Blog, sweet blog...

I feel like I've been away from home on my blog lately. One reason is a technological catastrophe -- my digital camera is broken -- I see a weird blur through the viewfinder rather than any clear idea of what I am photographing, and while I can still take pictures, they look like this --kind of like I typically feel after a particularly fun night out...



Anyway, I need to find someone locally who can look at my four-year-old SONY Cybershot and tell me if there's any hope -- or if I just need to start shopping for a new one.

Meanwhile, a funnier story about technology... I mentioned several posts ago that I finally upgraded my cable package to include DVR ability. One thing I still often forget is that I can fast-forward through commercials. So I was catching up on some DVR programs last night and I listened to the weather guy report on the impending storm, and I awoke this morning to clear skies and no accumulation. Now, normally this is because let's face it, the weather people and all of their doppler radar and fancy graphics still have no better idea than you and I about what the weather will be like. But in this case, it was because I was listening to last week's weather report.

So I really want to be able to fix this camera and not have to learn to use a new one. Or else get used to lots of images like this on my blog...

Begin. Reach. Act.

Peace

Series of three.
5 x 5 acrylic, collage & mixed media on canvas.

VD is about to plague us again...

Valentine's Day that is.
I hear very mixed opinions about this holiday. Most of my single girlfriends -and for that matter, married girlfriends- grumble about the potential for disappointment. And the men I know grumble about the fact that they know they are going to disappoint someone. If there is even one guy out there who reads my blog, here is what most women I know say: a well-chosen card, with a few well chosen words inside, is enough. Now, is that true?? Personally, I would also like Chinese take-out and a back rub, but that's just me- still, it's not expensive. I think I can speak for most of us that what we want is for you to think of us, and to give us a little effort - a little time and attention. That's it. And we're more than willing to do the same...in fact, most of the women I know do that every day.

Works in progress...

Started some 5 x 5 mini canvasses this weekend. Not sure if they'll be hearts or something else. With V'day coming, hearts are the logical choice. But art is not logical. We'll see where the muse takes me.

Also a picture of my favorite guy - Max. Playing coy - really just looking away from the flash. He'll be six years old at the end of February. Time flies.

A digitally altered painting...

Always...

Just a little Photoshop fun - wide swings of color balance, a little typography, and some transparent layers. Here was the original painting, in greens and yellows, and below is the altered version.

The beginning is half of every action.

That was in a fortune cookie I had this week, and I think it's pretty accurate. So just begin. And the momentum will propel the next steps.

Speaking of which, I made 30 "have a dream" cards. If beginning is half of every action, I should be well on my way. So why does mailing them always seem like such a chore?

Look what I just bought...

While surfing for some fun new ideas to incorporate into our Art Journal workshop in February, I found these totally cool Japanese washi masking tapes, and my head almost exploded with ideas for using them. The company I ordered from is Ginko Papers. In addition to a wide array of colorful patterned tapes, they have a unique assortment of stationery items and Japanese gifts. And moments after placing my order, I received a personal email from the owner of the company, thanking me and confirming the shipment. I ordered these two colors, along with pink and blue.

Here are a few of the ways that I plan to use them:
* on gifts, like self-stick ribbon
* to decorate the top of a plain brown bag
* for greeting card mosaics
* for art journal borders & bindings
* for attaching things in my journals
* to label things
* as gift tags
* for sunbathing (ha ha!)
* to decorate my dog (or maybe just his collar)
* to share with journal class participants
* to make crafts with Avery
* to make the world a brighter place -- Okay, that's a little gay, but shouldn't all masking tape look like this, rather than plain?? If you were masking tape, wouldn't you want to be this kind?

Have a dream...

I used to love to make and send Christmas cards. For years, decades even, I would plan my cards well in advance of the holidays, with plenty of time to make fifty or more for friends and relatives. I enjoyed the process, and it never felt like an obligation.

In recent years, however, the holidays seem one moment to be ages away, and then BAM!!!, they're over, and with them, so are all of my good intentions to make cards, cook, bake, and find little ways to say thanks and show appreciation for my friends and relatives.

But I've discovered that I love the first weeks of a new year - ALL THAT PROMISE!!- 365 new days to do more and better than before. And of course, to drop the ball way before it drops in Times Square (but that's no doubt a future post). With the holidays behind me, all of a sudden I have time again.

So I started last night. I didn't even know what I was starting. I had bought a few discontinued fabric swatch books in the fall, and the colors and textures have been calling to me. So I began cutting. Hearts. I know. More hearts. But I love them. And they're not done with me yet. And the obvious choice with all these hearts would be to send Valentines, but I'm thinking that I may take inspiration from Martin Luther King, and send Have a Dream cards.

Just a little reminder to listen to your heart.

