Birds are calling

I'm getting a nudge to paint birds again! Not surprising as they've been pure entertainment outside our windows for the last month or so. The trick is to sit down and BEGIN. After that its easy enough to get into 'the zone" and thoroughly enjoy the process. Here's the first result... MJ

Spring flowering

We declared ourselves the Show artists in our Gallery for May. Then we promised new "out of the box" work in our newspaper press releases. Call it throwing our hats over the wall Big Time and having to follow. I've thoroughly enjoyed the "urgency" that has pushed me into focusing and producing a variety of new work. One piece in particular - my "Meadow Magic: for the Love of Wild Meadows" - a large acrylic - was a stretch for me. Its one of those magic pieces that just turns out. I look at it and think, "who did that?" The other pieces are sweet and I'm pleased. However... (did you feel the however coming?) other than that piece I wouldn't call anything else 'out of the box.' The whole month is ours with promises of new work weekly, so there's still time. What will the out of the box look like? Stay tuned...

May Show

Glorious May to all of you!

We feel like a couple of kids playing as we rise to the challenge of the theme we created for our May Show. As much as we love making art, over time we find ourselves doing too much of what (now) comes easily. At that point there’s a persistent yearning for something different, fresh, new. And the only way we’ve found to access that place where the new happens is to allow ourselves time to play, to mess up, to not watch the clock, to not worry that we’re “wasting time.” So there’s been much chuckling (and cursing) behind closed doors with flourishes of, “Look at THIS!” excitement. You’ll see the results at the Gallery this month. Hope you get a kick out of it!

Grinning,
Mary Jo & Windwalker
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Spinning...

This weekend is The Spin-In in Oak Harbor, the largest city here, located at the north end of our beautiful isle. Yesterday was my day to attend, sit with friends, hear about what makes a good sock and to soak up yarn sights. Today Windwalker is going to spend the day and he'll be spinning with the dozens and dozens of other spinners. All these folks in one spot turning wads of sheep, alpaca, goat, etc., fibers into the most gorgeous yarns you've ever seen. THIS is the way fiber has been made for we humans for thousands of years. Its impressive. And the colors of hand-dyed/hand-painted yarns - oh, my! It took a good hour for me to catch my breath and settle in. I suspect it will be the same for Windwalker. Many thanks to Katie, for feeding me at lunch time and wrapping me up so that I felt at home. Of course a quick visit to the ice cream shop in Coupeville on the way home finished the day nicely.

Inspirational Clay Plaques

Thanks to a friend I get to play with clay in a small way. She kiln fires my little pieces and then I paint them with acrylic paint and inks, add beads and a wire hanger and Voila! I love inspiring words and this is one way I slip them into Life. They are so much fun to make and paint - its playing in the mud, I think. So on this blustery March Sunday, a lovely stash of them have made their way to the Gallery - Yahoo!

Favorite Blogs

I'm becoming more one with this blog site. For instance, I (finally) discovered how to put a "Favorite Blog" listing up. Its something I noted on other cool blog sites and finally discovered the (very easy!) thingy to hit to create my own. NOW I know what to do with all those fine blog sites I discover and don't want to lose track of. PLUS, their work and words are so inspiring to me. They trigger new art pathways that keeps my work is fresh. Enjoy!

Scrumbles...

At long last a gang of Scrumbles and Scrumbles Bunnies went off to the gallery - YAHOO!

March Madness!

Admitting to ADD-ness, its easy for me to spend the day on the computer surfing other people's amazing creative endeavors, hopping up and down to do odd chores, feeling the boredom of the dog and taking her for a walk - you get the picture. Eventually the creative energy moves me to jump up and do something of my own. Yesterday I played with clay and made many little wall plaques with inspirational words on them. After my friend, Kathy, bakes them in her kiln, I'll paint them, attach a wire hanger and put them up for sale in the gallery. Possibly on Etsy.

