Just Jonna

new metal journals and a funny picture

2011-02-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last summer I took a journal making class with Tracy Moore. I finally got around to making a few more on my own. I so love the feel of these two small journals. The smallest is 2.5 by 3 and the larger one is 3.5x3.5 SOLD!
. They are so fun to make. Both are for sale. Each for $50.00. The small one has 108 pages (counting both sides) of 130lb watercolor paper. The larger one is 96 pages of 90lb watercolor paper. Closer details in photos below.

Don't you love trying to take pictures of your pets. Dylan, the closer on and Zen.

Patina Key Journal - 2.5 x 3 leather and copper handmade $50.00

Secret Journal - 3.5 x 3.5 leather and copper handmade $50.00 SOLD!

RIP Maggie Meww 200?-2011

2011-01-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

My grand kitty Maggie was put to rest last week. Her kidneys decided to fail on her and there was nothing they could do for her.
When my daughter moved to Japan for a year we took care of her two cats, Maggie and Miss Kitty. Maggie was one of those cats that was not a people cat. She hated to be held, only wanted you to pet her when it was on her terms and did not sit on your lap. She wanted her water fresh from the bathtub faucet. She hardly ever purred, or if she did it was so low you could not hear it. Maggie was so tiny I don't think she even weight 5lbs? Put we loved her so much. Maggies greatest love was the laser light pointer she would chase it for hours. We are going to miss you little Maggie, Mags.

Journal Pages from a round robin journal group.

And some doodles.

01-11-11

2011-01-11T18:59:00.001-08:00

Not sure anyone even stops by here anymore. I sure don't seem to.

Had such high hopes for the year 2010. But nothing really happened. My own fault. I am such a procrastinator and if I don't have a deadline I never seem to get anything done. Heck even with a deadline sometimes I seem to fall behind.
Didn't get as much painting done as I had hoped. I keep telling myself I will do better this year but will I?

Here are 3 new paintings I did do in 2010. All are small about 2.5 by 4 ish on wood.
And heres hoping that I keep it up and get some more done this year.

What I did on my Summer vacation.

2010-08-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

August 14th and 15th we (my bff and daughter) drove to Issaquah Washington so that I could attend the Hand Forged Metal Journal Class from Tracy Moore.

This little beauty is made from cooper with leather spine and measures about 3x2. Turned out so cute.

Cooper 5x7 leather spine

And my dear sweet young pups. Dylan and Zen.

And Zen by herself.

The two of them keep us on our toes and drive the older dogs crazy.

ArtFest 2010 - Day 1 & 2 - Jesse Reno

2010-04-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Jesse Reno

Day 2: Jesse Reno - Not completely finished.

And this I did last Friday at a friends house. We had so much fun working in this style. Not sure she is finished yet.

Happy Birthday Mama

2010-04-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Lonely Little House

Today is Mama’s birthday. She is 74 or 75 years old today, I don’t remember which and I know she doesn’t either. The fact is she doesn’t remember much of anything anymore. My Mom has Alzheimer’s.

I haven’t seen her in two years and she had no idea who I was then. We (my sister and brother) tell ourselves that is was probably a blessing that she got it, though we always feel guilty when we say it, my mother was not on a good path with her life and we were all afraid that she was going to drink, drive and kill someone. My mother also suffered from manic/depressive disorder or as they call it now bi-polar disorder. We all had volatile relationships with Mama, each of us in different ways. If you have ever seen the movie ‘Ya-Ya Sisterhood’ you would kind of know what our lives were like only worse. But I have come to terms with my childhood, my mother’s illness and our relationship as it was before she became ill.

But there are times when I truly truly miss her. Because as we all know along with the bad there is good. She always let us voice our own opinions and we would have some lively discussions. She loved to play games, card games, dice games and loved scrabble the most. So when we would go to visit, we would all sit around the table and play games for hours, laughing, talking and just having fun.

So today when I realized that it was April 13th and it was her birthday, I had to fight back the tears. I seem to be missing her more lately than ever before and wish like hell I could sit at the table with her one more time and just talk.

I am planning a trip over to Oregon later this year to see her and pick up some things of hers that my sister has been saving for me.

So Mama I love you and I miss you sometimes so much it hurts and I wish we could celebrate your birthday like we used to.

Happy Birthday Mama.

Back again with doodles and more artwork

2010-02-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

All the below doodles are done on 2.5 x 2.5 yellow post-it notes. Some may become paintings in the future.

Our local visual art group has decided to do a 'circle journal'. You create a journal and each month we pass it on to the next artist (aka round robin). This was our first month and below is what I did in my co-chairperson's journal. She loves daschund's so has a nice long watercolor pad for her journal.

And here is Dylan in his 'cone of shame' and confined to his crate (which seems a little small for the cone and him). Last Sunday Dylan ate one sock to many and the tube sock got stuck. He has eaten 4-5 socks, dishclothes, potholders and also last Sunday ate Zen's brand new rope toy. He had always thrown the other items up or came out the other end with no problem but we knew it was a matter of time before something got him. We have tried so hard to keep things out of his reach but he is a BIG dog and always seems to find a way. We are going to have to be way better as we can not afford another vet bill like last weeks. Am so hoping he grows out of this.

I am alive!

2009-12-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? It just seems to be flying by so quickly like being on a merry go round that never stops and just keeps getting faster and faster.

So much has happened in the last few months that has keep me away from the blog world. But could not be helped.

Two of the reasons I've been away from the blog world:

Dylan and Zen: Dylan you have seen his puppy pics before has grown into a 10 month old 80 lb pup....and we figured he needed a play mate as he was driving our older dogs nuts so we got Zen....even at 8 weeks and 11 lbs she has been able to put him in his place. They look nice and peaceful here but they are usually non stop go go go....

And now Christmas is looming in the coming week. Is anyone ever ready for it? I know I never am, but all the same it still turns out to be magical. I searched and searched the last few weeks for my little fiber optic Christmas tree that we have used the last few years but to no avail....but saturday I found a living Californa Redwood (originally $19.99) for $10.99. She's a little thing about hip high but with the twinkly white lights she looks wonderful. And I am hoping that when planted after the new year she will take root and grow like the redwood that she is. We've not had much luck the last few times we've done the live christmas trees out here....but maybe she is the one.

Our girl is home this year or at least in the states this year for Christmas. Though she will probably be flying out on christmas eve to Californa to celebrate with her boyfriends family which we really have not issues about this will be the second Christmas that she has celebrated away from us. But I guess that is part of growing up isn't it. Creating your own holiday celebrations and traditions and finding your own way. I am just happy that she has found someone that makes her happy and accepts her for who she is.

So this is the little girl that has been keeping me so busy lately.

Zen, naming her was quite the process. When we got Dylan his name was on his registration papers and just seemed to fit him. Little Zen (though she is a purebred) does not have registration and they did not name their pups...and my daughter was home so it had to be approved by 3 of us. We went through a buttload of names before we found Zen. And of course just seemed to fit her so well.

So I hope to be not so absent from blogging but can not promise as these two only sleep like this occasionally.

Merry Chirstmas!

So what happened to August?

2009-09-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

So what happened to August?

Crazy isn’t it
How fast
Time seems to
Pass us by

August was full
Of
Art festivals
Art fairs
Family and friends

September seems to be
Following in August's
Footsteps

Bookmark for a friend

Lazy Weekend & doodles

2009-07-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

I worked on this little guy this weekend. I used some watercolor pencils I've had forever and not sure I like working with them...I also don't like the way his eyes turned out. It looks like eyelashs on the dark brown but they are not.

This little rabbit is sitting on the bottom of a journal page that is in process. Love the way he looks.

And this little cat is in a small book I'm working on. Not sure yet if I'm going to do any color or not. I know I won't be using the watercolor pencils.

Full page face in the journal. Ink and colored pencil. I don't use colored pencils often...they just seem to take forever. My friend Brenda does amazing things with colored pencils. The last piece I saw took her 3 months to finish. I do not have the patience to do something like that so my colored pencil work I only do in my journal and I do it quickly.

Well I can smell dinner calling....turkey meatloaf, squash from a friends garden and a salad. YUMMY Yum. As much as I like my job I sure wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. sigh!

Doodles everywhere

2009-07-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

Doodling makes me happy. And when I can share that happiness it's even better. I made this doodle into a card and send it out into the universe and it is now loved by another.

I was daydreaming about totem poles when I created this one. Not quite what I thought it was going to turn into but I like it.

And of course birds. I do love birds and drawing them in all shapes and sizes.

Have a great day.

Some journal pages

2009-07-05T14:01:00.001-07:00

Hoping everyone had a great 4th...we had a pretty lazy one. Watched the fireworks from a neighbors back yard.

Finally getting around to posting some journal pages.

This one isn't finished as you can see. The colors on my snail look orange in this photo but it's really a vibrant red. I think he turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Doodle's into Art work

2009-06-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes while waiting for a process to finish up at work I will doodle on some scrap paper. This little guy was from one such doodle. I did do a painting of him but he is hanging at work and I haven't scanned him yet.