Fantastic Fabriano Art Journal Workshop I & II

That's the name of the next workshop Marilyn and I will be teaching. See my sidebar at the right for details. It's a two-part workshop (nine hours total)that is jam-packed with techniques for art-journal enthusiasts or anyone who wants to know what art journaling is all about.



Pssst....Participants will also get one of these limited edition notebooks featuring an art print by me or Marilyn on the cover!! Great to use as an idea book or gratitude journal or a super-fancy grocery list!!

One word.

Two years ago, I found Christine Kane's blog -- she explained in this post why new year's resolutions generally don't work, and why choosing a single word to be your guide for the year might be a more effective way of achieving goals and making dreams come true. I have been using this practice for two years, and it has been amazingly effective for me.

In 2008, I chose the word health, and I shed a bad marriage, lots of pounds, and a good deal of mental baggage. In 2009, I chose the word wealth, and while I still have to work for a living, I am in a much better place than I was a year ago, and I am wealthy beyond belief in love, family, friends, joy, gratitude, and good health.

For about two weeks, I've been thinking about what word to choose for 2010. Like Christine, I believe that a single word is more effective and focused than choosing several, so the word I choose is important to what I hope to manifest in my life in 2010.

This morning, when I woke up and began my day, I tried to focus on the most appropriate word. I am a morning person, and early in the day is when I have the most clarity, so I was sure it would come to me. I had it narrowed down to about a half dozen, and as I turned on the coffee pot, made my bed, and bundled up for my walk with Max, I let them pass through my mind, trying them on for size.

When I returned from our walk, I went into my bedroom, coffee cup in hand, and glanced at my reflection in the mirror, holding this cup that I had purchased just a few weeks ago. It wasn't even one of the words on my list, but I was absolutely certain it was the one I sought.

It is the word that has sustained my sister (and our entire family) during every one of Avery's surgeries, and I know it will serve me well in 2010.

I wish you all a Happy, Healthy New Year.

Merry Christmas...

I wish you all a magical, miraculous holiday season. Once again, I thank you all for your prayers, support, encouragement and friendship during this past year. I am blessed beyond all measure.

I don't know when I'll have an opportunity to post again during the next week or so as I'll be off to spend Christmas in Boston with my mom, sisters, and especially, Avery. I am looking forward to waking up to her beautiful face on Christmas morning.

This montage of photos was taken on thanksgiving day this year. Last year, Avery's journey began on Thanksgiving day, and we could never have imagined all that would take place in the next twelve months.

This year, many of my thoughts and prayers will be with the family of Avery's donor, and the angel with whom she shares a heart.

A regal visitor...

I posted a similar photo last year sometime, I think, but these beautiful creatures never cease to amaze me, so I may tell the same story twice. This hawk perched on my deck railing for a good fifteen minutes yesterday morning. There are bird feeders to his left and right, so I suspect that he had either just feasted on one of my little visitors, or attempted to and was just re-grouping before heading off. I know it's sad, but that's the way nature works. And he has to eat too.

Painting as therapy...

I had a bad day at work yesterday. My bad days at work are very few and far between, but nonetheless, it was not one of my better days. At 5 sharp, I left hastily, looking forward to wrapping some holiday gifts, lighting a fire, and watching tv with Max curled up at my side.

When I pulled into my driveway, it was 5:30-ish and dark. I glanced across my front lawn and thought, "What's all over the lawn?" As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I figured it out. It was most of my split rail fence. I live on a main road, and for the second time in less than a year, someone crashed into my fence. The first time, there was just minor damage to one post, but this time, two-thirds of my fence was spewed like matchsticks all over my lawn. This was not the way I had envisioned my evening to begin. But a couple hundred profanities later, I was over it.

I mean, first of all, the person who hit my fence was obviously having an even worse day than me. And according to the accident report, she wasn't injured, which was good news, and a miracle, given the condition of my fence the auto debris that she left behind.

So I walked Max, lit a fire, ordered a pizza, poured a glass of wine, (and then another) and finished this painting, which is a gift for a friend who has been doing some interior decorating. I stayed up way too late, because I was totally in the zone, but it was the perfect ending to a much less than perfect day.

A trip to the city...

Dec 5-6.

NYC to be exact. It was great. I went with my Aunt, Mary (with me, at right), and we were hosted by my cousins, her sons, Adam & Scott. We had three great meals (lunch & dinner on Sat, and then brunch on Sun), as well as fabulous seats to see Wicked. I find musicals to be a bit over the top, and can only take them in small doses, but it was a great show, and the set was phenomenal.

One of the highlights for me was a trip to the MOMA, where my cousins left me in search of a bar with a football game airing. I only had a couple of hours, but I could easily have spent all day. It's an amazing building, and I was awed to be in the presence of such incredible art. And yes, I chose the MOMA over a bar! It doesn't happen often, folks.

