First vlog (Youtube) about our studio

Our first vlog...please take a peek and let me know what you think ;)

Friendship and loyalty.

Yes'm, old friends is always best, 'less you can catch a new one that's fit to make an old one out of. ~Sarah Orne Jewett


Yesterday, after 15 (!) years, I "was found" by a dear old friend. I had searched in vain for her online.... but luckily, she found me via the web! She has since gotten married, had a child, and changed her name. Yet, she is still the old friend whom I have always loved so dearly and felt as we "really meet" heart to heart.
We talked on the phone literally all day from about 11 am to near 5pm with some interruptions in between. It was sweet.


"The most beautiful discovery that true friends can make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."~E. Foley

I am so grateful for being able to be back in touch with my old friend. Having friends is one of the blessings given to us from above. However, as some of you know.... two years ago I suffered a horrible experience when one of my closest friends hurt me deeply by betraying me in a most treacherous manner.
Thus, though I have always treasured my friends....after that horrible experience, I have fought to not lose hope in what I have always believed friendship to be: the most beautyFULL gift! One of the places where I have enjoyed going to are the pages of The Little Prince.

I have read and re-read The Little Prince more times than I will ever know, it has been my favorite book since I was a little girl-and here, time and again, I have found comfort in reading my favorite part: when the Little Prince meets the Fox. It is bittersweet and speaks to friendship, loyalty and love.
Here, is an excerpt:

(the Fox speaking to the Little Prince):
“…if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat…”

“One only understands the things that one tames. Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me…”

“Men have forgotten this truth. But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Indeed, as one of my favorite authors wrote:
Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.
Kahlil Gibran

For a beautiful story on friendship, please read the whole chapter (it is only one page...go on! Read it here

Annual open studio pARTy!

We are in the studio this weekend..getting ready for our Annual Open Studio"

December 6
7-9pm
We hope to see you then!
directions are here

These are some of the mini paintings I have been working on (about 2" x 3").

And here we are..working in the studio today. Sergio is holding an encuastic I painted over and which he will finish off with objects... and I am holding a couple of my mini paintings.


See our lovely woodstove in the background? We love it and could not do without it during winter months!

Body Image....disFigured....love yourself!

As many of you know, we don't own a TV, but we are avid film fans- Netflix's streaming to our laptop makes it way too easy to lay back with a glass of wine in one hand, paintbrush in the other...

Last night, I watched disFIGURED as I painted. the preview had a weird description: an anorexic joining a support group for fat individuals, but Julian and Sergio were busy doing their own thing..so I chalked it up to "girlie movie" night.

Confession: When I was 15, I had anorexia for a brief period of time. I remember it started one spring, and ended by that winter, around 9 or 10 months duration... I did not eat, hid my food and even thought myself 'better' than my best friend, she was a bulimic who ate but threw up.
Sick, I know, and never before have I shared this in public-but I am doing so in the hopes it may help someone-here it is:

“Our body is…a vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” -- Buddha


One day, I remember my mom walking in on me as I was getting dressed, I was so skinny, I had not had my period in months, and was weighing barely 85 pounds (5'x 3" tall). Soon after she saw me, she took me to a psychologist who told her that anorexics do what they do because of over controlling parents (!)...she never took me back.

A few weeks later, she took me to our pediatrician. A very wise Cuban immigrant..., he asked my mom to step out of the room.
He then asked me: now that you have proven to yourself that you can go without eating, now that you know that is the one thing your parents can not control...what about YOU? What about how YOU feel? What about boys? Do any of them pay attention to this sack of bones? It was harsh, yet truth always hits you deep.

Then, he gave me an ultimatum...unless I gained 3 lbs, I would not be able to visit Chile.
He threatened me with IVs and again asked me how did I feel...
I missed my homeland...and probably part of the anorexia was due to being homesick. So, I forced myself to eat, and I made up my mind that while there- I would become healthy again.
I remember flying there on the plane, with my "extra 3lbs" on...vowing I would eat 'like normal' and come back to the USA fully recovered.
And, I did!
My life turned around when I began to believe in me
It was not easy, but I forced myself to get well just as I had forced myself not to eat.

Still....all these years--and like so many other women: I have pinched this, grabbed that...and have hoped for a leaner something or other. Thing is: we will always want to reach for that "ideal"...whatever that "ideal" is... set forth by our family, media, society.

Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth ~Aesop

The movie last night reminded me of all this. It is a complex movie which touches on several subjects pertaining to body image. I highly recommend it.
I think it is good because it is very realistic in reminding us that in the end, it is all about what is inside that counts.


