Living Out Loud

Big News!!!

2009-11-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

My dear friend, Pam Carriker, (that I have mentioned many a time here) has written her first book and gotten a book deal! Yahoo! And as if I weren't thrilled enough with that news, she asked me to contribute to it! I about fell over from excitement! Followed immediately by a panic attack, of course. :-D Thankfully, she's given me a specific assignment and a deadline, otherwise I would swim in indecision right up until the last minute.

You can read about the book's journey on Pam's newest blog: Art at the Speed of Life. If you follow Pam and her other blog already, then you know this book is going to be great! Hurray, Pam!!!

Week 5 video from the Melange Team

2009-11-07T16:51:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the fabulous Glenda, another great collection of artwork from our fantastic Melange team!

Collage and mixed media slide show from the Melange Team on Etsy.com #4

2009-10-25T15:36:00.001-07:00

Week #4 video of work from the Melange Team. Thank you Glenda!!!

Illustration Friday

2009-10-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

Words Fall Like Snow

(available on Etsy)

Illustration Friday, this week's topic is "Frozen." Look here to peruse the art of all the other participating artists.

You know when you're angry and your words come out so coldly, that even your body feels frozen? That's what I was thinking when I made this. I almost feel like I can't control the coldness sometimes.

Hmm...this is a cheery post!

Week 3 of the Melange Team's Video Debuts!

2009-10-17T16:45:00.001-07:00

Another great video of selections from our Etsy street team The Melange Team. (I just realized that I somehow missed posting week 2 here!) Our fearless, peerless leader Glenda of Two Cool Texans is the wonderful producer and editor of these videos - Thanks, Glenda!!!

Herb and Dorothy, an Art Love Story

2009-10-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

Watched this tonight on PBS. Simply amazing. A postal worker and a librarian amassed the world's largest collection of modern art. I was moved to tears at the end. Their love of art is so pure.

The film's page on PBS/ Independent Lens is here. The Netflix page is here.

Mommy is Grumpy.

2009-10-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

Mommy has no chocolate.

Dear So and So

2009-10-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

(available on Etsy here)

If you want to participate in Dear So and So Friday, here's a link to a bunch more people doing the same. I decided to participate so as to be able to vent my inner snarky-ness occasionally. Otherwise I get it all over some poor, unsuspecting soul...

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Dear Earthlink,

I just want you to know I have not forgotten about the lost SIX+ hours I logged listening to your hold music while you determined that you couldn't help me with your equipment and service. As promised, I consistently tell people what terrible, terrible service you provide and advise everyone I know to stay as far away from your company as possible. We have had no outages at all since we left your negligent service behind.

Happy without you,
LBM

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Dear LaVerne,

You are the best neighbor we have! Please don't move to Texas! I know you have that new grandbaby, and that's certainly a draw, but won't you miss our weed infested yard and DH's lovely "vintage" cars rotting in the driveway???

(Plus, what if a crazy person buys your house? - or someone who likes manicured lawns?)

We'll miss you,
LBM

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Dear Driver Who Was In Front Of Me Yesterday,

This is the state of Washington. Read your Washington State Driver's Manual. We allow free right turns on red lights in this state. Just stop, look, see that there are absolutely no cars coming, then turn. It's not rocket science.

Recovering from Road Irritation,
LBM

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Hmmmmmmmmm. Not very snarky. I should do this when I'm in a worse mood...

Art from the Melange Mixed Media team on Etsy.com

2009-10-04T16:50:00.001-07:00

Melange Team Challenge; Wee Witches - and an interview!

2009-09-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

(Available on Etsy)

This week's Melange Team challenge is "Wee Witches." I decided to do a collage on a small 5 x 5 canvas. I thought I'd include some instructions this time.

I painted the canvas first with black gesso, then I loosely painted some strokes across the top 1/2 with Navy acrylic paint. Then I took a template I made with a circle punch and used it as a stencil. I used a make-up sponge to lightly fill in the circle with light yellow paint and then a small brush to lightly stroke some moonlight onto the sky.

For the house, I used ink to distress some paper and printed my wee witches onto transparency. They didn't show up enough against all the printing on the white paper, so I stamped a design on some orange paper (I thought some kind of design was necessary to confirm that they were transparent) and glued the transparency to that. I thought the rectangle shape would suggest a door.

I made my wee witches' hats out of scrapbook paper that had a black and white photograph on it. Obviously this is from a large swath of black. I like it, rather than black paper, because it wasn't as flat and dark as black paper. To suggest roundness, I used a white charcoal pencil and then smudged walnut ink over it.

I wrote a little mini poem in honor of the subject, printed it out and started distressing it with ranger inks. It immediately smeared all over the place! Humph! So I printed it out again (This time multiple times - just in case!)...and smeared it 2 more times - no matter how careful I was. I do this all the time, using this exact same printer! Someone suggested it might be the paper I'm using, and I am using a different paper than usual. Anyway, I ended up taking some matte spray finish and spraying the 2 remaining printouts, letting them dry for 2 hours (!) and then distressing them It worked out fine. Geez! What a process. Of course it wasn't over. When I scanned it, it washed out the words so they looked pure white when they are actually quite distressed. So I tried to use photoshop to make them closer to reality - but I think I got a little carried away! Oh, well. Sometimes you just have to call it done.

