Creative (Cat)

Burlap Candy-Corn Bunting

2011-10-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

I think that bunting makes everything so festive. Last year, I started this craft, and never quite finished it...Until now! A year later!

This was super-duper simple: Acrylic paint, burlap, and ribbon. I cut the triangles, then painted the strips. - Oh - a tip, if you decide to do this, I put the burlap triangle on a piece of wax paper - the paint will soak through. The candy corns will peel off the wax paper very easily when dry.

When the candy corns were finally ready, I sewed them to this cute ribbon. Well, let me actually admit: my friend Hillary sewed the candy corns onto the ribbon. After she finished it for me, we hung it up...So cute!

I'm so excited for Halloween crafts. What are you working on?

RIP SDR - A work in Progress

2011-09-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Heck, I'm not even mad; that's amazing.

I'm making this painting for my dad...

But the truth is, it's for Sean-o. My little brother loved loved the anchorman. I don't know why I didn't think of making this for him when he was still alive - when he could have appreciated it. Now I'm making it in Sean's memory. My dad has a few other things that remind him of Sean, and this will go with them.

My dad says that he doesn't want to make a "shrine" to Sean. I say, why not!? Grieve how you must grieve! You lost a son. My brother died in a freak accident a little over three months ago. He was 18. He had graduated from high school only a week before. He was set to go to Villanova, my dad's alma mater. How tough would it be, to experience the death of a child? I don't know. I haven't experienced it, and in such a tragic way...So, go ahead dad, do what you need to do. I'll help.

And this painting is a part of it. But, I guess it is, in a way, how I'm trying to heal, too. I was 14 years older than my brother - we weren't all that close. Time and distance. I loved him, he was my little brother, but I didn't get to see him very often. When we were together, we'd joke about things like Anchorman and whatever else. We were all united by the love of my father - so we'd play basketball, feed the seagulls (I'd always throw the bread right over Sean. I think that every single time we went to feed the seagulls, he got pooped on! Fun for me, not so much for him), we'd go on Candy Carries, play random games (like ring on a string), go to the arcades, etc.

Mostly, since Sean's death, I've experienced regret - that I didn't get to know him better. When my dad asked me to make the picture of Ron Burgundy, I was happy that he thought of me. However, since I've been painting it, I realize that this is something I should have done years ago. I hope that Sean forgives me for not being the best older sibling. I hope that I can be better to my other siblings. I hate learning lessons the hard way.

This painting is still a work in progress. I'll update it here when I'm done.

Poetry Prompt - Free write

2011-09-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

So, today, I'm finally getting around to the following poetry prompt:

"Choose a page from a book, a magazine, or a newspaper and make a list of the nouns mentioned. Using free association, jot down a new noun for each noun in your first list. Using the second list of nouns, write a poem. "

The Book that I have is the one that's sitting right next to me, The Consuming Instinct, by Gad Saad...page 222

Nouns on the page - My new nouns

Women Mothers

Myanmar Jeopardy (strange, I know, but there is a commercial in Jeopardy that is for the New York Times, and they mention Myanmar in it...

Neck Nefertiti - for some reason I just keep seeing the image of Nefertiti in my mind's eye when I think of "neck"

Women Queens

Nigeria Africa

bodies People

Women People

Binding Snowboard - Thjngs take a change here...mainly when I think of a binding, I think of the fact that the binding on my snowboard had a screw loose. I would have to make sure to bring a screwdriver with me snowboarding so I could tighten my binding periodically throughout the day.

Facets abilities

Beauty Face

Fact Evidence

Others Outsiders

Lip Plates National Geographic

Marker Crayola

Beauty Ideal

Some Others

Premium Price

Looks Traits

Practice Doctor

Cultures Social Studies Class

Men Pete

Men Football

West Africa Ivory

Instance Time

Rite Drugstore

Element Skateboard

Festival Shakespeare

Men Strength

Faces Head

Papua New Guinea The Godfather

Men Tuxedo

Men Hair

Rite Acme

Men Voice

Metrosexuals Crabs

Societies Mobsters

Premium Printer

Beauty Make-up

Instances Happenings

Rituals Catholocism

beauty Magazine

Status Cadillac Escalade

Rite of passage Driver's license

Ritual Fire

traits Characteristics

Women Girls

status Wealth

metric Yardstick

beauty Shop

mantra Candles

message Bottle

insecurities Worries

individuals People

self-doubts Size

I Me

mate Australia

I Catania

Parent Toddler

I Eye

Lover Bed

Recipe Book

friends Laughter

sex Power

jobs Wal-mart

trader Dad

assuredness Confidence

gurus Restaurant

consumers Idiots

challenges Tribulations

they Those

bookslibrary

There were a lot of nouns on this page. I don't know if I need to include all of these nouns in my poem, but I think that I could think of a train of thought for now:

Mothers

Nefertiti

Africa

Snowboard

Face

Crayola

Price

Traits

Doctor

Pete

Ivory

Football

Time

Drugstore

Skateboard

Shakespeare

Head

The Godfather

Hair

Voice

Mobster

Printer

Make-up

Magazine

Cadillac Escalade

Driver's License

Fire

Girls

Wealth

Yardstick

Shop

Candle

Bottle

Worries

People

Australia

Eye

Bed

Book

Laughter

Power

Dad

Confidence

Idiots

Tribulations

This is going to take a little work on my part...we'll see what I end up with...

Goodbye

2011-08-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today, I am doing an assignment: Prompt: A man and a woman in a room. This is Salina, Kansas. He wears cufflinks on his white shirt, sleeves, a silk tie. She seems preoccupied. She holds a glass in her hand. Write their story in three hundred words. Use the word salvation and the word light. Make on the pair of the central character and construct the story from his or her point of view.

So...here's what i wrote. Keep in mind, I did it in about 30 minutes. There is only a slight and almost negligent amount of revising or refining. But that defeats the purpose for right now - which is to learn to flex our creative muscles.

Good! Bye.
I hate that all they have is water. If I hold this glass and pretend that it's a Bloody Mary, will I get the placebo effect of alcohol? Can't the grieveing family get a break and be allowed to drink a little?

I lean over to my brother, his cuff-link glittering in the low lights of the funeral home.

"Bill, you are looking good. How are you doing it?"
"Will" he corects. I haven't called him Bill in 15 years. I have no idea how I goofed up... In October of 1995, Bill became Will and announced that he was gay to our parents. Mom cried. Dad stood up, went outside, and started working on a Mustang that he was restoring. There was no hope for salvation, so Bill left Kansas forever.
"I'm sorry," I say, "I don't know how that even came out of my mouth." I had never been on bad terms with Will. in fact, Henry and I had visited Will in Provincetown several times. We shared the burden of being black sheep: disappointments. Mom and dad put all their hopes on us - sending me to dance camps and academies. It paid off more than they expected. Now, my baby is my studio, but it doesn't seem to make an acceptable grandchild.

They put Bill in football, and he was great. But playing sports doesn't necessarily ensure heterosexuality.

And now, Bill, Will, I can't get his name straight, and I stand here, over my dad's coffin, a place I thought I'd have no issue with, crying. I'm crying over fights, now lost only to death, crying over misunderstandings, assumptions, and resentment. Crying over good stuff, too: new bikes at Christmas and being rich in a small midwestern town. I'm crying over Fishing trips and listening to Johnny Cash. I'm crying because he died without any hope of children who go to Church, and grandchildren that make cookies with Mom; He died without seeing me dance in New York. I'm crying because none of us understood each other, so we remained frustrated, and now, there is nothing else we feel.

**
Remember, this was a freewrite. What do you think of it?

Vero Beach, FL (free write)

2011-08-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Vero Beach, FL
6AM
In my bed.

Outside, a route.
Twenty steps from front porch,
half a mile on asphalt,
passing homes -
sporadically inhabited.
Luxe expanses
facing slept-through sunrises.

6:12 AM
Whip my body onto left side.
Try to forget the

Crash,
Screech,
Waves and gulls.
A friendly hello.
Magenta clouds promise
A delight.

6:26AM
My eyes won't open. Too sluggish
for the

Two sandy miles,
Running close enough to get shoes
wet. Fighting the deep
sand, dunes
grass lilting in morning breeze.

6:50 AM
I keep sleeping.
Shades closed.

The sun is up,
Ocean glitters.

6:51AM
I lie in dark room.
Covers up to chin.
Pretending that I'm not upset
at myself to be missing

A scuttling crab,
Pelican gulping the day's first catch,
Porcelain sand dollar, only a quarter
inch-thick,
Not yet shattered.

7:02 AM
I haven't run.
I haven't slept.
I have wasted the morning.

A foaming sea, and warm sunrise:
constant miracle.

7:03 AM
I whip back over to my right
side, clutching pillow.

International Art Competition

2011-07-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

So...Recently I heard about the Ninth International Art Competition. I really want to submit artwork for it.

The theme for this year is

"Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people." - Doctrine and Covenants 65:4

So, I've got a few ideas brewing in my head, and I figure that I'm going to give the art competition a whirl...I think that the theme is pretty interesting, and I've decided to approach the whole project prayerfully - as I truly want to create something good. I figure - worst case scenario, I have a nice new piece of artwork that expresses my testimony.

finished pocketbook...and something else

2011-07-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

First of all, I finished my little granny square pocketbook. It turned out so perfect...I had a friend make a lining for it. I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but it was sooooo cute! I want to make another one for myself. I'd love to make more - if people wanted to buy them...It was so much fun.

I was so happy to give the purse to the recipient. It is so nice to give good gifts - especially to good receivers of gifts. Seriously, though. Some people are so easy to give gifts to because they seem happy and excited about the gift. I hope to be better at this. Even if I don't like the gift, It really is the thought that counts, and I can at least be better at showing my appreciation to someone who cares enough to give me a gift.

anyways...it is done, and now out of my house, and on to new projects!

***
In other news, I sent my query letter and submission...So, now I have to wait a little while (at least 8 weeks or so) to hear if I am awesome or sucky.

working working working

2011-07-14T20:07:00.001-07:00

i forget how much fun being creative and writing can be. I love using my brain. i'm working on all sorts of projects. It is a lot of fun. Most of them are writing projects.

In fact, in order to be more creative, I've been trying to do some streamlining - which has been harder than I expected, but also pretty liberating.

Anyways - I've been working on a screenplay...have you ever done one? Any tips? If so, please let me know.

In craft-related news, I'm working on a little granny-square pocketbook for a young friend of mine.
Kind of like this one...

Pretty exciting...

Remember - screenplay help? anyone?!

A Plate of Sunshine

2011-07-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to write - in 500 words or less - about a plate of sunshine. This is an interesting challenge, and I figure that it will have to be a poem so I can qualify.

Of course, I'll have to write for a few minutes to get myself going before I can really write.

A plate of sunshine. hmm...what do you think of when you think a plate of sunshine...
I'm thinking yellow. like yellow summer squash. But I don't want to write about food. Plate just makes me think food. Besides, I'm not sure if I think that summer squash tastes like sunshine. It tastes like squash.

A plate of sunshine. Maybe instead of plate - like a dish - I can think of other definitions of plate:

A thin, flat sheet or strip of metal or other material, typically one used to join or strengthen things or forming part of a machine

a small, flat piece of metal or other material bearing a name or inscription and attached to a door or other object

license plate

a thin, flat organic structure or formation

each of the several rigid pieces of the earth's lithosphere that together make up the earth's surface

Home Plate (baseball)

a piece of lumber laid horizontally along the top of a wall to support the ends of joists or rafters.

a light horseshoe for a racehorse.

a phrase - on one's plate: occupying one's time or energy...You've got a lot on your plate

this has me thinking a lot more. A whole lot more...forget freaking squash...so, I'm going to write a poem - and it will probably be a cinq cinquain, and this poem will be all about what's on the plate of a woman like me - being a daughter, sister, wife, mother. There is so much to be inspired by...And even the toughest things can end up being like a plate of sunshine.

Wrote again

2011-07-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

I really love writing! I'm not sharing what I wrote with you right now (no time...and I don't want to), but I just want to say that I love writing. I love how at first there is nothing, then there is something. I love discovering where the story goes. I love getting to know these characters.

Do you ever write? If so, I have a question, do you find that your characters are relatively autobiographical? I have one character that is particularly autobiographical, but a little different...I'm not exactly sure what I think of this. I mean, in some ways, I feel like I'm cheating..But at the same time, that is just the way this character is. I'm hoping that soon she'll seem less like me and more like her own person. I guess I have to get to know her, and right now I'm probably still a little bit in the discovery phase.

What do you think?

On a Roll

2011-07-06T08:41:00.001-07:00

So...We've shaken a few things up at home, and for two days in a row I've written in the evenings.

I had nearly forgotten how refreshing it is to write. It is also a little frustrating at times (since most of what I've been writing isn't really that great), but I feel super happy about the fact that I've written for two nights in a row.

Prompt - Why would an engineer eat once a day only?

It's really funny that I came across this prompt because only a few days ago "the don" had mentioned to me that he wished he only had to eat one meal a day - and that he could just somehow skip the rest.

