Managing Life, & Art....

Choices

2010-02-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

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

2010-02-15T07:48:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-01-29T07:04:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-12-02T21:21:00.007-05:00

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

2009-11-29T21:22:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-05-03T17:37:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-20T04:37:00.005-04:00

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.

Time is always an issue for me so before I committed to the swap, I carved out a little time to see how far I could get prior to the swap entry deadline, meaning I would still have a couple more weeks to complete the 4 cards should I not finish prior to the entry deadline. But I actually was 90% finished before I even signed up!

I still have them laying on my work table thinking that maybe just one more technique or embellishment would complete them, but for the most part - they are ready to go! I had so much fun creating the cards. If you have ever hesitated to join a swap, I encourage you to try this method. The little cards really do work up quickly and you may find that once your base is created, the elaboration of elements and techniques come quickly. Of course if you are like me, that final finish may take a couple of days to come to you.

I hope to mail my submissions out early next week, but I am so glad that I joined the swap. I usually stay in the digital realm and had forgotton how much fun "making art" can really be. After the swap ends, I will post what I submitted and what I received in return. I can not wait to receive cards from the very creative artists at Creative Souls!

March Snow!

2009-03-02T14:03:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-02-21T09:54:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-01-01T06:43:00.004-05:00

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.

2008-12-18T21:36:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-06T02:44:00.004-05:00

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...."

2008-12-06T02:07:00.005-05:00

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.

2008-12-04T06:27:00.003-05:00

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

2008-12-03T21:52:00.003-05:00

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.

2008-11-04T06:42:00.007-05:00

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.

We are family.....

2008-09-23T05:59:00.004-04:00

This is my great aunt Eunice when she was four years old. That would have been about 1908! She was a beautiful child. She was my favorite great aunt! It was a joy to find this photo. I have been looking at a lot of old photos lately. Digging around in my family roots. Learning about people that have passed and how they may have lived their lives in the eras in which they lived. It is fun to piece together and to imagine. An extra benefit is the real photos! It is exciting to have my own family photos now to use in my altered art!

I have been working on a secret project. It really has taken quite a bit of time to compile and design. This will be a gift for my daughters October 3rd birthday. It is almost complete but I have learned in this process that I am an impatient artist. If I have an idea and I have the materials in front of me, I want to dive in. Not bad except that you run into a few "oopps" along the way. You discover that maybe you should have done this or that or not have done this or that! But, that is part of art I guess. Didn't Picasso say that some of his best works were mistakes?

I don't know. My mistakes are more like a stupid brush hairs caught in the varnish. and now forever part of my artwork! Arghhh!!! Why didn't I use a sponge!? No amount of fingernail digging is gonna make that look better. This is the kind of errors I am talking about. Or like realizing that something should have been pasted BEHIND what you already pasted down. Or a hole made too big, or no where for the hole! Poor planing....impatient planning. Yep. That is where I am here. But, it looks cool anyway. I know she will be touched when she sees it. I hope she doesn't magnify the errors!

Well, I will keep you posted and load some photos when the 3rd gets a wee bit closer. She checks this page and I don't want to ruin the surprise! Be Patient!!!

2008-08-25T06:56:00.002-04:00

God is good! All the time! This is just a praise report that the leg xrays and veneous dopplers were all normal. Prayer is powerful! I am just getting old and some of my habits (or lack thereof) are saying hello! Maybe it is time to change some of my habits. Anyway, I am grateful for the good report!

I spent yesterday with Olivia. Her Mom and Dad took her to church and then brought her to my house. They needed a little time alone and had some tickets to use so they spent the afternoon at Busch Gardens. Livvi, Papa and I had chicken noodle soup with saltine crackers, sliced cheese and pear juice. She loved it and so did we! I love my time with my granddaughter! She is a blessing to me.

I am making my daughter (pictured with me above)an altered art gift for her upcoming October 3rd birthday. Stephanie loves geneaology and all that goes with it. Digging up the lineage and history of family members long passed, is her bag. She loves library's, cemetaries, and any day that brings her more knowledge of her ancestors. I on the other hand, enjoy seeing the old photos. So for her birthday, I thought I would attempt to marry the two and give her something to have as a keepsake of her efforts. I am attempting to capture a bit of her findings on something concrete - tags full of photos and info. Aged of course, blank canvases on the backs for her to write her findings and my altered style incorporated throughout! When finished, I will post here. It is going to be yummy!