When I told my sister Jennifer that I wanted to see the MOMA, she said, "What's the MOMA?"

"The Museum of Modern Art."

And she said, "Seriously!?"

I said, "Yeah, why? Where would you go?"

She replied "Jimmy Choo!"

And I said, "What's Jimmy Choo?"

"A shoe store - from Sex in the City!"

So when we did find ourselves passing Jimmy Choo, on our way to dinner at the Monkey Bar, we had to stop for the photo! Notice the shoes, attached to the half-naked lady in the window. Kind of like the MOMA!

Altered wish...

This is a digitally altered version of a painting I made over the summer. I had some Photoshop fun with cropping and filters to alter it into a holiday piece. Since it's December already (can you believe it??), I thought an altered Christmas tree would be appropriate. My posts this month will probably be few and brief, as I have not purchased a single gift, baked a cookie, or written a card yet. In fact, this may be as close as I get to a holiday card at the rate I am going!

While I love the act of giving someone a perfect and thoughtful gift, more and more I resent the pressure to buy, buy, buy during this season. I realize that this mind set will not help the economy, but I am hoping to find creative ideas for giving that don't always involve a trip to the dreaded mall.

Oh, and I almost forgot...
My friend Marilyn is introducing a new monthly "featured artist" on her blog, and she has invited me to be the first. Here's my interview.

Giving thanks...

Among the many, many blessings that my family and I will give thanks for this year is my niece Avery, who has been home now for a month. She now has a new heart, and we have renewed hope for her future and endless gratitude to her donor family, for the most amazing gift our family could ever receive.

We are looking forward to a day of love, laughter, celebration and most of all, gratitude tomorrow, and I wish you all the same!!!

Here are the most recent photos of Avery, home one month (no more tubes, and two missing teeth!).

Happy thanksgiving.

A(nother) new hobby?

My latest obsession...

The Pottery Place in Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany NY...
I have had the intention of stopping in to paint something for about a decade now (way back when the place was called Color Me Mine). A friend and I finally went last week, and I painted this pasta bowl (actual size is 14" round). I had so much fun and I was so pleased with how it turned out that I want to go back and make about a dozen. I might be able to justify the indulgence if I give some of them away as holiday gifts.

The only frustration is the waiting - which I am not good at - it takes a week to get the finished/fired piece back. I only had a vague idea of what the glazes would look like when fired but I liked that part. I loved being surprised at the transformation from dull pastel colors to bright and shiny glaze.

There were hundreds of items besides bowls that I could choose to paint, but I loved the big round surface. Ideas are already spinning in my head about what I might paint on my next bowl (chili peppers? christmas lights? sunflowers?)

Heart rock...

Cool to the touch. Solid. Heavy. Strong. Enduring.

Albany Rural Cemetery...

In 1841, in response to a growing problem with flooding at the State Street Burial Ground (in downtown Albany), and continued deterioration of church cemeteries, a public movement was undertaken to purchase and develop a “Rural Cemetery,” beautifully landscaped and safely outside the city. This led to the incorporation of Albany Rural Cemetery on April 2, 1841.

I had heard for years that it's a beautiful place to visit, and unlike many cemeteries, dogs are allowed (on leash). So Max and I took advantage of a warm, late fall day for a long walk this past weekend. The cemetery is only a few miles from my house, and it will now be a regular walking spot for me and Max, when we need a change of scenery. It is a place of uncommon peace and amazing beauty. Not just the landscape, with 400 acres of narrow winding roads, gnarly ancient trees, and trickling streams, but the monuments as well. Majestic stones carved into angels and crosses twenty feet high, and delicate detailed borders ideal for graphite rubbings. I can hardly wait to return (above ground, that is.)

A glimpse of Avery at home...

I went to visit Cutes (aka Avery) on her return home last weekend. My sister Jennifer was already there, and they were busy baking heart-shaped cupcakes when I arrived. It was absolutely fabulous to see Avery walking, eating, and asking for new "projects" to keep her busy. We did our best to keep up with her, sewing hand puppets drawing, beading and pushing her on her swing set. I also gave her charge of Max's food & treats. She is a tough taskmaster and by the end of the weekend, Max was obeying commands better for my five-year-old niece than he ever did for me. At one point she asked me why Max never smiles. I resisted telling her that she was the reason -- I explained that he smiles by wagging his tail, though I am not sure she was convinced.

As you can see from the photo (baking with Aunt Jes), she still has a tube for night feeds, (to bolster her vitamins & minerals) but during the day it is not connected and she is making up for all of the hospital limitations. Her appetite was extremely hearty while I was there, which was also a joy to see. Other than limiting her salt intake, she can eat pretty much anything she wants... and she does!

For the next several months, Cutes will be confined mostly to home, to protect her fragile immune system as she continues to recover, but home is a great place to be!!!