Christine's Blog
Blog: Balance
Posted on July 08 2020
Your values - what you treasure, how you think, the way you understand reality – thes...
Blog: "Loving You" exhibited in the San Diego Watercolor Society 40th International Juried Exhibition
Posted on July 07 2020
This year, SDWS received 874 entries from throughout the United States and 22 other c...
Blog: Learning to Read
Posted on June 29 2020
Blog: Covid Positives
Posted on June 27 2020
Covid has changed the world. It has changed me. Has it changed you?
Covid has changed what I used to think was important. With this new perspective I find it remarkable what used to occupy my time and my mind. Now those things don’t seem so important anymore. The power and the time those things occupied are once again mine.
Blog: Just Because
Posted on June 25 2020
I love giving flowers. I have always loved giving them and have always loved receiving them. Flowers represent something special. Flowers represent love.
Blog: Authenticity in Visual Art
Posted on June 22 2020
I remember taking an entire art history class on the murals created as a visual records of their times. These images can be moving, they can be popular, they can tell a story. But does that make them art?
Blog: Finding Love in Chaos aka Love is Enough
Posted on June 19 2020
It is hard to watch the news nowadays – there is so much happening, so much changing, so much upheaval. I heard a newscaster say “love is just not enough anymore”.
I did a whole series on love several years ago. Love has existed powerfully ever since Christ. I have always believed that love was enough. I have been challenged frequently with this belief – but in the end love always pulls me through.
Blog: Opening – aka Souls in a Can
Posted on June 18 2020
As many Wisconsinites often do, my family had beans and brats for dinner recently. I gazed at the can opener as the handle twisted round and round, opening the can, freeing the contents inside. A thought drifted into my mind about freedom – who has the power to open the... Essays
Blog: Natural vs Man Made
Posted on June 17 2020
Décor is usually associated with rugs, textiles, lighting fixtures – and includes wall décor. It is the things used to decorate a room. The goal of décor is harmony. The value of décor is appeal through manipulation and control of color and shape. Décor governs how we see things. Décor subordinates objects to congruous patterns. Décor uses easily recognizable representational images.
Wall décor is rarely creative.
Blog: What is your sense of life – aka How interconnections work naturally
Posted on June 16 2020
I am always pleased when a lover of the arts sees my work and describes my sense of life as playful and happy. When I hear these comments it tells me 1 – they recognize me in the work and, 2- they know what my sense of life is.
Blog: Capturing Movement
Posted on June 12 2020
“I saw the rainbows in my studio and I danced with them.”
Christine Alfery
When I paint I do not try to reconcile the conflict between chaos and order. I don’t seek to soften the hard edges of disorder and find a harmonious center. I don’t try to make things whole or monochromatic. Life is not that way - we become disillusioned when we try to make it something other than what it really is. Life is a bumpy, playful, and a marvelous ride if we don’t try to make it something it is not.
Blog: Your Creative Spirit Is Not Wrong
Posted on June 11 2020
There are many ways to be creative. The beauty of creativity is that there is no right and wrong way. Creativity begins with abstractions that need to become – to become visible, to become an idea – to become. Creativity is unique to the one who is creating – defined by spirit, the heart, and the soul of that individual.
Blog: Happy Meals and Problem Solving
Posted on June 09 2020
So often we want the solution to problems we face to be as simple as buying and eating a Happy Meal. We want the prize inside to make us smile and be happy.
But life is not a Happy Meal. It is full of problems. Many spend their lives avoiding problems or seeking the path of least resistance.
The Hope of the Dragonfly
Posted on June 07 2020
Oh my gosh the dragonflies came out today. So many good memories of dragonflies. I remember when my daughter was still a child - we sat on the beach for a whole day watching them emerge and climb up the boathouse wall.
Rainbows, Inspiration, and The Gladys Gibson Bronze Medal Award
Posted on June 07 2020
"Sunshine and Rainbows" was awarded The Gladys Gibson Bronze Medal Award in the 15th Annual Emerald Spring Exhibition juried show at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield, Oregon. The Emerald Art Center re-opened on June 3rd while maintaining social distancing protocols. The show is now open to the public.
Blog: Be one of a kind
Posted on June 03 2020
Blog: Expanding and Exploring: New Marks, New Materials, New Ideas, New Series
Posted on May 31 2020
This is one of the early works from my new series Nature vs. Fabrication. This series will explore the dichotomy of natural creation vs. man-made. Although they are in contrast, you can't have one without the other. Balance is the key.