My Olivia

2008-08-11T20:51:00.003-04:00

If anyone out there reads this, and you are a praying person, I would like to ask you to pray for me. I have a place on my leg which has been there for about 4 months now and tomorrow, I go for tests to try to find out what is going on. My God is bigger than this, that is for sure! My faith is strong and I am not looking for nothing nor claiming anything, but I am human and I am a little bit anxious. So, if you could remember me when you talk to Him, I would be so appreciative!

This is my little darling grand daughter, Olivia! She is about 10 months old now. She weighs just 17 pounds. She is a tiny little thing, but she is big on sweetness. And she is healthy and eating much better now. I had not posted much on here about her lately, so I think she was due a little of the spotlight. She certainly is the highlight of my life!

Don't you just love grandbaby's? Love 'em up, fill 'em up, pump 'em up and then give them back to their parents! Payback!

2008-08-09T22:05:00.002-04:00

I am a player. I make collages and then digitally alter them and sometimes, I come up with something totally different than is my normal "style". Which I wonder if I can define what my style is, anyway?

I am always attracted to anything old and tattered. It is as if a magnet pulls me to the aged object. I wonder who had them, what the object may have meant to them (if anything) and I wonder what they would think of the same object today.

Secondly, I am a lover of colors. The contrast between vintage and bright colors is obvious. Where they come together, I don't know. But in Normaland, the old, forgotten and tattered live side by side with the bright and vivid colors of life! My "style" then, is of that which is all but forgotten, and all that breathes life. It is vintagekodachrome. Or that is what I am calling it. VIntageKodaChrome. The old and the new together. Cool.

Decisions choose our paths ......

2008-08-04T21:17:00.003-04:00

Well, life just keeps spinning around me! My own life is actually pretty stagnet; it is the lives of whom I share my own with that are ever changing! For instance, I don't always agree with the choices that my children make, but the choices are theirs and while I do want them to hear my opinion, and consider it, I do not want them to base their decisions on neither of their parents opinions.

I want these young adults to make their own, fully thought out, rationalized decisions. The failures if materialized, will teach them and the success, if materialized will be credited to them. Will they arrive at the correct decision? Will they sustain pain from their decisions? I don't know. I can't and don't want to control that process, or the even the outcome. I don't want to make the choices for their life. It is their life. I raised them to understand that their choices choose the path, and every action will bring a consequence, whether good or bad.

For these young adults, I am here though, guiding, parenting and praying for them. I love them regardless of whether their decisions match my own - I only pray that they weigh the options presented to them and move in the direction that they have logically rationalized to be the best for their circumstance.

Me? I just go from day to day....dreaming of the day when everything is peaceful around me and all I have to do is think about what I would enjoy creating next and deciding what colors to use! Those are the really hard choices in life. The rest is optional. Life still happens around you, even if you just sit still. I just want to be in the best spot as it does.

Happy Birthday, America!

2008-07-09T11:16:00.004-04:00

We had Fios installed in our home this week. So far, we love it. Unfortunately, the installation called for the technicians ability to reach areas hidden by almost 20 years of "stuff". That meant at the minimun, rearranging many things to enable him to do his work.

Hidden in a small box within a box, I found this early attempt at microscope glass art. I had even made a chain to go with it. The picture does not do it justice, as it did turn out quite lovely for my first attempt! Sadly, I never learned to solder so, I tossed it in a box for later finishing. I think some folks use the piece with just the tape around the edges, but to me it appears unfinished. I would never wear or try to sell a piece that I felt might break or come apart. It was fun though re-discovering a bit of my earlier work. Makes me itch to do a bit more, especially microscope slide art - I always enjoyed the process. I would love to learn to solder. This will go back on my list of things to do, if I ever get all of this stuff I had to move out of the way in order to get FIOS installed!!

2008-06-29T20:21:00.002-04:00

Sweet Olivia, my dear eight month old grandbaby's little toes peeking from her blankie while napping were so sweet, that I just had to capture them in a photograph! She is just a joy for all of her family. She is finally starting to "chub-up" a little bit, after suffering the first several months of her life with acid reflux and an allergy to cows milk.

