Where I talk about art

New studio space

2010-07-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

My new art studio in England. This time, our guests won't have to share space with all my junk!

The house is finally in good enough order that I can focus on organizing my studio space. Well, I'm actually using the excuse of "I need to see what other storage needs we have before we put in our Ikea order". LOL!

Anyway, the photo above is what I'm calling the before-before photo. We didn't have internet for a short while after we moved in so my daughter kindly (and bravely) unpacked most of these boxes for me.

So, I'm in here today trying to make sense of all of the stuff I've accumulated over the last three years. Sorting, assessing, itching to get back to my art.

It's going to be great to have my own dedicated space again!

Ah, now I have purples ;-)

2010-05-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

Feeling a bit restless--can't wait until we move back to England so I can set up the studio again and work!

White Saturday (Netherlands)

2010-05-22T03:00:00.001-07:00

Last day playing with Curious Girl. I am totally loving her rainbow post today (our other colour choice). Thank you for the fun, Lisa!! Groetjes from Holland :-)

Green Friday (Netherlands)

2010-05-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

Which one of these is not like the other ones...

Green Leaves sadly not Greensleeves, tee hee ;-)

And Wilson Greggory III, a green character my daughter created this year. He's adorable. And sensitive.

Playing along with Curious Girl this week. :-)

Purple Thursday

2010-05-20T00:59:00.001-07:00

Hmmm. I don't have a lot of purple things! Pity.

Playing along with Curious Girl this week. :-)

Orange Wednesday (Netherlands)

2010-05-18T22:47:00.001-07:00

Stained glass in a Dutch parking garage,

a whole lot of House of Orange pride,

Click here if you'd like to see more of my orangey photos from Queen's Night in The Hague, Netherlands. :-)

and my favourite coffee mug :-).

Playing along with Curious Girl this week. :-)

Blue Tuesday (Netherlands)

2010-05-18T02:46:00.001-07:00

Playing along with Curious Girl this week. :-)

red + pink Monday (Netherlands)

2010-05-17T04:17:00.000-07:00

Playing along with Curious Girl this week. Thanks for the fun, Lisa :-)

Channelling Escher--Self Portrait

2010-05-04T02:57:00.000-07:00

At the Escher Museum, Den Haag, Netherlands. :-)

Flying Lessons

2010-04-29T00:46:00.000-07:00

I've signed up for Kelly Rae Robert's new e-course "Flying Lessons: Tips + Tricks to Help Your Creative Business Soar". I must be a bit mad because this course coincides with our move back to England, but a little voice in my head said, "Take it anyway."

I've learned to listen to that little voice... usually she is right ;-)

Where have you BEEN, young lady?

2010-04-27T23:07:00.000-07:00

Hullo, little art blog. Remember me? I've missed you. Life has been crazy busy, but I've been thinking of you and wishing I had some new stuff to share. Well, I do have new stuff but haven't gotten around to photographing it yet.

You see, the weather has been so nice lately. And we've had a visitor.

But I'll try to do better.

XO,

JaPRA

Packing up

2010-04-13T01:04:00.000-07:00

In preparation for a flurry of house guests over the next month, I packed up my painting supplies yesterday and am tidying up the studio/guest room. I just realized that I probably won't have time to do any more art until after we move back to England. I'm already going through withdrawal!

Well, I'll leave out the sketching and watercolour supplies at least. My husband and I visited the Escher Museum. This was my second visit and I hope it won't be my last. It was very inspiring!

If you are ever in Den Haag, be sure to put this on your "to see" list!

Oh yeah, I'm making books!

2010-03-04T03:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, here are the finished journals that I made using the techniques I learned in Mary Ann Moss's Remains of the Day online workshop. I am not sure why these embedded videos are coming in cropped on the right, but if you want to see a bigger version, just double click on the videos and it'll take you to my YouTube site.

My Travel Journal

I wanted to make a journal for our 2010 travels. I normally just write in my everyday Moleskine journals while we are on holiday, but it makes it hard to go back and find the info when I want it since I typically finish 4-6 journals a year.

Anyway, I kept the pages fairly simple so that I could tape or glue in postcards, tickets etc from our trips. This journal is made of two signatures (12 pages each) sewn in with leather cord (it's what I had sitting around!).

Roxi's Journal
I made this second book for my 15 year old daughter. She loves music--can you tell? I asked her to make a list of musicians she admired, then I printed their photos off on photo paper and sewed them on to the pages. I painted a bunch of plain A4 paper using techniques I learned in LKLudwig's Printed Patterned Painted Journal Making online workshop. They turned out great!

This book is made with three signatures (10 pages each) sewn in with waxed cotton embroidery thread that I made. Oh, I used a black permanent marker on the white embroidery thread before I waxed it... Just keeping in the theme of using whatever I have! I would like to buy some bookbinding thread one day.

I am so excited to have learned these techniques! I've wanted to learn bookbinding for ages--can't wait to learn more. I understand Bookbinding for Book Artists is a good reference.

Oh, this was probably overkill, but I used my jewellery drill press to make the holes in the signatures as well as in the cover. Again, it's what I had on hand--I didn't have an awl or a big nail...

Thank you iHanna Postcard Swappers!

2010-03-02T06:50:00.001-08:00

Artists from left to right): Jennie, Michelle, Riley, Vanessa, Yvonne, Izabela, A fabulous artist whose name I wish I knew!!, Janet, Kel, and my friend Chris who was so sweet to do a special swap with me :-)

These lovely cards cheered me up so much during this dreariest of winters. And I am sure all of the hands who held each of these wonderful bits of goodness appreciated them as well!

This really was a lot of fun! Thanks again Hanna for all of your hard work in organizing this swap!

I made these for iHanna's Postcard Swap

2010-02-17T00:48:00.001-08:00

This was so much fun, Hanna. Thanks for hosting the swap!! XOXO

Guerilla Sewing or "Now I'm making a 'Remains of the Day' journal"

2010-02-16T02:11:00.000-08:00

I don't sew. I wouldn't say I FLUNKED home economics sewing in 8th grade, but let's just say it wasn't a pleasant experience. I do remember spending a lot of quality time with my seam ripper...

But I've been thinking a lot about sewing these last couple of years. As in: I wish I could make "this"--"this" usually being a cool throw pillow, easy curtains, or a costume for my theatrically-minded daughter.

I even bought a simple sewing machine last year while we were in England. But soon after it was delivered, we moved to Holland and I hadn't really had a chance to use the thing.

Enter Mary Ann Moss' online class: The Remains of the Day. I spent a couple of days watching through all of the videos and made this cover in about five hours. I LOVE it! The fabric pieces are from old dresses and shirts Roxi and I had around but never wore anymore.

Journal cover.

Outside cover.

Inside cover.

Silk tie.

I have collected all of the paper for the inside pages. I think this will take a while to assemble...

Meanwhile, I signed up for Misty Mawn's Painting Layers course. I've watched all the videos and read all her posts. Now I just need to try some of her excellent techniques!

As you can see I'm really loading up on my classes. It's winter, there's snow, it's cold, what else is there to do? LOL! Actually, I know my Spring will be filled with holidays, sightseeing, and family visits. Then we'll be moving back to England this summer... so the next opportunity I'll have for these involved projects will be next fall. I'm making hay...

Self Portrait with Derwent Dark Wash Pencil 8B

2010-02-12T01:23:00.000-08:00

I think I'll go back in and add colour. I drew this FAST listening to, gosh, I can't remember what. I like working this way! I used to shut off all the music in the house when everyone left--I needed the peace and quiet. But now, I think drawing or painting to music helps me stop thinking so much ;-)

So, this is the end of Misty Mawn's Drawing and Painting Portraits class. I didn't do every assignment, but I tried a lot of new techniques (at least for me). I still need to practice more with painting portraits with acrylics--I think I need different brushes since the ones I have are big--for large canvases. Oh, and I'd love to take Misty's background course. I might sign up for that next if she has open registration for it.

I did sign up for Mary Ann Moss's Remains of the Day class. It combines two things I've wanted to try for a while now: book making and sewing! I love Mary Ann's teaching style (I believe she is an art teacher in California?). I also love that she's not hung up with perfection. She's very spontaneous with her work--I really like that.

