Choices

My neighbor lost her life in a house fire a couple of weeks ago. Her home was less than a block away from my own.  The fire started due to an overloaded outlet.  I was not privy to the exact finding, but I have heard that an extension cord was plugged in to the wall.  Such a tragedy for something so preventable.  June and I had been neighbors for over 20 years.  She cared for my children during a couple of summers and we enjoyed her love of life and people.  I have been moved to tears thinking about how she struggled for her life that snowy, cold winter morning, trapped in the home where she had nurtured her own family for 40+ years, and for a time, mine as well.


Events such as this, make one think about life and death.  Day to day trivialities are lessened by the questions that arise from a sudden and tragic passing like this one.  I don't like to judge others by my perceptions, or even by what choices they may have made during their life but human nature makes one ponder such when a life is cut so short.

Wherever the soul goes when it leaves the body, is a choice we must make while we are breathing.  It means choosing and believing and living that choice as best we can.  It means daily revival and forgiveness for our failings and forgiving others of the same.  I believe that God, while seeing our imperfections, also sees our hearts.  I am thankful for that.  I am thankful for a merciful God who chooses to look inside, despite the tattered and worn packaging that we display on the outside. 

I am thankful for choices and the privilege of making one.

Sparking my creativity

I have been thinking about how to get motivated in my art life. Escaping to my art room seems overwhelming now because there is so much stuff in here! Everything is stashed in clear boxes for ease of finding, but then they are stacked upon each other and not easy to get to. It creates a block to creativity, that is for sure.

I wonder how others manage. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to even have a room to work in. I have seen dining room tables serving as art spaces, a tiny nook in the corner of a room, and sometimes barely a space at all and here I have a spare bedroom and am at my wits end! This is when I resort to digital art - everything is right here on the computer!

Snow again!

Well, Richmond got the snow that was expected - out where I live, we measured a good 10 inches, enough to shut down the city for a day! Enough for the governor to declare us in a "state of emergency". This is probably for areas who were expecting more. We did not go out and brave the snow as some folks did. I did not want to risk breaking anything as my good friend Cheri did right after Christmas. When you get our age, injuries seem to take longer to heal.

You would think that a couple of days "snowbound" would bring me a spark of creativity, but I could not get in the mood. Now that it is Sunday evening, I find that I am rather dark and gloomy, even though I will be off from work tomorrow. The morning will be filled with doctors appointments and the afternoon will rush by as Tuesday will be a regular work day. That is when I will be in the mood to create! Always happens that way!

Gosh, I am excited! I feel like a queen because I won the beautiful gratitude journal given away by Cat of "In the light of the moon"! http://inthelightofthemoon.blogspot.com/
Not to be selfish, but thinking that maybe I am on a roll, so I dropped my name in the hat for another giveaway over at "Because we believe in art" http://becausewebelieve-art.blogspot.com

The prize is 15 handcrafted ornaments! What a giveaway! It really is Christmas!

There are a couple of days left (ends December 4th), so why not go on over there and leave your name in the hat too! Simply become a follower, leave a comment and leave a little blurb about them on your blog. Good Luck!

I just LOVE this giving season! I wish you very good luck and a very, merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

I love the holidays! I really do. I look forward to them every year. It is a time to see family that I have not seen for a while, to share a home cooked meal with them and to catch up. It is difficult for me to prepare as I used to, and no matter what I think in my mind to be a simple task, often seems hard once I am in full swing. I am angry that I can not keep up as I used to, and that I have this leg disorder that does not go away. I am thankful though that my legs are there - my feet though aching, do walk and my body is able to re-cooperate when I am done! I am thankful for my immediate family, my extended family, my friends and my faithful husband! I am thankful for the gift of prayer and a merciful and loving Lord who blesses me more than I could ever deserve. Thank you Lord for all of my many blessings - I love you!

Wow, I am sorry that I have not posted in a while! I have been so busy with family things that I had forgotten all about blogging! Well, I see that I last promised to post my ATC's and never did! Above are 3 of the 4 cards that I made and mailed in to the Creative Souls ATC swap. (I forgot to scan the 4th one)I really enjoyed making the cards for my first swap. I swear I felt like I could just continue making those little cards forever, it was so much fun but lately, becoming bored with my conventional jewelry, I have been re-focusing on my artsy style jewlery making.

We are also focusing on some badly needed rehab efforts for our old utility room so that takes priority really over fun stuff. I do try to sneak in every bit of art time that I can though! I hope you all are crafting away and enjoying the nice Spring activities that are happening everywhere! Don't forget, Mothers Day is NEXT weekend, May 10th!

Creative Souls ATC's

As a self taught artist, I have dabbled in various medias and projects through the years, including the making of ATC's. Believe it or not, I have never participated in any swaps. I know; crazy, right? I usually just keep my own artwork or give these tiny intensive works to friends.

March Snow!

Snow in Virginia! The first substantial snow for us here in the Richmond area since 2000! We awoke this morning to a cold white blanket of gorgeous, glistening snow about seven inches high!

In honor of this day, I am posting this little snow guy I fashioned from an old, empty salt shaker! The word Chillin' spelled out below his pretty blue scarf, seems to befit his favorite state of mind and alot of us out here in the South as well!

Tonight, the weather calls for a high of eleven degrees! A perfect evening to enjoy some warm comfort food and perhaps settle down and create a little art. I pray that all that had to travel today arrived safely to their destinations and that likewise, they make their way home safely too. Stay warm!

Wow! I did not realize that I had not posted in so long! I guess I have been a little bit busy playing "NURSE!"...OMG... my dear hubby suddenly came down with Pnuemonia and was hospitalized for three days!

