My Studio 13

Things I am loving right now, and the thing I am not

2012-01-20T19:34:00.000-08:00

So while I am having such a hard time right now focusing on what I need to do for me..(or just being ~~lazy~~ thoughtful about it....whatever) I am finding myself going from thing to thing to keep me entertained and out of my own head. So these are the things that are distracting me right now. Now, not all of them are bad...in fact, a few of them (or more than a few) are really, really good; as it would have to be, in order to keep my attention. So here are some photos, some art, some tags and some music. And if you are still interested, I will tell you what is swarming around in my brain ~~everywakingthought~~ lately...

obsessed with self portraits right now, and telling myself what I need to do

and altering them, and making them into something else

and metal embossing on crosses

and Pinterest- 2nd greatest time suck of all time (right now)

and Aurasma-a cool new bit of technology. Google it, seriously

and journaling-seriously I have 4 going right now!

But like I said, not all bad. This is the worship that I can't get enough of. Jonathan David Helser is wrecking me right now. And that's a good thing.

Like I said....wrecked!!!!

and Facebook- 'nuff said

and I don't even know what to say about this-I have never even liked football

So what may you ask, has me all a'bother? Well, lets just say this: I know what to do, I know how to work through it and I am trying to the best of my ability...right now. Not looking for anyone to fix it, I can do that. Just wanted to get it out of my head and release the power it has on me.

that's it :)

and seriously, if PIPA and SOPA jack me for using the FB or Pinterest logo, I'm gonna be pissed!

Kindness Mission: I'm in!

2011-11-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

So we are just going to skip right over the part where I apologize for being a bad blogger....a slacker...if you will, and get right to the good stuff!!! Inspired Artist Kelly Rae Roberts has started a movement! Well, we hope it will be a movement, and if everyone participates it will be!! Go check out her blog post Here, where she talks about the Kindness Mission, and get busy!! Here is my photo of the two signs I put up in my local neighborhood Starbucks, in Claremont, CA

It is such a simple, yet inspired idea: Someone having a bad day, or just a day where they need a little something to keep them going. This could be it. This could be what makes their day. Seeing this sign, tearing off one of the little tabs, for just what they were needing that day. It's Brilliant!! Mad love! So besides this beautiful piece of"make my day", what else has been going on? Well, Journalfest was last week and again, what a fabulous time hanging with my village!! It was my second year, and from what I understand, will be my last. :( Sad, I know, but our friend Teesha Moore has bigger and better brewing I'm sure. You can read about her announcements here. So I am hoping to get to Artfest at the end of March, to get that last "fest" in! Here are a few samples and pics of my time at Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA. It was magical as always. I will miss it, that's for sure!

Docks at Port Townsend

the art of playing

Dear Cynthia

coolest tree ever

path

Path

at the farmers market

Fisheye camera at the docks

again, coolest tree ever

seaweed heart on the sand

fisheye shot while driving

Dockside

show and tell, Lisa Cheney Jorgensen's class

Lisa Cheney Jorgensen's "Savage Mirror" class

For Ronny-I love You-"Drops of Jupiter" Originally posted 10-9-07

2011-10-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

This song is dedicated to my friend Ronny. He passed away on Saturday and we are all shocked and devastated. None so much as his wife, Christy, I know. So what do we do now? How do you figure it out? How do you begin the process of not being completely devastated?
I know he loved this song. I remember going with Christy to install a new stereo in Ronny's truck for his birthday, and when he came home, she had this song playing in the stereo. He said he thought this song was so beautiful, it made him want to cry. Ronny, you are beautiful, and we are all crying. We love you and will miss you.

Gathering of Artisans and LINKwithlove

2011-09-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

So on my mind this week is....the fact that I will be flying out to Asheville NC on Wednesday to take part in A Gathering of Artisans. I am so excited and cannot wait to see what God will do. I am taking an all day class on Thursday with Carol Bomer, in her studio in Asheville. It is a cold wax technique that I have never done, so I am really looking forward to it. I have done encaustic painting before, but never with cold wax, so, we'll see!!

The rest of the weekend is amazing too. I will be taking a class with Pattie Ann Hale, and look at the description of the class

"This workshop will take participants on a multi-sensory exploration through the scriptures of John 4. As we engage the scriptures of the woman at the well – her encounter with Jesus and his offer of living water – participants will symbolically and prophetically experience their own journey of encountering Jesus in this way"

Wow.....This is going to be awesome!!

There is also a personal cartography class and a bookbinding class and a journal class that I will be in, so, it's all good stuff!!!!!
And since I have never been to North Carolina, I am excited to take lots of photos around the area!!. I will post pics once I get back.

Which leads me to what is also on my mind. Thanks to the lovely blog post by Stella Singleton, I found out about LINKwith love. this is a site dedicated to spreading the word about using images you find online, without proper credit. It's about respect, and it is a big deal. So hop on over and check out all my linky things!! :) And I will see you all next week!!

p.s. I just had to post this pic becuase it is now my new favorite pic I have taken EVER!!

Blogger+

2011-09-24T09:30:00.001-07:00

So this is my first test drive to post to my blog from iPad. I am using Blogger+, and I am anxious to see how it will work. I tried a test blog, and found a little difficulty with uploading pictures. It seems there is an issue with getting the photos I want to post into the right place, so I can then pull them and upload. We'll see!

So I can pull from my blog photo album, and from the IPad photo album too, but if I want to upload from a camera, I will have to load to my Pc, then to ITunes, then into iPad . Hmmmm kind of tedious.
The caption feature also seems to not resize for blog, and there doesn't seem to be a Way to preview the size of the photo in relation to my blog template.

So let's try the link. This should take me to my friend Dana's blogcheck it here
Looks good!!!

So, all in all, looks like the only issue is uploading photos on the go. The whole point of blogging on iPad, is the portability, so I'll have to look for a workaround for the mobile photo uploading .
Happy blogging!!!!

Can you say slacker??

2011-09-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings all!! And first off, let me apologize for being such a bad blogger!! Things have been crazy around here since April!! Interior remodel, exterior remodel, blah blah blah. But I'm back!!
And since I haven't posted any new work here in so long, this post will basically be stuff to look at!
But not before first giving God the glory for the amazing thing that is my life. Thank you Lord, your provision and grace is amazing and appreciated!!
So now, onto the stuff!!

Coming home - 24x32 acrylic and ink (nfs)

Donated piece for Susan G Komen event 16x20 acrylic and ink

My attempt at the masters 12x30 acrylic (nfs)

I heart my life 12x16 acrylic and ink (nfs)

His hands 12x12 arcylic (nfs)

a vision given to a pastor friend of mine 12x16 acrylic (sold)

24x30 acrylic (sold)

Covered by Him 32x32 acrylic and ink (nfs)

Under His shelter 32x64 acrylic and ink (nfs)

Imagination Garden 32x32 acrylic and ink (nfs)

Sacred Heart 16x20 acrylic and ink (sold)

Worship- I painted this during Easter Service Worship (nfs)

And this is what I have been doing for the last 6 months!! Wow, that is a long time!! Anyway, I am very excited about attending "A Gathering of Artisans" at the end of the month. It is a 4 day retreat to inspire and stir up the artistic gifts that God has given us, and to incorporate in in a setting of worship. I am beyond thrilled. It is for all artists: painters, music, drama, dance, film....all of them. It is being held right outside of Asheville NC, (where I have never been) and I can't wait to see what God does!!!
And then at the end of October, it's back to Port Townsend WA for Journalfest. Got to be my favorite!!! I can't wait!!! Taking two classes with Juliana Coles, and one with Lisa Cheney Jorgensen, (who I took last year and fell in love with her) So happy!!
God is good, all the time!!!

Where is my voice, and can it be Crimson? (re blogged from 2008)

2011-06-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

So as an artist who has only been around the community for a couple of years, I have been discovering some very important things lately. I have determined, for myself, what is ok and what is not ok, when it comes to an artist's "voice". By voice, I mean their "style", their "look", their "thing". When you hear a friend on the phone, you recognize them for their unique voice I believe it is the same thing in art. Every artist has a voice, and as we become familiar with their work, we come to recognize their "voice" in the work they do.

There has been quite a bit of buzz in the online art community lately about an artist's work vs. their technique. For example, while you can obviously claim your artwork as your own, can you claim the technique it took to get there, as your own? If an artists publishes their technique, in a how to article, is the technique now "out there?" If they teach a class, is the technique fair game? And when does it go from a technique, to infringing on an artists personal "voice?"

I have just recently joined the ranks of marketing and selling my work. In this new forum, there are, obviously, far more "do's and don'ts" than just creating for myself. Are the pieces that I put out for sale uniquely my own "voice"? Well, I think I am still finding my own voice. So far, the only thing I notice that permeates almost all of my work is color. My undying and undeniable love for Golden's Quinacridone Crimson and Nickel Azo Gold. Sometimes together, sometimes alone, but always there.

After talking with an artist to get her views on technique and voice, her response has put this into perspective for me. My summary is this: If an artist works hard to create and develop their own "voice", then published technique or not, their work deserves to keep it's originality, and not compete in an over saturated market of copycat works. (I know the word copycat reeks of third grade tauntings, but it is the word that keeps coming to mind.)

So as I continue to search for my own personal style, I hope you will join me, and maybe be there when my "voice" sings, and is recognized for the first time.

I pledge to be: An Artist For Respect

2011-06-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to the Artists For Respect website and read about what this community is all about. Then spread the word, add the button on YOUR blog, tell YOUR friends, and then tell those you know that are not showing other artists respect, (by sharing class materials, teaching a class, that they just took, to others claiming it as their own) to knock it off.
Come on people, we know what's right and wrong. If you honestly don't....ask someone, they'll tell you.

Candles and Stars

2011-03-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

This set was inspired by Dr. Buddy Bell, who gave a lecture on how God uses candles and stars to light His world. I was so inspired by hearing it, that I created these to reflect that.