Other doodles are done while watching TV, I hate watching commercials so doodle instead.

This little guy was done in my journal. I'm still working on the page and hope to show it when finished. I really like this little bird I think he turned out cute.

And this is a doodle that ended up on canvas. I finished him in time for a show we did at a local winery a few weekends ago and I got loads of comments on him. So many folks really liked him. So we may be seeing more of my doodles making it to canvas sometime soon.

I do love to doodle.

Japan - Part Two - Nijo Castle

2009-06-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

Nijo Castle - was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns.

The Front gate.

Inside gate before the castle

Detail on the gate.

Ninomaru Palace -

the most amazing thing about this palace were the "nightingale floors". When walked on they made the most amazing sound, and because there were quite a few visitor's the day we went the floors sounded like hundreds of birds singing. It was amazing. I so wished that we could have been there alone for a few minutes to play on the floors to see which boards made which sounds. The floor was built this way to prevent sneak attacks or assissins from sneaking up on the shoguns.

The paintings on the paneled walls were also amazing, but we could take no pictures

I think this building was a guard post. It was at the corner of the wall/moat that surrounded the castle and gardens.

From the top of the wall that surrounded the whole complex. Over looking the palace itself with Kyoto in the background.

In the garden were many of these little decorations. The garden was huge and we did not get to see it all.

Garden pond.

Some unusual trees in the garden.

Nijo Castle was probably my favorite place that we visited while I was in Japan.

New member of the family

2009-05-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we lost one of our 4 legged family members. It's still to painful for me to talk much about but it lead to the addition of another member to our family.

My husband is a bird hunter (among other things which we do not see eye to eye on) and Arko his main hunting dog (who is really my dog unless it is hunting season) turned 12 years old this year..where does the time go. (all my pics of Arko were on the old computer....)

Anyway we decided that with Arko getting up there in years it would be a good idea to get someone to start training to take his place (which we did not really want to think about but....)

So....here he is:

Dylan at 8 weeks old.

And Dylan after I came back from Japan at 10 weeks:

He's a handful and is keeping everyone on their toes.

Japan - Buses, Bicycles, Subways and Trains

2009-05-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

So many things have happened since I last posted:

Have been to Japan and back. What a trip. I walked more than I have in the last 10 years and rode a bicycle which I haven’t done in probably as long…

Things that stand out:

Hardly any homes in Japan have lawns. They have small rock, tree and flower gardens, if they have more room they have a vegetable garden and if they have even more room they have a rice paddy. Even in the cities.

If the bus, subway or train is crowded it is very quiet other than the announcements. They just don’t talk to each other, even groups, even the school kids. That was amazing to me. It seem that the more crowded the system was the less noise from the crowds.

Bicycles everywhere. Riding right down the sidewalk among the people or out in the roads with the cars and some really flying along.

Motorcycles. Do not obey any laws of traffic that I could see. They zipped in and around cars, buses and people and were always speeding.

The Japanese people do not stare. While on the train one day a little girl of about 3 years old was staring at my daughter and I…her mother quickly reprimanded her and told her to quit.

Other Americans or none Japanese people also seem to ignore you. When we would pass someone on the street, subway or bus they would not look at us, or acknowledge us in any way. I found this rather odd and ask about it, DD said it seems to be some unwritten rule that you do not acknowledge each other???? She didn’t know why but has found more than just herself has noticed it. I only ran into a few people who actually looked at me and returned my smile. They must have been tourist’s also.

I don’t care much for traditional Japanese food.

After a while all temples and shrines look the same. My daughter had said this before but for some reason I didn’t much believe her, but found it to be true.

I have way more pictures but haven't gotten them all downloaded and reformated...hope to post more this weekend.

Finally some new art work

2009-04-05T11:21:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I taught an art doll class here in town. We had so much fun. Here is the one I demo'd and worked on. It's not completely finished, I'm wanting to do something to the wings - maybe some black netting and possibly add some eyes. Just not sure yet so it's hanging above the art desk.

To see two other dolls created in the class go look at
Brenda's Art Dolls. She's the art teacher at the high school here in town and has asked me to come in to her summer art class and do an art doll class for them. She's hoping to have a robot theme. I'm pretty excited about doing it.

And once a month a group of us here in town get together for "Arty Party". Last month we had it at Bobbi's place. She is the retired high school art teacher and a very popular watercolor artist here in Idaho. We craved little eraser stamps and did some abstract watercolor paintings. Here are the paintings I did.

This one isn't completely finished it needs more white detail work.

More Doodles

2009-03-22T14:32:00.001-07:00

It's been a strange month. Weather and emotions up and down, cloudy and gray, sunny and warm...

And more strange doodles

I haven't worked on much else this month, just seem to be holding tightly to the end of the rope, keeping the nose above water.

But spring is here. The first day of spring here was gorgeous...sunny and warm. but the rest of the weekend has been gray, drizzily, windy and cold.

Hopefully spring will bring a lift in spirits.

She's come and gone

2009-03-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

But it was so nice to have her home even though it was a short stay. She is safe and sound back in Japan. And I can't wait to go in April to see her and go exploring with her.

In the mean time I go to work and in between phone calls, processing reports and at lunch I doodle.

Week before last I decided to use the same scarp of paper for the whole week and just add to it every day. Here are the results:

And this was last weeks doodles

On Friday last week I had already run out of room on the original paper so started another....

I can see some of these doodles showing up in some future paintings. I may have to make myself a little doodle journal to keep at my desk....

Does not do a mother's heart good!!!!!

2009-02-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

Subject line of e-mail I got from my daughter today:

At 6:50AM

Upon opening the e-mail:

"we had a small earthquake! It was kind of exciting. I woke up before it started and was trying to go back to sleep. I heard like a large boom sound and then everything started shaking but nothing fell onto the floor it was kind of long though. Here it was only a 2.0 but at the center it was a 4.8 by the Sea of Japan. Anyways that was my excitment for the day.
Love ya"

Thank goodness she's not near the epicenter....it looks like it was on the other side of the island...but still in the one of the blueish areas. Here is the link I looked it up on to see how far away she was from it

she doesn't remember it but when she was about a year old we had an earthquake here in Idaho. It was pretty minor where we are but at the epicenter it killed two children on their way to school when the side of a building fell on them. At the epicenter it was pretty bad.

Just one more thing for me to worry about.....sigh. And I was doing so good about not worring about her (most of the time).

I'll be there about 2 months....lets hope there are no earthquakes then.

Where I've been and What I've been up to

2009-02-01T16:59:00.001-08:00

This drawing says it all.....so many things going on at once, swirling around me keeping me dizzy.

New job, new position as co-chairperson for our local visual arts committee, chairperson for one of our annual art shows at a local winery on Feb 7th...ekk that's next weekend and helping my dear friend and 'former boss' close her framing shop/art gallery business (17 years in business). I have inherited all kinds of wonderful fun things....tons of mat board, all shapes, all sizes, all colors. Many will be showing up in my artwork for sure.

I so totally dropped the ball on the Jan daily art journal challenge....but I did get some things drawn, doodles really mostly done at work during down time....I have the cutest little 3.5 x 4.75 sketchbook that my 'former boss' gave me after Christmas and it is so handy to carry in my purse and pull out to sketch and doodle in.

Missed the deadline for entry into this years We Art Women art show. Something had to give and that was it....I'm a little sad about it, it is a wonderful show and for such a good cause but just could not get anything ready in time.

Crazy doodles.

I also wanted to say THANK YOU for the e-mails and inquires as to where I was....and the concern shown. Thank you thank you thank you. I so enjoy hearing from you all and visiting everyone when I get the chance. It still is amazing to me how technology has opened up our connections. the inspiration and encouragement I receive from all over is so amazing to me and I thank everyone of you for it.

Thank you one and all.

January 5th Journal Page

2009-01-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

Day 5.

this feels so flat to me sometimes things just don't come together but I'm posting it anyway and maybe will revisit at a later date to see what it becomes.

January 3rd & 4th Journal pages

2009-01-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot to post these up last night...hopefully tonight I can get on track and post on the correct day and not be a day behind.

January 2 Journal Page

2009-01-03T07:12:00.000-08:00

Finished her late last night but couldn't get it uploaded. Done with colored pencil.

Hope I can get todays done in time....off to the big city today for some second hand treasure hunting.

Art Journal January

2009-01-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Misty Mawn commented that she was going to do a page every day in her art journal for the month of January and asked others to join her. Visit her blog to see who has joined her.

So for today, Jan 1, 2009 this is my page.

My daughter's package from Japan arrived on New Year's Eve. She sent all kinds of wonderful things. Japanese snacks for her Dad, papers, stickers and a wonderful brush tip golden pen for me. Along with all kinds of other little items that if I get around to getting a photo of will post.

A few other pages from another of my journals. Playing around with watercolor crayons.

