Yodit Gidey of the Durango Herald took this photo of me working on my show at Pure Soul Coffee. When she snapped this picture, I was working on a drawing of Jeff, who went to school with Paul at FLC back in the 1990s. Jeff wanted to pose for me, so I told him to sit down and relax. He said his back was hurting him and wanted to stand. He took an heroic like pose, with his chin up and his gigantic coffee mug cradled in his arm. I sketched him from a seated position, and with the folds of his hooded sweatshirt sitting on his shoulders, he looked like a superhero. I had so much fun with this drawing, making it my favorite of the show.

Year in Review Chapter 1

I just received a beautiful card from Nancy Culmone, a visual artist and writer living in Serafina, NM with her equally talented artist husband, Paul Maurer. My husband Paul and I had the privilege of meeting Nancy and Paul early in 2007 while we were on our journey searching for the "perfect home." Our friend, Louise Grunewald, suggested we seek them out, which was worth the trip very off the beaten path. Nancy and her husband had a show this fall in the Durango Arts Center library. Nancy returned to Durango in October to teach a paste paper workshop and I was lucky enough to get in. I loved working in what was a completely new medium to me, and it was a positive step toward getting me back into my studio on a steady basis. Nancy Culmone is one of the premier book artists of the country, incorporating her exquisite paste paper and calligraphy into her work. There are hundreds of references to her and her work on the internet. Here is one which gives a glimpse of a recently completed work of hers we in the workshop were in awe over, "Raven." I highly recommend doing a search of your own to see more of her amazing work.

A good friend, Peggy Maloney, stopped by to say hi and give us a beautiful hand-made Christmas wreath. She lives and works in Mancos, CO making marvelous metalworks (i.e. jewelry). Peggy exhibits in Albuquerque, NM at Mariposa Gallery. She taught with Paul at Fort Lewis College for many years in the art department. Currently she is teaching privately. It's getting dark out and sleeting, so Peggy has to get back to her cozy home and her three cats.

An oil pastel painting I recently completed, "Evening Color on Black Ridge," will be included in the La Plata Open Space Conservancy annual Snowdown Fine Art Exhibition. The wine tasting and art exhibit fundraiser takes place on January 31, 2008 at the Bank of Colorado, 1199 Main Avenue in Durango. La Plata Open Space is a wonderful, and necessary, organization dedicated to preserving parcels of land throughout the area. Twelve other talented artists and I will have our work on display for previewing throughout the month of January at the bank.

My husband, Paul Pennington, wrote an article on building your own pinhole camera which is featured in the "Winter 2007:Retro" publication of Arts Perspective Magazine. I did the illustrations for his article. You can find the publication at news stands throughout the Four Corners area. Once they put this issue on-line, I'll add a link. In the meantime, here is a link to Arts Perspective homepage.
Update: The article on building a pinhole camera is now on-line. Some of my illustrations didn't make it to the on-line version, so to see all the drawings, pick up a copy at news stands or check into a subscription. Also, I highly recommend reading the article on our friend and amazing artist, Ron Fundingsland. Ron is a master printmaker, working often in mezzotint and aquatint.

Coffee House Sketches at Pure Soul

During the month of December, I will be working on an evolving show of new coffee house sketches, which will be exhibited at Pure Soul Coffee in the Town Plaza (next to the Hydration Station) in Durango. This show is similar to one I did about a year ago at the Steaming Bean, where I frequented the coffee shops in town at various times of the day to record the numerous ways people spend their time while sipping a latte, or munching on a muffin. As before, I am giving the sketches to my subjects at the end of the exhibit. If you see your portrait and would like the drawing, please make a comment on this post or email me at maureenmayart@gmail.com, and we can make arrangements to get it to you.
Enjoy the show.