I'm hiding for a bit while I restore order to my 'house.' At first I was a bit cynical and cautiously optimistic....(After years in the business, can you blame me? EST... 'I'm Ok-You're OK'...Reality Therapy...Oy! What a racket!)...But my need for resolution is great and the time is right, so I took the plunge. I'm glad I did. Forgive me for not sharing more detail, but I feel the need to keep my work here close -to -the- vest.
Restoring is hard work. I'll be back soon.
...makes the heart grow fonder and then some. As much as I have enjoyed the novelty of Facebook and the ability to 'talk' with friends in real time, I miss communicating with sentences longer than fleeting thoughts. Time away has done me a world of good, giving me time to get out of my head a bit and really look at what's happening around me.
Quickie updates...
This tiny little bug, Brody, our first grandbaby, is now 6 months old, 14+pounds and starting rice cereal. He is pure joy....never-ending smiles, giggles, sloppy baby kisses, stinky diapers, teething drool and snuggles.
Natalie...age 12. Brilliant, innocent, fun, strong. She's an elite swimmer...in the water 6 days a week (while I'm waiting, watching and journaling in the bleachers), advanced dance, advanced band. 5'7" and still growing.......Too fast.
Lauren, squeaking into age 10...the age of getting pierced ears and braces. WAY too smart, strong, willowy, delicate, artistic, brooding, complicated. She's at an age of trying new things to see what 'fits'...painting, knitting,rock climbing, dance, gymnastics, soccer, violin, science experiments, fostering animals. I'm never quite sure what page she's on! (yes...she's a LOT like her mother)
Me? In the car and shuffling kids more often than not. A bit of art dabbling here and there (more on that later). Learning new things...and trying to see the world with new eyes, new focus. Clarity.
A peek at a couple projects...just for fun, trying something new (thanks for sharing Carol F.!!)
(my grandparents)
in progress...my mother and her first car (a Willy's night, which she bought for $30)
gel printing...experimenting.
...more later.
xxoo
sometimes there are no words. sometimes rough days come down like heavy rains, so hard and fast you can't catch your breath. sometimes every day is nothing more than 24 hours of triage. what/who, in the midst of all the chaos, needs attention first. sometimes living a day is nothing but going through the motions to make it through. i am not one who thrives on turmoil. i meet it head on with all the physical and emotional armor i can muster, no matter what the universe throws my way. it sucks the life out of me, leaving me empty and humorless. this is my dilemma. i crave tranquility and balance, but choose not to remain passive when turmoil reigns. as much as i'd like to roll over and 'play dead' it's just not in my make-up to do so.
we've had a month and then some of turmoil in my world... a 'false alarm' heart attack, a difficult surgery, elderly parents and the challenges of age, water damage to our home which disclosed black mold and asbestos, the theft of our beloved dog, and the arrival of our first grandchild two months early. when i put it all in a nutshell, it all seems so brief and compacted and detached...pages and pages of detail left out...
there was no real 'fun' in our summer. there was no rejuvenation or languishing during the long summer days. i'd like a do over please. if anything, just to gather my wits and learn to breathe again.
i miss this space. being away so long has not been easy.
i am slowing healing and getting my bearings
i'll be back...
my first melon, fresh, ripe... with the most heavenly, pure scent. they took forever to grow...but maybe they were waiting...just for me
Ohhhhhh!!! The anticipation! I cannot WAIT for this event!
Sign-ups begin at noon Pacific Time for An ArtFul Journey's first 3-day retreat...February 18-22, 2010.
Just look at this line-up! Nina Bagley, DJ Pettitt, Albie Smith, Lesley Riley, Kelly Rae Roberts and Mati Rose McDonough. Three whole days with one instructor?? Yowza!
The Presentation Center...stunningly beautiful and serene. Perfect!
**does anyone know a trick to formatting posts? no matter how good they look in 'draft' form, they always go wonky when i publish! grrrrr!!!!!
Last Wednesday, my Dearest drove himself to the hospital after experiencing heart attack symptoms (I know...he drove himself!). After 48 hours of nail-biting, worry and a million tests, it turns out he dodged the heart attack 'bullet...but it is a sign of things to come if he fails to reduce his stress level. Let's just leave it at that. He's home. He's 'OK', but there are big discussions to be had and changes to be made. Needless to say, 48 hours of calming worried kidlings and running on adrenalin can wear a girl out! This event coupled with my surgery this week...Holy Shmoly!
But....
Talk about perfect timing! I'd signed-up for Katie Kendrick's workshop offered by Cindy's An ArtFul Journey and had a sitter for the kids. (Dearest was supposed to be on a business trip...now I had a sitter for ALL of them! LOL!) I have wanted to take a class from Katie for the longest time after reading her blog and seeing her work. She is a wonderful teacher...gently guiding us to trust our creative intuition. She hums. She dances. She has a delightful arms -wide-open spirit and a sense of humor that makes everyone take a deep breath ...and just relax into the process. For the next 7 1/2 hours I forgot about everything ...and thought of nothing but the creating. I left feeling renewed and energized and full. It was heaven!
