Mimi

I made two new pieces this morning. It was so great to work and not worry about selling. I still updated my Etsy store, but I didn't worry so much about if they were going to sell. It felt goodl. I probably could have worked more, but darn it's cold and wet out. Plus, I am still a little tired from our sale on Saturday. Which I need to add, was great. It went off mostly without a hitch. It was so cool to see the amazing art people come up with. Just fantastic really. I am in awe of these talented people.

Back to the art! I named the painting with the lady "Mimi". She looked like a Mimi to me. I think she is adorable. The second one with the heart is just named "heart" very original I know. I could work on the paintings, but naming them was too hard. They are both available in my Etsy shop.

I also want to thank the people that bought something from me at the Sale this last weekend. It was so nice to see that people liked what I made. It's really a great feeling.

One more day...

Until the Holiday Bazaar. We have some awesome vendors! Check them out!
I hope you all will come to the sale. It should be really good.....

Tomorrow is the day before set-up and then Saturday is the big sale. I am very hopeful that everything will work out. I am also really tired and anxious for Sunday. This should be a good weekend.

darker...

Sometimes my thought go a little darker and it shows in my paintings. That is what happened to me this morning. For some reason I am really feeling on edge today. Not sure if it's because I have so many things to do, but can't do them for another two days or what. Either way, it's been a darker day in my head than it is outside. That's how these two pieces came about. I was in my studio listening to some music when these titles came up. I guess this is what I translated it to.

It is an absolutely beautiful day outside. I don't know what has made me so cranky and edgy. I guess if I can make something out of it that is better than nothing. I put these two pieces in my Etsy shop already. I don't think I will bring them to the sale on Saturday. They are a little too personally revealing for a sale at school with a lot of parents that I know. I guess it's easier to put them up on Etsy where people don't know me personally. They can take what they want from it and translate it to themselves. That is the great thing about Art.

Nothing much...

Not much going on here. I was working on other things today besides painting.
We had a really nice Halloween. My camera battery died so I didn't get any pictures. Max was Count Olaf from the Series of Unfortunate Events books, and Maggie was a witch that later turned into a cat. Good stuff.

Wanna Smile? Click here

Birdies x 2

Today I finished two paintings that I have been working on. One is a painting that I am doing for the Audubon Society auction done in acrylic and collaged, the other one is collage, but done in encaustic. They are both really similar and I had a lot of fun making them. I have never really tried to make two of something and it was kind of fun. They turned out differently even though they both started out basically the same. The one in the cream and blue is the Audubon society piece, the one in the browns will go in my etsy shop today.

I have new duds for my studio. It's pretty mild out today, but the other day it was really chilly and wet. Well, I am doing good because Josh found me some Dickie's insulate coveralls! I have some cotton ones that I sometimes use in the summer, but they are not warm. These are really warm. I look like the Michelin man, but I am super cozy. Plus, I can work in them which is really important. I just put them right over my clothes (or pajamas) and off to work I go. It's great.

Don't forget Portlanders me along with 90(!) other awesome vendors are going to be at the Lewis Holiday Bazaar on November 7! It's going to be awesome. Go to LewisEvents.org and see all the cool Portland vendors.

Feng Shui

Before Studio

Ok, I don't really know anything about Feng Shui except for things that I have heard or read, but I do know that I cleaned my studio up yesterday and a couple hours later I sold a painting on Etsy! Maybe I cleaned up or cleared out or whatever you do to get better energy coming in. I don't know, but I am pretty happy about it. From the before pictures you can see that it was really bad. I had neglected that space and it was making it really hard to work in there. It's not done now, but it is on it's way. I created separate work areas for my encaustics and my acrylics. I had been meaning to do this for a long time, but never did. Usually because when I went out there I just wanted to work and not clean. It feels so good to clean! Now if only I felt that way about cleaning up my house!

