Window to my soul

This week has been so nice and quiet. I'm just taking time to have lunch with friends and work on art projects. This is for a skinny book swap. The theme is windows or portals. With Christmas just behind us, I find myself continously filled with thoughts of Christ. I wanted to reflect these thoughts in my page, thus this is my contribution - a window to my soul.

For '2007, I have decided to keep a journal, specifically a "hope" journal. Each page will contain a piece of art along with the inspiration journaled beside it. Since I will be out of town as the new year rolls in, I wanted to get a head start and finished one piece of art which will be pasted into my journal. Tonight, I will complete my thoughts.

Wishing everyone a very safe and happy new year!

Watching Guard

It was such a nice quiet day yesterday. I headed out with my camera for a few hours to enjoy some sunshine. Here is one of the great finds I discovered in a local cemetary. A child received a new guardian angel for Christmas.

Last of the November Calendar RR Pages

I finished the pages for Jennifer's calendar. I really enjoyed working in Jennifer's calendar. Maybe it's knowing the project is coming to a close. I also have had lots of Christmas music on which has put me in the mood for the holidays.

Funny, I have been looking forward to the end of this project, but have found myself a bit sad in a way. I'm sure there will be more swaps to come, but I don't know if I could ever handle a year long RR again. But, never say never....

Making More Progress

It feels really good to get some work done in this calendar. These are colors that I typically never use, but I wanted to try to use colors that I know are more in the owner's pallette. When I look back at all the pages I have done for this calendar RR, I have really leaned towards pinks and reds. Green is actually my favorite color, but I guess I am most comfortable with a different pallette when it comes to making art.

Calendar Round Robin Page

I'm finally taking some needed time to work on the November calendar. Yep, I know...It's December. Jennifer was kind enough to offer by-passing her calendar as a Christmas gift. Believe me, I was VERY tempted, but I just would not have felt right not working in her calendar. It will be late getting finished, but at least I have started and feel good about keeping my commitment to this project. It has been really hard these past few months!

6 "Odd" Things About Me

I have been tagged by Sally to list 6 wierd things about myself. I prefer to think of wierd as odd or eccentric, so I am listing 6 odd things about myself.

1) I like to peel my toast apart into two sections and eat them sepearately. First I take the crust off and then peel the remaining bread apart. I have done this for years...I know, "odd."

2) I hate to walk around barefoot, but prefer to have bare feet when I wear shoes..

3) I have to sleep with a fan on, even if it is freezing cold. Always have and always will.

4) I love skulls and skeletons (mostly in association with the Mexican Day of the Dead Celebration).

5) I set an alarm every morning, even on weekends. I hate sleeping in as I feel like I have wasted a day.

6) I don't want any furniture on my new deck. Nope, not even patio stuff. I like the "clean" look of the large deck. So why did we buld it, my Mother asks?.... So the dog can have a place to nap in the sun without getting dirty, I answer!


Okay, I tag Annie, Tracie and Sue!

RR Calendar Swap - October Pages

Oops...just a bit late. This time of year is really hard to work in round robins. Too much to do and so little time.

These are pages for Sharon Wisely. This is a really fat calendar and it was pretty hard to scan the pages. Only two more calendars and then the round robin will be over.

Two New Additions to the "Family"

I have always had a fascination with the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead and the skeleton figurines. I have found some of the most unusual pieces created by artists in central Mexico. I recently acquired a new piece, a mermaid, which I am thrilled to now own. She is so fragile and delicate, but sits high on my mantle away from the cats!

Our other addition was given to me and my husband from a friend I have had since 6th grade. It was an award at her Halloween party for coming the farthest to attend. She knows that my husband and I love to ride and we came as what else, bikers! I'd have to say that this is Jeff's favorite between the two new additions!

Halloween ATC's

Here are the ATC's I received in a recent exchange with the theme of Halloween. Boy it's great receiving something in the mail besides a bill! I received cards from Beth Robinson, Maija Lepore, Cece Grimes, Ruth Rae, Amy Huff, and Deryn Mentock. Thank you ladies! I really adore each one of them!

Laughter in France

Ah, I received an email from Dear Lois today...what a hoot! I could hear her voice as I read her email and it reminded me of some of special times in France when laughter was in abundance. One Saturday we all ventured off to a flea market in the countryside. On the way out of the market, Lois had stopped at one vendors booth, only to discover that they had....clown noses. Lois being the hoot that she is, bought up enough for the group. We schemed a plan to bring the clown noses to dinner and deliver the rest of the noses to the group as a surprise, and boy, were they surprised! I had not laughed that hard for such an extended period that my checks hurt. Here are a few pictures of the evening event. I can still hear the laughter....