This afternoon I have some Scrumbles to finish as well as more Fish to add to the school that's developing at the gallery. There's more ideas bubbling, but I think I'll wait 'til I have pics. As much fun I have in randomly starting new projects, I want the satisfaction of COMPLETION. That takes determination and focus on my part. Let's see if I can bring that to bear today.

Oh, speaking of bears.... but that's another idea!

Gearing up for the Love Month!

We're gearing up our favorite month: February! The Month of Love! (No gagging, please.) It took us so very long to find each other, that this month only illuminates the gift we have in each other. So its all about hearts and love, magic and cherishing each moment together. May you all be blessed with much love in your lives!

New Year 2010

Happy New Year to all of us!

As we look back over 2009, we're wearing big smiles. We made important commitments last January to 1) refuse to entertain any notions that the financial struggles around the world meant that our gallery would fail (our premise: money didn't fly off the planet, its got to be out there somewhere and some of it will easily find its way to us); 2) we would create the most beautiful, peaceful, varied gallery that we could imagine and 3) we would draw in "our people" who would spend some money, bring others and talk lovingly about us far and wide; 4) we would help each other to avoid streams of worry-negative-anxious-talk and we would be rigorous about it; 5) we would fill our worry-susceptible minds with positive information in the form of cds we listened to while driving.

So! We did that AND IT WORKED! Raven Rocks Gallery has had the most successful year on record, with enthusiastic fans/supporters and two gallery owners (that would be us!) who were more creative than we've ever been. Evidently less worrying means more creative juices flowing :) Dah! Add in (a bit more bragging, ok?) we sold other people's art and our resident artists/friends received checks in the mail and had their creations go off into the world.

We're still in the process of creating our goals for 2010. What we do know is that we need to get off the Island for some away vacation time together. 2009 was lots of fun, focused work, but we need some new scenery and down time. Windwalker has started spinning and he's throwing himself into that ancient art and into the local community of spinners. He wants to paint more, especially for his "Ravens in Love" series. I want to play more with my creative time. I want to try out different methods, views, art materials using the art of others that I'm strongly drawn to as inspiration. There's a whole world of possibilities inside that goal. As we kicked up the well-being and clarity of our minds last year, we both want to tweek, tighten, align up our bodies this year. Lucky for us we have a little dog who loves to walk - we want more of that. And - you know - maybe a little less of those items that make for heaviness later. We're also cranking up our dreams for a home of our own with a large and functional Studio. That's a big dream, but if all of you would send a rousing "YES!" toward it for us, that would be The Best!

Thank you so much for your support, interest, appreciation, encouragement and well, LOVE! We love you right back!
Mary Jo

Welcome to Autumn 09!

We're happy to report a busy and successful summer. So much so that Windwalker and I are both scrambling to make new art and fill gaping holes. Yes indeed! Art has flown out of here and gone all over the world. The latest two originals are headed for Israel and Portugal. With sunshine pouring through the windows in the mornings, I've succumbed to the urge to pull out the yarns and am making caps and berets and scarves. Too fun!

Newest MJ miniatures!

After a fabulous three days on Tahoma (Mt Rainier) with son, Jason, camping, hiking, taking photos, I came home rejuvenated and inspired. Here are some of the results (so far!) from that energy. Enjoy!

Selling Art ... and saying good bye...

I had the experience this weekend of being at the Gallery and directly selling a number of my pieces. My favorite pieces. I found myself in tears on opening night when a couple who are stalwart supporters of our Gallery said they wanted to buy my Old Growth Island painting. I love it! And they'll be coming by to pick it up. Tough letting it go, but of course its a thrill to sell a big piece of art. Earlier that day two smaller originals went out the door. I miss those, too! And today one of my favorite Scrumbles (Sizzle) left with a new friend. Yikes!

But don't worry! My mind is full of new Scrumble ideas, new paintings, a new series and so much more. The challenge is balancing the day to day busy-work of running our enterprise with the down and messy work of making art. And all that within the framework of a distractable mind! But its a challenge I'm used to and one I know how to weave around. Let's see what we cook up this week!