Check out the comments section on the Melange Team Challenge post to see other responses to the challenge. There are some great entries!

And on the exciting news front; see my interview with Jodi Ohl on Saturday's post! (Perhaps I should have said Jodi Ohl's interview with me? See for yourself and let me know...) I'm very honored to be featured.

My Baby's First Love Note

2009-09-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

How cute is that??? Of course, my DH spent an hour with them on the playground and came to the conclusion - in total seriousness - that the boy in question is "a perv" and needs to be watched closely. The boy is 5 years old. Oh, Daddy...

But Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?

2009-09-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

So, a couple of months ago we were invited to a wedding. Adam, the son of my DH's oldest friend was getting married in another friend's backyard. Michelle's backyard, to be exact.Now, I don't know about you, but I've been to many backyard weddings. Some rented tables and chairs, maybe a decorated arch, a lot of tulle, and some pastel and/or white flowers. Maybe red roses if there was enough money in the budget. Backyards are generally large, communicating a them on that scale is difficult and costly. Most backyard weddings all end up looking the same.

Not this one! This was a miracle of decor, I tell you. Michelle, with lots of help from another friend, Tammy, hunted down every last piece of anything with a picture of a cherry on it! I didn't even get pictures of everything there was to see.

There were little, hand-painted, cherry-decorated birdhouses (like the one above) hanging from all the trees - dozens of treehouses! There were more birdhouses hanging from the fenceposts and in other strategic spots throughout the yard.

There were prints of cherry paintings hanging from the fence (see below). There were cherry printed bowls, teapots, pitchers, cups, platters, aprons, ribbons, tableclosths, and napkins. There were tiny, little pieces of cherry printed fabric peeking out of miniature picnic baskets.

There were little tableaux set up throughout the yard. On the side of the house, in one small alcove was a little shelf with a cherry printed tea set, red and white gingham fabric, and black, cherry printed fabric accessorized with glass domes, decorative iron birds, cherry printed basketry and red and white polka-dotted ribbon. (telephoto at right and below, as well as a view of the whole tableau).

In the breezeway between the house and the garage - always a very cutely decorated spot, the wrought iron and crystal chandelier is always there - was a buffet table filled with cherry printed serving dishes. The fence was decorated with an adorable, vintage apron, some vintage cherry prints, and other super-cute decorations (some of which are also always there). One one wall of this area is a fabulous, hand made, rustic buffet cabinet made by Adam's dad a few years ago. In it, there were cherry printed cannisters, napkins, candlesticks, bowls...okay, you get the idea. There's a picture of it below.

One of my favorite things was a little area she had set up behind the garden shed - which, btw, I should have take a picture of as well because it looks like a little girl's playhouse instead of a garden shed. Absolutely adorable! Anyway, behind it she had set up an area for the photographer to
take pictures of the wedding guests. There was a little white bench with a couple of cherry-printed pillows on it. Above that, on the wall of the shed, she hung a framed, vintage advertising poster that said, "We tend to Seek Happiness." Of course there was more to the saying, being that it was an advertisement for cherries, but that was the best part. You can see it there on the right. How sweet is that set-up? I got a picture of Rexy just as she as jumping off the bench.

Another on of my favorite things was that apron on the side of the fence. How cute is that? With the light shining through it like that, it felt like you were walking into an old movie.
Those birdhouses hanging from the trees were just fantastic, too. When you walked under the trees, it was so cool to look up
and see them swaying in the (barely discernible) breeze (did I mention that it was 96 degrees that day? Hairdo and makeup just melted away...).

Out front she had some statuary wearing this hat with the dingle balls on it and I don't know if

you can see them, but there are little cherry charms hanging between each dingle ball. Who thinks of these things??? Michelle. (Yes, that's me in the hat. I cut off the whole bottom half of my face! Oh, well. Rexy looks much cuter in it anyway, there's one pic below)

To the right here (hopefully, when I publish this everything will be formatted the way it is here in the "compose" mode - I don't know about you, but I often have problems with blogger just randomly changing my spacing and formatting. Sigh. One of those bugs I hope they fix some day.) is a picture of the "dance floor." she has a little tinted, cement patio outside the garden shed/playhouse that was utilized
as a dance floor. There are pillows on the ground and on the benches - all with a cherry print. The fence is decorated, as I mentioned above.
So tell me, how cute is all this??? I didn't even show all the tables set up with their cherry printed tablecloths, the lawn furniture with their cherry printed pillows, and everything else that I've forgotten to mention. And, I would like to add, it wasn't too much. Everything was tempered with enough white and touches of black to keep it from being overwhelming. But it's a big yard, so you do need a lot of things to get your point across. When you walked up the garden path and turned the corner, there was no doubt what the theme was, but it was charming and pretty across the board (or should I say "across the lawn?"). It was so charming and pretty that I just had to share it with you. And, hands up from everyone who thinks Michelle should be doing something professional in this arena!

