The Old Road Opens at the Heider Center

   The beautiful  Heider Center Art Gallery in West Salem will host our show 'The Old Road Walking Into Beauty' for the month of October.
    Please join us October 11th for a reception in the gallery. Also check out the performances at the Heider Center; they have a season of events worth attending.
     The Heider Center is just a few minutes from La Crosse.  See you there!

     The paintings and poems can be seen at VIVA Gallery in Viroqua through Saturday September 29th, so if you're in town, stop by the gallery. VIVA artists have many beautiful displays; one of the best galleries around!

Shadow Catcher - Walnut Ink on Paper

The Old Road Book

Map of The Old Road

       
  First, a warm thank you to the person who purchased The Map of The Old Road. I tried to make it feel like an old parchment map with a little bit of magic and whimsy, so that as it is examined up close, with a lamp softly shining over one's shoulder, memories and imaginings from the forest and water and sky come to mind. Maybe the thought of the walnut trees and the special places found after walking the road over and over will come to mind, and the map may feel a little more alive as the memories and dreams of the beautiful land rise up from the walnut ink's spirit embedded in the terrain of the map.
         Joanne's words so simply and clearly say what The Old Road is about, and what that path through time and landscape mean to so many people. We send this map and poem out to  hold those stories for those in the future who will look, and ponder and then go back out to walk The Old Road.

The Old Road Book

       Making a painting and poem that speaks to your heart yours to take home creates a connection between the artists and those in our community who love the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, and The Old Road.
We also made the book of all the paintings and poems, so that you can share the story easily with anyone. Books have already gone to Canada and Australia, Minnesota and Washington. They are a good way to share your experience of the KVR with someone else. VIVA Gallery and the Friends of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve gift shop in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve  visitor center have the book and you can also find it in my Etsy shop.
        We'd love to hear from you about your experiences on The Old Road. Have you walked it at night, or in different seasons? What do you like best? What are you curious about along the trail?
Maybe we'll meet someday, walking on The Old Road.

Shadow Catcher

Happy Trails,
Susan

VIVA Gallery Guest Artists for September

See you at VIVA!

     Enjoy an excellent meal at Rooted Spoon as well as all the very exciting art at VIVA
gallery anytime during September, as well as see our poetry/painting project on display.
Come for the opening; it's the most fun!

     Joann and I spent several months walking The Old Road together, sharing our art and developing this exhibit. We've published a small book of the poems and paintings too. The book is our way of saying 'thank you' to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, and to offer this whole body of work to you, to be enjoyed as any art should be; slowly, over time.

If you know the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, we hope these paintings and poems will remind you of the great gift of that land. If you have not been there, we hope that you will be inspired to go, and walk out among the marshes, hills and trees and all the beings that live there, and find your own special places of beauty.

See you on the trails!
Susan

Sketch Books

   After the long hours working on The Old Road walnut ink paintings/drawings, doodling around in a sketchbook is relaxing and allows my brain to sort and plan for future paintings. A while back I found very nice little sketchbooks at American Science and Surplus. This is a fun catalog and store for finding a wide variety of things you didn't know you needed until seeing it in the catalog. These sketchbooks were just the right size, about 6 x 8" with very white paper that is heavy enough to take ink pen work. Three books for a price worth taking a chance on.
 

Old Maple Tree

     After I started playing with this tree drawing, the rest of the book seemed to follow the theme, and just this week I finished the last page, and all the sketches are of trees, from places as far away as California, but mostly the trees are all neighbors or old friends of mine from nearby.

Peter's Orange Pig

     Now that the sketchbook is full, the next painting is getting more attention. So here are some more from the sketchbook, and I'll be back with something new in a while......

A row of eucalyptus trees in California

The Old Road - A Last Look

   The Old Road-Walking Into Beauty will be on display at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve through Friday, May 4th.  Take a leisurely walk through the exhibit to see the paintings and poetry, (and don't forget to check out The Old Road book, in the gift shop) then enjoy the burst of spring flowers along The Old Road itself (Old 131 Trail). This trail is always open, so even if the other trails are too wet from all the rain this week, the birds and flowers and more will be easy to see along this paved trail.

Map of The Old Road

   Many birds are here now, and every day more are coming in for a rest or to stay for the summer. The Old Road takes you to the ponds, marshes, fields and woodlands of the KVR. This may be the best place to see the most variety of birds.

A Morning Walk

   After our exhibit leaves the KVR, it will be shown again later in the summer and fall in La Crosse,

West Salem and Viroqua. We hope to see you again!