Snow snow snow

2008-12-21T11:56:00.001-08:00

It has been snowing all day today. I'm not all that fond of snow, or cold for that matter. But it can be so beautiful and serene. I love the quietness when the snow is falling as long as the wind isn't blowing like crazy which of course it is today...

I'm sure the ponies don't care much for it either. I snapped this from the window as I did not want to go out in the wind. Mother and daughter (mother on the right) braving the storm.

And some journal pages I've been working on. Not finished yet just a work in progress.

Ilka's Attic giveaway and some journal pages

2008-12-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

Susan Tuttle over at Ilka's Attic is having a giveaway for her new book Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations & Explorations Check it out. I scanned the book at the bookstore the other day and it looks awesome.

Visit her blog to see how to enter. Ilka's Attic And good luck.

And some journal pages. Ink and watercolor crayons.

These next two were done with watercolor crayons while watching some television show. The walking man may end up on a canvas some day with different coloring.

Background on this one was acrylic with the watercolor crayon on top.

Acrylic and pen.

Voodoo dolls and drawing eyes

2008-11-24T16:47:00.000-08:00

I taught a voodoo doll class this weekend for a few friends. Of course I didn't get mine done yet I was working on three at the same time but Brenda got her's done and was kind enough to post it on her blog.....

Brenda's voodoo dolls

She managed to get two finished and they turned out so awesome. We had so much fun and I feel like they taught me as much as I taught them...

It just amazes me that a few years ago I barely knew any artist's in town and now I feel we are creating quite the little artsy group. We are discussing getting together once a month to do something creative. I can hardly wait.

Eyes: The eyes are the window of the soul.

I love drawing eyes. Today while sitting at the computer reading blogs, I ended up on Youtube and found some tutorials on drawing eyes....so here is what I sketched on some printer paper...so much fun. Youtube is awesome.

Next noses and mouths....will be sketching some tomorrow as I'm taking my friend Cindy in for out patient surgery on her shoulder...so I will be sitting at the hospital and plan to take my sketch book and journal for company...and maybe a good book to read. I'm not sure how long it's going to take....wish her luck, I know she's pretty worried about the surgery.

A Day of Sharing Words

2008-11-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

disillusioned

you're sitting there you're disillusioned
and you're hoping i'll get to you in the end
how can i? your disillusion
makes you find a broken heart and take a friend

i don't only love you
when you're standing by my side
i don't only love you
when you see things my way
i don't suddenly not love you
now you're up in your own tree
'cause i'll always love you me

times at night you're tearing pages to the post
worry calling all your true loves home
that's no way no way to spend your time
you can catch that lightning on your own

time is passing by
take a good look now what do you see
i don't even know if that's a crime
you can be the judge and i'll just be me

in agony we drew a circle with a stone
what's the colour of the raindance i don't know
when it closes in i know you'd rather be alone
in the day's disguise night's howling at the moon

i don't only love you
when you're standing by my side
i don't only love you
when you see things my way
i don't suddenly not love you
now you're up in your own tree
'cause i'll always love you me
'cause i'll always love you me
'cause i'll always love you me

words and music by sinéad lohan

The CD the song is from:
No Mermaid

The idea: We have words that touch us, move into our hearts and resonate, creating a feeling, taking us some place- past, present, future- perhaps some place we have never been and may never go, but for whatever reasons, the words pulse in our blood. Meeting new words, new poets, new poems, new ways for my heart to beat, is an intruiging concept. Want to go on this adventure with me? It will be easy to travel along.

Many of us already do this sharing; this idea is just to help us find each other and hear the words we have to share.

The Date: Wednesday, November 19.

The Plan: on your blog, post a poem that moves inside you, touches you, reaches you. (quotes and song lyrics welcome). Include the author (or composer or musician) and source (book, album)- perhaps also the amazon link if there is one. no explanation required, no other revelation necessary.

One last thing- Perhaps add an image. a photo. a video. a painting. a collage., if you would.

Then go here to leave your link and comment:
LK Ludwig's blog

Enjoy...

2nd post of the day....

2008-11-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

But found this cool list on Kira's blog and just had to give it a try....bold or high light the one's you've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and DisneyWorld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - at one time not now...:(
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

journal, art and giveaway

2008-11-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

The giveaway first.

Head on over to A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk for a cool journal giveaway.

And speaking of journals....

My SIL called the other day. Seems she has filled the little journal I gave her earlier this year. It was a little leather journal that was about 3 1/2 x 5 inches with 140lb watercolor paper. She requested a new one. Having seen some lovely cloth covered journals lately I dug into my stash of material and made the following. It's 8 x 3 1/3 outside, pages inside are 6 by 3 and the pages are card stock this time. she only writes in the journal so card stock should work great for her.

So here is her new journal:

And some recent artwork. Newest abstract. Really had fun doing this one.

And a journal page. A demo I did this weekend at a journal class I taught.

It still needs something else but not sure what yet. I love the way the transfer turned out and the way the eye stands out.

What a tea cup!

2008-11-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

My girl attended a tea ceremony the other day that one of her students invited her to. Here is a picture of my daughter taking part. Can you believe this tea cup? Or rather tea bowl... it's huge. The teapot was also just as huge. She said it was really heavy.

She is off tomorrow to Thailand. Her boyfriend (works for Alaska Air, wish I did) flew in a few days ago and she is flying out of Nagoya Japan to Bangkok. She sure loves to travel. They are going to have so much fun I'm sure.

As for me, we did one of our annual local art shows this weekend. I usually do very well at this show but didn't do so hot this time? I'm sure everyone is holding tighter to their dollars this year than in previous years.

Here are two of the newer pieces I had for this show. Think I'll get my etsy account set up to sell and see if we can do any business there.

Brr must be close to winter time....

2008-11-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of winter. I've never liked the cold. I don't care much for snow, unless I'm warm and toasty inside by a fire and do not have to go out unless I want to. I don't like the shorter days that winter brings with it. Though the mountains out back are beautiful with the snow blanketing them it just reminds me of how the short cold days of winter have arrived.

So I hole up in the warm cozy (okay chaotic but cozy to me) studio and let my imagination take hold and paint.

Two pages from my recent visual journal.

Stay warm and cozy by the fire.

Spooky and some artwork

2008-10-31T08:13:00.001-07:00

I grew up in a house that was haunted. I've had some pretty spooky weird things happen around me all my life. And I always love a good ghost story.

So when I saw this quote hanging at a friends house a few weeks ago I commented on how much I loved it. Well she made one for me...this is hand done on parchment paper and I just love it. Thank you so much Bobbi.

And in the spirit of Halloween this little (not really so little his body was as big around as my husbands thumb nail) guy is decorating the corner of our garage door. I was going to try and get my hand up to show scale but just could not get myself to do it....he or she is kind of pretty. A nice Halloween orange color.

Tonight we are going to tour one of the old hotel building's here in town. It's supposed to be haunted so I can hardly wait to get inside. Happy Halloween everyone.

And the artwork. This is a little 5x7 painting I did for my BFF Cindy for her birthday this year. She owns a mustang mare that is colored much like this so I tried to capture Reba's spirit.

My First Journal class

2008-10-26T09:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I taught my first art journal class.

I was pretty nervous. I had three signed up, BK is a retired high school art teacher and well known in this area for her amazing watercolor paintings, BR is the current high school art teacher and also well known in this area for her wonderful cute colorful art work (her blog is listed at the top of my favorite blog spots, and DN who is a fiber artist and she had just taken a class a while back on bookmaking and had some really nice journal type books she had made...

But they were all wonderful made me feel very comfortable and we had a really really good time.

I totally forgot to take photos of their journals, I'm hoping to catch them in the coming weeks to try and get some pictures of what they did. They all did awesome work.

I must have done a fairly good job as they are all interested in taking some more classes on art journaling and doll making.

Below is what I did as demo's. They are not completely finished yet but well on their way.

Front cover:

Inside page:

Other side:

another page:

I still have 3 pages to get started and complete before the journal is filled.

I had so much fun doing this and they all seemed to be having fun also.

Thanks ladies it was a great experience.

Mama

2008-10-21T10:07:00.001-07:00

Sunday night I had a dream about Mama.

We (Mama, my best friend Debi from high school and I) were sitting in a small closet surrounded by boxes of my moms things and we were trying to decide what to do with them.

Last night my sister called to tell me they had moved Mama into a nursing home on Sunday. Mama has been in assisted living for some years now. She has Alzheimer’s.

Was she trying to contact me, trying to tell me something?

The last 3 times I have been over to see her my mom does not know who I am. She doesn’t know who any of us are any longer.

Mama and I never really got a long very well.

We loved each other but never could get along for any length of time.

My mother was never a very happy person, she suffered from manic/depression, she was suicidal during most of my adult life. She was a great manipulator with my sister and brother. Maybe that’s why we never got along so well, I never gave in to her manipulations. She could make everyone’s life a living hell and she did that a lot of the time.

But she could also be a wonderful listener, very loving and fun. She was a nurse and worked in nursing homes for a lot of her career. She was wonderful with the older people. They all loved her. She loved to dance, she loved music and she loved going out.