I'll leave you with a picture of my beautiful girl having fun with the hat.

(Seems like I should have had her in red and white gingham doesn't it? The was no dress to be found like that, plus she picked this one herself.)

Hmmmm. Too much space here at the end. Off topic, I want to ask, how many of you have participated in the Melange Team's weekly challenge? Why not start today? The challenge for the week starting Wednesday, September 16th, is "Wee Witches."

Just make something using the theme "Wee Witches" and then post about it on your blog or Flickr page. Then, in the comments section of the challenge post (won't be up until Wednesday, I'm jumping the gun a little here), post a comment including a hot link to your blog post. There are usually directions for including a hot link (i.e. a clickable link - not a copy and paste situation, it just makes it easier on everybody). If not, here are directions. (That site also has some mighty cute, free blog backgrounds - just FYI)

My Painting Class

2009-09-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

So, many times since I've started this blog I've talked about my painting class. They actually, both the blog and the class, started at about the same time, I think. I had been taking painting classes at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle since late 2000, or maybe early 2001 - and then had taken a break to have a baby in 2004. By then I was completely in love with painting. I still am. Put a big canvas in front of me, some music on the stereo, and I can completely lose track of time, forget my coffee, forget lunch, forget everything. It's not until I stop that I realize I'm thirsty, hungry, and my back and feet are aching!

After being a stay at home mom with only one car in the household for 2 years, I was going stir crazy. I was on the computer one night perusing craigslist and for the first time noticed the "community" section. I saw that they had an "artists" section and decided to check it out. Inside it was a bunch of posts, much like the "for sale" section that I was used to, but these were all art related posts. "Art opening tonight at..." and "Looking for artists to start a salon night..." That type of thing. One caught my eye, it was someone looking for oil painting students for a class in her studio. On a whim - without even consulting the DH - I responded that I was interested.

What a stroke of luck that was! The painter was Gini Lawson, and I have never had a better painting teacher. She's a born teacher on top of being a truly brilliant artist. She has an extremely discerning eye and is articulate enough to be able to explain what she sees with intelligence and humor. That's her in the blue shirt, on the couch, in the first pic. All these photos were taken in her studio during classtimes. Behind the book is Rachel, and sitting on the coffee table is LuAnne. The painting in the background is, obviously, one of Gini's.

This is a painting that I'm working on. The little girl is my grandmother in front of her house. That house is still there, about 45 miles from where I live now. I'm painting it from a photograph that I printed from an old negative when I was in college. Naturally, it's in black and white. Translating that to color has been somewhat difficult, but I"m starting to get the hang of it. If you're thinking to yourself, "Why does her grandmother have a goatee?" It's because she does have a painted one! Gini was showing me where I needed to contour and scale down her features. I've been putting off working on that part because I'm going to have to repaint the entire face. Sigh...

This photo was taken before the one above, I hadn't filled in the house yet. All the paintings you see are Gini's. If you could see them close up you would not believe how adept she is with light! Wow! Check out her blog and look at the blonds, it's amazing. The little work set-up is Dan's.

The painting in the foreground, with the red-orange background, is mine from a past class. I had left it there to dry and never got a chance to pick it up. It's the best work I've ever done, but it is far from completed. We worked from a model that time. Below is a pic I took of it at home. The weird halo effect is there because I had to reduce the size of the ginormous head I had given her! A regular mistake of mine. It could be good, but I don't know if I'll ever finish it. I didn't take a picture of the model at the time. I really should have. Everything I do now would be making stuff up. With this I kind of feel like being true to real life.

This is my friend Rachel. Rachel, Dan and I have been in Gini's Saturday classes together since the beginning. Rachel is as cute as can be, she sometimes wears sandals with heels to paint in. Oh, to be that young again! If you are on facebook, here is her finished painting.

The paintings along the back wall there are from Gini's Thursday class, she runs it Atelier style in that you can start or stop at any time and pay for whatever number of class hours you want. (I hope I'm describing it correctly.)

This next picture is of Dan. It's funny, the three of us have been in more than a couple classes together and we all have such different styles. (The painting behind him is one of Gini's, I didn't get a picture of his for some reason.) I know at a glance whose is whose.

This is Gini passing out some sort of cool solvent or something and giving her excellent advice to Dan. (a small note: Luanne was gone the day I took the pictures of everyone working on their paintings, so there's only the one picture of her. Sorry, LuAnne!))

This is Gini's work corner. Look at all those brushes! Ooh! I'd feel rich with that many brushes, wouldn't you??? (there may be a better view of the brushes in the pic above) This is the beginning of the painting she's talking about on her blog. Look at that line-up of paint tubes on the second shelf - I'm in art heaven just looking at that corner. (Can you tell that I have no studio? Cramming myself into the corner of the dining room on a little, portable, gift wrapping table just doesn't compare to this spacious, light-filled room.)