They showed (and sold) Friday night, and I couldn't be happier with where they are going!!

Whirlwind Month and the BEST NIGHT EVER!!

2011-03-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the last month has been CRA-ZY!! ( said in my best high pitched theatrical voice) Seriously!! Work is ridiculously busy, we are getting settled in a new Church, and I have been painting like mad for an art show.

Well that show happened on Friday, and I am still in awe over the entire night. It was amazing. I had so much love and support from friends and family, it was overwhelming!!

The shop that hosted the Claremont First Firday Artwalk was Hair Stream, and hosted by the awesome Cherie and Jenna!! They did so much for me, promoted, arranged, cleaned, took charge of the red dots! :) it was a blast.

The theme of the show was "Caged". and it was all about what cages us, what we keep caged, and what we SHOULD keep caged. I had 20 originals to show, plus loads of prints. We served mom's home made cookies, a cheese tray from the Cheese Cave, and chai tea, and it was lovely!!

As folks wandered through, talking, laughing, looking....it was just a huge reminder that God takes care of me. He gave me this creativity, the inspiration, and He blessed me with people in my life that love and support me.

My friend Annie, came by and gave me a beautiful necklace, a cage!! It is amazing and I have worn it every day since!!

My son invited his art teacher from school. Took a postcard with him Friday to school, and gave it to her. And then he waited for awhile....but he had to go home before she got there.

But again, God blesses.....Hubby took him to get ice cream afterwards......guess who they ran into?? Yep...his art teacher. He was giddy!!!

So out of 20 originals.....15 sold, (insert big cheesy grin here!!)

I can't even explain the feelings. I cried all the way home, just feeling so blessed and humbled.
Best Night Ever!!!!

No Compromises

2011-01-27T14:08:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been unable to get out of working in my journal. I have been so inspired lately, that I just don't want to ever come out of it. And that's a good thing. I believe it is my arts first love, so it would make sense that I am happiest there.
But here's the thing: journal art does not translate well to art shows. Yeah, I can make prints of pages, but it's not the same. You gotta have something to hang on the walls, plain and simple. Last week I was invited to participate in Claremont's First Friday Artwalk, to be the March artist. I am very excited and I am honored to have been asked by Cherie Savoie and Jenna Guzman of Hair Stream Claremont to be a part of the event. So I start looking around the studio, and guess what: I have very few new pieces that are hangable art. So lets get busy!!

I have been in this position before, with a show I did a couple years ago in Phoenix, and let me tell you what I remember most about that time: I remember the battle I had within myself. What I mean by that is this: do I make art that will show who I am and what I love, or will I make art that will be sure to conform and not offend? Now, I am not talking about something edgy or offensive, I am talking about the thoughts that run through my mind like "Ohh don't make that too religious, people won't buy it" or "do you really want to use that picture or that wording....it's pretty "Christian". And sometimes it comes at me with "do you really want to do that...you might have to explain yourself or actually take a stand for what you believe in."
So I stayed true and made art I was proud of, and it all worked out. But now, two years later, that same old voice is back in my head. But you know what? I'm not having it this time. I know who I am, I know who I am in Christ and a little something I learned last night: While you are pursuing your dreams.....don't forget to pursue the Dream Giver. HE has made this possible, and HE is who I will honor. Not the world, not art sales and not compromise.
So the show is titled "Caged". It will ask the question: Are we "caged" by the world, or "surrounded" by Him. You decide.

The Definition of..................

2011-01-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Art is defined as :" The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power"

"Art is" 24"x24" mixed media on wood

First of all, I know that my skill and imagination does not come from me. Meaning, my "human creative skill" is not human at all, and my imagination can only grow as big as the cage that contains it. The cage is the world, the doubt, the self awareness, that sometimes, isn't very aware, and the rest of the crap that gets in the way.

When I pray for inspiration, and God shows me exactly what I've asked for, it's my job to remove all that human-ness that keeps it from being what He would have it be. That is Art......to me.

Inspiration...Where does it come from? God, of course!

2011-01-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

I go through periods of time, where it seems like everything I do creatively, is work. I mean, like hard work. I struggle to pull everything out, from wherever it is, and to make it good. Those times are rough. Those are the times when staring at the tv seems like all I can do. Those are the times when I look for anything else to do, so I don't have to think about what I am NOT doing.... ....creatively, that is.
Thankfully, those times are not usually long lasting. And when all else seems to fail to inspire....I go to music.
Music, for me, is a deep part of who I am. I can't go a day, an hour, sometimes even a minute without music somewhere in my background. All kinds of music...rock, country, hip hop, alternative, and worship especially. Wherever I seem to be, at any point in my life, there is a soundtrack. And the soundtrack of my life inspires!

At this point, I am soaking up the worship music. Everyday, all the time, every chance I get, right now even...this is the soundtrack of my life. There is something that happens to me when I am in worship and the music is really touching me. I mean deeply.
And right now, it happens to be a wonderfully annointed leader named Richard Andrew. Please check out his music here, it's amazing. Sometimes it's even overwhelming. What I mean by that is, sometimes I can't even process the overwhelming feeling of entering into the presence of God, it's so powerful. And God has truly annointed Richard to be able to take us, in worship, to the place of the Most High.
So there I was, sitting in the front row at The Rivers Edge (local peeps, check it out...awesome) minding my own business, and worship started, and it was 36 minutes of overwhelming. Really!

So back to the inspiration. We worshipped to a song that reached my heart, and all day yesterday, I had a vision in my head about where I wanted to go with it. I wanted to do a journal page, but I did not yet have the images put together how I wanted it. So that started a whole process.
First I had to create the original image, which I did, using the image of a tree that I had drawn for another piece a few years back. I printed the tree, did a gel medium transfer onto watercolor paper to get the image directly on the paper (without having to draw it again) and some background color. I then added some details and scanned it into photoshop. I wanted parts of the journal page in black and white, so I added layers and textures so I could make the water a monochrome image. I then adjusted color and added the dove image and printed. Now I had images to use in my journal, so I took bits and pieces, added charcoal and oil pastel and gesso. (These journal instructions are part of Pam Carrikers Strathmore journal class I am taking. I needed some prompts to get working, and this class has been just the ticket. click the link to sign up...it's free!!)

So, at the end of a long, inspired process, not only do I have what I wanted for my journal, I have three separate pieces, very different, inspired by the same worship song. So one more time, I thank God, as He never ceases to amaze me, and never stops inspiring!!
"You'll find me there, singing hymns of praise. Under the shade of a tree, down by the rivers edge. Where His people gather and sing, unto the Lamb"........richard andrew

Long December and the Year in Review

2011-01-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Well would you look at that....not one blog post in the month of December. And what would I attribute that to?? One word.....LAZY!! Once the turkey leftovers were gone from Thanksgiving, it seemed like just a hop, skip and a jump to the crazy of Christmas. Christmas was great, but I'm not gonna lie.....I am always excited to put away the physical part of the holiday every year. I enjoy the retelling of the season and the reasons behind it, but I am not one of those that suffers from post holiday blues. No sireee, not me!!

The constant packing on of pounds, that forces the air from my lungs on those long walk from my parking spot to the mall doors. The ever present panic of "should I have bought a present for them" and the depletion of my bank account. Nope, not sad at all.

So let's recap the amazing year that was 2010.
The company was in some major financial trouble...things didn't look good..... Bad
We had more lawsuits (albeit mostly bogus) than we had jobs going.......Really Bad
I spent the first three months studying for my Contractors License........ Boring
I was published twice in Art Journaling magazine......amazingly good
I went to Art&Soul and Journalfest........awesome
My boy got straight A's the entire year....so proud
I lost 11 pounds and 9 inches......and gained it all back by Christmas....sucked
I got a new Canon Rebel camera for my birthday that is fabulous.....fabulous
I passed my Contractors exam the first time.......freaking awesome
We were awarded the job that would pull us out of the hole were were in...totally God's blessing
We completely paid off that hole we were in.....More of God's blessings
I lost 11 pounds and 9 inches...............oh wait, I already said that....yeah, it bothers me that much
Hubby and I consistently worked on our marriage through out the year.....Amazing
We taught the boy to snowboard and he loves it and is good at it.....that rocks

So basically it was up and down, but through the entire year, God has continually showed up in our lives and blessed our socks off. So much that we were able to pass some of those financial blessings along. But that is not for us to boast.....it's been all GOD!!!!
So now it is the first week of January, and I haven't made a whole lot of new art. I have parked my butt on the couch a whole lot and watched tv and hung out with the family. That's ~~good.~~ awesome!!

Here are pages from the 2011 Art Journaling that was published this week. I love the journal they chose for this one. It's one of my favorites. Happy New Year Everyone!!

What is Worship.....to me?

2010-11-23T21:02:00.000-08:00

When I think about worship, I usually think about music. Music that reaches into my soul and my spirit and brings me to my knees. It's a time spent praising God and feeling like he is giving me a small glimpse into the love He has for me.

But what does it mean to Him? In service the last few weeks, I have been hearing some amazing things. Like, God likes it when I like to worship Him. It's not meant to be a "duty", it is meant to be a "delight".

Also, worship costs. Back in the Old Testament, people had to spend time and effort to prepare their worship offering. There was a whole list of things that were required, in order for the offering to be acceptable.

So what am I bringing to God that truly shows my effort and my love for Him? I know that I love Him, and that I want to spend time in His presence, but does that always mean grinding flour and picking out the perfect lamb?

Yes...it does...but in my own way. My creativity is God given, and I believe that God likes it when I use what He has given me, to show my love. When I spend hours working in my journal, painting, gluing, cutting, lettering, a page that shows my prayers, my praises, and my worship, I believe this honors God

. There is nothing I am enjoying more these days than blasting the worship music, sitting down at my desk, and worshipping my Lord.