I miss talking to Mama.

I miss the person that she was.

I am who I am because of her, good and bad.

I am thankful for that.

I hope that this disease has helped her find some peace, some happiness?

Where does the time go?

2008-10-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

How does time slip by so quickly? And still nothing seems to get done.

I did finally get a painting done. I really need to lock myself in the studio and get more done.

This is a spread in my journal. It was practice for the artwork I had in mind. You can't tell from the photo but the stars were made with a pearlized paint and really seem to shine in real life.

And here is the artwork I completed this weekend. I really like the way it turned out.

The family room floor

2008-09-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

Spent all weekend, Monday and finally today got the furniture moved back.

The floor is finished.

Here are some process pictures. What a lot of work. My friend Cindy helped, I would have never been able to get done without her help.

After the carpet was ripped out.

Didn't get a picture of the primer stage. This is the first color used.

Purr supervised as much as she could but was pretty unimpressed with the whole process.

Next layer we used a sponge roller brush.

Also sponge rollered.

This last color I used the brush and just splattered it on randomly. This was the most fun. I now know how Jackson Pollack felt when he painted...

View from the balcony.

It didn't turn out like I had envisioned it but I do like it.

So one primer coat, one solid color coat, 3 sponged color coats, one splattered coat and two polyurethane coats. So glad it's finished.

Praeludium

2008-09-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

Oh my gawd! I am so sore. While J is out of town I decided (with some encouragement from friends) to pull out the carpet in our family room and paint the floors. I'm going to try and paint them similiar to how I painted
this vase . I've been wanting to rip the carpet out for sometime now. Carpet and numerous animals just do not go good together. Instead of the teal color I will be replacing it with a terra cotta red.

I finished this little piece (5x7) the other day. His color is modeled after one of our horses. He was fun to do and I'm sure more of my guys will be showing up in some paintings soon.

Gray skies today after an amazingly awesome lightening storm last night. I sat up until 12 in the dark waiting out the window.

Off to finish up the floor.

Journal pages some in progress

2008-09-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

This page was one I used to wipe my brushes off on before cleaning them. Hate wasting paint....

These pages are in progress. Playing with different color combinations to see how well they work together.

Wise old dog

2008-09-15T12:01:00.001-07:00

He was the wise old dog.
He had been there forever.
He knew it all.

She was the young pup.
She had only been around a few years.
She was still learning.

Wise old dog always got the best.
Wise old dog was always first.
Wise old dog took what he wanted.

Young pup patiently waited
For what was left.
Young pup didn’t mind being second.
Young pup let wise old dog have what he wanted.

But one day,
Wise old dog took Young pup’s bone
Wise old dog did not chew on the bone
Wise old dog just guarded the bone so
young pup could not have it

Young pup did not think this was fair
Wise old dog had already eaten his bone
And clearly did not want young pups bone

Young pup perked up her ears
Young pup started barking
And raced around the front of the house

Wise old dog who was also the great protector
Of all that he resided over could not let young pup
Protect the place by herself
Wise old dog jumped up from his guard post by the bone
Raced around the house barking and snapping and snarling

Young pup came racing around from the other direction
Grabbed up her bone and disappeared into the brush
Wise old dog came back confused because there had
Been nothing to protect against
Then noticed that young pups bone was missing

Wise old dog knew that he was not as wise as he once was
Wise old dog let out a sigh and laid down
Wise old dog knew that
Young pup was on her way to becoming a
Wise old dog.

Halloween witch and an award

2008-09-13T08:24:00.001-07:00

With Halloween just around the corner I decided to do a little witch with her cat and broom.

My blog received an award from my dear friend Tina. Thank you Tina.

Now to pass it on:

The Rules

1.Put the logo on your blog
2.Add a link to the person who awarded you
3.Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4.Add links to those blogs on yours
5.Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Sending Pages Out to Dry
Abby Creek Art
Kristen Robinson
Kel's Space
Jazzgoil Ink
gentle whispering hues
Snowball journals
The Pioneer Woman

Off to feed the chickens.

Hay fever and a teeny tiny journal

2008-09-05T10:25:00.001-07:00

Hay fever season for me.....allergy meds are not doing anything for it. I spend a lot of my day standing over the stove with the tea pot boiling trying to get some relief.....ragweed - argggggh

This little gem is 1 1/2 inches by 1 inch. It was a strip of watercolor paper left over from another project and I started cleaning off my brushes on it. And not being able to throw anything away cut it down I cut it up into 4 3 inch strips and bound them together. Then while watching TV one night drew faces or creatures that were looking out of the paint at me. So much fun. Not all the pages are completely finished and not sure what I'll do with it once it's done but it sure is a lot of fun to make. Enjoy.

Busy weekend

2008-09-02T10:22:00.001-07:00

How does a dragonfly fly with 3 1/2 wings?

Another handcrafted journal. this one is 3 1/2 inches by 6 1/2 inches finished outside edges, pages are 3 by 6. I think I will be placing this on etsy as soon as I get etsy all set up.

Had so much fun with these colors on the vase (see last entry) I tried them on a wooden box.

Back:

Front:

And a sympathy card for Mary's family. Mary would have loved this card. She collected angels.

Off to do more artwork.

Annual Fund Raiser

2008-08-27T10:03:00.001-07:00

For the past 3 years our Visual Arts group has been doing a fund raiser to provide an art scholarship for local high school students. The first year we did it we painted piggy piggy banks. Of course I did not get a photo of my adorable piggy which I called 'Swine Lake', yes she was a ballerina and was very cute.

Last year we did tea pots. Mine was a pyramid shape which turned into a little red barn, once again no photo. I was running late on the deadline so once finished they were rushed out the door.

This year we are doing vases. And I did not wait until the last minute to get mine done this year....so yippee I got some photos. So this year I did 'Spirit Pony'. And here are the photos.

Front:

Back:

They have been so much fun to work on and I really like the way this vase turned out.
Hope it helps raise lots of money this year.

Mary Ley 1946 (I think) - 2008

2008-08-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

This wonderful, charming, beautiful, caring, sweet, amazing woman will be sorely missed by so so many people. Mary lost her long battle with breast cancer late last night.

Another addition of The Pulse

2008-08-22T07:35:00.000-07:00

Over on Seth's blog The Altered Page

Seven questions put to an amazing group of artist's. So much fun.

And here is a happy little Sunflower to start your day.

Good news (finally). J's job pays more than we thought it was going to. I had an unproductive yesterday so my search continues.

Will finally be getting around to listing some things on Etsy. A small hand made journal and some prints. So stay tuned.

Where have I been?

2008-08-18T08:50:00.001-07:00

Did a show a few weekends ago at Carmela Winery. This is the view from the window that I was set up next to.

This is my booth display.

And this was one of my newer pieces I displayed. The photo is a little on the dark side.

Another pear painting. This one I did for my friend Angie for her birthday. I really like this one, just love the way it turned out.

And this was done for Mary. My friend who is now battling brain cancer.

Mary came for a visit (Angie is her daughter) and has ended up in the hospital. She cannot swallow and seems the cancer is shutting down everything in her throat. It was so hard going to the hospital to see her. Seems I've spend way to much time in hospital's this year.

These past few weeks it has been really hard for me to keep from falling into depression, and maybe I already have. Job rejections, friends illnesses, daughter across the world and other things that are looming on the horizon that are not going to be nice. Some days I just feel like hands are pulling me down and the struggle to stay up seems to be getting harder.

Put things are looking up. My husband got a job and he will be going to get his A&P license in September. It's something he's been wanting to do for years and should have done it a long time ago. This license will allow him to work on aircraft and hopefully find better employment and something he loves doing.

It's 6:16 AM in Hekinan, Japan

2008-08-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

I was going to call this post "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". But didn't. But I will use the titles for this post.

The Good.

My daughters dream of living and working in Japan has finally come into being. She flew the nest on July 31st and landed in her new country on August 1st. She will be living in Hekinan Japan just outside of Nagoya for the next year. She has wanted this since junior high school. She has always been fascinated by Japan and most things Japanese since she was in grade school. The first time went to Japan she said she felt like she had finally found her home.

When I asked if her apartment had a washer and dryer she said she had a japanese dryer. Here is her japanese dryer.

I told my husband I want to get a clock to hang on the wall next to our regular clock and set it to Japan time so that I will always know what time it is there. My daughter and I are very close, she is my only child and I will worry (as usual) but I know that this is the best thing for her and a wonderful experience and opportunity. And I am so very proud of her, going off to a foreign country where she knows no one, barely knows the language and starting the adventure and journey of a lifetime.

The Bad

We are still both unemployed. And as much as I am enjoying not having to go to a job every day our funds are starting to run low. I'm really surprised that as many reject letters, e-mails, etc I'm not feeling as depressed or rejected as some folks seem to think I should. But I still have faith that something will appear for both of us and we will be okay.

