A few days ago we came back from Japan. 2 weeks of fun that made me feel like I was gone 6 month ! This is a picture of me in a kimono, well the obi part which you won't believe but it actually measures 18 feet long! I was offered to wear this beautiful kimono at a very special wedding we attended in Kyushu at a place called Huis Ten Bosch that is actually a complete dutch town with brick buildings, harbors, canals and locks, hotels, restaurants, shops, wind mills, flowers everywhere and outside of it my beloved Japan, I already know I'll be back there soon. My head is still in Japan but nevertheless...
This weekend I am holding my Annual Sale and Open House 2009, by invitations, I hope you got yours in the mail, (if not please let me know) and I am almost set up ! It opens at 1pm tomorrow ! I have a lot to show AND I am showing my original pastel paintings as well, I am really excited about it and my house is now just for 2 days, an Art Gallery ! How much fun can that be ?! :-)
They are all I think about. I am fascinated by clouds. As I am driving, I study the sky and the colors and the light in the trees deciding in my head what pastel color would match what I see. Painting is really seeing and noticing.
When did you start painting?
Painting and drawing I have done since I was a child and later at Art School in La Chaux-de-Fonds I had about 15 hours of drawing per week for 4 ½ years beside jewelry classes and other subjects. Over the years, I mainly did jewelry design. I also enjoyed painting with watercolor pencils but I felt that I had not found the right medium for me yet.
When I tried pastel painting at first, it seemed daunting as it looked like you needed so many sticks and all that dust, but the colors, ah, the colors…so bright and intriguing. I saw extraordinary pastel paintings by John Vistaunet at Gallery by the Bay and was amazed that one could paint such details with pastels. Then I got to see Janet Hamilton’s beautiful pastels and bought a little painting of hers at the Studio Tour on Camano Island.
Last Spring I went to see a Pastel Show at the Blue Horse Gallery in Bellingham and told the owner that I wish I would do pastel too but it was overwhelming to start. I wanted to paint clouds. He encouraged me to go ahead and just buy a very few pastels and that I didn’t need to get a 1000 of them to start! That was the nudge I needed. One rainy day I dashed over to Dakota Art Supply and got started! La Conner Art Workshops were offering a class by Teresa Saia on Painting clouds, my dream! That was last June and this is when I really started to paint. June 5th 2009!
How is painting different from designing jewelry?
Oh, very different and a whole lot simpler! To me, Jewelry has to be functional and I take a great deal of effort to make sure the piece is tailored to the wearer in style and shape. Even jewelry I create from an idea and not for someone in particular must be easy to wear. When I hear my customers say – Oh, I wear it all the time - It makes me happy. Pastel painting gives me joy and a refuge of quiet time and freedom. Jewelry is serious business!
What do you like most about pastels?
I completely lose the sense of time, I can paint until 3 am without knowing it and not be tired, it is quiet and the colors are so rich and steady, it is like a treasure hunt to get the color you need.
How do you choose your subject for a painting?
I love clouds and trees, especially if there is a special mood from the light. I’ll be going on a trip to Switzerland and another one to Japan soon and I plan to take lots of pictures.
What is inspiring you these days as an artist?
My inspiration has always come from being quiet, sitting at my desk and staring out the window. If I need to create jewelry for someone then I do the same but I think of that person until shapes and ideas come to me. I daydream a lot. Emotions inspire me, from color, from music from joy from fragrances.
Has your new exploration in painting had an impact on your jewelry design?
Yes, I want to use more texture on the jewelry as if I was shading or coloring. I have continued the theme of clouds into my jewelry design since clouds are my main painting subjects. Also my love for detail yet simplicity seem to work for jewelry and pastel painting.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I am thankful and excited to be showing my paintings and jewelry in one show. Stanwood is a special place for me as this is where I arrived when I first came to this country and where I met my husband.
How exciting, this year I'll be in the middle of the Anacortes Arts Festival in the center of the street facing North- Space 614 C (center). Between 6th and 7th Street. Please come and see my new work and chatt !
I am looking forward to a new booth presentation this year as I will be showing a few Pastel Paintings that will complement my jewelry pieces. I love to paint clouds and for ever study clouds when I am driving, a dangerous new hobby ! I have many Shows lined up all the way to next year, Art by the Bay on Camano July 11-12, Art on the Town in Bellevue July 24-26, The Anacortes Arts Festival August 7 - 9, then the Fall and winter Shows, I don't want to even think of those yet :-) I am looking forward to see many of you at any of those shows my dear customers and friends !
After month of not being able to focus on my jewelry because of illness in the family, I am glad to be getting back to work with a feeling of back to "normal" ! The Spring is coming I heard the robins celebrating with a new song today, how good it feels. New ideas and new energy for all, lets create !
Time to tell you about my next show coming up in Stanwood, WA. Sept. 19th,20th and 21st . It is a wonderful show organized by The American Association of University Women, Stanwood-Camano Branch. See more details in my UP COMING SHOW section. I'll have a jewelry show case with new pieces and will be present at the Show, Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. Hope to see you there.
Anacortes Arts Festival 08 is now. Here is one of the new pieces I am showing this weekend. 14KY - Sterling Silver - Blue Chalcedony 39.14 Ct and Ruby Necklace that I have named "Pétale Bleu" for the shape of a petal and the beautiful blue color. Isn't it happier to call it petal shaped instead or tear drop ?
Back from the Show, ( Art by the Bay), I unwrapped my big painting by Joan Enslin. We traded. It was going to be perfect for the guest house... so I thought... In our small house what a big painting ! Wow ! It is so beautiful it has to be right here where we can see it . ( Unless I move to the guest house !? ) I am taking one picture down , moving another and voila right there in the dining room, I start crying it is so vibrant with joy and color a magnificent bouquet of roses I now want to put it everywhere it would be gorgeous anywhere in the house ! My whole house is uplifted I feel the radiant joy immediately it is unbelievable I just have to tell someone, too late to call Joan tonight. "Put Art in your house and in one second lift the whole spirit to a higher level", everyone knows that , it happened to me before but not like tonight. It took me by surprise, awesome ! Thank you Joan your Art is doing wonders.
Thank you Marie for going beyond what is expected to to help me with my beautiful Marie-Claire designed jewelry. I am so happy with it. Thank you also for your wonderful words. Joan Enslin
-- Joan Enslin, 10/14/08
What an inspiring story! I wish i had more artwork for my house, sigh... --Trade Without Fees, Create Without Limits-- www.artfire.com
-- Sara , 9/25/08
aren't you smart! and to choose a Joan Enslin......just shows what good taste you have. but I already knew that. glad you're blogging.....what funl. rosanne
