Art workshop at Joan's

I have a wonderful neighbor named Joan who is an artist. She creates colorful monotypes- very beautiful.

My daughter, my painting buddies, and I recently spent the day at Joan's workshop. It was super fun. She had a lot of sunflowers in bloom and she invited her art friends to come down and capture them in the media of our choice. There were about 15 of us that spent the day creating. It was interesting to see how different each of us chose to work; different compositions, different media, different set ups... everyone was unique! I still haven't finished my painting- but I will! You can see what I have done so far on the top right- those of you that know how I paint know that it won't look anything like this in the end. I drew all over it with a sharpie, so we'll see what happens with that! It seemed like a good idea at the time :-)

Joan also demonstrated oil pastels. She has such a bubbly enthusiasm for her artwork, it's just fun to be around her. I also really liked how she put up artist quotes on stakes all over her yard, and each stake had a cheerful little stuffed flower at the top- it was cute! Thanks Joan for a great day!

Toledo

Just took a family trip to Toledo. We went to the zoo, the Mudhens game, and the Art Museum. I'm hoping to capture some of it in drawings and paintings. I really love Toledo! There are the cutest polar bear cubs right now. They make you remember how much fun life is, they romp around with such joy! The animals are fun but don't miss the garden! The zoo has the absolute best gardens around. The gardener there is amazing, he is so knowledgeable. Last year he gave me some seeds from an unusual plant called "Love in a Puff". The seeds actually have a heart on them. He has a huge collection of colleus, roses, and many more perreniels. The trimming and pruning is scrupulous. Flowers are a favorite subject of mine in my art work.
We had a Mexican dinner on the river, very pretty and relaxing. The Mudhens game was fun, they won! The weather was perfect!
At the Art Museum there was a Warhol show. I especially liked the prints on the glittery paper- diamond dust. Might be fun to try to replicate that with my art students...
I love the Vasarely, Close, Marisol, there. I love Picasso's woman with the crow- has to be one of my all time faves. and Cezanne, what's not to love... What a great day! What a great trip! I'm so lucky that the whole family loves this type of thing. Go Mudhens!