MORE LOVE FOR POLKA DOTS

I knew I was going to see more polka dots! I bought this little cute table at a garage sale a month or so ago for $2! Sturdy is what I look for.. no wobbles. So this morning I decided to do a big daisy design after I painted the table a lovely mango red orange. This is the color I want to paint our kitchen/breakfast nook.. someday.. when I have time.... you know....

I did the daisy out of dictionary pages with a golden yellow fabric for the center.. then decided to add the turquoise dots... and then the spirals. I added little Love taglines for interest and xoxox's around the edge of the lower shelf.. I love it.. would love to keep it for myself, but this will go into tomorrow's show.

I love painting pieces like this. Have 3 simple wooden barstools that I want to paint. Doing this project this morning reminded me how much I love to paint on furniture. Will have to keep my eyes open at yard sales and thrift shops for small pieces I can do more of this on.. I also love to paint on wooden children chairs. Have done some really fun ones and would love to do more.

My computer needs a cleanup so I have unplug and drop off the ailing baby for the "boys" to do their miracle work on. I am really lost without my computer.. but know it's time for some overdue house cleaning for this little guy.

HAPPY MONDAY ___ taa for now.

TWO BIRDS WITH POLKA DOTS AND BUTTONS

POLKA DOT * BUTTON FUN!

Sometimes, it's great to just play. And that is what I did this morning... I had these little shadow boxes that I bought at the thrift shop ( one of my favorite "art" material source ) and knew they would be a good art base to work from. Dictionary pages for the inner walls, a small aluminum mold perfect for the base to fill with shredded mail order catalog pgs. Soaking these shreds in the Mod Podge/water mix is super messy and drippy and tons of FUN, but great to fill, and arrange then when it dries, it's very stiff and permanent. I sewed the two muslin birds last night watching TV (couch art!) and they are happy now in their new groovy digs. And adding buttons and polka dots is just the very essence of fun... I have always loved both.

Might have to polka dot something else today... maybe my door to my studio.. it's looking a little neglected this morning.

Happy Polka Dot Day to you, ta

RECYLING THE SUMMER OF LOVE

Recycled Art has always been one of my loves. I have been invited to sell art at our downtown outdoor market that is held once a week. Artists can sell their work with a recycled art theme - which I jumped at the chance to do.

I have a ton of small frames, etc that I am digging through

to make art out of.... recycling!!!! And I want to do bird art.. especially love making the nests.

The Art on the left says "Practice Random Acts of Green-ness" and the nest is made out of brown shreds of packing material. I printed the words out on brown paper bag ran through my printer.. pheww!!! it actually worked and didn't jam up the printer.. Yeah!!!! Because the printer is an ink-jet I sprayed the words with clear acrylic to preserve the print. The bird is muslin with orange cotton wings. The flowers and stems are also fabric.

For "Peace Lives Here" I cut a small branch from the Sarvis berry bush out in our front yard.. (this is covered with little green berries that the birds will soon be enjoying when they are ripe!). I sewed on antique white buttons to the branches and tied on more fabric strips. I decided to make a wire hanger and added more buttons and fabric strips. PEACE LIVES HERE can be a reminded to us that even with the world's turmoils revolving around us, we have the ability to create our own peace in our own house, in our own family. For this bird nest, I used our paper shredder to shred up a mail order catalog.. lots of various colors. The bird is cut from an antique cotton mattress pad and her wings are cotton scraps from an old dress of mine. The birch board panel you would usually paint on the front, but I used the back for the inset purpose.

So more more art to work on, but for now, the orders are glaring at me, so it's time to go to work.. another sunny warm day here. I think summer is really here. Yippiee!

ta ta

BEING STILL IN NATURE

SHE IS DONE.. and I did a little Vblog to record my feelings about this piece.

WORK IN PROGRESS

note: before you click on the video below, please scroll down to the song playlist on the right and click on the middle stop button.. looks like this: ll that will stop the songs playing so you can hear the video audio.. the song playing in the video is "Adrift" by Jack Johnson.

Is she done? I am not certain, but will let her spend the day with me here in studio. While I work on orders, I will listen to her to see if there is more to her. shhhh... pay attention now. Can you hear the birds singing?

CREATING THE BRANCHES

I am working on the tree branches for this art piece. Using rolled up magazine paper, I have made rolled short tubes (sometimes called paper beads) and then applied them to create bark like texture. I like the different colors and am able to make twigs coming off the main branch. More to do, but wanted to post my progress.

My soppy wet lady is nearly dry! I expected that to take a few more days but thanks to the dry climate, she is really hardening nicely.

Next I will work on the leaves for the branches. Have a cool idea for those. This piece is really so much fun. I am pushing the creative ideas for recycled things to use for the collage. I might even run to the recycle center today and look through their stockpile!