While I crave making art, I crave time with Livvi more, and she comes first. I can barely go a day without seeing her. She is thriving now and we are thankful to Almighty God for her healing and having her precious little soul in our life.

Keeping up with this blog has been a challenge, but I found a link today for a site stating that we should "Blog without Obligation" - I grabbed the logo because it will let you know that while I want to blog, and sometimes need to blog, I am stepping back from the guilt. I hope that you will come back and check for updates (more often than not), because I am not giving up, I am just giving up the pressure! I believe that I am going to be ok with that. I hope this will not deter you from stopping by anyway, and that perhaps you understand and feel the same.

2008-06-08T04:48:00.003-04:00

Alas, I am a bad blogger. It is a very cool concept, this "open diary-journal" thing. One jots down ideas, iteniaries, notions, thoughts, inclinations, etc. Then people stop by, hopefully sipping on their herbal teas, feet up, comfy and cozy- forgetting their own troubles or mundane lives while drawing from your frivilous rants and ramblings. At the end, hopefully the readers life has been enhanced from reading your blog. That is the purpose anyway, isn't it?

What if however, the blog writer fails to add new ramblings to their blog? It would be like going into a shoe store and finding the same shoes on the rack at each visit! Why, you wouldn't eveb waste your time going back to that store now, would you? You might wait a few months to give the store an opportunity to put up new stock, because otherwise if the store never changed their stock and always had the same thing-why go back there? Shameful. What a waste of a wonderful concept and a waste of a perfectly good shoe store to boot! (No pun intended!)

So dear readers, I apologize for my lack of dedication. There is no viable excuse. I promise to TRY to do better!

The lady in green above should give you a pretty good idea of how I have been feeling these days. A digital display of emotions titled "Looking Out". Though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak....and trying to pull myself out of this "block" is tiring, and the complacency is irritating because I am not one to be content in not producing change. I mean, I am an artist! That is what artists like me do - we "change" things. Yet this hum-drum place is oddly comfortable so much that I am beginning to lose sight of the direction I was originally heading in. " What does that mean?" you ponder? "Eh, I dunno".

I guess this may be normal. Maybe this happens from time to time. I have to do something though - I have accumeulated too much junk to not do anything at all. At the very minimum, perhaps a yard sale is in order. Maybe I should stay with simply reading about how to make things. It seems that I am usually too tired to actually create anything anyway. Or maybe I can just throw everything away except for my computer, as digital art is so much fun, albeit the lazy artists retreat.

Who knows? But, fear not dear reader. I am sure to get back on the saddle any day now. Certainly I will have to look for new shoes in the very near future! This place is beginning to irritate me.

Playing with Digital Art

2008-05-13T05:36:00.011-04:00

My grandmother never had the art supplies that I am blessed to have. She used whatever was available for her sketches.....a blank tablet (or a lined one), an old envelope, a newspaper corner, just about anything would do; whatever she had near her when the urge to sketch hit her would suffice! She sketched lovely ladies resembling those whom she had seen in her youth; typical "Gibson Girls". I think if Grandma had of had different materials and more time, she would have drawn much more and her attempts to create would have greatly increased.

Perhaps this is why I love art so much and particularly, have always loved vintage photographs! Especially photographs of beautiful women. From the very young girls, to the very old ladies, I love them all! The older the photograph, the better. I do become bored with sketching them and coloring them with pencils or crayons and it takes a bit of time. Mistakes are unforgiving for a perfectionist like myself. This is when I found that digital art was for me! Color is quickly absorbed on my digital canvas and mistakes are erased in a click, plus they do not leave traces of the error!

I wonder how these ladies from long past lived. Many early victorian photographs subjects are pensive. People rarely smiled and seldom seem to have worn any color. But I love to alter these poor people, bringing them to life by adding vibrant living color to their world! All the while imagining what they would think of being laden in so much color and of their new environment!

I work in either Paint Shop Pro8, or Adobe Elements 2.0 - perhaps alternating between the two.I usually start by giving their grey skin new life, adding various shades and hues to reach a tone that appears true and hopefully radient (if that is the mood I am in!). The poor subjects are really at my mercy! Then I play with their hair color. I am a naturalist, so I usually consider this and do not change what I detect was their original hair color, though admittedly they may benefit from modern highlights!