He is better now thank God, but it was kind of scarey there in the beginning. I made this piece of art "Encampeth" just before that happened. Maybe someone else knew we were about to go through a tribulation and inspired me with the verse from Psalms 34:7.

I am currently working on some cool purse jewelry inspired by a thrift shop find a couple of weeks back. As soon as complete, I will post! I missed Valentines Day due to dh's illness, but am ready to get back in the saddle and work on some very cool ideas I have! Stay tuned!

Many Blessings and Happiest of Happy New Years to you! Well, today is January 1st, 2009! Yea! Wow....I can honestly say, that while I am grateful for each day that the Lord gives me, I do look forward to a better new year! I wish each of you great health, much success and extreme happiness in this new year.

Why not resolve to stop often and smell the roses and perhaps even take a minute from your crazy schedule to sketch, paint, collage, re-purpose or alter them! When you are done, pass them along to someone else....share the joy. I think that is a really cool resolution.

Merry Christmas! It is now getting to be the time like when the train ran over the monkey's tail----it won't be long now! Christmas Day, as of this writing is only 7 days away! YIKES! I don't know how this happens to me every year. Every year it comes around at the same time, and every year I seem to never be ready for it.

Especially this year. We have all had stomach bugs and sinus infections. That made festivities less of a priority since we were mainly focused on just breathing. Then, when I did feel better, I still could not get to my Christmas decorations because they are up in the attic and I am not...nor can I make my way up there alone. No one ever seemed to have time to help me when they were around. Only today, December 18th, did I manage to plug up my little fiber optic tree in the living room and threw some dollar store decorations on it. "Walah!" It actually looks pretty, but truly not the same as my big tree with a million glittered german glass ornaments on it! There is just no time nor effort to take that on at this late date.

I hope you each are able to relax and enjoy some quality time with your family and friends. Don't over indulge but do enjoy the season and most of all, remember the reason for it. Take time to create something special for someone special. You will find it most rewarding! God's Blessings to you all!

Exhibition 36, Mixed-Media Demonstrations & Explorations by Susan Tuttle

P.S. Susan Tuttle is giving away her new book! If I don't win this, it would be a lovely Christmas gift! (Wink!)
Be sure to check out Susan's enticing blog for your own chance to win!

http://ilkasattic.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-give-away-contest.html#links

"Careful now...."

As a mother, of adult children, I really do not have much control over their choices and decisions, though I do often lose a bit of sleep about them! I worry about their finances and life choices as if they were my own. But, a parent can only advise them, perhaps share their opinion (if they ask you for it, & even sometimes when they don't), and by all means pray for them, but you never know if they are making the right decisions. You sometimes don't know what the best decision is for your own life, but usually by my age, hopefully one has at least gained a wee bit of wisdom and then the chances are greater that the right one has been executed!

I created this digital piece of art out of that exact feeling. You raise your kids, you teach them life skills, and pray for them diligently - then send them on their way! And yes, that would be just like me, hovering behind these little ones, attempting to light their way, but knowing that they have to choose their own path. And they should, carefully.

We are given life for that very reason, that we DO find our own way by God-given free will. Then, our sucessess are our own, as are our failures. We all learn from both. Still, mothers and dads too I suppose, like God, are always mindful and concerned that the path which these little ones whom we love so much will choose, will be the narrow one.

I often write about my granddaughter and my daughter, but I have a wonderful son as well! I see Brandon most every weekend when his sweet girlfriend Christina brings him over! Otherwise, he probably would not come over quite so often! He has a good heart but he is still a typical 21 year old guy and probably does not want to hang around with his parents on the weekend!

We are blessed, as we live close to our grown kids and see them very frequently as well as doing many things together. Brandon is quite an artist himself, though he says he does not get the thrill that I do from smelling pencil shavings and fresh paper pulp!

Thanks Giving 2008

Thanksgiving now past until next year, I reflect back on this past 12 months and I am so very thankful for all of the wonderful blessings that God has bestowed on my life! You just can't buy what God gives you freely! So, I claim the health and healing He offers and stand firm on His Word and accept that I am a child of the King! The worries of the world are not my worries because Christians simply do not operate by the laws of the world. We live in it, but we do not have to be part of it. When you realize this - it is like walking on sunshine!

This altered vintage photo is my cousin(l) and my aunt(r), many years ago. Both young ladies are now in their 60's and more beautiful than ever! They came from humble backgrounds but having heard how much fun they had as children, I could not resist altering them when I found this old photo. My family are all God chasers. Not a bad thing to be. Keeps that sun right smack dab in our face! I hope you will stop and reflect on God's goodness in your life and then take a moment to capture that in your own art work.

Well, not surprizingly, I am WAY behind in posting to my blog. As I mentioned before though, I wanted to post my daughters surprise birthday gift here and I actually did manage to finish the tags! She loved it! I loved it! Everyone loved it! We all enjoyed browsing through the old photos and reminising about loved ones passed on, and those we still have. To be honest, making the tags was a very emotional process for me. This top photo for instance, is my mother-in-law and father-in-law many years however, before I knew them. She was a beautiful woman and she loved her family. She was the mother to four boys and while making these tags, I kept thinking how much she loved them, how she sacrificed for them and what a difficult life she had. Being a mother myself, and now a little older and wiser - just made me appreciate her all the more. While we were close, we could have been closer had I invested the time. Her grandaughter, my daughter has her spunk and her sweetness. We lost her in 2006, and in making her tag, I was saddened to remember how much time I did not spend with her. I miss her deeply and regret the time lost. Other photos brought tears as well. Nonetheless, it was an extremely enjoyable project and my daughter has placed it on her china cabinet hook for all to view and says she will cherish it always.