these are trying times

'Mudflats' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

I wake to another chaotic news cycle.  

I'm at a loss to understand the thinking

behind the deeds 

of corrupt leaders

I head to the mudflats

that landscape always calms me down 

Some days are like that

'Some Days are Like That' 30x33" oil pastel

The rays of sunshine warm my head
 I lean on the rail
and watch light sparkle on

water

respite from these stormy days

north by northeast

'Morning' 12x18" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

I have some good views from my workroom.

I can't see Russia but,

sometimes,

I can see Canada.

Today I could see Bayview.

It's the little things

'Things We Need' 10x10" oil pastel;  Kathleen 

I look down at the curb to see all the cigarette butts that have been tossed down
on the ground
 destined for parts unknown.

Cigarette filters are made of 95% cellulose acetate, a plastic.

The balance is paper and rayon.

The thin plastic fibers look like plankton,
a food source,
to unsuspecting marine life.

Not fake news

'Threatened' 11x14" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

We all love the owls.

Most owls live in forests

The Northern Spotted owl

lives in old growth forests

but we're cutting them all down.

carry on smartly

'Good Schooling'  Brooch, 4x4.5" sterling silver, gouache, 

graphite, mica;  Kathleen Faulkner 

 

The power is in the numbers.

 

I like to believe

 

'Journey' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

One can guarantee that

the only constant is change.

We are all the same

yet we are different.

The darkest hour is 

just before the dawn.

'Journey' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

humans are very adaptable

'Another Look' 9x20" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulokner

Being able to see over a distance

is a wonderful thing.

I remember coming home from the Aleutians after a few years there.

The evergreens that I grew up with 

made me claustrophobic for awhile.

I had become accustomed 

to a very different lifestyle.

This can happen with current events, as well.  

we get used to a new level of insanity

pretty soon it seems normal

things we see

'The Burn' 8x8" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 It was a bad year for fires

the burned areas were becoming miles of dark, 

beautiful patterns

 as we traveled along and the scenery flew by

'The Burn II' 8x8" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

the other side

'East Side' 21x17" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 It is a different world. 

 

the smell is warm and the palette, too

  sometimes you can see forever

'Side View' 21x17" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

Rainworks Art Trail

rough sketch

cutting out the stencil

finished

‘Water is a transparent and nearly colorless chemical substance that is the main constituent of Earth's streams, lakes, and oceans, and the fluids of most living organisms.

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface.

It is vital for all known forms of life.

Safe drinking water is essential to humans and other lifeforms even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients.

Ditches and storm drains do not connect to a treatment system, so everything that flows down the drain goes directly to the nearest water body, ultimately flowing into the ocean.’ *

Be mindful of what you toss.  It could end up in a stomach somewhere.


Rainworks project includes stencils located throughout Mt Vernon, WA by seven artists in conjunction with the Skagit Conservation District and Mt Vernon, WA.
My stencil can be viewed on a rainy day in front of City Hall.
More information and a map of the locations are available at http://www.skagitcd.org/ 
or pick up a map at TriDee Arts in downtown Mt Vernon, WA.


https://www.goskagit.com/news/art-revealed-by-rain-adorns-area-sidewalks/article_db74ec16-27a0-547e-9126-258220b67cbe.html

*Wikipedia

the complications of living

'Ghost Pipes' 18x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

If one lives long enough

one says goodbye to many of one's friends.

I've been saying goodbye 

 to friends lately.

wild animals don't really like humans

'Ready'  16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 I see him on my walk.   

Sometimes I watch him from a distance

doing his work

Mostly though,

 he sees me and readies for flight

thinking about safety.

I come too close 

Then he's gone. 

 

remembrances

'Apartment Complexity' front-back, ring size 6.5-7

2x1.25x.25" sterling silver, colored pencil, graphite, 

ink, found gasket, mica;  for the show,

'Right On! Rites, Rituals, Remembrances' 

Facere Jewelry Art Gallery, Kathleen Faulkner

We lived in apartments in the city.

I learned to be quiet at a very early age 

so as not to disturb the neighbors.

All around me was the noise of the city.

It was background.

 

As a small child 

with family from the deep South

I heard stories

that made me afraid.

Later I learned about diversity 

It opened up my eyes 

and made the world 

a more interesting place.