The lovely lady above was a movie star in the 1920's. Not a true victorian, but still classifies as a vintage image for me, and beautiful, yes. But sadly for recorded history, shall she always remain in shades of grey?

Not with a little help from her friends! With new skin, makeup, hair, brightened clothes and a lively environment, she comes to life with my digital paintbox! This is my favorite waste of time. Giving new life to these once beautiful and vibrant women through the click of my mouse.

I encourage you to take a break from your busy life, have some fun with your digital paintbox and give some new life to an old friend!

Vacation Treasures

2008-04-30T20:55:00.008-04:00

We're back! Vacation is over and sadly, the weather did not cooperate - raining five of the eight days at the beach. We went to bed early, woke up late, ate, rested again, rode around in the rain, shopped, ate again, went to the pool, enjoyed the baby and our family and then did it all over again! We did go out on the beach a bit when the weather permitted. The best part of vacation for me is thrifting! I checked out a couple of thrift stores, and was fortunate enough to find a few wonderful treasures! My favorite was a soldered glass victorian house with a rusty metal roof. The intent seems to be as a candle holder. The original price tag, though faded, was still on the bottom. It read $29.99. There was no other thrift price on it though, so I just took it to the cashier. When I asked how much for this, she looked at the rusty top and said "$1.99?" Thought to self: (OMG! I thought I heard her say "$1.99!")....so I asked her "how much did you say, $4.99?" "$1.99 .....she repeated, is that ok?". Well people, you know I said (with slight disgust), "yeah, that is fine, I guess", but what I really wanted to say was "OMG! Are you crazy? This should be much more than that and it would still be a bargain!". So, I whisked out my card and I paid a mere $1.99 and I rushed out to my (get-away) car! I felt like I was stealing it! That little house was definately the highlight of my vacation and worth all of the rain we had endured! In fact, I was grateful for the rain!

I do LOVE thrift stores! I love pretty things that look expensive, but that cost me little! I buy unique decorative items, old books (the older, the better) and things that I believe can be altered or turned into something new, or that can be altered to use in a new way. Thrifting is one of our favorite things to do in our spare time. My husband looks for different things than I do, but we both enjoy vintage items and music CD's. He is such a joy in my life (when we are not fighting, of course!) He shares my love of the old and odd and frequently even brings me little treasures that he has found while working. Today he brought me an old antique key of some sort. It is odd and unique - and I love that! I will hoard it as I do all little treasures but plan to incorporate it into something when I run across whatever that something may be!

After returning on Saturday, I made more digital art. I was so excited to come back home (because I love my tiny little abode!). Photographed an earlier piece I call "Apathy" to post here. It is simply an altered mason lid. Digital art is quicker and instantly gratifying! I simply could not wait to get back to my computer to dabble in PSP8. Hope to work on more soon and will strive to post them on Creative Souls as well.

Quick Note!

2008-04-18T06:45:00.006-04:00

I just created a new pic for my Creative Souls profile page. I think it looks cool; well, as cool as it can look having been created at 10:00 p.m. with only one eye open! Please check out Creative Souls - even if you are not interested in mixed media arts, there is plenty of eye candy there! http://creativesouls.ning.com

By the way, mixed media includes photography, digital art, collage and altered art. It is a lovely site with a lot of info as well as "God chat". Enjoy!

My REAL Job .....

2008-04-16T22:12:00.006-04:00

I am so blessed to have a job! I mean a lot of people probably wish that they had a job like mine. I basically work independently with minimal supervision and manage myself. I have a boss - and I love her! But sometimes I wish I were more involved with the group, but often I like it just as it is. Nonetheless, every day lately, I don't want to go to work. I want to stay home and play! I want to paint, draw, sketch, tear up, color, glue, embellish and just be the artist that I wake up with every morning! Unfortunately, I did not learn this soon enough. I have a mortgage and many bills to pay. I can't stay home and play. It sure is difficult to drag myself in each morning. But they make you do that when you have a job.

Thankfully vacation is coming up and I will get a break from my real job (and I really need a break!) , but I will also get a little break from art too. I don't want a break, but it will be good for clearing the brain. After a while, sometimes you just can't think of anything creative. I am about at that point.

