Art Page A Day

"To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival." Wendell Berry

I bought a 100% recycled paper acid free 8 1/2" and 11" 110# artist sketchbook this past November and decided I would do a year of an art page a day (who said resolutions had to be in January??) -- any kind of art -- collage, pen & ink, paint, colored pencils, whatever I feel like doing. This is in addition to my regular journal, plus any other artmaking that I typically do. I will fill several of these sketchbooks since they only have 50 pages. It reminds me of The Artists Way (Julie Cameron) and how interesting things emerge when you take the time to face a blank page. I'm seeing a lot of birds and houses in these art pages.

I'm finding that much of the time I am challenging myself to recycle that odious junk mail that comes in the door. It's very pleasing to make the junk into something visually stimulating like a collage. A small contribution to "repurposing".

"Flying overhead the bird looks down upon a sea of plastic and a landscape of waste and invisible toxins, all the castoffs of the humans who dominate. When will they learn respect for all the living?"

I was experimenting last summer in my painting with a playful style exploring the idea of "Happy Houses", places where we can find joy, smile a bit and have the sun shine down... No matter, shape, how big or small, the concept of home as a haven no matter what other circumstances surround us. Here are a couple of houses from recent art pages. Aren't the junk mail papers colorful and fun?