Celebration Time!

Last week we had conferences with both of the girls teachers. The teachers raved about our children and how smart they were, and how nice they were. Joel and I both blushed with pride. The girls had worked hard and their report cards were perfect! Time to celebrate.

Now we are not the kind of parents who take our children out on the town all the time. We tend to find games and activities that we enjoy close to home. But for the total celebration blow out, there's only one place the girls would name. And it happens to be a place that Joel and I despise -- CHUCK E CHEEZE'S.

It is the loudest place on the planet, except for Las Vegas. In fact, I thinkChuck E Cheeze's is early training for a life of boozing and gambling. The games, the lights, the sounds. And yes, the beer. Something to anaesthetise the parents -- keep those tokens coming. . .

Yet this is the place we took our girls on Saturday night to reward them for a fantastic job on their report cards!

Followed by pizza at our favorite Italian restaurant Capozzi's.

Which happens to be next door to Michael's. What a nice consolation prize for mommy, a trip to Michael's. Makes sitting in Chuck E Cheese for two hours tolerable. Ding ding ding ding.

Journals for the girls, pretty papers for the journals, cardstock in greens, purples and blues, Craft sticks, three new Zig's for mom, a white Marvey pen, a set of graphite pencils and a StazOn ink pad!

Children at War

For more information on child soldiers you can go here.

Be True to Yourself

While trolling the internet this morning I came across Suzi Blue. She's adorable. I watched a bunch of her videos on YouTube and they all have such a positive message.

The video above was particularly relevant to my recent anxiety about the art I create. And it reflects the words I share with other artists about their work -- be true to yourself and make the art you want to make, without considering what other people think.

But recently I've been working on a lot of class samples -- technique exercises -- with imagery I think potential students might like to see. And not making the art that I want to make. For the next few weeks I will spend my studio time working on a piece that has been in my sketchbook for a long time and for the past few months has been swirling inside my head.

For those of you reading and looking at this blog, thanks for your comments and input, I'll continue to post sketches, Ricë has some excellent journal spanks worth checking out.

Now I'm off to the studio.

Time Mandala

Today I decided to doodle.

The clock in my studio tick, tick, ticks. All day long. Even with the music on I can hear that sound in the background. It must be creating subliminal stress since I have been very worried about time and how long things take! I need to pull that clock off the wall and put in a nice quiet digital clock with an alarm I can so I don't miss picking up the girls.

Starfish and Failure

What is important is doing the work every day. Eventually you will succeed, you will definitely have failures. But the trying is what's important. So the starfish didn't quite turn out how I hoped, but I learned some important things about conveying texture, something important to my fiber work. I need to learn about painting with watercolors.

Sophie's Yellow Paintbrush

This is my Monday Morning Drawing. I am going to try and draw and paint something every day. Simple stuff around the house to hone my chops, which are rusty. Can you tell I like color? Bright, clear color. This was sketched in pencil, then inked with a Zig Micron Pen and then painted with my Prang watercolors and an Aquaflow brush. It makes painting easy.

One thing that stuck me while I was drawing this paintbrush is how perfectly aligned the word CHINA was. I did not set it up that way. Yet CHINA screamed at me the whole time I was drawing and I wonder: Are there any paintbrushes made in America? I'm going to find out. I'll let you know.

Do I love my kids ENOUGH?

Each morning, I lovingly make lunch for my girls to take to school. I try to vary it so they won't get bored, I throw in a sweet treat and an occasional love note. It is a part of my morning ritual that I enjoy.

But apparently I need to step it up a bit! Check out this Dad's incredible lunch bags.

Orange Tennis Shoes Revised

After looking at Orange Tennis Shoes today I thought they looked a little flat. So I went in and added some shading to try and add some depth to the picture.

Orange Tennis Shoes

Here is a drawing I finished today. Ink and Watercolor paints.
(I used Lumiere Watercolor paints for the shoelaces and grommets. That is the shine you see.)

Journal Spank Challenge

Ricë over at Notes from the Voodoo Cafe had a journal spank today -- close your eyes and grab something and draw. Since I've had drawing on my mind, I though "Hey I'll bite." I reached out and grabbed the nearest thing to my desk. A bottle of Tums. Nope, I thought -- all those little circles. Not good to draw.

I know, I said to myself, I'll go into my studio, close my eyes and grab something. I won't trade again, I'll take what I get. And I did, and here it is:



All round and curvy and perspective that changes, and clear bobbins to boot. I thought coloring it would improve it. Well, it was a fun exercise anyway. I think I'll try again later.

Finished Work

I love finishing UFO's. I enjoy the sense of completion and accomplishment. This week I finished two UFO's began last year. I'm using these for class samples for my upcoming Art Quilting class at Red Hen Fabrics.

Public Sketching! One poor victim.

Here's a shout out to Mary Akers: "Thanks for the awesome inspiration and encouragement." She taught an incredible charcol drawing session last week at Fiber Art Fusion's meeting last week.

Today, while watching my daughter take her Tae Kwon Do class, I took out a pen and sketched the guy sitting in front of me. He was listening to music on IPOD. It was pretty loud, but not loud enough for me to figure out what he was listening to. He was tapping and bobbing his head along with the beat. It was hilarious. After a few minutes he started to squirm and then looked over his shoulder at me a few times. Hmmm. Maybe his sixth sense was piqued. What a hoot.