Everything else is kind of stagnet around here now. Spring has barely sprung but seems little work gets accomplished during the late Spring and early Summer. But, Autumn will be here before you know it and I have already been asked to participate in two Fall art shows. I hope with an early vacation, that I can clear the static that has been at our home these past few weeks and that this block passes and soon I will have more stuff to make and sell!

Creative Souls

2008-04-12T06:16:00.007-04:00

I am honored - blushing really! I was personally invited by the fabulously talented and beautiful "Izabella" to join the on-line networking group, "Creative Souls". Not that I am all that. Izabella invites many artists of course, I am not special. But it is special to me. I admire the work of my fellow mixed-media, altered art, collage and photography artists. Many of them I have admired for a number of years, reading their blogs and webpages, coveting their work and learning a great deal about them through it all. It is so cool to share a page with this group of very talented and passionate people.

Creative Souls is a diverse group of Artisans. A neat little page designed to meet other "creative souls" and to help promote each other. Who ever thought that I would have the opportunity to meet such talent! (Even if it is only electronically, so far!) Each artist has their own page and once a member, can reap rewards of a lot of beautiful eyecandy and also learn from other artists in some outstanding forums.

A couple of days ago I posted photographs on Creative Souls. There are several, as it is a book, but the photograph above is of the first two adjoining pages of an altered book that I made a while ago. I bought a hard paged little childrens book from a local thrift shop for fifty cents, gessoed the pages and had at it with paints, glitter, images, scissors, ribbons and glues! This sweet book was my first attempt at such. Upon seeing it, people always ask me "how much?", but it is not for sale. I had so much fun making it, and put so many hours into it, I could not bare to part with it. Besides, it was not perfect, not to me anyway. But it was a good exercise in creativity. So now, it just sits in my studio, tucked in a cubby on my desk, along with hundreds of other things I hoard. I can't let it go though. It was my first altered book.

Since the making of this little book, which I titled "Gaze", I have made a few more. Usually they are personalized books for friends. A celebration, and tribute of their birthday or other occassion.

My friends get quite a kick out of receiving something so personalized and I enjoy their joy in receiving it!

I also enjoy making Artist Trading Cards (ATC). A couple of samples are on this page. I would love to trade with other artists! Please let me know if you are interested!

P.S. You can check out Creative Souls via this link: http://creativesouls.ning.com/

I love babies....

2008-04-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

When I was having my own children, it seems that I was so busy during their babyhood that I missed a few things. Looking at Olivia now and watching her smile and coo at 5 months old, makes me sad in a way. I can't seem to remember my two children smiling or cooing that young. Or maybe they did and I just do not recall it, or I was simply doing something else.

When you are young, you are just trying to manage it all. Work, family, home and maybe even school like my daughter is currently doing. She has a full time job, she owns her own home (at 23 years old), and Lord willing, she will complete her Masters in Criminal Justice in December. She is a wonderful young mother to her own daughter and she is a supportive and loving daughter to me and my husband. I admire her tenacity! She has certainly endured her fair share of stress lately and has had many life changes. I am proud of her choices though and know she will only go on to do greater things!

Olivia is a happy, smiling baby who loves her play time alone and loves to interact with people as well. She is very aware of her surroundings and sensitive to changes. Today, for the first time, she actually reached out to her Great Grandmother, "Gammie". I don't remember either of mine doing that. I probably was working on crafts....making a hat or something! I regret not stopping then to smell the roses as they say. Now, my roses have bloomed and moved on.

Enjoy the little ones while they are little. They don't stay little very long at all.

Celebrating Kenny!

2008-04-05T06:15:00.000-04:00

Monday is hubby's birthday! He will be 48 years old! Good grief, time sure passes fast when you are having fun! I met him when he was a mere 14 years old. He sported a beard even at that young age. I thought he was sooooo mature.... wow! I had no idea how much he had left to do at that time!

Anyway, he says it is his birthday celebration weekend. Each meal therefore is his birthday dinner (or breakfast, or lunch) and must be exciting. If that is all the man wants, who could argue with that? I ordered him a turntable that converts vinyl and cassette into CD's. Sadly, it has not arrived yet and today I will have to run out and find something else to give him. We will probably go out tomorrow to Roadhouse for steaks and come home for dessert. I will make him his favorite dessert (Coconut Cake) and have the kids over for a birthday celebration, tomorrow.