Can you imagine that? Not me...no way. I love food.

Why would an engineer eat only once a day? Perhaps he's lost the will to live.
Maybe he's trying to develop a pill a la George Jetson.
Maybe he's on a hunger strike.
Perhaps he's muslim and it's Ramadan.

I don't know why an engineer eat only once a day. I don't want to even imagine it, either...I guess. I can only figure that he's crazy. And you know what...I just found myself assuming that this is a man that would be an engineer who would choose to eat only once in a day.

Why didn't I think it was a female? Is it because the person is an "engineer"? Did I just assume that all engineers are men? Or is it because he/she refuses to eat more than once a day?

You know, here's another assumption: that the engineer has refused to eat any other time of the day. Perhaps he's in prison. Maybe it is his only opportunity. Perhaps he has decided to give up on the corporate world and go live in the wild somewhere, and because he's an engineer, he's spent so much of his/her time inside buildings, pushing pencils, that he/she doesn't have much of a connection with nature. He/she has confused his/her natural brilliance at engineering with the ability to live off the land, and now has difficulty scrounging up enough food to make up a single meal a day.

There are so many options. So many variables...

The sci-fi engingeer
Bob. He doesn't like life much. Well, let me take that back. He loves life, in fact, he loves it so much, he has been trying to replicate it - artificially.
He has engineered a robot dog - who pants, and listens to him - without constant feedings and midnight bathroom breaks.

He has engineered a robot wife - who also pants, and listens to him.

He has mastered the world around him - He has remotes for his lights, TV, and fireplace.

But he can't master himself. No matter how hard he tries, he is still so human.

So...he decides to try to wean himself - from food. Could there be anything more human than the appetite for food?

He arms himself with all of the necessary tools: a blender, vitamins, frozen fruit, and whey. He will no longer eat traditional meals. His plan lasts only one week. He still longs for the sweetness of a pear, the flesh melting in his mouth, juice dripping from his chin. He yearns for the savory melt of blue cheese, that is heaped upon a steak, rare in the center, but crispy on the outside. He misses chocolate, limes, cheetos, and bread. He misses chewing.

So...he decides upon the next best solution: He will eat one meal a day. The rest will be sipped.

And each night, he savors each bite more, the crisp crunch of lettuce, more joyous than a thousand kisses. Dinner now consists of appetizer, salad, soup, main course, and dessert. Instead of a few minutes in front of a TV, he is the mindful mangiatore. The meal, originally meant to only last minutes, takes an hour. An hour and a half. Hours...What he originally disdained as a lack of efficiency has become his obsession.

***
I'm hungry.

Back (again)

2011-07-04T19:27:00.001-07:00

Well...just as I got back on the (proverbial) horse, I got bucked off again.

Two days after my last post, my little brother passed away. So, there was an impromptu trip to Boston, then I had strep throat, and now I'm finally feeling like I can get back to life. It has been a pretty long month. (not looking for sympathy, I promise - that's just what's going on).

On a positive note, I read a book that has been challenging my thinking. I can't say that I am totally into this dude's philosophy, but I am definitely thinking, and I'm feeling like I need to find a way to do more of what I want to do rather than what I feel like I'm supposed to do.

All of this goes hand in hand with creativity. I feel like if I can purge some of the crap in my life, then I'll be doing more of what I want to do because I won't feel so overwhelmed by all of the stuff I'm not doing.

Being overwhelmed = stifled creativity.

That's the way it goes

2011-06-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

So...today, I was determined to be creative for 15 minutes. Well, actually I wasn't really going to be creative, but I wanted to work on writing a query letter.

(yes, a query letter).

Before I get into the query-ing, have you ever written a query letter? Any advice? I've never done this.

So - anyways...I started writing a query letter for my book*. I found a few examples of query letters online, I checked the requirements and suggestions at Deseret Book, and then I started to write...Here's what I've got so far:

June 9, 2011
Subject: Submission Request

***
(That's it)

(BOOYAH!)

It's not that I'm trying to put it off or anything. It's just as soon as I sat down to write it, and then collected my thoughts, Sonny woke up, which woke up Connie (connie is a boy in my family) and he needed to be fed. Sonny needed to make tinkles. Fredo and Michael wanted S'mores. By then the laundry needed to be changed, I needed a snack, Then I worked out...next up dinner, then bedtime...Then maybe back to the query.

*my book - a guide on studying the scriptures - especially for mom's.

-------------
Update: I wrote the rough draft of the query. I'll sit on it a few days, tweak it, sit on it again...Then get someone else to check it out, revise, and send off....crazy.

A New Direction and a Commission

2011-06-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

A New Direction
Things have been a little crazy lately. Well, not really crazy like - exciting crazy, but crazy-I-spend-a-lot-of-time-sitting-on-the-couch-nursing-Crazy...And when I'm not sitting on the couch nursing, I'm chasing my two year old who is in the throes of potty training.

I think about my art room. My blog. My ideas. My creativity. And I wonder, where did it go?! What am I doing?

The last few months I've been asking those questions about every part of my life (my body - where did it go?!) I've realized / remembered what life is like with an infant and a toddler, and I've come to the conclusion that I need to re-visit my expectations.

So...first I was thinking that I should bag all of my projects. But the idea of bagging my projects makes me feel more depressed than the pile of projects I have started or want to do does. I know that I need to have a creative outlet. It helps me to feel happy and meaningful.

So...here's the new direction, and I think that the blog will be helpful. I'm going to spend 15 minutes a day being creative - it may be by reading/critiquing a poem. It may be by fleshing out an idea. It may be by sketching. It may be by gardening, baking a new kind of bread, or teaching my children something. I don't know exactly what I'll do, but I know that I need to exercise my "creative muscles" daily...

I hope to post here about the creative adventures I (want) to have. If anything, posting regularly will make me be accountable.

***
A Commission
Recently a friend of mine asked me to make a painting...here it is.

Brandon Flowers

The quality of the photo isn't great. In real life the colors are better, but I'm not really the best photographer, and I didn't have the patience to wait until there was better light, but you get the idea.

I was just excited to be commissioned to make a painting...fun!

david bowie

2011-04-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

So...I made this painting...

I really love David Bowie...and who doesn't, right? My favorite song is "Golden Years." But I also love "Fame" and "Life on Mars" and...yea...he's just rad.

So, this is my version of Bowie. And this is a super rad quote of his I found in some rock and roll quote book.

I painted this for a friend, and I'm excited to finally send it!!!

(The funny thing...whenever I worked on it, I'd start by having "Starman" in my head. Then, I would always eventually start thinking of Flight of the Conchords:

It doesn't hurt to do something absolutely outrageous.

Steve Zissou

2011-04-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

I thought that it would be fun to make a painting of one of my favorite quotes. Originally, I was just going to embroider the quote, but then I realized it would be faster to paint Bill Murray's head.

Do you like?

I've got another really awesome idea in the works - it is for a friend. I'll give you a hint: Bowie...so excited.

Valentine's Day - Crocheted Heart Garland

2011-02-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

It's Valentine's Day, and I made a little garland for fun. I have a few other ideas, and they won't be ready for today, but if I finish them, then they'll be ready for next year. (See, I'm not late, I'm just a year early!)...

Anyway - here is the garland.

Happy Valentine's Day

I had fun making these. They remind me of conversation hearts. Maybe I'll embroider some messages on them.

You can find the pattern for these hearts here. I connected the parts to a knit i-cord.

I love how this garland has the hearts so close. Maybe I'll have to redo mine so there isn't so much space. We'll see.

Happy hearts day.

lately

2011-02-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about the whole "blogging" thing...While I enjoy reading other people's blogs, I'm not sure if I'll keep this one up or not. I have my Mormon blog that I keep up religiously! hahahaha! But as far as this blog, I'm not totally sure the direction I want to take it.

I'll be thinking about it for a while.

In the meantime, I'll post about what I've been up to lately:
The Baby.

So, I've been creative...for sure.

Oh - and I really have been creative, too. I've been working on some other projects. I am nearly done with a really cute Valentine's day Bunting/Garland. And I've got some other ideas.

I also think that 2011 will be the "year of the finished project."

So - we'll keep blogging for a bit. We'll just see how it goes.

Glitter frames - another christmas craft

2010-12-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

So...I have had a few Christmas cards sitting around for a while - These were just such pretty Christmas cards, I couldn't bear to throw them away, but I never knew what to do with them, either.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning up, and I noticed a ton of old (somewhat cheap) picture frames that I had lying around, and that's when I realized my solution: I would frame the Christmas cards, and they would become part of my favorite Christmas decorations!

Of course, these frames were in less than perfect shape. That is why they had been set aside, of course. None of them matched, either. And while I'm not the most matchy-matchy of people, I thought it would be nice for the Christmas frames to be cohesive in some way.

So, I went to the craft store - thinking I'd like to cover the frames with Gold-leaf. When I started checking it all out, I was having a hard time deciding to spend the money on doing it. I mean, I have so much craft crap, I should be able to figure out something that wouldn't cost me more money.

That's when I realized, I'd cover the frames with Glitter!!!

Angel in a Silver Frame

Recently, I found out that, with a few coats of polyurethane, I'd be able to seal the glitter in such a way that it wouldn't spread all over the place. So...I got out the glue, the glitter, and started sprinkling away.

A Gold Glitter Frame...do you see why I didn't want to toss these cards?!

Red glitter Frame

So...scrounge up some old (or cheap frames), glue, glitter, and a little polyurethane spray coat, and then make yourself some nice Christmas frames.

Are you having a fun Christmas yet?

Glitter Nutcrackers - a craft for Christmas

2010-12-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

How awesome is this dude?

Glittery Nutcracker

I bought some wooden Nutcrackers at Hobby Lobby the other day. I was excited about them because as soon as I saw them, I knew that I wanted to completely cover them with glitter.

Sparkly...yet tough

So - I bought a six pack (I've finished only two so far). I got my glue, glitter, and started sprinkling away.

Shinnnnyyyy!

I used Martha Stewart glitter. Martha Stewart glitter is probably one of my favorite things in the world. There are so many shades, and I love how fine the glitter is.

So - think about covering something with glitter...and if you hate getting glitter everywhere, then rest easy, simply spray a few coats of polyurethane coating over the craft when it is done, and then the glitter doesn't spread!!!

3 more paintings for Christmas

2010-12-09T11:32:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been pretty busy...Christmas is coming, and I want to get a few hand-made Christmas presents out. I decided to make three more paintings for a few people.

I'm upset that I haven't been painting as much, but grateful that Christmas gave me the motivation to get some stuff done. I think that I'll have a few more things that I'll be doing soon.

Purple

So - this painting is an abstract painting. It was fun to make. The picture quality is horrible - I took it with my cell phone. Oh well. This is just a small painting, but I'm hoping that it will bring a little beauty to the corner of the room that it resides.

Blue Door

This is another horrible picture. Again, it's a cell phone pic. Again, this painting is also small (6"x6"). I really like doors. I like windows, too.

Circles

This is just a fun abstract. I like the colors. I like the circles. They are kind of fun, but there is still a sense of order. I feel like it adequately represents the person for whom I made this painting.

So - a few artsy things. fun.

Grapes and Sun

2010-11-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

So...I managed to do a painting today. It's horrible that I haven't painted in a while.

So...I don't have much of an excuse on why I haven't painted in a while. Luckily, Christmas is coming up, and there are a few paintings I want to make for people. This one is going out to someone very special.

I can tell I haven't painted in a while because I was feeling a little timid and unsure about some parts of the painting - like the background...I hope that it is okay nonetheless.

It is nice to paint again, though. I Really need to keep it up.

Pumpkin-head Ghoulies

2010-10-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

New Halloween garland...spooky!

Well, I finally finished up another Halloween craft. Halloween is probably one of my favorite holidays. (Obviously, I also love Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's...etc.)

I especially love holidays now that I have kids who are old enough to enjoy them with me. So, we've been making crafts.

I was inspired by a few items for sale on etsy. Sometimes, I buy stuff from Etsy. Other times, I kind of check out cool ideas and then try to recreate them. This time, I did the latter.

I found these little pumpkin-head guys, and thought I could make something similar. So, here's what I made:

Pumpkin Head Ghoulie

The pumpkins were created with a ball of foil, some polymer clay, acrylic paint, pearl-ex and varnish. I think that they turned out great. In fact, I think that I want to make some big pumpkins. I love the way the pearl-ex looks. It is hard to tell in the photo, but they are shiny with a metallic sheen.

I then hot glued some black burlap for his hood, and finished it all off with a cute orange ribbon.

The beads - I found in the Christmas(!) section at Hobby Lobby. They were black, and perfect for this project.

The things that makes me happiest about these pumpkin heads was that - I only spent about 5 bucks on supplies. Instead of getting supplies for some new project (and add to my insane amount of art/craft supplies, I used what I had (polymer clay, ribbon, pearl-ex, paint.) so - yay!