Memories of France

I thought I would take some time to share my wonderful memories of my trip to France. It was truely one of the best experiences of my life...I was uncertain how I would feel in a country where Americans are not thought of highly, but for the most part, the French were very welcoming and warm. I was a bit nervous at first, but I was lucky enough to fly into Toulouse with my roommate to be, Lois. We arrived in Toulouse and had to pick up the rental car...no problem, I had a full tank of gas, a map, and Lois. As we drove out of the airport, it suddenly occured to me that I could not read the road signs...and did you know that in France, they don't have 4 way stops or signs that tell you what the next major intersection will be? Needless to say, we instantly got lost and had a lovely tour of Toulouse. How we ever managed to get to the hotel is a miricle, but a good bottle of French wine calmed any left over anxiety!

The following day, we met up with our group and drove to Dufort, which is an old copper mining town. The stream runs down the center of town, which was once used to wash copper items that were made by hand in those days. Here are some pictures of the town and our room with a spectacular view. It was amazing and nothing like I had ever seen before. Lois and I shared a room that overlooked a stream with a running waterfall and slept with the windows open at night so we could listen to the music of the waterfall...

We had our own cook, Neesha, that came daily to make us breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were all very spoiled after a week of her cooking. The French use no preservatives in their food and their food tastes so fresh and wonderful. They eat lots of cheese and bread with every meal. I loved it, savored every moment of every meal and still dream about how wonderful the food was...

To be continued...

RR Calendar Swap

I finally had the motivation to work in the calendar swap for September. I am only a day late....I've been busy since I have returned from France and just haven't had the time, or motivation to work in this calendar, until today. I like working spontaneously and I was happy with the way these two spreads turned out.

More about France later....

What Kind of Chocolate are You?

I was reading some of my favorite blogs today and found a neat link to a quiz on the blog of Tonia Davenport, "What Kind of Chocolate are You?" Take the quiz and find out. I just adore dark chocolate and was happy to see that dark chocolate was my type!

You are Dark Chocolate

You live your life with intensity, always going full force. You push yourself (and others) to the limit... you want more than you can handle. An extreme person, you challenge and inspire the world!

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

Entry Denied

Here is my contribution to a Halloween ATC swap. Why so early? Well, I leave Tuesday for France for a two week trip and won't be back until the 19th. Then I have jury duty the following week after I return. It feels good to have them done this far in advance!

Secrets

I have been so busy making jewelry that I just had to stop and so something else...just a minor detour....I worked feverishly on pages for a calendar round robin and then stopped. My soul yearned to be me, yearned to journal. So I took my art journal out and did a page. I felt so free once I was done.

Secrets...why secrets? Because we all have secrets. Secret desires, secret thoughts, just secrets that are only known to us. That is what makes us mysterious, interesting and very complicated. On the opposite page I have written, "Reality is, beneath it all, we are all really the same."

My Birthday

Today is my birthday! I am a whopping 45 years old and if you say it real fast, it doesn't sound to bad! The way I look at age is that Madonna will always be older than me, so I'm "safe!" Funny the mind games we play with ourselves!

I've had a great birthday. Contemplating my age made me think about all the things I have to be grateful for. Here are a few:

1) I am grateful to have lived to be 45.
2) I am grateful to be an American.
3) I am grateful for a wonderful and supporting husband.
4) I am grateful for my animals, even when they drag toilet paper throughout the house (okay, so at times I am ungrateful for a moment).
5) I am grateful for my Sisters who believe in me.
6) I am grateful for the gift of creativity.
7) I am grateful for friends.
8) I am grateful for the roof over my head and food to eat.
9) I am grateful for rainstorms and the smell that follows.
10) I am grateful for music and the ability to hear it.
11) I am grateful to have faith in God.
12) I am grateful for chocolate and the ability to taste it.
13) I am grateful for the sun and the ability to feel the warmth on my skin (I'll be really grateful when the temp. drops too!).
14) I am grateful for Starbucks mochas on Saturday mornings.
15) I am grateful I have a car to drive.
16) I am grateful I have clothes on my back and shoes to wear.
17) I am grateful for the education I received.
18) I am grateful that I am sensitive and emotional.
19) I am grateful for the ice cream cone I'm going to eat tonight (Ben & Jerry's).
20) I am grateful for the person God made me to be!

