Patti Gibbons Art

I bought a table today that I have been obsessing about ever since I saw it in the gift shop at Olana. It is from Morocco, is hand carved and painted, and the top is set with tiles. I bought it for my back porch, which is a cozy room with a wicker chair, funky art work, and bits and pieces of Middle Eastern influence seen in the beadery of the silk pillows, a hanging lamp, a piece of cloth. Though not everything matches and is a bit eclectic, I had to get this table as a focal piece for this cozy space. The barbecue tools have got to go however... In the winter, when backroom becomes the intermediate space between the woodpile and the fireplace, the chair and the table will go in my spare guest room which is empty save for a futon bed and a wool rug. They will face my Buddha and I will transform it into a winter meditation room. (I must buy lots of candles!) The table was expensive, but as I thought about it, I know I will love it every day of what I have left on this earth. And, I am...

We are done painting the walls in the kitchen. I need to decide what color is going behind the walls of my old pine cabinets that have glass and wood doors on the front. I love the red and I also love the green, except that the green tends to get very dark at night. Bardet says I should paint the two lower spaces green, and the two upper ones red. I have three sets of cabinets I need to do. The red kicks out brightness more than the green does, but the thought of having BOTH colors is really appealling to me. Larry thinks I might be a bit crazy with what I am doing, I think, hell, if I really hate it, I can repaint, no? Besides 2 artists live here and we should have fun with it. Off to think about it, and about my lovely afternoon swim under a brilliant blue sky in the woods on one of the most perfect of summer days. Mermaiden Patti

I started my day with strong visions from a dream. I was walking through fields of freshly plowed earth, my bare feet sinking in over my ankles with thick soft loamy mud. I woke up with the image strong in my mind, and proceeded living my day with it always on the brink of my mind. Strange how dreams can affect us all day long. I suspect this dream was influenced by the book I was reading before I drifted off to sleep - The Poisonwood Bible. Set in the Congo in the 1960’s. it is a story about a missionary's family. It is intense and the author pulls you into the role of politics and religion during that time period. I find it very emotional for me as the obsessive religious zeal is too close to home at times. I drift off to sleep smelling the mud, feeling the dust , and smelling death. Later today I took a trip to a local coffee place - The Muddy Cup. How appropriate to end to a day the way it began….with mud.. A new place, it is large, has lots of informal cool seating areas, and ...

St. John's Episcopal Church in Ellenville is beautiful church. Constructed in the 1800's, it's interior is wood, built in the Gothic style with pointed arches, and groin/ribbed vaults. While sitting inside I felt like I was in the belly of a huge ship. Father Jeff is the most amazing man, and led a beautiful wedding mass. Now I was raised Catholic, and was shocked to find out that I was welcome to receive communion. In the Catholic church, only Catholics without "mortal sin" may receive. I am destined for hell as I did not get an annulment for my first marriage. I certainly qualified for on according to church rules, but I did not believe that by paying money I was making it all OK to get married in the church again. So Bardet married us, and according to the church I am living in a state of sin, but I don't think God is closing the pearly gates, being the benevolent loving God that he is. I felt loved and in a state of grace in that church, and for the first ...

My Catskill Paper blog tells a bit about my art day at the Ashokan Reservoir. It is a beautiful place, source of all of NYC's drinking water. Here are a few pictures to enjoy. Near the Woodstock area, it is a place to exercise, make art, relax and enjoy the splendid beauty molded both by the earth AND man. And, it is free! Till tomorrow, Patti

I have not been so great at blogging these days as I have been so incredibly busy. The preparation for the wedding was intense, and it is taking me a few days to unwind from the event. Yesterday I relaxed, had Alanna the later part of the day, so we went to my friend's house. Karen and Phil are some of the most relaxed people you could ever know, and WONDERFUL friends, and you can often find them home on a Sunday afternoon hosting a small party by their pool, which is in ground, perhaps Olympic size, and very very private. They have a trampoline which the kids LOVE, a large well groomed yard, fabulous organic vegetable gardens (which I have been caught grazing in, LOL). Quite often we get a vicious game of croquet going, and everyone brings a dish and a bottle. After 5 hours of food, drink, pool, trampoline (hey, that is some exercise)we went home and all crashed. I want my own mansion...complete with pool, croquet course, gardens, and out buildings. I figured I could have BIG part...

