SKETCHPAD Series of Encaustic Paintings

More CALLIGRAFFITI...

Above:  Very close up view showing the layers and three dimensionality of the encaustic wax paint.


I'm including a series of small works called SKETCHPADS in my upcoming show Calligraffiti:  Encaustic and Mixed Media Paintings---in September, (at Charley Hafen Jewlers - Gallery September 14- October 17). As you can see from the photo above with the six-inch ruler, the SKETCHPADS paintings are relatively small, roughly 5x7 inches.





The artist reception is during September Gallery Stroll---Friday, September 16 from 6 till 9pm.  When you visit the Calligraffiti show you will see the collection of little SKETCHPADS along with the regular size paintings (a couple of which have been featured here and here).

Todi

Above:  Todi, Toni Youngblood 2009, Encaustic and mixed media on board

Photo:  Virtual Tourist

I spent Fall Quarter of grad school in Rome as a participant in the Architecture in Rome program through the University of Washington.  (Twenty years prior, one of the first two participants in this program was now internationally known architect Stephen Holl.)  Our program included field trips to other areas of Italy.  The hilltown of Todi was one such destination.

Photo:  Stefan Pasquini

Todi is located in the Umbrian region of Italy and founded in the 8th-7th century BC.  Its double line of protective city walls is reputed to have stopped Hannibal himself after his victory at the Trasimeno. 

Photo: Marta Piccotini

Todi is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the Tiber River, commanding distant views in every direction. (Wiki)

Photo:  via gogobot

Todi is known for its street steps which are built in the center of the street to make ascending and descending the steep incline of the cobblestone thoroughfares more pedestrian friendly.

 Above:  One of my student sketches of the street steps during our field trip to Todi.

Above:  Double click on this image.  You've got to see this rendering of the wonderful interlocking piazzas, a delight to experience on foot. 

In the 1990s, Richard S. Levine, a professor of architecture at the University of Kentucky, chose Todi as the model sustainable city, because of its scale and its ability to reinvent itself over time. After that, the Italian press reported on Todi as the world's most livable city.^[1]

Above:   I remember him well from my art history class!
The Mars of Todi

Todi-Monte Santo

end of 5th cent. BC
hollow-cast bronze
height cm 141
cat. 13886

'This is one of the very rare objects of ancient Italic statuary that has survived to our time. It shows a warrior dressed in armour and, originally, with a helmet, portrayed in the act of performing a libation before battle, pouring the liquid contained in a particular form of cup (patera) held by the extended right hand, while with the left he leans on an iron spear (the patera and remains of the spear, not visible in the photo, are in the showcase). The statue, which betrays the influence of Greek art starting from the middle of the 5th cent. BC, was found in Todi buried between slabs of Travertine, perhaps after having been hit by lightning. The dedicatory inscription, in the language of the ancient Umbrians but in the Etruscan alphabet, recalls that the statue was given as a gift (dunum dede) by a certain Ahal Trutitis. "(from the Gregorian Etruscan Museum of the Vatican Museum - Rome)

Beautifully detailed hand of the Mars of Todi.

My painting is named in honor of the beautiful town with its rich history, known in our time as Todi.

Checking in...think about it. :o)

Borrowed through the grapevine.

Thank you, Mt. Etna

Above:  Thank you, Mt. Etna, Toni Youngblood, 2009 Encaustic on board

In October 2002, I made a trip to Sicily.  Mt. Etna had it's last eruption in Julyl 2001.  I considered how fortuitous it would be if the mountain happened to erupt while we were vacationing in the nearby hilltown of Taormina.  As it turned out, while our plane was making its approach to the Catania airport on the island of Sicily, we noticed we were cruising through a brownish cloud.  The captain announced that Mt. Etna had begun erupting at midnight before our morning landing.

Above:  Photo erupting Mt. Etna at sunset. (Toni Youngblood)

The encaustic painting above is named to honor the active eruption of the volcano that loomed over us during our entire eight-day stay.  The airport closed just after our landing, due to the ash from the volcano.  It was closed the whole week of our tour of Southern Sicily. The only activity from the airport was that of utility aircraft carrying fire retardant to drop on the flanks of the mountain in order to put out fires from the blazing lava.  Our itinerary for the week went as planned with the exception of a scheduled hike up the side of the mountain.  From our hotel terrace, we had clear view of the mountain, only three miles away.  Evenings, we could view the glowing sparks propelled from the volcano cone, as well as the fiery lava flowing down the mountain side.  In the quiet of the evening, when no Vespas buzzed through the cobble streets, one could hear and feel the deepest bass tone rumblings of the mountain.  But there was only one evening that the ash blew and drifted over our hotel.  When we woke the next morning, there appeared to be black sand covering the hotel terraces.

I wrote the following information taken from the television news reports during our stay:

Mt. Etna eruption in October 2002:  Blasts shot 100 meters high. Ash cloud was visible from space. Ash falling was reported in Malta and Lybia. State of emergency was declared due to earthquakes and police evacuated villages on Etna's flanks. 


Though the airport was shut down following our plane landing on the island, coincidentally it was found safe to re-open the day we were scheduled to fly back home. 


Darn it---I really wanted to call in to work...sorry I'll be late due to the... volcano eruption.

Ahhhhhhhh, the weekend...

Photo credit:  Meadow Creek Inn and Spa in Stanley Idaho

Small Weekend Wonders!

Above:  The crystal reliquary chandelier in my studio with the newly added Jen Harmon Allen Running Legs.  Jen's show runs at Charley Hafen Jewelers-Gallery until the end of July.  I was delighted to learn that Jen is selling individual pairs of legs (only $14), a fun piece of art (or buy many for an installation) for a very easy price.  It was a good reception Friday night.

Above:  Another view of the Running Legs.

Above:  A beautiful sight...no car parked in the driveway.  With some major rearranging of items in the garage, the car now fits inside, too!

Above:  The newly constructed "stoop" at the person door to the garage, which I built yesterday afternoon.  I got to use my circular saw, my chop saw, my table saw and my power drill.  ;o)

Next task is staining the stoop.

I also baked a couple of loaves of bread, and feel that it's been a good all 'round weekend for domestic endeavors.

July GALLERY STROLL: Friday the 15th, 6-9p.m.

Charley Hafen Jewelers Gallery features the work of figurative sculptor and installation artist, Jen Harmon Allen, who purposely creates partial casts and impressions of the human body to focus on the enigmatic meeting place of body and spirit.

Charley Hafen Jewelers - Gallery
1409 South 900 East,Salt Lake City, UT 84105
Monday - Friday 12 – 7,
Saturday 10 – 2, Closed Sunday
Telephone: 801-521-7711 
Contact by e-mail: charley@charleyhafen.com


For the current Gallery Stroll list click here


Happy Birthday, Becky Doersam!