Planning a mural

The new mural has been in the planning phase for over a year. It was requested that a mural be painted to the correct scale so that a person can stand in front of it and appear to be at the actual scene. To do that, I had to have people with me each time I visited a lake with a dam. There are 4 lakes with dams out of Mineral King. I knew that Eagle Lake most likely would not make a good candidate, so I only visited the other 3. My friends and family know that I am always working – thinking, planning and designing – so they have become accustomed to participating in rather unorthodox ways upon request. Here is Phoebe at Crystal Lake:

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It is a fabulously beautiful place, and it might have worked for a mural. The dam is on the lower of the 2 lakes, and we all (Michael, Phoebe and I) prefer upper Crystal.

Here is Michael on upper Monarch Lake:

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This lake is sort of hard to get to since there isn’t an exact trail. It would be good to know how the mules carrying all those sacks of cement got there!

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This is the other JB at Franklin Lake. We were there in late August, and by then, I knew this would probably be the best candidate for a mural that could meet the specifications. It has a trail leading directly to the dam and there was a great photo available of the building process in 1904.

Long Walk, finale!

 

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This marker let us know we had 1 mile to go (mile 20 for us 21-milers). Our feet were ready to stop walking in spite of all the fun.

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2/10ths of a mile remaining as we crossed the Carmel Creek Bridge! We were really pouring it on in terms of speed, knowing we were going to reach our goal of 5-1/2 hours for the 21 miles!

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This was our first view of the finish line.

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The only time I ran (besides passing folks) was when I saw Michael on the sidelines! Nancy and I finished in 5 hours, 34 minutes, which translated to a 15.5 minute mile. This was our best time in any of our training walks together! It is quite amazing what momentum and adrenaline (plus training at a higher elevation) can do for one’s time!

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After the walk, Michael and I retired to the beach at Asilomar. The sand and the cold water were exactly what my feet required. That’s my medal on my shoulder. (Yes, of course I knit at the beach! Doesn’t everyone??)

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Poor Michael – the walk really wore him out!

 

 

 

Long Walk, part 3

Remember, today is First Saturday in Three Rivers!

There were peculiar sights along Highway One throughout our 21 Mile Power Walk. Check out these Shetland ponies!

 

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And this guy with his old car, synthesizer/keyboard thing, and 2 flags, one that I did not recognize:

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The views continued to be almost breathtaking (perhaps if we hadn’t been in such good shape they might have taken our breath away!)

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The Carmel monastery is beautiful! Nancy went to Mass there the night before the walk and said it was jam-packed full of people. She also said it was as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.

 

 

Goodbye, Virginia

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Virginia May Botkin, 82, of Visalia passed away Sunday, March 14, 2010. She was born in Visalia on June 18, 1927 to Dorval Wallace and Versa May Beamish. Because her parents were both deaf-mute, she grew up communicating with American Sign Language. Virginia and her sister younger Rosalie (Shiffert) loved to sing, and often performed together in the Exeter Lions Club Follies. She graduated from Visalia Union High School and married the love of her life, William “Bill” Franklin Botkin, a union that lasted 53 years until Bill’s death in 2002. Bill and Virginia reared their three children in Exeter, and she was a homemaker who particularly loved family gatherings and time in Mineral King. She enjoyed the music of Tony Bennett, Judy Garland, and more recently Michael Buble’. Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister, and is survived by son William C. “Billy” Botkin of Visalia, son Michael (Jana) Botkin of Three Rivers, and daughter Laurie Metz of South Lake Tahoe. In addition, she is survived by a few aunts and uncles, many nieces and one nephew. At her request there will be no services. Remembrances may be made to the Mineral King Preservation Society, P.O. Box 286, Exeter CA 93221 or other charity of choice.

 

 

 

Big words

People often confuse the word “consignment” with the word “commission”.  May I help? Consignment: agreement to pay a supplier of goods after the goods are sold. Commission: to give an order for or authorize the production of a piece of art. I’d like to add a third word here: “conversation”. It means an exchange of words. I learned a long time ago not to count my chickens before they are hatched, although that is still my greatest talent! (also known as “optimism”) For the first several years of my business, I used to get so excited after someone said he’d like me to do a drawing for him. I was counting eggs, chickens and dollars, forgetting that until money exchanges hands and there are photographs on the table, it was simply c o n v e r s a t i o n. However, it never hurts to think about those conversations and tentatively plan. A lady emailed me to say she’d be coming to the studio during Studio Tour and she hoped I had some paintings of Fiesta ware. I don’t, but have been looking for a reason to paint some. I know that she did not commission me and hasn’t committed to buy anything. That’s okay, because I’m eager to do this subject matter. If I do a good job but it doesn’t suit her, someone else will probably want it! Here are the beginnings of three new paintings (probably best viewed from the back of a fast horse, or perhaps without corrective lenses at this point):

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Oh, look! There are 2 Mineral King paintings – what a surprise! 😎

 

Shhh, can’t tell yet

Since I can’t tell you what the giant secret project is, I will show you these tangerines. I just ate one – smells good!  (No, not a painting, the real thing!!) Too bad this isn’t a scratch’n’sniff.  They are in this box so I can carry them back and forth from the studio to the house. There is almost always a painting or 6 propped up above the woodstove this time of year.