And it's a glorious SUNSHINE day! Yippiee!!! Have ART to do, ORDERS to do for Lunar, and more CHERRIES to pick!

yummy

ORGANIC TEXTURE AND NEW TECHNIQUES

I have started a new art piece. There is a local show coming up calling for figures at one of our local community art centers. I began by prepping a birch board panel 24 x 24 with various colors for the background. Then I painted her body. But as I sat with it in my studio, I decided it was just too common. There will be a lot of painted figures submitted and I wanted to do something different. So I took my favorite medium: dictionary pages and dipped them into a mix of water and mod podge. It's cheaper than using matte medium.. and works very similar. I layered the crushed wrinkled pages down and filled in her shape. And I thought about the complexity of our lives, how words become so jumbled up in our heads.. it's hard to read yourself in our hectic crazy world. So now she is complete and I like the symbolism. She is really really wet, so now she needs to dry for days..luck we live in a dry climate. But in the meantime, I have a lot more to do on the piece.

I want to make a tree branch hanging over her with leaves. To continue the idea of using recycled paper, I am going to make the tree out of small rolled up paper beads of different colors of magazine paper. Then I can lay them in a linear fashion which should create the lines of bark. That's my intention. I realize that will be a lot of rolling. The beads are various lengths but generally 1 to 2 inches long. And I have a cool idea for the leaves, but more on that later. I also want to have her holding a bird nest in her outstretched hand.

The full intention of this piece came to me while I was rolling beads this morning. When I am feeling overwhelmed, I often turn to nature to calm me. So, she sits still in nature and soon she becomes one with the beauty and the simplicity,, so much that the birds have adapted to her presence and she has become part of the landscape. She reminds us to take the TIME to be in nature and tap into it's wonderful healing and nurturing powers. I like this idea and it will excite me to continue to roll all these beads!!!! This is when art is for me at it's best. When the ah-ha blossoms and the creativity brings me closer to the universe. And always, I am humbled by the power.

namaste

BREATHE

"IF YOU ARE WAITING ON THE WIND, DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE."

Another assemblage done. I used the other wooden shoe insert and created another art doll. Because "NOW" -the birthday angel I made the other day- sold so quickly, AND two more of my art pieces at the WW gallery, I need to replace the empty spots with more art. ohhh love that..... MORE ART, PLEASE!!! (doing the gratitude dance here!)

Again, I used an old doll head, but this time, cutting all her hair off. (And I have to admit, it's so liberating to do that!) Then created a new do with recycled packing shreds.. they are zig zag-y and look so cool. She has the spiral tattoo on her forehead to remind herself to breathe. Her heart is full and she keeps hope alive no matter what comes to her on the wind.

I used a line from one of Jack Johnson's songs. The album is "Sleep Through The Static" and the song "All At Once". I love and adore his music. He's probably about my son's age, but must be an old soul because the wisdom in his lyrics is so incredible. I have not found a musician/writer that I am so crazy about since James Taylor, who I still listen to.. but I must say I have been listening to Jack's music a lot lately. Like all the time. And it's wonderful to make art to.

But today I think I will listen James Taylor.

ta

GRATEFUL SOUP

It's a cloudy day.. mild temps and when I ran upstairs to fix a bite, SOUP called to me. I am not so crazy about canned soup... it's just so blah.

So I started reaching into the cupboard and created this de-lish soup.. in about 10 minutes!

It's yummy and so I thought this will be my ART for the day! Here's my "recipe" I call it Grateful Soup! (grateful not to just eat plain ole blah canned soup- POBCS!)

ONE CAN OF EA:

*PINTO BEANS, rinsed. you could also use black beans,etc whatever you have on hand

*GREEN CHILI ENCHILADA SAUCE

*DICED TOMATOES - FIRE ROASTED

*CAMPBELL'S CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP

okay. so just dump all this into your soup pot..stir and then add a can of * CHICKEN BROTH.

Then you add a package of lean smoked *TURKEY SAUSAGE, sliced, and then 1/2 bag of green giant *FROZEN VEGGIES (I used broccoli, carrots and cauliflower in a cheese sauce).

For spices I grabbed some *CUMIN, *CHILI POWDER & *MRS DASH EXTRA SPICY SEASONING BLEND. season to your taste...

Lastly I chopped up a big handful of fresh *CILANTRO and *6 GREEN ONIONS (using about 1/2 of the stems)... and tossed that in... I like having the cilantro and green onions fresh... When I reheat this tonight for our dinner, I will toss in some more fresh cilantro. You could also use cooked chicken.. that would be great too.

It's yummy soup..quick and easy and mucho better than POBCS. A nice salad and dinner's ready tonight.. hey! more time for art!

I love summer, but when it's really hot, soup doesn't sound good. So with a cool cloudy day, it's nice to take advantage of the day, and make a quick hot soup.. LOVE IT! Ya make the most of what the day brings ya!!!

ta-da!

BIRTHDAY ANGEL

So I promised to do some BECAUSE art after the wild women art show and yes, too-da-loo and

laa-laaa-la-laaaa-laaaa..... BECAUSE Today is my birthday and as a present to myself I did art in my jammies here in the studio all day. ALL DAY!!!! And here's what I created!

