"Mixed Messages" by Kathleen Mattox

What's my word for 2012?

2012-01-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

My friend and fellow artist, Joyce Wycoff, writes such wonderful posts on her blog. Recently she posted about choosing her word or word for the year. I've done it in the past but not for the last few years. Her post got me thinking about it again and I decided to pick 3 words. They were:

AWARENESS

ACCEPTANCE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thought was to spend 2012 being more aware of things around me, more aware of my needs and wants, more aware of my family and friends' needs and wants, just more aware in general. I wanted to be more able to show acceptance of my talents and the talents of others and to be better about acknowledging and encouraging other artists in their pursuits. All worthy and respectable thoughts, right? But the more I thought about these "A Words", the less excited I became about following my first inclination regarding the words for 2012. Maybe because I wasn't sure I could and would expend energy on them or maybe because I already naturally expend energy on them.

So, I ABANDONED them--another "A word"! I decided to ACTIVELY ASSERT myself in finding a better word or words. I obviously and APPARENTLY needed ASSISTANCE because the next words were not much more ACCEPTABLE. I settled on these 2:

Exuberant Extravagance. Very interesting, and a lot more exciting, but when I looked up the meanings this is what I found: Exuberant means "filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement" or "Full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy" or "Lavish/extravagant". Sounding a bit redundant to use in conjunction with Extravagance, isn't it? Since extravagance means "lacking in moderation, balance, and restraint" or "extremely or excessively elaborate". And I have heard people's subconsious thoughts as well as verbally expressed beliefs that my paintings are already exuberantly extravagant and out of control and so am I! LOL Perhaps it's my unrestrained enthusiasm and joy that does me in every time!? So, I continued to flounder around for a while in my search for the perfect word or words. And it came to me in the middle of the night--the answer to my quest--

This needs to be my year to focus.

I will focus on the business of running the gallery and working hard in the studio and

teaching exciting, interesting, and engaging classes to groups of artists and non-artists alike.

So, there you have it--my word for 2012 (my last and final word for 2012!) is

FOCUS!

I'll close with a paraphrased quote that I used to use a lot and I don't remember who said it:

"You can hit any target as long as you know what it looks like and it doesn't keep moving."

Onward and upward, let's "Sparkle and Shine" into 2012!

I'm Alive!

2011-12-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

If your only contact with me is through my blog, you may have been wondering if I am still around. Well, I am--and all is well. I am going to do much better in 2012, in terms of blogging. I think I don't post sometimes when I don't have any current photos to accompany the post but I'm going to try to NOT let that continue to stop me. My trusty Olympus digital camera is not well and my iPhone camera will have to suffice for the time being. Let me just say these things:

1. I am well and Roy is well.

2. I love the studio/gallery building, location, and the motivation/inspiration I feel when I'm there.

3. The holidays were joyful.

4. We just celebrated our 43rd anniversary yesterday.

5. I'm working on 4 totem paintings for Timberline's new show next week.

6. A newsletter will be out shortly.

7. New classes begin the 2nd week of January.

8. Art Education sessions begin January 5th in the form of "First Friday Design Dates".

9. 2012 is going to be an awesome year!

10. Reach for YOUR dream!

More VERY soon, I promise! Hope your holidays were wonderful and Happy New Year!

October Classes at the Gallery

2011-10-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

I am going to begin to offer classes at the gallery in November. The first class will be an Art Journaling class using Watercolor and Mixed Media techniques. I will start with the basics for new artists but this will be a class that can be challenging for all levels. I am offering it at 3 different times--Thursday mornings (3 sessions), Wednesday evenings (2 sessions), and Saturday afternoons (2 sessions). You just need to pick which day works best for you. Each part is a stand-alone session but you'll get the most from the class if you take the both two hour sessions or all three 1.5 hour sessions.

The gallery is small so I am going to limit each class to 6 students until I know more about the adequacy of the space. There is a small price break for those who sign up for the whole session and pay in advance. Please let me know if you have questions or if I've made some terrible mistake(s) on the flyer. Hopefully, if you double click on it, it will become bigger and you'll be able to read it easily and even print it. I now have a mail box, so if you wish to send in a check to hold your space, you can do that.