Blog about a blog!

2010-11-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

So the new issue of Artful Blogging magazine is in stores now. Or SOME stores I should say, because it seems as though my local Barnes&Noble, has problems actually putting the magazines on shelves, the date they are supposed to be out. One more than one occasion, I have asked them to look in the stockroom, (a week past the issue date) only to find the box has been sitting there, unopened, for who knows how long.

So anyway, I will be checking again today. This is the first article I have written, that has a personal element to it. The others have been all technique, so this one is special. It talks of struggle, of heartbreak, of acceptance and connection. All surrounded by some of my favorite artwork.

Journalfest 2010

2010-11-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Where do I even begin with Journalfest? I have wanted to go for awhile now, and I even looked at going to Artfest, but it just seemed really overwhelming to me. Journalfest seemed smaller, the choices not as varied. Plus the whole retreat was called "JOURNALFEST", and since that is my gig, I figured these would be my people, my village, folks who understand the need to sit for hours writing and journaling in a book, without ever saying a word. They would GET me!!!....these conditions seemed perfect.

And perfect they were!! Journalfest was such an amazing experience. From the location: Ft. Worden in Port Townsend, WA; the activities: bonfire, journal party, vendor fair and masquerade ball; my classes: Ingrid Dijikers Humanis journal, Dan Essig Appalachian Ethiopian journal, and Lisa Cheney Jorgensen "Learning to See" sketch and watercolor!! All were amazing, all were exactly what I thought they would be, and all fed a little piece of me. The food was great, the company better, and out Hosts, Teesha and Tracy Moore, (and crew) went above and beyond!

I will definitely be back next year....no question!!

I did spend every minute that I was not either in class, eating or sleeping: taking pictures. The grounds are beautiful, and I really enjoyed exploring through the lens of my camera.

My favorite class was the sketch class. Lisa was amazing, and she gave me an incredible gift. With the amount of confidence she gave me in sketching a blank page, I can now journal without having to make sure I have pages prepped at all times. Plus, I have signed up for the Sketchbook project, and I have started to actually sketch in that book.
Attached are the best of the photos I took, and my favorite journal pages.
Goodbye Journalfest, I will miss you. But I will see you again next year

Random Pictures

2010-10-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

f/4.5 1/150 ISO100

F/13 1/125 ISO 100 PANNING

f/11 1/125 ISO100

f/5.6 1/160 ISO 400

f/4.5 1/60 ISO100

f/4 1/250 ISO 125

f/5.6 1/80, 1/250, 1/80 ISO 100 HDR

f/5.6 1/100 ISO100

f/13 1/60 ISO1000

f/13 1/125 ISO 5000

f/5.6 1/250 ISO 6400

All pencils crayons are HDR with 3 different exposures and combined

f/4.5 1/2 ISO 400

f/4.5 1/1600 ISO 400

HDR f /5 1/160, 1/640, 1/40 ISO 200

f/11 1/160 iso 400

HDR f /5 1/160, 1/640, 1/40 ISO 200

Loving my new Canon Rebel T2i

Temporary New Direction

2010-10-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

So I was introduced to a little photo technique called "TtV" "Through The Viewfinder" photography, from my friend Julie Bergmann, (check her blog out here). The process seemed fascinating to me, so I started looking into it.

It involves using an old box camera, a digital camera and a cardboard tube to block light. The point is to be able to take pictures that have the old school quality of a 620 film camera, but do it digitally.I found a Kodak Duaflex camera on Ebay for 10 bucks. To buy the film, have it respooled, and processed, cost me over 30 dollars, so I am hoping to be able to do just that. The camera I bought is in mint condition and it takes great pictures, so I will still do that from time to time also. Here are a few of my favorites from the process. I still have some tweaks to make in the tube, but it's coming along.

But since I have purchased 2 new cameras, and all the "stuff" that comes with them, I have not spent a whole lot of time doing any journaling. So tonight, after hubby is off to a weekend men's retreat with church, and the boy is in bed, I finally had a chance to do a little art journaling.

I love these two pages!! My new friend Kimberly, (who is an amazing artist as well, check her stuff here), said they reminded her of a "big stick" ice cream. I agree!! The colors are tasty!

Back from Vacation and Back to School

2010-09-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

So this week it's back to school for the boy. Hello 4th grade!! We didn't find out who his teacher was or who was in his class with him, until the first day of school, becuse we missed registration while we were on vacation. (more about that later).

So we checked in at the office, headed up to his class, and all of us parents stood around taking pictures while our kids unpacked their backpacks with shiny new pencil boxes, folders and clean, fresh packs of paper. Oh and kleenex that his school insists we buy every year. I know for a fact the boy does not use it, I can't get him to blow his nose to save his life. Oh well. Now..................................

About that vacation. It was amazing. We spent a week at the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach, and it was worth every penny! The service and treatment at that hotel is like no other I have ever experienced.

They call you by name, cater to your every whim, have the best kids club EVER, and as you walk around the grounds, the staff stops, and moves aside for you to pass....Like I'm somebody!!!! They don't know I'm nobody..but they treat me like I'm SOMEBODY!!

Hubby and I spent our days lounging by the pool, taking naps, eating the most amazing food, and sleeping in. I took a ton of pics with my Iphone Hipstamatic app. Somehow, the beach just calls for it.

The boy spent his days (and I mean ALL of his days) at "Paintbox"...the kids club. They kept that kid entertained from 9am until 10pm almost every night. They went to the beach, the tidepools, did crafts, watched movies, had relay races, waterballoon fights, tie dyed shirts, swam in the pool. He loved it!!

We made S'Mores by the fire pit, drank after dinner coffee listening to live music, and tried just about everything on the menu! It was the best vacation ever.

I had all the time in the world to read, work in my journal, taking daily walks on the beach, take plenty of pictures and just try to find new and exciting (or not) ways to relax. I think I found them all!

This last photo is a little bit of fun in Photoshop I had with five or so pictures I took this week, plus one random journal page for a background texture. It really is Summer's End!

Shhhh....just listen

2010-08-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Someone Saved My Life Tonight

2010-08-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it was actually last week, but it is so rare that I get to quote Elton John Song titles in my writing, that I couldn’t pass it up.
Song titles aside though, I actually did have someone save my life. Now, I am not talking about “oh man that 50 bucks totally saved my life” or “that Starbucks was a lifesaver”. NO! I am talking about “if someone doesn’t intervene in about 20 seconds, I will no longer be breathing on this earth” lifesaving. So this is what happened.
The boy had a birthday party to be at, at noon on Saturday. This was for his “BFF”, so I RSVP’d a week prior and we were there!! The party was at John’s Incredible Pizza, and really, the pizza is pretty incredible. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to buffet to my hearts’ content, I did not eat that morning, so by the time we got the green light to hit the food line, I was starving.
So we get in line, load up the plates and have just sat down to eat when it happened: I took a bite of a delicious, golden brown, perfectly baked breadstick, and I felt the urge to cough. Being the considerate person that I am, I did not want to spew breadstick all over the guy sitting in front of me, so I took a deep breath and tried to stop from coughing. Well, it stopped the cough alright, by way of lodging the bread directly into my throat!!!!
After what seemed like an eternity of me wondering if this piece of bread was going to un-lodge itself from my windpipe, I realized I was in trouble. Now, mind you, I have ten, 8 and 9 year olds, sitting directly behind me that have no idea what is going on, and I don’t want to freak them out. Too late!!! I stood up, smacked my husband on the arm, and did the hands at the neck “universal sign for choking” motion. (At least I think I read somewhere that was the universal sign for choking.) It makes sense that it would be though, because he got it right away!! He jumped up immediately, got behind me and proceeded to do the Heimlich Maneuver. Two tries, and it was a done deal. Breadstick launches from my throat, (thankfully not on the guy sitting across from me: Although I think if I would have just coughed on him in the first place, this whole thing would not have happened) and I was breathing again.

There was no “life flashing before my eyes”, no “I have so much more to do in life”. But I do remember consciously thinking “Wow, this is just like in the movies!” Weird huh? So the kids didn’t really know what was going on, but I felt bad for the two teenage party hostesses: they didn’t know what to think!! So we composed ourselves, and got back to the party. It took a whole lot of effort, though, because I really did just want to break down crying. We held it together though…for the kids! 
Seriously, one of the scariest moments of my life! But my husband, my hero came through…..again. Yes, I said again, because this is not the first time God has put him in the right place at the right time. I have seen a wholehearted attempt by him that were not successful, and several that were. Mine included. I thank God everyday for him. He truly is a hero!

Crazy cool!!

2010-08-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a good art day. I had nowhere to be, nothing to do, and all day to do it! And This is what happened.

Living Art

2010-07-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there are ~~days~~ weeks when I can't seem to get motivated. (See a previous post here). I have learned to just kind of go with it when that happens. I went for awhile without doing a whole lot of art, but I put some ideas together, made some gifts, took a class, wrote an article for a future publication. So it wasn't like I was just laying around the WHOLE time. No really!!

Then there are ideas that come into my head, that will not be ignored. It could be a huge project idea, or as simple as a journal page quote. I have learned to write these down when I can, and when the muse allows, I sit down to see what happens.

This piece is one of those simple ideas that came out exactly how I pictured it in my head. I had seen a billboard that had huge lettering, and within one of the letters, was a partial photo of a person. I had been working on some things that required me to use pieces of old work, so I thought, why not do a larger piece using one word, and fill it in with nothing but bits of older collages.

Well right away, I love the word ART..(duh!) I mean, I know I love art, but I like the way the word itself looks in big block capital letters. I printed out the letters and then went back through scanned work and printed out bits and pieces of older stuff. (I even snuck in a picture of yours truly!) I like it.