Susan and Joanne

The Old Road Meet the Artists

Are you going to the Spring Fling  at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve? Celebrating April as poetry month continues at Spring Fling, as the Earth Day Poetry Contest poets of merit read their work at 4 pm. It's inspiring to listen to these young people's poetry and share their enthusiasm for the beauty of well crafted words.
After the Earth Day Poetry presentation, The Old Road-Walking Into Beauty exhibit of walnut ink drawings and poetry of our well-loved 'Old 131 Trail' will be introduced. Joanne Shird and I will talk about the project and answer questions. Be sure to check the gift shop for The Old Road-Walking Into Beauty souvenir book.  All proceeds go to the Friends of the KVR.
We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Bridge 13

Paddling on the pond, wonderful raffle prizes, great food, music and more......Spring Fling is the place to be on Saturday!

The Old Road - Walking Into Beauty

Bright Promises - Walnut Ink and Watercolor on Paper 8" x 10"

    Walking Into Beauty.....that phrase immediately seemed right to both Joanne and me as we

began collaborating on a project to combine poetry and visual art to express our experiences walking the Old 131 Trail through the middle of the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. For years we both have walked what we call 'The Old Road', in all weather, seasons and times of day. It remains our favorite place to wander and observe this land we love.

     We also made a book of the poems and drawings! We feel poetry is best read and re-read over time. The book gives you the opportunity to remember your own wanderings on The Old Road, and share some of the beauty there with others who may not be able to walk this trail.

Along the Riverbank - Walnut Ink on Watercolor Paper 8" x 10"

   We think of The Old Road as a way to connect many aspects of this place. Through time, it has been an animal track, a footpath for humans for thousands of years, then a highway, and again a footpath for humans and all who live here. In that way The Old Road connects us all through time and a shared way through the land.

   Walnut ink was used for the drawings. Gathering the nuts from trees in the valley, making the ink and then the drawings and finally sharing the images with you lets Walnut speak through the process and the sharing. Walnut trees are common here, growing in the rich soil. They offer food and shelter for many who live in the land, and finally their wooden bodies as well as their fruit (nuts) for human use too. Walnut ink has been used for centuries to color human made objects and for writing and drawing. So the walnut ink connects us to the walnut trees, the others who depend on them, and to human connection to walnut trees over time.

   The Old Road is an invitation for you too, to walk into beauty on the Old 131 Trail in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

     The Old Road drawings and poems now are on display at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitor Center, through May 4th, 2018.

The Work of Art

   Recently a few friends and I were discussing the reasons each of us 'make art'. No matter the medium, or the skill level, or the degree the art-making influenced their daily life, everyone agreed that actually creating a painting (for example) entailed effort and skills that were impossible to imagine for someone who had never done such a thing.
   It became clear to me long ago that those artists that I knew personally, and who were doing work that I could only aspire to being able to do and were even supporting their families with their creations, all struggled daily with the same types of problems. They constantly work on one aspect or another of the skills needed, whether it is self discipline or the ability to mix the correct color, or getting the perspective right, or countless other questions.

Miller Denver Saddle 1937 - graphite on paper

   The Painter's Keys is one of the most popular artist blogs. After Robert Genn died, his daughter kept the blog going, and often reposts Robert's past entries. This one from 2002 illustrates a spectrum of artists struggling with their work, and was both amusing and enlightening. levels-of-achievement gives a quick glimpse of artists at work. Of course there are many other ways artists get things done, and many ways they approach their work.

   I do not make my living painting and so do not have those pressures that add to a day's work. I do always have something I try to learn and some skills I make efforts to improve.  I certainly spend more time struggling with getting something to look and feel the way I intend and not so much time blithely spreading paint around a canvas. Actually, that never happens!

   Here are a few quotes from The Painter's Keys Quote Page about painting:

   People think you can get out your canvas and paint any time you have a free moment. You can't. Commercial art and painting are entirely different. Painting takes a different mental approach. You have to get the right attitude, the right mood. (Pierre Alechinsky)

Painting should educate and enrich. Modern painting merely offers a split-second emotion: You see it, you have an instant reaction and move on. Instead, real painting can be looked at over and over again and each time it has something new. (Igor Babailov)

Goose Eggs With Brass Bowl and Gold Light - oil on panel

Painting requires the bravery of solitude. Painting requires disciplined labor. To be a painter is to search the world with a benevolent eye for every subtle beauty that the infinite world offers. (Charles Philip Brooks)

Painting is easy, getting it right is the hard bit. (Danny Byrne)

  If it isn't challenging it probably isn't much fun either. If you've got a craft or art or passion to do something, now is the time! Join the man on the street wrestling with his easel and paint, or me, working through the next question about value or color; you might find great rewards hidden among the challenges.