In addition to this class, I hope to hold a Candlelight Meditation class, taught by Linda Gibbs, on the evening of November 28th, time and details to be announced very soon.

The opening of "Mixed Messages" ART Studio/Gallery in Sanger CA!

2011-10-16T15:48:00.001-07:00

What a roller coaster ride the last 2 months has been! For the last 5 years, I've driven by a little brick building in Sanger that I've thought would make the perfect studio/gallery. In August, it had a "For Rent" sign in the window. On August 10th, we rented it. For the past 2 months, we've been cleaning, painting, planting and hanging art--in addition to doing the required permits, licenses etc.

On September 25, I had my "soft opening" of "Mixed Messages" Art Studio/Gallery and made my first sales.

On October 8th, last Saturday, we held the "Grand Opening" Open House from noon till 9 PM. Over 70 people came and we had art, food, wine, music by brass and woodwind quintets. It was a great day. The address is 1310 8th Street, at 8th and Academy, right next to the Oasis Bar.

The gallery is one block off the main downtown street in Sanger (7th Street), a block away from the outstanding Fermin's Steakhouse Restaurant, and almost directly across the street from the soon to be constructed Sawmill Restaurant and themed shopping center. There will be a Fresh and Easy store in that shopping center also!

The gallery is now open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 AM each morning until at least 6 PM each evening. It will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, except by appointment. The phone number to reach me at the gallery is 559/905-3517.

The official Ribbon Cutting ceremony will be next Thursday, October 20th, at 11 AM.

After Sierra Art Trails. . . . .

2011-10-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

My last post was about Sierra Art Trails. The weather was perfect this year but it was a rather quiet weekend in terms of traffic and sales. Julie Mitchell, Vivian Aumond-Capone, and I wish we knew what made it a quieter year than usual. We enjoyed each others' company and the wonderful visitors we had but we are still wondering why it was not as well-attended as usual. Please comment if you have thoughts on the subject. Was it adding the third day? Too many choices of days? Of artists? Too many locations? Too many other events going on? Too tired? Didn't know about it? Too beautiful and you wanted to be at home working in your yard? You've seen all the locations/artists before and decided to take a year off? You've never been and you didn't go this year either? Any thoughts you can share will be appreciated.

Sierra Art Trails/September 30, October 1-2

2011-09-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Day 1 of the 3 day Sierra Art Trails Open Studio event. Over 90 artists will be showing their work in studio situations in the mountain communities north of Fresno. For the 3rd year, I will be at Julie Mitchell's home studio in Coarsegold with Julie and Vivian Helena Aumond-Capone. Julie makes Spirit Figures and Vivian will have quilts, hand-dyed t-shirts and scarves, gourds and gourd necklaces, and more. I will have cards, prints, and original watercolor and mixed media paintings. At our location, there is a wonderful mix of art and artists and we certainly hope that you will visit during the long weekend. This is the first year that the locations (some of them, at least) will be available on Friday in addition to the weekend. Weather should be excellent.

From Highway 41 in Coarsegold, turn across the highway and go uphill at Pony Express Lane which is right across from the Shell Station. Take a quick right, uphill again, on the gravelled Forest Glen road and follow the signs a short distance to our location.

Whew! A LONG day! And a new look!

2011-08-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well, things have been happening around here somewhat ahead of schedule. Roy has his new 27" iMac and is very happy with it. So, I have inherited his old iMac and I am also very happy with it. All of this "inheriting" involved finishing up a bunch of paperwork on my MacBook so I could relegate it to the realm of being a "real" laptop now that I have a "real" desktop computer to work on. :) Lucky laptop, lucky me, lucky Roy!

Today, though, I'm still without photo files etc. here on the iMac so I won't post any new photos just yet. Soon, I promise! I need to transfer files from my laptop to here so that I don't have to email a lot of images etc. More progress soon, I'm sure. All for tonight, though.

