tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216644002024-03-12T23:43:51.808-04:00BushStrokesFrom an artist's studio - images, words, ideas about the influences on creating. <br>
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<i>All words and images posted in BushStrokes Copyright 2006-present by Annette Bush</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger345125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-50557105947729345982010-03-04T11:24:00.009-05:002010-03-04T12:55:21.151-05:00BushStrokes, My New Treasure.Yesterday, my copy of "Bush Strokes" arrived in the mail . . . from Australia!It is not the little print newsletter called BushStrokes which I mailed before beginning to write on-line in my BushStrokes Blog. BushStrokes. A play on my name and the brushstrokes of a painter to define the words and images coming from my studio.This Bush Strokes is a little book of beautiful illustrations of twentyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-89382671966774639122010-02-27T13:50:00.008-05:002010-02-27T20:56:08.696-05:00Poppies on a BowlMy mother recently gave me a bowl which was hand-painted with poppies floating down the sides and dripping over the edges. I have always loved poppies, but I'm not sure she knew that.It just seems they have always been around. The modest yellow California ones filled the edges of Grandmother's garden and the big flamboyant red ones are a rare and exciting addition in family gardens or whenever IUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-1233042868626628222010-02-23T09:39:00.008-05:002010-02-23T10:30:50.396-05:00Those Red SwitchesIt was a quick trip to Edgefield County -- Home of Ten Governors including our Cousin Strom.As we turned off the main highway onto the little country roads which snake through groves of Carolina peaches, I was struck by the color of late afternoon. We became part of the golden glow from the setting sun which spread over the landscape and its rows of perfectly pruned peach trees.But, wait! There Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-62935004407976360972010-02-22T11:47:00.007-05:002010-02-22T12:19:36.125-05:00A Week of Good StuffSo I did no blogging last week. . .Since these little entries are notes on my days, it must seem that I lost a whole week! I'll have to think about it. I must have done something. I gotta make better notes!I DID post this photo on Facebook for my cousin Sheryl. She thought my accident photos looked like "elder abuse." She likes this one better. The nose is still crooked and there are still Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-75128278211901211952010-02-14T12:10:00.004-05:002010-02-15T13:03:48.252-05:00Color of the Week: SNOWOver the weekend, our largest snowfall since 1973. It came quickly; it left quickly. A few angels, hearts and happy snowpeople were around for Valentine's Day.Berries for the birds.View from the kitchen window.Across the back fence.Lovin' the white stuff.Staying warm after a run in the snow.Joy. Peace. Exuberance. Quiet. Warmth.That is the color of a little SNOW.-------------------Update on Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-60100442026866827022010-02-08T21:03:00.007-05:002010-02-09T09:32:08.415-05:00Quote of the Day: Ask LucyThis is definitely art galleriable.4 year old Lucy After Christmas, my daughters and I were visiting among the boxes of ornaments and decorations when Lucy called us to attention. "Now be quiet, everyone, and put on your Museum manners."When we were quiet, she conducted a little role play -- a museum tour of the "galleries" and paintings in the house. We didn't move, but she presented a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-89712509122485777362010-02-05T20:20:00.008-05:002010-02-08T21:01:59.174-05:00A Reminder to SelfDay 5Ah, it seems to be getting better.Oh, dear. It is getting worse before it gets better.Maybe a little more makeup. . . .Day 8Reminder to self:"Don't get personal with a sidewalk."Yep. Reminder. To. Self.Other links to accident.Anticipated RETURNLookin' GoodBushStrokes(c) AAB--Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-81531495365488895222010-01-30T17:16:00.005-05:002010-01-30T19:20:41.689-05:00Photo of the Week -- Looking Good!I have learned that a relationship with a sidewalk may not result in a broken heart, but it certainly can mean lots of aches, pains and general discomfort.My glasses hurt my nose. The arm splint makes it awkward to do almost everything. My head hurts when I move around a lot. BUT there is little pain, I'm not bleeding and I don't have to put on make-up today!Aunt Alice said I would be better Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-66160475711096418212010-01-28T13:07:00.008-05:002010-01-28T13:24:42.756-05:00Anticipated RETURNI used to paint on sweat shirts. I had a chance to do it again yesterday.I have been reading about artists who are using a variety of materials - whether to emphasize the transient nature of the environment or some other kind of statement - I'm not sure I get it. But yesterday, I dribbled a bright Alizarin on my favorite pale green sweatshirt. The one which matches my favorite Crocs. ® I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-15893785339656211992010-01-26T10:54:00.008-05:002010-01-26T13:16:07.655-05:00My Word of the YearGood art looks new because the artist has recombined something old to make something better. Darby BarnardI'm still working on my Word of the Year. I never did settle on one word for last year.I've been thinking about the do-over words re-cycle, re-purpose, re-new, re-present. But I'm already DOING those. I'm reusing the church window/greenhouse glass. I'm saving coffee grounds for younger Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-40491458837567746522010-01-25T16:36:00.003-05:002010-01-26T13:20:23.808-05:00Clear Unbroken PanesLast fall, Mamma took down her old greenhouse. It had seen hundreds of plants and blooms across the years, but the old wooden frames had finally given way. The windows had originally been in our church and Daddy recycled or "re-purposed" them when they were replaced just before I married.When Mamma wondered if the trash people would take the glass away, I knew I needed to find a way to use it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-26440311888211039152010-01-23T23:13:00.005-05:002010-01-23T23:32:00.202-05:00Color of the Week - Marshmallow"It's a marshmallow world in the winter, When the snow comes to cover the ground". . .Problem is. . . we don't get much snow in middle Georgia just south of the fall line. But, we bundle a little when the wind blows fluffy clouds in the cold blue sky, sprinkle marshmallows in mugs of hot chocolate and hope for "a whipped cream day."Lucy and Belle made snowmen with big marshmallows, kisses and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-84593580350951347542010-01-20T15:49:00.004-05:002010-01-20T16:19:25.802-05:00A Kick in the RearWinter was here last week. Today the birds are singing, neighbors are visiting on the green and leaves are stretching in the warming sun.These quiet days of January seem perfect for my goal of writing a few times a week about what I have observed in the studio, around the house, in the classroom and about my family.Too many weeks have passed since I made notes here about the ordinary events of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-6636417384143774942010-01-19T10:49:00.005-05:002010-01-19T11:56:10.989-05:00Quote of the Week: GoalA goal is a dream with a deadline. James Scott Bell, writer http://www.jamesscottbell.com/Setting goals is simple for Lucy. She loves Toddler Time at the Museum but it's not looking at the art nor the creative time in the art room which is her dream. It's "I'm finished. Let's go to lunch at the Sunshine Bakery." She almost always meets her deadline. Photo: "Lucy and her abstract Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-86463975332916647522010-01-18T12:10:00.003-05:002010-01-18T12:30:03.068-05:00Along the Quarter Mile to the MailboxWe watched across the landscape as a plume of dust marked the progress of a vehicle along the unpaved "big road." We knew it was the mail carrier and so we ran with bare feet toward the treasures of the mailbox, making our own dusty plumes on the dirt track between the cotton and watermelon fields.It was the summer when I was eleven. It was my week to visit my cousins who had hard chores to do Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-12353257429531966042009-10-05T22:56:00.002-04:002009-10-05T23:15:35.803-04:00Good Things in NinesLast week was filled with nines.In the studio: prepped and ready for paint -- NINE little canvases. I had great fun ordering all sizes in sets of nine -- on sale! In the workroom: a long term project needing NINE old mailboxes.Funny how we never throw away the old one. Mike and Dennis have promised theirs! From daughter's house: hourly updates as Miz Scarlett delivered NINE puppies.Ptoud Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-90849371754602183322009-09-15T11:56:00.006-04:002009-09-15T12:30:44.694-04:00Keep an Eye on the GroundI had been cutting grass and clearing vines at my great-grandparents' old house and daughter and I were taking a walk around to plan our next work day. We are often surprised by