Somerset Art Journaling "Published" button

2010-07-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Just got a cool email from Somerset Art Journaling, with an html button to put on my blog. This button take the reader to their site, to purchase the magazine. If you are having a hard time finding this at the bookstore, and you want to see the amazing eye candy (not just mine :) Then check it out!!!

The one where Carrie can't get off the couch to do anything.

2010-07-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

I love the show "Friends". I could probably watch repeats every day of my life and still laugh. I especially like the descriptions in the guide, because they always start out with "The one where...." I love this, because when I am talking to someone, explaining some funny episode, the way I say it is.."You know, the one where............" So I love that the writers of that show do the same thing.
Ok, I don't know where all that came from, except to say this: This is the episode of MY LIFE where I can't get off the couch to do anything. Save for a few journal pages here and there and an article I wrote, I have literally done nothing artistic.

I have read some good books, went on a couple mini vacations (or long weekends, if you will) and hung out with friends, but nothing much more than that, in the art department.

I need motivation people!!
I have some really cool things I am involved in, with some amazing artists, and I am excited about them. So why then, can I not get moving?

Maybe it's the ridiculous heat. Maybe it's my ridulous laziness. (I am going to put my money on the latter). Anyway, here are a couple journal pages I did last week, talking about the cool weekend with my family in Havasu. I am going to get busy on more. Or maybe just a little nap first.

I fixed it!!!!

2010-07-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, after much frustration, a whole lot of head scratching, and the overwhelming desire to lay my head on my desk and cry....I fixed my blog!! Yay! Who knew that it was one previous blog post, that had different formating, that would not allow the new design changes to take place.

Wow, I am so happy right now!! Anyway, here is another donkey pictures to look at. This was taken with the Hipstamatic app on the IPhone. We see donkeys all the time along the dirt road that takes us to the Lake house, but they usually don't hang around once we stop the car and get out. This momma let us get close, but you could tell, she would have no problem coming after us if we got too close. Glenn tossed them a couple of apples, and the little one went to town!

Heck of A time

2010-07-07T07:04:00.001-07:00

So I got this bright idea yesterday to to mess around with my blog. You see Blogspot had this "new" button up top that said DESIGN your blog or something. I got sucked in, made some changes without saving the old template, and now I can't get my sidebars to show up. SO frustrating!!!!

Anyway, this is a random test post to see if the changes I made worked. This is a picture of some donkeys we stopped to feed on the way to the lakehouse last weekend. It was a momma and her baby, and they loved the apples!!

Shakin' Things up

2010-07-06T20:09:00.001-07:00

Ok, so right off the bat, you may have noticed the super bright colors of my new blog theme! Yeah, I know it's loud, but I am kinda feeling it! So we're just going to roll with it, k?
Pam Carriker! Her work is always inspiring!!
There I was again, taking self portraits in front of the magazine rack!! I swear, the peeps at Barnes and Noble must think I'm crazy.
I've got the magazines arranged just right so you can see the cover, behind me, while I am posing with the book flipped open to my article. Comedy, I tell you!! But, it never gets old. It is just as exciting as it was the first few times.
So the article was one on "Journaling within borders". Since I love to frame my journal pages, it was a good theme for me.
It is alot harder to write, though, when I did not have the specific journal in front of me, or know which pages they chose. But after seeing the final outcome, I think it is a good fit.
I love Stampington publications. Their work is just beautiful. And I love that they make my work look beautiful too! Thanks Somerset!!

We'll Begin....with a spin...in the world of my imagination.

2010-05-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am such a bad blogger. I tell myself I am going to be more diligent, but I am sporadic at best. Ok, I will try. There...I'm over it. Now what's going on with me?

My studio is a mess. It is my quarterly look around and ugh what a disaster. But on the good side of that, it obviously means I have been busy. Which I have.

So these are a few of the pieces I have been working on.

The Michael Buble was for my dear friend Rudy. He loved it and I was honored to be able to do this for him.
The orange koi is a collage in progress that I am working on in Complex Collage: An online class taught by Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen. I am loving this class.
The Alice is a finished piece from that class and the bubble koi is in progress as well. Although, the more I look at this, the more I like it as is. Hmmmm, we'll see.
The assemblage piece was one I had done in a class with Michael DeMeng last month, and I revamped it a little bit.
So that's what up with me.
Ok off to clean my studio. NO, really!!!

Blog Interview

2010-04-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Happy Friday!! So a few weeks ago, I got an email saying my blog had been recommended for an interview at Blog Interview.com. I was not familiar with the site, so I went on, checked it out, and read some of the other blog interviews. Looked easy enough, so I answered the questionnaire, and the interview is up this morning. Although I did notice that some of the other interviews were way longer than mine. I guess I should have noticed that before I answered the questions, but I am not entirely comfortable when it comes to describing my own work. Needless to say, it won't take you but about 15 seconds to read my interview! LOL, Oh well, hopefully you will spend more time on my blog anyway. You can go check it out here, and while you're there, hit me with a thumbs up...I think I could win something!!

Online classes, Cub scouts and Demented DeMeng!!

2010-04-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

So lets see, what's going on with me? Well, I recently signed up for an online class with Chris Cozen and Julie Prichard called "Complex Collage" and I am really enjoying it. These ladies do a great job of instruction, materials and support, and I have learned a ton already!! When I have some finished pieces, I will post them here and you guys can fall over each other getting to Julie's site to sign up for the next one!!

I was invited by my friend Kendra, to come to her sons Weblos/cub scout den meeting next month, as they are earning their Art badges, and talk to them about being an artist. Wow, seriously excited. My first Art lecture, and they have to listen to me or they don't get their badges!! LOL, just kidding!! I am sure it will be a blast. I would love to do the same with my boys pack too, when they get that far.

Saturday morning I will be joining a few other artists at Zinnia in Pasadena for a class with Michael DeMeng. I love taking classes from Michael. Even though his realm is a bit outside my comfort zone, when it comes to media, I learn a bunch, and always come away with a project that is unique, bizarre and always a little bit demented! And I like taht about it!! I took two classes with him at Asilomar last year for Art&Soul, and had a blast. Michael is a very generous artist with his style and technique. He just wrote a fabulous blog post about teaching, and what should be the end result. You can hop over here, and check it out.

So we took off for the boy's Easter Vacation last week, and heaed out to Havasu for a little R&R. The weather was a little wonky for a few days. Cold and windy, but with the sun shining. and when I say windy, I mean WINDY!!. Anytime we were on the boat, I couldn't tell if I was windburned or sunburned!! We did get a chance to go riding though, since it wasn't too hot. Connor loves riding and exploring, and I love to take my camera and shoot some nature. Since I don't have a grown up camera yet, someday, I have been using and LOVING my Iphone camera with my new favorite Hipstamatic app. It takes pictures like the old toy cameras of years gone by. I think it's funny how we used to look at the quality of those prints, and complain because they were crappy. Now we pay to have camera that give us the same effects. Anyway, these photos are taken with the Hipstamatic app, and I love them!!Click on my links and cruise around the blogosphere, you will be glad you did!!

Huge Goal Attained.....Now what????

2010-04-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, when I began to get serious about being an artist, I thought about what I wanted to do with it. I knew I didn't want it to be something that I started and gave up on. I knew I wanted to learn stuff I didn't know, and I knew it had to stay exciting. I also knew that if I didn't set some goals, I would not continue to push myself. These were my goals 5 years ago:

1) Sell some artwork

2) Show my art in a gallery

3) Get published in my favorite magazine.

So now it's 5 years later, and I have achieved these goals. And let me tell you; the first was just as exciting as the second and the third. What a huge ,blessing!!

In life, as in art, I need to set goals for myself to continue to grow and change. With this in mind, someone got the bright idea that I should get my General Contractors License. Hmmmm.

My husband is a commercial GC, and I have worked for him for the last 15 years. I love the business, and I love my job. During the last year, through a series of events, we came to the conclusion that I should also get my license. There are a whole lot of opportunities for a woman with a GC license, believe it or not. There are huge companies that we do work for, that have to spend a certain amount of money per year, with companies that are either minority owned businesses or women owned businesses.

This is where it gets hard. In December I started school, and thus began the hours, days and weeks of studying. Now I don't like to study. I didn't study in high school, and I did ok. I marginally studied in college, and did great. This was different. This was hard.

In order to pass the State Exam, you have to study the law side and the trade side. Now I have no problem with the law side, like I said, I have been doing this for 15 years. The law is the business practices, the employee financial requirements, and the legal issues of contracting. NO problem.

The trade side, being that it is for a General Contractor, meant I had to learn basics of the 8 major trades: Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, framing, drywall, insulation, roofing, and concrete. Let me tell you what I know about these trades: I know how to call my subcontractors to answer any question I might have!! Needless to say, about halfway through this process, I figured I had bit off more than I could chew. But I'm stubborn like that. I would continue to work hard, and when the test date came, I would be prepared the best I could.

Well, I passed. I am the State of California's newest Licensed General Contractor! Whew!! Boy am I glas that's over. But the question is: Now what?

This piece is titled "STRONG".........11"x14" mixed media on canvas. Because I am!

Sooooo, whatcha doin?"

2010-03-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

So my mantra for years has been "I can't do faces" This is why I love mixed media collage, because I never have to start with a blank face. Then I took a couple of classes, practiced alot, and found out with perseverance and a good eraser, I can draw faces. So after I found out I could DRAW faces, my mantra changed to "I can't paint faces". Again, a few classes, and a whole lot of practice, I found.... I can't paint faces. I have tried, and they never look like I want them to. Then I applied the technique I use in drawing charcoal faces, which is looking at my subject in terms of light and dark value, and not a facial features, and found that I could paint faces....a little. I still find that they end up looking like paint by numbers, but a recognizable face none the less. Here are a few that I am working on, and while I am not in love with them, I can recognize who they are. (Well except for the girl, I don't know who she is, but I am sure she looks exactly the way she is supposed to). I took earlier drawings I did of Mick Jagger, where I had already established the whole light/dark value thing, and on top of a whole lot of spray paint, I painted him with black, tan and brown only. The Chris Robinson is not a favorite, but he was a little harder to do for me, since I did not have an earlier drawing to look at, just a photo from a magazine. All in the name of practice. The girl is finished at 12x24 and has an encaustic top layer. The other two are 24x24 and are Tulip spray paint, acrylics and pitt pens.