Jeff is home, so off to birthday dinner!

Feel Ok

I love the Internet...I have met some pretty remarkable people, and some wonderful artists. I received this canvas in the mail today from Ziggy Hill. We recently completed an art trade. I have always been drawn to outsider art, abstract paintings, and just "different". I love art that moves me emotionally. I really like Zig's art because it is simple, with a simple message, a little abstract and heart warming...Thank you so much Zig for parting with this piece as you have absolutely made my day! Now off to find the special place in my studio for this to hang....

Pink & Orange Swap

Whew! I'm almost done with these suckers!! For those who know me, I love color and couldn't resist when I read about this swap, hosted by
Joleen. Bright pink and orange...reminds me of bubble gum and being a kid! I have seen some of the other pages posted to blogs and this looks like it will be a really fun swap. Now to add fibers....

A Recent Drawing

One of the hazards of flying is getting delayed, and delayed, and delayed. When we left for the airport on Weds. afternoon, we had no idea that we would be there for over six (6) hours. At first it was a delay of 15 minutes and then before we knew it, it was 10:20 PM and we still had not borded the plane! So...I took advantage of the time and began to draw in my Moleskin journal. She just appeared as I contined to draw and she haunts me...she has a story...hopefully that will come to me soon.

Rotary Gardens

We spent the past 5 days visitng my Husband's family in Beloit, WI. While we were there, we went to the Rotary Gardens and I was able to capture some of the beauty surrounding us that day. I would love to have spent more time there but it was so hot, in fact, it was warmer in WI than it was in Texas! Pretty bad when you have to come back to Texas to cool off!! It was a great vacation and I had time to reflect on many things....

A Young Painter

I spent an evening with my Mother about a month ago, looking through old photographs and a variety of items she had saved from when my Sisters and I were kids. Mom is a pack rat and has never been able to part with anything that had any sentimental value to her. We had some really great laughs and it was a very special evening for me. We came across these paintings I had made while I was probably around 10 or 11. My Mom was always putting me in art classes and art camps. I could never figure it out why I had to go to art camps and my Sisters were off to ride horses...but after all these years, I realized that my Mom saw something in me that she wanted to nurture and I will forever be thankful for that...

New Banner

There are so many incredibly talented people in this world and Denise (Boho Blog Banners) is one of them. I had seen some other blog banners that she created and had her do one especially for me. Those red shoes, yep, they are mine and they are my favorite shoes! Funny thing is, when I sent Denise the picture, she emailed back that she has the same shoes! Coincidence? I think not....Thanks Denise!

Tribute to Frida

A good friend and I spent last Friday in San Antonio taking a class from Kathy Martin, co-owner of Post Modern Design. I wasn't sure about the class at first, but was pleasantly surprised. Because the book is made with dimensional layering, you end up with really neat effects. Unfortunately, you can't see the dimensions with the scan. I'm looking forward to using this technique in the future...many possiblities.

Great Mail Day

I actually received this on Thursday, but have been out of town. This is a piece of art made by Paul Jackson. He is a very talented collage artist and new online friend. I saw this piece and couldn't stop thinking about it. Paul was kind enough to sell it to me...she is one of his simple pieces, but so pleasing to look at.

My Artist Muse

Every artist has to have a muse...something or someone that inspires you. My muse is my cat Ziggy. I am his Mother, or so he thinks anyway...he's usually in my studio sitting under my bench and watching for lizards to go by the window. He simply cracks me up. My husband calls him "stretch", for he simply does not lay like an ordinary cat...he lays all stretched (like a back bend) so that he looks like he's reaching for his toes...If I ever need a smile, I can count on Ziggy to brighten my day and to get the juices flowing....

Venice Fat Book

This is my first experience participating in a fat book swap. I definitely learned alot, like make all your modifications BEFORE copying! Here are two images, the first was the image before I added more stamping and highlighting, so needless to say, I spent the entire day adding to each one (26 of these suckers) and then gluing them to the backing, etc....I've signed up for another one and I think this one requires me to make 40! What was I thinking??!!!!

Listen

I've been experimenting with transparencies lately. Here is a piece I just completed. It will be framed with the collage slightly raised from the matting so that the tags and ribbons will appear suspended.

The Earnest Prayer

I just love this image. I saw it and immediately thought about the earnest prayer.

Tribute to Dad

I found this picture of my Dad and his Grandfather this morning while cleaning my room. I felt compelled to make a collage with it.