KIJSA STUDIO

Burlap Giveaway Love & Kung Fu Panda

2012-02-22T06:37:00.001-08:00

So it's true...I have fallen for burlap...in that kind of 'must-have it...where else can I put it...what else can I make with it' kind of way!...I was so excited then when Korrie from her beautiful blog Red Hen Home was offering a giveaway of one of my new-found loves...

SO excited in fact, I thought to myself "I should put a new template on my blog"...one equalling the great excitement I was feeling...

Surely...how hard could this be? A few simple buttons...a little widget adjustment (a term I just learned)...estimating thirty minutes & I would be done...

Three hours later, several blog posts lost & an odd grouping of photos streaming across the top of my screen now greeted me...

"Really...really...is that Kung Fu Panda on my blog?"

How did I get from overjoyed blog love excitement about burlap pillows to karate chopping bears?

So new sweet friends...I would love to show you all about my burlap pillows...instead I am introducing you to mesas in New Mexico, animated bears performing a little Kung Fu and a healthy dose of respect for blog designers and those that understand HTML code...

So enjoy your scenic trip out west (and east!) courtesy of free blog templates...and take a quick trip over to my Etsy Shop to see what got me in this position in the first place!!

A big Thank You again to Korrie!

Pinterest Parties...

2012-02-14T05:13:00.001-08:00

Do you like fun...?

Starting this Thursday evening 6-8...drop in for a creating party!
All sorts of projects, all sorts of ages, all sorts of pinterest = lots of creative fun!
Check out all the info here or at www.kijsa.com

Paper Trail

2012-01-25T05:32:00.000-08:00

My sister Whitney & I went to Scotland last week to surprise our brother during his PhD defense at ST. Andrews. We had an adventurous day to ourselves that found us in search of the amazing mysterious Edinburgh Paper Sculptures...

These amazing little book sculptures have been appearing anonymously at historic and literary sites throughout the city this past year...

My pictures were taken on the fly (literally!)...there are much better pics and the full story HERE...but for a quick peek...This is the T-rex found at the Scottish History Museum...

The Magnifying glass found...

at the Central Library...

the story-telling book sculpture at the Writers' Museum...

The hatching dinosaur...

at the Scottish Storytelling Center (just an aside...I love that they have a storytelling center!)

This amazing tree that started it all...

at the Scottish Poetry Museum...

& the last one that appeared...

at the same place...

The forest for the trees book...

and the over-flowing tea-cup that appeared at the Edinburg International book festival...

A big thank you to all that helped in our paper trail scavenger hunt...

Amazing little works of art that took us to all sorts of wonderful places & people...a good time for the memory books...

Love Me Some Burlap!

2012-01-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

I have been creating these initial pillows from old burlap bags...

I love the simplicity of the modern initial against the old workhorse fabric...

I laughed after this photo...realized I made the pillows spell out one of my favorite shopping destinations!

...& then onto the etsy shop they have gone...

This Year...

2011-12-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

It has been one year...365 days...12 full rotations of the moon

(here I am just guessing, but it sounded good!)...

My year of joy, of survival, of change and redefining myself...

In short...one of the best years of my life!

I have been given so many gifts and blessings...

...and have been learning to count each one of them.

In doing so, I find that many things I once esteemed seem very small when compared to the weight of appreciation for all the blessed moments that I used to miss...

I have been able to encircle myself with friends worth more than a ransom of gold...

I have been able to watch my daughter bloom and grow...having the opportunity to get to know her as the amazing young adult she is becoming...trying to learn how to balance control & freedom...

I have seen my middle son walk bravely up the 24 school steps to a new first grade and step inside...

and graduate in three months from the squeaky wheels of a scratched, yet still smiling, blue train to wielding light sabers and telling me of dark knights and battles...

I have held my baby during sleepless nights, wondering if his birth mother across the world knows that he is loved...that kisses are showered upon him...hugs freely given... and that he is an active toddler with a grin that will open many doors for him in his future...

I stand in amazement...remembering a time over a dozen years ago, crying out in desperation from a pile on my kitchen floor for the children that seemed to ellude us...the three children we yearned for...then to have even one seemed out of our grasp and ability...yet God was faithful...and good...and generous beyond belief...

and my husband...my darling husband of almost twenty years...kindness, gentleness, patience... I could write every one on that list from Galatians...love being at the top...

...this has been the year of reflection...of trying to cook more and eat less...of filling shelves with organic and wheat and local... and pinching pennies when I must...of trying to smile more and complain less...of being grateful for my health...and trying to remember to do what I need to keep it...

