Okay, my first day of spring post is late...

But then, so is the weather that goes with this season...

Excerpted  from the Farmer’s Almanac...

Ah, spring! This season brings increasing daylight, warming temperatures, and the rebirth of flora and fauna. 

The word equinox is derived from the Latin words meaning “equal night.” Days and nights are approximately equal everywhere and the Sun rises and sets due east and west.

At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)

--- in layman’s terms, it’s still f—ing dark when I walk Max in the morning, there’s still f—ing snow on the ground and it’s still f—ing cold when I go to bed each night. 

But, determined to look on the bright side, which on this day, is exactly equal to the dark side, (in spite of the cloud of gloom that eternally hovers over me lately,) here is a springy illustration to mark the day.

Self-discovery

 

I have been experimenting a bit --  combining my illustrations with my mixed media heart paintings, in a digital re-mix of sorts. I really like the results, and it is funny how I can find an illustration and then a heart painting that seem to just go together. 

I learned something about myself this week. It is at the heart of my struggles with finding my next life. I had dinner with friends on Sunday -- friends I have know for almost two decades -- friends with whom I worked for most of the last twenty years. I was telling them about my "adjustments" at my new job. And one of them asked me, "Well, would you prefer a job that was incredibly exciting and challenging, but didn't have the security of the job you had now?" My response was, "Well, I don't want to be working until 7 pm every night." Let's ignore the fact that this wasn't even an answer to her question. The most interesting part was that it is a lie. And I didn't even know it at the time...

Later in the week, I was talking to my sister, and I told her about this conversation, and she said "But the best week of work youv'e had so far, you were working until 7 pm. I called you one night when you were still at work, and you sounded awesome." And she's right, of course. I was challenged. I was engaged. I was problem-solving. 

But why did it take someone else to point out that obvious fact about ME?! If I am that unaware of what really brings me satisfaction, then it's no wonder I've been miserable lately.

And I also discovered another related truth during this conversation -- I don't mind working longer hours, but I also want flexibility. If I do work until 7 pm, when necessary, I'd like the option of coming in late, or leaving early another day. I have great difficulty with rigid time constraints.

Such valuable information about my next life ... challenging, engaging, flexible. That's a start.

Girl power…

Thank you to all my girls, who have given me love and laughter and motivation and encouragement and advice and support. Even on my most difficult days, my life is so rich and full of promise because of each of you. 

 This week has been a clear example of why my art is such a celebration of “girl-centric” themes, as I have recently described it. You are all at the core of everything good in the world, and certainly, everything good in my life. You are strong and funny and beautiful and wise. I hope my words and actions and art are able to reflect your awesomeness, always.

I am one lucky girl.

Grateful...

...for my Cabinet xo (I will post more later)

Lower your expectations.

That’s right. Screw optimism.  

How’s that for a catchy blog title? Sorry folks. I am done with cheery and optimistic. I am cranky and pissed off, and cold and lethargic. My creativity is in the crapper, just beneath my positive attitude.

 I just read an article (In Praise of an Ordinary Life by Alain De Botton, in Flow Magazine), which informed me, in a nutshell, that…

“ …it’s nice when you can raise your expectations, but also very painful, because we can’t always get what we want.”

I think I learned this when I was around three. Up until then, I am pretty sure I got everything I wanted, since that was mostly chocolate milk and the undivided attention of all the adults in my life. At age three, my sister Cheryl was born, and that’s when it all went downhill for this chubby, only child. (Love you sisser!!!)

Still, I was three, a resilient daydreamer, and I managed.

Now I am 49. And grumpy.  I wasn’t supposed to get older, fatter, poorer. I really do want it all, and I’ve been pretending it was actually possible. Until I read this article, which reminded me of what I already knew. That it’s highly unlikely that I will get anywhere near all that I want.

(She says pouting; crossing arms; stomping feet.)

So now I am stuck with figuring out what I really, really want, within the parameters of my measly life, and that is supposed to make me happy.  This life shit is really hard sometimes. 

Struggling...

Hey folks. I know I promised I'd have details my next class offering up over the weekend. Well, since I am writing this on Wednesday, that obviously didn't happen. My weekend flew by, with a few unexpected events that were not in my plans -- not bad stuff -- just stuff that takes time.

That is one of the things I am struggling with... time. The new job starts earlier and has a more time consuming commute, and it eats up my morning, which is my most productive time. I now have time at the end of the day -- not much -- but a little more, but I do not use end of day time as productively. I used to be a night owl in my 20s and 30s but I have morphed into an early bird (lol, that would be a funny illustration).

Anyway, I am not happy with myself. I hate to announce my plans and then fail to deliver, but I feel like I am famous for it.

I am also in desperate need of sunshine and exercise. I have no excuse for the latter except, again -- time. And again, that was something I used to pack into my morning.

So I am mourning my loss of morning, and trying to find ways to adjust my needs to this new schedule. Okay. enough ranting. I don't have time. Waaaaaah. (okay I am not just struggling, I am whining.)

sneak peek... these are the latest paper clay houses on which the class will be based (can you tell I am ready for spring?!)

Time capsule.

I am discovering some wonderful artifacts in my new job.  Even though our department moved to a new building just a few short years ago, it seems to be tradition among designers (like artists) to save virtually every book and piece of paper that crosses our paths.

This is clearly the case here, as the cupboards and cabinets are a museum of graphic design books dating from my favorite graphic design era – the 70s. While absolutely none of these are really helpful to me in my day to day job, the pages transported me to a groovier time and place for sure. Here’s a peek…

Valentine’s day. A retrospective.

It is only February and I am falling short of my own intentions. Among them, to blog more.  If I could say I was incredibly busy doing amazing and creative things, I would forgive myself. But this long, cold, cold, snowy, cold, miserable (did I mention cold), winter had me in a funk. So I am blogging about Valentine’s day now that my hands have thawed.

In spite of my funk, I am not among the many (based on social media rants) who hate Valentine’s Day. I love it. Not just in the romantic sense, although I feel fortunate to have that (with a liberal definition of the word romantic - and sense), but the whole shebang. 

As will come as no surprise to my regular readers, I love hearts, for starters. And the color red. And the color pink. I also love flowers, and chocolate, and dining out. And I love the opportunity to surprise a friend with a little valentine that tells them I appreciate them -- Surprise, my friends – they are still sitting on my art table, undelivered. But unlike a Christmas card in January, I think A valentine in March (or May) is just fine. Right?

Now that I’ve dragged myself out of the winter doldrums, I AM busy sketching again these days, and I DO have a new class in the works (these are totally unrelated, by the way). I will have photos and sign up info by the weekend, so stay tuned. … Peace and love, friends.

Little clay houses...

Painting

Sanding

Embellishing (front)

Embellishing (back)

Here's what I was up to this weekend! Paperclay houses. I plan to offer this as a class in the near future, but I need to work out the logistics. It takes days for the clay to dry thoroughly, so this may be a full day workshop that involves some prep. Stay tuned for details!!

Love - sew retro!

8 x  8 mixed media & acrylic on deep set canvas.