Lisa Call

Day 7 – The Free Day

It’s been a while since I posted any photos from South Africa. I do plan on getting through all 21 days of the tour eventually, this is just a low priority task at the moment, one for times when I’m too tired for the studio.

Day 7 of the South African Tour was a free day while we were in the Drakensburg, the mountains in central part of the country. I chose to spend my free day hiking and was happy Barb and Jessie invited me to join them on a hike toward Cathedral Peak. We didn’t aim for the top but to get a great view of the peak.

It was a beautiful day and the hike was gorgeous. These photos bring back only wonderful fond memories.

[For new readers - I spent a month in South Africa in August - had a fabulous time on the arts and crafts tour - you can see previous posts here.]

The Hike To Cathedral Peak

This photo was taken about an hour into the hike. We’d done a bunch of up and had a bunch more to go.

A bit later looking back to where we came from.

Up the valley – looking back again to the start. Notice the difference on the 2 sides of the valley – one green – one brown – amazing the effect of the sun!

The smoke in the distance is controlled grass fires – they do that a lot. Also the peaks in the background are the escarpment that gently slopes down towards the west. Funky thing escarpments.

And finally – after a lot more up that originally anticipated (I think 2 1/2 hours but might have been 3) we see Cathedral Peak. It was amazing!

Very rocky – just like colorado.

The view over the valley.

Someone thought we were dinner.

The dark streak is a burned grass area.

Hiking back down (much faster than going up).

Then I started taking photos of the grass.

Isn’t grass cool!!!

Love the splotch of green grass in the sea of brown. These colors heavily influenced the fabric I dyed for my South African Impressions textile paintings.

It was a fabulous day. We had a long leisurely lunch after the hike then walked back to our camp – another 1/2-hour of walking. Or at least that is what I remember – it was a big walking day.

This was definitely one of the highlights for me on this trip.

Went for a hike in the Mt Evans Wilderness this weekend through a huge grove of Aspen trees. It was magical. I was completely in awe of these amazing trees.

I hope the colors looks okay in these – just calibrated my monitor and I’m thinking I’ll redo it in the morning cause it’s looking a bit weird.

That said – the golden light from the leaves of the aspen trees incredible. Photoshop isn’t believing the sky was as blue as it was and leaves as gold as they were. High on the list of todos for post host remodel – learn to use my camera and photoshop correctly.

An Artful Weekend

After my post on saturday morning, I not only removed my laptop from my studio/bedroom I removed the modem and router. I decided I had to get the computer out of my studio and out of my bedroom. It was interfering with not only my art but also my sleep. The flashing lights on the router and modem don’t make for a peaceful night of sleep at all.

So I dumped it all in my living room and spent 16 glorious hours working in my studio this weekend. It was perfect. I reconnected with that right brain art making focus and completely recharged my creative batteries.

It didn’t hurt that sunday afternoon I had a yummy brunch with my super talented artist friend Julie and then spent a few hours at the Denver Art Museum surrounded by art. I didn’t feel tired at the museum at all but was exhausted when I got home so I took a nap. What a treat, to take the time to sleep during the day.

After the nap I was in the perfect inspired frame of mind and designed Structures #99 in a few hours. This is one of those pieces that just happened, no fights or struggles. It basically designed itself. I love it when this happens.

I have a few more hours of surface stitching on Structures #98 then I’ll start the construction of this new piece.

It was exactly the weekend I was hoping to have when I decided to commit the weekend to art with no distractions.

Total Silence (almost)

After unplugging the computer on saturday I thought about turning on music or listening to a book on tape but decided to have a silent day instead. Parts of my process don’t require much creative thought (the surface stitching) so it’s a rather meditative process.

With no music or noise to distract me, my mind processed a lot of stuff that has been piling up over the past few months. It was interesting to see what came up as I sat there for hours stitching lines back and forth on the surface of my textile painting.

I’m learning to allow the thoughts to just happen, observe them and just let them go without judgment. While not formal meditation, which I struggle with, it is a very healing process. It was tempting to distract myself with noise but didn’t.

The only talking I did on saturday were a couple of short phone calls with my boyfriend, Jim, who says I never mention him on my blog. So I’m now mentioning him. I’ve been told I can only say nice things, which is easy. One of the really wonderful things to have come from 9-10 months of getting clear about the life I want, was finding a very wonderful guy to hang out with and hike with. And he’s a really amazing cook.

Reconnecting

I had some art business todo’s on my list for the weekend but sunday evening rolled around and I had no desire to plug in the computer and do them. So I didn’t. It wasn’t until monday around 9am when I finally figured out where to plug everything in that I reconnected with the world. Just in time to find out I missed a meeting at work. Oh well – people should not be allowed to schedule meetings over the weekend for monday morning.

My computer now lives on my desk in my living room. I’ll have to do a lot of shuffling to do paperwork and there are electrical cords and network cables all over the place but this seems like a better solution temporary than interrupting my sleep and my art.