Anyway, it was fun and I felt a small sense of success. Now I guess I need to go to Binders and get me a Moleskine Cahier Sketchbook to carry about.

And I need to look at the calendar more often! I dated this sketch 1/21/09.

My studio

On Quiltart.com many people have been posting pictures of their studios. I am fascinated by the spaces people work in and thought I would share pictures of my studio:

This is from the entrance door of my studio. The rear door opens out into the yard with the fountain beyond. I love to open the door and hear the bubbling of the fountain and the birds singing. My girls like to hang out in the studio with me. Sarah sits in the chair and reads while Sophie will work on some sort of art project at the end table.



The blue cabinet at the end is from a hairdressing salon. It is on wheels and I can move it around. The doors open up to reveal pull out shelves. This is where all my stamping supplies are located.


Drats. You can't really see my sewing machine, but it is at the left. On the left wall I have two closets that flank the sewing table. I store lots of stuff in there. Straight back are beads, some patterns and my sketchbooks. My library of books are kept in another room.



From the end of the room you can see my sewing table and some of my fabric on the left. Behind the mirror doors is a huge walk in room where I have more fabric and stuff stored.


Today the girls made their own Journal Covers following instructions I wrote for a class I teach at Red Hen Fabrics. I was really amazed that they could do most of it, though I am always leery when they use the rotary cutter.

Close up of the Journal Covers they made.

Happy Birthday to Me!

There is no cure for birth and death
save to enjoy the interval.
George Santayana

Yesterday was my birthday. I find that I enjoy my birthday more each year. I relish the wisdom that comes with the passage of time and experiencing life's events.

This year I invited two couples and their children to spend the evening with us -- we were 12 in all. I spent my day in the kitchen prepping for the meal. My husband and children cleaned the house. What a nice treat.

We had a feast! With lots to drink (responsibly)! And music and fun! I think it was the best birthday yet!

I love to set a pretty table.

Everyone says it makes them feel like "dress up."

But at my house it jeans and slippers if you please.

The kids had a pretty table to eat at as well.

The kids enjoyed chocolate fondue!

The adults enjoyed this fabulous Chocolate Ganache Cake with a champagne toast.

The men jammed and played some great R&B.
Poor Olaf had to sit on the floor to play the percussion.
We need to put the keyboard on a rack next time.

Minu gave me this adorable vegetable peeler. I love the colors!

Another journal

On a happier note, I taught a journal class this week at Red Hen Fabrics. It was great fun! I love to teach. Here is one of my class samples.

New Work

I have been very bothered by killing. The recent news of a UN worker who was shot while delivering supplies during the cease fire in the Gaza strip prompted me to make this piece.

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?

Ghandi

When will all this end?
Never is what most people tell me.
Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia, and Burundi, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza. . .
I refuse to become apathetic to war.

Drawing with Mary

Fiber Art Fusion met on Tuesday night. Our workshop was led by Mary Akers who is an incredible artist and a wonderful teacher. It was magical to sit in a room with 18 artists and draw. We each had our own perspective, we each had our own success (thanks to Mary) and a few discovered they love to draw. Mary will lead another workshop for us before the end of the year. I can't wait.

Here is my form drawing.


I had an odd perspective for the pitcher. Today my friend Margaret Betz sent me an email with pictures of artwork by the very talented sidewalk artist Julian Beever. Some of his sidewalk masterpieces look as though they are 3-D objects. He has mastered perspective.

Healthy, Productive and Patient Again

I hate New Year's resolutions. A laundry list of promises to one's self, most of which will be broken. Last year I came across Christine Kane's blog and her post about choosing three words to BE. I chose: Healthy, Productive and Patient.

Thankfully I am healthy. As a family we ate much closer to the vine, eliminating many processed foods from our diets. We ate a lot more fruits, and a few more vegetables. With the exception of an occasional Diet Coke for me, we eliminated artificial sweeteners from our diet.

Consciously working on patience was good for me last year. Especially in light of the many major changes our family made. Having patience, especially with my children, helped us to weather that change successfully.

From a creative point of view, 2008 was not very artistically productive. In the early part of 2008 I began my daily art project and felt very productive until we decided to move. Most of my time was spent engaged in a different kind of productivity -- preparing our house to be sold, looking for a new house and then moving.

In spite of a deficit of creative output, I had lots of work published last year, was paid for writing a few technique articles and taught a class. Professionally it was a good year.

So now what?

My children are healthy and happy. My husband finds his work deeply fulfilling and his company is set to prosper during this economic crisis our nation is in. My studio is set and ready for a productive year and I'm scheduled to teach many classes in the next few months.

We have a beautiful house, with wonderful neighbors and in an excellent school district.

We are so blessed.

I find it challenging to select three new words for 2009. I think I'll stay with Healthy, Productive and Patient. Only this year I plan to focus my productivity on artistic endeavors, experiment with new techniques and execute some of the ideas I've stored in my journal.

And all the while I plan to be Appreciative. Because I am truly blessed.