I have been wanting to use my newsletter header on my blog and I was semi-successful in getting that here though I need to resize it and maybe eliminate some of the white space below it. But I was able to copy it, save it, and add it--so that's more than I expected to be able to do. I also changed the look of the blog again and I think it looks much better than it did.

Loose Ends. . . .

2011-08-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today's commitment (and it was yesterday's, and the day before's, too. . . ) is to sit down at my computer and tackle this heap of paperwork that needs inputting, filing, sorting, and tossing. It's been much too long in the process of getting done and I am determined to be caught up with it once and for all. Or at least for NOW!

When I took Alyson Stanfield's 3 online classes last winter, I made wonderful headway on getting my art business files set up, organized, and straightened out. But then I let things "slip" before I had completed the process and here it is, seven months later, and I'm just getting back to it. But I have done other things in the intervening period that have been productive as well.

One thing I finished up was a wall area in my blue and green living room that is dedicated to a wonderful painting by Bebe Long, a fellow artist in Fresno. She and I traded paintings last fall and I made a special place for her's. Here it is, pictured below. . . . . .

It is a very meaningful painting to her and I am so honored to now have it. In exchange, she has my flamingo painting since she collects flamingos. My blue and green room is enlivened by the pink and I've also added more black and white. (The dog, Cooper, is NOT new!) Bebe and I do a lot of similar things in our paintings--bold, bright colors, stylized people and flowers, and spirals, among other things. I just love her "motto"--

"Art is the icing on the cake of life."

Another thing that Bebe and I share is a love of cats. We both have yellow cat paintings in our current collections. Here is her "Tailhook" (the single cat) and my "Love is Kind" (two cats with a little mouse friend). Great minds think alike, as they say! And. . . . the best people LOVE cats! :)

At the Apple Store

2011-07-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the Apple Store in Fashion Fair, waiting for our desktop computer to either be made well or deemed unsaveable! Hopefully, it will be fixed with the disc repair they are doing and, meanwhile, we are literally salivating as we play with the 27" iMacs! And wish for iPhone 4's and iPad 2's!! But, all in all, we are extremely lucky to have what we have.

The 27" iMacs are so beautiful and would be perfect for artwork and for Roy's music on Finale. Someday. . . . .

Well, I've written a very short blogpost while I've been standing here. I'll close for now and see what the outcome is for the old iMac. More to come. . . . . .

Busy, busy!!

2011-06-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

How can so many days and weeks go by so quickly? Here it is the First Day of Summer and 103 degrees in Fresno, California. We've had an extremely cool early summer--in the 70's and 80's instead of the 90's and 100's. But that's all about to change. . . . .

I came back from the Robert Burridge workshop in February SO inspired and motivated to clean my studio (which I did!) and paint, paint, paint (which I didn't!). When I got home and started thinking about the studio, it was obvious what needed to be done. The sofa and the spinet piano which had been part of the furniture in the room for a LONG time now--20 years in the case of the piano!--needed to go. And go they did, about midnight one night, with only the 2 of us to move them to the other end of the house via a long hallway with a 90 degree turn in it. NOT an easy proposition! But we did it and the "new" studio plan makes so much more sense. I put tables and organizers where the 2 pieces were and in doing so was able to clear all 3 of my large worktables which had been neatly cluttered with a lot of supplies and materials. Everything was all down the center of 2 of the tables, noticeably limiting the usable area to spread out large paintings on etc.

Taking Robert's advice to heart, I gave myself room to now spread out a lot of projects and opened up the space to working on multiple paintings at once. Yay, Robert! Thanks for the inspiration.

I added tables along the wall where I did have a sofa, for more work space. . . . .

I put a low table with organizers on it where the piano was. . . .


The 3 glass-topped work tables are now completely clear!

Mother's Day Blog Hop

2011-05-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank Claudine Intner for inviting artists to participate in her Mother's Day Blog Hop event. I first met Claudine when we were fellow participants in one of Alyson Stanfield's online classes together. We learned about improving our blogs and increasing participation and this is certainly a wonderful way to do that. So, thank you, Claudine.

