summer's a time to relax

Another lovely New Hampshire summer day - warm, sunny, blue sky. I'm sure we'll spend most of the afternoon relaxing on the back deck, in and out of the pool, and watering the vegetable garden. Before I leave tomorrow, I have to pack the rest of my supplies for "Book Arts Gone Wild" workshop this week.

I've almost finished my oil spill pages. Here are samples from my students: The chicken on the left is saying, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling ! Oh, no it's the BP oil rig !!!"

DAILY HAIKU 2009

On June 26 last year, I visited Barbara Tebo and stopped on my way home to see Ray LaBranche. She was in mid stage Alzeimer's and he had had triple by-pass. She was the secretary at Newfields Elementary when I taught third grade and the JP for my wedding (in 1978). He's the father of two of my students from the same time.

Two simple, layered areas connected by the text are made of scraps of vellum, tracing paper and scrapbooking paper.

blue and green

As I lounged with my legs in the sun after a dip in the pool I was struck with how blue the sky is today and how green the trees are. The big old pines have a different green than the catalpa trees.
I have used the two colors together in several quilts. Here are two of my favorites: "Deer Meadow"

and "Birdfeeders from Another World". The latter I started in a class on isometric perspective with my friend Dianne.













DAILY HAIKU 2009

June 25, 2009

I traveled with Ila and Anne to Dartmouth College in Hanover to see the exhibit on Native American baskets at the Hood Gallery. We also saw some lovely textiles from Indonesia.



I used a postcard from the exhibit cut into fragments. I used text from the brochure for the Haiku:




visual dailogue
Maine Wabanaki baskets
Tapis from Lampung

The background has edges of ink pads and a border of X's.

today, yesterday, last week, next week, last year

Two weeks ago today we were well on our way to Gainesville, Florida. We left about 4:00am and drove to St. Paul's NC - just south of Fayetteville- to stop for the night around 6:00pm. Last week I was recuperating. I had left school on Wednesday feeling really lousy and since I had had the hospitalization, I decided to take it easy until I felt completely rested.

Today it's overcast and thundershowers are predicted. I'm meeting a friend to walk around town shortly. I hope to get more weeding done, since I'll be away next week.

A year ago, the 24th was our last day of school and it was raining:

DAILY HAIKU 2009

I used a stencil for the lettering and shaded the letters.

Scraps of tracing paper and a dark green commercial paper add some interest.

My crooked writing works for this entry

more rain fell today

it's difficult to imagine

so much rain falling

and it balances the dark green paper.The border repeats the words"last day of school".

Next Thusday is the last day of June and I'll be in Manchester. I packed about half the supplies I need for the workshop yesterday.

rainy day - finally !!!

It's a rainy day, the first in a long time, and I'm organizing the supplies for next week's Summer Institute in Manchester at the Institute of Art. I'm signed up for a single workshop all day for four days. "Book Arts Gone Wild" is the title. The list of suggested supplies is a whole page; luckily I have most of them. I'm taking "365 DAILY HAIKU 2009" to share.

This is the kind of day I needed to get some clutter dealt with in my studio, also. Several small pieces and some fabrics that I had at school need to be put away. A pile of papers, which includes the artist signs that denote which table kids sit at, and old notebooks wait to be stored or tossed.

Of course, I'll probably get side tracked on some Art Journal pages and the photos I took this morning. The oriental lilies are lovely. The Japanese irises in garden #1 have gone by, but the white ones in garden #7 are at their peak. The daylilies are blossoming also. The changing blossoms signal the passage of time.


DAILY HAIKU 2009 June 23
With so many days of rain, I came up with new ways to make the word. This was done by rubbing over the letters with pencil then outling them. I used tracing paper. I accented one side of each letter for depth with a black marker. The text is written with a calligraphy pen on vellum. The border of thin rectangles is with pencil and marker.




another rainy day
slugs and bugs invade gardens
chewing and slimy

rain, scraps, gardening

Today is a lovely day, sunny, dry and warm. Deezel and I walked 3 miles. I then watered some transplants and cleared more of the trees that slowly fill behind the shade garden (# 2). I like to see the outcropping of rocks. I came across a large jack-in-the-pulpit with a shiny green seedpod. It will be brilliant red in the fall.

I moved a digitalis from an odd place where it had survived. I have pink ones already. This one is a creamy white. It'll look good in its new spot in garden #1.
A quick dip, a little pool cleaning and I'm refreshed for some afternoon relaxation.


