Lisa Call

Lines Everywhere

The other day Gillian asked to hear more about what I think about in terms of artistic process.

This is what I think – I think these lines are amazing. I love the framing of my new addition. Angles every which way. It totally rocks. I go out there and just stare at all those 2×4s all lined up. Seriously – I find it mesmerizing – I just stand there and stare at the ceiling and walls for ages.

I want to figure out some way of keeping the framing all showing. Think they make clear drywall? I LOVE these lines. This is what I want to make art about. This is art. Lines, evenly spaced, a bunch going in one direction, then some going in another.

It is absolutely one of the coolest things.

If you want to what I think about in terms of art – check out all the construction photos I’ve taken over on smugmug (latest batch here). All those framing pictures are what will inform my art for a long time to come.

Girls Only

Today was double joy day (in case you missed it – I’ve dedicated December to 31 days of joy). Not only did I take more photos of my awesome studio construction, I spent the afternoon with my best friend, Cindy.

We went to a play/improv show called Girls Only – The Secret Comedy of Women at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Wonderful afternoon with a wonderful friend and much laughter.

7 Things Meme

A while back I listed 7 things about myself and tagged anyone with exactly 2 Es and 2 As in their name. I know of 2 people that responded – check out their 7 things here:

Shelia Barnes
Jeanne Williamson

Thanks for playing (although Jeanne didn’t mention it in her post, she knew my post tagged her also cause she emailed me about it).

Anyone else?

December Studio Newsletter

Reminder that I will be giving Structures #83 to a subscriber of my newsletter in a few weeks. Sign up here for a chance to win.

You can check out a sample Studio Newsletter here: Lisa Call Studio News .

Subscribe up here:

 
And of course, I will never share or sell your email address and will only use it for the purpose stated above. All emails sent will include a link to unsubscribe should you decide you are no longer interested.

Still Time to Shop

Also – don’t forget – there is still time to buy some amazing original art for your friends and family for the holidays.

If you are thinking about this option please check out these online sites:

Fine Art Department
Small Art Showcase (organized by Jeanne!)

A Foundation

On friday they finished the foundation for the new studio. Yay. Next week they start framing and also the demolition in the existing house. So this weekend I’m doing some packing. Need to get my art books and artwork out of here before the dust joins us.

It’s interesting living with absolutely no storage in a very small house. The thought "I’ll just chuck that into the garage for now" crosses my mind. Then I remember that’s not an option so I either find a permanent home for the item or toss it in the trash. Great way to keep the house decluttered.

The final foundation pictures are on smugmug here: Construction Photos Nov 6 and 7.

Tomorrow I’ll have some new art to show. Didn’t have time for photography today.

 
My brain is filled up with construction thoughts and teeth. Art is a priority in my life but this week there isn’t much space for it. It’s hard to say if it’s the construction and getting used to all the equipment in the yard, or if it’s the worry over my son’s mouth, which now has a raging infection after his root canal on tuesday. We’re off to the dentist again today.

Which ever it is, I’ve spent 15 minutes in the studio and haven’t answered emails in a few days. There aren’t a lot of art thoughts bouncing around in my head.

Although today I hope to get back on track a bit. But first work. Then the dentist again. So tonight, after the trick-or-treat at the office.

In the meantime you can be entertained by more construction photos. Day #3 (yesterday) are on smugmug: Construction Photos Day 3. If you read the captions there’s a bit of info about what I’m building and how it fits together.

Yay – construction has begun. Yesterday and today were fun – demolition. The asbestos siding is off the garage and back of the house, the moldy garage was torn down and now they are digging a big pit for the basement.

I’ll be posting a few of the construction photos here and will put all of them on smugmug during the remodel so this blog doesn’t become This Old House. Photos from today are here: Construction Day 2 on SmugMug.

If you read all the captions and notice names – Jim the builder is not the same as Jim the boyfriend. Guess it was the year to bring guys named Jim into my life. Jim the builder was recommended to me by Cynthia after she read a post about me planning a remodel. Thanks Cynthia!