I have life, I have love, I have food, shelter & heat, I have messy floors and smudged windows, I have paint on my clothes, and the desire to create, I have, I have, I have, I have...

I have a most high & Holy God who has blessed me beyond belief...

that is what my year has been...

2011-12-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Pillows, pillows, pillows....

Just a small sampling of all the fun I have been having painting on burlap...

a stitch here, a stitch there...

a monogram here, a name there...

and even words I need to live by....

2011-12-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

This year my brush seems to want to paint words...

Words to celebrate and be with those you hold dear...

Words to affect your mood & bring cheer...

Words to tell, talk & remind...

Words to be merry...

& words to be kind.

Take an Artistic Journey through Time: Workshops in learning Styles & Techniques through Art History

2011-07-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Explore styles and techniques from prehistoric to contemporary artists...monthly workshops take each student through hands-on exploration in 8 individual periods of art history. Using examples and images exhibited at the St. Louis Art Museum to instruct, inspire and create, each workshop will include historical study of the era and/or artists, techniques used in creating the images, as well as implementation of these styles to create a finished product in each session. The workshops will culminate in a visit to the St. Louis Museum of Art for a docented tour to visit highlights from each period studied, including the actual images using during instruction. All education and creativity will be housed within Kijsa's light-filled Lowertown Art Studio the second Monday of each month.
Workshops are oriented for 6-10 grade

September 12, 2011
Session 1: Greek/Roman
Become an art archaeologist...we will 'unearth' and learn the intricate techniques of black & red-figure ware. The museum inventory provides many examples to study including an especially fine vase by The Berlin Painter. Using historical imagery and mythological figures, design and create plans for your own figure-ware product. Now will you choose a krater or amphora?

October 10, 2011
Session 2: Egyptian/Coptic
How were the papyri created? Who were the Copts? How beautifully can one house a mummy? Explore the art of Egypt through study of a beautifully decorated mummy case, scroll writing and tapestry design. Create imagery through script, papyrus inscription, and tapestry motif. Be sure to roll your scroll before leaving this class!

November 14, 2011
Session 3: Pre-Colombian/ Native American
Inspiration is all around you...that has been true since prehistoric times in Central and North America. Using ancient techniques of observation, learn how to design with elements of nature. See how to simplify and abstract our modern surroundings and animals through study of sculpture and vessels from Mexico & New Mexico. Create a vessel by abstracting natural elements though clay.

December 12, 2011
Session 4: Asian Art/ Japanese
Discover the beauty of lacquer ware and screen illustration. The simplistic styling and natural elements of Asian art combine with storytelling in objects both large and small. How does calligraphy become essential to the design concept? Tell your individual story by creating your own lacquer ware box.

January 9, 2012
Session 5: Renaissance/Mannerism
A period of resurgence in realism and technique. Learn how a contemporary of the old masters told stories while creating his own masterpieces.
Learn an old masters technique using modern materials.

February 13, 2012
Session 6: Impressionism
What is the importance of this style labeled a favorite by many? Who are the founders...what did they do, and who did they 'hang out' with? The play of light is so important in their technique...learn how to implement movement and light play with pastels.

March 12, 2012
Session 7: Cubism/Expressionism
"I could do that with my eyes closed" is the comment often overheard, yet discover why this movement is much more complex than it seems. Learn originating techniques of abstraction, rediscovery of subject, and linear construction. Create your own cubist self portrait.

April 9, 2012
Session 8: Contemporary
Simplistic reexamination of the complex...sounds easy...but is it? Learn assemblage, collage & negative/positive editing. Create an individual assembly that works together as a whole in a collaborative effort as a class.

May 7, 2012
Journey to St. Louis Art Museum to see what we have seen, explore what we have explored, as well as highlights, current traveling exhibitions, and a museum educational scavenger hunt.

There are two identical sessions each day:
Morning: 9-11:30am
Evening- 6-8:30pm

To provide excellent individual instruction and attention to all students, class size is limited to 10 per workshop
Each class may be individually purchased for $28.00 or all eight for $196.00, all materials provided.
Priority is given to students enrolling for all 8 sessions.
There is not a charge for the St. Louis trip, though each student is required to provide own transportation and any additional costs incurred that day (Entrance to the museum is free) Special docented tour and educational materials provided that day for workshop students and parents only.