As wonderful as it seemed when I signed up, right now, I feel like Annie in the movie or play when she was bemoaning: "Oh, my goodness, oh, my goodness!" Oh, my goodness, what WILL I write about? This may be the least motherly, the shortest, and the furthest "off topic" of the
hops' posts, but here goes!

One of my favorite watercolor instructors of all time, Monte Guynes (now deceased), taught me a very valuable lesson. He taught me to always take everything back to the principles and elements of design when trying to solve a painting question, problem, or issue. He taught me to work loosely, wet into wet, and, as I dropped in the colors he taught me to think about dropping in (or painting in, if not wet into wet), a "Poppa Bear"-sized area of a color, a "Momma Bear"-sized area of the same color, and a "Baby Bear"-sized spot of the same color. Feeling a bit like Goldilocks lost in the woods, I followed his advice and as I've grown as a painter, I realize that what he was really teaching me was to intuitively use repetition and variation.

Repeating a color 3 times in 3 places in 3 different sizes helped unify the painting and insure that it was almost automatically harmonious. Not only applying to color, I learned to use a large circle, a medium-sized circle, and a tiny circle when choosing shapes for a painting--applying both repetition (of the shape) and variation (in terms of size). I also feel like Goldilocks, when I get it just right!

I can bring this mini-lesson to a close with an analogy that just occurred to me as I wrote this brief post. Agonizing over starting (just like I sometimes do when starting a new painting), I had an a-ha moment as I began the writing process--as mothers, we repeat ourselves over and over again to our children until the lesson is either learned or it isn't. And, as mothers, we try to vary the message over time so we say it in a different way so it suits each child or so the message doesn't become so boring as to eventually not be heard at all any more. In our paintings, we do the same things. We repeat what works or what we love or what ignites our passions. But we vary it so that it doesn't become boring for our viewers or for us as painters. As we grow in skill and technique and our interests change, we may stop repeating ourselves and change our approach completely.

To read the other posts in the blog hop and find some new and interesting blogs to follow, these people have posted or will be posting in days to come. Some bloggers have giveaways going and you can be part of them by following directions on the individual blog.

-May 1st - Claudine Intner http://www.intner.net/blog
- May 2nd - Melissa Liban http://melissalibanillustrations.blogspot.com/
- May 3rd - Lynn Krawczyk http://fibraartysta.blogspot.com/
- May 4th - Ishita Bandyo http://www.ishitabandyoarts.blogspot.com/
- May 5th - Jeri Greenberg http://www.Jerigreenbergart.blogspot.com
- May 6th - Kathleen Mattox http://mixedmessagesbykathleenmattox.blogspot.com/
- May 8th - Amanda Ruth http://bunnycarrots.blogspot.com/
- May 9th - Judi Hurwitt http://approachable-art.blogspot.com/
- May 10th - Kathleen Murphy http://kathleenmurphydesigns.blogspot.com/
- May 11th - Hannah Phelps http://hannahphelpsgallery.blogspot.com/
- May 12th - Helen Hiebert http://helenhiebertstudio.blogspot.com/
- May 14th - Hannah Klaus Hunter http://hannahklaushunter.blogspot.com/
- May 15th - Claudine Intner http://www.intner.net/blog/

And now, look for repetition and variation here in "Alice's Adventure", a mixed media painting of mine that is a full sheet (30" X 22"), framed to 40" X 32". It started as a "doodle" and grew from there into Alice's fall down the rabbit hole. . . . .

The Art Stand Gallery Open Studio event this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday!

2011-04-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

Double click on each image to view the entire document, then save and print if desired. . . . .

I will be back. . . .

2011-03-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

. . . . .I will be back, I WILL be back! Just trying to get things all settled and finished up and then I'll get back to blogging again. The first thing I want to do is tell you about a new venture. . . . . and a couple of older adventures!

One of the coop galleries I am part of is The Art Stand Gallery in Minkler. It is at the corner of HWY. 180 and Frankwood Avenue, east of Sanger and north of Reedley. For many years, the Sherwood Inn Restaurant was a favorite dining spot for valley residents but it's been closed for several years now. The good news is that it will be reopening in the next few months as the "School House" Restaurant & Tavern. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I'll keep you posted!