 'A House of Many Colors' brooch, 4x1.5"

sterling silver, found object, colored pencil,

mica;  for the show, 'Right On! Rites, Rituals,

Remembrances' Facere Jewelry Art Gallery,

Kathleen Faulkner

Greetings from the Skagit

from my home to yours;  Kathleen Faulkner

It's been a difficult year.

I've had worse

but it's been a while.

The good thing about a new year is

Hope

and I have it!

I raise my glass and toast to YOU!

Here's to Peace, Joy, 

good Health and 

Inspiration 

for us all! 

CHEERS!

these are trying times

'Boo'Ya Moon' 24x50" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

There are places that draw us in.

They can be beautiful yet dark, places that can go black.
We choose, to a degree, whether or not to go there.

I think most people want to be good.
I think some people go into a dark place but are still good.

Then there are a few that just go there.

it's seasonal

'That Afternoon Breeze'  20x20" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

In these warm last days of summer

I am noticing the change

Light is different  moody

and the blackberries are so ripe

I try to pick them 

but they are soggy now from the first rains

others have missed the season

they won't make it past that lovely blush of pink

the leaves are starting to turn

night comes a little earlier 

and morning is beginning to show off 

it's dew covered webs

I'm lost in these thoughts

then that afternoon breeze 

comes dancing around my head

waking me up

sending me on my way.

family business

'Teen Town' 36x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

The mother stumps

run along grids

made by men with money in mind.

A new generation emerges 

from the nourishment and energy of those mother stumps

and life goes on.

saving the world

'Horsetails' 16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 The horsetails were our handy tools when we played outside as kids.

  

I usually used them as swords.  

They worked well.

soft green

'Forest Life' 16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

I remember, as a kid, 

always having to touch the moss as I'd walk in the forest. 

  

I would imagine wrapping myself

in sheets of soft green moss, 

curling up and taking a nice long nap. 

details

'An Organic Matter'  16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

It's usually overwhelmingly green in the forest.

Sometimes I have to stop and look in order to see.

another story

'Under Story' 24x48" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

It is a slow start to Spring:

cold and record rainfall here.

It is good for our water supply and the under story

which, in turn, 

is good for us.

 

shades of grey

'Winter Woods' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

It's been a long winter.

I appreciate the cold, white light but

I look forward to Spring and a little more color.

Life during wartime*

"Pay Close Attention"  12x12" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

I didn't see her at first.  

Then, the weird feeling stopped me and I backtracked.  There she was sitting quietly, majestically.  

Non human beings are innocent and have no voice.  

It is our duty as stewards of the earth to speak for them.  

*'Life During Wartime', Talking Heads

a day in the life

'A Day in the Life' 12x12" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

.

It is early. 

Fog horns sound in the distance.

Hawk lands on a pole and

surveys the field

planning her strategy for the morning kill.

It's a daily thing.

Hope Springs Eternal*

blank slate, as they say

 New Year

my favorite holiday

it is so hopeful

clean up time

This last year was not so horrible

personally

Some good things happened.

I'll have to work harder this year

more obstacles 

I can do it.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never is, but always to be blessed:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man *

stranger in a strange land*

'Cosmos' 20-24" chain, colored pencil, mica, paper, sterling silver;  Kathleen Faulkner

  

 2016 is coming to an end.

Soon it will be a new year

filled with uncertainties.

I distract myself with art and good sci-fi.

 

Earth is starting to feel claustrophobic.

The cosmos calls.

*'Stranger in a Strange Land'  Robert Heinlein

 

deep in it

'Northwest is Best'  16x20" oil pastel on panel;  Kathleen Faulkner

These are dark times.

I look out to the west

dark clouds have lifted over the Olympics

To the east, the North Cascades shine

  beneath the dark, brooding sky

 

  It brings to mind a line from a poem, as it often does,

and  'I am blinded by it's splendor'.*

*'What is the Beautiful'  Kenneth Patchen

Life in the Skagit

'Heading Out' 16x16" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

No matter which road I travel around here, 

there's always something to see

and it's always different.

a glimpse

'High End' 24x48" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 

Summer is coming to a close but 

it's been a good run this year.

Soon these mountains will be covered in snow 

and this area will be 

inaccessible.