I looooooooove taking painting classes from Gini. It's so nice to be somewhere where all you have to do is focus on art. We talk about art. We look at pictures of other artists' work. We make art. There's no phone, no kids, no laundry, no demands on your time at all - except from your canvas. It can be hard, and I by no means feel confident in what I do. But when I leave there I feel rejuvenated - and more myself in every way.

*Please note, all works are wholly owned and copyrighted by the stated artists. No reproducing, copying, or sharing of the images in any other format without the express permission of the artist is allowed.

I'm an Image Transfer Failure Again...

2009-08-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

Okay.

I know. I swore I was done with transfers. I have been a dismal failure every time I've tried it. Then along comes my sweet Melange Team on Etsy group. And the even sweeter Glenda Bailey and her August Transfer Challenge. Sigh. Okay. I'm trying it again. Many people have told me how simple the Purell (yes, the hand sanitizer! ) and transparency system is - so I decided to try that. Then I couldn't find the Purell that I specifically bought for this. Uh, oh. Well, no time to run to the store. I'll use this promotional bottle of hand sanitizer that I got at the Award & Trophy shop (We had to get prize ribbons for the vintage bike show). It can't be that different, right? Right? ...hello?

I love this image. I think I got it from Dover, but I'm not sure. It's in my Freebie File, most of those are Dover images. This is my second attempt of the day. I didn't start taking pictures until I'd already failed the first time. Don't worry. It pretty much looked like the 2nd and 3rd times.

First, I dripped the hand sanitizer onto the painting. Then I spread it around evenly with a credit card. Okay, it's my husband's CostCo card and I can't guarantee that it was all that even!

So I put the image down on top of it and rubbed - ahem, I mean burnished it for a bit. Hmmm, maybe too much. The edges are starting to look a little blurry.

Hm. Well, I'm not sure. It looks like something may be beginning to come off, doesn't it? Maybe I should just leave the transparency on there. Doesn't the image look nice in that circle? Okay, okay. I take a peek. Weird stringy pieces pull away from the canvas in a couple areas. The rest of it doesn't look like anything is happening. I throw some more sanitizer at it and burnish/rub it again.

I get bored waiting for something to happen and I pull off the transparency. Hmmm...Well, I got a bit of an image - a very faint bit. I decide to wipe it off and try again. Of course, that turns out to be my best result. Oh, well. I had hope!

I find some instructions on a (very funny) blog and decide to try putting the sanitizer directly on the image. I drip a few drops on and spread it around with my (ahem) credit card very gently so as not to smear the image.

It appears to dry almost instantly - or I didn't put enough on. So I do it again - and for good measure I put the leftover down on the canvas.

I set the image down and I leave it alone for a while (per the blog lady's instructions - she says you don't need to burnish much, if at all). Of course nothing happens. So I do a bit of a burnish/rub with my (ahem) credit card.

It's starts to look smeary again, so I stop. I try to set it aside and ignore it for a minute - but it doesn't go away! Sigh. Okay, I take a peek and again I have weird stringy stuff lifting off the canvas. I'm beginning to think that may be what happens when you use too much sanitizer. Again, the face looks okay - but very faint. It's possible I'm expecting too much of the transfer process. What do you think?

Oh, and it turns out that if you use enough hand sanitizer, it starts to take the paint off, too, when you're wiping it off.

Oh, well. I will run out tonight and buy Purell (again!) and see if I can't get something to work later. This was actually fun this time. I'm inspired to try again. Run over to the Melange blog and check out all the different methods - both on the blog posts (there are several) and in the comments section.

This is Amazing!

2009-08-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

The Tale of How from Shy the Sun on Vimeo.

I couldn't believe the visuals on this! I had to go back a second time to listen to the words. Watch how the sea of paper cutouts undulates, that alone is incredible. I don't know how they did this.

I'm Having a Sale!!!

2009-08-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

(Finding My Way Home, available in my Etsy store)

My Etsy street team of mixed media artists has gathered together to offer weekend deals from Friday August 7 through Sunday August 9 (midnight, Eastern time) and the participating shops will offer 15% off select or all items in their etsy shop! (not off the price of shipping)

My shop, Loudlife, will have everything 15% off and after check out through Pay Pal, I will refund the 15% back to buyers, through Pay Pal.

Here is a complete list of participating Melange members:

MaureenTillman.etsy.com
twocooltexans.etsy.com
vanessevaDesigns.etsy.com
Vintagesnapsandscrap.etsy.com
FauveBohemian.etsy.com
Collageartgirl.etsy.com
Whyte.etsy.com
Artsnark.etsy.com
Studio27.etsy.com
WindandHoney.etsy.com
LDPhotography.etsy.com
MidwestieLady.etsy.com
Loudlife.etsy.com
Paperdreamer.etsy.com
Thebagladysart.etsy.com
Mamapainter.etsy.com

http://prettylittlependant.etsy.com/

The Street Fair report

2009-07-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

(My Polka Dot House)

These are some of the new things I took to the street fair. The Mill Creek Street Fair, to be specific. Sigh... It was not that successful. So disappointing, I usually do well at that sort of thing. I worked, worked, worked like crazy to build up my inventory...and hardly sold any paintings or collages. Sigh. Sold lots of $3 cards, though.