Upcycled??Recycled?? Painting over crap

2010-03-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

So I have decided that I will buy no more canvas, boards, paper......anything to paint on, until I have used what I have, what I have been saving and what I hate. I have many pieces of wood, of canvas board, of framed canvases, that I have started paintings on and then either did not finish, or thought I finished and then couldn't stand to look at it, Many of these were thrown into the corner of my studio. Apparently I have a large collection of these "items" needing to be recycled. This is the first of many that I will do something with before I spend any more money on canvas.

Culture Shock

2010-03-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

So here is a page duo asking the question Is the shock of Vegas night life too much for me??? I used Tulip paint cannons, paint taggers and the big phat marker. I love how the paint taggers are a little dimensional and have a nice gloss to them!

Vegas Projects

2010-03-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

So here are pics showing 2 of the the 3 class projects I made. I took Stephanie Lee's Selective Seeing, and it was fabulous. Of course I could watch her work all day long, so inspiring. We took large format, high contrasting black and white copies, and then selectively painted out or painted in or just painted what we saw. I loved the four I did using older family photos.
The second project was Thomas Ashman 's Copper and glass mini journal. This was hard work!!! Thankfully Thomas gave us chocolate to calm us down when we got frustrated. I ate all of my chocolate!!!
The third class I took was supposed to be with Judy Wise, but she could not make it. Sad! I love her journal work. I did however get to use one of her Beatles "LOVE" Cirque Du Soleil tickets, though. That was awesome~So I did not post my journal work, as there were no new techniques done during the class. Still had fun though!

Vegas Art and Soul

2010-03-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

So my trip to Vegas was amazing. I made a trip to the Bellagio to see the Gardens that they had redone for Chinese New Year. It was so beautiful, I loved it!

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Countdown to Vegas!!

2010-02-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to be getting ready to go to Art&Soul in Las Vegas. The last few years I have been to the West Coast A&S (not Portland yet, but soon!!) that has been held at Asilomar. I have loved every minute of it.

The location, the atmosphere, the serenity, the inspirtation. So I have been wondering how all of that will translate into an art retreat in Vegas. Now, don't get me wrong, I love me some Vegas. And I love Art&Soul, so I am very excited to see how the two mesh next week.

I have all these plans in my head for when I am not in class, that mostly include naps and journaling and more naps and gambling, and napping!! LOL, yeah, I do love a good nap.

So I have all of my supplies, a few to share, and orders for what I can get from Maria. I was signed up for a journal class with Judy Wise, but she can't make it. I do love her journal work, but I am sure Glenny has sent a fabulous replacement.

I have been doing lots of pages using the Tulip Cannon and graffiti stencils, and show a few more here. Mostly used as backgrounds and not so much focal point. They sure do make for an easy and cool background though!!

Just Checking my Feedburner

2010-02-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

Checking my feedburner for Twitter

2010-02-11T16:53:00.001-08:00

Just blogged new journal pages using the Tulip Paint Cannon and stencils. Love this product
Http://mystudio13.blogspot.com

More Tulip Cannon Pages

2010-02-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

I do love these lovely little painty sprayers. The pink and blue together are fabulous, and I loved making a whole block wall out of the brick stencil. It's just fun!!!

Cool new product

2010-01-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

So my Facebook friend, Pam C. posted a few times about a cool new product she was trying out called Tulip Paint Cannons. They are fabric paints, used in a spray tube that you pump up with air and use like spray paint. I was needing to paint some patterns on a school project for my son, and I thought since my surface was not flat, that these would work great. Off to Michael's I went. I bought a few different colors, but only one paint cannon. That won't work, so I will be going back for several more cannons. I am not one to clean something out everytime I want to change colors.

These cannons, with the graffiti stencils that are part of the line, worked very nice. I should have practiced a little more to get the hang of it before I painted on the boy's project material, but it came out ok. I then moved on to my journals...fun fun fun!!!!!

These are a couple of pages I did. I only used the paint sprayer on the city scape, but then I used the paper towel I blotted the stencil on for the next page like a reverse stencil. Cool.

I also used a couple of the stencils over a hand drawn steampunk city background, but here I used Colorbox chalks for the color. I love how these pages came out. Thanks Pam!!!

Send Off!

2010-01-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow these, and more will get mailed off to Somerset for the Spring Art Journals Magazine. I wonder what my odds are to be published twice?? Hmmmm, we'll see!

Late Happy New Year

2010-01-15T21:49:00.001-08:00

Well, it's not THAT late. It is, after all, still January. Busy month so far. A couple of Journal pages from the newest journal. I finished 2009's and whipped up 2010! The first one reads" Do you Ever Feel Like:....a fish outta water, lost and floundering, swimming down the middle of the street?"

My Muse has been busy

2009-12-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

So I have had these backgrounds done for a couple of years. They were done in Misty Mawn's "The Journey Unfolds" class at Art and Soul, 2008. We made these great matboard substrates (sp?) and then spend three days doing backgrounds. Well, I did backgrounds, because it took me a little longer than most, to get in the groove. I did finish two pages, I think and the rest I just got the backgrounds finished.

So I've got all of these great backgrounds, and for the last couple of days I have been working on them. Some are an extension of the background, with just a few details added, and some I have changed completely. I took a few recent journal pages, and printed them on tranparancies, and then did gel medium transfers onto the matboard. After cleaning them up a bit with paint and pens, they came out a little edgy and a bit "darker" than the originals. I like them.

Beautiful Day

2009-12-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

What an amazing day yesterday was!!! We woke up early to go snowboarding, because Brandon is down for the holiday, and he was dying to go hit the hill with us!! The weather was hideous!! It was pouring down rain, then it hailed, then it snowed!! At my house!! It has been years since that happened. We decided to go for it. We figured if it was to bad, we could always drive home, as Mt. High is only about 40 minutes from home.

We loaded up and hit the road, and when we got there, the weather was as bad as predicted. We decided to stick it out for awhile, and once we bought tickets, got Connor signed up for his first snowboarding lesson, and got over to the hill, the clouds blew by and it was a beautiful day!! Connor did so well for his first time, and he did not want to stop. The rest of us are a little sore this morning, but it was so much fun!!!

Crave Art

2009-12-21T20:55:00.001-08:00

Christmas came early to my house~~

2009-12-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

What an amazing day I had!! I started out hanging out and shopping with one of my dearest friends, Jamie. We have had a standing Christmas shopping date, every year, for over the last 12 or 13 years. If we don't see each other all year, we still make time to spend a day shopping, eating and catching up. We talked non-stop for hours and hours, it was so much fun! She is having her first baby sometime Wednesday, and I am so happy for her!!

So after a wonderful day with my friend, I come home to find an advanced copy of Somerset Art Journaling magazine on my counter. I got word a few months ago that I would be published, and was so excited. I love all of Somerset's publications, but since the first issue of Art Journaling, I have dreamed of being included among the soul inspiring work I have seen within it's pages.

I however, had no idea that so much work would be included. I knew the general theme of the story, and I wrote the article based on the theme they gave me, but I was in for a surprise. Not only is my artwork on the cover, The article is 8 pages, and another two pages included in the Gallery section. I am in shock!! I give all the glory to God who inspires in art, as well as in life!

Here is the cover, and the Gallery section. There is another 8 page article titled "With the Eyes and the Heart: Artistic, Heartfelt Journaling" inside. Should be on shelves January 1, 2010!!

Elvis Lives......well on my blog anyway

2009-12-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I know, I know, such a bad blogger. I haven't seemed to be able to get anything put together for you here. Oh well. Tis the season!. I did apply and was accepted to the PVAA, Pomona Valley Art Association, so I will have a venue to show some work, so I am very excited about that. I am trying to finish up a "winter" themed set to show next weekend at Second Saturday Artwalk, but I am having some logistical issues. By this I mean that I learned the hard way: when cutting plywood to specific sizes; you have to account for the width of the saw blade. Yeah, didn't really realize this until I got 4 pieces cut to 12" x24". The first three were indeed, 12" x24". The last one, not so much. And it happened to be the last one I chose (unknowingly) for a 2 piece set. It was all good until I tried to fit the not quite 12" side into the frame. Yeah, it's too small, so I have to have hubby make some last minute adjustments. So it may or may not make it to Pomona, we'll see.

I did, however finish Elvis. I did this on suggestion from the customer that bought Lucy. We'll see if she likes it enough to buy.

Have a great weekend everybody!!

Music and Arts Festival This Weekend!

2009-11-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

So I have been busy getting stuff ready for this weekend. My prints are ready, my originals are framed, my prices are set!! My wonderful hubby has spend the last two days making these amazing easels that can hold 4 large paintings on each one. And he made 9 of them!!! Not that I have that many pieces, but I can use them for any other show I do. I am hoping to show again in Phoenix @First Friday's next year, so I will be able to use them there. I am trying to get another booth right next to mine so we can have more room, but I might have waitied just a bit too long. We'll see!! So I hope all of you will come by and see, not only me, but the other amazing artists too, and be a part of Main Street Upland's First Annual Music and Arts Festival. Friday through Sunday 10am-10pm, downtown Upland.

Busy Busy Busy!!

2009-10-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy week I have going!! I have to be at a deposition tomorrow afternoon, work at church tomorrow night, Knott's Scary Farm Friday night ( I am scared already), a 5k charity run first thing Saturday morning, and the Train concert Sunday night!! Whew!! And I have less than 3 weeks to get all of my artwork and prints ready for the Upland Music and Arts Festival. You can check out the link here. (go to lineup and then click on the art link). I have several things to frame, a ton of prints to make and I have to get everything priced up and ready to go. OMGosh, what the heck have I been doing? Well, actually, I have been doing alot of artwork, spending some amazing time hearing the word, and loving my family!! That takes up some time.