Anyway, I sat down and watched all of her videos over two days. Wow! I can tell that I won't be making a bunch of these journals--they are a wee bit labour intensive for me. On the other hand, they are very special, personalized books and I just know I'll love using mine as a travel journal, which is what I think was the purpose of Mary Ann's first book.

So, I think this will take me quite some time to put together, but I'll post pics as I go along.

Yes, I paint at my computer... LOL!

And lastly, I received an email from Seth this week who said I'll be included in the 13th edition of Secret Sunday. So cool!! Thanks, Seth :-)

Postcard love...

2010-02-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

I had to put them in envelopes... I was afraid the paint would run/bleed!

I sent out my bundle of handmade postcards today for iHanna's swap (my first ever). 10 of them went to the peeps on my iHanna list and one went to the friend who clued me in on the swap.

That was pretty fun! I might do that again sometime :-)

More portraits

2010-02-08T04:54:00.001-08:00

Blind contour (LOL!) and self portrait sketch.

"Monda Lisa" Neocolor IIs and paintbrush.

NeocolorII applied wet directly to paper.

Acrylic paint over Neocolor IIs over this original pencil sketch.

Wow--there is SO much to Misty Mawn's class. If anyone has ever needed a muse to help them try new portrait techniques, Misty's your gal! We're in our last week of class but she's kindly said she'd keep her videos up for us for another three weeks. I'm going to need those extra weeks. Thanks, Misty!

PS I'm trying to get over my fear of white acrylic paint. For some reason it really stresses me out! I'm also trying to work faster and have started listening music while drawing and painting to help silence that voice in my head. You know the one I'm taking about, I'm sure ;-)

Portrait with Shiva Paintsticks

2010-02-01T03:42:00.000-08:00

I am finding that I get to a certain point in these portraits and then I just stop. Part of it is I'm against a bit of a deadline--we have new videos each week and there are a lot of techniques and materials to try. I imagine that I will go back and tweak all of these portraits after the class ends. But meanwhile, I must press on or be terribly behind.

So the Shiva Paintsticks. I like them! I like the smoosh-ability of them, but I am finding them a little hard to use for fine detailing (like the eyes). I used a blending stump to put down colour around the eyes, but for the most part, I smooshed the colour around with my fingers. My daughter asked me if I was finger painting ;-)

I started an acrylic portrait before the Shiva one, but I had to take a break from it. I was feeling rather frustrated with the acrylic paints! I use them all the time in my abstract painting, but I find that in portrait painting, the acrylics dry too fast for my taste. I am going to try using glazing medium to try to retard the drying process a bit.

This week we're working with collage (yay!), inks (I'll probably skip this one as I don't have water soluble inks) and water soluble art crayons. So you see? I must press on...

Here are more portraits I worked on this weekend... just for fun. I guess I've been bitten by the portrait bug ;-)

Coloured Stabilo Pencils

2010-01-29T04:39:00.000-08:00

I found myself back at my neighbourhood stationery store yesterday afternoon, so I went ahead and picked up one of each of the Stabilo Woody 3 in 1 that they had--18 of them! Here's a quick portrait doodle (is there such a thing?) I did last night just for fun to try out the new pencils... I like them quite a lot! I especially like that they can be smooshed around further after moving the colour around with water.

I've been busy and haven't quite finished my acrylic portrait yet. I probably won't get to it again until next week. Still need to do my Shiva portrait too. Oh well.

Stabilo Pencil and Titanium White Acrylic Paint

2010-01-28T01:59:00.000-08:00

Stabilo and Amsterdam titanium white acrylic paint on drawing paper. The paper buckled (I probably used too much water, even though Misty said to only use a little).

As usual, not done, but I really need to get a move on with the rest of this week's assignments!!

I finally found a Stabilo pencil at my neighbourhood stationery store, of all places. Unfortunately it's a "Stabilo Woody 3 in 1" kid's version, meaning it's chunky and has a big tip, which makes it unsuitable for fine detailing. BUT I do like the qualities of the Stabilo pencil and will keep an eye open for the more slender, grown up version ;-)

I thought I hated this technique (paint over Stabilo), but it's kind of gowning on me. I will definitely explore this further at a later time.

Meanwhile, I think I may go back and buy the full set of these 3 in 1s.

Next up: Painting over my pencil sketch. After that, Shiva oil pastels, here I come!

PS I signed up for iHanna's Postcard swap! Here's the info if you're interested, deadline for sign up is Feb 7 I think. Thanks for the heads up, Chris!

PPS Yes, I am still Mondo Beyondo-ing. Just nothing to share right now.

And one more sketch...

2010-01-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

One more sketch. I needed something bigger for painting on this week. This one is on Canson A4 (8 1/8 x 11 3/4 inch) 85 lb drawing paper. The others were done in a 5.5 x 8.5" 60 lb Strathmore Sketch book. I know I should have done this on watercolour paper at least, but oh well. It's for practice anyway.

I'm skipping the Stabilo pencil and titanium white painting. I did try it with a Conte Carbone pencil (couldn't find Stabilo at my local art supply store), but I didn't think it was smeary enough. I'll try that another time.

By the way, I think I am finally starting to relax a bit on the drawing. Like most things, you just have to be brave enough to allow yourself to make lots of mistakes! Haha ;-) I would like to work on shading more, but that will come with time.

Meanwhile, I'm digging out the paints.

Weekend drawing practice

2010-01-25T04:58:00.001-08:00

Weekend pencil practice for Misty Mawn's Drawing and Painting Portraits Workshop. Just going with the flow. This week we paint!

Mondo Beyondo: Release

2010-01-21T23:45:00.001-08:00

Mondo Beyondo affirmation card picked at random. This is the one that wants to be released.

I have been carrying this affirmation card around with me for days with the intention of leaving it somewhere for someone else to find. I've been really self conscious about this! I'm not sure why...

Drawing and Painting Workshop: Portrait One

2010-01-20T23:49:00.001-08:00

For Misty Mawn's workshop Drawing + Painting Portraits. I'm not finished, but I am behind--so I'm just going to move forward from here. I love Misty's technique--more subtractive (at least in the drawing portion), I never worked like that before. Must explore further.

Mondo Beyondo List One

2010-01-17T22:45:00.001-08:00

My first list... we were supposed to seal it up in an envelope, but since the pages were in my journal, I just folded them over and taped the heck out of them.

My Belle-Mere (mother-in-law) came to visit us this weekend--all the way from Texas! I was busy tidying up on Friday and totally forgot to check the end of week Mondo Beyondo post. On Sunday afternoon I logged onto the MB site and realized that I nearly missed the big Week One Mondo Beyondo list making.

How exciting! I did manage to write out my list in the recommended 20 minutes. Have you ever sat down to really think of what you want? I mean deep down in your heart? It's actually kind of hard. For the first 10 minutes, I found myself wishing for the usual boring New Year Resolutions type stuff (exercise more, make time for art, blah blah). I kept telling myself: Dream bigger! Think outside of the box! Go crazy!

The second 10 minutes went a little better, but I don't think I've hit on my "fluttery stomach" dream. We were supposed to write down our list as quickly as possible--no second guessing. Honestly, I can't remember all of the things I wrote down... I'm trusting my brain does, though.

I don't know if I am in a place in my life where I have most everything I want, or maybe my wants are changing. Well, I am in the middle one of my big Mondo Beyondo wishes, after all: Living in Europe. Of course, there are things I really want to accomplish, but they fall more into "I want" versus "I REALLY want." I suspect MB will be getting me closer to that in not too much longer.

Interestingly, my daughter (who turns 15 at the end of the month) thought this list making was a fun idea, so I encouraged her to make hers too. She went up to her room to journal her dreams, and when she came downstairs for tape, she said: "I couldn't remember what this list was called so I just wrote 'Mando Commando'".

I thought that worked too ;-)

I finished The Wishing Year and My Life in France this weekend. I think The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is next.

