Made these little books with inks and markings a while ago. Really handy when I just feel like drawing and not painting… and inspired by my art friends yesterday, going small.. these are smaller than my usual size, so fast and fun. Did all this in less than 2 hours.. a great way to get back into art since I have been busy lately. Acrylic paint and doodling. Hope you will try it too.

Stress be gone…Feeling good after a wonderful weekend filled with good conversations, laughing, good food and drinks and simply having fun. So thankful for girlfriends. Thankful watercolor inks

I am thankful I have a hobby I love. With both kids now both in college, suddenly no one for me to nag at, to wake up (multiple times), to cook for, scream at… wow, I have so much time to do whatever the hell I want I do miss my kiddos, and thankful for Art to help me through this letting go process…

Dearest daughter, it is the night before… I have to let you fly off the nest tomorrow. I am excited for you. I will miss you dearly. How could I not? 18 years.. thank you for everything. it will take a little while to adjust but I will get there. I just have to remember that it is so good for you. An exciting future lay ahead. And I send with you, all my love, support, wishes, in this blanket that I knitted. At airports, train stations, hotel rooms, at the river (looking like a crazy woman sitting under the warm sunshine knitting a blanket ), at home,… knitting in the positive rays of sunshine at the river, the diversity of mankind in all the places I traveled to, the learnings from the movies I watched all while knitting this blanket. This blanket of love. Know that I will always be there for you, like this blanket. There to give you a hug, when you need someone to talk to, when you need support, anything. I am here for you. I just pray I will hold it tomorrow during the drop off and not embarrass you

Another recycled canvas. It’s been fun working on this over many days, not in a hurry, just adding and subtracting, seeing where this would lead me. Truly a piece where I let go of all control and just enjoy adding one little piece at a time until I am at a point where I can say I am done. But am I really done?… for now… and this baby will be coming with me to nyc… mixed media, acrylic, collage, modeling paste…

Love playing with the gold ink. Can’t get enough of it!

The news of Simone Biles decision to withdraw from the Olympic events really resonated with me and had me thinking a lot these few days. She is a strong woman. One who has worked hard and achieved a lot. With that comes pressure and stress. And expectations. With the whole world watching, she did the bravest thing possible. She stood up for her own needs. Do what is right for her. Even if it could mean disappointing those counting on her. It takes a lot of courage and self love to do that. I applaud her and thank her for the example. My inspiration. As a strong female, people always think oh, you can do it, you can recover, you can handle it. And it pushes me to keep going. But at some point, I do need to ask is this right for me? Is this good for me? Not others. Me. So here is my mixed media painting. She is the queen of her life. Thank you Simone. To all the strong women out there, I hope you too have the courage to stand up for your own needs. Re this piece. The girl is a magazine cut out. I used modeling paste to manipulate and change her dress. I love this piece.

She is a mess and she doesn’t care!

Had fun with watercolor inks. Added her afterwards and for some reason just could make her smile….

While cleaning the house, I found an old painting I do not like anymore. Decided to paint over it.

Took me a while to cover up the old painting. Kept seeing it in the shadows. Then struggled through a really ugly stage. Unsure of what will emerge. I worked and reworked. Walked away a few times and slowly over a few weeks she finally emerged. She is done. She is coming with me to New York. I will always remember the journey she went through. I too will be brave. I will emerge strong. And ready.

I used to be a perfectionist. Still am but have loosened up a bit. And I only drew with pencil. Never colored or painted bec I was afraid the color would ruin my drawing. But one day I saw a mixed media class and decided I want to let go of my perfectionism. So I took it. And this was the first piece I made. I still remember struggling with how unstructured the class was. Wondering if the teacher even has a plan It was terrifyingly free and open. As I look at this piece I am grateful I took the class. I plunged into the uncomfortable unknown and just kept swimming this is what happens when you do a major decluttering of your house and keep walking down memory lane….