Yes, obesity is a health hazard, but so are cigarettes, french fries, working with toxic art materials, taking prescription meds, hair dye, sodas, tap water and a million other things in our environment!

I had not thought about blogging about this..but today I made a few 15 minute sketches from one of my favorite models. She is beautiful and full figured. I have always found full figured women beautiful...maybe because the first life model I drew from was full figured...maybe because I grew up seeing all the work from the Old Masters: full figured women being their focus...maybe because I am a woman who loves my femininity and I seem to find this easier within the fuller bodies.

So, I thought I would post this..especially in the light that many have e-mailed to ask me if I am doing the raw lifestyle to lose weight (no, I am doing it for my health. I have had IBS, back pain and thyroid issues-all being resolved thanks to raw foods!).

In these last couple of years I have finally become very comfortable in my own body. Partly because of my dear partner Sergio... partly because of the route my life has taken to a more spiritually based path...more true to my inner self... I have grown to love myself deeper and deeper at every level-inside and out.

Curve: The loveliest distance between two points. ~Mae West

Damn the body thing....food is a sensual experience..it is fuel for our bodies, yes- but it is also a sensual delight!
This is what raw foods has reminded me off: food is not only nutrition...it is also part of life's joy!
And food joy for the body is like meditation for the spirit..like a good book for the mind....




“Everybody is unique. Compare not yourself with anybody else lest you spoil God’s curriculum.” -- Baal Shem Tov

Making art in undies

Our evites have been sent out for our Annual Open studio!
We do hope that you will visit with us then!

I remember the first open studio I had...it was about 7 years ago, when the studio was still a garage which never was.... it was full of cabinets full of junk (previous homeowner) which friends and I covered with black sheets.
The space was not heated, thus we used the type of propane heaters utilized outdoors by construction workers (yikes! not healthy at all :P)

So many lovely friends and family came out, I actually sold lots of work!
Thank you to all who have always supported me :)...especially my mama and my tia Veronica!

The following two years, the studio was finished and looked awesome, but the baseboard heaters were not very helpful. It was so chilly in there that a friend even offered buy us heaters (!)-we declined...but realized it was not only our bodies needing warmth...we needed to be warm so we could work in there, and so people could visit us comfortably!

We made the decision to install a woodstove in the studio-a very expensive plan...and thus we decided to continue our summer camps to pay for it.

It was one of the best decisions we have ever made!
We love to work in the studio in the winter time now! It can get so warm in there, we often work in short sleeves even as we watch the snow come down (mmhh..yes, indeed, if you show up unannounced, you may find Sergio painting in his undies!)

I digress..............

Anyway, our open studio in December is a great pARTy... we will have goodies and mulled wine..plus lots of original artwork *well priced* for gift giving!


I am making mini paintings to keep my work accessible to all during this 'recession'..and Sergio has his earrings super well priced ($7.- a pair).


Here are some samples of his earrings, and two of my mini paintings (2" x 3").
The blue one is actually an encaustic I made using a Cicada, decorated like the ancient Mexican beetles.


I plan to post our work here often until the opening...and we will be doing a giveaway soon too (details coming...!)

Winter Holiday pARTy!

siames
Originally uploaded by olivosartstudio

This weekend we will be sending out the announcement to our Annual Winter Holiday pARTy...please mark your calendars!!
Exactly one month from today:

December 5 from 6pm to midnight!

We hope to see you here!!!!!!!!!

(image: Siamese by Sergio)

mini canvases, jewlery and working small

I have lately been drawn to painting on mini canvases. This is entirely new "territory" for me-the very first painting I made was 6 ' x 7' (!) - I have always loved working large ... yet I am finding it a joy to work on these tiny canvases. The average size is 2" x 2 and 3/4".

Similarly, Sergio has become more and more enamored with creating earrings and necklaces out of beads, sea shells and more. Sergio has always loved working with objects, and it seems logical to step from his encaustic paintings, to a full 3-D object art.

We are both working with small and more intimate pieces.

This small format is portable and convenient for winter time.
We heat the studio with a woodstove, so it is not practical to start it up during the week on days we teach elsewhere.
With a small canvas, I can come home, cook and still have time to paint a canvas without having to go out into the studio.

We leave weekends to work in the studio on larger pieces, when we have time to devote hours to our work. We love our time in the studio: morning to morning, painting and spending time together sharing what we love to do most: make art!

I will soon post more photos of my mini canvas pieces and Sergio's earrings and necklaces....we both find there is a freedom and joy that we are ale to express in these new art modalities that inspire us for our larger and works that we are best known for.

We hope that you can come to visit us and see our new work in person on December 5: during our Annual Open Studio Holiday pARTy!!