paper.  What's with that?  It just goes to show that you can't trust artists of any ilk!

Catch me up on your doings in the comments below...I'd love to hear about all of your Love Projects!

Tic Tac Toe...

is finally below.  I've been playing with these nine 4 x 4 x 1 1/2 canvasses for what seems like eons.  I started with the small pieces on a Gelli play day, covering the sides and front with some lively patterns.  In a later session I added some palette paper layers and a 'word of the day' to each.

Over the weeks, I've added bits of paper, additional text and goodness knows what else to the point where they're finally done.

Now that the photo session is done I've learned two things:

1)  that 'Play Kid' needs a much better haircut, and  2)  I'm already itching to start another set.  Where did I put that Gelli plate?

If you want to see what the Gelli plate is all about, I'm doing a couple of demos here in town this week.  

Why not pop over to the college on Friday and take a peek?  Oh, and buy some plants while you're at it...I know there are some heritage tomatoes (and much more) for sale!