(You Take the Cake!)

I just love those cake collages that people make, so I though I would try my hand at a mixed media cake. I loved how it turned out! I loved it so much, I made a little card out of it, too. This didn't sell at the street fair - but! I posted some pictures on Facebook and one of my Facebook friends messaged me and said she wanted to buy it! Hurray! And she was local, so no shipping - double hurray!

(Words Fell Like Snow)

Remember this background? Well, I finally finished it. I was going to put a coat of wax over the letters on the bottom (you may have to click on the photo to see them well), but someone in the Melange group told us that putting straight wax over acrylic is not a good idea because it will peel off. So I nixed that idea and just left it as is. I like it this way, too. I think they look more like snowflakes.

(I'm Hungry)

Oh, I love the little stylized birds! This one is just 3x10 (approx). I had someone ask if I ever painted these bigger. I have tried a few times but I just haven't been satisfied with the results yet. I think I need to get a tub of Golden's paint to ensure an even, smooth coat of opaque color. I have to drive about 30 minutes away to get Golden's, all they carry around here is Liquitex. On top of that I have to break my moratorium on buying new supplies! At this point I'm drowning in supplies and have forbidden myself to get anymore! There is currently only a trail to get through the dining room/art workspace! Partly because my DH commandeered one of my tables to use for a bike build-off - so all those supplies are on the floor right now. It won't be much better once I get the table back if I don't reorganize, though. I got a ton of those plastic shoeboxes at the dollar store to organize my supplies and Rexy's toys. I'll let you know how that works out...

(Take Flight With Your Dreams)

I'm still laughing about the exploits of Rexy and Daddy that happened last Thursday night while I was at the movies. It's a long story but it involved a flooded bathroom, a secrecy pact, and Rexy's claim that, "I can't tell you what happened. It's a secret and I'm practicing to be a spy." Later at bedtime I told a story about Goldilocks forgetting to turn off the water in the bathroom sink because she was so busy playing and Rexy looked at me in wonder and said, "That's exactly what happened in our bathroom!"

Collage Play with Crowabout #42

2009-07-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

(Solar Powered Flight)

My first Crowabout entry...and I'm late! I forgot about the time difference. Sigh. I still want to participate, though. The sun is made from the picture of the airplane journal entry, the balloons are made from the individual words and, obviously, the picture of the man. Her belt is from the striped strip and her pedestal is made from the sign and the pic of the checkers game box. (I haven't figured out the macro function on my new camera. I may have to go back to the old one to get a proper photograph.)

In looking at this, I think I will go in and add something more to the background/sides. What do you think?

Lastly...Thanks Nancy!

The Perfect Post or...?

2009-06-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

Where have I been?

Where have I been? I have just been here.

After the Christmas craziness, my house fell into rack and ruin (wrack and ruin?). More so than is usual for me, anyway. First, I had the brilliant notion that I wouldn't allow myself to go online or make any art until I got everything done around the house that I wanted to get done.

Hmmph! You know that saying, "If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it?" Well, I think there must be something to that. As soon as I wasn't overloading myself, I stopped doing anything. So I guess if I'm not being a part of the artistic community or making art then I'm not doing crap, basically. Add to that, if I'm not making art then I'm depressed. So that was a bad idea.

Then, it had been so long I felt like I had to give a rundown on all that had gone on in my life up to the point of my blog post. Which is silly, it's not like I had a baby or won the lottery or anything. I struggled and struggled, trying to write the perfect blog post. You know the one; it's the one where you show yourself in the very best light while also being personal , where you show great feats of artistic accomplishment, domestic aptitude, beautiful children, and a spotless

home.

Then more time had passed and then I felt like I really had to write a great post. This idea grew and grew until it was one big, ginormous, 300 ton boulder in the way of my blog writing. I think I gave myself writer's block.

Finally, finally! I gave up on that idea.

So here I am. Just me; perpetually behind, fairly slacker-ish, intermittently artistically inspired, mom, wife. Far less than picturesque. Completely lacking in the schedule-following department. (I always think that if I could come up with the perfect schedule, I could get everything done that I want to get done. Hah!)

I'm just a seeker in life. A seeker of my truth. One that doesn't necessarily include perfection.

That's a hard one to let go of. Like most of us, I love the idea of perfection. But the reality is, I don't love it so much that I'm willing to sacrifice other things in life that I love. Even if some of the things I love in life are kind of silly (like computer games).

