New Buddhas and Bowls

This weekends kiln, full of buddhas and bowls. The buddhas will be going into future mosaics.

Sonoma Petaluma and Birds

Goldfinch in Petaluma

Hens n Chix Chileno Valley Road at Arlene's Memorial

Starling on Loretta Court in Sonoma

Joseph and Larry's home Sonoma

Santa Barbara MOSAIC workshop

Join Perry in his Santa Barbara garden and learn the art of mosaics. Using tile and pottery, broken ceramics and special bits from his ocean bone yard. You will create a piece of work that you can finish and take home. Day one, August 8, 2009 we will start at 10 am to design and adhere our broken tiles to backer board, a steeping stone or flower pot, breaking for a wonderful garden lunch and on the following day, we will convene again to grout and finish our beautiful pieces. Leaving plenty of time for a beach walk on Sunday afternoon!!! If you have any broken ceramic items that you’d like to use in your piece be sure to bring them along. Sign up early as space is limited. Only $150 includes all your materials and lunch. What a deal!!! There are a lot of great deals on Craigslist for vacation rentals in Santa Barbara at reasonable prices.

California Quail…Botanical Gardens Santa Barbara

Went to the Botanical Gardens to see how it faired in the fire and was amazed at charred palms coming back and a gorgeous meadow full of flowers surrounded by burned and charred mountains. The California Quail was waiting for us !! Upon consulting the Peterson Western Birds Guide I found that Gambel’s Quail and California Quail are almost identical… except the California has a brown splotch on it’s belly where as the Gambel’s splotch is black…

California Quail

California Quail

Santa Barbara Herons and Epiphytes

Th Great Blue Heron, I spotted from the 217 fwy near UCSB and went around the entire airport to drive back on the fwy again and pull over to get my great blue! Wooot! My epiphyte opened yesterday and UNFOLDED today. The COLOURS that you see are real. It’s an amazing bloom and very irridescent!

Great Blue Heron

Epiphyte

Epiphyte

saving an insect

New photographs today. The raven is from last week in Neveda. The Sphinx Moth is from this morning. I saw the moth in a spider web, but it was not moving. Assuming he had been in this still position for some time (dead) I got my camera, at which time he moved and of course I had to release this living being into the wild … flying off with one antenna … As for the raven. it will be turned into a rubber stamp.

Workshop and new mosaic tile work

First of all a huge THANK YOU to Diana from Native Tile for gifting me so many tiles… it’s an unfathomable gift to a mosaic artist. I have shared with my students and a few friends but will use the rest to finish my desert house and the beach/oak house as well. Thank you to husband for cooking the meals at the workshop.. yum yum !!

The workshop over the weekend was non-stop intensive with eager students and high energy. Walked in the park as the moon rose after a LONG day of working the pieces to completion. Cathy made a large piece to take home and grout and her friend Marsha did her first piece ever, taking it apart at dinner time and re-gluing some new pieces on to her creation. Emma Jane and Rich of IYSSB yoga studio, created their first ever table top… “gorgeous!” I say! Dana, local, framer from 29 Palms came back to participate in her second workshop, continues making amazing table tops and counters and frames everyone’s art in the desert!!! at Bowden Frame Shop on HWY 62

Pictures of the weekend and my finished piece back in Santa Barbara… couldn’t get pics of the finished work of the others as the morning ensued with grout and much frantic goings on in the bright, hot, sun. Waiting for pictures from Cathy and the rest of the bunch. Here’s mine for now and a few pics from the iPhone during creation mode…

my Ganesh incense alter

One of my buddha heads ended up in Cathy's piece, as she just HAD to have it!

Dana's work in progress.

Rich and Emma's table top in progress...

Rich "third eye wide open in a yoga pose / you show us how to focus so the lotus unfolds / in deep concentration with breath control / returning to the source now you feel the force flow / when Jiva meets Shiva opposites become whole / singing Om Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Om /" - mc yogi

Mosaic Workshop… THIS weekend!

Mosaic Portal

Newly grouted mosaic portal, with ganesh and buddha with birds. Handmade ceramic birds and buddhas, smalti, glass and tile.

 

Incense on fire.

Grouted the magic mosaic portal today..

Elephant power.

Bees in a poppy