Liz Macklin -- Writer & Illustrator

Hickory Dickory Dock

animals, art, exhibits, nursery rhymes, watercolor

At my house it’s been the coldest January since 1994. I wake up to the glow of streetlights on what remains of the December snow. Last week I saw a fox run run down the street in the moonlight. Even a sly hunter might find it hard to catch a midnight snack when ice coats the hedges and all the squirrels have hidden in hollow trees.

This month my illustration Hickory Dickory Dock is on display at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. The exhibit includes work by artists who teach and volunteer with the Arts and Humanities Program at the hospital.

You probably remember the nursery rhyme:

Hicklory dickory dock
the mouse ran up the clock
the clock struck one
the mouse ran down
hickory dickory dock

Jeonju

architecture, art, exhibits, Korea, watercolor

Entry at Gyeonggijeon — Entrance at Gyeonggijeon | watercolor | 30" by 38" | copyright Liz Macklin 2009

While traveling in Korea, I spent a day exploring the Hanok Village in Jeonju. It was an autumn afternoon and the sky and trees were the colors of painted silks. My daughter and I visited shops brimming with handmade papers, fabrics and ceramics. We wandered through the site of the historic hall at Gyeonggijeon. A scene at the gate inspired this watercolor.

This painting and others will be on display at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. until November 30.

Raptors, Energy and “Sunday at the Park”

environment, nature

Potomac Overlook | watercolor sketch | 4" by 3" | copyright Liz Macklin 2009 — Potomac Overlook Park | watercolor sketch | 4" by 3" | copyright Liz Macklin 2009

On October 11, 2009, join me for Sunday at the Park! I’ll be sketching hawks, owls and other birds of prey at Pot0mac Overlook Park in Arlington, Virginia.

While you are there, tour the “Energerium” – a new exhibit that examines nature through the lens of energy. Activities for all ages continue from 1:30 to 3:30 pm!

For directions to the park, check the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority web site.

From Cocoon to Fabric

artists, textiles

Patience! Unraveling cocoons takes time! On September 26th, I spent the day exploring the world of silkworms. The teacher, fiber artist Renate Maile Moskowitz, arrived with a car full of cocoons, fabrics, dyes, silk hankies and even a box of hungry caterpillars. She was as friendly and vivacious as her supplies were intriguing. We spent the day degumming, finger spinning, stretching, dyeing and embossing silk.

Renate Maile Moskowitz teaches “The Secrets of Silk” at the Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia.

Art and The Reading Connection

art, exhibits, watercolor

Lilies on Blue Cloth | watercolor | copyright Liz Macklin 2009

Help bring books to children in housing crisis.

I’ve donated this watercolor to the fall fundraiser for The Reading Connection! The art is ready to hang in your home or office — framed (11″ x 14″)

Everyone is invited. Please tell your friends.

The Art of Reading
Saturday, September 19, 2009

From 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., celebrate with Kids at Pyramid Atlantic. There will be three read-alouds led by celebrity readers (at 2:15, 3:15, and 4:15), each followed by an art project inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

From 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., join the festivities at an Art & Wine Reception. Artists will display their creations and a portion of sales will benefit TRC.

Location: ArtSpring Store, 8519 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD.

The Reading Connection is dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk children and families by helping them create and sustain literacy-rich environments and motivation for reading. See www.thereadingconnection.org for more information on TRC programs.

Strawberries

garden, home, watercolor

Strawberries. You can grow them in pots on a deck. Just find a sunny space, fill your containers with soil or growing medium, add your plants and then water. Don’t forget the TLC.

I have a small garden plot outside my kitchen door. We pick berries for breakfast!

For more information on growing strawberries in containers, read the advice in the How to Garden Guide.

Designs in Silk

art, exhibits, Korea, textiles

Silk. Soft, luxurious and rich with color. Who would have thought that it all began with a lowly worm? Not just any worm – a caterpillar bent on metamorphosis!

In October I visited Korea. I spent many spare moments scouting museums and local markets looking for beautiful handmade objects. In Jeonju, a town in North Jeolla province, my daughter, acting both as my guide and translator, led me straight to the wedding street! Along this side street shops sold both western and Korean wedding gowns. The traditional Korean garments stole my heart. Long robes in brilliant hues of magenta, yellow or blue hung in the shop windows. Each gown had a high waist tied with ribbons, and the most elaborate boasted a garden of embroidered flowers on bodices and sleeves.

Inspired by the designs, I searched for more information when I returned home. In my local public library I found Silken Threads: A History of Embroidery in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, by Young Yang Chung, a reference book with exquisite color photos.

— Edited to remove expired links, March 24, 2016

Found Objects

artists

sweetgum pods and leaves — Sweetgum | watercolor | 6" by 10"

Sometimes as I walk in my neighborhood, objects catch my eye. They can be anything: maple leaves, sweetgum pods, buds fallen from magnolias. I bring them home and arrange them as subjects for paintings.

When I first enrolled in art school, I studied with the sculptor and fountain designer George Tsutakawa. He spoke quietly and encouraged even beginning students like me. He invited our class to visit his home in Seattle. I remember it as a tall house built in a regal era. His wife served refreshments, and he led us on a tour starting with an original painting by artist Mark Tobey. We stopped to admire a room full of handmade musical instruments, including a koto, and I believe his wife played for us.

The living room opened to an outdoor space. There I saw large ceramic bowls filled with many small smooth stones. Simple elements, collected and arranged, became something beautiful. It was a traditional idea but one I had not consciously considered until that afternoon.

We were lucky to have visited on a clear day, because later he walked to the backyard and showed us how he tested his fountains. From what looked to me like a garden hose, water squirted up into the air and collected in round cupped bronze shapes. Each overflowed with a bubbling cascade that caught the sunlight.

Professor Tsutakawa came to mind again many years later, when I saw his fountain as I walked in the Garth of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. An interview with Tsutakawa is transcribed in the Smithsonian’s archives of American Art.

garden, home

Blue House

Blue House | watercolor on grey background | 5″ by 6″ | NFS

February Snow

Grey clouds. Icicles on the trees. White streets dotted with colors. Cars muffled by an airy, frozen quilt. At the first snow I become a tourist in my own town.

As I walk through my neighborhood, I start thinking about winter gardens. For sparkling textures and winter color, I look for ideas at the web site of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Of course, my children always wanted to lure rabbits to our back yard. That’s possible with advice from this article called Inviting Wildlife into Your Garden by Claire Hagen Dole.

home

Reading. Writing. Painting. Creating. Tending the garden. Snooping through books at the library. Looking for woodpeckers and Virginia bluebells. Walking the dog along the river.

I have worked as a messenger, a maid, a server in a tea room, a teacher, a writer, an illustrator and a registered architect. Now I lead workshops for children and teens. Together we create drawings, paintings, books, 3D constructions, and inventions of all kinds while exploring our city and the wider world!