So I have been loving all the new apps I have for my IPhone camera. I have: camera bag, lomo, artcam lite, camera XL and my favorite colorsplash. Here is an example of what you can do. You use a picture from your camera roll, it removes all of the color, and then you "paint" the color back in with your finger. It is awesome, you can pan and zoom in to get the detail, and paint with whatever color was originally in the picture, or gray. i love it!! Well, I gotta go, I have work to do.

So what!!!!!..............IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

2009-10-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

I love birthdays, and I especially love my birthday!! I don't love it for the gifts, or the cards or even the birthday wishes, (although I love those too) I love it because it's mine. Now I realize there are other people in the world with the same birthday, and their day can be all theirs too. But in my world, it's my day. I am not talking about selfishly it being "all about me", but just that during the day, I get showered with love and thoughts and usually end up with a great feeling of well being. Me being alive, me being healthy, me being loved. And God chose this day for me to be born, before the heavens were formed, He gave me this day, and I love Him for it!!

One Photo Left

2009-09-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Came home yesterday to spy a little something on my counter. As I got closer, I could see that it was a magazine. Ok, now just for the record, I had just come form the bookstore, looking for this particular magazine. Knowing it would not "officially" be in stores until October 1. I don't know what I was thinking. So once I realized that this was, indeed, an advance copy of the magazine, and artists that are being published get them, I swept everything else off the counter, and proceeded to rip off the plastic covering the mag. Oh so excited!!! I had sent three pieces in for publication last November to Somerset Memories. It was "maybe" going to be published in the June/July issue, but in May, the issue went to twice yearly publication. So I waited, knowing the edition would resurface, bigger and better, in October. And boy was I surprised!!!

I did two of the three in Misty Mawn's class last year at Asilomar, and they are among my favorites EVER! The third was made to bring it to a set, and I was very happy with the results.

The set was made using the only school picture I have of my father, (not the ONLY picture,as the story reads, just the only SCHOOL picture). I used 3 different transfer techniques, and different copies. I love this set and I am so honored, and feel God deserves the glory, for instilling in me this desire to create

Journal page

2009-09-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

Just how far...............

2009-09-19T16:09:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite songs is from Casting Crowns, East to West. It speaks of feeling those human emotions that tell us we are just one mistake away from God leaving us, I mean, really who could love ME that much?? I love how it talks about not being able to bear ,having the person I used to be, come rising up in me again, and about where we find rest: in the arms of His mercy.

I can remember being a new Christian, and I couldn't understand what "a season" was, and nobody could tell me. Was it a week, a month a year?? I could not grasp the concept . I get it now. Another thing I didn't totally understand, was His forgiveness. Really??? Forever?? Never to be brought up again, like completely forgotten? Wow! That's awesome. Ok, but wait....that means I can just keep doing whatever, and as long as I ask forgiveness, I'm cool, right?? Well, I learned NO on that one, right before I was told to look up the scripture about not doing exactly that.So the concept if this song: That forgiveness truly is as far as the east is from the west. From one scarred hand to the other! That's how big His grace is for me> Good thing!!

My Studio 13: Cries of an angel

2009-09-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

My Studio 13: Cries of an angel

The Thoughts in my Head

2009-09-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

So what's going on? Well there are some things in the hopper, that are going to be coming to fruition in a couple of months. Trying to keep it on the downlow, but let me just say that I am very excited about it!!

I am getting as many charcoals done as I can for the festival in November. I have done a couple special order pieces that I am not showing here, (shhhhhhh!!), but soon.

My boy just signed up for Cub Scouts, and he is so excited. Dad will be helping out as Den Leader, so I see some fun camping trips in my future. I can't wait to get a picture of Connor in his little uniform!!

Jenny Craig is finally starting to pay off. I am into my 6th week, and was not losing the weight I had hoped for. I mean, come on, 1200 calories a day, no cheating, and lose half a pound?? Ugh, whatever!! So I switched up a couple of things and this last week was a good one. Lost a total of 8 pounds and 5 inches so far, so I am really motivated about that. I have been doing little workouts on the Wii Fit, and I like the exercises alot!!

I have been working alot in my journal, and it is as healing and deep as ever. I love to just lose myself and spend the time, and create. I took my journal to the beach on Saturday, and it was such a beautiful day. I spent a little time on it, while watching Connor and Glenn boogie boarding. He did such a great job for his first time, and he loved it!!

Well I am off to bed, gonna try and have dinner with my girl, Linda tomorrow, we haven't hung out in awhile!

(sorry the pics are so small, but they were IPhone pics, uploaded to mobile Facebook, and I lost the originals when I had to get my phone replaced saturday night)

Let Your Art Work For You This Christmas!!

2009-09-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

Let your ART work for YOU this Christmas
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When you join MMCA Marketplace we will build your shop while you continue to create more great art! You simply digitally submit your product image along with our description form and your products magically appear on your personal shop page with your branding logo, bio and photo, as well as links to your blog and/or website and email address.
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These are a few.....of my favorite people!!

2009-09-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have my favorite things in life. My favorite shoes, my favorite art supplies, my favorite magazines, and people in my life that are truly special. Our Youth Pastors are a couple of those favorite people, that make me smile no matter what. They have been at my church as long as I have been there, and I have seen them pour out their lives into the lives of the youth that attend that church. He brings it when he preaches, and to hear her sing worship is a blessing. For REALS!!! (This picture was a card I made for her....a songbird)
They were recently asked to step down (boo!!), and after waiting on the Lord for direction, feel that moving back home to Maryland, is His plan for them.
They are a young couple, with a two year old, and working in ministry is not exactly big money. They recently went to ship their stuff home, and after a horrendous ordeal trying to get that done, they found that the shipping container was too small, and they needed another one, plus storage, to get all their belongings home. We want to help!!
Along with another couple, (The Headless Family5) we are looking to help them pay for another shipment container back home. The container will cost $1,300.00 to ship from California to Maryland, and storage for a month until they get settled and get a place.
If you can help, in any way, please let me know. I have a Paypal account (click button below), or you can email me with info.
This family has been such a blessing to countless kids, and to my family as well, and we would appreciate anything you can do! Every penny will go directly to them, and we can help send them out, to continue to pour into kids' lives and bless those that meet them!!

Grandpa's Box

2009-09-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

The subject line read: "Grandpa's box" It was in reference to a care package my mom and I had sent to grandpa that had not been delivered to him yet. In emails, making plans for a swift visit, not knowing when things would change. But seeing that line several times during the back and forth, it occured to me, that I have my own Grandpa's Box. In it are memories of long drives, trips to the beach, just him and I. Styrofoam boogie boards, bought on the way to the beach...Everytime!! As everytime, they would break, with that one big wave, that would crash me to the ocean floor. He would stand up, looking for me in the surf, waiting for me to wave my "I'm ok" wave.

Classical music on the stereo console, always classical music. I am not sure if that his his taste or hers, but it was always there. Crossword puzzles in the leather recliner, with a dog (or two) always in his lap, while I pored over "Foxfire" books and asked endless streams of questions. A soft answer, always a soft answer.

Trips to his work, wearing one of his "CAT" hats, and always proud, when I would see one of those big machines, that "my grandpa works there"

Lost, then found. Safe again. As through the years we both struggled, each in our own city, each in our own darkness. Always a special place in my heart, always a favorite, always a joy of memories. Always good, in Grandpa's box.

Is my head on straight??

2009-08-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

I have a fascination with "Dios de los Muertos". I absolutely love the art, the patterns on the art, the funky colors in the art, and just overall, the art. I know about the celebration, and some of the ways it is expressed, and I would love to see one of the festivals in Oaxaca, Mexico one day. I love the sugar skulls. I love the idea of taking something scary, and decorating it with flowers and colors and vines and patterns. To me it refreshes the past, it lends a new coat to something dark, and face it, a cool looking skull, goes with anything!

Billy and my Sister!!

2009-08-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

So I am posting a shot of the most recent charcoal I finished today of Billy Idol. I don't think it is my favorite, but if I don't stop, I will rework it to death. So if you are looking at the title and wondering what does Billy have to do with my sister? Well, nothing..it's just something cool to look at. Because the huge, amazing news is .......I HAVE A LITTLE SISTER!!! Does it sound like a strange rant coming from a 40-something? I mean, I am not a toddler who just found out she is going to be a big sister, but this is just as exciting I'm sure.
I was on Facebook the other day, minding my own business, wasting company time, you know.....the usual, when I got this message in my inbox that said, in a nutshell, "Who's your Daddy?" Ok, not really, she didn't say that!! (That would have been funny though!!) But anyway, to make a long story short, I have a sister, and I am simply in awe.
So my sister's name is Shannon, we will meet soon, for the first step in a relationship that excites me to no end. I thank the Lord, who brings things together for His glory, in His time! Yay God
Now this is not a complete surprise, we knew she was out there somewhere, just never knew where to look. So I gotta give a great big awesome shout out to Facebook, because really, they seem to connect long lost.....everythings!!!

So if you are my friend on Facebook, look for Shannon, and give her a big virtual hug, she's family!!

Last Summer Weekend

2009-08-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

SO we packed the car up Thursday afternoon and headed to Lake Havasu for our last summer break. My youngest stepson was here for a visit, so we took off for some fun. They boys went quad riding and had a blast. My youngest is just getting started riding and did great~~. The boat is our happy place, and we love to just hang out and lounge around. I love the weekends here, and the down time I get to just sit and read or journal is well needed. I brought a cool picture of Madonna that I wanted to try to do in charcoal, and I thought it came out pretty good. Utopia Salon ,in Upland, will be having a fashion/hair show during the Upland Music and Art Festival in November, and the theme is music icons from the 80's. This is my first one that they will have displayed in the shop during the show. I am looking to do some cool 80's hair folks, but without all the crazy "Flock of Seagulls "80's stuff. I will do a Billy Idol I think and maybe a big hair band guy, or something. Any suggestions??