what we find, but this was a biggie -- our second snake of the season and not a little one. It was curled in a spot of sunshine like a string of sparkling onyx beads. As I stepped closer to get a photo, it stretched Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-38867729573406284992009-09-11T11:04:00.004-04:002009-09-11T11:24:39.502-04:00The Red Spiders DanceChange is sometimes subtle; sometimes explosive.Making a mark we don't fully understand.Seasons do that in their departures and arrivals.Sometimes subtle; sometimes explosive.For me, no matter if it is the end or the beginning,September's change is marked by the day the red spiders dance.iPhone photo: Red Spider Lilies Surviving the OddsBushStrokes (c) AAB---Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-22423344553441495332009-08-28T10:00:00.003-04:002009-08-28T12:33:02.264-04:00Dark Clouds with Silver LiningsA few weeks ago, Alyson Stanfield of ArtBizBlog wrote about artists, the economy and "pop-up" galleries. Since reading her post, I have had two opportunities to mention both my experience with storefront or alternative space and Alyson's Blog with her resources for the business of art. Link to Alyson's thoughts about using temporary exhibit space. http://www.artbizblog.com/2009/07/Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-3252273608074157822009-08-27T09:47:00.005-04:002009-08-27T10:12:26.314-04:00Color of the Week: Yellow Happy ChairTwo year old Belle seems to need time out more than most, but she could never quite figure out what she was supposed to do in the chair and how long was long enough. "When can I get down?" became a repetitive whine."Do I Have to Sit Here?"Finally, her Mamma remembered being sent to her room to look under the bed for a better face -- one with a smile would do -- and said, "Until you get a happy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-9164268139328617322009-08-26T10:00:00.006-04:002009-08-26T10:00:05.649-04:00Hours for Watching - SpidersSpiders building webs and unbuilding webs" When we go to the little summer house, we know we will be as close to nature as if we were living in a tent -- well actually, we do call it a "tent." We are not surprised to find a bird's nest in the book case or a squirrel peeping through the gable vent or even a spider web hanging in a doorway.It has its charm. It has the Hours for Watching.A year or Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-47875351988765270912009-08-25T17:42:00.008-04:002009-08-25T17:55:34.533-04:00Quote of the Week: Letting the Other Half Out!Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia."E.L. DoctorowI spotted this quote while checking on something not related to house renovation nor grandchildren and immediately paired writing with painting -- two of my favorite creative pursuits.Doctorow suggests that schizophrenia is acceptable, but could it also be that it is a little necessary? I often think I do my best work when "I"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-60790784152934011532009-08-17T16:02:00.005-04:002009-08-19T18:41:20.107-04:00Hours for WatchingSummers.Time to Watch.Not watching Time.Spiders building webs and unbuilding webs.Children climbing, running, swimming.Little girls snoozing in my bed.Cats sleeping.Birds warning of cats not sleeping.Hammocks with no sketching.Swings with no writing. Porches with no painting.Shadows lengthening.Raindrops clinging in last light.Sunsets spreading across the sky.My days. The minutes filled with Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-44996845662311517482009-08-16T14:22:00.003-04:002009-08-17T15:55:40.857-04:00Color of the Week: "Birthday"When 18 month-old Lucy and her Mamma came to my house to live for a while, Belle had not arrived. Now Belle has turned two and Lucy has just become a sparkling four year old and they have moved just five miles away (close enough for regular visits, but in another state!)We celebrated last week with The Cake which Lucy "visited" each week as she and I grocery shopped together. It was a lovely Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21664400.post-8984144908180400022009-08-14T18:54:00.007-04:002009-08-14T21:05:36.577-04:00The Problem with Naked LadiesBack in March, there were promises for the spring and summer. Daffodils trumpeted warmer days. Wide straps of lily foliage announced where summer bulbs might bloom. Wisps of fragrance led the nose on treasure hunts. Trees began to wake with a slow fuzziness and nubbins hinted of leaves to come. I carefully marked my calendar with anticipated dates; those regular irregular events which occur Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4