On Dreaming the Mondo Beyondo (Week 1)

2010-01-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

The first week of our Mondo Beyondo class is done. I am getting to know so many fabulous dreamers on the MB ning site. I have to say, dreaming en masse is a new thing for me. We may be thinking about different dreams, living in different cities, in different countries, even, but there is a definite sense of community and shared energy. Lots of goodwill and hope for our own dreams and for others.

MB Week One ended with a very upbeat interview with SARK conducted by Jen Lemen. What a couple of "juicy living" gals! Here's the one tidbit that really stayed with me. SARK said: Dreams never end or go away... (they are) resilient and never leave. Trust in diving timing.

I think I've quoted this to at least three people today already, LOL!

Speaking of dreams, I'm about half-way through My Life in France by Julia Child. I am just fascinated by this book. For one thing, I love reading about her expat life in France in the late 1940s. But also, I find it amazing that Julia didn't start her cooking career until she was in her late 30s and look what she made of her passion for food. Trust in diving timing...

Online classes: Mondo Beyondo and Drawing & Painting Portraits with Misty Mawn

2010-01-13T00:52:00.001-08:00

A new year finds me scrambling around the house putting away the things I left out when we left for our Christmas holiday in Texas. We've been back over a week now and I am still feeling like a bunch of pick up sticks scattered on the floor. It's getting better, though.

Before the year ended, I signed up for two courses that I thought would get me started down the right path for the new year.

The first one is Mondo Beyondo (henceforth called MB)-- please visit the site for details because Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen can explain their course a lot better than I ever could.

I wanted to post this photo of my MB Affirmation cards. Those of you in the MB class will note that these are not the same ones beautifully written by the talented Jen Lemen. What happened was I have a new computer and my printer drivers weren't working! So rather than feel frustrated (ok, I did feel frustrated), I just decided to tear out some pages out of my designated MB journal and make my own cards :-)

These tiny affirmations sit in an eggplant shaped dish that a friend of mine gave to me. It's actually kind of an ongoing joke, the eggplants. Almost twenty years ago, fresh out of University, I fell in love with the things. I mean, crazy for them! So crazy that I started an eggplant newsletter (see I told you--absolutely nuts!), which I distributed to "lucky" family and friends.

The newsletter had information about eggplants, recipes, growing tips, artwork, etc. Anyway, I can't remember how many issues I put out (not many) but over the years, friends and family have gifted me with crazy eggplant things. Most of them are in storage in Houston and haven't seen the light of day in nearly three years.

Anyway, I decided to put these affirmations in this new, cute little eggplant dish is to remind me of my people back home, my carefree days as a young writer and graphic designer, and mostly to remind myself that things don't have to be serious all the time!

The second class I am taking starts on Friday. It's Misty Mawn's Drawing and Painting Portraits online class. I have long admired Misty's paintings and am truly excited that I was able to join this class. Our warm up exercise was to make a blind contour portrait. We could do a portrait of anyone, but since it was 3 AM when I decided to work on mine (blame it on jet-lag), I decided to just do a few self portraits. They're funny! I actually like them a lot :-)

So, I'll be busy for the next month or so. I am going to try to post more on this blog, too. Documenting this journey... stay tuned!

PS Last night, I started reading The Wishing Year by Noelle Oxenhandler. It was recommended in MB. Have you read it?

Seth Apter and "The Pulse"

2009-12-15T03:36:00.000-08:00

I am sure you've heard of Seth, right? He's the amazingly generous artist behind the blog The Altered Page. Anyway, he has bravely collected a bunch of information from over 200 artists for his fourth zine "The Pulse Artist Survey: The State of the Art". I can't wait until it comes out!

If you can't wait either, head over to Seth's blog because he's posting delicious tidbits here and there. And keep going back because one of these days you might see a little something from me :-)

What I've been doing...

2009-12-10T06:21:00.001-08:00

Making a mess.

Painting, making rings, taking photos. I also went to Germany where I drank gluhwein and ate bratwurst at the Christmas markets. In other words, I've been having fun. Obviously I've not been updating this blog, LOL!

And just as a reminder to myself... I love this site: Sketch Theatre.

"De Kat" Paint Windmill in Zaanse Schans, Netherlands

2009-10-26T01:42:00.000-07:00

Over Roxi's school break, we took a few day trips from our home in Den Haag. One afternoon, we went to see the windmills at Zaanse Schans. I was particularly excited to visit this one: De Kat, "probably the last wind-powered dye mill in the world". If you ever get a chance to visit this mill, I know you will love it. We had such fun climbing around inside.

Happily, they sold these beauties. I've always wanted to try mixing my own paints from pigments.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Mural in Rotterdam, Netherlands

2009-10-24T08:15:00.001-07:00

Near the parking garage Westblaak in Rotterdam.

I hope that's my muse come knocking

2009-10-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

A very artistic front door, not far from where I took my Dutch lessons.

I am done with my four-week intensive Dutch class. While I am by no means fluent, I can have some very simple (and short) conversations. Anyway, the class was a huge jump start and I expect that I will continue to learn more on my own using the Rosetta Stone software we bought before moving here in June. I'm going to put in an hour a day. It think that's doable.

So, finally I have some free time to work on art. BUT I also want to make sure I use my new language skills. So I've been looking around for some art classes... we shall see :-)

Eta Carina Nebula

2009-09-17T23:23:00.001-07:00

I am totally blown away by this photo. Delicious colours! It won the Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2009 Competition. Well deserved. There are some other amazing photographs in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Flickr pool.

Self portrait Wednesday

2009-09-09T00:59:00.000-07:00

Den Haag, Netherlands.

What's Inspiring me?

2009-09-06T22:09:00.001-07:00

Clouds for one thing. There have been some spectacular ones lately. Or perhaps it's only lately that I've noticed?

I can't remember which blog pointed me his way, but I adore La Mesa Trabajo. I think it's all the shots of his art supplies :-)

And oh to be as carefree as Rima at The Hermitage.

My bloggy friend Maureen of Cooking My Life has inspired me to re-read the Artist Way again... I did my morning pages today. Did you?

In my Dutch studio

2009-08-28T00:42:00.001-07:00

View from my "Treehouse" studio. Sad, sad natural lighting, but it's a nice big room.

My art studio in our Dutch house is located on the third floor (second floor for those of you who think about it like that) of our townhouse. It's big--at least three times as big as that closet-sized thing I had in England. But I am having such a hard time trying settling in.

Yesterday, I moved all my painting supplies back up there from the music studio on the second floor (uh, that would be first for some of you) because we recently acquired some new gear and needed the room I was using for painting.

I console myself that it took me a long time to get settled in my studio in England. It wasn't until I moved downstairs to command central (in the conservatory near the kitchen--ha!) that it finally felt right. I think it's a lighting thing. I really do.

Shake it up baby

2009-08-26T01:12:00.001-07:00

Well, my girl is in school again and this is the first full week of it. We're slowly (and exhaustingly) sliding back into our routines, finding our groove. As I look back on this blog, I realized that I've not made good on my promise to myself of becoming "prolific" in art this year. But maybe it's all relative because I have done more art-wise this year than I have in ages. Plus I moved to a new country (the Netherlands from England) too, so I'm cutting myself a little slack ;-)

Anyway, now that school has started, I find myself with the luxury of time, so I'm going to see if I can plug away at some of my art projects. I'm also going to take a few classes this fall. Right now, I'm signed up for a four-week, intensive beginner's Dutch class, which starts mid-September. I've also signed up for Julie Prichard's Layer Love painting class because I feel stalled with my acrylic painting. I just watched Lesson 1 this morning and figured out what my missing ingredient was--glazing liquid! Julie is a great (and generous) teacher and her videos are very clear. I'm looking forward to learning more Layer Love.

I am so glad artists are offering online classes. Of course, I would prefer to take these classes in person--good positive energy, you know? But given my schedule, where I am located right now, blah blah blah, these online classes certainly work for me!

Finally!

2009-08-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

The paints are out! I moved my easel into the music studio where there is space and good light. My art studio (also know as the guest room) is still in limbo from our move two months ago and therefore not at all conducive to making art. I may just move the rest of my stuff down here. I wonder if my family will notice...

sp

2009-08-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Final Reveal: Disintergration Collaboration

2009-07-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Original reveal here.