I love how Katie uses her fingers to paint when brushes just won't do
watching Katie at work creating this piece was magic!
Cindy O'Leary, our ArtFul Journey hostess with the most-est BEST cookies ever!!
girl with rose colored glasses by Katie Kendrick (from Judy Wise's An ArtFul Journey class: mixed media on plaster)
face with flowers and swirls by Katie Kendrick
trees by Michelle V.
face with script by Sharon Tomlinson
a peek a some of my projects...
Some women dream of Manolos, 2 carat marquis diamonds or a new kitchen with a Sub Zero...Me? It's 'the big get.' I have dreams of finding myself in some ancient home full of treasures in the attic or a walking into some musty smelling antique shop...glancing around casually and BLAM! The big get. Some unfreakingbelievable treasure that knocks my socks off! A stash of ephemera, old spools, an ancicent album perfectly preserved, rusted something-or-other. THAT to me is better than a dozen pairs of MaryJane Manolos any day!!
Yesterday's flea market finds were pretty close to that kind of treasure-hunting high...not the big get (well, maybe the donuts!), but pretty close. Some treasures demanded financial restraint and had to be left behind...but absolutely NO regrets or buyer's remorse here! Nearly 8 hours of hunting bliss AND we did not cover every sellers booth! Bits and bobs from Wendy Addison , fabrics and remnants from Giselle Shepatin....OY! SO, SO gorgeous!!
The best part of the day??? Heading back to Cindy's house....dumping all our treasures on a big blanket and gazing over our 'big gets' of the day! Ohhhh Then there was the sharing...half a silky fringed vintage cloth for you and half for me...some ledger pages for you and some for me...want some of these? want some of those?? We were like two little boys swapping baseballl cards!
(the Madam Alexander dolls were only $10...bought one for each of my girlies!)
(Dear JW ...You'd have been quite proud of me... I practiced 'restraint'$$)
There are FEW reasons why I would wake-up at 5am for anything...swim meets, leaving for a vacation, an estate sale or a flea market. I was at my friend, Cindy's house by 6:15am...camera, coffee, market cart and munchies ready to go... for an adventure to the granddaddy of all flea markets at the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire. We arrived by 7:15am and shopped until after 3 (not even a potty break!)...being sustained throughout the day by donuts that were to die for (!! ), bbq'd kielbasa, more coffee... and adrenalin. Thank goodness SHE drove...there was no way we'd get all our crap treasures home in my car. It's a darn good thing this event is only once a month!!
Cindy had one of the best cosmic 'a ha!' finds of the day...a stack of ledgers that seemed great to cut-up for projects...until she found they were from a grocery store her family frequented way back in the day and with account entries of people she new as a child. Who knows why we're drawn to such items?!
Seriously...to DIE for!! made fresh and hot with each order by Harvey himself and served in cones...They dissolve in one delicious 'puff' when you pop them in your mouth. I've NEVER tasted anything like it!
Cindy's' 'Oh My GAWD! ' moment....
We met some of the most amazing, talented and kind folks... a young breast cancer survivor (age 26)who found the best soft-bodied manequin for her new apartment, a maker of handmade, handpainted fabrics, a clothing designer who totally blew us away with her innovative clothing design, a sweet old man who loved the donuts as much as we did... and more... all fascinating, wonderful people.
For this flea market I was definitely on a mission for certain items...fabrics, trims, doo-dads...no collectible glassware or furniture this trip, which was a good thing! I'd have had to mortgage the house! Everywhere I looked there was treasure!! And...like all flea markets...there was the wacky, tacky and weird...We had a blast taking pictures of weird heads and naked mannequins!
lauren (age 9)loves looking at teesha moore's journals, especially the imaginary figures, squiggles and fun colors. so, with scissors, glue and a stack of magazines, lauren spent hours creating her own creatures for the journal she's making. what amazed me about the process, was her total lack of inhibition...there was no getting stuck in adult-ish 'over thinking'...and of course giggling the whole time! today she'll paint backgrounds and stitch the signatures together. she can't wait to alter the images even more with her own designs and squiggles...especially mustaches, beards and some devil horns!
these are a few of my favorites...oh yeah, i am SO using the pencil head dude on one of my pages!!
teesha and tracy moore's workshop (may, 2009) hosted by scraplovers/a work of heart was two days of journaling bliss! and to make things even sweeter, not more than minutes from my house! i have been keeping diaries since my elementary school days, but 'art journaling' is an added dimension to the process. while i tend to do things 'my way,' it's always fun to learn the tricks and processes of others who share the same passion. what struck me the most about teesha and tracy was their spirit of generosity and willingness to share techniques...and then... there's that infectious sense of humor that permeates so much of their work!
tracy giving small group demos: using copic markers as an air brush with stencils
Michelle V. I learned a lot just sitting
next to her and...
peeking over Lorraine G's shoulder!
(waving to both of you!)
cover and pages...definitely a work in progress!! (apologies for the glaring flash)