In a perfect world I would get up early, serve my child homemade something-or-other for breakfast, effortlessly clean my house, blog, contribute to my forums/groups, and then put in a 6-8 hour day of art making while also serving a homemade lunch and dinner to the family, exfoliating, giving myself a mani/pedi, and exercising for an hour; thus leaving the evening free to spend quality time with my husband discussing art and politics. (apparently groceries magically appear in this world)

In my real world I stay up too late playing computer games, read my book in the morning after serving my child some kind of cereal or store-made pumpkin bread item, feel lucky if I either do the dishes or get a load of laundry going, seldom leave the house before noon, and if I have to go grocery shopping while Rexy's at school you can just kiss art-making good bye for the day. I do spend time with the husband in the evening - but we usually just watch TV. Forget about personal grooming - any extra time I have is spent playing with my girl, going to play dates, and struggling to keep the fallout from our pack rat tendencies at bay.

(All that being said, I still think I should create some kind of schedule...)

With all this in mind, I came across this week's Melange on Etsy Challenge. This week's challenge prompt is "Bliss." What that immediately brought to mind is Joseph Campbell's phrase, "Follow your bliss..." What does it mean to "follow your bliss?" For me it means really coming to terms with exactly who I am and what I want and then arranging my life to accommodate those things. More poetically put, "Be a seeker of truth and a builder of dreams." And so I painted this last painting. (Our 2 (!) tripods have been misplaced by the DH, so I couldn't get a full frontal pic. Above is the scanner image and below is the best I could do without a tripod.)

I so love my friend Pam Carriker's color palette that I thought I would try an homage to it. I don't think I achieved her beautiful, subtle layers. I may try to sneak some more texture into it later.

Lastly, I'll leave you with a picture of my beautiful girl. She's turned 5 and graduated from preschool since I've been blog-absent.

Not An Actual Post - But An Important One Nonetheless

2009-04-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already heard, (Moss Hill Studio's) JoAnna Pierotti's husband, Ron, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. If he doesn't receive surgery immediately - within the week - it will cut off the blood supply to his brain and he will not live more than a month. Ron was laid off recently due to the economy and they are currently without health insurance. They are trying to get help through social services but are unsure if they will qualify. If you can help even a little bit, please chip in by using the widget below.

I'm sure that all of us, at one time or another, have been helped by the kindness of friends, acquaintences, and strangers. Here is an opportunity pay that kindness forward, if only with a kind note. I just keep thinking what a terrible, terrible blow it would be to lose my husband and my heart goes out to JoAnna. Please join me by sending your thoughts and prayers - and a few extra dollars if you can - her way.

I've been on a loooooooooong computer hiatus...

2009-04-11T01:18:00.000-07:00

I'm coming back, I promise!

Famous Last Words...

2009-01-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Mine sounding something like, "I'm back, and I'll be here more!"

(Day 1 of the snow, when we still thought it was pretty. Pictured is a 1935 Rugby Streamline.)

What with "Snowpocalypse" here in the NW (thank you to Dawn for the awesome moniker), Two (yes, 2!!!) plagues besetting our house in one month), and the holidays, my world has been turned upside down.

First, the snow. As I was clicking on "Publish Post" last time, I looked out the window and realized it had been snowing again! In total, I think we ended up with about 18 to 20 inches in our neighborhood (not including the 3-4 inches we got this past Sunday night) over about ten days time. Can I just mention again, an average of 3 inches of snow per year! We don't even own a snow shovel. Thankfully, we kept our power. Some people lost power here, and my friend Nancy Lefko's community back east had 424,000 homes without power. I do consider us extremely lucky.

Because of the unplowed surface streets covered in over a foot of layered ice and snow we missed our family Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas. Luckily Rexy is too young to have huge expectations and Phil's family always had small holidays, so they were fine. I, however, was disappointed. I missed my huge extended family. I love spending time with the cousins and aunts and uncles and various in-laws, ex-roommates, and a random selection of aging dogs. It's loud, and chaotic, and there's always somebody's elbow practically hitting you in the eye when you eat - and I love it. Our little spaghetti dinner just didn't quite compare.

Which is not to say I had a bad holiday - on the contrary!

Rexy woke up only slighly earlier than usual - and when she came out to the living room she couldn't stop saying, "Look! Look!" She was just thrilled that Santa had come. As she was unwrapping her presents, she stopped to look up at me very seriously and held out one of the bows from her presents, "Don't throw these away, I want to save these." Her parents' daughter! We had a pancake breakfast, a leisurely day, and the aforementioned spaghetti dinner (supplies were getting low). Definitely a more peaceful day than is usual.

I gave two of my cousin's paintings for Christmas. (When we finally saw them.) They turned out a little more "Prim" than I meant them to. The top one incorporates the dictionary pages for dog, cat, goat, and human for my cousin with the menagerie at home. The bottom one has a repeating 07 motif for my cousin and his wife whose birthdays are both on the 7th, as is their anniversary, as well as another family member's birthday. I thought the paintings would be fun and whimsical for their respective kitchens.