Summer at the Gallery

The incredible weather we've had here in the Northwest this spring and early summer is inspiring all kinds of new art! Windwalker rearranged the Gallery and we're talking of bringing in new local artists, one at a time. Keeping our art fresh and lively is our first priority.

Visitors to the Gallery have been many. (YES!) Greenbank Farm is a gorgeous place to stop and eat and soak in art and nature.

Almost There!

Tomorrow its The Big Move! Everything in the house (except the precious little things I'll hand carry - like this computer!) is packed and ready for the U-Haul and friends' vehicles. The exception is the Studio. Yikes! I'm not sure there's an end to it, but its mostly there. Windwalker and I will wrestle the last awkward sized things (mat boards, frames, tables, etc) upstairs to be ready for tomorrow. All is well!

Moving Home

We're moving our home. Which means we're moving our Studio. Yikes! Can you imagine the chaos? Everything else is straightforward. We have little furniture as we've been renting a mostly furnished home and are moving into a mostly furnished home (oh, yes! we're very good at manifesting what we need.) However, the many wild and crazy parts of our Studio must somehow be organized and packed. My part is the worst, admittedly. But I also need to keep doing art during this time so our Gallery has no holes. Let's just say it will be a relief when its over (mid-April) and we begin to settle into our new location in Freeland on Whidbey Island. (NOT leaving the Island!!) The new house is lovely, with much sun and sweet views, much closer to the Gallery. What new art will come out of our time there? Stay tuned!

Etsy

We've fallen in love with Etsy.com - the on-line artist/craftsperson's store. What gorgeous merchandize! Lovely format, easy purchase - I'm addicted to browsing the Shops. Check it out! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5807323

Spring!

What a wonderful winter since our opening at Greenbank Farm! Despite storms and rumors of an economy in chaos, we've had a steady flow of the most wonderful people through our doors. Many folks have followed us over the years and express much delight in our re-opening in a new location. Others stop off the highway to explore and are pulled in by the color and variety of our space.

Our Art Walk & Wine Tasting nights (First Fridays, 4:30pm to 8:30pm) have been a huge success - for all of the Galleries here at Greenbank, as well as the Wine Shop and Cafe. We're the happenin' place, it would seem.

Amongst all this art activity, we found out in December that we needed to find a new home. Our great landlady (and friend, I hope!) is returning to her home. We'd already been discussing a need for change, so this was our cue. We created a "Manifesting List" for what we wanted, put a free "wanted" ad in the local paper, and by the end of January the perfect house (and owners!) came our way. Wanting a spring move with plenty of time to pack worked perfectly for all of us. We get the keys mid-April and make the leap. The new home will lend itself beautifully to art, with new configurations of how we create our art spaces. Its sunny and much closer to the Gallery. Check back to see how the move might begin affecting our inspirations!

A Happy & Glorious Spring to All!

Open & Thankful!

We're having a blast with a Gallery at Greenbank Farm. Many people stop by, encourage, purchase. Its light and sunny, the Board and other businesses supportive. What's not to love? We find ourselves - sharing Thanksgiving dinner with our kids and granddaughter - to be swamped with gratitude and the realization of the goodness in our lives.
Bless us everyone!

Final Steps to Opening!

We're almost there! The doors of our New Gallery open officially on November 3rd. On the 1st and 2nd our artist friends will be in hanging their works. Today we put the last touches on the beautiful new shelves that our friend, Tony, created and built for us, as well as installed around the Gallery walls. Already people are coming to visit us, check on our progress, let us know of their support. The people on the board of Greenbank Farm have stopped in to express their excitement in having us as tenants. We feel so WELCOMED! And thrilled to be part of this group of folks.

Meanwhile, I've been going nuts with new ideas for art projects. Some of these are having to be put on hold for now as we complete the nuts & bolts portion of getting open. Son, Jason, designed a new logo for us in honor of our opening. We're in awe of it!