Spooky...Scary... (a cool Halloween Idea)

2010-09-16T15:24:00.001-07:00

I hope I didn't get your warewolf bar-mitzvah hopes up...

We are starting to think about Halloween. As I was cleaning the house yesterday, and noticing pictures, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to make spooky portraits...

If looks could kill.

So, I have a lot of old family pictures, and although those would be great, I thought that it may be fun to have some Old-looking pictures of the kiddos. We're going to replace our usual pictures for these this month.

It's impossible to make a baby look scary, spooky, or zombie-like.

So, the girls and I had fun getting dressed up, and stepping outside to snap a few pictures.

I'm amazed at her ability to look nearly dead.

We thought curls, pearls, and roses would be nice touches.

It turns out this is totally easy to do. Get dressed up. Go outside. Snap a few pictures. Fiddle around with the pictures (I don't have any special photo-editing software). I was able to do the changes with my Microsoft Picture viewer edits - no big deal. I'm sure that if you have something better you'll get some way awesome-r pictures!

Play with the angle of your pictures for added effect.

The girls and I had a lot of fun with this. I uploaded the pictures to a photo-ordering site, ordered some prints, and they are on their way. I'll probably pick up a few frames and mats. These will be fun to hang year after year.

I Promise I'm not Lazy

2010-09-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of clicking of needles the past few days/weeks...

A bag that I've been planning on making for about 2 years...

A last minute baby-gift.

Well...I haven't posted in a while, but I have been working!

It has cooled down, and I've gotten into the needle-work spirit. Do I call it needle work? I mean knitting and crocheting, although I do still have an embroidery project I'm working on.

Mostly, I've been thinking about Christmas. I want to make a few Christmas gifts, and I know that in order to get them done I need to start now.

I'm not all that sure what I'll be making yet, but I figured I'd finish up this knit bag first.

Cable Knit Bag

I still need to block it. I really wanted to get it done because it was on a set of needles that I needed for another project (long overdue mittens for my bro). Anyways, I like how it turned out. Although, this has a lot of give. I mean, it really stretches! I didn't use the same yarn as suggested, and I didn't check the gauge (should I admit that?!), I just wanted to make the bag.

But It may be a perfect bag for all of my knitting stuff. Who knows? I tried holding a notebook in it on Sunday, but I didn't like how that was putting so much stress on some of the stitches. I want this bag to last a while. We'll see what happens.

And for another project...

Granny Square Baby Blanket

A friend just had a baby girl. I wanted to make her something really quickly. I also didn't want to go and buy more yarn (shhh....). It's just that I have so much already. So I looked through my stash, and I found this purple yarn.

It doesn't feel very baby-ish, but I really like it anyway! I decided to make a giant granny square because I didn't have any patterns or other ideas that I particularly liked.

So, I just started crocheting. After a while, the purple yarn was gone - which led me to another problem...(No more matching yarn, and the blanket was way too small). So I did end up buying another skein of yarn to finish the project. I just bought some yarn, and finished the project up. I was a little worried about the color at first, but I really like it. Even though the blanket doesn't seem baby-ish (as in it isn't pastel), I think that it looks good. In fact, I think that I may make a bigger one of these...We'll see.

Get inspired

2010-08-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

So...I'm not trying to be preachy here or anything, but I've been listening to some podcasts on my Church's website. They have an entire series all about being creative. Don't you love that? I have to say that's one of my favorite parts about being Mormon - we are encouraged to learn more about our entire world and we are also encouraged to be creative.

Anyway - this is an excellent series. They talk about creativity in every aspect. There are tons of interviews and discussions.

You can find out more and listen to podcasts here.

Have fun...Be creative.

***
Oh...by the way...I know it may seem like I haven't been all that creative lately. And in some ways I haven't. School starts in just a few days, and as much as I really love having my little ones around, I'm also looking forward to a few free hours every day when I can play again. :)

Summer-time Projects with the Kids

2010-07-28T17:27:00.001-07:00

Well...it's summer-time. I've been trying to do my best to be sure that the kids are only marginally bored. So, we've been working on a few little artsy-craftsy things. We decided to enter them into a contest being hosted by my church.

Embroidery by Kid A

My first little one, Kid A, did this little embroidery. She is going to send it in to enter a little contest. This is the first time that she's tried embroidery, and she was so excited to do it. She made the design all on her own, and she even finished the piece by attaching fabric to the back. It was good to see her learn something new. Kid A also has a tendancy to start projects but never finish them (I have no idea where she got that), so I was happy to see that this one was completed.

Tissue Paper Collage by Kid B

Because Kid A was doing embroidery, Kid B wanted to join in the fun. However, Kid B is only 7 and hasn't voluntarily touched a needle before. (She's afraid of them). I know that soon she'll be fine to start, but I didn't want to deal with teaching both of them at the same time. Plus, the deadline for the contest is the 31st, and I knew that it would be better for Kid B to do something more realistic.

She didn't really bite.

So, to appease her, I told her if she did a project - other than embroidery - for the contest, then I'd teach her to do embroidery, and we'd do a special project for her room. When I reminded her that she won't get whatever she submitted to the contest back from it, she quickly obliged. (I consider this persuasion, not manipulation...;)

Creating with the kids is fun. I like to teach them new things. It is interesting to see how they create. And, I think I could probably learn a thing or two from them.

My Newest Project

2010-07-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

I should be done with this at the end of January.

So...in some ways I haven't been feeling super creative. I've been tired. A little sick. And tired. Of course, I have to remind myself, I'm being super-creative right now - even in my sleep.

Anyway. This is my announcement to the bloggy-world that I'm pregnant. I promise I won't make this blog really pukey and baby like. (Really, you don't have to worry. This is my fourth, and you haven't heard tons about my kids yet). I just wanted to post this because it makes me feel like I'm up to something when I feel too tired to be up to anything.

I am Excited

2010-07-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Woodpecker

We see these Pileated Woodpeckers in our backyard all the time. I think that they are my husband's favorite birds. I hope so, anyway, because I just bought this print for him! (It's a good thing he never reads this blog.)

These birds are amazing. They are huge - as big as crows, at least. And they are black and white, with the most striking red crests. I love them! So, now we will have one for our walls - all in the name of my husband's birthday.

Oh, and I should tell you to check out Anna See's Shop. There are so many other good things available.

Tutorial: How to Frame a picture with Glazier Points

2010-07-15T14:06:00.001-07:00

Remember the Chair Series I started last year?

Well, first of all, it isn't done. I have four more to paint, which I will in the next few weeks/months. I loved painting them, and I want to finish them. The other five have been sitting, happily, on this ledge in the landing of my stairwell.

I was at hobby lobby the other day, and frames were 50-80% off. I decided to take advantage of the deal and buy five frames. I bought open-back frames, which have always intrigued/scared me. I also asked someone in the framing department for some help. He showed me to the Glazier Points. I had no idea what to do, and I asked him how I was supposed to use them. He said, "Use a screwdriver."

In other words, he was of little/no help at all. Other than showing me the glazier points, he was kind of a bum.

So, today, I tried to frame my paintings, and it was difficult. First, I found this helpful-ish video.

I thought that it also might be nice for me to include a little bit of a tutorial, too. (Sorry for the incredibly long, boring intro).

1. Gather materials

For this project, you will need

A print or picture to frame. I am framing the pictures I painted on 8"x10" canvas panels. Because I'm framing a painting, I'm not using glass. I also don't need any cardboard or foamcore backing. If you frame a print, you may also want to get some glass, a mat, and some cardboard or foamcore.

A Picture Frame...Duh...make sure that it is the right size!

Glazier Points

Sawtooth Picture Hangers or some other way to hang the picture

A screwdriver

A Hammer

Another good idea is to do this on a sturdy table that is next to a wall.

Secure the Picture Hanger

I chose simple sawtooth picture hangers. They are really easy to insert.

Figure out where you want the picture hangers to be inserted.

Press firmly to make an imprint. The picture hangers will not be attached.

Use your hammer to gently, and securely, drive the picture hanger into the frame.

Insert Glazier Points

Take a Glazier point, and put it flat side down against your painting. Place it so that the pointed end is against the edge of the frame.

Secure Glazier Points

Place your flathead screwdriver against the Glazier Point. You can use your screwdriver to hold the Glazier point into place. It is also nice to press firmly so it doesn't slide all around the place.

Carefully drive the glazier point into the frame by hammering into the screwdriver. If the glazier point bends (which can happen), start over with a new glazier point.
Note: I find that it is easier to do this if the Frame is pushed up against the wall.

Repeat this process again and again, until picture is secure. You will need to place glazier points around the frame - 4"-6" apart. For the 8"x10" frame, I used 6 glazier points.

Ta-da!

Your picture is framed. You can now hang it where you'd like.

Just so you know - this isn't the prettiest framing job. You can do things like tape Kraft paper to the back of the frame to hide the mess. Whatever you want. I haven't included instructions for that here because I'm lazy.

Now my Chairs sit, even more happily, on the ledge while I paint the rest.

Embroidery progress

2010-07-13T12:17:00.001-07:00

I'm finally making progress on an embroidery project...

Four years ago, I took a picture of this.

Two months ago I made a few sketches.

Now, I'm finally stitching away.

I'm a total beginner, but here are a few fun stitches.

So, I've got a lot to learn. First of all, I've realized that I need to get my hands on a transfer pencil. There is a good tutorial on how to use one here. In my current embroidery pattern, I did the old school - tape the paper to a window and then trace trick.

I had these horrible fabric pencils which are probably better suited for making a small mark here or there when sewing. They are less than ideal for transferring patterns. I was getting frustrated with them, and I didn't want to go to the store, so I just found a washable crayola marker in my daughter's craft bin. I doubt it was the best idea, but I figured that the marker was washable and I was impatient.

I'm also noticing that I don't know much more than backstitch, chain stitch, french knot, lazy daisy, and blanket stitch. So, I looked up satin stitch, and I'm experimenting with it. I would like to learn how to embroider effectively.

I also love how embroidery takes time, but not too much time. I feel like whenever I pick it up, I make noticeable progress. I also love how embroidery is cerebral enough to feel busy, but not overly brain-consuming: making it the perfect thing to do as I watch my backlog of Jeapordy episodes on the DVR.

Well, I hope to be done soon!

More Sketching of Faces

2010-07-08T17:28:00.001-07:00

I wasn't all that happy with the sketch that I did the other day. It looked so cartoony. So, I'm practicing. Here are some better ones. Of course, this time, I was looking at pictures as guides. I need all the help I can get.

I started with this lady. She seems cool I guess. I'm trying to draw with fewer lines.

This lady was fun to draw. Drawing with fewer lines means all that is drawn must be more deliberate.

This old dude was kind of tough. I couldn't see half of his face, and I'm not good enough to make stuff up.

The young lady was nice to draw.

And for fun, some non-humaney-stuff.

I like the way that this is going. I need more references, though. I know of a few people who order catalogues because they like the art/photography in them. Do you do this? If so, do you have a suggestion for what kind of catalogue I pick up? Otherwise, how do I start getting a lot of good pictures of different peoples' faces/bodies?

I'm here...new Ideas

2010-07-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

Omni

Okay, so I admit that this picture isn't pretty. In fact, it's kind of cartoon-y, but I'm hoping that soon it won't look that way. Right now, it's just a sketch.

I've just been thinking about the direction I want to take with art. I guess that it bothers me that I'm schizophrenic about art. I'm always thinking about new styles, techniques, and ideas, but I think that it's holding me back.

I've needed to find something that I can get passionate about.

I've noticed that I'm drawn to colors. I'm not very good at doing things that are super realistic. I don't know what I'm trying to say.

Anyways, I came across this artist named Darren. I like how he does figures - they aren't realistic, but not cartoony either. There's plenty of emotion. It feels artistic.

Plus, he's a mormon!

Exciting, huh? So...maybe I'm thinking of concentrating more on making some art based on my passion for religion, too. This won't become a religious blog, but there are definitely some interesting themes that religion conjures, and I think that they may be nice to see visually.

Plus, for the most part, Mormon art makes me want to barf. Not all of it. But a lot of it. So, I'm hoping to try to create a new option that will illustrate these beliefs - and hopely my attempts will be way less ralph-y.

Desert Plant Oil Paintings - Finally Done!

2010-06-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

So...They are finally finished, and hanging on the wall...

I love my paintings, and I'm excited for Mr. L. to see them. Here is a little more about each individual painting. (In case you're dying to know...)

Saguaro

It is easy to love the Saguaro (say sah-WAH-roe) Cactus. I think it is because they are the quintessential cactus. Although, I have to admit, I originally found them to be a bit problematic. When I first moved to AZ, I felt like they were always flipping me off. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Later, I realized, it was because of their no-nonsense, always-flipping-me-off attitude that I began to love them so much.

Prickly Pear with Fruit

I have always loved the color of the fruit of the prickly pear. Obviously, when painting this, I decided that it needed to be fruit-bearing. I have to admit, I've never actually eaten it. Is that horrible? Painting this one was especially fun - adding the texture to each needle (and mound around it). I also love the color blue, so the sky was especially fun, too.