The Ugly

this could have also been posted in the bad. My dear friend Mary who has been battling breast cancer for over 4 years found last week that the cancer has moved into her brain. This is the 3rd close family/friend to have had brain cancer this year in my life. What are the odds of that? What the fuck!!!!!!!! In her e-mail she said that the doctors told her 2-6 months. I am just heartsick for her, her family and her friends. She is one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever known. It just does not make sense to me. I am sad that she lives so far from here and wish there were more I could do for her and her family. I will do the best I can.

fractured

2008-07-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

My heart
my soul

fractured

where
    is
      this
        life
          leading

in the coming months
  so
    many options

none at all

Journaling

2008-07-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

Newest journal. Another one I've made. This one is about 6 1/2 by 8 1/2 leather with 140lb watercolor paper pages. I love making my own journals and love working on the watercolor paper.

And here is the most recently finished (I think) page in this little journal.

When I start having mental blocks with my art work or journaling I like to make these little smooshed painting things. Remember when you were in grade school, you'd take a sheet of paper, fold it in half, open it back up, smear paint on the page then refold and smoosh it all together then pull apart. Was always one of my favorite things to do in art class.

I've been working on more little houses. Like these that I did for
artfest trades. Haven't gotten pics of the new houses but will before they go to the gallery for display.

And speaking of the gallery, finally got a pic of my wall

this was before the show at the Cold Creek Winery and we have changed the wall a bit. I've hung more paintings and rearranged a little.

Have joined another yahoo group. This one is theartjournal started by Ricë Freeman-Zachery. I joined last night and need to go check out all the entries. Looks like it might be a good journaling resource.

Off to start my day.

Garden Tour

2008-06-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Garden Tour today here in our little town and it was HOT!!!!! I heard someone say it was over 100....

There were big Koi

and little Koi .... and the heat didn't seem to bother them.

And secret little hiding holes.

And of course flowers....

Hope you enjoyed the it as much as we did.

Journal pages and show review

2008-06-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Finally got another set of pages done. Sorry if they appear a little blurry, they weren't when I loaded them?

The Cold Creek Winery Art Show and Wine Tasting went fairly well. I made two sales so more than paid for the trip there. Which is only about 15 minutes from here...:). One of these days I'm going to get brave enough to apply for some of the bigger shows within driving distance and see what happens. There are a few really nice ones in Idaho but hear that they are hard to get into. Never know until you try. And once again I didn't take any photos....

Artistic Alchemy Workshop

2008-06-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

I've joined the Artistic Alchemy Workshop for journaling being conducted by Kira from A girl and her journal blog

Our first assignment was where do we journal. Here is what I came up with.

I'm a little behind on background pages, and our second assignment which is color, but I've just been so busy trying to get ready for the show this weekend. It's a new show, at a new winery so I'm pretty excited about that. But for some reason I'm going through a 'creative block' and just can not seem to get anything complete.

I did get two small things matted yesterday. Will have to scan and post them later.

And then on Sunday our computer crashed. So had to hook up the new one. Am hoping we can find someone who can retreive all of my artwork and family photos off the old one.

Off to try and get some artwork done before Saturday.

Some artwork and photos

2008-06-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

I did this painting with watercolor crayons while visiting my sister. She now has it in her collection. I don't normally work in watercolor but really like the way it turned out. May have to try more.

Can you tell these two have a rough life?

These next two shots are from the front of our place and this is what I see out my studio window when I'm working in the late afternoons. The sunsets some days just take my breath away. I've spend many an afternoon sipping a glass of wine and watching as the colors and light change. Such a lovely way to end the day.

Long rough year

2008-05-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Lynne lost her battle with brain cancer Saturday May 17th. I wasn't at home. One of the things that Lynne so wanted to do before she left was go to the Oregon coast, but she never made it. My family lives 45 minutes from the Oregon coast. I had an unexplainable desire to go visit, but was torn due to the fact that we knew Lynne was close to leaving. The picture above was taken on Saturday May 17th in the afternoon. Lynne left us that night at 11:45. I said good-bye to her standing on that beach, tears running down my face and I heard a little voice inside, "Don't be crying for me, enjoy the day" (She hated tears). It is so very hard to believe that she is gone. She will be so terribly missed.

When I stop to think about all that has happened this year it is almost unbearable. It's been a year since things started with a huge family disappointment that I have been having problems getting over (it hurt me more than I realized), loss of our youngest horse, Raven, Lynne's brain cancer, surgeries and battle, my daughter's shattered dream of working in Japan (but she's working on getting another job there), the loss of my husbands job and my job, another disappointment from a life-long friend (or so I thought), my mother-in-laws brain tumor and death, my mother's battle with Alzheimer's and the knowing that we will have to let our oldest horse go before the winter comes this year.

But there have been some good things this year also. New friends, one being my 'boss' at the frame shop, she has also been through a lot of loss and sorrow this year. My artwork - has been selling great this year, I was in one juried show and have been juried into another which will run the month of July, two art shows coming up soon, one in June another in August. Laughing and spending time with Lynne and C this last year.

So I am trying to keep my spirits up and think of all the good that has happened this year but sometimes I just seem to be dragging. Sometimes it is a battle to get myself into the studio to get anything done, search for a job, or go into work. I just want to lay down and pull the covers over my head and cry.

No Pictures today

2008-05-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

In Oregon. Visiting family. On the way to ocean shores today. It is warmer here than I ever remember it being so hoping the trip to the coast will be nice.....course it will probably be way crowded.

10:52 PM

2008-05-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

I smelled death tonight

Thru my eyes
Thru my skin
Thru my hair
It permeated the room
Heavy in the air
The taste on my tongue
Not unpleasant
But awkward
An old knowing odor

I smelled death tonight

Some new artwork

2008-05-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

New 10x10 abstract on board

Just playing around with some paper and paint.

Some things for a show. I seem to have a thing for pears lately. I just love painting them.

Today's visitors

2008-05-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

I noticed our oldest horse racing across the field this morning looking out at the neighbors house. His ears up, tail up all excited and nothing excites him anymore. So I look out the front window thinking dogs, neighbor's horse, etc... and I see something a little different.

At first I thought it was the neighbor's alpacas (they just moved in a few months ago, we haven't met them yet but I so want to as I love alpacas)

BUT on closer look ........ it was these three....

I yelled at my husband and daughter that we had antelope in the front yard...
grabbed my camera and was able to get pretty close to them. They finally slide under ..... yes under, the neighbor's fence and trotted off in the direction of the foothills and another desert subdivision.

We've never had them come in this close to us before. Hope it is a good omen.

It was a wonderful morning adventure.

04-27-08

2008-04-27T15:09:00.001-07:00

She doesn't believe in
the supernatural,
the paranormal,
or ghosts.

Yet,
she said

you came to visit
at 4:00 a.m.

kissed her cheek
said you just came
to say good-bye.

She woke and couldn't get back to sleep.

But,
she doesn't believe, yet.....

A Good-bye

2008-04-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

My MIL left this realm yesterday afternoon. She went peacefully and my husband was by her side. She had lead such a rough life while here. She suffered from schizophrenia her whole adult life and I am sure some of her treatments throughout her lifetime were hellish (shock treatment for one and all types of drugs). Here is hoping she is in a much better place and not suffering as she did here in this life.

First eggs from our little banti chickens. Life goes on.

This week in pictures....

2008-04-17T17:22:00.001-07:00

This is a page in my journal that I've been playing around with...not sure it's quite finished yet but it's sure been fun.

Some pages in a journal exchange round robin thing I'm involved in....
Another page in rr journal.
Close up of faces and to show the metallic paint a little better.

And some chick pictures....We have 12 chicks (4 of each variety listed below)....and it was so nice out today and not blowing like 60 miles an hour so we took them outside for some sun and fun......

This is one of the Rhode Island Red's

The little black and white (I don't know the technical chicken names so am doing my best....) she is the smallest and my favorite.

And because she is my favorite you get to see two pics of her. Her wing feathers are not as developed as the others and she hasn't even started on her tail feathers yet...should have gotten a pic of the tail feathers coming in as they are so so funny looking.

And last but not least the Barbie's.....they are blond, more advanced in their developement and oh so bossy. I've been calling this little girl Bossy Barbie.

That's all for now.

More Artfest

2008-04-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

Tina suggested I post photo's of all the trades I made for our house trade. So hope they all fit.

These were all made from scrap wood from my husband's construction days. They were so much fun to make and I've even had an order for a custom one. Everyone had posted their favorite colors so I tried to match each house to a person.

This is the second year we have stayed in House 6E which makes ArtFest all the more special.

Tina's House.

Tara's House.

Sharon's House.

Kristen's House.

Lelainia's House.

Pene's House.

Home from ArtFest

2008-04-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to posting some things from ArtFest.

This lovely little wallhanging was created by Tina. I met Tina at my very first ArtFest on the very first night, we've stayed in touch and the last two years we've shared a room in Officer's house 6E. This is already hanging in my entryway for all to see and admire. Hope to be her roommate next year also.

Sharon was new to the house this year. She made us all one of these amazing necklaces. We all LOVED them. And so did everyone who saw them. Thank you so much Sharon...it is the first piece of jewelery ever made just for me.

