Orchids, Albums, Blue Birds, and not so easy Chinese

​I've begun to enjoy working in these little albums and it seems one project has led to another.  Right now, I am currently working on  a series of little paintings of the fantail goldfish that are summering in my husband's studio here at home until they return with me to school in August. This began as the first, with sketches from life (I use a 2H pencil for underdrawing). Thankfully the watercolor paper of the album is tough enough to with stand light erasing and the blue of the watercolor is a staining pigment so I don't have to worry about "lifting" the color if I erase. But, that might be a fan interesting effect to use with the right subject as well. I'll have to think about non-staining background pigments sometime.  I have an idea for a third album, but I'll leave that for another post, so stay tuned.

So here it is mid summer and I've been enjoying so far what seems to be a quiet summer of small projects.  A few weeks ago, I visited Nature's Way Nursery in Pennsylvania, a kind of bonsai enthusiast's "Mecca" on the east coast.  The generous and kind proprietor opened for a friend and me on a hot Thursday afternoon and gave us a private tour for over two hours.  I'm still digesting everything I saw and learned. Aside from bonsai, (too much and too specific to that art form for this blog where I like to focus on my art work that involves non-living media) I noticed that he had placed his orchids outside in the summer, something I've never done before.  Of course, this makes perfect sense considering our hot humid summers. I was at a loss as to why I hadn't thought of this before, no matter, it was the first thing I did when I returned home.  I was so happy I did because the sticky warmth of a Maryland summer proved to be the orchids' natural habitat and prompted a sudden and spectacular bloom. 

​​For some reason, I had been having difficulty committing to a single sketchbook this summer, so you will notice that my sketches are all on different papers.  I'm not being too dogmatic about it. As long as I'm drawing, I figure. The orchids inspired me to draw. But, this time, I picked up a Japanese album that had watercolor paper.  Last summer, during the pandemic, I took about a dozen of various sized albums stretched them on board with painters tape and created a different background experimenting with watercolor techniques.  From dabbing with paper towel, to salt, the tea staining on watercolor wash, to plastic wrap left to dry on top of wet wash, it was a fun afternoon of "play."  After they dried I refolded them and set them aside for the right subject/day/project.  The orchids proved to be one of those times.  Sketching the orchid over several days, I tried to capture the various forms, colors, and slow gentle motion of the plant and flowers as they grew, bloomed, and turned toward the sun.  The background I chose was a cool blue that had a "broken glass" texture to the wash (from the plastic wrap drying on the wet wash).  This light background texture provided a nice contrast, I hope to the softer geometry of the orchid.  You can see the work here.  Overall, it took about three days to complete. 

When I haven't been painting in Japanese albums, I've been tinkering with printmaking.  I've worked on several rough sketches for some new projects and promise to post those sketches once they are more refined.  Last spring however, I was charmed by a pair of blue birds that fortunately, chose the nesting box on our upper deck as their home to start a family in.  I sketched these little birds from life directly on to the wooden blocks.  This month, I was able to complete carving the blocks and begin test prints.  This is the mokuhanga technique, so I am using watercolor with rice paste and printing with a hand barren on rice paper.  I'm still mastering the art of two color printing, but I'm pretty happy with this little fellow.

​Last but not least, I have been learning how to speak and write a little Chinese.  My wonderful speech teacher has given me a name which means "Purple Clouds at Dawn."  I love the name, but it is almost as difficult for me to write as it is for me to say.  But, to quote someone smarter and wiser than me, "I am always learning."  I will be sure to post my name as soon as I feel I have properly written it. My calligraphy teacher is helping me learn to write my name as well as copy the preface to The Orchid Pavilion. But more about that when my skills and understanding are a bit better.  For now I'll just illustrate this post with the earnest attempts that cover my studio desk. 

The subtlety of tone as well as that of the brush have given me a new appreciation for the range of nuance in human expression.  There are simply tones and lines I am hearing and seeing for the first time.  Recently, I watched the Academy Award winning documentary My Octopus Teacher and I could not help but think about this as I watched the beautiful, subtle relationship grow between two very different lives.  So much of our being is defined by what we see. It seems to me the more we can see the broader and deeper our understanding of our own being and openness to the being of others.  I feel myself growing, but I am not exactly sure how, just enjoying the practice and journey for now.