The flower pots are looking good. I trimmed the coleus and pushed the cuttings into the soil. I have to keep the soil wet for them to root.
DAILY HAIKU 2009
June 22
Rain being the overwhelming theme for the month, I used the words in "bubble" letters and used the usually first line as the last one for the text.
foxgloves standing tall
deep pink bells on pointy stalks
rain, rain, go away

This entry consists of a pile of scraps with a random feel. It has a scrap from another sketchbook- where it's on the spiral binding - a piece of tracing paper with some purple ink on it and a commercial scrapbook paper. Tiny lines create a textured border.

2010
Since today is totally lovely, I'm taking a magazine, some sewing and some ice tea to the back deck. Later, I'll get some new garden photos.

summer starts,

My last day of school was last week, but I'm going in today to finish the summer cleaning. I was just exhausted on Wednesday and, after my experience the week before, since I felt lousy,decided to come home and get some rest.
We have some loose ends to tie up from the event also; the hotel's insurance company hasn't been very accessible. We did give a summary of the event to the home office.
I finished Susan's gift "book box". It came out very well. I didn't have time to photograph it, sadly. I used a gift box from Coldwater Creek. It was a perfect size and shape, about 3" x 5" and 3/4" deep. I'm not sure where I can buy plain boxes with those dimensions. I think I'll create a series over the summer. After today's chores are done, I'm planning on finishing some long "in the works " pages in my art journal.
Next week I'll be in Manchester at the Institute of Art for a week. I'm signed up for a workshop called "Book Arts Gone Wild". They hold this Art Educators' Summer Institute every year. I went two years ago. The workshop I'm in this year is all day for 4 days !!!
Of course, I'll be away when some of my flowers will be at their peak. The oriental lilies have opened as have the Japanese Irises. I'll get photographs. My own work for the summer will include a watercolor sketchbook of the flowers in my garden.


DAILY HAIKU 2009 A year ago today ....


We got together for Susan's birthday, so I used a portion of the stamp I'd used all year for get togethers. And of course the weather kept me inside so no walk, no gardening...
Rain, rain, go away
Heavy drops collect and hang.
Where is the blue sky?


When I bound the book for 365 Haiku, I inserted mat board pages to help stabilize the slippery pages. I placed them at the seasons' change. This is the one for summer. I tried to photograph them after the book was bound - not the greatest plan. I used the leaf and bird stamps. For a frame, I used a portion of the gold ink pad.
This solstice marker has some summer and spring elements.

last day of spring

It's warm, but overcast today. Showers are predicted. We took a shorter walk than usual, we all felt the heavy air. Deezel's tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth. I watered our fledgling cukes, tomatoes, lettuce and the bean seeds.


I'm working on a box book for my sister-in-law's birthday. I'm using some lovely papers with burgundy and gold as the color scheme. I made an accordion book of heavy paper. I'll attach each end into the box - one end into the cover and the other into the bottom of the box. Each page or spread becomes a canvas. I've made them as gifts before. I admired the one I made for Anne before I realized it was my work !!!


DAILY HAIKU 2009
June 20
The text is self explanatory - we had so few sunny days in June of 2009.
Each was a celebration. I drew this sun making it similar to the spiral stamp. The green is the edge of a square stamp pad.

still on catch-up mode

Well, a week ago I woke up in Shands Hospital in the cardiac unit, with a heart monitor in my johnny pocket and a growling in my belly. The coffee and graham crackers were meager, but yummy. I knew I was fine and would be at Aaron's wedding, even though it would be in the mid 90's.

The Kanapaha Botanical Gardens were lovely. I took quite a few pictures.

This is one of the koi in the pond.

At home, today, it's 67 degrees, with 80's in the forecast. I plan to weed gardens # 1 & 2, plant annuals in pots , one for near the mailbox and one for the steps. I also have fuschia and impatient cuttings to plant.

This is garden #1. Luckily, the weeds are green and blend in with non-weeds.

I'm sure I'll be in the pool.

DAILY HAIKU 2009
June 19
This visual says it all. I used the first two words of the poem as the artwork with one a reflection. I made them with a stencil. The vertical lines are thin pieces of a vellum. I made a textured border with pencil.

A break in the rain allowed Deezel and I to walk through the woods.
The white spokes on this Japanese paper reminded me of umbrellas. I continued the curved bands of color and the flowers with colored pencil.

