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Dry Creek Art Fest Roster

September 10th and 11th  Noon to 6 pm. Fantastic Art – Refreshments – Live Music! 2310 Robins Road Hiawatha, Iowa   Dry Creek Art Fest Roster     Karen Sands – Paintings and PotteryHandthrown stoneware Pottery Karen Sands- Paintings         Linda Blackwell – Design Purses Repurposed Art in the form of harvest sewn design… read more

Dry Creek Art Fest Extras

Before sharing more web sites of the art fest artists, for those of you who have never attended the Dry Creek Art Fest (this year on Saturday Sept. 10 and Sunday Sept 11, 2011), here are a few extras, especially aimed at the creativity portion of your brain. As stated before, the Art Fest is… read more

Dry Creek Art Fest

Mark your calendar Saturday Sept. 10 and Sunday Sept 11, 2011 for the fastest growing two-day art fest this side of the Mississippi – yes, the Dry Creek Art Fest. Named after the beautiful scenic Dry Creek which meanders around in this area, this juried Art Fest is a definite treat! Besides refreshments and live… read more

Ulysses S. Grant

In Galena, Illinois, an historic treasure is located, Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site. In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant became our country’s 18th President and was re-elected in 1872. The Grants maintained this home as their voting residence until 1881, when they moved to New York City to be near two of their children.… read more

High Tech Thumbnails

Thumbnails. Artists have learned to use valuable thumbnails when sketching for eons. However, technology has now given artists another thumbnails tool via the computer to help us perceive future artworks through our photos.   Let us say you have a folder of photos you have taken on your computer; photos that you are considering for… read more

A Blessing by Willson

This Fourth of July celebration, as we honor America’s best and pray for her future, it would be profitable for us to remember one particular work of Meredith Willson, a famous American composer and a homegrown Iowa boy. What do we know of Meredith Willson? Born in Mason City, Iowa, he was educated at the… read more

Music Man Square Update

  Mason City’s Music Man Square provides the viewer with an informative historical of an age when an extremely talented man, Meredith Willson, lived. Upon entering the museum, at first glance, one is transported into 1912 by the streetscape of the Warner Brothers movie “The Music Man.” The street is lined with small shops; some… read more

Music Man Square

There is music in the air. Ahh, 76 Trombones are calling, lead by the Music Man! You probably have seen that delightful Warner Brothers motion picture of The Music Man, one of America’s favorite musicals. Meredith Willson was one of America’s favorite storytellers and songwriters. Meredith Willson’s hometown of Mason City, Iowa with rich musical… read more

Personal Memorial Day Observations

My first observation was the huge American flag at half-mast, flying above the sepulchers at the Oak Shade Cemetery. This cemetery is composed of rolling hills with many tall trees in the midst of the town limits. Oak Shade Cemetery is a place of peace and calm, where one feels close to God. Years ago,… read more

“But Wait! There’s More! “

The 2011 Marion Arts Festival was another extravaganza hit in Marion’s art history. What fun it was! With 50 top-notch artists, art demonstrations, empty bowl fundraiser, 5 K run and walk, plenty of hands-on activities, and of course, good food all located in the city’s square, the surrounding atmosphere was engulfed with excitement! One could get depressed… read more

Marion Arts Festival 2011

  The art news is out! This Saturday May 21 there will be a huge art happening here in Marion, Iowa. Now in its 19th year, the Marion Arts Festival keeps reeling in the accolades and more importantly, brings in the audiences to enjoy fantastic art! Although, nearly 350 artists from all over the world… read more

A Website: An Ongoing Education

  At first, the title of this blog may sound like I am speaking of the education and art experiments I share with my readers, but it is not. The title, in truth, signifies the education I myself am receiving when running this website. My website has been and continues to be an ongoing education… read more

Twenty- Fifth Anniversary Dinner

I attended a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary dinner party last Saturday. The mood was festive, and extremely elegant, complete with a harpist, playing Christian music.   It was around 6 PM. The sun, just above the horizon, arrayed the room with golden beams that, through the wine and water glasses, bounced rainbows around the room. Decorated… read more

Creative Artists Spring Art Show

Hey Art Lovers, take time to visit the Creative Artists Spring Show & Sale on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Hiawatha Community Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. The Art Show runs from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM. In addition, there is no entrance fee. Throughout the day, Creative Artists will be giving away an enormous amount of… read more

Creating a New Habit

During our annual family clean up, we collect all items unfit for either donation or recycling in our screened-in patio. Then on the day assigned, we carry everything to the curb for the city pick-up. It was sometime during the middle of the process to the curb, when I decided without a doubt that I… read more

John Salminen Abstraction

Providence opened to me the door of abstracts through the artist John Salminen. John Salminen www.johnsalminen.com thinks in abstract forms before creating his world-renown paintings of urban life in the big cities. His no-nonsense method of creating an abstract from a few curvilinear and geometric items has enthralled me from the beginning. From John, I learned some… read more

No Toss of the Coin

  Cold rainy weather is not good for working outside on the memorial stones. However, the weather is perfect for a good cup of tea and time to reflect.  Life is like two sides of a coin. One side is good, while the other bad. The people who inspire, encourage, and expect the best of… read more

Memorial Stone for a Child

  Saga of Jasmine’s Garden continues:   I began to design the memorial stone for Jasmine. I created life-sized cutouts of both stones on which I could sketch ideas. At this time, I was planning to use just one stone, as suggested by Linda, Jasmine’s grandmother. Which stone would be the best one for the… read more

Dilemma of the Stones

  Continuing the saga of Jasmine’s Garden… In my studio, I closely examined the two possible stones for the memorial. The stone sides differed in textures. On the backside of the tallest stone, the texture had furrows and a circular gouge that would create great shadows as the sun passed by. The backside of the shorter stone… read more

Gung-ho Grandma

  This is where the saga begins for me. I am an artist. I was at Mr. Bean’s in Marion having a spot of green tea, as many artists do. We meet, have a hot drink, and talk shop. Linda Maske, who works there, spotted me and having a free moment, came over to chat.… read more

Saga of Jasmine’s Garden

Jasmine Jean Maske was a beautiful ten-year-old girl who loved her family and friends and, in fact, loved life itself.  She especially loved the outdoors, gardens & butterflies, and her curly black puppy “Taylor Swift” named after her favorite singer Taylor Swift. Jasmine was a fourth grader at Francis Marion Intermediate School in Marion, Iowa and… read more

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