I just got back from brunch. A bit tired, sore from standing all day, but I have a smile of my face. Megan's wedding was fabulous. The ceremony was beautiful as well as the church. The barbecue was wonderful in the outdoors on the edge of the woods on a mountain, in spite of the extreme heat. It is always lovely to spent time with close friend and family in a celebration of joyful things. I think everyone had a great time. I did not take one photo as I had too much talking and running around to do. Larry did shoot a few, so I have some for my future posts. Judi did all the photos and did an absolutely amazing job. As soon as we have them up online I will send a link! This is a photo of Megan and Karen. Karen's daughter Zeva got married in Paris this past spring. It looked like a stage set from Titanic. Off to a swim and barbecue, patti

I give up. I have some great shots of Mohonk at 8:15 in the morning in the fog, looking like something from Stephen King, but for some reason the photos are really compressing horridly. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to it either. It was surreal, beautiful, and dark on the ride there. I had my first manicure this morning at Mohonk with Megan for the big day tomorrow. It felt decadent, and my only regret was that my swim suit was in the car and I was parked too far away for me to get it and jump in the mineral hot tub. Megan and I agreed that we will get SOME spa service so that we can spend the day up there together (she gets 1/2 off as she is still employed till the 5th!!)and we will hike, swim, spa, and just have fun. We worked really hard afterwards setting up the club, cleaning, decorating etc. Later the rehearsal at the church, and back to Dole's house for a bite to eat. I put tags and ribbons on near 100 bags of homemade fudge, then made a huge tin of tomato salad. I a...

I subscribe to little daily blurbs from a site called The Adventurers Club . It is a site devoted to the "law of attraction", visualization tools, the power of thought etc. Perhaps a bit "New Agey" for some....but I am one who gleans philosophies from many different avenues and I take what I like, and leave the rest. The term Universe can be changed to "God as we know it" or any other deity which you believe in. I really liked today's Note. It made me smile while the world is spinning out of control around me: Daily, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second you are admired by eyes in the unseen, Patti. You are completely understood. Your actions and inactions are honored. Your thoughts and deeds are saluted. Even your fears and challenges are seen as they truly are: not as weaknesses, but opportunities you once crafted for gifts you can now hardly imagine. And, I must say, having a connection with a soul as adventurous as yours gives us all amp...

Although I did post this to my art blog, I wanted to post this here too. This was my creative piece for the day for a Fatbook I am in. I was on a deadline, I had Alanna a good part of the day so I could not work in the studio; I went digital. The back of the piece is another digital illustration, with a snippet from a poem "Into the Woods": Oh where have you been all day That you have been so long away? Oh, I have been a woodland child, And walked alone in places wild. Bright eyes peered at me everywhere, And voices filled the evening air; All sounds of furred and feathered things, The footfall soft, the whir of wings. (by Dorothy Baker) Oh I am indeed a woodland child, ripped out of Long Island and moved to the heart of the Catskills at 12 years of age. I spent my teenage years in the woods, finding solace from my rotten life amidst the crumbling stone walls of farms long overgrown, under ancient trees black with disease, picking blackberries in the fields where deer bed dow...

This week is a busy one getting ready for the wedding. Last night got my hair done-cut and highlighted. Dinner with my friends afterwards. Today is phone calls, therapy, and I am debating as to whether or not I should drive to Poughkeepsie to do an overnight with a friend. I can't paint as it is too cold and damp and smelly, I could work in the studio, or I could visit my friend and play and go have dinner and a sleep over. After all, I did devote 10 days to Larry in a row, and he must be tired of me by now. I don't want to bore you with the silly details of my life. How droll. I will be back soon with more exciting adventures, or musings about life. Or about the interesting experience with EMDR therapy. Till then, xxpatti PS One of my strange surreal collages called "I'm Bugged". Fits with how I feel these days with all that has to be done!

I am posting really late but that is because all of yesterday and into the wee hours of this morning was one continuous party. Megan's bridal shower went off without a hitch. We had so much food left over, but we did manage to kill all the champagne.... Then off to Jane and Marcel's post wedding party in the country town of Philmont near Hudson NY in a fabulous 1820 Victorian home owned by a very savvy business woman who rents furniture for props, and has warehouses full of furniture from nearly every time period. She has invited us to come on a candlelight tour of the old paper mill that she bought, or the handbag factory. That will have to be for another time! The house had three floors and I lost count of the number of bedrooms. There was a great stable behind the house, grand enough to live in. Ah to dream on about owning one of these great homes! (makes me want to get that book on how to be a millionaire as that is what I would need to buy, work on, and maintain such a...