I’ve made no time for art the last few days due to an unplanned root canal for my 16 yr old son this morning. Fingers cross that we are now on the upside of this process of repairing a broken tooth (pellet from an airsoft gun – hurray for boys).

Ritual

For the last month I’ve done yoga first thing in the morning for 30 minutes. I used to rush through this task only a few times a week and didn’t put much thought into it. Now I have somewhat of a ritual.

A part of this ritual is to open my blackout shades. In the past I didn’t do this to save energy and my bedroom stayed dark year round. It wasn’t a big deal since I’m never there but now I love letting in the light every morning.

I recently signed up for wind power so my home electricity usage is carbon neutral so I feel less guilty about the few dollars it costs each month because the shades are open. I love how open and light the room feels now. Tossing a lot of junk that was in there probably helped also.

Sunrise

This morning when I opened the shades it was very gray and my initial thought was it was going to be a pretty drab day. But turns out it was earlier than I thought and the sun wasn’t up yet. A few minutes into the yoga I saw a hint of pink and next thing I knew the entire sky was incredible.

Near the end I hunted down the camera and took a few pictures.

Although don’t let the pictures fool you – like all suburbanites my neighbors are not far away – I just pointed the camera up and cropped a bit. The uncropped photos are on smugmug (hurray – I processed the photos right away as I intended for this year!).

A Mess of Images

In early 2005 I bought my first ever digital camera, an SLR Nikon D-70. I love the camera and it takes amazing photos. Over the past 3 years those photos keep multiplying and they have become rather unruly and unorganized.

I’m currently in the process of decluttering my house and life and cleaning up these images is on the list of jobs to tackle. It’s a big job.

First step was to figure out what to do with them. I want to share them, I want to print them, I want to organize them. And most of all – I don’t want them to be a hassle. [note - I'm not talking about the images I have of my artwork - that's a whole other mess - but photos of everything else].

An Effortless Solution

Instead of researching and hunting around for the perfect solution I decided to take advantage of someone else’s research (my dad’s) and I’m putting my photos on SmugMug. It’s not free but it’s only $40 a year, a small price to pay for storage of all of my images. And because there is a fee there are no ads. It’s a really nicely designed site and so far I’m quite pleased with it.

I’m doing a weekly upload to smugmug and by the end of the year I will have everything organized and sorted out. Along the way I am sharing the pictures with the folks I promised I’d share them with (sometimes years ago). Yay! As I take new photos I am uploading them in a timely manner.

After putting the images on the website I am deleting the images from my computer. SmugMug keeps 4 backup copies of the files in 3 different states. I can’t come close to that kind of redundancy without a lot of effort. I get unlimited storage/bandwidth and I can print the images from the site (as can the people I share them with).

Definitely hassle free.

I love the idea of deleting them from my computer. I’m throwing away all my negatives from my print pictures also. It’s so freeing to get rid of this stuff I will never do anything with.

I’m going to be printing some of them, family ones for albums, inspiration ones to put on my wall and be inspired by. I’ve rarely (as in maybe once) printed my digital images in the last 3 years so this is a new exciting thing for me. Okay – I admit – learning technology sometimes prevents me from doing things – printing digital pictures was hurting my head – but no more! Yes I’m a software engineer and hand code the html for my website but I don’t know how to text message on my cell phone.

SmugMug Details

You can check out my smugmug site. I’ve got some public galleries in the inspiration category (some photos from Arizona and from North Carolina) and a few images from a show out in Arizona last year.

If you want the marketing stuff about SmugMug it is here. If you want to sign up you get a $5 discount if you have a coupon from a referral – you can put in my email address or use this code ZnhmaNpn2n1mk . Not required but $5 is nice. I get $10 off on my next renewal if someone does this so that’s also nice.

Above Image

The photo at the top is a close up section of one of the pictures I have on smugmug – it’s an aloe plant damaged by frost.

I’m so happy!