Ocotillo

I'm still not totally keen on the color of the rose-ish section of this picture, but since this painting is grouped with the other three, I don't mind it.

I had a lot of fun blobbing (a technical term) on all of the green leaves.

Also, I found a random picture of my grandpa standing next to an Ocotillo...

Grandpa and the Ocotillo

He wasn't all that politically correct, and he called this a "wife-beater" bush. I'm glad that he's my grandpa, and not my husband.

Agave

Finally, the Agave. I love the colors of this painting. I also love the movement in the leaves. This, like the rest, was so much fun to paint.

***

So - I'm done! They hang, proudly, in my bedroom. I now live in the forest, and far away from the desert. I love it here, and I'm also happy to have my little homage to the short time I lived in the desert.

Little ideas

2010-05-24T13:26:00.001-07:00

I've been in the mood for a while to do embroidery, but I haven't gotten around to it.

Mostly, I'm totally inspired my so many great needleworkers (see here and here - just to name two...there are so many more). I also REALLY want to make some pillows for my new red couch. I've decided on making a cathedral pillow, but I haven't started. I also decided I'd embroider a few cute designs for pillows.

So, last night, I finally sat down and started sketching.

Here are a few hints:

Inspiration

I'm still working out the sketch, and I hope to start the embroidery tonight. I like this idea, though. I think that it may turn out to be the perfect start.

Yellow (A Painting for ...)

2010-05-21T15:08:00.001-07:00

This is finally dry...

Bits of Red

Bits of Blue

I started this painting a little while ago. It was in my mind for about 2-3 months. In my brain it looked drastically different. I'm not sure if I'll be able to paint what was in my head or not.

When I started sketching what was in my head, I got more and more frustrated. It wasn't the direction I wanted to go - at all.

I wanted to make a painting for one of my old friends. For some reason, she has always reminded me of the color yellow. I mentioned a little about that in this post. Most of my memories with her take place in the summer. We went to the beach a lot - which also makes me feel yellow (and blue...) Anyways. I've always thought of yellow when I think of her, and I just wanted to make a yellow painting.

But it needed to be interesting, too.

Anyways...it's done.
Yay!

I painted this with oils. I'm always amazed at how much technique is required by oils - even when doing an abstract painting. This was a lot of fun to do.

arkie land

2010-05-21T08:04:00.001-07:00

I really like living in Arkie-land. It still feels really cold to me (my blood isn't thick yet from those 2 years in AZ), but it is beautiful out here.

Today, in my front flower garden was a little butterfly.

Do you know what kind of Butterfly this is?

I'm assuming that this little guy was once one of the little caterpillars that were overrunning my life about two-weeks ago.

Lately, we've gotten a lot of rain. And I mean torrential rain. Like - we've had tornado watches once a week or so with severe thunderstorms almost every night.

Yesterday, there was supposed to be rain, but it cleared out quickly, and was beautiful. (On the other hand, we did have an earthquake! It was only 2.6, but we were all outside and felt the ground shake. It was bizarre.) Anyway - the rained cleared up, I grilled last night, and it has been sunny all morning.

It is so much fun to get outside here - especially when the weather is nice.

Estate Sale Scores

2010-05-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I went to garage sales. Can you believe - it is the first time I've really done so? I've always wanted to, but I would never commit myself - mostly because I'd be running or doing other things on Saturday mornings.

However, there are tons of garage sales here. I guess that there are everywhere. For the most part, they had junk, but two of the garage sales we (my friend Hillary went with me) went to were actually pretty cool.

At the first really good one, I got a silver pitcher and creamer. I'm not sure if I'll clean them or leave them tarnished. I got them both for 5 bucks! I also got a cool cone to hang on my door - complete with styrofoam and moss. I just need to get some flowers for it.

It's funny, I wanted to make a cone of flowers for my door a while ago, I even went to hobby lobby to buy all of the stuff, but I ended up buying more painting supplies instead. I'm SO glad I waited.

After that sale, we went to an estate sale. Wow. That was interesting. First of all, though - have you ever been to an actual "estate" sale. I just kept wondering, did these people pass away? Have they been put into a home? What happened to them? It seemed a little strange to walk through their house and buy their possessions - especially without them there. I mean, with a garage sale, the owner of the stuff is there. It is understood that they don't want it anymore and are willing to part with it for a small price. But with the estate sale, you walk through their home, wander through each room, get a feeling of their personality and past, but you never see the owners. Instead, the stuff was sold by random people from a random company. In a way I felt bad.

That feeling didn't last long.

Many of the things left for sale (we got to this estate sale pretty late) were silver...silver platters, serving trays, these cute silver lighters (almost made me wish I smoked...or at least used cute lighters. Here is an example of the lighters). I don't know. All of the fine silverware made me think of entertaining - and entertaining properly.

It made me yearn for this fictional past - where women wore dresses and men wore hats. You know? And they all ate with fine silver and from fine china.

Okay...so I totally succumbed to this romantic idea, and bought a full set of silverware (8 place settings) for $30. It seemed like a good price to me.

So now I just need to get some cleaner. And some new dishes. I'll keep you posted. (And if you live close-by, maybe I'll even invite you to dinner - but you'll have to wear a dress.)

Third Year Anniversary Mini Book - Subject One

2010-05-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, here is the first subject divider - featuring my hubby. Yay. Isn't he cute?

Part One

So, for this page, I used some thin cardboard that I got from some kind of packaging. I'm not sure where I got it, but I have a ton stashed up. I glued some Kraft Cardstock to it, and cut out a fun shape. Then, I created my own pattern (on the blue cardstock). I also used Ribbon, eyelets, rhinestones, and buttons. I used white acrylic paint for his name.

For this mini book, I'm planning on using a lot of fun shapes. I like the way chaos looks when it's put together just right.

See the rest of the mini book here.

Third Year Anniversary Mini Book

2010-05-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

It is almost our anniversary...Which means, time for another mini-book.

I actually love making this gift. In some ways, it is probably more for me than for my husband.

The Cover

Inside the front cover (the inside back cover is the same).

The Back Cover

Obviously, this is a work in progress. Soon, I'll have it done...(I better have it done in a week!) Have you ever noticed how time just creeps up on you? I can't believe that it has already been another year.

Anyways, for these covers, I used chipboard, Patterned papers, and some chipboard alphabets.

Click on the following links to see more progress:
Section One (hubby)

Saturday Shopping List

2010-05-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't played this in a while, but I thought I would today...

Bathing House by Colleen Attara

I think that I'd like to stay in the house that says, "Relax"...

Carribean Breeze by Artful Mosaic

I absolutely love this Diptych. I wish I had 550 bucks to spend on this right now. Of course, I'd probably use that money to take a vacation first...These mosaics would be the second best thing.

Going Places by Retrospect Photo

This picture looks like so much fun. I love all of the photos in Retrospect's shop.

May Sunset II by Sharon Schock

This is absolutely beautiful. The painting totally expresses the mood I'm in - or at least the mood I want to be in - on the beach, feeling a slight sea breeze, smelling salty air, sticky with dried ocean water and sand, a little sunburnt, and totally rested.

have fun shopping.

Crochet Granny Square Table-Center Piece

2010-05-06T20:06:00.001-07:00

I don't know what you call it, but I like it.

Little granny squares and scallops on the edge...happy.

I started all of these squares such a long time ago. Then we moved, and they got stashed away in a box. A few weeks ago, I taught a group of young women how to crochet - which forced me to dig through my yarn, needles, and unfinished projects.

I had completely forgotten about all of my little granny squares!

I love this granny square.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the grannies at first, but then it hit me - make a little center-piece. Now that I have a home, I have been in the mood to decorate.

So, I finished up the grannies, then I connected them all, tirelessly wove in ends, and now I have a cute new centerpiece.

Crochet Centerpiece

Now I'm just trying to think of what to put in the jars. Any ideas?

My Creative Space - Almost done

2010-05-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

I now live here. In the forest. And it is really beautiful.

It's funny to be working on a desert plant series when I'm living in the forest. However, there are aspects that I love about each location.

Painting

It is finally getting warmer - and a little humid - here, and I really like it. And soon I'll be done with these paintings. Today, the baby took a three hour nap! So, I did a lot of painting.

For a friend

I put a few finishing touches on this for one of my friends. I think that I like it. I wanted it to be yellow-y. It is funny how even an abstract that looks all messy requires so much technique.

Prickly Pear Fruit

I've also been putting a few finishing touches on the desert plants. They are looking great. They are almost done! I can't wait to hang them up.

Oh - and the best part about painting (well - painting, in and of itself is the best) was that I watched Arrested Development the whole time.

For more creative spaces, head over to Kootoyo.

Way Too Long

2010-05-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been forever. And it has been driving me crazy.

Not only have I been absent from the bloggy-ish world (which isn't that bad of a thing), but I haven't been extra-creative lately.

I don't like that at all!

I've found that when I take time to create, everything slows down. I think better. I'm happier.

Of course, there are times when life happens, and as much as I'd like to slow it down with a painting or craft, I can't manage to find the time to fit anything in.

Then, I start to go a little crazy, I feel unproductive. I feel unhappy.

So...to put an end to that, I'm putting a beginning (again) to creativity. Here's what I've been up to:

Granny liscious

This is a little centerpiece for my dining table. I thought it would be cute to make one out of itty-bitty granny squares. I really like it. All I have to do is weave in the ends. (Good thing I have a few DVDs to watch).

For Sarah

This is a pastel sketch of the painting I'm doing for Sarah. Later this week, I'll post the awesome thing that she sent me. What a fun surprise!!! (To get something so cool in the mail). Anyways, for some reason, Sarah has always reminded me of yellow. I don't know why. It is a good thing, though. Maybe it is because my memories of her include nights tie-dying in the basement, listening to Buddy Guy and Grateful Dead, and going to the beach. Maybe it is because of the awesome plaid pants she'd wear with a navy tank-top and yellow sunglasses. (She donned them WAY before Bono- and they weren't "bug-eyed" either). Anyway, the painting will be shown later.

Like a Star - for Amanda

Here's a pastel sketch of another painting I'm working on - this time for an old roomie and friend from college - Amanda. I haven't talked to her in ages, that is, until FACEBOOK!!! Anyways, I've been super excited to get back in touch with her. She sent me three awesome mix cds. I wanted to send her back a cool painting.

I was thinking of what to make, and then I remembered the raddest David Bowie quote ev-er. I thought that she may like it - since she is a real music lover...so, this is the sketch of the painting - which, also, will be shown later...

Oh, just thinking about getting back to work and finishing up projects makes me so happy...

Springtime

2010-04-07T11:09:00.001-07:00

It rained last night

So, one of my favorite things about living in a house AND springtime has been gardening. I've always had this dream to garden - mostly because I love flowers, herbs, vegetables, etc. I also like getting dirty. And I love flowers. (Did I already mention that?)

So...my favorite flower is probably a Johnny-Jump-Up. (well, I love every flower. but I really really love these.

Smile!

Spring is here!

How can you NOT be happy?

A raindrop on a red viola

Desert Plants and More

2010-03-19T08:21:00.001-07:00

I can't wait to get these finished. Right now they are patiently drying.

Desert plants in a row.

I have had a lot of fun painting these. I still have a few finishing touches that I need to do, but I need the paint to dry a bit before I try to do them. Here they are on their own.

Ocotillo

Originally, the Ocotillo in this painting was going to be bare. After painting it, I was overcome by how menacing it looked. I have to admit, Ocotillos are menacing - or at least menacing looking.

That's when I got it in my head to make it blooming. Plus, I had a lot of leftover green paint from the other cacti. (It had been drying, in the trash, so I picked it out, and it was the perfect texture).

Here's a little information about the Ocotillo - it isn't a cactus. It is actually a type of tree. The spines aren't true needles; they are the stems of the trees' leaves. (crazy, huh?!). Anyways. The Ocotillo does a really good job conserving water. Usually, it looks like a thin stick with giant thorns (which is why it is utterly menacing). However, after it rains, it will quickly sprout leaves and even 1"-2" long red flowers. It is amazing how quickly the leaves come and go.

I had fun painting it. I'm not sure how much I like the rose section on the back of the painting, but it is growing on me - I guess. I was going for more of a magenta, but I couldn't get the color right.

Agave

This is a blurry picture, but it will do for now. I really like the Agave painting. It is amazing how artistic plants are - in and of themselves.

I wish I had some cool information about the Agave plant. When I lived in AZ, we had an Agave right next to our garage. For most of the year it looked a lot like the one I painted (well, it wasn't veriegated, but it was just this mass of long leaves. Then, in the winter/spring it started growing this single long...shoot(?). That started to blossom and flower. It was amazing. Within two weeks it was over six feet tall. Bees loved it. Eventually, the entire plant was dead (who knew that agaves were considered annuals?!). I was overcome by how quickly this flower stalk grew on this plant. It was amazing.

I'm not sure that the verigated agave even grows in AZ, but I liked the look, so that's what I painted. Oh, and I loved painting the spiny edges. Later, I'll do a post that shows it off better.