Guess what? Not much time for Art lately, though I do have a couple of projects "in progress". I started out making a photo collage for my Mom for Mothers Day, but decided to keep it for myself instead. I may make her one as well and my daughter says that she wants a set. I am also working on a Birth Announcement for my newest little cousin, Abbie. She was born at 24 weeks. She has been bathed in prayer since before she was born and is making steadily good progress. That is what prayer can do!

Many changes in our immediate family lately, coupled with a fair amount of drama. I am prayerful that it will all work out for the best. The past week or so has been busy with these kinds of issues and that really takes from my creative energy. Hopefully I will be back in the saddle this weekend and can finish up and start some new cool art pieces!

Changes

2008-03-19T06:52:00.001-04:00

Much can change in a month. The weather, your weight, your job, your home, your status.....in fact, in a matter of minutes, what had been normal, can become a "new" normal. Our family has experienced such a change in the past couple of weeks.

In the realm of the big, wide world, it is a small change. To the person involved in it however, it is a huge change. In a quick turn of events over a few intense hours, our daughters two year marriage dissolved almost instantaneously and because of a very loved four month old child, the event greatly impacted many people who loved this new little family.

There is hurt, tears, anger, disbelief, fear, caution, forgivenuess, peace and hope. I am confident that healing is immenant, and that God is still on the throne. As her mother, and the grandmother of this precious and innocent little grandchild, I have only become more protective. Perhaps too quick to point out indiscresions and vocalize the realization of past clues. My purpose is protection, but it is usually received with condemnation. That is not my intent. It is difficult, if not impossible to back out of "Mother" mode, and simply stand in a guarded position, making no verbal observations, nor excercise any mobility to intervene.

I am proud of our family nonetheless. All have come together and embraced my daughters. The ears that hear her story and offer direction seem impartial but guided. Mainly I know that her protection is utmost in everyones minds. In my daughter, I see strength and determination surfacing in the midst of devastation. I sense acceptance and healing, though surely they are still a little too hard to reach just yet.

I wish only the best for all involved. Even so, I pray for more changes in a positive direction. Someone once said, "if you are not changing, you are dying". There is something to learn from that statement.

.

Celebrations!

2008-02-25T06:53:00.001-05:00

Saturday was my birthday, and despite my sweet husband's very severe cold, we managed to join our family for a celebration lunch at Outback Restaurant. Feasting with my family is one of my favorite things to do! At 47 years old, and having been married for 29 of those 47 years, I am grateful for each new day! The past couple of years I have had some health issues, which my Mom says are to be expected as you grow older. Some were close calls, bad news - or at least bothersome news, but each time God has prevailed and I walk away healed! It is awesome to be a child of God and stand on His promises! So cool!

I played a little with electronic art this weekend, altering some pics and making a couple of beaded thumb rings. If only I do this all day!

For Laura

2008-02-18T05:10:00.000-05:00

February 3rd was my supervisor's birthday. I made Laura a domino pendant and an altered bisque angel. She seemed to like them both, but has a special adoration for angels! In fact, the angel was a big hit with everyone who saw it. I probably will make a few more of them to sell. The picture does not do it justice though. Entwined in the strands of fiber are narrow strips of paper containing written scripture. You probably can't see the charms and buttons either but they are there!

This was simply a purchased bisque angel bust, which I added embellishments to. I like to find ordinary but aged items and alter them or embellish them. These little angel busts came in two styles and look aged and distressed. Really, they are pretty just by themselves. I was going to tie a ribbon on the back metal hanger when I thought about adding even more ribbon to it. These could be given as a set, or individually. I considered Laura's color scheme at her home when adding elements to the angel. She is a christian so scripture seemed fitting. The scripture I chose is one of my favorites and I chose it because I love Laura (1st Corinthians:13:4 -8). Amazingly this also turned out to be her favorite scripture! She had even used it for her wedding. What do you know! That is really cool that it worked out that way!

Anyway, I am glad that she liked it and I will wait and see if she wears the necklace! I had fun with the pendant which was an altered domino. Inked, stamped and embedded with metals and beads, it turned out a little more edgy than I had planned. I wondered if this was even a piece that Laura would wear, but since I had began with one particular outift that she wears in mind, I continued with the process. The result was brown, pretty, unusual and definately one of kind! I think that qualifies for altered art!