Quick blog while I am waiting for the pasta to cook to make Pesto Pasta for Megan's shower. Have been very busy with house, shopping, wrapping, preparing etc. for this intimate event. I think there will only be about 12 people, but I have a few gifts from friends who could not make it. Photo taken while Larry was doing his daily yoga. My sweet cat Raphaela is joining him. Sometimes I get annoyed that he does yoga every day no matter where he is and is in such good shape from it. Been doing that for 3 years or so now, maybe longer. I think, imagine what I would look like if I did that. Never too late I guess..... I, on the other hand, don't seem to have enough time in the day to exercise the way I want to. Most of my exercise is mental, whether I am writing or designing or making art. Well, there is house painting,cleaning, and gardening. Let me tell you, that can be tough work at times. Can I squeeze out another 1/2 hour in the day for yoga???? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.... Wild heavy storm...

One of the things I realized over the time Larry and I have had off and not gone away, is that some of the best things in life are FREE. After a second coat of primer, Larry and I headed up to Clermont to pick up my lost cell phone. We took a bit to time to paint and photograph; he in the gardens with his Diana camera, me on the banks of the Hudson with my watercolors and pens. As I sat there and gazed upon the still landscape, with the warm sun upon my shoulders, I realized that this entire stretch of land along with its mansion is our collective public backyard, as it is with many of the State historic sites. Sometimes there is a 5.00 usage fee, but that is only on the weekends. And even at 5.00, which is nearly free, you can paint, picnic, sleep, read, on acres of mowed grass and beautiful vistas, and usually there is a lovely garden to be found on site. Later we headed up to North Lake and hiked to the site of the Catskill Mountain House. Since it was so late, the gatekeeper waived...

If you wonder why so little from me, it is because we are totally caught up in working on the kitchen as well as my helping plan this bridal shower for Megan on Saturday. I feel my world spinning out of control again. The shower, the wedding, the complications, the mini earthquakes, my son is in some trouble and worries me. I drank too much coffee today. I need to take some deep breaths before my heart pounds out of my chest, LOL. This is Larry with his photo lights working on the walls about 11 pm last night. I knew it was time to quit when I was getting paint all over the place, and all over me. Today we will get the second coat of primer on. I HOPE. Off to change into my paint clothes and get the edge work done on the walls and ceiling. Patti

It was a long day yesterday....Larry and I spent many hours taping the kitchen, and laying down the first coat of primer on the ceiling and the walls of our kitchen. We live in an older home, built in 1928. It was built very well, with a thick bluestone foundation and plaster walls, the plaster far thicker than some of the cheaper homes this age. The kitchen had been wallpapered when I bought the house 16 years ago. It was nice once, but over time off-white patterned wallpaper in a kitchen gets stained, discolored, and looks nasty. The paint underneath it was the institutional green I remember seeing in schools of the 60's and 70's. Not knowing what kind of paint was used, we had to use smelly thick primer to cover it. The first coat is on, and we hope to be painting the walls this week, and know it will take 2 coats. I am settling on a color I used in my bathroom, a rich melon type of color that glows in any light. It changes color in the light from a more yellow orange, to a ...

I am having some difficulties with Blogger these days; I publish, and my blog does not appear. I write on an almost daily basis, though not always at the same time each day. So I am trying to fix this so that it appears! I have said often in my blogs how I love the Hudson River. In fact, I would say that I have had quite the intimate affair with the river this year, studying its many moods, many colors, many vistas, from its deep groaning freeze of February, to its murmuring whispers on hot summer nights. Last night's photos (since the blog did not publish) were taken at sunset by Clermont; the other from the hill/mountain top vista at Olana Saturday night. I hope to get to the Vanderbilt and to Locust Grove this week also. I painted at Wilderstein last summer, so if something has to give, it will be that. I laid my blanket on the ground in back yard last night and once more tried to view the Perseid meteor shower. I was fortunate enough to see four meteors in spite of the ambient ...

Larry has this week off. We could do some overnights or we could just stay home and do day trips. After all, we live in one of the loveliest vacation spots in the northeast. From swimming to hiking, to exploring historic mansions on the Hudson, the Catskills have it all. Yesterday we had no choice but to spend the first part of the day taking care of the lawn and gardens. I ripped out two gardens down to the bare soil, and replanted a crop of lettuce, spinach, mustard greens and arugula. That should give me a fall crop, and with any luck they will make it into November as some of the greens are hardy past frost. I have to say, except for the front of the house, we have a good amount under control these days. My son has helped put in some of the sweat, and I am enjoying our little piece of city paradise. Though I live in a city, (how many people DOES it take to make a city?!) I am 20 minutes from the Catskills/Woodstock area, from Rhinebeck across the river, and within 5 minutes I am ou...