A whirlwind week. . . . .

2011-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week in Fallbrook, California,

at the Robert Burridge weekend. I haven't had
time to post a couple of photos of the jacket
that Mary Lee and I worked on last weekend
and will work on again this coming weekend.
We're still at the stage of sewing pieces onto
the sweatshirt with the shirt opened out flat.
We think we are almost 3/4's done with the
process.

"Snoozy Sunday" was "Sewing Sunday" today!

2011-02-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Mary Lee and I worked on the jacket from about 10 AM till 2 PM and it is now well more than 3/4's done! We think it looks spectacular and it is going together without any problems so far. It's really fun to apply color and think about the principles and elements of design without following a traditional "pattern". Very freeing, very creative, and an excellent project to do collaboratively. :)

"Special Event" Clothing--

2011-02-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

As artists, we are part of quite a lot of special art events such as receptions, show openings, demonstrations, club meetings, classes and workshops etc. I feel that I need to look like an artist at such events by wearing something (usually just 1 piece of clothing that says "artist", "lover of color and design", "funky" etc.) that reflects our artistic self. Not to say that I only wear 1 piece of clothing, of course, but that usually just one special jacket or scarf or top or vest is all it takes! LOL

Some of the fabrics

A colorful palette!

This weekend, I'm at my sister Mary Lee's in Chino, CA and we are making a jacket that I am hoping to wear to special events. It's made out of a pre-washed sweatshirt that is covered with scraps of material of your choice, machine applied and later embellished.

Different sizes and shapes

Beginning of a sleeve

Tonight's photos show just a few of the "getting organized" stages and the beginning of our sewing. We are much further along now and I'll post more tomorrow. It's going to be bright, cheerful, fun, and addictive! And colorful. . . .and layered, as well. :)

You cut the sweatshirt open so that you can apply the pieces on a totally flat surface, so it's easy to work on. More photos soon!

An Artist's Wardrobe. . . .

2011-02-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for this year it to "upgrade" my wardrobe, both my day to day work wear and my "special event" wear. When I was a school administrator, I dressed very differently than I dress as a full-time artist. So, what does an artist wear, you ask?

Hmmmmmm. Well, THIS artist dresses very simply. I usually wear jeans and layers of T-shirts and socks. I guess I dress like I paint, in mixed, colorful layers. LOL

For example, right now I have on:

•blue jeans (more like leggings almost, probably from WalMart or KMart)
•black socks with red short socks (scotty dog motif) over them--$1 at Target!

•silver Archapedico flats
•a red $5 tank top (worn backwards so it shows more color)
•black henley T-shirt bought on sale about 6 years ago at Chico's.

•Brighton necklace that has multiple charms on a ring on a chain. I love it because the little palette charm hanging in the middle says "Art is Life!" There's also a little laptop charm, multiple colored spacers, "You Only Live Once!", "Dream", "Joy", a four leaf clover, and a black L.O.L.

•red and black glasses (just readers, so I can have different colors)

I get up, get dressed, fix my hair and put on makeup EVERY day and I never go out looking sloppy. My clothes are inexpensive but I make it an artistic endeavor to look "put together" and a little quirky, as I think an artist can do and get by with.

Try it! You might love it, too! Next topic? My latest piece of "special event" clothing. . . . .

Accountability Saturday. . . .

2011-02-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

"Cheers" (30" X 38" watercolor by Kathleen Mattox)

Well, here it is Saturday again and I've been highly unaccountability on my goals relating to the large acrylic and the flannel quilt. But. . . . I've prepared LOTS of gessoed squares for the workshop which starts next Monday, otherwise prepared, packed and traveled to Chino where I'm staying with my sister and brother in law for the weekend. My sister and I are making a jacket which relates to another of my personal goals--updating my "artist's wardrobe"! So, mostly no--related to my accountability goals for the week. But yes, I've been productive!