Prickly Pear

This prickly pear was so much fun to make. I love it's shape, colors, and needles.

There were many homes that had such thick prickly pear plants - they seemed to make a fence around the yard/home. I wish that I knew something interesting and cool about the prickly pear, but I don't.

I have admit, I've seen prickly pear for sale in the store, but I've never eaten it...

Otherwise, I love the colors and texture on this painting.

Saguaro

The Saguaro (say: Sah-WAH-roe) is probably the most famous of cactus. I have to admit, it was awesome living where there were Saguaros everywhere. Did you know that Saguaros can live up to about 150 years old. It usually takes at least 50 years for one to get an "arm." Also, it is illegal to harm a saguaro in any way. There were times when we'd see someone building a house, and they'd have to build around the saguaros. I miss them.

So...this is my Saguaro painting. I think I feel okay about it. Sorry...the picture is blurry.

Here are some other things I'm doing...

Sketchbook Journal

More about this later...

painting with leftover paint.

Red Mountain

I love painting with a pallette knife.

Thanks for stopping by!

Progress

2010-03-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

There is so much progress happening - it is slow, but sure.

Where I paint

I have a place to paint! Even though this space isn't as awesome, organized, or cute as it could be, I'm just happy that it exists. I feel like my art room, in and of itself, is a work in progress.

Inspiration Wall One

So, I've started decorating the art room a little bit. I like the idea of having a wall that is plastered in things I like. So far, I've got pictures of my family, my favorite Art, my favorite photography, etc on this wall. I want to do the same on another wall, but I want it to be more art that is done by people - originals...you know what i mean? But little things like ACEOs or similar. I don't know. I just want to walk into the art room and be really happy.

Slippers

The art room floor is concrete. I love it. But it is COOOOOOOLD. I went out and bought a rug from Target, but I was cheap, and I ended up getting a rug that was way too small. So I returned the rug.

I thought I'd get a bigger rug, and I realized that I'm STILL too cheap to buy it, so I got some slippers instead. I think they are pretty cute.

More Garlands

I'm still going crazy making these garland. They are the perfect little things to do while watching Jeopardy.

Otherwise, I've been working on the desert plant series!!!

Saguaro

There are still finishing touches I need to do on the saguaro, but I really like where it is headed.

I have also begun painting two more.

Agave and Prickly Pear

I'm so excited about this series. They are turning out just the way that I wanted them. I still have another one to start - Ocotillo. I think that the Ocotillo is the baddest of all desert plants. The thorns are longer than the branch itself.

Well...that's the progress I'm making so far. I'm really happy about it all... :)

(see more creative spaces over at kootoyoo's.)

Hearts Garland - How To

2010-03-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

I recently made some Heart Garland for Valentine's day...

Valentine's Day Heart Garland

I know that it's not Valentine's day anymore. In fact, it is almost St. Patti's day. But these Heart Garlands are cute enough to hang any time of the year. I thought that I'd post a "How to" in case anyone is interested.

Heart Garland How To
Materials
♥Polymer clay (like Fimo or Sculpey or similar) in the colors you like.

For this project, I used Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Light Green, Green, Teal, Royal Blue, Fucshia, Purple. (I also added white to get various shades of each color). Do whatever you like!

♥Pearl-ex
♥ Some kind of Glaze to seal the pearl-ex after baking the hearts.
♥Paintbrush (to brush on the pearl-ex and later the sealer)
♥Clay "cookie-cutters" - I don't know what you call them, but they look like cookie cutters for clay. (In hearts, obviously.)

The Method

Work with your clay - to make it pliable, and roll it out until it is in a thin sheet. If you are mixing colors, then knead the colors together until a uniform color is acheived. Then roll out.

When you roll out the clay, press your cutter into the clay. Easy peasy.

Cutting out a purple heart.

After cutting out your clay hearts, place them on a temporary surface (I used a piece of currogated cardboard.

Continue cutting out hearts until you have a desired amount (or until you filled up the peice of cardboard. I made all of my hearts in shifts).

Poke holes in the hearts.

These hearts have been poked. I only made enough hearts to fill the cardboard, then I would poke holes, and dust, bake and repeat...(instructions follow) - The point is, I didn't make all of my hearts at the same time.

Dust the hearts with desired color of Pearl-ex. Since I can't make any decisions, I used a few colors. I think that my favorites were the interference colors. (Interference red, blue, green, gold, and violet - on the corresponding colors of clay).
- This step isn't absolutely necessary. If you don't want pearl-ex, then just skip to the next step

Dusting Pearl-ex on my hearts

Bake in the oven according to manufacturer's directions.

Baking Away

Let the clay cool and then gently loosen in the pan. (Don't break any hearts, ladies!)

Aren't all of these hearts pretty?!

Take the hearts out of the pan, and set them aside - as you continue to make more hearts. (unless you've made enough, then skip to the next step).

I kept all of my hearts separated into color families, so that they'd be easier to string up in order later.

Brush glaze over the hearts - in order to seal the Pearl-ex. Let dry overnight - or according to manufacturer's directions.
- If you skipped the Pearl-ex step, then you can skip this step, too.

Green hearts

String the hearts together. I tied each one together - separately. (does it make sense...if not, then look at the picture). I suppose you could string it like a necklace, but I wanted to make sure that these hung properly. This is a little time consuming, but just put on a good movie, and tie away.
- Hint: Use a needle and very thin crochet thread

Can you see how these were strung together with separate knots?

Hang and enjoy the cuteness!

Heart Garland in our arch

Birdcage

2010-03-02T15:15:00.000-08:00

Today, I decided to make a little something for one of my friends...

Birdcage

It is a lot like this one I sketched a little while ago. I thought that she might like it, so I decided to make it for her for my birthday.

First of all - is it lame and cheap to make art for someone's birthday? I know that I'm not some kind of fine artist...so does that make it a tacky gift? I can't decide. I think that I'd like art from my friends for my birthday, so I have started giving them art. (Friends who haven't gotten art yet...watch out, your birthday is coming, or your birthday present may be late. ;) Well, if you don't like it, then at least you get a frame.

Now - on to the art. I like this. I like drawing with pen and ink. I like the balance between exactness and messiness. I like that it looks hand-drawn. I also like drawing with prismacolor. I bought a piece of Bristol board for this project, so it was especially fun to draw on such a smooth piece of paper. All in all, I'm happy that I'm happy with it.

I also have another birdcage idea in the works - I've had this idea for a while, I just need to get around to doing it.

Oh...I also got 4 canvases today from hobby lobby. I'll be making my desert plant series very very soon...

Sketches

2010-03-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

It is funny how everything gets a little crazy when you move. Things are getting back to normal. I'm trying to get back into the habit of sketching every day again.

I didn't sketch every single day in the last month, but I did sketch a little bit! Here are some of the highlights.

A Building and a Statue in Europe

Well, I like this sketch. These are two sketches from some of the pictures that I took when I was in Germany and France (a few years ago...). I loved the architecture of Europe. I love the beauty of plain old things - like old buildings and windows.

Pen and Ink sketches and a bike

I liked making these sketches, too. I think that I'd like to make a picture of a bike and then put it in my etsy shop. I'm still thinking of what to do in Etsy...not totally sure yet. I also liked the intricate pen-and-ink designs. I think that they would make fun stationery.

Hellebore

It was also fun to sketch this flower. It turned out much better than I thought it would at first. I tried really, really hard to actually take my time. I tend to be a messy and fast sketcher - which can result in good gestural sketches, but I would like to learn to be a little bit slower and more disciplined. I think that it would teach me something.

Man, Boy, Watermelon, and Flower

I really like this old dude I drew. Old men are fun to sketch with a super-soft pencil. The boy, well, I was less committed from the start. He ended up a bit better than where he was headed when I started, but it is still not the best sketch. He looks a bit weird. The watermelon, fun. I love sketching with colored pencil. And the flower, also fun, but I was getting tired, and it was getting harder and harder to draw...

Thanks for checking in. I think that I'm going to be starting up some actual projects soon. I'd like to get some canvases. I also have some more chairs to paint!!! I've got to get cracking on them. More to come later...

Dark Horse Arts and Crafts

2010-02-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

I've been needing spoon rests in a bad way, so I thought I'd check on Etsy. I found the perfect things.

Right away, I noticed the dead armadillo at Dead Horse Arts and Crafts' Shop, and was ready to buy it, but then checked out the rest of the artist's shop...And the artist was having a good deal, so I ended up buying FOUR spoon rests.

Look at these cute guys!

I ended up picking out each a Saguaro (which reminded me of AZ), a Chili pepper (reminding me of Texas), an armadillo (which both reminds me of Texas and also reinforces my current life in Arkansas), and a leaf (reminding me of PA).

I'm so excited about these little dishes.

***

On another note, I've been finding more awesome blogs lately, which makes me continue to wish that I was a fine artist. I want to take classes. I want to learn how to actually paint SOOO much.

Still Life - Two Apples

2010-02-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

Still Life - Two Apples

Well, a few weeks ago we had a church activity where we talked about art. I actually did a part of the presentation - focusing mostly on being creative, keeping a journal, and the joy of the creative process.

Another woman taught about oil painting. (She is an extremeley talented fine artist.) She brought supplies so that the young women could all try it out. They had enough materials for the leaders to try, too!

So, I did a fun little painting. It was the first time for me to paint in months and months. I miss it a lot, and now I'm excited to finally be back to it.

I'm also thinking of putting some stuff in my etsy shop. I've kind of ignored it for a while, but I'm thinking that maybe I could try another approach...we'll see...

Valentine's Garland

2010-02-10T14:30:00.001-08:00

Happy Heart Day

I went to a fun party the other night - where we ate soup and played hearts. The event was fun - in and of itself. I also loved all of the little decorations that were hung throughout the host's house.

Heart Garland

I kind of felt bad because I didn't actually bring anything to the party, so I thought I'd write a little thank you note. Is that weird? Anyways, in addition to the thank-you note, I decided to make this cute heart-garland. It turned out perfectly.

I made the hearts out of polymer clay, and then dusted them lightly with some Pearl-ex. Then, I strung the hearts together to form a garland. I think that it is really cute.

(I'm going to make one for myself next).

Oh - and all of this fun stuff happened: In the art room!

Glitter in the Art Room

While working

Valentine's workshop

I know I don't have a picture of this room cleaned yet - but it is so much easier to keep everything organized and tidy. I'm so excited about this space.

The girls love it, too. They wrote Valentine's for all of the grandparents and mentioned the art room in every single note.

Sketches from the Week

2010-01-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

I'm still doing some sketching.

18 January 2010

I really like the idea of the desert plants. I want for them to be really colorful and brilliant. I have moments when I really miss the desert.

One thing I noticed was how much it changed. You don't think of the desert as changing very much - as the weather is basically the same every single day - sunny and hot.

But the way the light is in the desert, there are times of day when the sun is so bright, it feels like everything is just bleached out. Then, later in the day/evening, when the sun is setting, the colors seem more brilliant. The sky is so blue, and the rocks are mixtures of red and brown. The cacti are shades of silver and green. I want that color and brilliance reflected in these paintings because that is what I loved about living in the desert.

So, I've been doing more thumbnails - playing with composition and color.

Sketches - 24 Jan 2010

I think that I'd also like to get better at making portraits. I still want to find a style. I'm not sure what it is...Of course, before I go trying to discover that, I suppose I need to practice the basics. So, I've been doing a lot more basic sketching. I especially love faces.

I stopped drawing any kind of figure a while ago, and I've been regretting that decision lately. I've been interested in the idea of drawing pictures of old men. And women. Or even middle aged people. I guess what I'm saying is, I want to draw pictures of real people. I want people with wrinkles, scars, and imperfections. Lately, I've been taking apart magazines - finding pictures to use as reference. Of course, it seems like most of the people in these magazines are young and airbrushed. While they will be nice to draw, I also want some substance.

Maybe it's because I'm starting to try to come to terms with my own age??? Who knows.

P.S. We close on the house this week.

P.P.S. Goal for the week (other than closing) - Inspiration for my art room. Well, actually, inspiration for my house, in general. I really want a lot of pretty stuff.

Granny Square Blanket - Finished

2010-01-22T11:22:00.001-08:00

It's finished!

I made P. a blanket for Christmas. Of course, I hadn't finished it by then. I still needed to weave in all of the ends. But, here it is, finally! The blanket is done. I'm just happy that I finished before Valentine's day.

Close-up

I'm happy that I've been able to get this year going by finishing a few projects. It is still January, but so far so good.

Oh, and we're moving into our house! I'm so excited. This means fun, new projects coming up.

Desert Plants and Europe

2010-01-17T04:35:00.000-08:00

There is no better time to sit and sketch than while watching movies. Last night it was The Godfather.

Some Desert plants and a Light Fixture

I've been wanting to do a series of Desert Plant paintings for a while. Of course, up until now, the idea has mostly been in my head. I finally printed out some of my pictures that I have taken as references. So, last night, while I watched Michael Corleone take care of his business, I started sketching out some of my ideas.