From this (August 2008)

and this (the back)

to this (February 2009)

And this

Over time (March 2009)

(April 2009)

(May 2009)

And finally this (August 2009)

A closer look

Thanks to Seth Apter at The Altered Page for this fun project! See Seth's sidebar for other creative Disintegration Collaboration participants.

Hello Again

2009-07-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it's been so long since I posted to my art blog--nearly two and a half months!

In that time, my family and I have moved from England across the Channel to our new home in The Netherlands. We're just about all the way unpacked except for the Art Studio, ahem. I'm looking forward to unpacking those last four boxes in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I haven't been totally without art. Thanks to Seth at the Altered Page, I had an excuse to break out the supplies and apply myself to a new piece for the Disintergration Collaboration II, fondly known as DisCo II ;-)

All will be revealed on Saturday, August 1.

PS Apologies for the weird highlighting. I ran spell check and for some reason I ended up with all these highlighted words. I can't make it go away. *sigh*

Because I needed it today...

2009-05-15T04:23:00.000-07:00

A bloom from the Valley Garden, Windsor Great Park, England. Photo taken two weeks ago. By now, maybe these flowers have bloomed and faded...

Disintegration Collaboration: Reveal (or Conceal!)

2009-05-01T01:27:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, a girl took a special handmade book...

full of her wishes and dreams for the year to come...

and introduced it to the world.

She lovingly wrapped up it up in a bit of copper wire.

And hung it up outside one cold and windy day in February.

Every week,

she watched it.

And every week as the weather grew wetter and warmer,

nature grew around it.

Until one day,

the book started to disappear,

behind the vine,

which began to claim it as its own...

... hiding it like a well-guarded secret.

And the girl wondered, if she had left her book out there on that vine,

what would it look like in a year or two or three or four... forgotten...

and then found once more.

Thanks to Seth at The Altered Page for this interesting collaboration!

Please be sure to check out other artists' bundles (see Seth's side bar--"Before" collaborators).

And stay tuned for part II of this project...

Unravelling Week 7+8: Pending

2009-04-13T12:23:00.001-07:00

I've been crazed with paperwork for our possible move to the NL and Spring Break (we're in week 2/2 now). I am hoping to catch up on my Unravelling photos soon. But now, the course is over! It was fun while it lasted.

In other news, my husband has been helping me port my other blog (Just a Plane Ride Away) to another blogging platform. It's taken us three days so far. I just have to say, WordPress is not as user-friendly as Blogger. The training wheels are OFF and I'm weaving all over the place. Hopefully I'll find my balance soon.

Unravelling Week 5: Face Wrap Up

2009-03-24T03:33:00.000-07:00

I think the majority of us found Week Five's assignment a tough one. I am not sure if it comes from always having kind of a forward facing view of things. That is, having a focus on other things and other people (children, spouse) and not really looking at one's self. Or maybe it was just the uncomfortable feeling of turning the camera on ourselves for once.

I know I had a hard time.

There is a diptych of me up in the pool. I think I'll just leave it there for now.

This week is "Alter Egos". Hmmm.

PS Our move is distracting me from this class! I am printing off all of the assignments, though. If I can't get them done now, I'll try again once we get settled in our new place. Wherever that may be!

Unravelling Week 4: Memories Wrap Up

2009-03-16T03:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I was a bit distracted last week. Didn't do much for the Unravelling project except for this one photo.

This week's theme is "faces"--I think this means our own faces. UGH! Isn't this the whole reason we photogs hide behind the camera in the first place?! LOL.

Seriously, this should be an interesting week.

It's starting to warm up in England. It's getting hot enough in our conservatory in the afternoons that I am starting to worry about my art supplies. I may need to move them out soon--that means my paints as well as all my electronics. Last year, we hung a curtain across the opening to the conservatory from our family room because it got SO hot. Sigh. And we're going to be moving in about three months. Maybe I should just pack everything away?

In other news, I've gotten some interesting emails on my Just a Plane Ride Away blog. One was to attend a St. Patrick's day event tomorrow sponsored by an appliance company. If I didn't already have plans, I might have gone to that. It actually sounded like fun.

Another email asked me to review/post/link to a website. Oh, and I've had a few companies asking to advertise on my website as well. Some of these are probably spam, but they've got me thinking.

I would love to write or design professionally again. While these particular opportunities may not be right for me, it could be the Universe testing me to see if the time is right.

It just might be.

Hello, Universe? Think freelance/contract. Think photography/writing. At least for now.

Uravelling Week 3: Favourite Things Wrap-up

2009-03-10T03:31:00.001-07:00

I thought I was going to have a hard time with last week's assignment of "favourite things" because so many of my favourite things are sitting in two huge storage units back in Texas.

Living overseas with fewer "things" these last two years has certainly been an eye-opener. Yes, I can live without my material things! This is not to say they are useless or I will be getting rid of all my stuff in Texas. I'm just saying those things are not as important as I thought they were, and they certainly don't equate to who I am or how I feel about myself.

And truth be told, I am a little afraid to go back to Texas open up those boxes. I have a feeling there will be a HUGE purge.

Here are my last three photos from this week's assignment. The captions are my original ones from Flickr. I neglected to take a photo of my computer. Maybe another time. It is one of my favourite things!

I love books, all kinds of books. We had to leave dozens of boxes of books back home when we expatriated to England. But don't feel too badly for us as we certainly have added to our collection in the last two years... probably too much!

Well, this is not something I own, obviously. BUT...

London is FULL of amazing museums. I return to this one time and time again. I love modern art, plus this building is just amazing.

This photo has notes. Click here to visit my Flickr site to read them.

Well, a girl can't go through life without having a few favourite baubles. Without digging too deeply into the old jewellery box, I present these:

My wedding rings, of course. Engagement ring (offered on bended knee beneath a Christmas tree), anniversary ring (given at 12 years of marriage in this case, LOL), and my wedding ring (which I rarely take off except when I'm cooking meatballs or something like that and don't want people to get food poisoning or worse...)

Silver charm bracelet: This one is from James Avery in Texas. My original one was given to me by my grandmother when I was nine. I had to replace it when the charms got to be too heavy. Some of these charms are from my childhood friends, some from my mother, some from our travels. I have amassed a good handful of charms during our time here in Europe. I need to sit down and attach them soon. My charm bracelet always puts me in a good mood. I don't wear it as often as I used to, but if I need cheering up, I slip this on and jingle away. :-)

Unravelling Week 3: Morning Coffee | Afternoon Tea

2009-03-05T02:33:00.001-08:00

Morning coffee in my favourite orange Tate Modern mug.

Afternoon tea in one of 14 blue willow teacups I've found in charity shops since I've moved to England.

Sometimes it's the beverage, sometimes it's the ritual :-)

I guess I'll be talking about this for a few more weeks since this is the one project I am working on regularly right now. I have to say, this e-course has been wonderful! Lots of good, insightful comments. Very gentle! I really do recommend this course if you want to start taking more photos. This is not a how-to course; rather it's a journey with your camera. Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself--check it out!

In other news, my husband and I are working on a photo a day project together. I am not sure where I want to put these images. They're in diptych form, sort of a daily "he said, she said". Or rather: he saw, she saw. We've been doing a good job staying on top of this assignment, I am happy to say. And I've dipped together our first two weeks. It's been interesting!

Unravelling: Week 3 Favourite Things

2009-03-03T04:59:00.000-08:00

This week's theme is going to be fun! And I have a feeling... prolific (my word for the year, remember?) ;-)

"Favourite camera (so far) and two favourite lenses. "

This photo has notes. Click here to visit my Flickr site to read them :-)

"I've always been a journal keeper. Those secret lock and key diaries of my youth (embarrassing!) have grown into these wild things. I have gotten better at keeping a journal in the last nine years, I think that might have been the time I first read Julia Cameron's The Artist Way. I write in my journal nearly every day and carry one with me wherever I go. This collection is just from my time here in England (Feb 2007-present). I started UK Journal #1 on the plane over from Texas. I'm on #18 now. I've misplaced #3. I hope it shows up when we move into London this summer.'"