Florida and back in 5 days

We arrived back in NH on Tuesday, home after picking up Deezel from Diana's Dog Inn in East Kingston, about noon. Roger mowed so we could enjoy being outside. Florida was so hot. We went to Gainesville for nephew Aaron's wedding at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. We had uneventful trips South and North, a marvelous time at the wedding, and in between I was hospitalized for 24 hours.
It's too long a story for here, but suffice it to say that when a flea/bedbug bomb is used by a hotel, they need to allow a long, long time before they sign someone into that room. People with respiratory problems can be close to not breathing due to the dispersants in the bomb. This was a Red Roof Hotel, by the way.

We slept late for us this morning, took the dog for a walk and while I wait for a call from the insurance company, Roger's gone to visit a customer who's recuperating from triple by-pass. I'm enjoying Georgia peaches and catching up.


DAILY HAIKU 2009



The verse says it all -
a single day of
sun everyone celebrates -
oh joyous warm rays

The visual is composed of scraps of scrapbooking paper, highlighted with yellow stamped suns and a single orange spiral.
The rain continues.

June 16, 2009
A single scrap of green paper and some white dots with vellum and the verse over it are surrounded by the word rain written repeatedly.

The verse notes another day of not having an image or text readily available from my notes.

June 15, 2009

The writing is with a white out pen:
Rain, rain, go away.
Three days of rain with no sun.
I'm growing gills.

I wrote the letters for the word on vellum, cut them out and glued it to the card.








More large lettering and simple verse:


The standing letters for a single word are the visual.I lettered them freehand, crosshatched inside each and lightly made vertical lines in the background.
Rain, rain go way
slosh through the green grass puddles
Where do the frogs live?

For some reason, I used an envelope to contain some bright orange paper, wrote the verse on the envelope and stamped an orange spiral.
One fine sunny day
between the several days

of rain, now sunny.

June 12, 2009

A repeated portion of the text suggests how repetititive the weather was becoming. I used a silvery grey stamppad on its edge for the lines. The text is the image:
Rain, rain go away.
White peonies droop with the
water's extra weight.

Haiku # 162 June 11, 2009

Words, sounds, imagery,

noting of each day's events

using syllables.

I made vertical lines all over the card and added two clusters of bamboo-like leaves. I wrote the text on tracing paper. The top border has simple shapes and the bottom is noting the number of the entry repeatedly. The text is on tracing paper.

June 10,2009
The piling of several days' scraps became a favorite technique for creating a visual. this has tissue, tracing and scrapbook papers. the sharpedged horizontal piece is a piece of cardstock. A few dots from paper punches and a pencil border soften its severity somewhat.

The text outlines the shape created by the visual.

numerals and dates

It's a very cool, dry morning. Everyone's enjoying a cool morning pace. The grey cat, Zoey, sleeps and snores gently. The white fluffy cat, Buck Wheat, paces looking for some mischief. Zeek sleeps up in her usual spot on our bed. Deezel sulks as he is restricted to inside because he's discovered the little woodchucks living under the garden shed. His interest seems more than curiousity.
Our walk will be to go to the garage to pick up my car. I'll have some art time when I return, I hope. Then I'll go to school. Lots of end of the year preparations to finalize.

DAILY HAIKU 2009
This entry combines the numbers for the date and the retrun of the rain. I used a stencil for the numbers and filled them with lines made with a
unibal marker. The card was first stamped with a Cat's Eye ink pad. The repitition of the numbers creates a texture on either end. The text is written on tracing paper. A scrap of a page from a small sketchbook balances the numbers and text at the top.
magic numbers make
a pattern of shapes and curves
six o nine o nine


The other numeral based work was on 3/03/09 - Square Root Day















June 8, 2009







This is another entry based on the text. The background's texture is a combination of the edge of a stamp pad and the text written several times with a purple gel pen. The flowers white ink outlined with a white out pen. The date serves as an additional texture written at the bottom using a calligraphy pen. It includes the day.

too busy for art

It's been a busy morning - walked the dog, vacuumed the house and car, got a manicure, treated myself to gazpacho at the Loaf'n Ladle in Exeter, dropped the car at the garage for an oil change, walked the dog home and am finishing a second load of laundry. I also skimmed all the pine things off the pool,swept the deck, and cleaned three coolers. I need a nap. Or a dip..
It's a perfect day, but if I'm going to go for a quick dip,I'll need the sun to dry off and warm up.

DAILY HAIKU 2009
I attached another partial page from a small sketchbook. It has a list of plants written in purple that ran when it got wet. I wrote the text on a piece of vellum with pale pink and red petals on it.Portions of the text frame the card on three sides and include the date.