I'm thinking that I want these paintings to be no bigger than 8"x8". I also think that they should be square. I need to do more sketching to work out the colors and stuff. I'm just happy that I finally started.

Ocotillo and European Architecture

Above, I have sketched one of my favorites: the Ocotillo. This is such a scary looking cactus. Most of the time, the plant looks dead - with it's very threatening thorns. However, when it rains, the plant will be covered with these tiny little green leaves. There are even times of the year when it flowers with tiny brilliant-red blooms. I think I may do another sketch - with it's flowers.

Oh, I also started sketching pictures from when I went to Europe a few years ago. I've been meaning to do that for ages, and I finally got around to it. Anyway - yay for sketching.

My Creative Space - a room of my own

2010-01-14T10:46:00.001-08:00

The Art Room

I'm really excited. We are closing in about a week. The house is basically done. They are just doing little finishing touches. Everything about the house is beautiful. My favorite part is the art room. I want this room to be used a lot by all of the members of my family. The girls love to make art and to craft, so I hope that they get use out of it, too.

As you can see, there is a window, and it faces out to the back. We have a beautiful view of a little spring that flows behind our lot. There are no other houses: just tons of trees and cute little birds.

As I write this, I cannot believe my luck. I feel so fortunate!

The Floor

Because we have had the house built, we have thad the opportunity to give our preference on dozens of options. One of the requests I had was that there would be no carpeting in the art room. Instead, they just treated the concrete. I love it. First of all, I think that it has such a nice clean look. Second of all, when I spill paint on the ground, I don't have to worry. It will add character, and I won't curse myself and wonder how on earth I'll clean the carpet. Finally, look at all of these cool leaves.

The builders poured the cement for the foundation during the fall. Of course, we are in the middle of the woods, so there were a few leaves that stuck into the wet foundation. I love the leaves. It just adds to the whole room.

...

Now, I need to start thinking of the way I want to set up my room, and I need to start finding some cool art to serve as inspiration. Actually, I need it for my whole house. If anyone wants to send something my way, let me know. ;)

Orange Slices - Finished Drawing

2010-01-13T18:39:00.001-08:00

Orange Slices

So I finished my little drawing - Orange Slices - for my friend KW. She has no idea it is coming, and I'm happy to surprise her. I am kind of happy about making little pieces of artwork for friends. I am also hoping that some friends may want to make me some little pieces of artwork. (please!!!) :)

This was done with colored pencils. I forgot how much I loved drawing with colored pencil! It is so much fun.

Orange Slices

2010-01-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

For a friend

I decided that it might be nice for me to send a piece of artwork to some friends throughout the year. I have so many good friends that have been so good to me. Anyways, it is a little way for me to say thanks.

I have one friend who is bold, sweet (yet tart), bright, and happy. She reminds me of an orange! So, this is for her. I sketched it out last night, and I'll be working on it today.

Otherwise, the house is progressing. We'll be moving in soon!!! That means: painting may resume! I'm very happy about that.

Also, I'll be ordering my desert plant pictures this week - so that I have references for my paintings. I'm still kind of thinking of how I want to do these. I'm sure that sketches will follow.

I hope you are doing well. I'm starting to get winter doldrums. I haven't had them in years. Hopefully the oranges and cactus will start to pep me up!

1/09 Sketch - Confined

2010-01-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

A Birdcage

I thought that I'd play along with Illustration Friday this week. The prompt was confined.

At first, I was having trouble with illustrating it - sometimes it is hard for me to come up with illustrations for abstract concepts. That is the nice part about the Illustration Friday challenge.

I drew another birdcage a while ago. This time I wanted to do it in colored pencil. The sketch was fun, and I feel like it totally fits with the theme.

Otherwise, I think I want to do a birdcage painting. I'm also going to use all of my pressed Johnny-Jump-ups in it. I love spending more time sketching. I can see how it is helping me be more creative. ... Oh, and I can't wait until I move into my house - I'll be able to unpack all of my art stuff and start working on projects again!

1/07 sketches

2010-01-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

A smoking man and a water pot thingy.

I really like sketching more and more these days. Although, I have to admit that I think the dude's head is too narrow.

At first, I was thinking I shouldn't have this guy smoking, but it was just more natural that he would be smoking. So, despite my profound Mormon-ness, he's smoking (I HAD to be true to the dude...and besides, it's not me smoking...)

And the watering pot. I like sketching in color.

Inspiration - a bunch of empty chairs.

2010-01-07T10:00:00.001-08:00

As part of my "diligence 2010" goal, I've decided that I need to take more time to be observant to what is inspiring me and explore it more fully.

Lately, it's been chairs.

All of these photos of chairs were taken by other talented people

1. Empty chair, 2. two empty chairs, 3. The empty chair, 4. Lomo + Empty Chairs, 5. the empty chair, 6. empty chair, 7. empty chair, 8. Empty Chair, 9. Just another Empty Chair, or Why Sweet Susie Sunday drives me Wild, 10. Colourful empty chairs 2, 11. It was something that words can't explain, 12. Empty Chair

I'm so excited to move into our house, find my paints, and finish up with the chair paintings.

Coincidentally, I'm looking to buy some chairs for our living room. Chairs, chairs, chairs.

Don't you love the picture of the chairs at Tiger's stadium? How did the photographer get there when it was so empty? Also, I am in LOVE with the picture of the wooden white chair.

Well, thanks for indulging me...I hope you find some inspiration today!

1/05 and 1/06 Sketches

2010-01-06T20:22:00.001-08:00

A wise man

My husband said that the wise man on the left looks like Justin Timberlake which kind of made me laugh.

Now - about the wise guy on the right (is it wrong for me to call a wise man a wise guy?) I decided that I wanted to try to draw this dude again. I haven't drawn people in a really long time, and I used to be relatively decent at it. Of course, as with anything, when you stop doing it, you stop being good at it, too. Well, I started drawing this guy, and it wasn't working. Then I found myself scribbling a lot, and it was as if -through the scribbling - my pencil and hand were trying to remember where the lines, shadows, and spaces should be. I'm not sure if this makes sense. I felt like I was just discovering this guy hidden on the page - not at all like I was drawing him.

I liked that feeling - discovering something that was just there.

And later in the evening, I was watching the HBO program John Adams, and I noticed all of these awesome faces of people that I want to draw. The idea of drawing an old man really started appealing to me.

Then I realized how I made this wise man so young. I haven't had this much fun in a long time - sketching every day will be a really good idea.

(by the way - the quote in the upper left-hand corner). Do you know where it is from (bonus point if you do) If not, then I'll tell you: Lucille Bluth in Arrested Development. One of my favorite moments...

C's Bunny and a crappy Agave

So, I want to do a desert plants series - really bad. The colder it gets here, the more I NEED to paint these paintings. I thought I'd start drawing without looking at a picture. Obviously that wasn't a great idea as my Agave looks more like an artichoke. Check out that link if you didn't. Isn't the Agave beautiful?

And the pink thing - one of the baby's stuffed animals. It was just laying there, on the ground, and I liked the ears. So it was a fun little sketch. I was having a lot of fun scribbling, too.

Chair

Tonight, I was itching to read a poem by Mary Oliver, and I was talking to my sister. As much as I love to multi-task, reading poetry cannot be done while talking. So, I sketched instead, and had fun sketching our green chair (only I made mine orange).

Thanks for checking out the sketches today...More to come later.

Working, Working, Working

2010-01-05T16:32:00.001-08:00

Okay, I promise, I'm doing stuff. I haven't been great about blogging for a while, and I think that, generally, that's fine. However, I do like taking the chance to write a blog because then I can assess where I am and where I think I may be going.

So - here's what's been going on.

Granny Square Afghan
I've been working on a blanket. I was hoping to have this done for Christmas. I had it all put together, but the ends still need to be woven in. It is good work for movies and snow days (which we've had in abundance this winter).

My First Granny Square Afghan

It's 49 squares and warm

When I finish with this project (hopefully in the next week or less), I'll post about it. I know, nothing original, but it has been a lot of fun to do.

Gnome Gnativity

The three cute wise men

I want to make this gnativity set with a friend. I'll probably make them in the same way I made my other gnomes - out of sculpey clay and then painted. I think that they will be cute, and it will be an enjoyable way to make Christmas extend WAAAAAY beyond December.

Desert Trees

Agave in Sedona

I miss the desert way more than I ever thought possible. For most of my life I've kind of defined myself by trees. (I realize I'm a poser - I know nothing about the trees that surrounded me my entire life. Like I don't even know all of their names. I'm sure I could guess, but that's not really hard...) So, anyways, when I lived in the Sonoran Desert, I thought that what I didn't like about it was that it had no trees. Of course, what I came to love about it was all of its trees - Saguaros, Joshua Trees, Mesquite, Palo Verde. I also loved it's other plants and cactus. Above is an Agave plant.

So, I've decided that I'd like to paint a series of paintings - in honor of the desert and it's rad plants. And then, I want them in my home when I'm feeling a little AZ-sick, so I can remember them.

By the way...It's funny, I've lived in so many places. It's hard to identify myself with any single place. Will I begin to identify myself with Arkansas? Hopefully, since I live here. Although, I have to admit, I hope that we're here for a few years - like 5 or so. Then, I'll be ready for a new adventure.

***
Okay, so that's a little update on what's going on. Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

I’ve been making resolutions for years now. Sometimes, I do well with them. Other times, I kind of end up doing what we all seem to do: give up by January 4th.

This year, I'm taking a bit of a different approach. I want to develop a quality. I've decided that my motto for the year is
Diligence.

This probably sounds a little strange on a blog all about arts, crafts, and creativity, but I think that the quality is good and applicable. I want to be diligent in creating. I have found that when I'm being creative, I'm a happier person. However, making art and finishing projects definitely requires a measure of diligence.

Of course, being diligent isn't really a goal in and of itself. Or at least, it isn't a good goal. It is too vague. So, here are a set of goals that will help me to be more diligent.

Make at least 3 good finished projects - Here are a few ideas:
- Chairs series - I started this last year, and I want to finish it up once we move. You can see the progress here
- Desert plants series - I haven't started on this one - other than thinking about it
- Make some pillows. - I really want to do the states pillows that I have been thinking about. I've sketched a few, but now I need to buy some fabric and start embroidering. This is a more crafty project.
Be creative every single day. I used to have this "365" day project - where I gave myself specific assignments every day. It was fun, and it was a lot of work. The best part is - it started a tradition of creativity in my life. I still like the idea of assignments because sometimes they make you think very creatively. However, daily assignments can be tough. So, perhaps I should let my 365 continue to morph. Maybe it should be 365 days of sketches. Or, maybe, I just have to do something creative every day, and report about it in my journal. And maybe I'll give myself 12 assignments that limit me and cause a bit of a struggle. Struggle is always good for creativity. Yes I will do that, and I will report here with the assignments and with the struggle... ;)

3 blog posts/week - updating with creative work, etc

By The Way...
last year I had similar goals. Here's a quick report on them:

365 - yes...the project morphed, but I think that I can answer with a yes, I was very creative just about every day. Sometimes it was art, others it was writing. Sometimes I was sketching, journaling, or knitting. One day last year, I even had a baby - talk about creativity!!! I was definitely creative every day, and I have had such a good year because of it.

blog regularly...duh

2 good finished pieces - well yes...here's a list of a few of my favorites:

So...thanks for checking this out...I feel like I've been productive! yay!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone.

I've been horrible about posting here...

I haven't been doing very many creative things (it is all still in storage), but sooooon we'll be in our new place - and I'll have an art room!

Anyways - enjoy the holidays.

Merry Christmas from all of us!

My Creative Space - Candy Recipes

2009-12-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated this blog in a while, and I'm really missing it. We've been busy with getting things ready for the Holidays. I really love this time of year. Although, I'm feeling a little out of sorts as we are still renting this furnished apartment. All of my own stuff is in storage, and I'm trying to make do with what is in this place. (I'll have to put in an update of some of the decor. It is classic).

The past few days have been filled with candy making. I love making candy at Christmas time.

Some of the candies - Almond Roca (still in the pan), Caramels, and Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate Fudge Recipe
(This recipe is really easy - as far as candy goes)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 small (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (7 or 7.5 oz) jar of marshmallow fluff
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips (or 2 cups)

Combine sugar, butter, milk, fluff, and salt in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until well blended.

Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Boil slowly (make sure not to mistake air bubbles for boiling) for five minutes - until mixture is at a soft ball stage.

Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until completely combined. Turn into a buttered 9"x9" pan and cool.

Wrap in waxed paper with cute labels!

Wrapped fudge - I'm sorry, this isn't the best picture, but I promise that the packaging is cute. I can't wait to give these goodies away.

Almond Roca Recipe
(This recipe is really hard, and I'm not sure that I have it correctly. Sorry the instructions are so vague, but the candy is worth it. If you have any suggestions, please comment!)
1 lb butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup finely chopped almonds
milk chocolate chips or large hershey bar in pieces

Measure all ingredients and have readily available.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Once melted, turn to high heat, and add sugar gradually. Turn heat back down to medium high, and stir continually until the butter and sugar "go together". (I'm not sure how to explain this...but you'll see that they finally are together, and not separate when you make this.)

