DATE: 08/10/2008 11:43:17 / MOOD: other

For quite a while, I've been wanting a big format printer so I can print photos, posters and reproductions of my art work in a 12 by 18 or larger size. We are looking at the Epson R1900. Also, I am wondering about the HP B8850. I have a HPdeskjet 5550 which I have loved and will continue to use for small projects. The HP ink costs are intimidating. Thoughts from any of you would be welcome.

Monti

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DATE: 07/29/2008 09:59:52 / MOOD: other

Exotic destinations inspire the creative spirit. As a child I dreamed of travel to far away places, and I read everything I could find with picturesque settings. As an adult I crave the discovery of magic destinations to use as points of departure for my novels and for my paintings.

In the early 1990s we made our first trip to Sedona in the glorious Red Rock country of Arizona. It was amazing to drive through the awesome scenery I had viewed only in movies as a child. With my 35 mm Minolta dangling from my neck, I trudged over dusty trails looking for medicine wheels along the way. Those I found were viewed with reverence. I watched, entranced, as a few fellow wanderers chanted softly into the quiet calm of vortex sites. 

The rock formations such as Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Courthouse Rock and other fascinating views rose high against a clear blue sky, and my husband and I took amazing photographs for me to use later in creating paintings. Just being in the midst of the vortexes and on the sacred land was a spiritual experience. Although we did not see the flying saucers others have claimed to see over Bell Rock, the sight of that magic formation did inspire a fantasy print I created of saucer images above a rocky landscape.

The jeep ride we took through the Red Rock country wilderness revealed Devil's Bridge near Chimney Rock and Coffee Pot Rock. Later, I used a photograph of our guide straddling the chasm in my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember. So much of that book was inspired by journeys such as our trip to Sedona.

I could not resist using much of what we discovered on our first trip and many later visits to Sedona in my novel, Eagle Rising. Like I did, my heroine wanders into the wilderness where she finds medicine wheels and a crystal that leads her through the adventures of this book. The gorgeous library in Sedona intrigued me, so my book begins there. The cover is part of one of the acrylic paintings that resulted from some of the photographs taken.

Prior to publication of Eagle Rising late last year, we took another trip to Sedona where I found a gorgeous bronze eagle so like the eagle in my book. With the convenience of my digital camera, we took dozens of new Sedona photographs, one of which is on the back cover of Eagle Rising.

Exotic destinations offer inspiration. Eagle Rising and Hotels to Remember resulted from our Sedona trips. So did countless pastel drawings, acrylic paintings on canvas, and the print, "Night Visitors."

To learn more, please visit my Web site, www.marymontaguesikes.com.

 

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DATE: 07/22/2008 09:25:17 / MOOD: happy

Last week I was in Boone, NC to participate in a collage workshop at Cheap Joe's amazing workshop center, adjacent to his art supply showroom. Cathy Taylor was the very funny fabulous instructor. From the moment we met, I felt connected with her on many levels.

The first morning of class, I was surprised to have a manager at Cheap Joe's pull out and pass around an article from a local newspaper, The Watauga Mountain Times, about my upcoming booksigning at the Boone Waldenbooks. (I hadn't seen it until then.) They were pleased to have a published author in their midst, and the folks in the showroom even set up a table to show off my books published by Oak Tree. During the week I sold and signed many books for classmates and store customers.

It was awesome to spend five full days doing nothing but art! Joe Miller does so much for the art community nationwide, including sponsoring artist workshops with well-known instructors every week from April through October. We are fortunate to have someone like him to share his love for art and artist materials with all of us.

I'm back home now with some new ideas about how I might incorporate collage into my book promotion. Cathy Taylor was wonderful, and I met a lot of new artist friends. I hope our paths will cross again soon. If any of you have a chance to take one of Cathy's workshop, do it! She teaches about 15 workshops nationwide throughout the year.

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DATE: 06/23/2008 15:09:55 / MOOD: happy

My new novel, Secrets by the Sea, was highlighted in the Newport News Daily Press book column on Sunday. Please check it out: http://www.dailypress.com/features/dp-gl_bkbookcorner_0622jun22,0,1781183.column

The book cover is one of my seascape photographs from an on-going series of work.

If any of you read my book, I would love to hear from you.

Monti

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DATE: 06/17/2008 12:01:52 / MOOD: other

What's the best way to sell art on the Internet? That's a question I've been pondering for some time. I've had a Web site for several years and find it's a good place to send people inquiring about my paintings.

Several people have approached me about joining a Web site where I can post work for sale. I wonder about the potential there. Is this a good way to promote and sell art, or is it a good way for the Web site provider to make money on the space you are renting.

Please post your thoughts on this. Have any of you had good experiences or bad with this process? Can you recommend a good site to join?

Monti

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DATE: 06/11/2008 16:35:41 / MOOD: other

Dream Your Own Dreams

In my elementary school art classroom, I have written on the white board this statement: "Dream Your Own Dreams." I think that's what art is all about. You use your creative imagination and see there unique things that are your own. I want the children I teach--young as they are--to use their imaginations and to see in their minds things no one else has seen. I want them to put those things on paper or canvas, and I want them to feel good about their creations.

We as artists live a different life than others who have more concrete professions or hobbies. We create, then worry if our work will be accepted or wanted should we choose to sell it. As a writer, as well as an artist, I put myself "out there," vulnerable in so many ways.

How do you dream your own dreams? Do you feel secure in those dreams? I would love to hear the thoughts of other artists and writers.

Mary Montague Sikes, author Secrets by the Sea, Eagle Rising, Hearts Across Forever, available now on Amazon

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