After Studio

The other thing I have been doing is re-reading Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit. I highly recommend this book. I like her writing just for the fact that it is completely straight forward. She basically lets you know that if you don't get out there and create you are never going to be any better at your art. She uses a lot of examples of other artists from all different backgrounds and talents and it makes it really interesting to read. I also like that it's not just about making art a habit, but about how we create it and how to get past those pesky critics we all have in our head. I received this book for Christmas a couple of years ago and read it then, but I think I am getting more out of it this time.

So tomorrow, I will be finishing the studio and hopefully making something. I have ideas that are finally coming up and I think I will finally have the space to make them. Now, I just have to remember to clean up after myself.

better..

So, the flu is done with me. I am hoping that was as sick as I will get for the rest of the season. Man that sucked. Unfortunately Max is now home.

My time has been taken up with being sick and my kids school Holiday Bazaar. I am looking forward to it. For those of you in the PDX area it's November 7. You can get more info here. There are some AWESOME vendors coming to do our bazaar. Shopping!

The other thing I started this weekend was cleaning my studio. I finally moved back out of the living room. It was just taking up too much darn space. But once I got out to my studio I realized that it's a huge mess. I have A LOT of stuff. I don't use all of it, but I keep thinking that I will use it at some point. I have a ton of anatomy books. A lot of my art used to focus on anatomy. I love old medical books. I have some vintage Red Cross First Aid books that are quite funny. They used black and white pictures of real medical situations. I also have a ton of books in French and Italian. I just like how it looks. I don't use those often enough I think. O' there are so many things I want to make and just don't have the time right now. I could cut my sleep time, but I get cranky without my sleep.

It's going around...

So, I think I am sick which really sucks. I am so dead tired I don't know what to do with myself. This is a really bad time to get sick. I have a lot to do and I don't see that ending anytime soon. Since I became a type 1 diabetic (my pancreas went caput) I have to be a little careful when I get sick. I don't feel like monitoring my blood sugar, but I could get into trouble if I don't. I would like to sleep, but I do have some stuff I have to do.

I did not make anything last night unfortunately. I was sick and my tummy wouldn't allow anything but resting. I did look thru some old pictures I picked up at an estate sale. I bought a whole pack of them and stuck them in a box. I pulled that box out the other day. There are some great 60's pics in there. I plan on using them in my art very soon.

Stay well.

Neglect...

My poor blog. I have neglected it for a whole week. I have been very busy with school stuff and unfortunately my blog and my art have been the first to go. That and my house which is a mess.

I have taken over my living room to do some art pages and it's not pretty as you can see from the picture above. I have been working on some pages in my watercolor journals. Sometimes it's just taking pictures and pasting them down. Other times I actually do some different collages. Just depends on how much time I have and what I am feeling like.

So this blog is mainly going to be pictures. I have nothing else exciting to add to it.

A small reminder.

I am back from a really restful vacation. The kids did not have school last friday and I took them out about an hour early on Thursday to get our small break started. It was lovely. We did not much of anything. I watched some Mad Men (s2) and that was great, had some wine, did some fishing (I caught a big one!) The kids only fought a little which was good.

I am stuck. I have been trying to work on projects and am just not coming up with anything. I did make this piece today. I like it. I needed to remember to do just that, breathe. I find myself really frustrated. I have this feeling like I want to make something, but nothing is really coming forward. I have tried crocheting, painting, collages with magazines, encaustic, journaling etc.. nothing is sticking. Ugh, it's frustrating. I know I will get thru this just like I have the other times. I just hope this doesn't last too long. It's hard to have all this creative energy and no outlet.

Breather...

I am going to float on a houseboat this weekend with my family. I have been completely uninspired and I think this might get me back in my studio. The kids have Friday off so I am taking an extended weekend. Hope you have a nice one..

Ouch!

Nothing new to post today. I pulled a muscle in my back and can't sit or stand for too long. So, no new work, no new postings. Nada. Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with something to say.