Unravelling Week 2: Reflections Wrap-up

2009-03-02T13:53:00.001-08:00

In the kitchen.

Waiting for the train to London.

Somewhere in London.

Hi, me :-)

This has been such an interesting Unravelling week. What did I learn? Mostly how much I never really saw myself anymore. I mean, of course I see myself in mirrors every morning when I get dressed, but I never really bother to look for myself in other places throughout the day.

Do you remember when you were a teenager and you were constantly looking at yourself in the mirror? I see my daughter doing this all the time--she's 14, by the way. LOL ;-) Let's just say I haven't been a teenager in quite some time.

It's been interesting to focus on me for a few hours a week. Me, the person, instead of me the mom, me the wife, me the artist, me the cook, me the housekeeper, me the laundress, me the chauffeur, me the (fill in the blank).

By the way, I see that Susannah has scheduled her next Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself course to start on May 4, in case you're interested!

Unravelling Week 2: Reflections

2009-02-26T04:08:00.000-08:00

I haven't taken a lot of photos for this week's theme. 1) I've been busy with our visitors and 2) I didn't want to do a mirror reflection--too bold for me right now. So here are my measly offerings with their original Flickr captions.

Solar light + England = feeble garden lighting. It still looks nice though. There I am. And there's my conservatory, which serves as my art studio on most days. Some days it's also the dining room. I'd like to think that people are excited about eating in my studio. In reality, they are probably horrified at the mess ;-)

The door to the garage from the back garden. I think this little English house was built in the 1920s and this must be an original door. I wonder what that slot was for...

I have three writing assignments (for my eyes only) that I need to work on. I'll work on my homework when my girl comes home later and does hers. Fair is fair!

Week 2: Disintegration Collaboration

2009-02-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

Taken 20 February 2009. England. Click here to read more about my tiny part in this world-wide collaboration. To see what other artists are up to, visit Seth's blog: The Altered Page.

We've had some rain over the last week. And a bit of wind blew my little bundled-up manifest journal around like a kite! I also see that this vine has a few new leaves. Spring is around the corner, my friends.

I haven't had time for much art these last few days. We have family visiting. But soon, I should be able to get back to work. And I need to figure out why my printer is shooting out blank photo paper when I try to print!

Ways of Seeing Myself, my word for the year, and committing to two projects

2009-02-18T01:40:00.000-08:00

I am having fun taking photos for my e-course, Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself. I wasn't really sure what I was signing up for, but I knew that it was going to be good because Susannah Conway was leading it. Have you seen her work? She is a dreamy photographer, and I have really admired the way she has unravelled herself over the years. Her blog is called Ink on my fingers.

Anyway, throughout the duration of this eight week course, we will be focusing on weekly themes. Here are some of the photos I have taken over the last couple of days. Can you tell what this week's theme is?

This one has notes, which you can read if you visit it on Flickr.

Trudy and her sweet smelling feet :-)

In general, I do not take a lot of self-portraits. I like to hide behind the lens.

I think this course will help with being camera shy. I've always admired people who are open and unafraid.

And also people who can give themselves a decent pedicure! Perhaps if I had worn my glasses...

And as for my word for the year, it's almost two months late, but here it is:

P r o l i f i c

As in "DANG! She is one prolific artist!!"

Over the last two years, I have been occupied with our move to England, settling in, and lots of other excuses. But now, I need to get serious and get to it. My word-of-the-year was triggered after listening to Jen Lemen and Jen Lee talk about "the portfolio project". I was thinking I would try one piece of art per day. That is a lot of art for me. A photograph counts as long as it is something print-worthy, and I actually print it out. And at the end of one year, I'm going to print a Blurb book of my 365 days of art.

And speaking of projects, I'm doing Project 365 again. This is my third attempt (first one here, second one here), so fingers crossed. What's different about this time? I'm doing it with my husband! I am going to have to figure out a way to upload our photos together in diptych. They will be so different. Mine will be all about my feet. Hahah! Just kidding. Actually all these projects are good and will help toward my prolific-ness. Oh, I think I'll need to do a Blurb book of our diptychs too.

This is what happens when I spend too much time thinking, Chris.

PS I love this post from Jen Lemen called "What 100 paintings can teach you".

Blogger v TypePad for Artists, Commenting, and Social Networking TOS

2009-02-16T23:47:00.000-08:00

Today I am wondering about blogging platforms and comments... I have another blog (Just a Plane Ride Away, my expat blog), which I started two years ago when we decided to move to England. I chose the "Blogger" platform because it was widely used by the bloggers I read at the time.

Now, it seems, many of the art blogs have moved to TypePad. I understand that it is more flexible in terms of layout and such.

But here is the thing that I am wondering. When I leave a comment on a blog that uses TypePad, I get a personal reply via email! In Blogger, I sometimes get a reply via email, but many times, I get a reply in the comments section via email because I have subscribed to the comment feed for that particular post.

And now my questions:

1. Do people prefer receiving replies to comments via personal email? In some ways, it is nice to see the author's replies to all the comments, on the other hand, it's nice to receive a personal email. Decisions, decisions.

2. For artists using TypePad, are you happy with the platform? I only started this blog on Blogger because that was what I was using.

Hmmm.

And since we're talking technology today, have you thought about Terms of Service? I read this article today and thought it was very interesting:

Facebook terms of service compared with MySpace, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter by Amanda L. French.

"Ole to you nonetheless"

2009-02-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

I watched this funny/inspiring video today. It's of Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love at TED.

"Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk."

If you need a twenty minute break, this video is worth watching.

Disintegration Collaboration*

2009-02-13T04:39:00.000-08:00

I was going to wait until tomorrow. You know, Valentine's Day. Such a nicer day to start a project than Friday the 13th. Especially when it comes to wishes, hopes and dreams.

But today was the day for this, it seems.

Take one manifest journal (Roxi and I each made one at the end of Summer 2008, setting goals for this school year), inspired by the talented Elizabeth Bunsen of Be... Dream... Play...

Front (lots of acrylic paint, ink, a bit of collage, matte medium, masking tape)

Back (a lot of acrylic paint, masking tape and markers)

And introduce it to the elements (so nice to meet you).

Bundle it up in a bit of copper wire...

And wait and see.

Reveal date for the Disintegration Collaboration: May 1

Reveal date for my Manifest Journal: June 5

*Thank you, Seth, for inspiring us all. It's not too late to join in this collaboration. To see what other artists are up to, visit the sidebar of Seth's blog, The Altered Page.

Back from Barcelona

2009-02-12T01:04:00.000-08:00

One of Gaudi's fanciful creatures in Parc Guell, Barcelona, Spain.

Four days isn't enough time to really "do" this wonderful city. I think I needed at least two more days to see some of the other art sites. We visited the Picasso museum and Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and Casa Mila. I wanted to go to the Miro museum and the contemporary art museum, but we just ran out of time. Oh well, it just gives me an excuse to visit this beautiful city again, right?

In other news... I am excited about starting Susannah Conway's new e-course next week--Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself. I hope more artists will offer e-courses. They are a very convenient way of learning new things from instructors you might not be able to travel to for their classes. I prefer taking courses in person, of course. However, I do have other responsibilities right now and find it hard to get away for days or weeks at a time. I must say these e-courses are a good fit for me!

[Edited 17 Feb 2009 to add: If you'd like to see more photos of Barcelona, I published a silly post here: A Flâneur in Barcelona: A fanciful post featuring the letter "F"]

I am off ...

2009-02-06T03:22:00.000-08:00

... to the land of Gaudi. I'm so excited! Back next week.

I wish I could say...

2009-02-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

...I spent the last few days hard at work with my art. The fact is, we had company this weekend and then two snow days. Yesterday I made cookies, today I made chili--both are for a luncheon at school tomorrow.

I have taken a lot of photos, over the last few days. That counts toward my art quota, I'm pretty sure. Oh and I made a couple of short, simple videos. That should count as well. Right?

I have felt out of my creative brain these last few days. I hope my muse comes back. Meanwhile, I'll keep showing up.

Nearly done with this one.