Kijsa Housman holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts/painting from Baylor University and completed her Masters coursework in Art History at Vanderbilt University. In addition to completing large scale murals for government commissions, theatrical sets and scenic design for PBS, she has applied her brush to residential murals and decorative arts as a practicing professional artist for almost two decades. Having been featured in several national magazines, she has painted for clients across the country. She currently applies her classical training in painting to works on canvas in her own studio and gallery in Paducah, Kentucky. She can also be found homeschooling her oldest daughter, playing ball with her middle son, and constantly on the run after her 1 year old, all while enjoying (almost) every minute!

For an enrollment form:
please email kijsa@comcast.net, or contact 270-331-2787
Kijsa P. Housman Studios
444 North 8th Street
Paducah, KY 42001

2011-06-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

Playing in the studio with these wonderful new-to-me, but fabulously vintage printing blocks...

2010-12-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

WELCOME!! Our stockings are hung...
Come on in and sit a while...the presents are all wrapped...We have made Santa's key for him to get in... and under the tree they are stacked...(for a quick and easy wooden present idea...look here...) What we love about our home are the people that pass through it, the memories created, and the love that fills it's walls. The most important part of our home is that it represents us; our past, our present, and our future, and also serves the tiny babe born Christmas morn. Thus... This is the entry decorated in our "The Meaning of Christmas Tree"....it's covered with crosses and tiny nativities (and of course lots of glitter)!
The floor in the entry was painted and stained by Kijsa to mimic a beautiful inlaid floor. Layer after layer is applied to created an aged patina... Come on into the kitchen where it's all set up for a yummy Christmas meal... ...each placesetting has a tiny stocking filled with silverware (an easy way to dress up your holiday table too!!) and a plate from kijsa's handpainted "12 Days of Christmas" plates. Can you guess which of the 12 days this plate represents? Hint...she's french (notice the beret)....This was the table set featured in this month's Christmas Ideas Magazine... A few window seat details (with more hand painted touches from kijsa!) To get creative on your own pillows, look for an upcoming tutorial... ...a few metal stockings..... Even the fridge has Christmas on it's mind (or front as that may be!) And a few more details...An easy way to decorate...simply add magnets to the back of acrylic frames, print out your message on the computer... Go around the corner... ...and a sneak peek into the laundry room! (our little elf loves to hide here occasionally!)

2010-12-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house we scurried about like a mouse tucking wrapped boxes and gifts 'neath the evergreen tree in the hopes that their bed they would soon see "but wait" shouts out kijsa startling all in the room and everyone knew a new project would begin soon... "The tree is all decked with ornaments bright and the stockings are hung above firelight," "The presents all wrapped with be-ribboned flair but what looks so simple is that empty box there" "Why the rough wood on the sides could be scrubbed and adorned so that it would not stand so bare and forlorn..." "but as we stood there we knew it was perfect and would let it stand" "For the simple box opened to reveal what they saw... a rough and unwoven mat made of straw" "and they knew past the sparkle and all the rush and the fray the true gift of the Babe given on Christmas day."

Conflict Resolution

2010-11-23T16:40:00.000-08:00

We were still awake tending to the needs of a jet-lagged and culture-adjusting infant this morning after 1:00am when our google news reader came across with information of an attack on South Korea from the North.

My breath stopped short...we were almost there today...we tried to delay our trip as another baby, my niece, was coming into this world last Tuesday, and we all wanted to share that day as well...

We came across obstacle after obstacle...flight delays, lack of hotel rooms...missing the birth of Genevieve...and wondered why it had to be so rushed...

Plans had been made...plans had to be changed...surgeries scheduled had to be moved...preparations that should take time were compressed into one quick afternoon...why did we have to move so quickly...

Then the news comes...shots were fired...people were killed...more aggression seems likely...and my mind raced to these images we visited on the freedom bridge by the demilitarized zone...where prisoners were released and crossed into their freedom from the North into the South...

Ribbons listing names of war prisoners...prayers for those released and those never found...messages and wishes for peace...reminders that freedom was won not long ago...and reminders that freedom is not free...

And as I stopped to catch my breath and I looked onto those beautiful black eyes of my new son...and I thought...God provided yours and my freedom for heaven...and that was not free either...

And I understood the whirlwind, the fast departure, the opportunities that appeared missed were merely delayed for something this important...this was the opening...this was the time to take down his ribbon, to say a prayer, to rescue and be rescued...

Amazing timing by an incredible God...
how little of me to question...how big of Him to answer...

Coming to America!

2010-11-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

The Team!