Turn heat to high heat and gradually add the almonds.

Turn heat to medium high and stir vigorously until the candy is a light/medium brown shade. (somewhere between 5-8 minutes). (see this link. Look at number 39 - I'd say somewhere about there...of course, computer screens vary.) - In other words, when you start cooking, the mixture will be very light. As it cooks it will darken. Don't let it get too dark, then that means it will be too cooked and too hard. good luck.

Sometimes the candy and butter separate. I'm not sure what to do about that. I always just drain out the butter. This often causes many minor burns on my hands. (I still promise it's worth it). I think that I need to do some research on this candy recipe. I suspect something may be wrong with it.

Pour immediately into a large cookie sheet. Spread it quickly and top with chocolate bits. Once melted, spread chocolate evenly. Top with a dusting of chopped almonds.

Cool in pan, overnight. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

(phew). (by the way - this candy is SOOOOOOO good). *I just found this recipe. It sounds like it may work better.

Christmas Caramels

Chewy Caramel Recipe
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
dash salt

Combine ingredients in a heavy pan.

Cook over medium heat - stirring constantly. Let boil. Keep at a rolling boil, and cook until soft ball stage. Stir the whole time. This step takes a few minutes -- (about 15 minutes from the start until this point).

Pour into a buttered 9"x13" pan.

Cool. Cut into squares and wrap individual pieces in wax paper.

I hope you're having a good holiday. Enjoy the goodies. Now I'm off to make Almond Balls. I've never made them before, so we'll see how it goes!

***
For more creative spaces, go to Kootoyo.

Holy Hobby Lobby

2009-11-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

You'll never guess what I made last night.

I've never been to a Hobby Lobby. In the past, it's always been either Michael's or Jo-Ann's. Since moving, I'm now in the situation where the closest of those craft stores is about 60 miles away...yeah.

However, there is a hobby lobby nearby. I thought I'd check it out, so I went there yesterday. I left having spent a little more than I originally planned, and I also decided to make a new wreath.

My first wreath-making attempt.

I had never made a wreath before, but everything was half-off, and I needed a new autumn wreath, and somehow I found myself in the floral section holding little branches of things to stick in my wreath (I'm not familiar with wreath-lingo as of yet).

Neat little wreath things - close-up.

Needless to say, I'm excited to make wreaths for every occasion. Maybe even real ones - like fresh ones...we'll see how this goes.

(ps. If you have any wreath-advice, please do share it with me!)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again.

Pumpkins!

Last week, we went to the pumpkin patch. This is the first time ever for us to pick our own pumpkins. Usually, we just did last minute trips to the supermarket. There are advantages to living in the middle of nowhere.

Our stash.

Last night we carved, and today, I set off the fire alarm only once while roasting up these babies.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

The recipe I used was really simple, and so as not to start a fire, I'll modify it here.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt

1. Carve your pumpkin and remove the "brains" (seeds and pulp).
2. Separate the seeds and pulp. This is a little bit of work, but most easily done by putting the seeds in a bowl of cool water, and picking out the pulp. Let the seeds dry off a bit.
3. Coat a baking sheet with Olive Oil.
4. Spread seeds on the cookie sheet in a single layer.
5. Sprinkle salt over the seeds.
6. Cook at 300 degrees F for 10-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

My Creative Space

2009-10-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, my creative space still doesn't really exist yet. For the most part it has been on the couch - where I like to knit.

Today, it was also on the couch, but I decided to work on a little "Things I Like" Book.

So, I got out some paints...

And finally started painting in little drawings I did a while ago.

Since most of my art supplies are in storage, I'm just working on knitting and also this little book. It's a things I like book. I made one a long time ago, but then all these crazy life changes happened (divorce), and I honestly couldn't stand looking at it anymore, but I still wanted one...soooo....I'm making a new one!

The good thing about the rest of the art supplies being locked up - I'm finally getting around to this book.

For other creative spaces, check out Kootoyoo.

My Back Porch

2009-10-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I forgot how inspiring fall is. I haven't really experienced it in about 3 years. (Arizona has one main season: Summer. When summer is over Arizona has a half-season: Summer lite).

Of course, there are so many things we all like about fall: the crunchy leaves, the colors, the brisk air, pumpkins on the porch, and the smell of apples.

But here are som other things I love about autumn, after living in the desert:
- the dreary grey sky
- mist
- how I can't wear flip-flops every day
- sleeping in socks
- acorns
- the smell of fires burning
- the way that the morning sun is an orangish/gold, which makes the trees even more brilliant
- the way that, even though every thing is dying, the forest is so full of life

So...to celebrate the cold, wet, grey fall, I took a picture of a couple of leaves on my back porch. (with my cell phone - sorry about the quality...I'm still looking for my USB cord!)

OH - there is sooo much texture in fall... :)

My Creative Space

2009-10-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

This week it is all about ideas.

As you know, I'm in a new place. We're not actually moved into our permanent place yet. Right now, our housing sitaution is temporary. So...all of my art supplies are in storage, and I'm just thinking of some ideas.

One of my friends has these really cute pillows. I've been thinking about them, and I've decided that I'd like to make my own. Obviously, I don't want to totally copy these pillows, but it would be nice to make my own because then I can add places that are of special interest to my family (like birthplaces, etc).

So, today, I'm just planning and planning - getting an idea of how I'd like to get this project done.

For more creative spaces, head over to Kirsty's Blog.

My Creative Space - Arrival

2009-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back! This picture isn't really much - but I'm glad to be working on something at least (a scarf that has been in the making for a loooooonnnnnng time.)

We have moved. Since we've arrived, it has been raining - we've been here in Ark. for two weeks tomorrow. The weather is such a huge change. It isn't a bad change, but I can tell that I'm trying to adjust. When we left Scottsdale, it was 108 (unseasonably warm). When we arrived in Arkansas, it was in the low 50s (unseasonably cool). It has also been unseasonably wet here, and this after an unseasonably dry monsoon season in AZ. So, I feel like I'm kind of whirling in all of these changes.

But it's a good kind of whirling. For example, my kids have been playing outside. We've been collecting acorns and leaves. We've been able to have our windows open and wear sweaters. And (to tie it all back to the scarf I'm making), I can wear my knit stuff!!! :)

Anyways. I hope you're having a happy fall. Check out more creative spaces here.

Shopping List Saturday - Lemons

2009-09-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

One of the things I will most miss about Arizona are the citrus trees. Here is my ode to lemons:

Lemon Chiffon Sky by Baby Enrouge.

Abstract Yellow Poppies by Kristen Dougherty

Lemons and Lilacs by J. Beaudet

Kirsten's Cupcake by Cozy Little Cave

Even though I'll miss the citrus trees (especially when they are blossoming), I'm looking forward to the big move. I'm especially looking forward to eventually purchasing something from all of these gorgeous shopping lists so I can decorate my home...In time. But for now, I'll just imagine and post these fun shopping list blogs. For more fun, check over at fancypicnic.

My Creative Space - Moving

2009-09-10T12:59:00.001-07:00

I'm getting ready for a move, so this week's creative space isn't all that creative. It is mostly comprised of organizing, purging, and packing.

Even though I'm way behind on packing and everything else, I'm excited to be moving to a cooler climate. I took waaaaayyyy too long looking at all of my patterns - imagining my new life in a new place - where it is finally cool enough to actually wear the things that I knit. (yay!)

For more creative spaces, check out Kirsty's blog.

Birdcage Drawing

2009-09-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

I drew a little birdcage last night. I love drawing with my pens. I really love drawing kind of architectural-ish kinds of things these days. This is just a little something I did in my sketchbook, but I keep thinking that I may want to make a bigger project.

We're about to move, so I've been putting all of my "big projects" on hold (ie: the chairs.) Of course, I keep visiting all sorts of really great blogs. Then I get more new ideas (to do after the move).

I like the birdcage, I'm not really exact or precise, but that is what I like about these line drawings. They seem to have a bit of character.

Oh - and I've been wondering - for those of you who like to use watercolors. What kind of watercolors do you use? What colors are in your palette? I have so much to learn about art and supplies. I can use a little direction. Thanks.

Shopping List Saturday - Boxer

2009-08-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

I've had an obsession with two songs lately: The Boxer - by The Chemical Brothers and Wrestlers by Hot Chip. They have inspired this week's shopping list.

Calvera Boxer by Mis Nopales Art. I have to say that I love Mexican Folk art - and skeletons. This little guy is actually an ACEO, so it would be fun to have.

The Boxer by Danielle Wright. This boxer may look beat, but you should see the other guy!

Abstract Boxers by Bobo Junket. I think that this is a great piece. I love little collages - and the colors on this piece are really striking.

finally

and a close up:

Mustachio Jacques by Sunny Buick. I love this guy. He's edgy and debonaire. I'm not sure if I like him so much because he's a boxer, tatooed, or because of his rad mustache. Additionally, I saw Blame it on Fidel last night, so I think that I'm in a bit of a "French" mood...Jacques and his 'stache seem to be suiting all of my current needs...

I hope you had fun shopping with me. Check out some other really great lists over at fancypicnic.

My Creative Space

2009-08-27T14:21:00.001-07:00

One thing I love about participating in "My Creative Space" is that it reminds me to be creative even when I wasn't thinking about making art or doing anything at all.

I started working on this fish a little while ago.

I'm a little frustrated with it because I think that I imagined it differently. I don't like the background at all, and I will have to do it over. Perhaps I'll just let this one remain a "draft" of sorts. I'm not sure. I still like the fish. I like the colors. I just don't like the background.

Maybe a bigger fish...smaller background? Any ideas???

Please head on over to Kirsty's blog for some more inspirational creative spaces.

Shopping List Saturday - Germany

2009-08-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

I was recently organizing some photos I took while on vacation in Germany (more than three years ago...). They have inspired this week's selection.

Berliner Girls I by Print Bistro.

Urban Decay by Something Elegant.

German Market by dianapantz.

Germany, Oh How I Miss You by poppieseed.

Check out other uber-rad shopping lists at fancypicnic.

Clack (Illustration Friday - Impatience)

2009-08-11T13:23:00.001-07:00

This is my actual entry for this week's Illustration Friday theme - Impatience. Lately I've been getting impatient because I'm never able to think of an illustration idea in time to enter it to the site. (For example, last week's challenge was: modify. Yesterday, I thought I'd do a cool illustration that incorporated the "Backspace" key. Then I realized, too late, new topic: Impatience). I decided that I'd rebel against my lack of creativity, and brainstorm until an idea struck. So here's how it went:

I sketched for a while. In my impatience, I noticed me tapping my fingers, so I thought I'd try to draw that. It went well enough. I realized that I liked the hand and the little shape that "clack" makes. So I sketched it again with watercolors and ink:

I'm not the best at drawing life-like things. So, I'm not overly happy with the way that turned out. I decided just to draw the clacky-shape rather than the hand, so that is how I got the finished piece (which is above). Nothing amazing, I know, but it's just how it went...and if i were to do it again, I think that I'd put the yellow-ish area to the very left - rather than in the center of the zig-zag-clack-bubble (Kind of like how I did it with the fingers). Okay. Basta. I'm gonna start working on chairs again!

For more illustrations, check out Illustration Friday.

Shopping List Saturday - Autumn

2009-08-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling ready for Autumn, even though I know that it won't come until around December...So - here are some pieces of beautiful artwork, instead.

November Mist by Andrea Pratt

Little Red Barn by Dude 37

Passages by Morning Star Photos

Autumn Sunrise VII by Patty Baker

See more shopping lists over at fancypicnic.

Red Chair

2009-08-07T08:19:00.000-07:00

So - as promised - another chair. Again, I had so much fun making this painting. Even though I tend to get paint all over me (including on my pink shirt), it is always great to play with oils. I should probably start painting in something that can be ruined, though.

While I was painting this, I happened to be listening to Talk of the Nation, on NPR. It was all about the movie Julia & Julie - which I obviously want to see. The program was all about the best "food" movies. Including my favorite: The Godfather. Another favorite: Chocolat.

How about food books, though? All the talk about food movies made me think of sitting in this red, poofy chair and reading a good food book. I don't think I mean cookbooks. I mean books about food. The best has to be Like Water for Chocolate. This book is totally amazing. Another favorite - that has to do with food - A Year in Provence.

Any other favorite food books? I guess you could include cookbooks, as I love reading them too... If you have a favorite, please, comment!

Following are the other chairs in the series:
Patio Chair
Chair with Pillows
Parlor Chair
Kitchen Chair

Kitchen Chair

2009-08-06T11:02:00.001-07:00

Here is the next installment in a series of chairs. I'm still not exactly sure how many I'll do. (Maybe I should see how many canvas panels I have - that may help make the decision.)