Susan

Walnut Ink Drawing

River Cliff-Walnut Ink on Paper 8"x10"

     Walnut ink has me fascinated with it's gorgeous, rich color. Our refrigerator has a shelf of jars full of dark brown ink. Drawing is fun, but the process of making walnut ink connects my act of making a drawing back to the land with a deeper, felt connection.
     First, drawing with walnut ink means thinking about the drawings well ahead of time. The walnuts hang green on the trees, the weather changes, the leaves start to fall. The walnuts continue to hang on the trees. Finally they drop to the ground and can be gathered. The aromatic greenish brown balls are scattered in the driveway, and we drive over them day after day until the softening husks break away from the walnut shell. It is not necessary to drive over them, but it speeds up getting the husks off the nutshells.
     The darkest pieces are put into an old kettle with some water and simmered until I remember to take them off the burner. This is usually several hours. After cooling, the ink is strained and bottled with a bit of vodka to preserve it. Over time mold may grow in the ink, so I keep it in the refrigerator to extend the shelf life. But if it starts to mold, the film can be scraped off the top of the liquid.
     Walnut ink can be used with brush or pen nibs, mixed with watercolor or other inks. I'm not sure how lightfast this ink is, so recommend any drawings made with walnut ink be displayed out of direct sunlight. That's a good idea for any drawing.
   

Warner Creek Standing Rock 8"x10"

     The warm, natural tones of walnut ink seem just right for drawings of the rocks, trees and land that are part of Walnut Tree's home. Check back for more walnut ink drawings through the winter months.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!

The ART of Travel

A venerable traveler

Recently I've inherited suitcases from the 1940's and even earlier. Those were the days when travelers, especially women, had well made suitcases for every department of their wardrobes.
They were all hard case, with satin linings, ribbons to hold contents in place (neatly folded), and even removable trays.

Ruffled side pockets, tiny locks with tiny keys, leather trim....details and quality of construction was important.
Yes, they were heavier than contemporary soft luggage, but if you are traveling by car that doesn't matter as much as when your trip across the vast airports of today take almost as much time as your flight.

So, these suitcases are cool, but I'm thinking not fun enough. So I painted one a while ago, in tribute to the trip to Arizona that was planned but cancelled due to my broken leg. I painted the desert on the suitcase; a fitting way to memorialize the untraveled trip.

Desert Dreaming Suitcase painting in progress

After the suitcase was finished, it went along on some overnight trips. Arriving and departing really was more fun with 'Desert Dreaming' as a companion. By now it has been to Madison, Milwaukee and several places in Iowa.

Desert Dreaming Suitcase -the other side

Leo considering a journey with the Desert Dreaming Suitcase

The suitcase was a lot of fun. It inspired a painting project, was interesting to work with, and when finished was still more fun when filled up with my stuff and taken on a trip.

After a while, another suitcase started drawing my attention. It was going to showcase the coloring book  'A Day With The Horses'. After cleaning it up and putting a base coat of white acrylic paint on, the horses were sketched in with pencil, then painted with acrylic.

A Day With The Horses Suitcase

The painting went quickly. I forgot to take pictures of the process, so will show that another time.
'A Day With The Horses' suitcase is larger than 'Desert Dreaming'.  Both are about 12" x 18" but 'A Day With The Horses' is slightly deeper. 'Desert Dreaming' has more side pockets and a satin lining.
'Horses' has leather trim.

A Day With The Horses Suitcase-the other side

The desert is still on my mind! The leather trim added to the western theme.  Inside, this suitcase is roomy but simple; no ruffled pockets, just a nice big boxy space to put lots of travel stuff into.

Inside of A Day With The Horses Suitcase

Finishing this painted suitcase by painting the side panels and putting a protective coating on the painted surfaces completed the project.

Side

Top of Suitcase with Leo the Cat

A Day With The Horses is available on SusanCushingArt.etsy.com Other suitcases will be added in the near future. Visit my blog again soon for updates on the Suitcase Project. Thanks for stopping by!

Mountain Paintings at Wine Guyz in March

   Deep Snow High Mountains continues to keep me busy as the exhibit travels to another venue.   The Wine Guyz will host the paintings from February 27th through March 25th.
  Please join us for the reception on Wednesday March 8th, from 6-8pm. There will be new paintings to enjoy as well as The Wine Guyz ambiance.
  Now, I have to get back to finishing the rest of the snowy mountains, stormy clouds and glacial rivers waiting on the easel. I hope you can join us at the Wine Guyz.