Let Your Art Work For You This Christmas!!

Let your ART work for YOU this Christmas
Don't let the Holidays sneak up on you again this year! We all know that money's tighter this year for most everyone, so why not "Let your ART work for YOU" now and join us in our innovative online market, MMCA Marketplace. Wouldn't it be great to be a part of this & let us showcase your art now on our blog & newsletter, as well as in local, regional & national press campaigns?
Are you looking for an easy and affordable venue to sell your original, handcrafted artwork? A place where you do not get lost among the many shops? A place that values quality? No up-front or monthly fees? And unlimited product listings?
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.
We invite you to submit an application to join us and upon approval, we simply charge 20% commission on your SOLD artwork!

http://www.mmcamarketplace.com/application.html

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at market@mmcamarketplace.com

www.mmcamarketplace.com/shops_Carrie_Todd.html

These are a few.....of my favorite people!!

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

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??

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!!

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

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

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

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

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

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