I had fun doing this painting. I feel like it is airy and bright - a chair that would be in a kitchen. Throughout painting, I was listening to the Junior Boys. They are so good. (And while putting in this link, I just found out that they released an album of remixes a few years ago - including a remix of "In the Morning" by Hot Chip. I NEED THIS).

Painting is fun. I especially liked it last night because things were turning out the way I wanted them to go. I was thinking of more ideas for my writing (am currently working on a novel), and I was enjoying the Junior Boys.

I just love the whole act of creativity - how sometimes you have a little bit of a plan, but while executing it, you let things go and see where they take you. And, even if the finished work isn't perfect, it is still such a fun ride.

Well - this is the painting. I'm working on another one right now. I'll probably post about it later.

See the other chairs in the series:
Patio Chair
Chair with Pillows
Parlor Chair
Red Chair

My Creative Space

2009-08-05T22:22:00.001-07:00

I'm just listening to the Junior Boys and painting more chairs. It is a lot of fun.

To see more creative spaces, head over to Kootoyo's blog.

Illustration Friday - Idle

2009-07-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Our lives are full of idleness right now. We are nearing the end of summer. The girls don't want to do anything. They complain about being bored, but one day they'll look back and cherish the lazy days of summer.

This was made with pen, ink, and watercolors.

See more illustrations about idleness.

Shopping List Saturday - Blues

2009-07-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from Boston - where I was able to see water, rain, blues, and greens. So - this is the theme for this weeks shopping trip!

1. Chicadee Linocut Print by Bird Nerd

2. Blue Chair by The Art of Venus - Yay for empty chairs!!!!! I love this little blue empty chair painting.

3. Handpainted Dreamland Yarn (fingering weight) by Ewe 3.

4. Doodles Magnet Set by Butterfly Mosaics.

I hope you had fun shopping with me. For more shopping lists, head over to fancypicnic.

My Creative Space

2009-07-23T12:00:00.001-07:00

I'm not being particularly creative. I'm in Boston, and it is nice to visit family. I'm actually hoping that the break will lead to more completed works in the future. . . See you next week.

For other creative spaces, please head over to Kirsty's Blog.

My Creative Space

2009-07-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

This picture isn't that great or beautiful, but it's still my creative space. Today, I'm starting a painting. Recently, I was in Charlotte, NC, and I went to this really cute little park. I loved this fish statue that I saw there.

I was so happy to be in Charlotte that day. The weather was beautiful - it was cool with a drizzly rain. (Doesn't sound beautiful, I know - but when you live in the desert, the drizzle is a welcome change). I sat down at the park for a while taking interesting pictures. This fish continues to be the thing that stuck with me the most. Now I think I want to paint it.

Anyways - I've sketched it out. I'm going to paint this with watercolors. I'm still not sure how I want to do the background. We'll see what happens...

To see other fun creative spaces, head over to kootoyoo's blog.

Parlor Chair

2009-07-15T09:29:00.001-07:00

Here is Chair Three in a series of either 9, 10, or 12 empty chairs. This is a parlor chair. Again, I painted this one in oil.

Last night while I was painting it, I realized I needed some good music to paint to. I started off with some Calvin Harris...which, even though I don't do drugs, is music I like. But I just couldn't make this painting to his music. So, then I opted for a mix of classical songs. It started with Strauss's Blue Danube Waltz, and that seemed to be exactly what would be playing in the parlor where this chair sits.

So - throughout the time I was painting, I wished I was in some parlor somewhere in Vienna. (Where this chair would, obviously, sit).

Other than that, this picture is painted with Oils. I'm not exactly sure if I have any technique whatsoever (as I really have no idea what I'm doing), but I have to say that painting with oils is fun. I like the way they smell.

See the other paintings in the series:
Patio Chair
Chair with Pillows
Kitchen Chair
Red Chair

Sedona

2009-07-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

The family and I went to Sedona this past weekend. It was nice to get a break from the heat. (It was like 93 or something there...I never thought that the 90s would be a break from the heat!)

I had never been to Sedona before. It is quite beautiful. There are Red Rocks, Monoliths, Vortexes, and just so many other interesting things. The art scene is also pretty good there, too. Western art isn't my particular favorite genre, but it was still really fun to go to the various galleries. Of course, we had a near fiasco when I slightly bumped into a sculpture that was on display - to be sold - before the mold is cast. There were 25 (or so) slots for this particular piece - each slot being sold at $3500. And I nearly destroyed the piece for everyone. I got out of there fast - before I destroyed anything...

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

A few Jugs at Tlaquepaque.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross

A small statue at the Chapel of the Holy Cross

Agave

Flowering Cactus

Ivy, rail, and arch at Tlaquepaque.

Fountain at Tlaquepaque

View of Sedona red rocks

It was refreshing to go to a new place, and it is especially refreshing to go somewhere that is so beautiful. I think that it was a good time for new ideas that will, hopefully, turn into new work.

Chair with Pillows

2009-07-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the second in a series of (either 9, 10, or 12) Chairs. This chair is inside a house and full of pillows. I'm not sure it is particularly inviting - as the chair is full. Anyways, I had fun making this - even though I was listening to a rather depressing report on NPR (about unemployment, etc.)

Again, I painted this with oils. I'm not particularly good or experienced with Oils, but I do find them fun to paint with. So, hopefully this little series will be fun to do.

See the other paintings in the series
Patio Chair
Parlor Chair
Kitchen Chair
Red Chair

---------------------------------------------------------------

Otherwise - I'm working on a few other projects. I'm working on editing my short story (snakes and Indian paintbrush)...I read it to Pete and he said he likes it. also, I'm working on an embroidery project, and of course 50 bajillion other things :)

Patio Chair

2009-07-01T14:08:00.001-07:00

I decided that I'd do a series of 10 paintings - well maybe actually nine or even twelve...okay - either 9, 10, or 12...I'm not totally decided at this point. Anyways. The paintings will be of chairs. This is the first one - a patio chair.

I painted this with oil paints. It is a lot of fun to do little projects like these - Nothing huge or amazing, but just fun to do.

I like this one, though, because it is so inviting. This little chair just sits on a shady green patio - a far cry from 111 degree heat and blazing sun.

See the rest of the paintings in the series
Chair with Pillows
Parlor Chair
Kitchen Chair
Red Chair

Illustration Friday - Worn

2009-06-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

This week's theme for Illustration Friday was "worn." I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to go about this topic. At first I was thinking of my dad's "holy jeans" - he'd always make puns about how he'd wear those Jeans on Sundays and to church. (har har!) I just wasn't sure that I wanted to draw a pair of jeans, though, and I wasn't convinced of that subject.

Then I saw my daughter's beloved stuffed Tiger - "Tiger Stripes." This is the cutest/grossest stuffed animal in the world. She's eight, and she still can't sleep without it. It has been through everything - including a "fight" with a dog. Incidentally, Tiger Stripes had to have her face sewn back on. She looks kind of depressed - which, to me, adds to the idea of "worn" - both body and spirit. (Do stuffed animals have spirits? - I'm pretty sure this one does.)

Anyway - this is my version of worn.

Oh - and a close-up:

This piece was done with Watercolors and Pen and Ink. It is a small painting - probably about 4"x4".

Shopping List Saturday

2009-06-27T17:13:00.001-07:00

The Twins by eek design.

Shrimp Skewer by Sydnor Works.

Timothy by The Dark Tree

Grey Colors Abstract Afternoon in Paris by Albert Tate.

I love looking for art on Etsy. I think my desire is totally ego-centric - as I sell art on Etsy. Anyways. Enjoy art. I really love these pieces.

For more fun shopping lists, go and visit fancypicnic.

Finished granny Square Pocketbook

2009-06-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm excited - it's totally finished...

This is a view of the front of the bag.

A fun angle of the pocketbook.

Another fun angle of the pocketbook. :)

And the back.

This was fun to make. I kind of hated weaving in all of the ends, until my mind started to wander. I started thinking about how my dad always says "clobber" and "knucklehead." (I'm not sure why)...And I was wondering why there are so many "dad" words that I don't use...
so - here's my list of them:
clobber, knucklehead, chief, malarchy (or Baloney), Frick and Frack, kiddo, "bedtime for Bonzos", "cruisin for a bruisin,"...

i'm sure I could think of more...I guess I just need more ends to weave right now.

My Creative Space

2009-06-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

Today, I'm kind of working on a few things. I'm a little happy because it is actually overcast. It's still hot (around 102-103), so I can't imagine how hot it would be if it weren't cloudy. We don't get many cloudy days here, so the few we get are so welcome!

Okay, so I bought the girls McDonald's today - with the promise that they would get their room totally clean. Meanwhile, I'm working on :

joining a few granny squares - to make myself a little pocketbook.

Also...

I'm experimenting with a few embroidery stitches. Lest I sound like I'm doing a lot, I want you to know that I've only worked on a stitch a day...I'm not overly committed to this, but it is nice to do. Mostly, I was checking out a blog recently, and I realized how long it has been since I had last embroidered. Her stuff is so interesting, I thought that I'd break out my needles and give this a try. It's kind of fun.

Ok, finally, something I'm really excited about...

Chairs. I'm not sure why, but they've been interesting to me lately. I've decided that I'm going to paint 10 of them, and I have thumbnails already. This is a sketch on a canvas panel. I plan on starting it fairly soon - maybe within the next week. I'm not sure - we aren't sure whether or not we're staying in this apartment, so I don't want to start something like an oil painting without knowing I'll be here long enough for it to dry...so it may be more sketching for a while.

Anyways...head over to Kootoyoo for some more creative spaces.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

In less artsy/craftsy news - I've been writing a lot lot lot (hopefully a novel). And I've been revising - my short story. I'm hoping to submit the story soon - somewhere. I'd also like to submit some poetry to a literary journal or contest. I'm working on it...If any of you have any ideas, please, please, please feel free to offer me some advice!

"The Premonition" by Theodore Roethke - My thoughts and Reflections

2009-06-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Premonition

Walking this field I remember
Days of another summer.
Oh that was long ago! I kept
Close to the heels of my father,
Matching his stride with half-steps
Until we came to a river.
He dipped his hand in the shallow:
Water ran over and under
Hair on a narrow wrist bone;
His image kept following after, -
Flashed with the sun in the ripple.
But when he stood up, that face
Was lost in a maze of water.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I think that this is an interesting title - the Premonition - especially when the premonition isn't all that clear from the text of the poem.

The body of the poem is a flashback - caused when the speaker of the poem returns to a place that he had been with his father years before.

I think that this poem can be a premonition in a few ways. First of all, the narrator recounts the memory. In the closing lines, he states, "But when he stood up, that face / Was lost in a maze of water." Perhaps this has to do with death or the loss of the relationship between the speaker of the poem and his father.

Another way that this poem seems to be a premonition is how the speaker is now walking through the field and having a flashback to an earlier time. He remembers his father's stride. Perhaps now his own stride matches that of his father's. He remembers the details of his father's hand and wrist. Perhaps he now has a hairy hand, yet narrow wrist. Perhaps now, as he dips his hands in the water, they look like his fathers. He remembers the image of his father - reflected in the water with flecks of sunshine. I suppose that now, if he peers into the water, his own reflection is reminiscent of his father.
I guess, what I'm saying is, when he was a boy, his Father was a premonition of what he would be.

I like this poem. It has me asking myself what my children see in me. Do they want to be like me? Do they value my example. Am I giving them experiences that teach them and let them in on my life - even if it's just a little bit??? I hope that in me they find a premonition of their future lives, and it is something they would like - rather than fear!

Illustration Friday - Drifting

2009-06-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

I decided that Illustration Friday may be a good game to play from time to time. This week's topic was "drifting." I took the girls to the park, and thought of how when I was a kid, I loved to blow dandelion seeds everywhere and watch them drift away.

So - this is just a simple sketch on the idea. I think I'd like to make this into something nicer when I have more time.

Cute Crochet Cozy

2009-06-16T14:59:00.001-07:00

So - a few weeks ago I started making these tiny granny squares (about 3" squares). Well, I finally started making something with them. Here's the first creation: A cell Phone Cozy.

here's another view

And a close-up:

Anyways...I'm selling them on my Etsy if anyone is interested. :)

Shopping List Saturday - beep boop bop

2009-06-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

I've been in a robot-y mood lately...so I thought I'd look for all the rad Robots on Etsy.

Dancing Girl Robot Shirt - by Cantaloupe Corner - I love everything in her Etsy store, and I think that this cute robot is my favorite.
Ted Box Art Robot Print - by John W. Golden - His entire shop is really rad, too. He has so many prints in my newest favorite artistic style (indie)...
Tut Tut Looks Like Love (Print) - by M. Leigh Durgin - I love the little heart-rain-drops.
Robots in Love (Print) - by shuusei - It is fun to make robots do human things - like be in love...Makes me think of that old show: Small Wonder.
Cookie 1 - by Thulu - This shop specializes in Robot prints! I just love this one because 1. I love cookies. 2. I love cute robots. I think it is just so much fun.

I hope you had fun shopping with me. For more awesome shopping lists, go see fancypicnic.