This entry is text only. I planted the large pots I use around the gardens as the perennials fade and I need some color. I used a white out pen for the white frame and some shapes in the center.

obsessed with peonies

The gentle rain of early morning transformed into a thunder storm then returned to gentle rain. I picked three more peony stalks last night. The bouquet is lovely. I did a pencil sketch of it in the studio window (a la Pierre Bonnard).Here's a photo of the arrangement. I'm not the first person to fall in love with an arrangement of peonies - just google its images.
I wish I had more skill with watercolors, guess it's time to work on that. My summer plans include keeping a watercolor journal.

Work in my art journal has come to a halt - stuck on the immense horror of the oil spill and its destruction and long term consequences. Maybe it's too big a subject to tackle on such a small scale. All those animals and people whose lives are gone and torn apart.
I cried at the news last night when they showed the pelicans struggling to walk and then talked to some kids of the area. Too tragic for my poor skills.

I'm hanging on to the incredible beauty of the peony blossoms representing the beauty of the earth.

DAILY HAIKU 2009
Another day of rain depicted with a piece of purple tissue and white tissue painted purple. The word "rain" written with a Flair pen frames the vellum with writing on it. (I could write the same verse for June 4 of 2010)












June 4, 2009

This technique I saw in one of the many books on collaging. I used the paper from another sketchbook and highlighted the edge where it was in the binding. One piece is painted with a Crayola paint brush. The top piece is the oyster color. A piece of scrap tissue links the two together and provides a writing surface. I like the gold paper scraps.The long rays of the morning sun has a magical way of lighting up the forest with its new foliage.
quick walk through the woods
trees have big leaves, shaded path
into the unknown

peonies in the rain

I ran out in the rain as it was starting to photograph and pick some peonies. They don't survive heavy rains or winds. It looked like we would have both. I picked three branches to enjoy.
luscious white petals
gathered together,briefly
with subtle fragrance

teaching routine

It's a cool, overcast morning again. Perfect for dog walking and some gardening. My peonies are lovely. I'll post photos later.
I've been asking my art students to share a favorite piece of work from their portfolios. It's been great to see their work. I have to get into the discipline of photographing their work to complete a website.
It's mainly a matter of time - sharing takes about 20 minutes, they like a "studio" time to work and then they have to clean up. I'm thinking of stretching the routine I've used in the past. The pattern will be week 1 - short lesson and work time , week 2 studio(I'll take a status of what each is doing) , week 3 write ,share & photo. Wish I could change the school schedule so I would have hour long classes.

DAILY HAIKU 2009 As I post these photos, I am curious as to why they look unsettled. I do like the way they look together...
June 3

iris, columbine
clematis, sweet faced pansy
wild geranium
The background is stamped with a square pad on its edge, covered with green vellum and the tissue is colored purple with Crayola paintbrushes.




mixes of purples
flourish in the gardens and
punctate the greens
I'm not sure why it looks stormy.
I stamped a scrapbook paper and attached it to the card. I tore the card in half and taped it on the back. I'm not sure why... Maybe the movement is from the vitality of late spring gardens.

one month leads seamlessly to another

Today begins as a cool, overcast day. Rain is predicted, which is fine, we need it. I should water the house plants that are outside. I picked one of the peony blossoms because if it does rain, they get heavy. It is perfectly beautiful.
I'm off to school this afternoon - I have portfolios packed for kids to take home. Hopefully, each one will corral a family member to share the work. Pieces of portfolio work have corresponding sketches and writing in their sketchbooks.
Yesterday was overcast most of the morning. We had smoke from Canada in the air. The afternoon was sunny and lovely - warm in the sun, cool in the shade. We had several guests.
On my walk, I picked up trash. I can't do much about the oil spill, but I can respect and care for my little piece of this beautiful planet.I filled the bag in no time... sadly.
Why do people throw ice coffee cups and plastic bags out as they are driving?
DAILY HAIKU 2009

I printed an odd shape of ephemera to texture the background with green.Why did I use it? Where did it come from? I drew simple iris shapes, colored them purple and added leaves. The text fills the background with another green. The day and date are written out and enumerated along the bottom edge in purple.

MAY ends -----------------------
Why did I choose the icey blue wrapping paper to be May's background? It's sparkly, like May can sometimes be, but it seems wintery. It appealed to me at the time. The month is a clear sticker. I like color behind it, and kept the month's entries simple as each month ended.


This consists of some scraps from prior work and an ad. The writing asks the question that led me to do some daily art - where does each day, each month each year go? Now I have 2009 captured in art.
The date has become more a part of the image.