2010-11-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

2010-11-20T16:32:00.000-08:00

We came, we signed, we left with child in arms...then boarded a plane, sleepy-eyed with haphazardly packed luggage, back to Chicago. From then, about a mile up in the air, somewhere over the Bering Sea, it finally seems real...he is ours!

He is happy and content, even with only an hour of sleep throughout the past 24 hours...wanting to be close, yet curious about his surroundings. The office asked us not to post photos yet on the Internet, so I will do my best to describe this perfectly made, God-given little boy...

Two: deep dark eyes the color of coal, taking in everything around him...cased with long black eyelashes that cover his eyes when he looks down to catch a glimpse of his toes...
One: perfect little upturned nose...
Two: heart shaped full lips that look like at any moment he might have a question to ask you to which you may or may not know the answer....things like " why is the sky blue" or " how do cell phones work?" or "what does heaven look like?"
Five: little fingers on each hand that grasp your palm as though to say "Please don't leave me"
Hundreds: baby-fine wisps of jet-black hair that swirl around his crown and a few bangs to frame a halo around his forehead.
Two: little teeth that turn up with each open mouthed smile
One: amazing little sweet grin that already has my ten fingers wrapped around his little one.

What a gift, what a joy...my heart is bursting with blessings and happiness...

I love you little one...

Now off to try to catch a few winks....because we actually got him to sleep!

Letter Writing from Seoul

2010-11-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Letter writing from Seoul...
How does one write a letter to the foster mother that has loved their child for months and then will hand the infant from their arms into ours today? Not the grammatical syntax or the proper sentence structure...not the appropriate heading or title, or wether it is sealed in a beautiful letterpress envelope.

...But how to you put into words tears of joy, of weeks of wiping tears and feeding bottles...of teaching how to eat from a spoon or playing clapping hand games to elicit gurgling laughter...

...how do you tell Mrs. Lee thank you, and reassure her that you will care and treasure this baby through boyhood...skinned knees and playground dust...teaching about our heavenly Father...learning the lessons of a gentleman...

...that you will give him not a house to live in, but a home...
not just a girl and boy, but a brother and sister...
not just caretakers, but a mother and a father...a family...a haven...a place where he will love and be loved...

And that all along every bit of work that she has done has been essential, important, necessary...

and that forever...we, and he, will be grateful.

Thank you Mrs. Lee, Thank you.

A Love Letter Tree

2010-11-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we visited a Korean history museum, passing many rows of kindergarteners out on a field trip. I sat there, studying each face....trying to commit to memory their chatter that was so foreign to my ears. Like little bells chiming, they laughed and played...and again worry crept in...could I absorb enough culture in one week to share with my son...would I be equipped to parent this little one with information about his homeland...would I be able to recall the blowing ginko leaves, colors on the temples, sounds of the subway?

Tied on a tree in a lantern exhibit elsewhere were love letters and wishes...how I wanted to have a tree covered with all my prayers and wishes for this new little one...for my daughter and middle child as well...for friends praying...for my amazing husband...then I might have a beautiful visual reminder that might keep every memory available...every sight and smell and wish I hold for him...

These thoughts were still running through my head sitting in the backseat of an inconspicuous grey van now navigating the narrow streets of a northern Seoul community. Apartments and gates and doors stand piled one on top of the other...like a makeshift jigsaw puzzle of cement, brick and iron...And behind one of those doors was our piece of the puzzle...

The foster mother let us in an unassuming gate off an alley street, smiling and beckoning us up several flights of stairs...we removed our shoes and stepped into our future...

Our tiny future wore a light blue Teddy bear outfit and sleepy eyes...and time seemed to stop right then and there. Right then the swirling gingko leaves, the subway, the weather, the place didn't matter...doubt crept out, love crept in and I was complete. There with adorable little black eyes was a true life love letter tree...with every prayer and wish and blessing tied up in one 17 pound bundle.

There were tears and smiles and laughter...an amazing foster mother...and a wonderful beautiful moment in time...an hour sprinkled with one love letter after another tied on imaginary branch after branch...and then the hour was over...all too quickly...

And we had to leave...down the flights of stairs...out the side gate and back into the inconspicuous grey van. But we left with hope, with joy, and with more than one person could ever ask for from one hour of any day. He will be placed forever in our arms at 2:30pm this Friday. God is good.

Backwards into Tomorrow

2010-11-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

As we headed out of Chicago, I contemplated our path and destination...headed backwards into tomorrow. We would cross the international date line and end up into the next day...

