Two Women Talk: No. 2

Here's what life in my desert is like right now: This morning, a helicopter is hovering over my neighborhood making many close passes overhead. Most likely it's the power company inspecting the lines and transformers as we've entered extreme heat time here (102-106 the next few days which is super hot for us...normal summer highs used to be 90s...) The air is smokey from a wildfire up towards my favorite mountain camping retreat. My heart is aching. Late last night, we had 5 men with radios and a woman in a getaway car casing houses, jumping fences, boldly walking into people's yards. We slept with the front and back lights on, also grateful for our shepherd with his deep bark and strong bite when needed. We slept okay. That is not typical for where I live. In fact, for years we barely locked our doors. I am grateful for a close knit neighborhood. We look out for each other. And in Ellen's world in the PNW? It's a cool 61ish degrees today, not to break 70 much of the week. Clouds, some sun. Lots of moisture. Yummy, shaded forests. I'd gladly trade places....

So, typical weekly exchanges between Ellen, my art collaborator/friend and lifeline to cooler climes, and I will go like this:

...or this...


...or this...


...and this....


If you notice, while they are from different months (you can't see that part) the exchanges are from similar times of the day. That isn't planned - it seems this is our mutual head-exploding-with-thoughts timezone... 

One person's seemingly random ramble or idea always spawns some pointed insight or validates what the other is doing....or simply gets us off our duff and into the studio to put ideas into action...One thing I noticed after our conversation this week (we can never get off the phone short of at least 2 hours!) is that we both tend to get bored easily with repetition and crave the diversity of manipulating chemistry, pigments, bees wax, and natural substrates to bring to life the multitude of concepts, projects, and messages cascading in our heads. We have so many projects in the making, inching towards some kind of resolution, and yet, there is a strong, central theme weaving within all that is going on.....  And, the more we share and open up to the possibilities emerging from our discussions, the stronger that vision becomes for how this collaboration will materialize.... Images and words, textures, unconventional presentation - created within our respective natural worlds with great connection and peace we each gain from it. 

Here is a video clip of one of my pieces representing the bulk of our discussions lately - printing on yummy Japanese natural fiber, handmade papers. This is a palladium contact print on Japanese Gampi paper which is beautifully translucent and holds up well enough to developer, stop baths, and multiple rinses. I love the texture you end up with - hopefully you can see that in this video clip. Time and again, Ellen and I both reach for handmade papers in our print-making work. I'm confident the fruits of our collaborative project will be rich in natural fibers with intriguing handwork...



Palladium contact print on Japanese Gampi paper

Thank you all for the kind and encouraging outreach after my post launching the "Two Women Talk" series. It's rewarding and fun to see how a project that brings me joy, inspiration, and friendship also brightens and inspires others' worlds as well. 

We would love to hear your thoughts on collaborative projects and friendships gleaned from the love of nature and art. Please share in the comments section.  Let's continue the conversation...!

To see Ellen's work and read her blog, you can find her here:

Ellen Dooley Blog

Ellen Dooley IG

Me:

Diana's IG  Links to projectmojavelight can be found there as well.



Comments

Unknown said…
So wonderful. I'm friends with Ellen and you two are a fabulous duo! Can't wait to see #3😊
June 30, 2021
Diana said…
Thank you! Ellen is a gem. I feel like I've known her for years already.
July 02, 2021
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seeking Shelter (aka Querencia 2)

Image
I am having trouble picking up my camera lately. The spark of creativity is buried underneath a pallor of human unkindnesses. Can't watch the news or read the internet or walk through the staffroom without feeling personally assaulted in some way. The world outside is coming alive with wonderful spring light and peeps of color. The air is warm and alive with happy chirps and the whir of wings as life gets busy making more life. But I stare at it from inside. Unable to move. Tears spill over without warning. There's a sharpness to my speech. Breathing is shallow as it burns in my chest. I feel like a thousand elephants sit on top of me. The only solace is my walking buddy, Toby, who insists on his daily walk - which we do. Most of the time. And I always feel, a little, better. I turn off the tv. I limit the internet to communicating with friends and family on "good things",  researching fun lessons, or playing a mindless game (or 2) of (dare I say it), CandyCrush. Bu
Read more

19 March 2012

Image
Here is another shot from this past weekend in my beloved park....more for the benefit of my distant readers (and maybe those of you close by who haven't taken the opportunity to explore this beautiful area...). Considered the cornerstone of Joshua Tree National Park, this particular photo is of the Oasis of Mara which is a short and pleasant nature walk down a paved path from the national park headquarters / visitor center. When my daughter worked as an interpretative ranger there before sailing off into the Navy, she had the most interesting stories of what was witnessed just outside the large picture windows from inside the visitor center. One story that stuck in my mind, both kind of funny and sort of 'gross' if you aren't used to the ways of nature, centered around some European tourists experiencing desert life in all its glory one hot summer day. Both visitors and rangers were watching in awe and amusement the antics of a roadrunner in the garden area just off
Read more

Promise yourself...

Image
What to you think about as you meander around the great outdoors? Do you meander in the great outdoors? If not, you absolutely should. Dr. Shay's orders. It's good for what ails you and reinforces all that doesn't.  I stumbled upon this poem somewhere on the 'net.  Something to turn over in your mind as you wander instead of the usual things that can strip us of peace and joy..... My favorite light at the end of the day - just before sunset..... 2012 ©Diana Shay Diehl / JTNP Promise Yourself... To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and pr
Read more