Maine Snow Storm Forces Art Students to Paint

Roof #9, acrylic on 8 x 10 canvas board
Roof # 10, acrylic on 8 x 10 canvas board
Roof #11 acrylic on 8 x 10 canvas board

The snow here in Maine is crazy big. Crazy I say. I haven't seen this much snow in years. My back aches and my shovel cries when I just think about moving all of it. But, when life gives you snow storms make lemonade, right? The saying goes something like that.

Tuesday night the Heartwood gang decided it was Cranium night. We ordered pizza and sat around the dorm's kitchen table and played a rousing game involving acting, drawing with your eyes closed, humming and other oddities. It was fun and my team won. As we entertained ourselves inside the storm brewed outside. Soon I was snowed in.

All's well, the Heartwood teacher lives down the road a mile or two and she determined if we made the coffee she would come over and do the weekly critiques. Yes, small Maine colleges can do this kind of thing. We are on the tail end of a three week intensive course and the many snowstorms we've endured this season has created some major interruption and we needed to get at it and get it done!

Borrow a pillow, lend a blanket, steal a towel and toothpaste and VOILA I am a ready made pajama party~ The next day I was first up and first to break out the paints. By noon the teacher had made it out of her very snowed in driveway and was on her way over. I'd done one and a half paintings by then and it was critique time.

For me this intensive has been painful. I don't consider myself a painter even though I do paint. I have a steep and dangerous learning curve going on and it is, in one word...PAINFUL. I don't like my results and I'm kind of scared to post them here, but I'm going to do it for the sake of art and for the sake of CED08.

SIZE DOESN'T MATTER is a lovely art show coming up at Heartwood. Heartwood, by the way, has a public gallery. They do four shows of local artists and a smattering of shows of students and faculty. SIZE DOESN'T MATTER is an annual event and is a well attended show. A few students, a few local artists and some faculty show in this one. All pieces are under 25 square inches. It runs February 18-March 21 with the opening reception being February 20 at 4:00. If any of you New Englanders want to meet me there, just speak up I am at School on Wednesday's anyway so it would be great fun!

On the homefront things are settling down. I believe I have located my new digs. I believe I have sold my restaurant. I believe life is starting anew. The power of positive thinking, following my intuition and listening to the ever present inner voice has served me well. I'm coming out of hiding soon, blasting out of my self-imposed prison.

This elephant jammed into a box was a fun little thing I did while viewing When Harry Met Sally. Yeah, I'm a little slow about getting caught up with my movie watching.

And oh, Happy Valenetine's Day! I hope you got something sweet from someone sweet. I had fun making some greeting cards for the special folks in my life, and who doesn't love Dove chocolates?