Oh - and the second coming of the plague. Sigh... Even as I write this, I am stopping periodically to turn away from the keyboard and cough my lungs out - practically. This version has been going on since about the 27th. Suffice it to say we've all had it. I seem to be having a hard time getting rid of it. I spent the entire day in bed/couch yesterday. Rexy was an angel and just played at my feet all day. The best line from Rexy about her sickness, "My throat is gone, but I think I have a beaver." I didn't laugh! Now my entire family is talking about "beavers."

Lastly, Haikus! This time it's just SueAnn and I. I'm sure my inconsistency has been affecting participation - not to mention the holidays. Next post I will be writing about goals for 2009 and I will talk about future Haiku challenges.

As usual, SueAnn's Haiku contributions are things of beauty. She is definitely a poet.

She had another for the winter theme:

Edged with snow and ice
roads disappear in the night
sliding, slipping...stuck!

and for the Beginnings theme:

Starting over again,
feeling the pangs of rebirth
Begin this life rejoicing.

And from me for the Beginnings theme:

Start, start, and start again
fall down, stand up, just don’t stop.
To stop is to fade

Beauty is in each
beginning; fresh, clean, and pure.
To begin is all.

Happy New Year.

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

2008-12-19T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's my child. Still in her pajamas at noon.

What? That black stuff? Oh, yeah. That's the pretend chicken pox she drew on her face - like Pingu - with a marker. No, it's not enough that she gives me this never-ending plague - she also has to use a black marker on her face mere days before we go face the relatives. I did manage not to laugh so as not to encourage her - but I had to take a picture - and that encouraged her. When I went to get the camera, she went over to the mirror with her marker - to get the places on her face that she'd missed!

On the bright side, though, it came off pretty easy. Turned out she'd used a dry-erase marker. Phew!

Winter Haikus

Blue Stellar's Jays hanging out in our snowy plum tree.

First, I'd like to share SueAnn's Haiku:

Frost fills the air; cold
etching glass with swirls and curves
Watching breath turn white.

Isn't that beautiful? It so perfectly captures our ideal version of winter.

And from Kayce, as always, making me laugh:

December is cold
chocolate and Schnapps
mug is all i need

Eyes peeking at me
a hat too big, scarf too long
torture is my game

From Teresa, I wish I was in Texas right now myself!

A chill in the air
Does not snow in South Texas
but very rarely

And lastly, from Liisa; although it was Thanksgiving turkey that brought her parents together, we have turkey for Christmas dinner, too.

Nineteen thirty-three,
farm girl raises turkey chicks,
sells one to my dad.

Thanksgiving turkey!
Without him there'd be no me!
You can ask my mom.

(well, that wasn't really the last one, mine is down at the bottom of the post.)

Frosty, the mini snowman

Frosta, the mini snow-woman

We're snowed in. If you live anywhere but the northwest or a warm climate you will laugh at the next sentence. We are snowed in because we have 10 inches of snow. Yep. Ten inches. (Okay, possibly as many as 12.) The Seattle area pretty much comes to a standstill at about 3 inches. I think there's about 2 snowplows and .62 of a road sander for every 100 square miles in this area. Seriously. Right now there is a huge suburban neighborhood completely without gas in their gas stations because the tankers can't get to them. The situation is almost the same in the state's 3rd largest city. In our defense, we average about 3 inches of snow a year - and we got eight inches in one night! Also, we are an area of hills, hills, and more hills. So while the main road might be passable, you may not be able to get out of your neighborhood, or even out of your driveway due to steep inclines.

What this means at our house is that my DH has been home, Rexy has been out of school, and both of them have been needing to be entertained! Rexy and I have been doing lots of crafts. The DH and I have been watching movies. And the DH has been monopolizing the computer! I started this post 4 days ago and have been stealing time here and there to fill it in.

The barn at the tree farm, appropriately named The Red Barn Tree Farm!

During my blog absence, we went to get our Christmas tree from my aunt and uncle's Christmas tree farm. I wrote about the farm extensively last year in this post and this post.

The stove used to heat the inside of the barn

I thought I would just post a few pictures from the excursion. Rexy was the happiest girl in town when I let her play in the giant mud puddle. Her hat kept slipping down over her eyes, so all of her pictures make her look eyeless - or nearly eyeless.

She's still in love with the flocked trees, but after last year's indoor "It's snowing!" experience in her bedroom we are never doing that again. (I was still finding that flocking stuff in July!)

When looking at last December's posts, I saw the free images I posted in honor of Chanukah. If you didn't get them then, here is a link to all of December's posts from 2007 which is where the freebies are posted.

And finally, some art! Well, works in progress anyway. I've been finding it strangely difficult to work on things with everyone at home. By the time they go to bed, I'm feeling so wrung out and cranky that I just want to vegetate. During the day, I find myself thinking longingly of my computer games! I guess I didn't realize how much I have come to rely on that block of time when Rexy is at school and Phil is at work and I can just be by myself. I feel like I should be a model mother and be happy to bake cookies, fold laundry, and play Chutes and Ladders with my child every day...but I'm just not that person. I love my family soooo much - but I 24/7 togetherness just makes me cranky. Am I the only one? Am I a terrible person? (Do I really want an answer to that question???)

