ANNUAL RITUAL

Each year, after a significant snowfall, I bury paper in the forest.  The earth with natural detritus of  leaves and pine needles from the forest environment "prints" and embosses the paper as the weight of the snow presses down on the paper throughout the winter.   In printmaking terms, the earth is the plate and the snow is the press.  The paper is harvested in the spring and the resulting natural art is used in artworks such as artists' books and installations.

 Walking the forest trail to the burial site and placing paper squares on the earth and under the snow

OPEN STUDIO CONTINUES

My studio will be open by appointment till the end of the year.

handmade paper art in studio window

DECEMBER OPEN STUDIO

 OPEN STUDIO / OPEN HOUSE

MARY ELLEN LONG

  * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART * ART *

                           Saturday, December 7, 10-5     

                                    Sunday, December 8, 1-5

                                    UNIQUE GIFT IDEAS

SMALL ART OBJECTS, COLLAGE, DRAWINGS, PRINTS, BOOK ART, SCULPTURE

REFRESHMENTS

259-4363 FOR MORE INFORMATION

209 EL DIENTE DRIVE, DURANGO (EDGEMONT)

 Tidal - altered photograph

 Birds Nest - sculpture of egg, root, wasp nest

 Bone, Bark, Paper - assemblage

Bookend - sculpture of natural materials

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE PACIFIC RIM

THE SHORE

During the fall season, time was spent in Southern California and Maui.  Here are some of my favorite shots.

 Shore birds, South Del Mar, CA beach

 low tide at Del Mar

 Sea grasses and kelp

 Storm approach at Del Mar

 Kihea Beach, Maui

 Black sand beach near Hana, Maui

 Tidal at Koko beach, Hana,Maui
                         
 Offering papers on tidal pool,  Hamoa Beach, Maui

RECENT PLACEMENT OF WORK

The following books were placed in the collections of the Athenaeum in La Jolla and the Special Collections, Geisel Library, UC San Diego, La Jolla

 Cloud, Root, Paper (two in the series)

 Winter Pressing 2012                                                                                The Walk The Wild The Way

This past September my traveling Roots exhibit opened at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library in La Jolla, California.  During my visit I also presented a collage trunk show at the Athenaeum and had a table at the San Diego Book Arts Fundraiser at UCSD, displaying boxes of collage and a selection of my artists' books.

WASP WASHI

Installation in the lobby at the Durango Arts Center to be exhibited until mid November.  The paper squares are handmade paper (kozo fiber imported from Thailand) and wasp paper that have been
combined in the process of making the sheets.  The wasp paper has been collected from the amazing
nests that wasps make.  Wasps are indeed the first papermakers.

LAST HIKE AT EDGEMONT HIGHLANDS

For nine years I have been an artist-in-residence at Edgemont Highlands, near Durango, Colorado creating over 30 environmental art sites.  This is the last hike of the season.  And next year, Allison Anderson will be taking the job of maintaining the sites.

 Cave Rock, my conversation with a squirrel.  The squirrel did the stuffing, the artist did the rocks.

The artist at Lichen Tree.  Nesting materials for small animals and birds that has already been scavenged.  Below some of the group that took this last hike of the season.

PAPERMAKING WITH PLANTS WORKSHOP

At the Durango Arts Center, participants had fun creating paper made from a variety of fibers such as cattail, bamboo, wild iris, etc.  We also used kozo given to us by Tim Barrett of the University of Iowa who recently did presentations about Japanese papermaking at the Center.  We cooked and beat the fibers, dipped screens into the resulting pulp, and dried our creations in the sun.   A beautiful variety of papers...textured and smooth, embossed and layered, some with inclusions of flower petals and other interesting additions were the products of this one-day workshop.