I have taken a short hiatus from writing these days. I still think about it, but I have been busy living life rather than writing about it which in turn gives me even more fodder to reflect upon and write about. I have some local restaurant and product reviews I want to do, but after a long day I will save it. Larry and I headed up to Olana for a picnic and to make art from 4-8. We watched and photographed the light, I sketched the landscape. (see my Catskillpaper blog for the sketches.) It was delightful to spend that time in the splendor of nature and amongst the many great spirits that walked on those grounds 100 years ago. I think the top photo says it all for the day, and it could be titled "Sunset Picnic with Wine at Olana". The next photo is nearing sunset and Larry is taking photos, and the last one is a great shot of the sunset and lovely rosy glow of the light late the day. I made three sketches, took many many wonderful photos and had a splendid relaxing evening, h...

I feel like this should be on the emergency broadcast system, you know, the one that announces botulism in peanut butter, and lead on Dora toys. This one would be for a warning about those metal grate shelving systems that explode one day on you. I am sitting at my computer, it is a rainy day. I am getting business done, packing up some prints from an Internet sale. I pull out an envelope from the pile on the shelf, and in the blink of an eye my 12 box shelving system explodes. Books go flying, a fur stole thrown at my face, envelopes, prints, more books, and lord knows what else collapses on top of me. I am sitting in shock. I unbury myself, check to see if I am OK. Alright, one cut to the knee, but that is not too bad. Small bump. As I try and recover, my arm hurts, as well as my foot. The broken one. I think I just got banged up a bit and was thankful that Alanna was not standing by it. She would have been buried. So how dangerous are these type of shelves? Just one wrong pull, one ...

I had a rough start to the day. I won't get into it, but it was one of those melt down days. Whenever I am sad or feeling stressed, I head to the studio. A bit of music, a seltzer, and some A/C made the day bearable. I spent time working on a large order, and today I forced myself to do some soldering. I find soldering a bit tedious as it is more rote rather than a creative endeavor, but at this point in time, I don't have anyone to hire to do that. I took my break at 2:30 and laid outside for a while with my book. Within a few minutes my neighbor's car alarm went off a few times and made quite a racket for a LONG TIME. After sweating in the sun, and trying to cool off by dripping ice water and run ice cubes over my skin, I gave up and went upstairs to my bedroom where the A/C was on and laid down for an hour nap. I had only gotten about 5 hours of sleep last night, so it was much welcomed. I had gotten up and was walking around in a daze when Karen came by and whisk...

I have been reading Frank McCourt's book Teacher Man, a must read for any teacher, especially those who work with alternative or troubled kids. I have read both Angela's Ashes and Tis. He is a fabulous writer and I am thankful for his gift and for the difficult education on living as a poor Irish Catholic. Though I was not nearly as poor as he was as a child, (actually I was rich in comparison) some of the other stories rang true for me. He is a role model to me. A phoenix rising from the ashes. My father's family, on his father's side were Gibbons, from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. They settled in the Philadelphia area, and they had servants. They must have had money at one point, and they were educated. I only know that my grandfather worked for the Post Office a good part of his life, which saved his family from starving during the depression. My father's mother's family was from Scotland, and I know little about the status of the McDonald's or St...

I have received some lovely comments and emails about last night's blog, as well as other blogs that I have written over the past year. It is gratifying to know that my thoughts and my experiences touch others, bring them to another time, give them something to think about. Though we are each unique individuals, we have universal experiences and feelings, and it is those that I seek to reach out and connect with. In a cyberspace sort of way, I yearn to hold hands and celebrate our commonalities rather than our differences. Thank you to those who have told me their stories and experiences. Please feel free to interact and share more. If you write me emails, let me know if I can publish exerpts from them. Through our stories we connect, heal, and experience joy. Namaste, Patti

I am not a domestic woman. In fact, I joke about failing Martha Stewart school. But once in a while I am either forced to be domestic, or else something small calls to me and says I can stand to do it for a while, and I get caught up in the meditation of it or the memories of the action. I had done a bunch of laundry and ended up with a pile of ironing. I usually get my things right out of the dryer as I am not fond of ironing. However today I had a pile of dinner napkins and linens that I had cleaned (a rare occasion) along with a beautiful white dress for Alanna, and a few things for myself. I heated up the iron, started to work, and the wrinkles were not coming out. Ah, yes, I needed water for the steam. As I continued to iron, I remembered my mother's bottle that she put water in. It was an ordinary detergent bottle, but she had this little red top with holes, like on a watering can, and the bottom had cork on it so that it would custom fit into the bottle. I don't know if ...