This is a gal I'm working on and (and my last Kelly Rae background), obviously, I'm trying to figure out what color to paint her dress. I was going to ask for your opinions, but since I took this picture (4 days ago when I started this blog post!) I decided on dark red. It's almost done. I'll post a picture as soon as it's complete.

The canvas below I started about 2 months ago. I'm sort of in quandary. I'd like to use some pretty paper to add texture to the painting, but I can't quite find the right color. And I'm nervous about painting blonde hair. I'm certain I'm going to paint a woman, though. The mood of the painting lends itself to that, I think. We'll see.

In closing, I would just like to extend my gratitude to each and every one of you. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read and comment on my blog. The last two years have been thrilling and heartwarming and full of your lovely, generous spirits - and I thank you for that. You make my world better a better place.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Kwanzaa!

Happy New Year!

Basically, may happiness follow wherever you go.

My winter Haiku:

Snowmen standing guard
our ice castle safe and warm
holds us close inside.

Next Haiku challenge, lets make the deadline after the holidays - January 5th, - and the theme is Beginnings.

My child gave me the plague again...

2008-12-10T16:55:00.001-08:00

...be back soon.

I'm late! I'm late! - but look what I (sort of) found! Plus, Haiku Challenge #4!

2008-11-26T01:21:00.001-08:00

(recently listed)

By the time you read this post it will be 2 days late (or more, if you read if after tomorrow of course). I sat down at the computer on Monday evening to write my Haiku Monday blogpost; but before I came here I thought I should try to catch up on some of my discussion boards, groups, etc. That was moving along fairly swiftly until I got to my EtsyRain Meetup.com discussion board. Anandi, one of the more active members had posted about a new craft sales site. (She called it "cheating" on Etsy.) The site is called 1000 Markets and it's really cool!

There are no listing fees and all payments are made through the Amazon payment system. After a sale you are charged 5.5% + 50 cents and Amazon doesn't charge you at all. When it's all added up, it's cheaper, definitely, than eBay + PayPal, and although I haven't done the math myself, one of my fellow EtsyRain-ers says it is also cheaper that Etsy+ PayPal. (That may be a record number of commas for one sentence - I knew I was going wrong there but I just couldn't stop myself!)

(recently listed)

There is a catch. It is "lightly juried." In other words, you have to apply. They are quite specific about photo quality (which terrifies me, I'm not at all confident in that arena), the quality of your banner and avatar, and even the way you word your profile and store policies. None of that is a bad thing, just nervous-making.

One of the things that Anandi said that made it attractive to me is that she felt like it was a site for an older market - older meaning not 22 years old - and that that made it a site that welcomes a more varied "look." I took that to mean that Etsy has a very specific "look" that attracts a very specific market and that this place might have a wider customer base. I don't know about you, but that's very appealing to me. Interestingly, they also have blogs in each store. Your latest post shows up on your store's homepage. I try not to spread myself too thin, blog-wise, I seldom use the Ning.com blogs. However, I know that a lot of customers are interested in the artistic process and it occurred to me that this store blog would be a fantastic venue for that sort of thing. It would also be great for little how-tos, or pics of whatever it is that you sell in use in real life (like the Ikea showrooms!).

Anyway, I decided to mosey over and see for myself. Big mistake. I finally tore myself away at 2:30am! I opened an account, but haven't applied for a store yet. I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row before I apply. I want to make a new banner and avatar, and write up my profile and policy. I did test of all those things - and then I explored other people's stores and promptly decided to scrap what I already done. I think this could a great venue!

On to Haiku!

Via email, Liisa Mannery sent the above pic to go along with her Haiku submissions using the "Change" topic. She was concerned that she had used a previous week's topic, but I say, "Don't stress!" Haiku, and any poetry, is a gift to the reader - I'm thrilled to get it whenever you want to send it!

Here are Liisa's poems, beginning with the bread:

Flabby, pale mass - you
grow in warmth and solitude.
Ah, fresh homemade bread.

and

Change has many names,
Birth and death are two of them.
Life goes on between.

and

Fall rocks my senses,
Blazing a trail for winter.
Spring will come too soon.

Sweet SueAnn offered this one:

The song fills my soul
wonderful thoughts fill my head
You move me sweet friend.

From Kayce, these fabulous poems:

A simple comment
from their imagination
fills my week with fun

and

I watch him in awe
a man of ease married me
He makes me my best

and my subject matter - humanity:

A look, eyebrows raised,
a secret smile you keep close,
what goes on in there?

and

The past and its scars,
the way a person survives,
shows on each one's face.

And so that brings us to Haiku Challenge #4 which I am going to extend - due to my lateness in posting - through next week. So #5 will be posted Monday, December 8th.

And! our theme for this time, Haiku Challenge #4, is Winter! Go count some syllables!

p.s. If ever you have an idea for a challenge topic, please tell me! Especially if you can make them more original than mine!