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Re-shuffling

Now that I am so immersed in my technological items, I have begun thinking in the same terms. CD players and iPods reshuffle; apparently, so do I.  My paintings are in several different places, and I constantly rethink where they might be seen by the greatest number of people. Because the First Saturday Three Rivers http://www.1stsaturdaytr.com/ is turning into a huge success, I moved as many paintings as possible to The Art Co-op http://www.theartco-op.com/ for last weekend. My space is really really full right now (but I haven’t checked to see what sold over the weekend yet because i am messing with my electronic devices, painting on the giant secret project and walking like a maniac)

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Technicalities

Have I mentioned that I am a technophobe? That isn’t exactly right, because I have been more of a techno-avoider. Turns out that isn’t exactly right either. Look at this list of items I have to mess with and recharge:

  1. cell phone (albeit quite outdated)
  2. computer (definitely outdated – it has USB ports #1 instead of #2, for Pete’s sake!)
  3. not one, but TWO digital cameras!
  4. a Garmin Forerunner (how else will I know all the miles I am walking??)
  5. an iPod (not mine)
  6. Telephones in the house that show who is calling

My explanation for #5 is this: Michael requested the simplest one for his birthday in 2009 (13 months ago) and has NEVER ONCE used it! Monday I had to walk 9 miles without my training partner, and the iPod was a real treat! It is difficult to find music that is the right tempo for my pace, but it was very fun anyway.  What else did I do while walking? I thought about the secret giant project that has a tight deadline! Want a hint? Sorry, not yet! 😎 More will be revealed. . . meanwhile, look at this wall full of incomplete paintings and puzzle over why I am walking 9 miles instead of painting 24/7. The first person to tell me the correct reason will receive a small prize.

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A Random List

While away over the weekend, I learned many new things. Here they are as they pop into my head:

  1. Google Maps can be used to see photos of the road and Carol showed me how!
  2. Single plied yarn knits up visibly different from multiple plied yarn (I always thought I was doing something wrong but it was the yarn – thank you Mendocino Yarn Shop!)
  3. Acrylic painting has many additives available to layer and mold and make relief type paintings. (How could I have never known this before? Because I am an OIL painter!)
  4. Seaglass is much more abundant after a storm. I read this; now I know it experientially.
  5. Finished seaglass is rounder and translucent; the differences are subtle but they matter to the collector.
  6. Most hot tubs are set at 104 degrees but 100 is still comfortable.
  7. My cell phone is capable of texting but it isn’t necessary nor convenient in my life.
  8. There is a new kind of dimmer on light switches that is so tiny one can (and did) miss it!
  9. A song I love, Gabriel’s Oboe, is from a movie called The Mission.
  10. The center of California is delineated on Hwy. 99 (already knew this but now know how to find it!)
  11. ALWAYS have a map with you when you are on a road trip because there might be a traffic problem that will negate your Google directions. I knew this but was ever so grateful to have followed this wisdom.
  12. ALWAYS have simple knitting in the car with you, even when you are driving alone, because you never know when the freeway will transform itself into a parking lot.
  13. NEVER drink too much coffee. (see #12) (I sure felt badly for the woman in the white sedan.)
  14. There is a specific (and odd) way of walking to increase one’s speed; Carol and I got a great laugh out of experimenting with this (easier to do when in a place where no one knows you.)
  15. Abstract art causes me to think of yarn. (Many things do this for me.)

California Center

I took a road trip over the weekend. On Monday, I drove NINE AND ONE HALF hours to get home. (It was worth it.) I might tell you about the trip in another blog entry, but this entry is to tell you about a curious thing. On Highway 99, north of Fresno but south of Madera, in the median is something that marks the center of California. It is a palm tree on the south side and a pine tree on the north! Someone showed me this a few years ago and then I couldn’t find it again. (My husband thought I just dreamed it.) Yesterday I stopped at a Starbuck’s in Chowchilla (I was dying of boredom by that time) and the server was chatty and helpful and told me about this! She brought it up, not me! Isn’t that cool?? here is the very blurry photo I took while driving (I think the big rig on my six was a little irritated at me – I’m sorry, Mr. Peterbilt)

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The pine isn’t very large and is in front of the palm because we are heading north.