Yesterday was a long hot day. Up at 6, had Larry out at 7 to put up signs for the Yard Sale, and then to set up. There was my stuff, Megan's stuff, her grandparents stuff, and one other friend bought HER stuff! We made 150+ for the wedding, and promptly after the sale Megan went to Sam's club to pick up some of the the things she needs for the barbecue/reception. Yard sales are always fun, my friends stop by and say hi, and at the end I put out all that I did not want on my front wall. People are still stopping by to pick up things that they see, which is great. In the end I will box the remainders up and send it to the Salvation Army. This time I only sold 1 antique print and one magnet that I made; it was not a sale for art things. Last time I did a sale I made nearly 400.00, but perhaps I had better collectibles for sale. We did move a lot of stuff, and I know I have tons more for a later sale. I don't know if I can pull another one off before the wedding; perhaps I can ...

Yesterday was a long hot day. Up at 6, had Larry out at 7 to put up signs for the Yard Sale, and then to set up. There was my stuff, Megan's stuff, her grandparents stuff, and one other friend bought HER stuff! We made 150+ for the wedding, and promptly after the sale Megan went to Sam's club to pick up some of the the things she needs for the barbecue/reception. Yard sales are always fun, my friends stop by and say hi, and at the end I put out all that I did not want on my front wall. People are still stopping by to pick up things that they see, which is great. In the end I will box the remainders up and send it to the Salvation Army. This time I only sold 1 antique print and one magnet that I made; it was not a sale for art things. Last time I did a sale I made nearly 400.00, but perhaps I had better collectibles for sale. We did move a lot of stuff, and I know I have tons more for a later sale. I don't know if I can pull another one off before the wedding; perhaps I can ...

Megan took these pictures standing on a chair in the Macy's dressing room. They are a bit harsh in color, and I look stumpy and short, but this is the dress I bought. She loved it, my sister said I look Mermaidesque in it. These photos do NOT do it justice (or me for that matter) I found a pair of lovely silverish ballet type shoes, Jessica Simpson brand (Megan knows who that is...I have only heard of her- generation gap). I think I will be OK. Not sure if a bare back is allowed in a church. I mean after all, the bride does not cover up HER dress! Well, I will see if anyone has a very sheer wrap I will borrow one in case. I also bought her to Macy's to register for a few more gifts and we talked about the bridal shower. She has to know when it is due to her working at Mohonk, but we got the invites done, did some planning for the wedding, and then spent the afternoon making COOL yard sale signs for the neighborhood. That was the MOST fun part of the day as Megan really gets int...

I just got in, it is too late too blog. I am still hormonally challenged in many ways....survived the rejection from the art gallery, but I did get one piece in and come to find out that I was lucky to even get ONE piece in as 50% of the applicants were rejected. Larry got in no sweat. The curator said "oh what a great piece". I am glad for him. He is an amazing photographer who still works traditionally with an 8 x 10 camera. I want to do a show with him called "Telling Stories". I did go to my German class after a 2+ month hiatus, where we swam, partied, and spoke SOME German. Too hot for "mein Gehirn" to work. More tomorrow, xxpatti

I figured these images were good follow ups from the blog of the other night, as the PMS is still persisting. The first image is a digital photo I made, and the second piece is a collage I did a while ago. Come to think of it, I have not seen that piece for a long time! Where the heck is it? Did Larry steal it away and hide it so that I could not sell it? I am on day four of no sleep, and tonight I have the beginning of a migraine which can only mean my torture is soon over. I hope. I managed to speak to my friend Jane in New Orleans today, (Algeria to be precise) and she said her bank is still in a trailer. She was telling me that people have had to put in their copper piping three times as vagrants come and steal the copper out of the houses being rebuilt for the scrap metal. Rows still of boarded up houses. Houses with nothing but 2x4s mapping out the rooms. Very very sad. Tonight's images remind me of the horrors that New Orleans experienced..just a few short months after my g...