When the remodel is finished I’ll have a small study to put the computer. I went back and forth during the design on whether or not this was luxury or necessity. In the end I decided for my sanity, it was required and worth paying more so I can have that division of space.

Today I was going to catch up on the art business things but decided I’d prefer to make art, so that’s what I did after dinner. I plan on this desire and focus for working in the studio to stick around for a long time.

Pictures

Too many blog posts without pictures can be boring so here are a few photos from a recent hike in the Mt. Evans wilderness.

 
I love Colorado.

Structures #3    ©2003    28" x 26"

 
Some more thoughts on the design principles from my kids’ Expeditionary Learning school and how they relate to being an artist.

[All my posts on design principles.]

Design Principle #8: The Natural World

A direct and respectful relationship with the natural world refreshes the human spirit and reveals the important lessons of recurring cycles and cause and effect. Students learn to become stewards of the earth and of the generations to come.

Inspiration

My work is heavily informed by the southwestern landscape, from canyon walls and the desert to the green forest trees and the rocky mountains. I grew up backpacking, camping and hiking in northern New Mexico, the most beautiful place on earth. After living in California, Wisconsin, New York and Virginia I decided I needed to permanently settle in the southwest as it feels like home.

Spending time in nature is an essential part of my being an artist. Looking at pictures for inspiration is nice but nothing beats being in the wilderness with no one around for miles to soak in the beauty, serenity and magic. Standing on the top of a 14,000 ft peak looking out across the top of Colorado is incredible and getting back on top of our high peaks is a goal for this year. I also want to get back to the desert as the sheer canyon walls give me goosebumps. The cracks in the rock, the color changes across the surface – amazing!

 
Nothing beats experiencing nature to rejuvenate the human spirit. When things aren’t going perfectly or when things are are a little crazy, I find that taking the time to reconnect with nature is a great way to regain balance. With the house sales and impending move, the past few months have been a bit off kilter. I think a day in the mountains hiking is exactly what I need to reconnect with myself. This weekend I will definitely find a bit of time to get outdoors.

Move Update

The sellers and I have come to an agreement for me to purchase their home. I close on both the house I’m selling and the house I’m buying on wednesday! I’m so excited. A new beginning. A new house. And for my kids, the same school, moving closer to their friends. It’s exactly what we need for the next stage of our life.

More details later on the new house and how my studio will fit into the home.

Happy friday everyone.

 
Detail of Structures #3

 
I was tagged a few weeks back by Stacey for the 5 random things about myself meme traveling about the blog world and tonight feels like a good night to think of 5 because I don’t feel like writing about art and goals, etc.

1) I used to do a lot of hiking. The above photo was taken in 2002 on top of Crystal Peak near Breckenridge. The peak behind me is Pacific Peak. Climbing the 14ers has become very popular here in Colorado and there is a steady stream of people headed to the top so I started hiking the high 13ers instead. Same thing only significantly fewer people because there is no score card to be kept. I have no goals in my hiking other than to enjoy the outdoors.

2) A few years ago for father’s day I hiked to the top of Quandary Peak alone, a 14er also near Breckenridge, for the sole purpose of calling my dad from the top to wish him Happy Father’s Day in celebration of all hiking we did when I was a kid. I guess I do often have 1 goal in hiking, and that is getting to the top, something I think I inherited from my dad. Gotta see what’s on the other side!

3) I used to love skiing. Then I moved to Colorado in 94 and haven’t skied since. The traffic, cost and crowds are not worth it to me.

4) I’ve (mostly) been a vegetarian since 1985 and eat very healthy, mostly home cooked simple meals.

5) I love melted velveeta and rotel with chips, in stark contrast to item #4. I even like those nasty nachos in theaters with the plastic cheese. I know, disgusting.

 
Now to tag 5 folks. This is the part I don’t like – that whole popularity contest thing I don’t like. So instead I tag everyone that reads this post. Consider yourself personally tagged, and thank you for reading my ramblings, be it just today, or all the days you read. You are much appreciated.

Structures #17    © 2003    31" x 77"

 
Another Grand Canyon inspired piece. This is the most personal of the quilts. In the background are the Grand Canyon layers and colors. In the foreground the dark and light figures – the dichotomy of good and evil. While the trip was the most amazing experience it was also a challenging personal experience with some unpleasant interactions with the men in the group. I can’t remember many details of the stress but I well remember the magic of the canyon. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alive.

I haven’t spent time hiking in the past couple of years and I think I’m really missing it. I need to resolve to get back into shape and get back in the mountains and canyons.

 
As I’m looking at these older pieces I’m reminded how much I really enjoyed making these brick wall type shapes. Each piece was cut by hand and sewn together so it’s a rather time consuming process but I love the results. I have thought recently of doing some work similar to these but every time I face an empty design wall my thin lines appear instead. Maybe in time I’ll circle back, or maybe not and I’ll just keep moving forward. Either way I don’t ever seem to run out of ideas I want to try.