Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

Finally completed "Earth Song", a carved and painted gourd done in the style of Pueblo pottery. This piece turned out better than I anticipated and I'm so excited! I took photos of the process so I will share with you here how I did it. After cleaning the gourd and cutting the top off to create the look of pottery, I drew in the design... Once I was satisfied with the drawing, I had to determine which parts I wanted to carve out.  Once this was decided it took me two days to complete the carving (not all day - 2 hours each day). I probably spent at this point 2 or 3 days trying to visualize a color scheme. I loved how it was coming along and I didn't want to mess it up with the wrong colors. I finally chose earth tones and painted on the first color... This was exciting - it was really starting to manifest a personality now...I was going to leave it basically with the natural gourd colors and others that saw it at this stage agreed but then ...

Spring is finally arriving in the desert.  This year is going to be amazing after all the rain we received so far and I am about to share with you a little taste of it... So one day as I was gazing out across the valley from where we live, I noticed something strange. It appeared that the entire mountain side 30 miles away was turning orange!  I knew it must be our Arizona poppies but couldn't believe what I was seeing. To see this from so far away!  Time for an adventure. I grabbed Luke and we took a drive across the valley to check this out... Unfortunately, none of the photos we took did these flowers justice...    It was breathtaking and blinding! The color was so intense... As far as the eye could see... Nothing but insane beauty... And then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the...poppies.  This experience is now burnt in my brain. We live on a truly magical and beautiful planet.  

The latest creation...another handmade coaster, painted with thoughts of spring. I live in Southeast Arizona and I am still bundling up in my jacket. I am normally in shorts by now!  So I paint the pretty spring colored butterfly in honor of spring that I am so looking forward to! For sale on Etsy

So I finally completed them! These are entirely hand crafted - made from gessoed hardboard, painted with acrylics.  Sprayed with FOUR coats of polyurethane, and a cork bottom.    They are currently for sale in my Etsy Shop

Yesterday was a magical day! A perfect day to go plein air painting!  Of course I appear to be a rain magnet and although it was a beautiful warm day, 20 minutes into painting it suddenly decides to act like it's summer monsoon season. Seriously whacky weather this year!   Of course plein air painting will always challenge you...like when it begins to start pouring rain and your boyfriend is trying to be sweet and helpful by moving your easel to dry ground and accidentally dumps your pallete in the sand...ahhh, it is indeed a test of patience:)   So after a magical day of painting and we finally make it home the wind comes along and dumps my painting face first in the dirt...yep, another exciting plein adventure:) and yet I'm eager to go do it all over again.