Pene shared our house last year but opted for the dorm's this year....but still did our house trade. This little book is awesome. It's only about an inch or an inch and 1/2 tall and just so cute.

This sweet little pillow was created by Kristen. This was Kristen's first year in house 6E. She is one of the sweetest people I've ever met and I had the pleasure of sitting next to her in the Soul Language class on the first day. I had a great time getting to know her and spending some time with her.

And another wonderful necklace from Lelainia. She has organized our house the last two years at ArtFest. She is so warm, friendly and oh so organized. Thanks Lelainia for keeping our house together.

And a music CD was created for all of us by Tara. This was Tara's first year in our house also, it was fun getting to know a bit about her.

It was great getting to know the new gals and spending time with friends from years before. More on artfest later.

The Altered Page - The Pulse

2008-03-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Seth over at The Altered Page has created an on line art gallery called The Pulse. He is posting artist's favorite artwork from over 48 artist's (does that line make sense?) and why the artist picked it as their fav. It is really awesome. Today he has posted hand made journals and books. Hope on over and take a look.

And now some artwork. The mushrooms are 4x6 and I am hoping to get them copied for postcards to hand out at Artfest. I just need to get down to the print shop and get them done....

And this one is 5x7 and should have been in the mail weeks ago.....

New Artwork

2008-03-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

A friend I used to work with used to work in Denmark and had wonderful pictures of tulips. So here are some tulips that I have done for her, well they will be for her if she likes them....

And now a complaint......when someone comments on this blog it has stopped e-mailing me.....argggh. I have read through all the help files and tried to change my e-mail address to something else and back but still it's not working. If anyone has any idea how to fix this please let me know. Next step is to try and contact someone from blogger to see if they have a fix for it.

Bantam Chickens

2008-03-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

We have chickens. I've always wanted some chickens and a friend had some Bantam's that he was giving away so we got 4. They are wild so you can't really get to close to them yet....but I love watching and listening to them.

Here's the rooster. He's got a really quiet crow in the morning but I love hearing it.

Here he is with his three hens. The two black hens really shine in the sun and the feathers are very iridescent with reds, blues, greens and purples. The little buff colored one seems to be getting used to me being around more than the others so far. I really like her.

The littlest black hen is the one that is always hiding and hard to get her in the pic so she's not in this one.

Or this one.

And the rooster seems to be telling me I've taken enough pictures and I need to leave them alone. Don't you just love rooster tails? I think my next painting may just have to be a rooster painting....with some hen paintings to follow.

And we are going to be getting more chickens, full size chickens this time. Ekkk! Hub's order 6 chicks. 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 White Leghorns and 2 Araucana (these chickens lay blue eggs and they are so awesome looking....a friend has one of these chickens and has been blowing the eggs out and keeping them. I can't wait for some blue eggs.) Like we really needed more animals around the place.

Journal Page

2008-03-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

finally getting around to posting some journal pages. Not sure why a clown but that's just what came out of the brush. the blue ticket was for parking at the company I used to work for. we worked at another site and when we would go to the main site we could get a ticket to park in visitor parking for meetings and such. I was supposed to return it but I knew that we were getting laid off so I keep it....

This is with the ticket closed:

And with the ticket open:

Not much else going on. Trying to get things ready for ArtFest. Am doing some really cute things for my housemate trade will have to wait until I get back to post those. And am trying like crazy to do something for trades but not sure how much I'm going to get done.

LJ's brother is here from England. I haven't met him yet, he just got in on Friday afternoon but will probably be going down later today. She was feeling pretty good today so they all decided to go for a drive and show the brother a bit of Idaho.

Well back to working on trades....

Waiting

2008-03-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

LJ has decided to stop the chemo as it wasn't doing any good. The tumor is just as big as it was 6 months ago. The doctor's confirmed that she has 3-4 (if we are lucky 6 months) but CR doesn't think it's going to be that long. She thinks it will be next month sometime. And after tonight I have to admit it may be closer than we all had hoped.

LJ's brother is flying in from England tomorrow and she seems to be pretty happy about that. But she can't keep things straight, and 1/2 the time we don't know what she's talking about. A lot of what she is saying doesn't make sense.

On the way home from her place tonight there was a huge owl sitting on the power line right at our drive way. What kind of an omen was that? I went out with the binoculars and he had moved down the power line a ways and I tried to see what kind it was but couldn't as it was getting dark. The owl didn't make a sound and was still sitting there when I went back inside. Owls have always been one of my favorite birds. Was it trying to send me a message? If so, I sure wish I knew what it was. And I so wish there were more I could do for LJ.

Commissioned

2008-03-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is what I've been working on the last few days. My first commissioned piece for someone other than family or friend. I was very very nervous when she stopped at the frame shop to pick it up. My family really liked the way it turned out but I had no idea how the folks who commissioned it would like it.

Here is Thunder before framing:

And here is Thunder after framing:

It was a challenge but I have found that most commissioned work is but I learn so much from each one that I do. And it's such a great feeling to have them like what you've done.

On another good note: The artist who organized the We Art Women benefit art show wants to buy one of my paintings....whoopee, yahoo...and she has invited me to submit my work to be juried into their co-op art gallery. Which I would love to do but...they have monthly fees since it is a co-op and with us being unemployed at this time I don't think we can swing the extra expense... but it feels so great to be invited. I was really thrilled.

Bad and good

2008-03-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

No art posted today. Just haven't had time to photo or really create anything. Am working on a commission that is due on Tuesday...and should have started way earlier than I did but things around here have been hectic.

So here is a pic of our pudelpointer, Brody. He was supposed to only be a foster dog but we've had him for 4-5 years now. He has such an amazing personality and is a real sweet heart. don't you love the goofy look on his face.

BAD:
My friend L's cancer brain tumor is back. Third time in less than 7 months. Not sure how big or bad it is this time she couldn't remember what they said and her H has to call them back tomorrow. But she's thinking she only has about 3 months at the most left.

Good:
I sold one of my paintings at the We Art Women! art show and benefit. Whoopee. Now I can get some more canvas's.... and I had a wonderful time hanging with my friend H and her friend K.

Well back to the chocolate lab painting I've been commissioned to do.

Another straw

2008-02-26T14:01:00.000-08:00

As if we haven't had enough going on.....Hub's lost his job yesterday. He had only been with this company for a month, he really disliked the job from almost the beginning but it was a pay check and with me unemployed felt a little more secure (ha). He thinks it might have something to do with the fact he had to call in on Friday with his mom in the hospital and he's had to take some time off to take her to appointments and things. Oh well, looks like we just need to regroup and figure out what we're going to do.

And I'm still sick. Worse than I was before. This darn nasty thing has moved into my ear and chest with a nasty cough to go along with it. Isn't this a nice cheery post....

But at least I got some artwork done. This little house just makes me smile every time I walk by and see it. It's 6 1/4 by 12. It cheer's me up.

And this little pear is a smaller version of another pear I did a while back. It's on a 4x4 canvas and will be going into a raffle for the benefit art show I'm participating in this Thursday in Boise.

I'm hoping that the three pieces I have entered will sell so that I have some pocket money for Art Fest this year.....keep your fingers crossed.

Another loooooong night

2008-02-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is how I feel this morning.

Not only have we all been sick this week but last night my mother-in-law had to go back to the emergency room. Hub's was there until 8 this morning and I was up all night on the couch waiting for a phone call. MIL has been dizzy, fainting, sick all week, was in the emergency room last sunday and they thought it was just a bug. Well last night they found a huge brain tumor.

Ran across this quote this morning in my growing quote's collection and it made me feel a little better. Now I'm off to take a nap.

“It's a troublesome world. All the people who're in it
are troubled with troubles almost every minute.
You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot,
for the places and people you're lucky you're not.”
-- Dr Suess

Pay It Forward

2008-02-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

I won on Mother Henna's Pay it Forward post and so in the spirit of the Pay It Forward the first 3 folks to comment on this entry will win some art work of mine. And all you have to do is post a Pay it Forward on your blog also.

And I'm reshowing a few things I have done in the past to give you an idea of what might be send to you.

Enjoy.

And now I'm off to take a rest. Haven't been feeling all that great the last few days, headache, earache, sore thoart and achy all over....yuck.

02-18-2008

2008-02-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

No art today. Why? Been trying to clean my house which seems like a never ending battle. My studio is a disaster and the rest of the house is not much better. But little by little making some headway.

Did get this photo of the sunset the other day. course they always look better in person.

Well off to box up knick knacks that I really don't need....maybe will have a garage sale this spring.

And the winner is!!!!!!

2008-02-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

The winner of my little kittie painting done for the One World-One Heart give away is:

Megan I have e-mailed you Megan as I will need your mailing address. And I so hope you enjoy my little Tuxedo cat painting.

I want to thank everyone who entered. This has been such an awesome experience and I have found so many awesome blogs to visit over and over in the coming year. Also a big thank you to Lisa Oceandreamer for hosting this wonderfully fun event.