Music and Art Series

2009-08-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my 60's female icon series, has turned into "Art and Music Icons", due to the fact, that I am getting them ready for the Upland Music and Arts Festival in November, and it is, after all, a music and art festival. I have been having so much fun with these. Fun, frustration, amazement, frustration, excitement....and did I mention frustration. I say this because I had forgotten how it can be. When I visualize something in my mind, but have a hard time relating it to the page, I get frustrated. When I have to confidence to try, but then lose it when things don't go right, there's the "f" word again. It reminds me of a song from Howard Jones "No One is to Blame". One line is "aspirations in the clouds, but your hopes go down the drain". Now I don't have this outlook in my everyday life. I have Jesus, my hopes are never down the drain. But every once in awhile, creativity can do that to me. So I keep plugging along, I have to. Because sometimes it turns out just like I hoped it would. Here are two that I finished in the last week. Warhol is 12" x 18" charcoal on fabriano hot press, and Mick is 12" x 16" of fabriano hot press

Female 60's Icon Series

2009-08-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

My husband insisted we have a yardsale. I didn't want to have a yardsale, it's alot of work and you gotta get up early and folks never want to pay the same amount as the little stickers you spent hours tacking on every single piece of craptastic treasure you managed to dig out, dust off and display. So now for the bright side: We found a great box of family photos nobody had seen for years, and I found my old sketchbooks from college. I had forgotten how much I love to draw. I am not so much with the still life fruits or scenic stuff, but give me a photo big enough that I can get the proper proportions, and I love to detail with charcoal.

I found some old magazine photos that I had used previously for a couple of drawings, and drew them again on watercolor paper. They came out so good, that I decided to do an entire series of Female icons from the 60's. Here are the first 4: Twiggy, Barbara, Marilyn and Lucy. Depending on how many I get finished, I should have a good sized collection to sell at the Upland Music and Arts Festival in November.

12" x 18" charcoal on Fabriano hot press

My Studio 13: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made-ArtNowFor Autism

2009-08-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

This piece is being donated to the Art Now for Autism auction. Check out the details here.

Please check out their website and all of the amazing artists that are participating in this cause!!

(you can see more pic details below last post)

So Un-inspired

2009-07-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

What the.......??? It seems like forever since I have found the inspiration, the muse, the desire to create!! Why does that happen to me? I can spend hours cruising through blogs and magazines and see some amazing eye candy, and yet, nothing seems to give my soul the push it needs to get going. I haven't journaled (anything worthwhile) in a month! Argghhhh!!

So what do I do, when I can't think of anything to do?? I follow direction. Tutorials, magazine techniques, DIY network, whatever....I fele half alive when I am not creating, so I got to go make SOMETHING!!

So for now, I am off to try DJ Pettit's "Let's Face it" in the latest Somerset Studio magazine. Here is a little something I did, oh I can't even remember when. Titled "Saint Hearted"

12" x 21" mixed media on watercolor paper

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

2009-06-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Psalm 139: Such an amazing song of praise. I love how it talks about being knit together in the womb, and being fearfully and wonderfully made. This piece speaks of that. The background being rough and messy, with lumps and spills and things that don't match. Random textures and an image that might even be just a little bit scary. But this is how WE see ourselves. We see the mismatched, we see the awkward, we see things that our Father does not. Because, as the Universe's ultimate artist, We have got to know that He sees us just as he made us. Fearfully and wonderfully made.

Cosmic Crosses

2009-06-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is a series of (3) "cosmic gelly" pieces that I have finished over the last week. Two of them are on 11"x14" plywood and one is on a 10"x10" gallery wrapped canvas. I finished the first 2 big ones, and hated how they came out. I thought they were too dark and random, and didn't have the same interesting shapes as ones I had done in the past. I don't know if I didn't use enough different colors, or what but I was not happy. Then I decided to start the process all over again with the cross. I taped off the cross shape, and kept the gel gloss inside, put some texture on it and let it dry. I then followed with the charcoal and acrylic paints.
I started the smaller canvas knowing it would be part of this cross series, so I had alot more detail. This one turned out to be sort of a calvary scene, with the crosses on either side and some random textures that looked like they could be people at the foot. I also had a hard time getting good pictures of these. Using the high gloss gel medium, every phot I took, inside or out, had alot of glare. These were the best images from 3 days of trying.

Be The Match! Save a life!

2009-06-13T23:22:00.001-07:00

So between Blogger and Facebook and MySpace and Twitter, ( and many more I am sure) there has never been an easier way to get info out to people all over the world, with the click of a mouse.

I am going to use my blogger powers for good, and hope that this post can inspire some prayers, and maybe save a life.

My cousin and her family have been going through medical issues for awhile. Her husband has cancer and they tell him that he has exhausted his treatment efforts. So his choices are, let the cancer run it's course or have a bone marrow transplant. He will be meeting with doctors in a couple of weeks to go through the info on that option.

So I would ask that all of you out there in blogger/facebook/twitter/myspace ...blah blah blah, send your prayers to Rick!! Pray for healing, for the family, for the doctors and for a bone marrow match.

And if you are not a registered bone marrow donor, there are people all over the world waiting to be matched. Check out the link below, and give it some serious consideration. All it takes is a cheek swap to be registered!

Thanks all, and feel free to repost or retweet, or whatever sounds your networking program makes!!

National Marrow Donor Program - Be The Match Marrow Registry

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Forever Ago!!

2009-06-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just looked at my last blog post and saw that it was almost 6 weeks ago!! What a bad blogger I am. For some reason things have been crazy around here. I feel like I have done very little art lately, not counting going up to Asilomar for Art&Soul. It does seem as though my muse has seen fit to take a vacation. I did get a tiny bit of inspiration tonight so I am working on a couple of things right now. I am waiting for some gel medium to dry, so I thought I would pop on over here for a bit.

So my son turned 7 today!! What a great time we had at his party. 8 kids, counting him (and a couple of siblings), and it went pretty smooth. We now have every Lego Power Miner set there is!! My husband, however, was not there, as he was home sick with pneumonia!! That's right, pneumonia!!! He has been down all week, and after 2 trips to the ER, they finally took a chest x-ray, and voila!! Pneumonia!!!

So here is a pic of the birthday boy with his balloon hat, and a group shot with the bear. (at least I think it's a bear).

Tattered and Tangled Art Opening

2009-05-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to be a part of South Pasadena's Eclectic Music Festival and Artwalk, May 9, 2009 from 4pm-10pm. I submitted a piece of artwork that was accepted to show at Zinnia: The Funky Junque Gallery, as part of the open houses at 8 area galleries. Also, come to find our, Angela Cartwright will also be on hand at Zinnia to sign copies of her new book "In This Garden", and showcase all of the original art by the artists that collaborated on the book with her.

So far away!

2009-04-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Feels like forever since I posted here! I am getting ready to do a little showing at the Upland Lemon Festival next weekend, at my lovely friend Jenna's shop. Things have been a little crazy around here. Spring break, Easter and trying to get stuff together for Sunday. PLus I am now addicted to Facebook, so that takes a bunch of time. But I have almost everything framed, tags made, prints matted and ready to go. I will be making 2-3 journals to sell also. So all in all, it is going to be a busy week. Here is a journal page I did this weekend, that I will be selling as a print. Hope to see you all there. Sunday, April 26, 2009: Utopia Salon, 2nd street Upland, from 10-6pm

Lemon Fest Card

2009-03-30T13:13:00.001-07:00

Lemon Fest Card, originally uploaded by keekeetodd.

Tattered and Tangled

2009-03-16T07:55:00.001-07:00

New Journal page

2009-03-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ode To Andy

2009-03-15T12:32:00.001-07:00

These are two journal pages ode to Andy Warhol. I got this great litle box 'o warhol stuff at Zinnia in Pasadena, and i scanned and altered some of them and used them with two great Andy Warhol quotes.

Rock Album Love

2009-03-02T22:43:00.001-08:00

8"x10" collage made from my favorite album covers. I absolutely love how this turned out! Good music makes me happy......Great music makes my soul happy!!!

Holding my Dreams

2009-03-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

15" x 22" mixed media collage on Fabriano hot press watercolor paper

I Am Published!!

2009-02-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to finally be able to say I am a published artist!! I took a cruise to the bookstore this afternoon, just to check..and there it was! The new issue of Somerset Studio!! My artwork is shown in the Expressions section within the theme of "Paper Dolls." ( The 8" x 24" canvas above) This is my last goal realized!! Three years ago I set 3 goals for myself. (1) Show my work in a gallery (2) sell a piece of artwork (and not to a relative!!) and (3) have a piece of work published! I have done the first two, and today the third goal was reached! I am very excited!

Art, Faith and Vision....part 3

2009-02-22T21:15:00.000-08:00

Three pages from my new journal. The books have all been roughly titled, "Art, Faith and Vision" in some form or another. This is the third.

Work in progress

2009-02-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

16"x20" mixed media on canvas. Lacking some detail work, but I am tired and need to go to bed!! I will probably finish tomorrow.

Do I dare?????............believe??

2009-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

My Delight

2009-02-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Journaling through sadness

2009-02-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

I worked on several journal pages tonight getting them finished up for a class I am taking. While I was working through them, I got news that a friend of mine passed away on Tuesday. So, to have something to take my mind off the sadness and focus on creativity was great. But it was hard to journal happy events while feeling the sadness for his friends and family. My brother was also close to him, and Bro's not taking it too well. So sad is the disease of addiction. So I spend a moment praying for the addict that still suffers.

