by kathleen-obrien | May 1, 2024 | studio updates
Fresh Pastures, New Vistas
The birds are welcoming the light half of the year, the lusty month of May, it’s Mid-Spring, Beltain, a favorite time for many folks – how pristine the air and flowers are! The next season is open for fresh pastures, new vistas in the studio and garden. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Jan 31, 2024 | studio updates
I love mid-winter, a beautiful time to celebrate all the beloved Aquarians in my life – soul friends, grandfather, father, grandsons, and niece. How many (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Dec 12, 2023 | year ReView
As the year rolls along, the December rituals unfold. One of the most enjoyable practices is to compose a year review. The more I gather ideas from calendars, blog posts and notebooks, the more I appreciate my projects and bodies of work. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Dec 5, 2023 | artist book, classes
Color Book Class ~ exploring color, tools and materials. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Nov 30, 2023 | beads, talismans
One of the first talisman bead necklaces I made started out as a single strand piece. A few years later I used a bone spacer to design a three-tier necklace out of the same beads, making it a shorter. The stringing material was still intact, but I decided to restring it (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Nov 20, 2023 | new art, Studio Special
It turned out to become “Atmospheres”, a collection of ethereal textured abstract watercolor paintings, to be revealed on November 25 for Small Business Saturday (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Nov 6, 2023 | celebrations, Open Studio
My heart is full of sweet memories when I think about the 15th Annual Autumn Open Studio. My mind is full of amazement that it was the best open studio to date, after considering that it might be the last (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Oct 31, 2023 | 4 seasons, celebrations, Studio Special, studio updates
Greetings to you at Mid-Autumn and happy Halloween, Samhuin, Dia de los Muertos, All Soul’s Day. Along with peoples of many cultures, I celebrate the Night of the Ancestors by remembering my parents and grandparents. In the Celtic tradition we believe that by telling stories about them, placing their beloved objects out, offering some special treats and lighting candles to guide their way to us, we will not be tricked by forgetting them. In this war-torn year, it is a more solemn night than usual. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Oct 9, 2023 | 4 seasons, inspiration, Open Studio
Now that its autumn things are falling into place nicely. After six months of creating a myriad assortment of paintings, rare bead jewelry, artist books and new card designs I am preparing for the presentation cycle of studio work. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Sep 28, 2023 | artist book, celebrations, videos
On short notice we had a few days vacation, so we got away from it all. It is a beautiful drive from our place through the Cumberland Gap to Hot Springs NC. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Sep 22, 2023 | Art Farms, beads, inspiration, special event
I just love conversation about beads, especially at a setting like Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. I am grateful to them for once again giving me the opportunity to share my art with “the world”, as the Believers would say. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Sep 12, 2023 | art shows, beads
Yesterday I catalogued some of the beads from my collection that I’ll be talking about Saturday (Sept.16, 10-5) for the bead demo at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. It is a task I’ve been meaning to do for ages. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Sep 1, 2023 | inspiration, talismans
Chakra Necklaces are a series of monochromatic talismans, in chromatic scale, inspired by the seven main energy centers of the body, vortexes that connect the subtle energies and consciousness with the body. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Aug 1, 2023 | 4 seasons, studio updates
Drawing a blank
It started with sitting in the studio staring out the window, again. Just drawing a blank. No idea what to do or make. So I decided I would draw a blank. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | May 22, 2023 | celebrations, retrospective
When I turned 50, I was unsure about my path forward as an artist. After living in Boulder for 28 years, I was faced with a decision to move. I was questioning if I, through my art, had enough recognition to be supported as an artist and healer. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | May 1, 2023 | inspiration, studio updates, studio visit
I welcome the beginning of the light half of the year at Mid-Spring, Beltane, the most lighthearted time of year. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Apr 28, 2023 | art shows
by kathleen-obrien | Apr 25, 2023 | 4 seasons, art shows
One of the best experiences of Spring Into Art Open Studio a few days ago was sending “9 White Flowers” into the care of a loyal friend and collector. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Apr 6, 2023 | new art, Open Studio
Hummingbird Sanctuary is a series of nine watercolor paintings. Eight paintings are of the male and female of different species collaged onto an abstract background, sized at 11×7.5”. The first in the series, Hummingbird Sanctuary, Health and Help, features drawings of the eight species collaged onto a 30×22” abstract watercolor. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Apr 1, 2023 | new art, Open Studio
It’s no April Fool’s joke that Spring Into Art Open Studio is happening 21 days from now, on Earth Day. It’s been a challenge to keep my new series Hummingbird Sanctuary a secret until this time. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Mar 31, 2023 | new art, Open Studio
A limited edition set of six Tiny Treasure Boxes are ready to display for the Spring Into Art Open Studio. The idea to use (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Mar 25, 2023 | artists, studio visit
Why is it that I always forget to take photos at events like exhibits or in this case a meaningful studio visit with watercolor artist Laura Poulette. She came with her supplies and we set about painting together. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Mar 10, 2023 | celebrations, inspiration
On March 3rd at 4:30 P.M., a ferocious wind storm arrived and blew out power for many in Kentucky. For us the outage was immediate. The power returned March 7, coincidentally both of our departed mother’s birthdays. We learned many lessons from what, for me, was an unexpected hiatus of fully living the artful life. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Feb 17, 2023 | 4 seasons, art shows
The first month of Alexander’s Library exhibit is flying by. Setting it up went smoothly because of great teamwork between gallery director, Doug Tattershall, my husband and I. In fact Greg said it was the easiest set up to date. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Feb 6, 2023 | Studio Special
Imagine how special your valentine will feel when they receive one of the Valentine Studio Special talismans! They may not understand their value, so here are a few things to share. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Jan 31, 2023 | 4 seasons, studio updates
As we arrive at Imbolc, winter’s mid-season celebration, I encounter a realization about why this particular time is auspicious. Some of my most important family members celebrate their birthdays. In heaven my dad is ringing in 100 years; that rascal died on his birthday, just his style, (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Jan 24, 2023 | retrospective
It’s the kind of message all artists long to receive in the inbox, especially if it originated from the contact form on their website: “I have your pencil drawing from the Daily Camera in 1971 on my wall. I’d like to send you a photo for your enjoyment. You sold it to me for $5.00 back then!”
(more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Jan 13, 2023 | art shows, artist book
I am supper excited to present Alexander’s Library and the paintings from the Grace series at the Lexington Public Library, Eastside Branch in February – March. I am happy that this coincides with the first mid-season celebration of the year, Imbolc and Candlemas. (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Dec 16, 2022 | retrospective, works in progress, year ReView
Sometimes I make myself crazy over what colors to choose from (54 watercolors in my main palette with movable pans. Plus (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Nov 20, 2022 | inspiration, new art, retrospective, Studio Special
Golden Section rectangle has the property that if you remove a square from it, the remaining space is another Golden Section rectangle. This is the design format I took as a departure for the series “Phi, Φ”, a series of 36 watercolor collages (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Nov 10, 2022 | 4 seasons, new art, Open Studio, videos
Just before art tourists came, I took these photos for a tour of 14th Annual Autumn Open Studio for folks who could not come. I hope you enjoy! It was a beautiful, windy day, as shown in the video of the Blaze (more…)
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by kathleen-obrien | Nov 3, 2022 | new art
Variations on Landscape Narratives reveals the essences of the present moment communicated by the land around me through exploration of different blue and green palettes. (more…)
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