A seventy-year-old back in the studio solo

I'm also a bit in love with my new teacher over in Britain-- a bespeckled, bow-tie-wearing journal-making man with a dog named Bentley and a partner who from time to time wanders into the frame, or maybe it's the camera man.

My first artist I married-- before I'd had a chance to explore art on my own.  Now, the man who keeps me up all hours is not at all my type in some respects, but who is exactly my type as an art teacher.  He's joyful about it and generous and playful.

I watch with wide open eyes and ears as he plays classical music while putting paints on pages in sensuous and fascinating ways while I wait for yet another heating expert to show up and hopefully fix the heater.  I'm wearing a soft cuddly sweater in bed with four blankets piled on the bed, drinking tea to go along with the British vibe of the classes on the screen--but it's too cold to go into the studio (aka Carlene's bedroom in Texas) to try out his techniques for myself.  (Elena likes to sleep with me when she's here.)

I love the way he lays out his "bits and bobs" for collage.  So I make a note to self to save all the bits and bobs that could be used when I get back to collage.

Before I discovered this lovely man online, I watched many at-home crafts people, like myself, showing me how to use materials like gesso to make pages non-porous, how to actually use water colors and acrylics, how to make transfers out of shipping tape.  I watched hours of these at Carlene's and then found Mike D.  and he's my guy from here on out in the art/play world.

Finally, the heater is fixed--after a week and ten experts who didn't find what this guy found--a crimp in the exhaust pipe.  My house is toasty warm for reading the last few chapters of Gerlinde's book after meeting Kate at Bee's for excellent Mexican lunch.

Day made this page for our We Three Journals (she and Carlene and I) nine years ago.  We had a monthly prompt and passed it around and each made a page to fit the prompt.