"Follow Up Friday(s)"

2011-02-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

On "Fridays", I will follow up by sending personal, hand-written cards or postcards to at least 3-5 people each week. I will follow up with my collectors, prospects, and other artist friends. It is important to establish and maintain personal contact. I plan to gather a supply of postcards showing my art and greeting cards of my newest works and have them ready for note-writing on Fridays.

"Task-Oriented Thursday(s)"

2011-02-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

On Thursdays, my plan is to make sure my task list is under control. If there is any extra (is there such a thing?) time, I will focus on updating the task list and checking off tasks. I guess the big questions are:


"A Question of Time" (W/C & Pen, 38" X 30") by Kathleen Mattox

1. Will there be any extra time?

2. Which tasks to focus on? Prioritizing is always the issue for me.

"Welcoming Wednesday(s)"

2011-02-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday each week, I will make an effort to meet another artist for coffee or a chat or invite another artist into my home studio. It may not happen every week, but I will make an effort for a visit or at least a phone conversation each week.

Who would like to be first? In fact, I can start a list!! :)

"Tweaky Tuesday(s)"

2011-02-02T20:28:00.000-08:00

Tuesdays will be the day each week that I "tweak" my plan--I review and revisit my goals, my calendar, my tasks, my routines, and my progress. If need be, I will "tweak" things so that I AM making progress on my goals. I will remember that a "dream is a goal. . . . with a deadline" as I look at deadlines and make sure that I am meeting them.

Mellow-Dramatic Monday(s)

2011-01-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

The first day of each week, I will announce what the painting of the week and the UFO (Unfinished Object) of the week will be. I'll try to keep it very "Mellow" and to not be too "Dramatic" about my announcement. I will be AW45LKKKHJJJJJJJ (that's another word for assisted) by Kitten Cal, who will have to proof read every post AND send them at his discretion. . . . or lack of it. . . . .

3W89`````````AFGJ34 RSDFFFFFFFAAA

Kittens say the DARNED-est things!

My New Plan for the Week(s)

2011-01-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

Our stay at home mothers had a schedule for the week that was something like this:

Monday: Laundry
Tuesday: Ironing
Wednesday: Cleaning
Thursday: Shopping and visiting
Friday: Cooking and sewing
Saturday: Baking
Sunday: Church and resting

I'm going to follow a similar plan and schedule painting each day plus something art-marketing related. The names of the days will help me remember what to focus on, hopefully. This week I'll explain each day as it occurs, starting on Monday, the last day of January.

Mellow-Dramatic Mondays
Tweaky Tuesdays
Welcoming Wednesdays
Task-Oriented Thursdays
Follow Up Fridays
Accountability Saturdays
Snoozy Sundays

Another Accountability Saturday, already!

2011-01-29T18:40:00.000-08:00

And I haven't been very good at my goals for the week. I haven't worked on the painting or the quilt. I think I am putting off the painting because I don't like it and I think I may be able to feel better about it after next week's workshop. I may wait to work on it until Robert Burridge has worked his magic on my mind! The quilt scares me--it's just doing the first row of machine quilting, I think. Can I remember which foot to use? Can I get the huge thing through the machine? But Saturday is still young, as she were--I'm going to try to do ONE row of stitching before I go to bed tonight and see if I can allay my fears of beginning.

The stack of squares (3 sizes) and scraps


The 6" squares on the plastic covered cardboard

On the third goal,

I'm doing better.

I have all the sheets of

300# watercolor paper cut

into 6", 10" and 12" squares

plus bookmark sized scraps.

Today, I gessoed the 6" and 12"
squares and all the scraps. The scraps
are 2" X 10" and will just be for testing colors/techniques
etc. though I may use
them for bookmarks eventually. I don't
waste ANYthing, especially when it's
expensive 300# paper.

The scraps/bookmarks (2" X 10")

There are 42 10" squares

and I've done 10.

So, I need to do 32 more

10" squares and I'll be done

with the "grunt"part of

getting ready for the

workshop.
Yippee!


Looks like an abstract painting, doesn't it?