2009-01-30T01:59:00.000-08:00

Untitled. Mixed media. 30"x40".

This is one of the paintings I've been working on this week. I started it last fall, but got a bit sidetracked. I think I need to work on some smaller stuff for a while. I have another 30"x40" canvas I'm painting right now, which I will continue, but I am eager to try some new things, so I was thinking some 6"x6" works on paper might be good for exercises.

Well, hello there muse...

2009-01-29T09:34:00.001-08:00

I don't know if it's moving into a bigger space, working through random chapters of The Artist's Way, or my muse deciding to show up, but I've been painting a lot this week. Hurray! Happily, I am almost done with this mixed media painting. Finally!

If the light is good, I'll take photos tomorrow.

And a little more..

2009-01-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

Our former dining room in our English conservatory.

I took the extra leaf out of our dining room table and pushed it closer to the windows. Next, I'll move my tools, brushes, and stuff like that in here. See that china hutch on the left (it belongs to the rental house)? It used to have a few English dishes I picked up in Stoke-on-Trent a while back. Those will be moved to the kitchen, and the hutch will be filled with art and my UK journals.

I still need an art table that I won't worry about messing up. And a good sized drop cloth.

I am re-reading Week 5 of Julia Cameron's The Artists Way.

Have I made any art? Little bits here and there.

So far, so good. A two year hiatus is a hard habit to break, after all.

Micro Drill Bits

2009-01-22T03:21:00.000-08:00

From my new Proxxon Kit. I have NEVER seen drill bits this small. The five on the right, yes, but the five on the left? Wow. The second to last one on the left is thinner than .5 lead in a mechanical pencil. The bit on the far left? Like a strand of hair. I would love to know what people do with these itty bitty things.

Every day, a little more

2009-01-20T03:10:00.000-08:00

Lookie what got delivered today. This is a Proxxon drill/grinder sitting in its drill press. There's a flex shaft that goes with this kit and a stand (that they forgot to include). I think I still prefer my Foredom flex shaft (better speed control) but this isn't bad for what I need it for here. We shall see. Oh, and that canvas sitting behind my Proxxon is a mixed-media painting that I am working on--a little every day.

Thank you, Alyson, for my award! I'm honoured that you picked me :-)

What I did this weekend

2009-01-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Fooling around with monotype. I think I like this for mixed-media work. What fun! I recommend Julia Ayres' book Monotype, by the way. It is a great resource.

Art books

2009-01-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

New books and an awesome DVD from "Santa".

I have read (blazed) through most of them. *sigh* Will go back and savor.

I picked up "Monotype" and started thumbing through it before I set up this shot. Forty-five minutes later, I put it in the stack and took this photo ;-)

I've been doing well with my art this week. I think this "showing up" business is a good idea. Thanks, Woody Allen.

Jewellery tools still not here. Maybe later today?

Letting go of perfection and other random things I do

2009-01-15T03:38:00.000-08:00

Curlicues for Chris. The manic comment is for my poor girl here. UK journal #17, January 8, 2009.

One of my goals in doing art everyday is to help me work through my perfectionism. A certain amount of perfectionism is fine, but I think some of the fun is lost if things have to turn out EXACTLY. Does that make sense?

I try to experiment in my journal to loosen up and do things I normally wouldn't try on paper or canvas. I usually do this while waiting to pick up Roxi--the darker outside the better, because then I can't see and this helps with the letting go part. I smoosh the pen (no pencil!) around in my journal as fast as I can and see what I come up with. So far it's been an enlightening experience. I like to draw with my eyes shut too. Sometimes it's interesting to try to draw right before you go to sleep. Kind of like Julia Cameron's morning pages in reverse.

I've seen a lot of references in the blogosphere about selecting a word for the year. Chris' is "Peace". I think that is a good one. Mine hasn't found me yet, but I hope it has something to do with moving forward. Oh, maybe "forward" is my word. Or "Onward". Hmmm. I'll have to think about that.

Focus!

2009-01-14T02:31:00.000-08:00

Untitled cardboard collage. About 24"x36". 2005.

Isn't it a shame we can't do it all? I was just talking about this yesterday with Roxi, my soon to be 14 year old daughter. She was contemplating electives in High School for next year, lamenting that there are so many classes she'd like to take. I could only nod my head in agreement and say, "I know what you mean, I really do."

But isn't it sometimes hard to focus when you find so many exciting artist blogs? For example:

Dorothy left me a comment on my other blog the other day. She is a spinner and weaver. I've not done either, but I am sure I would love both.

And then there is my dear blogging friend Barbara who spins and knits. Oh to be able to knit!

And Susan in St. Paul who sews, something I dearly wish I knew how to do.

At least Chris, Ginny and I are on the same page--lots of paper, paint, gesso, glue and more.

As for me, I have three big interests: metalsmithing, photography, collage/assemblage. In no particular order. But I'd really love to learn bookmaking and printing as well...

And speaking of focus, last night I was reading my huge and very inspiring Rauchenberg tome that my husband gave me for Christmas (yay for him!!). I had forgotten that Rauchenberg was interested in theatre. He was a set designer, stage manager, costume designer, choreographer, producer, and performer. He was one busy, prolific man. Rauschenberg: Art and Life is an excellent book, by the way.

One step at a time

2009-01-12T00:52:00.001-08:00

These seagulls were having an absolute fit above my garden yesterday. We live about 100 miles from the ocean. Maybe they were hungry?

Let me just say up front, I am having a hard time not posting to JaPRA. I posted there nearly every week day for the last two years and that is a hard habit to break. But I am trying to keep my word. Besides, I told myself I would put up a Krakow, Poland post there later this week. Those "walking tour" posts take a long time to put together...

Artwise, I did a bit of happy online shopping this weekend and bought this flex shaft kit as well as some other jewelry making things--pickle, polishing compound, solder. Oh no, I think I forgot the flux. Shoot. Anyway, I cannot wait until my stuff comes. I have a itty bitty butane torch (oh how I miss my big torch and tank back home. And my kiln, and my bench, and...). But what I really want to focus on this year is cold connections anyway--meaning putting together jewelry without soldering. Yes, I bought some solder, but that is "just in case".

Speaking of cold connections, PJ Dutton mentioned a book on her blog the other day that I absolutely had to have: Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet by Mary Hettmansperger. This was my tipping point! After reading this book, I realized that I wanted to get back to metalsmithing.

When we moved to England in February 2007, we were trying to decide between living in London or out in the boonies. I wanted to live in town where I was just a short tube ride from some of the finest museums in the world. I also had considered doing an MFA in metalsmithing at one of the universities in town. Well, those plans went by the wayside once we saw Roxi's fairy tale school out here in the rural "commuter belt", 20 miles from London.

As usual, life works out the way it needs to. It took much longer to get settled in England than I thought it would. Heck, just getting my driver's license took nearly six months! But now that things are pretty much on an even keel, I am ready to get back to doing what I love--making art.

Now if I can just find a way to combine my new-found love of photography with collage and metalsmithing, I'll be all set. I think I have some ideas, though :-)

[Edited to add: I was reading Chronicles of Me this morning and saw the trailer for this documentary: Who does she think she is? I would love to see it. I think many women (not just artists) struggle between being a mother and living their dreams. Here's a link to the official website, in case you're interested.]

Well, here I am.

2009-01-09T02:30:00.000-08:00

Eighty percent of success is showing up.
Woody Allen

It is going to take a little getting used to coming to this site every weekday instead of my other blog, Just a Plane Ride Away. But as I said, unless I make a concentrated effort to shift my focus to art, well, it'll take backseat again and then another year will go by, etc.

So while I will still be expat-ing in England, I intend to make the most of this "quiet time" and get back to who I was before we took this overseas assignment.

Now, who was I again?

I think I might have too many photos

2008-12-16T01:16:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I imported over 21,000 pics into Lightroom. I took the bulk of those photos after December 2006.

What a nightmare. Good thing I have a way to organize these things now.

All work and no play...

2008-12-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

I have not made art lately.

I have hardly written in my journal or on my blogs.

I've barely taken a photograph.