How little we can see....always concentrating on the details and the insurmountable things in life...as though we are looking only inwards, downwards, or perhaps backwards is the best way to put it.

Backwards is what I keep thinking, because if I would just turn around and look up, I have someone to guide me forward. In this journey, I need to keep my focus not on trying to control every detail, but forward, in Christ, on tomorrow...tomorrow, Tuesday, November 16...tomorrow when I complete my family...tomorrow when I will hold my new son for the first time....

It Takes a Village

2010-11-11T22:08:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here at just past midnight amazed and exhausted from all that has transpired over the past 48 hours. We received our call to travel to Korea at 8:42am Tuesday and are boarding a flight to Seoul, South Korea in a mere 6 hours. How long you wait for that call, planning, and begging for its arrival....but yet it grabs you by surprise.

It takes your breath away the moment you hear the words "You can travel to pick up your son...." It takes the very air from your lungs....as though the world stops for just that moment while 2000 things run through your head...."he's coming....we have to make reservations....what do I pack...oh no! I don't even have a car seat!!" (Not that anyone who knows me is surprised by the last one!)

But then the whirlwind begins...and for that I am thankful. Thankful not so much for the crazy 2 hour phone calls at midnight to Korean air or trying to find a hotel room during the G-20 summit or guessing what size the munchkin would wear...but thankful for the friends and family.

Family and Friends that showed up to help clear the gallery...friends that fed me lunch and listened and answered questions...friends that ran endless errands and kept me on task...friends that stood in the gap when I lost it...friends that grabbed wet laundry piles when my dryer broke at the last hour...friends that thought of all those things I would need while I stood there, my mind blank...the room spinning with all that must be accomplished...friends that called...friends that prayed...friends that came...that really truly showed up...and left me standing, fed, bags packed, children set, baby supplies ready...that prayed and cried and just generally rescued me.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

I sit here overwhelmed.

And then his picture comes to mind...his black hair and mischievous grin...how I think I know his personality already just from studying four pictures over and over. And the miracle of how God has brought us, and him, to this point...and I smile through the tears...

How fortunate is this sweet boy...to come into such a world as this...to be surrounded by such people...

And then I think...no...I am the fortunate one. And that takes my breath away too.

All things Bright &...

2010-09-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

My paint brush has been flying...I have been filling up my studio and my website...lots and lots of color!!

Old vintage frames...new coats of yummy vivid colors...

"All things bright & beautiful"...one of my favorite hymns...

Art History Journey Enrollment Form

2010-07-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

Art History Journey Enrollment Form

Student Name: ___________________________________

Parent Name: ____________________________________

Student Age/Grade: ____________________

Street Address: ___________________________________

City, State, Zip: ___________________________________

Home Phone:_____________________
Work Phone:_____________________

Cell Phone:_______________________

Email address:_____________________

Full Session $195.00
Morning 9-11:30am____
Evening 6-8:30pm_____

Individual:
Semester 1:
Session 1 Greek ......................$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Session 2 Egyptian ................... $28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Session 3 Pre-Columbian/NA....$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Session 4 Asian.........................$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Semester 2:
Session 5 Renaissance...............$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Session 6 Impressionism............$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Session 7 Cubism......................$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Session 8 Contemporary............$28.00
Morning 9-11:30am____Evening 6-8:30pm____

Total $ ____________

Fees: A 50% deposit is required to hold your spot in a class. Deposits for any/all courses in semester 1 are due by September 1, 2011. Deposits for any/all courses in semester 2 are due by January 1, 2012. Due to limited class size and materials purchase, all deposits are non-refundable. Payment may be made with Paypal when completed enrollment form is sent through e-mail or checks should be made out to Kijsa Housman and sent, along with your completed enrollment form, to: 2501 Jefferson Street, Paducah, KY 42001. Balance of fees are due on first day of class.

I acknowledge that I have read the above:

Signature________________________________

Email Kijsa Housman or call (270)331-2787 for more information

Fruit Of The Spirit

2010-06-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

Patience: Pomegranate, also known as Granada

It not only takes patience to eat a pomegranate, but the fruit takes five to seven months to mature after bloom. Layering the seed, then the pod, then the bloom in paint and glaze creates a depth that shows the long patient progression, but also the red of the bloom sparks bright red, a color that depicts quick action against a calm soothing blue. Look closely, for the layering, and sanding effect resulted in the appearance of a cross, for there was ultimate patience in that gift.