Many, many people ask me if I sell my work. So far, I have not sold any of my handcrafts on the internet, though I am forever contemplating it. It looks like the fees on some of these sites may have increased so I will have to see if the increase seems prohibitive to making a profit. Considering the costs plus the postage, it may significantly reduce the income potential especially when time is considered. For the artisan, time is the most costly factor and few want to pay you for your time! I truly do need to gain back some of the money I spend on art and art supplies though! And each piece that I do is planned and thoughtful.

Otherwise, I have not had much time to post here lately! It is the middle of February and only yesterday did we get our Christmas stuff up in the attic! Good grief! I have never been that late before! Now that Valentines Day is over, we have to prepare for St. Patricks Day and Easter and a whole slew of family birthdays are on the way!

I will be working on those gifts next and of course can not charge the recipient! So sad! Well, better get busy! It may be another month before I get back on here to post!

All the best! Norma

Still haven't found what I'm looking for.....

2008-02-03T21:54:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe that it is February already! The official month of Love! This is the month of my birthday, my wedding anniversary, my brothers birthday, my mother in law's birthday, my bosses birthday and Valentines Day, of course! Oh, and Ground Hog's Day! A busy, eventful month!

It only gets busier in March, when it is my Mom's birthday, her husbands birthday, my son's birthday, my sisters birthday, my parents anniversary and St. Patricks day! Whew! I am exhausted by April but luckily my husband's birthday is early April and I can recover a little bit before Easter!

Baby Olivia is here! What a joy and a blessing! She is 3 months old now and "talking" up a storm! She loves her "PaPa" and "MiMi" as evident with coos and squeals. We repay her in the same manner. A little "love fest" between the three of us.

Obviously my time situation has not gotten better, but I manage to make something here and there. I do ache to do more art. Soon, I will HAVE to take a day off from the drudgery of my paying job in lieu of creativity. I am enjoying viewing all of the Blogs represented in "ONE WORLD~ONE HEART". I want to participate but having only just found out about this, I may have to wait until next year.

2007-08-31T06:33:00.000-04:00

Thank God it is Friday! Woo-hoo! I am up early as always, but I don't have to go to work today! I took a couple of days off just to re-coop, if you will. I needed a break from the mundane, run of the mill work day! I actually feel like if I don't get something created soon, I will explode!

The Labor Day weekend is upon us! I am excited about many things - the cooler weather, being able to get back to walking reguarly (better weather) and Olivia's entry into the world in October! Then of course the fall holidays will be in full swing!
Thank you God, for ALL of our many blessings!

Dream Land

2007-08-14T21:21:00.001-04:00

Well, for whatever reason, today was a better day than yesterday. I think that I was so busy dreaming Sunday evening, that I got plum wore out! I could barely keep my eyes open at work yesterday. I know my employer was pleased that I got right back into gear today! I really hate being tired at work. I enjoy being productive and I have a busy little desk which does require a fair amount of participation from me to make it successful! haha! So, no more dreaming! The dream wore me plumb out!

The weird part about dreaming is that the dreams are most always "weird". I always dream stupid dreams. This night I was dreaming that I was on a long and winding road on the way to my Aunt's house in the country. I have dreamed of that before and dreamt of the same exact route. That route however, does not resemble the ACTUAL route in any way. SO, who knows what that meant. It most have been a tough trip though since I was so tired yesterday!

In real life, I had to watch the dogs tonight and the kitten. They were active little creatures. Kenny cut the grass and I cooked supper while animal sitting. Now it is about 9:30 and I am again getting sleepy! No artwork tonight either!!!

Maybe I will dream about it!

2007-08-12T18:49:00.000-04:00

The problem these days seems to be space and time. The kids are grown and live in their own home yet the space they left behind is sadly filled with odd matter that Heaven knows where it came from!

It is old stuff. Old, odd, worthless stuff. Treasures to only me. Any mixed media artist such as I surely understands the land that I live in! Nearly nothing is trash. My daughter says I plasticize everything. Stuffing odd bits and pieces in boxes (neatly tucked away to be savored at another time!). Yes, you know....for that special project waiting to be created!

Much of the time, I get on my own nerves. Planning, saving, hoarding these little treasures, yet never creating or finishing. Old man time is not my friend. I work 40+ hours per week. Then life takes over the spare time and I don't seem to ever accomplish any fun stuff.