Life has taken over and while life is good, if I don't make some art soon, things could get ugly.

I am going to see the Rothko exhibit at the Tate Modern soon. Maybe that will help.

BTW, if you have an hour and want to learn more about this very interesting artist, watch this (there are seven parts). This video is part of Schama's "Power of Art" BBC series, which is available on DVD. I'm putting it on my to-buy list!

Today, the Universe* told me

2008-12-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

It's like, the more you give yourself to do, the more time you're given to do it.

Okay, I'm counting on this!

*I love my Notes from the Universe. Thanks Mike Dooley.

I like to watch art technique videos

2008-12-02T03:09:00.000-08:00

And there are so many! Last night, I found grittyart's channel on YouTube and enjoyed learning about wool spinning. I also liked the video featuring Maureen White who demonstrates Mixed Media Oil Pastel Batik. These videos are great--just like going on an open studio tour. All you need is a bit of wine in a clear plastic cup and a few cubes of cheese--haha!

Do you have a favourite art technique video?

My carrot

2008-11-29T00:14:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh. I'm going to have to chalk this up to living in a Thanksgiving haze these last few days. As I was sitting here drinking my second cup of coffee and reading your very nice comments, it hit me. Back in October when I decided to do NaNo again, I ordered myself a prize for finishing my manuscript! How's that for positive thinking?

Anyway, here's what I got for myself--from the US of A, no less: "Embracing Encaustic: Learning to Paint with Beeswax" by Linda and William Womack.

I'm so excited! I've been wanted to try encaustic since learning about Jasper Johns in my collage class three years ago. But I lived in Texas where, more often than not, it is scorching. I was afraid the beeswax would slide right off the painting.

I am keen to give this a go here in England, though. Woo-hoo!

Stick a fork in it, Baby

2008-11-27T04:47:00.001-08:00

Note to self: Please don't sign up for this again next year.

Well, the thing is done, but it's not done, you know? It's not even medium-rare. But for NaNoWriMo purposes, I'm a winner! Basically this means I slugged out enough words to get this badge. In my case: 54,289.

Now I just want to do some mindless things with glue and paint.

41,034 words

2008-11-24T05:39:00.000-08:00

'nuff said.

A Day of Sharing Words

2008-11-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

Why not read what others are saying on this Day of Sharing Words?

Thank you, LK, for this celebration of words.

PS If you were wondering, the photo above was taken in Annecy, France.

On writing

2008-11-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

And since we're on the subject, how about joining in on this lovely idea

A Day of Sharing Words

(an idea started by L.K. Ludwig)

Wednesday, November 19. Click here for details.

And now...

2008-11-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

19,448 words. Of course, I did little else this weekend except wish that I could give it all up. Then I got those pesky rah-rah emails from the good folks at NaNo and realized that mentally, I am in exactly the same boat as everyone else. Somehow it makes it bearable.

I was going to skip town today and head into the city for a little museum hopping, but it's cold and rainy. Perfect weather for writing :-)

This is me right now

2008-11-14T01:44:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh when I ran across this little snippet on YouTube from Nigella Lawson's show. She procrastinates by ironing. Me? I suddenly feel the need to vacuum. How about you?

It's slow going for me and NaNo. I am currently at 13, 248 words. Onward!

He said, She said: Deadlines

2008-11-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

You know, the funny thing about deadlines is I can always think of 100 other things that "need" doing.

I'm in week two of NaNoWriMo and am pretty far behind. I know I can catch up because the same thing happened to me last year. But to catch up means writing eight to ten hours a day, not my favourite way of going about things.

So, yes, I've got the "Week Two NaNoWriMo Blues".

Here's what the writing devil on my shoulder is saying to me:

You're sick. (He's not insulting me, I'm just getting over an extended fling with a particularly nasty bacteria.)
Thanksgiving is around the corner. You should be thinking about what to do to celebrate your husband's favourite holiday. (Never mind that we're in England. We still do a Thanksgiving meal.)
And Christmas! You should be shopping, addressing cards, baking cookies! (Um, right. On November 11?)
Look at that laundry pile! (And this is a new thing?)
You really should be learning Lightroom right now so you can stop procrastinating about putting up your Krakow posts on Just a Plane Ride Away. (Ouch. He's actually right about this one.)
You have unfinished art projects--what about that tabloid piece? (It's "curing".)
Don't type on that laptop--it's bad for you--it has that weird electric aura. (It does.)
Don't use that desktop! It's.... um.... not yours! (Yeah! He's right!! And it feels weird.)

But wait, the writing angel on my other shoulder has a few things to say as well:

Oh, pooh. So you're behind by a few, thousand words. You can catch up! Remember last year! (Yes, I remember. I also remember I did nothing but write for the last two weeks).
Think of how good you will feel when you're done! (Except I know I won't be all the way done because I'm writing about our expat experience here in England. It isn't over yet!).
Your new laptop comes today, so no excuses now! (She's right)
Don't forget you hate to give up! (Owie, that's below the belt. It's true, though. Bad habit.)

See how much fun I'm having?

Hello Monday

2008-11-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from writing (currently at 7,498 words) to post a little art. Watercolor and ink.

5,165 measly, little words

2008-11-07T05:26:00.001-08:00

I have been sick with a bug for a week now. After four days of antibiotics, I finally can see the end of this pesky illness. Unfortunately, my daughter started feeling poorly on Wednesday. Knowing what I was dealing with, I didn't waste any time rushing her to the doctor yesterday morning for a round of antibiotics. The only one in our family who seems to be resistant to this bug is Mr. DJ. I think he just set it in his mind that he wasn't going to get anything worse than a head cold. Knock on wood.

And so, we reach day seven of NaNoWriMo and I hover at around 5,200 words. I know I'm behind, but I'm not out yet.

Fog in head clearing

2008-11-03T01:55:00.000-08:00

Wow--what a nice round of visitors yesterday for Dia de Bloglandia! Thank you all for the comments on my Union Jack skull. Interestingly, no one asked who that was... I was thinking of Henry VIII ;-)

I am feeling mightily better today. Almost better. Maybe like 90%. However, I am very behind on NaNoWriMo. I'm not terribly worried yet, but I only wrote about 600 words this weekend. Obviously I have a lot of catching up to do.

Dia de Bloglandia

2008-11-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

Rockin' Dia de los Muertos style en Inglaterra. To see what other creative folks did to celebrate the day, visit Susanna or Stephanie's sites.

Well, I had visions of pan de muerto for this year's Dia de Bloglandia celebration, but I think I did a little too much pre-Halloween celebrating because the trick was on me--I got sick! Still, that leaves me with a whole year to practice my bread making skills...

Cheers from England!

Graphic design for a good cause

2008-10-31T00:35:00.000-07:00

I designed this sticker for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network earlier this year. They're using it as part of their campaign to raise funds to help with their Hurricane Ike recovery. I wish them well!

Breathe, breathe

2008-10-30T02:41:00.001-07:00

I have been playing hooky from housework, art, and writing. While it has been fun, it leaves me with quite a few things on my plate! I keep telling myself that I need to enjoy this nice weather because pretty soon, it will be so cold and miserable that I won't want to venture out.

That's my excuse.

Thanks so much for the encouraging words for my NaNoWriMo project. I am looking forward to pushing some focused energy into my writing. I wish there were a NaNoArtMo that I could sign up for as well. I work very well under a deadline.

And speaking of deadlines, I made a little progress on my Dia de Bloglandia project for Sunday. Happiness!

I must be crazy.

2008-10-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm on a winning streak. You can play too!

Silver Cuff Bracelet

2008-10-17T05:13:00.001-07:00

"Rivers and Tides" sterling silver cuff bracelet with bezel-set native silver. Made by me, 2006. Inspired by the film of the same name. That strange dark shadow in the stone is me, hovering above and taking the photo. The light blue colouring in the stone is really a reflection of the beautiful sky we are enjoying today as seen through the roof our conservatory. Who knew a reflection in a stone could tell such a tale?

Except for the work I did on the photos on my other blog (Just a Plane Ride Away), I have not done ANY art this week. It's left me cross!