Goodness: Durian

Trees that produce the durian fruit appear to be capable of living indefinitely, for centuries. If an older tree dies, it is only due to damage, disease or humans, not old age. The fruit quality increases with age…like goodness that grows with maturity and when doled from a pure mature heart is truly a gift. This fruit was also the first ancient plant to depend on others for dispersal of its seeds…so deliver the gift as well. The sheet music of “a Good Ole Summertime” collages in a tongue-in-cheek reminder, while the blossoms of the durian fruit jump off the background, growing in distinctness and color as they approach, as though sharpening in focus as they grow.

Love: Cherimoya…Called the “Love fruit” due to the heart shape

Pages from a French romance novel are collaged in with a complex stormy background filled with warm tones. These create a passionate color scheme similar to sunset, the most romantic time of day. Yet the love spoken of is not a romantic love, but one filled with compassion, thus the contrast of the cool greens and forefront placement of the subject.

Faithfulness: Breadfruit

This is a tropical staple, the equivalent of the faithful potato. It also is one of the highest-yielding food plants, producing up to over 200 grapefruit-sized fruit per year, almost year-round. Always available, always ready, and always flexible in preparation…for constant nutrition. A simple basic required a simple presentation…the cool colors of blues and greens present the breadfruit as is…a faithful food.

Peace: Soursop, also known as Guanabana

This fruit has the highest acceptability level at tastings, providing a pleasing sweet ‘ice-cream’ flavor. It has a thin leathery skin that is covered with spines, but these are easily broken and removed when ripe, resulting in the sweet pulp inside- thus even though it appears tough and unmanageable, there is not resistance, but perfect syrupy harmony. The bloom takes center stage here…ready to blossom with sweet peace, backed with cool, peaceful palette. Collaged is a piano primer sheet titled “the island of Ecalpon”, which is ‘no place’ spelled backwards, for peace can not be found in a place, but in God.

Self Control: Blighia Sapida

When ripe, and treated properly, this fruit can be very wholesome, but when under ripened or overripe, it is poisonous. The strokes were executed with freedom, yet remained in bloom structure. Skill sets from a 1970s typewriter book exclaim over definitive and precise technique.

Kindness: Fig

Figs ripen after most of the garden has stopped producing in late summer, after many weeks of intense heat and drought- true kindness appears during those most difficult situations…and like true kindness, fresh figs are hard to find away from their growing source, with a short shelf life. The music sheets are from a composition Beethoven kindly composed for two students as a gift.

Gentleness: Peach

A finicky fruit that grows well only in a limited climate area, this must be handled with care. In China, the soft texture and gentle flesh of the fruit gave it the slang term of ‘young bride’, one to be treated gently. A very soft hand was used to depict the peach blossom, and gently contrasted with a cool background. Webster’s definition of gentle is collaged in with other references, and the petals gently stretch across the surface from edge to edge.

Joy: Miracle Fruit…also known as Miraculous Berry

This fruit has the ability to coat the taste buds in the mouth, so that everything consumed, even sour and bitter items, after eating just one berry is sweeter. The berry pushes out from the surface of the canvas, as though it cannot be contained…for joy is not happiness, it is a gift that can sweeten even the bitterest things in life. The pages from a 1946 Webster’s dictionary contain definitions pertaining to my father, along with pages from his German geology journal. Look and find your own joy…see what definitions are there and how they pertain to your own life. The pattern in the upper corner is the alphabet, layered and turned, so as to remind you to always see things differently…through joy goggles!

2010-05-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ART!
Stop by the studio to experiment with palettes of color, and immerse yourself (as a fun paper cutout!) in art...a neat hands-on adventure for the entire family! This is a free walk-in activity, happening this weekend during the Lowertown ARTs Festival:

Kijsa Housman Studios...Open Studio Creating Times:
Friday 11:00am-8:00pm
Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm

Stop by for this fun free hands-on activity, then adventure out to taste the fabulous local fare, listen to wonderful music,
and soak up all the great Lowertown studios & Galleries and wonderful vendors!
So come on... Immerse Yourself in Art!!

Derby Day

2010-05-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a wonderful day (despite the rain!) watching the Run for the Roses!

Where Have I Been...

2010-04-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well...the studio has been overflowing with painting...life has been crazy...and we are so excited to be walking this amazing path of foreign adoption! Yes...we are adopting from South Korea! We have been diligently working on all our paperwork, studies, and progress...that when everything was sent to Korea a couple weeks ago- I wanted to shout it from the mountain tops!!
...but shouting aside...I am back to the studio...I will paint while I wait...creating works for my upcoming gallery opening...