Out to play

2008-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

I got a new camera a while back but just never got around to figuring out how to use it. It's a Nikon D50 Digital. Went out to check the horse's water tank to make sure it wasn't frozen solid and found these tracks....

and just had to take a picture of them. Well the next thing you know I had taken over 200 pictures. Mostly of sagebrush and snow on our unfenced natural 5 acres. I loaded most on to my flickr account which you can see here My Flickr Account

But here is one of my favorites. It's just a weed but I liked the way it turned out.

And then there is this thing. I have more pics on flickr. These are weeds of some type I'm sure. They are so so strange. And they are almost as tall as I am. If anyone knows what these are I would love to know.

Hope they are not noxious and take over the place. Can you say Alien invasion.....?

Snow Cat

2008-02-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

This is Purr. She loves to go outside with the dogs and seemed to love the snow. The other cats wanted nothing to do with it.

Here's a shot of two of our ponies as DH was giving them their dinner.

Salty and Brody having fun in the snow.

And Maxine with a snow beard. It had mostly melted by the time I got this shot. She loves the snow. She could sure use a bath...

No shots of art tonight. Just haven't gotten a chance to get any pics. Saturday is the show at the winery that is if we don't get snowed in. There are so many roads closed here in Idaho due to snow and drifting snow. They even had to close Bogus Ski Resort as no one could get up or down the mountain due to snow drifts. Come on Spring.

One World - One Heart

2008-02-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

A little late to the game but am participating in the One World-One Heart giveaway started by Lisa Oceandreamer. Looks like almost 200 artist's are included.

And here is the item I will be giving to someone. It's 4x4 canvas acrylic folk art painting.

I will be drawing a name, actually I will let one of the pampered cats do the drawing on Feb 13th. So stay tuned.

I'm off to finish checking out all the other giveaways.

Out my studio window

2008-02-03T13:00:00.001-08:00

It is snowing and has been most of the day. I don't remember the last time we've had so much snow.

So I am kicked back listening to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals album 'This is Somewhere'. I love every song on this CD and it has become one of my all time favs.

And some exciting news: I will have three of my paintings in the upcoming "We Art Women!" benefit art show. I am very excited to be included in this event and can hardly wait. It is going to be such good exposure for my artwork.

Well back to the studio to try and get some things completed and to watch the snow....

A Big Thank you

2008-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Violette featured my 'There goes the neighborhood' painting on her blog. She is an amazing artist so go check out her blog. Seems she has a purple house. How cool is that. Thank you Violette for featuring my painting and for liking it :).

And here is something I made a while back. I used to carry one of those little bitty composition books in my purse for notes, numbers, stuff things in, etc. Well it finally fell apart as it was stuffed full of things. So before Christmas I had a commission for a leather journal and from the leftovers I made this little purse journal to replace the composition book. I LOVE IT. And I put little bells on it so whenever I use it it jingle jangles.... drives my daughter nuts.

And here's a side view. It is so handy.

And here is some artwork.

Off to a stamping party with friends today.

There goes the Neighborhood

2008-01-28T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest. The idea came from a combination of a song by Sheryl Crow and my ex-sister-in-law. It's 22 x 28.

Not much new here. I don't know where the time goes and I seem to not be getting anything done that I thought I would while being unemployed....But need to get busy painting as the show is only two weeks away. And this Saturday have a party to go to so won't be getting anything done then.

Woke up with a sore throat and ear ache this morning. After a few cups of tea the throat was better but the ear ached most of the morning...not bad but enough to cause a headache also. And I've been cold all day. Sure hope I'm not coming down with anything. Maybe I'll sleep in tomorrow and give my bod a rest.

More animal photos

2008-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some art work, just haven't gotten any photo's of anything so am posting more of our animals.

This is Babie. Babie is our orphan girl. She was born here on our place. Her mother was my Arabian mare, Centre, whom I loved and adored. But due to complications during the birth we lost Centre 5 days after Babie was born. Lucky for us Babie took to drinking out of a bucket right away and thrived. Her father was Ian, a Quarter Horse that lives down at the end of our road.

And this is her 1/2 sister Calisto. I've always called her my Eyeore horse...she usually looks kind of glum with her ears pinned back with a woe is me look about her, but not in this pic. We also call her our pocket pony. If your out in the field doing something she is right there with you all the time and as close to you as possible. she really loves to help you out with any chore you have. She was also born on our place 3 days before Babie. Her mother is our Quarter Horse mare, Misty Blu, aka Pearly Blue Badger.

And here are the two of them together - I cut off the her nose but loved the way she has her neck arched and you can see the Arabian more in this pic. They are both such shaggy ponies and dirty dirty. But it's to darn cold to get out and brush this week.

And last but not least is another one of our orphan kitties. (Yes we are very good at raising orphans. Something that I really love and hate at the same time. Feedings every two hours really gets annoying after a while.) This is Buffy. Of the four she was the only one with no tail. I'll get pics of the others up on a later post.

And my news this week. I bombed another phone interview today. Half of the things they asked me I had never even heard of before....oh well, maybe it's time for a career change.

Day 58

2008-01-13T12:36:00.001-08:00

But who's counting....that is how many days I have been unemployed. I totally bombed a phone interview this week. The first question out the gate threw me for a loop and it wasn't that hard of a question. But it was a math word problem question which I suck at...oh well - not the job for me.

I posted photos of two of our dogs last time and the other three got jealous. So here are pics of the other 3.

First off - Gabby. She hates to have her picture taken and she was asleep when I started and opened her eyes at the last minute. She's an English Setter and a speed demon. And she is also our princess puppy. She is a beautiful dog and soft as a bunny rabbit.

Brody-boy. He is a Pudelpointer. He was a rescue and we were only going to foster him. That was 4-5 years ago so guess he is here to stay. One of the most loving dogs ever.

And then there's Maxine, or Weiner as she is sometimes called. She has been wearing this darn hood for almost a year off and on. She had a cancerous tumor on her leg which we had removed and she refuses to stop licking on it. She has always been a licker and having a wound is just to much temptation for her. She also loves to suck on her back foot. It's really weird.

And as I was going through my pics I found this one so had to post it also. The cats are two of four that we hand raised.

About 3 years ago we had a lot of hay delivered and there were 5 week old kittens in the hay. Well the stack had fallen or we wouldn't have found them but it landed on two of them so one was lost, we thought we were going to lose two but nope he turned out to be the biggest in the bunch. I do believe that they consider themselves more dog than cat they follow the dogs everywhere when they go outside.

Well off to try and do some art, oh yea and some laundry, vacume, clean....

Snow Day

2008-01-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

If I weren't unemployed.... :) I am just so thankful that I did not have to drive the 35 miles to Boise and back today. It has been snowing all day here and I can actually sit back and enjoy it.

Here in the snow are two of our 5 dogs. These two, Arko in the foreground and Salty are the ones J hunts with the most. Arko is by far the most intelligent dog I have ever known and I have known and loved a lot of dogs. He will be 11 years old this year and he is my boy - until the shoot gun comes out and then he always looks at me with his little 'sorry mom, but I gotta go huntin' expression. And I can always tell by the way he greets me when they come through the door if they got any thing or not.

The guy that trained him for us also said that Arko was the smartest dog he had ever had the pleasure of training. Arko has sold more German Wirehaired Pointer's to J's friends than we could have. I remember the first time J took two of his friends out hunting with Arko they came back amazed. It seems that when Arko retreives a bird he takes it back to the person who shot the bird and not to J... and I guess he did it every time. He is one amazing dog.

Salty is a retired show dog. She actually went to the Westminister Dog Show, has her Champion title, was highest points because of her kids for a few years and her daughter was the highest winning German Wirehair Pointer for quite some time or whatever they call it. We always tease her now because she likes to eat ...well I won't go into any details and she has the most foul smelling farts ever. But we got her for peanuts due to the fact the couple who owned her were moving and said she was to timid for their breeding program (or maybe it was due to the smelly farts). Timid she is not, not sure why they thought she was.

They both look a little rough in this photo as they haven't had their after hunting season make-over yet.

We did have a little scare this hunting season with Arko. He managed to impale himself on a stick or something. Thank goodness it just went between the skin and muscle but it was on a Sunday so ended up costing an arm and a leg. But he is healing nicely and loving the snow.

After the holidays

2008-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Did this little christmas ornament (12 of them) for an altered art group that I belong to....for presents. But we didn't get a chance to met in December so they will go to their new owner's this month.

And this one I've been working on for awhile and I'm still not happy with it. I have two friends going through Chemo and this peice is titled 'After Chemo'. I don't care for the texture of the paper and a few other things but just can't seem to get it the way I want it...so may be working on it some more.

And this is a Christmas present for a friend. Hope she doesn't visit here before I can get this to her, don't think she will as she is pretty busy with work...did the background ala Kelly Rae Roberts as described in Cloth Paper Scissors.