But now we are getting ready to go on holiday for a week. So I will pack up my travel watercolours, my pencils and pens, a straight edge, a little glue, and of course, my notebook. I know I'll have some time to journal while we're away. Relief!

Sandcastles in The Hague, The Netherlands

2008-10-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

These amazing sandcastles were in a plaza across from the Binnenhof in The Hague this past summer.

It was fenced off for good reason. Aren't they amazing?

There was a sign nearby that said Zand-a-cad-a-mie. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't find a link to this organization. But WOW! Aren't they are amazing artists?

My computer is fixed (I think). The traitor booted right up for my husband on Saturday, so I was able to back up some files from the last two months. Then, my husband had his way with this thing and it seems to be all better. Apparently, I had some bad sectors on my disk, which probably means I better be more diligent about backing up my data.

Blog-hopping

2008-10-10T01:52:00.000-07:00

That's me in my crazy blue room.

I was reading Nina Bagley's blog Ornamental today and was reminded of a British artist I had almost forgotten about: Andy Goldsworthy. Oh, how could I forget?! When I was taking my collage/assemblage courses a few years ago, we watched a dreamy documentary about him called Rivers and Tides. It moved me so greatly that I made an etched silver bracelet inspired by one of his temporary sculptures. I have that bracelet here in England. I really should take a photo of it and post it! Next week... [Edited 17.10.08 to add: here's the link to the bracelet]

Meanwhile, here's an article I found on Goldsworthy on the Guardian online. So sorry I missed this show. I guess I had a bunch of stuff going on (like figuring out how to live in England!).

OH NO! I am typing this bit on another computer in the house. My laptop just CRASHED with a warning that said that I need to "immediately back up your data and replace your hard drive. A failure may be imminent." I just looked up this message and it seems for real. I think I know what Mr. DJ and I will be doing this evening. Boo hoo! I was just gushing about how much I love that dumb computer. Darn.

On friendship

2008-10-08T04:09:00.001-07:00

Sky in England, Sept 24. Enhanced a tiny bit ;-)

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Anais Nïn

This morning I spent a long time looking for a scan of a painting I made for a dear friend's birthday last month. Unfortunately, I scanned it on our family computer--which died a couple of weeks ago, by the way--and have no idea where the file went! I will see if Mr. DJ can dig it out for me this weekend. It would have been perfect for this quote!

Anyway, I found this quote on Schmoopy's blog today and really connected to it. Each of us meet new friends throughout our lives, but as an expat, I've had to make ALL new friends--a new experience for me.

That being said, the friendship I've found here in England has been so dear. Although the "danger" of having expat friends is at some point, one of us will move away. It probably makes these friendships all the sweeter, I suppose.

Dia de Bloglandia

2008-10-07T02:54:00.001-07:00

Artwork by Stephanie of Rodrigvitz Style.

One of the blogs I read regularly is Susanna's Sketchbook. I love her art, photographs, and musings. Yesterday, she extended an invitation to her readers to join a blogger celebration for Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. If you are interested, click here to read more. You can also read more about it on Stephanie's interesting blog.

Dia de Los Muertos will always remind me of Texas, which is one of the reasons I'd like to join this celebration. Though I personally do not celebrate this occasion, my daughter did each year in her elementary Spanish class. Parents were asked to contribute to this party by bringing Mexican hot chocolate (yummy!) and a special bread called Pan de Muertos. The bread came from a local Mexican bakery and was in the shape of a skull. I always wondered how they did that!

Anyway, I am not sure what I am going to make for this blogger celebration, but I think it'll be fun.

And speaking of blogs, my friend Emm has an interesting one called Emm Media, in which she shares her opinion on books, TV, movies, and music. I particularly like her playlist posts, which I had no idea was doable! Right now I am listening to her vocal selections from early August. Music to collage by this morning :-)

Still reading "The Creative Habit"

2008-10-06T03:13:00.000-07:00

I am about half way through Tyla Tharp's The Creative Habit and am getting quite a bit out of it, actually. One thing is for certain, I need to work on my art more consistently. I knew this already, but it's good to be reminded every now and again (and again).

One problem I have is I tend to view my art as "selfish time", meaning unless I'm working on a specific project for a client, any art I do feels like I'm taking time away from my motherly/wifely/hommakerly duties. I need to get over this and just set aside work hours. At least four a day--six would be better. Jane Wynn has been musing on this same subject recently on her wonderful blog. It's good to know I'm not the only one feeling this way.

So with this in mind, I'm keeping this post short. BTW, Ginny has a couple of great links on her post from Sunday. I particularly like the ones about artist Slinkachu's Inner City Snail and Little People projects.

Art Blogs

2008-10-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

In the garden of Holy Trinity Church in Cookham, England. I enjoyed a beautiful walk there last weekend. This flower was fantastic and caught my eye all the way across the garden.

I love reading them! I have long list of art blogs on Bloglines that I visit as soon as a post pops up. Here's one that makes me happy every time I visit: Judy Wise's Blog. She shares her art so generously, posts lots of photos (including journal and food pics--yum!), and seems like such a wonderful soul.

I also must send some link love to LibriVox, a website that provides free audio books from the public domain. I was reading Austen's Sense and Sensibility in the evenings and lamenting that I haven't had enough time to read lately. Fortunately, I found the audio version online at LibriVox yesterday. I listened to it while painting. It was great! LibriVox's goal is to record all the books in public domain, by the way. How cool is that?

In other news, I am finally done with my project for the Gala in Texas. I wish them well and hope Hurricane Ike didn't damage their bottom line.

I'm off to work on my tabloid tribute. It's a gorgeous day to be working in the conservatory :-)

Working on a deadline

2008-09-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm finishing up a little pro-bono work this week for a gala back in Texas. The trickiest part about this has been the time difference. I don't know how people work around this. My husband does business with people all around the world. Of course, he doesn't get enough sleep, so maybe that's how he does it.

Anyway, the gala is this Saturday, which means that I should (maybe) be done with my end of the work by Wednesday. Then no more pro-bono work for now because I have projects to finish up. Here's one I'm working on. It's a "tribute" to the London freesheets.

Temporary studio. What a mess.

I'm working on this in the dining room/conservatory because my little 7'x7' studio upstairs is too small for a canvas this size. I need to finish this soon. I'm getting tired of looking at this mess in the corner every time we sit down for a meal!

Hobbycraft store in England

2008-09-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hobbycraft in Woking, England. Don't miss the paints and stuff upstairs. I nearly did. DUH! Photo taken on my Blackberry Pearl.

This may not look like much to you all in the States, but to me living in the "Greater London" area (aka a charming but small village), this place is huge. Hobbycraft is a cross between Michaels and an art supply store (Texas Art Supply in my case). All the sewing and crafts stuff is located downstairs. I spent a long time going down each aisle. At the end, I was disappointed because I really needed some acrylic paint and a couple of new Pitt pens. While I was standing in line to check out, I looked to my right and saw a HUGE staircase, smack in the middle of the entry way. Upstairs was, you guessed it, a huge selection of paints, brushes, papers, pens, pencils, etc.

I have not seen a craft/art store so big on this side of the pond. Most of the art stores I've been to have been in tiny spaces. They've had lots of great supplies, yes, but you have to s-q-u-e-e-z-e by people. I think I could stand in the middle of the aisles at Hobbycraft and not touch the displays.

I found most of what I was looking for except for a replacement water brush and some gel medium. And they didn't carry the Golden line of acrylics at all. But I've ordered stuff from Art Discount's online store, so I'm not worried. It's just fun to look at all that stuff in person.

So I know you're dying to know what I bought... right? Nothing earth moving. Just some sewing stuff, some paint (Windsor & Newton acrylics to try), a pencil, two pens, some silver plated wire (to keep up the old jewelry skills), a pad of watercolor paper, a block of beeswax and that's pretty much it. I tried not to buy too much because I actually have a lot of supplies here already.

Yesterday, I received a book I ordered from Amazon.co.uk. It's The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. I saw this book on Claudine Hellmuth's blog and it sounded like something I could use right now. I know the habit forming thing works for me, so even if the ideas in this book aren't new, I am sure I will get something out of it.