First Friday in Phoenix

2009-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

So Phoenix was amazing. I got to see my artwork hung on walls that did not belong to myself or family!! The amount of people that went through the gallery was amazing. The weather was beautiful Friday night, and people made the most of it. The streets were absolutely packed. I got some great feedback, sold eight pieces, got to spend time with family and friends and really had a great time!! These are some pictures of the gallery. I didn't get any pictures during the artwalk because the place was literally packed from 5:30 until 11:30 pm. What a blast. I sold (3) of the Cosmic Gelly pieces that I wrote about in some earlier posts. People really seemed to like them. It was so awesome to see people getting right up close and really checking them out. And I got a chance to talk to people about what it was that they liked about the different pieces. I met some GREAT people, and got to hang out for a bit. Waldo, the owner of the gallery was so cool. He is an amazing artist himself with some really incredible metal pieces showing in the gallery as well. And he really made me feel welcome and was just alot of fun. The whole First Friday vibe was great. There was a D.J. two doors down, bands playing at a few of the local hangouts and a ton of really amazing artists showing their work.

Practically my entire family came out to support me, which was so awesome. A few of them had almost an hour drive to get there, not to mention trying to find a place to park, and they still came!! At one point there was 18 family members there!! Unbelievable! I felt so loved!!

Cries of an angel

2009-01-31T00:15:00.000-08:00

"Lord, Why do they grieve you so?"

work in progress

16"x20"

Time Flies

2009-01-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

Well I gotta tell you, January is gone and I don't remember most of it. What have I been doing? Sometimes I get through the week, and the last time I checked it was Tuesday. Anyway, I have been getting ready to pack up 18 works of art and head to Phoenix for First Friday Art Walk @ Waldoism gallery. I have never had a solo show before, but I have been to several. After seeing how things were done, extras they had, and running a few of my own ideas through my head, I think I am ready. I have my work all framed, wall info tags done, business cards made, a portfolio of works to show other galleries while I am there, and a pretty good idea of how things will be set up. So I guess that is where January went. But I am excited to see family, and I am driving out with two of my aunts, whose children live in Phoenix, so ROAD TRIP!!!! I have assembled a playlist on my IPod that I am pretty sure won't scare either one of them, (think Paul Simon, MercyMe, Taylor Hicks and Elton John), and I will wash my car!! Yep, ready! I am bummed to be missing my son's open house at school, and a fundraiser that my husband is involved in for a men's recovery ranch, but excited too. I have found a bit of time to do some journal pages for an online class I am taking with Pam Carriker. These are those.

The Direction I go

2009-01-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

This is a 24" x 24", acrylic and ink on panel board. I am really happy with the background colors, I think they came out really cool. The oak tree literally took 4 hours to draw with a micron pen, and then again over it with a sharpie paint pen. The compass is a combination, compass rose and a sun. I couldn't find a stamp I liked that was big enough, so I carved my own, and then added the smaller compass stamp right in the center.

So all of these things point to the direction that I go. The heart, the Jesus fish, the oak tree, the words on the house and the compass/sun. Or Son, if you will. I will be showing this piece next month, and several times during the process, I had thoughts of "don't make it all religious, people might not like/buy it" More than once I had to quiet the enemy as he tried to get me to conform to this world. And, honestly I wasn't even going in that direction at the time. But as it progressed, I knew where it was going, and I am really happy with how it turned out.

Gallery Showing Feb. 6

2009-01-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

I am excited to announce I will be a part of Waldoism's First Friday Art Walk, February 6, 2009. The gallery is located in Phoenix at 720 N. 4th St #3 Phoenix, Az. (602) 714-0166. From what I hear, the atmosphere is great. Artists, vendors, live music, all around. Come join me!

My latest Purchase

2009-01-12T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am super excited about this. My friend Suzan over at ThriftycollageArtist put together this amazing art doll. It reminds me of the toys over at Sid's house on Toy Story. I don't know how long she had it up on her blog, but as soon as I saw it, I wanted it to be mine all mine!! And so it shall be!! I will be taking a class with Michael DeMeng in May at Art and Soul Asilomar, called "The Isle of Demented Toys", and if I am lucky, my piece will look half this great. It's like 15 inches tall, and uses parts of an old desk lamp, and is decorated all the way around. i love the head, and what looks to be the spine! OMGosh, I can't wait.

Cage Me

2009-01-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is a mixed media collage, work in progress. I have not done much over the last couple of weeks, I think my muse was pouting about the whole published/not published issue. And I don't blame her, but I had to post something new because I get mad everytime I see the last post. So we have to get some creativity so I can push all that negativity out!! So this one is 12" x 24" on wood panel, and I am liking how it is turning out. Happy New Year everyone!!

Color Me.......Whatever.....I am bummed

2008-12-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about being confused about the Jan/Feb issue of Somerset Studio, that I received notice that I would be published in. After trying to get some kind of confirmation, I figured I would just wait it out, and be surprised. Boy was I surprised. I heard from other artists that were contributors to the issue, that it was starting to find it's way into mailboxes. Not being one to sit around, I called Somerset and asked if they could use my UPS account to overnight it to me. They did, and when I got home and finally had a chance to sit down and go through it, I was devastated. I found no artwork whatsoever of mine. I did find a 3 word editorial that was part of my submission letter published, but no artwork.So I wrote an email to the publisher, and the person who had helped me out overnighting the magazine to me. And the answer I got back today was even worse. Turns out, they didn't just put off the feature till next month that I had submitted for (liked I had hoped), they actually sent the 'Congratulations, your artwork will be published" letter BY MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, I feel like crying right now. Anyway, apparently the person who does the artist list for each issue, mistook the artwork under my editorial comment as mine.

Now I know what it is like to get back your artwork with the "Hey keep trying" letter, and the email rejections with "Hey we don't really have a place for it right now" letter, and especially the "you know your work is not getting used 'cause you didn't get the email confirmation withing 3 weeks of the deadline" So these things I have come to know well over the last two years. But to get "THE LETTER", you know ,the OMGosh I can't believe it finally happened, gonna show it to all my friends and family, and YOU KNOW I AM GONNA BLOG ABOUT IT LETTER !! And then to have it be an "oops, sorry we made a mistake", well I gotta tell ya, it's pretty lame. So I am really trying to accept it, just get over it, and not let it get to me.

So I went shopping.....and found the coolest little Betsey Johnson makeup bag that is perfect for my journal pens. I have been looking for something else since my little pencil bag was not big enough and I had to dig around to find what I was looking for because I could never see anything. Well not anymore, it zips open and it is fabulous!! Plus, I got it for a ridiculous price because the store was having this huge gajillion percent off sale. It is all I could probably afford of Bestey Johnson's line (gosh I love her dresses), so I have a little bit of a spring in my step, yes I do, because it's MINE. Check it out.

Somewhere Tonight

2008-12-16T21:37:00.000-08:00

My husband is friends with a Pastor , who has had an amazing vision of how the Lord wants us to reach our community. It involves coming together within every denomination, and offering our community hope through Jesus. I have never met the man, but from what I read of his vision, and from what my husband has told me, he is truly anointed. Part of the vision is to have the same response when anyone asks us why we are doing this. The answer is "This is for people about to divorce, for the people bound by drugs, for the people who are so miserable they drink themselves to sleep, for the people ready to commit suicide: to bring hope to those who feel like they have no hope"

This piece is my interpretation of that and borrows (altered) lyrics from a singer/songwriter named Michael Lord, (who is an independent musician in the L.A. are. And seriously, this man's music is so amazing, I don't know why he is not a Grammy Award winning artist.) 9"x12" mixed media on gessoboard

'Tis The Season

2008-12-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

This is Connor's contribution to the Christmas decorating around the house. He came home from school last Friday, and asked me for some white yarn that he could wrap Baby Jesus in, for a "man-a-ger". Oh, I thought, a "manger" scene, OK! So I gave him some white fabric, and away he went. He even went so far as to make sure the Wise Men had their "gifts." He is such an awesome kid! Did you notice Mary's sassy new hairdo? Cute!!

Bring The Rain

2008-12-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

I can count a million times, people asking me how I, can praise You, with all that I've been through. The question just amazes me, that circumstances possibly, could change, who I forever am in You. Maybe since my life has changed, long before these rainy days, it's never really ever crossed my mind. To turn my back on You oh Lord, my only shelter from the storm, but instead, I draw closer through these times.

So I pray, bring me joy, bring me peace, bring a chance to be free, bring me anything that brings You glory. And I know there'll be days, when this life brings me pain, but if that's what it takes to praise you, Jesus bring the rain.

I am Yours regardless of, the clouds that may loom above; because You are much greater than the pain. You who made a way for me, by suffering your destiny, so tell me what's a little rain.

So I pray, bring me joy, bring me peace, bring the chance to be free, bring me anything that brings You glory, and I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain, but if that what it takes to praise You, Jesus bring the rain.

"Bring the Rain" MercyMe: Album: All That is Within Me

For an entire blog post from MK Ludwig, sharing the songs that mean the most to us, go here

Child Star

2008-12-02T22:37:00.000-08:00

Blank Journal pages

2008-12-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

Color Me Confused

2008-11-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a few posts ago, I told you about getting an email from Somerset saying I was to be published in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Somerset Memories. Now the email I received clearly said Somerset Studios, but the editor I had been in contact with about the pieces I sent, was from Memories. Here is where the confusion comes in. 4 months ago I sent in a submission to Somerset Studios for a feature on "Paper Dolls". Now it has been awhile, and I don't know exactly when that issue is to be published, because looking back through the issue that had the call for art, it does not give a specific publication date. So now I think the pieces I sent to Memories are still in for review and the paper dolls piece is what is going to be published next month. We'll see! So pick up a copy of Somerset Studios and look for my name,because I am not exactly sure what the artwork will look like.