Journal page

Here's the most recent page I've painted in my journal. I decided to outline the flowers, vase and some of the stems with a black marker to see how it looked. I'm liking the effect. I have a canvas ready to do a bigger version of this but wanted to play in the journal to see how it would look.

I wish I'd taken a picture of it before doing the black outlining so I could compare how they looked side by side...will have to do that next time.

Home sick

Home sick today. Woke up with stomach problems, sore thoart, earache and headache. Lucky me. So decided to upload a page from my journal. I liked the work I did in the altered book for a friend so decided to use the same girl I used in her book, it's a girl I painting on a scrap of watercolor a while back and made different size copies of her. And used the same color scheme. I like the way it turned out. And left enough room to write on. Here she is:




























Well, even being home sick still have work to do just got paged so off I go to check out what issues they are having. whoopee.....

Need a new scanner.

Book page

This is a page in a member of our Altered Arts group round robin book.
Used some techniques I learned in Anahata Katkin's class at ArtFest this year. We meet once a month and are doing our second round robin. This week we are also going to be making some ATC's during the meeting to trade with one another. It's a great group and we have lots of fun.


On the committee to help with our newest art show in August. It will be held during the 3 Island Crossing in Glenns Ferry, Idaho at the Carmela winery. We are hoping to attract 30-40 artist's from Idaho to attend.



Ta-ta for now.

Happy Birthday Mama - Friday 13th

This is a page I did in an R&R book for our local altered book group. You can't really see the photo that I used very well but it is of me and my mother, I was a baby and she is holding me.

Today is her 72nd birthday (I think that's how old she is)... but I can't ask her because she has Alzehimer's and she doesn't remember. She doesn't even remember me any longer. The Alzehimer's has taken away the woman that was my mother. My mother now is a sweet little 72 year old woman who can be funny and loves to visit.

My mother was not a sweet person when my sister, brother and I were growing up. In fact, she could be and usually was an a number one Bee-itch. When we were younger she was better but as we got older and she fell more into her depression and manic moods she could make life a living hell sometimes. Years ago when some friends and I went to see the movie 'The Ya-Ya Sisterhood' scenes from that movie I could have written. When she was down, she would sleep all day and when we would get home from school we never knew what to expect when she would come out of her room. When she was up, everyone thought she was the greatest mom around and she could be a lot of fun. But we always knew that it wasn't going to last, the next day she could be a monster again.

I love my mother, I am who I am today because of her but I sure didn't like her sometimes and even hated her at other times. The three of us kids, as we got older spend more and more time at friends homes or anyone who would have us. Lucky for me my best friend's family semi-adopted me and I would spend every weekend at their place in the country. Riding horses, chasing cows and playing in the river.

My mother was never a very happy person and just always felt the world and everyone was against her.

The last time I was able to spend any amount of time with my mother before the Alzheimer's hit hard I was only there for a day and a half before she got mad at me about somthing and refused to talk to me for the remainder of the 5 days my daughter and I were there. She would speak through my daughter. It was a wonderful visit. But that is usually how all of our visits went.

As cantankerous, mean and bitchy as my mother could be I really do miss the person that she was. When she was up in one of her good times our visits would be wonderful. And that's the person I miss.

So Happy Birthday Mama, I love you.

Pearls Before Breakfast

Found this wonderful article about Joshua Bell playing his violin at the New York Metro during rush hour. It was both wonderful and sad.

As I was reading the article I keep wondering if I would have stopped to listen. I tell myself of course I would, I love music, I love the violin and I have been late to work because I have stopped to watch the sun rise as I'm out feeding the horses. But would I stop in a crowded city where everyone is rushing around, hurrying to catch a train, etc. We get so wrapped up in our own little worlds that we fail to see or hear the beauty around us.

If the below link does not work the article was from the Washington Post and was titled Pearls Before Breakfast.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

A week since Art Fest

Hard to believe that it's only been a week since I was at ArtFest. And then again it seems like forever. I have no pictures to post...bad bad me....I had my camera but just never seem to remember to use it.

I do have to say that I think I enjoyed my classes last year more than this year. Though I did love my classes this year last year I went 'outside' my box and tried some new mediums which I think I will do next year also.

But had a wonderful time with my house mates, meet lots of wonderful people, and the ladies I shared tables with in my classes were so amazing, kind and generous. Thanks Celine, Mary and Lois Kent. You were all amazing. Meet to many to name but it was wonderful to meet the faces behind some of the blogs that visit occasionally.

Thanks to Teesha, Tracey and crew.... Trista-You must stop smiling so much. Every time I saw you, you had a huge grin on your face. T&T you do have such a wonderful family.

I still have unpacking to do...after driving 11 hours to get home I had to be back in the office on Monday morning ... and I still have not fully recovered from the ArtFest experience.

ta-ta-for now

Jonna