And I have a phone interview for a Software Developer. Would really be awesome to get a job soon and not have to use up all of my severance package. Would love to use some of that severance money to get our family room tiled and maybe even the front room and master bedroom. Never again will I have wall to wall carpet in my main living spaces...when you have as many animals as we do carpeting is not the way to go. Give me hardwood floors or tiled floors.

I have the tile all picked out. It's made by Saltillo and is called antique red...I so love this tile.

Off to finish another painting.

Holidays

2007-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

Did the below painting this week. I needed something for the annual horsewoman's Christmas party a friend of mine does every year. So made some prints and used one for the gift exchange we do every year. My friend PB got the print and was thrilled. Plans on bringing it into the frame shop to get it framed. I may take the original in and have it framed.

Not much else. Still job searching. Am planning on hitting that pretty hard after new years unless I win the lottery and don't have to go back to work.

Off to paint some more. Have a show in Feb so need to get more paintings done.

Still unemployed and loving it

2007-12-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

You would think that since I no longer go into an office every day I would be posting more on my blog. But I never seem to have time. Had an art show in November, no pictures...I just can't seem to remember to grab my camera. But did very well at the show. Paintings for the holidays under way and playing around with the idea of setting up an etsy site. And working part time at the frame shop re-learning how to mat and frame artwork. Doesn't pay much but get all the scrap matboard I want and can mat my own artwork for nothing or next to nothing. That's a pretty good perk.

Here is a little pear ACEO that I matted with a black velvet mat scrap. It only took me three times to cut the darn mat to fit right. But finally got it right.

And here are two paintings, both 6x6 oil pastel that are going to someone for Christmas.

The pear's I've been doing are very popular and if I'd had more on canvas at the art show probably would have sold them all but I only had one on canvas.

What a week.

2007-11-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is a spread I did in one of my altered art group members books. Next month we should be done with our RR altered books and I can hardly wait to get mine back. It is so much fun to see each month what has been done. The horse in this painting is my girl, Babe. We've had her since day one. She is our little orphan baby. We lost her mom, Centre (pronounced sin-tree...long story) 5 days after Babe was born.

Other news: This was my first week of being unemployed. I applied for unemployment...but only applied to one job. It's kind of hard to feel unemployed this week it being Thanksgiving week and all. I kind of feel like Scarlet O'Hara in 'Gone with the Wind'...And I will worry about it tomorrow...or next week or next month....

Our 2nd annual local art show went well. I did very well so was pretty happy.

Have all the potato's for tomorrow done (sweet and mashed) and the turkey is soaking in it's brine overnight. CR and I are doing all the fixing's this year as LJ still isn't doing all that great. So will be dragging everything down to CR's house tomorrow for the feast. Just hoping that this won't be our last Thanksgiving with LJ.

wishing everyone a wonderful peaceful Thanksgiving.

Jonna

Cover letters?

2007-11-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

No photos or pics today. My Internet link is down and using daughter's.

I have been looking for a new job for the last few weeks as my last day at my current position will be Nov 16th. I have been with my current employer for almost 18 years. Now I discover you not only need a resume but you now need a cover letter. What the f*#$? What is a cover letter?

Well, it seems to be an introduction (did I spell that right? I don't even know any more or really care) and prelude to your resume. We sure didn't do cover letters the last time I was out looking for a job. So am scrabbling trying to figure all this crap out.

Other news: My friend LJ with the brain cancer is back in the hospital with a staph infection after the second surgery for the tumor which they were not able to get all of it. When I went to visit her yesterday in the H she was not in the best of moods, but then who would be in her situation. They give her 3 to 6 months...unless she can get into a trial that may prolong her life for a few more months to a few more years....

Sorry such a depressing post...but things aren't all rosey for us at the moment.

Get me off this merry go round

2007-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

This week has been hell.... LJ went in for surgery on Tuesday, almost didn't make it and didn't wake up until Friday. We have all been holding our breath, crying and praying (or lighting candles). So it has been an emotional roller coaster. Bad news is they were not able to get all of the tumor out this time....So no artwork this week.....but here is a sunset photo I took from my front yard. We do have amazing sunsets here.

Winds of Change

2007-10-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

First off, I will no longer be employed by my present company starting Nov 16th, 2007. Which I believe (or am trying to believe) in the long run is the best thing. Maybe more details later.

This spread I did in an altered book for our local altered art group. The theme was travel...all I could think of was space travel.

And more bad news: My friend LJ's brain cancer was not touched by the radiation. The tumor was growing the whole time she was under going treatment. The tumor, in three months time is 1/2 the size it was when she had it removed. She goes under the knife again on Tuesday, then will be joining a study group trying a new drug which has shown good results in her type of brain cancer.

Kind a makes losing a job seem pretty trivial.

Waiting

2007-10-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well this is the week we find out who's jobs will be outsourced. Today is our big department meeting and on Thursday we have our one-on-one's to tell us who will be leaving the company.

So this weekend I played with my oil pastels and came up with these little beauties. It helps keeping busy other wise my mind is so scattered I can hardly get anything done.

I just about rubbed my finger raw blending the pastels....finally got a paint rag to use instead of just my finger...duh...

This little guy has been sitting on my desk for months. Had drawn him up but just never got around to painting him. Well that rust colored oil pastel was screaming that it was the right color for the little fox.

Off to get ready to go to work. Sigh.

For a friend

2007-10-03T05:46:00.001-07:00

Just had to share. Hoping she doesn't visit my blog as this is for her b-day.

A little early Halloween ATC

2007-09-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

This little lady made it to the home page of Collage Cats Yahoo group. It's always such a joy and honor to have your artwork featured on the home page. The idea for her came to me during a meeting at work. So you can tell I was really paying attention....sometimes sketching during meetings is the only way for me to stay awake.

Had a wonderful thunder/lightening storm last night. It started about 9:30 pm way off in the distance and ended up right on top of us at 2:30 am. The horses of course were not real pleased. I could see them jumping and running around when the lightening would light up right over head. It did get a little scary for a while as it seemed to be right on top of us and I was worried that it would hit one of them.

This was the first real lightening storm we've had this year. There have been quite a few up in the mountains but not many down here. I love turning all the lights out and sitting by the window to watch. It's almost as good as a fireworks display.

First Travelling Poetry Show

2007-09-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at posting some poetry for the Travelling Poetry Show this week hosted by jillypoet.

The prompt was uncorked.....and somehow I ended up with this. Totally different than what I started out with.

started slowly

heading
d
o
w
n
h
i
l
l
fast

picking up s p e e d

the less hearty
jumping

others held tight

bumpingtwistingturningscreamingcrashing:

a few running
before the dust settled

and we start again.

A day at Summer Camp

2007-09-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Oh what a day. One of our Visual Art's Committee members is a cattle rancher with her husband (she is a horse hair braiding artist and does some truely amazing work..will try and get photos one day and post - it is a dying art). Today was their second annual Mountain Home Arts Council BBQ which they hold up at their summer camp. Which is about 50 miles up the road from our place in town.

What an amazing place. It's hard to believe that this place is 50 miles from where I live...here are only a few of the pictures I took today.

Above is the front gate that greeted us as we walked up to the grove of aspen trees that their summer camp cabin sits in. They have no running water in the cabin, so they have an outhouse and a separate bath house outside the cabin (pics of bath house later). they use solar energy and propane for power.

This next photo is the outside fireplace and in the background is the wood shed.

and here is a photo of everyone sittin round the camp stove. LB (the horse hair braiding artist and owner of the summer camp) is the lady kinda facing the camera with the dark colored glasses.

And look what I found out behind the cabin.....I'm calling this desert driftwood. This wood is from what we call Bitterbrush....I'm not sure why. It looks like sagebrush but the wood is much harder and can actually be used for something. Sagebrush wood is very flakey, falls apart and can't really be used for much of anything. It is so awesome. I wanted to drag the whole pile home but only took one piece....LB offered me more but I didn't want to be greedy...

It was a wonderful wonderful day with wonderful wonderful people. Hope to post more photos later this week.

Pelican Commission

2007-09-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

This painting was done for my X-sister-in-law. She has a new man friend who has taken her off on a few mini vacations and she wanted to repay him. So she asked if I'd do a pelican for him. And the nice thing is she paid me....:) And she really liked it.

Need to get my arse in gear for the November art show...every one things it's going to be bigger and better than last. Let's hope so. I did really well last year and could sure use another good show.

Love these blogthings

2007-08-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

I love doing these little quizzes on line.....I think they are soooo much fun....

What number are you?

You Are 4: The Individualist

You are sensitive and intuitive, with others and yourself.You are creative and dreamy... plus dramatic and unpredictable.
You're emotionally honest, real, and easily hurt.Totally expressive, others always know exactly how you feel.
At Your Best: You are inspired, artistic, and introspective. You know what you're thinking, and you can communicate it well.

At Your Worst: You are melancholy, alienated, and withdrawn.

Your Fixation: Envy

Your Primary Fear: To have no identity

Your Primary Desire: To find yourself

Other Number 4's: Alanis Morisette, Johnny Depp, J.D. Salinger, Jim Morrison, and Anne Rice.