She is a birth angel here to remind us to stay focused on NOW. You know how when your birthday rolls around it's one of those reflect kind of days. Where you've been, where you are going. And I thought about how it's so important for us to stay in the NOW. Because that's really all we have isn't it?

So...I used a wooden shoe stretcher that I repurposed into her body. The wings are oyster shells that I found in Hawaii.

If you look closely, (click on image) you can see I transferred text from dictionary pages on the shells. I loved using the oyster shells for her wings. I drilled holes in the end so I could screw them onto the wooden body. I don't know if you have ever tried to drill sea shells, but it is nearly impossible. But oyster shells are, I am happy to say a Breeze!

The old doll head I attached and then I wrote journal notes on her forehead about learning to stay in the NOW - maybe now she will remember the message! The nest with the egg is the symbol of birth and renewal. I painted the tree growing on the foot.. the base of her life. The tree of life. I like this piece. Not sure if she will go on to the WW to sell, or on etsy or who knows. But for now, I am happy she is here in my studio. I want to be with her for NOW.

It is so lovely to spend a day of fun. Reminds us of the real joys in our life. Play. What a nice thing for us... I am thankful and grateful for the day.

ta

NOTE: I DID DECIDE TO TAKE HER OVER TO THE ART CENTER YESTERDAY (6-16-09) AND ADD HER TO MY MIX. JUST GOT A CALL TODAY (6-17-09) THAT SHE SOLD WITHIN 10 MINUTES OF MY HANGING HER. I AM HAPPY, BUT A LITTLE SAD TOO.

I REALLY LOVED HER, BUT SHE WILL GO ON TO NEW AND BETTER THINGS. SO PERHAPS THAT IS A SIGN FOR ME SINCE THIS WAS A PIECE I CREATED ON MY BIRTHDAY. MOVIN ON.

ANGELS IN THE SUN SERIES

I found this beautiful quote by Hafiz and knew I had to add it to my angel art. So I created a series of three images and decided I wanted them framed that way. I like the idea of separating the poem. It allows a pause for the reader - time to let the words sink in, rather than read it all at once.

Love seems to be so abused in our world.... so holding on fast to the good in love, the great in love, the miracle in love is the

anchor we all should strive to hold tight to. I am so often sadden on a core level when I see war and hate. I will never understand the need to destroy. I have to filter my exposure to the NEWS. It tends to pull me down if I watch or listen to it too often. Seems to me the 24-7 news that we are flooded with, is just too much information... bad information. And who knows how much of that is blown out of proportion.

I think many of us long for a simpler time. When you only watched the evening news and that 1/2 hour was just plenty for the day. And since I can't change the world's news media, I restrict a lot of it. I stay informed but do not allow it overwhelm me.

Because I believe in the power of LOVE. I think the influence of the 60's is still alive and well in me. John Lennon had the right idea. Just Imagine.

ta

WILD WOMEN CELEBRATE!

WE CELEBRATED OUR WILD ART! The wild women opening was a great success with lots of people, lots of energy, lots of good food and lots of smiles. This is our tenth year and the mix of art comes out each year with surprises, and always seems to get even more fantastic than the year before. We dress wild, and we laugh out loud. Some of us dressed as angels, divas, flappers and even a Tree Goddess... (Great hairdo Janet!)

I love to see the mix of art. We all try to stay avant garde and it's fun to see how we sometimes

bring common themes to the show, all unknown to us until we hang the art.

And sales happened. That is always the icing on the cake. Especially in our present economy. The show hangs through the summer so we can replace the sold art with more art. I like the idea that patrons are allowed to purchase and take it out the door with them. Some shows they have to wait till the show is over, but we decided with a three month show, that would be too long to ask patrons to wait. They love that they can take it right away!

So now I slip into summer, savoring my most favorite time of the year. I have a wish list of art I want to do simply "because" which is always such a delcious way to create. The garden is lovely, the days are long and sweet. And today is my 58th birthday. I celebrated this weekend with the WW show opening, and then a great deck party Saturday night. But today is for me. A nice day doing ART in my studio, listening to my new CD from Jack Johnson and reflecting on the joys of life. I am embracing getting older. There are so many delicious aspects of getting a little older. Love my new wrinkles. That's my motto!

ta

A MORNING ANGEL

She came to me with a message of patience. I struggle with people I cannot change. I know we all do. But when it's someone you love, it becomes even more difficult. (My DH often will point to both sides of the coin when this happens to me, while he opens a window for me to see a new prespective, and it quite often helps me. But not always.)

So when that window remains closed I have learned to reach down inside myself and hold tight to what's really important in those moments of frustration. Sometimes I can do it, other times I lose my grip and that strong wind of anger catches me and away I go.

My father had a fierce temper at times. I have learned to contain mine or at least I have been able to do that till this past year. I notice I am more flammable. Might be good, as I know to harbor anger, only makes it fester. I am beginning to wonder if my father left me his sparks!

So with this "gift" I will learn to use it sparingly but

know it's good to let out the smoke before all catches fire!

This angel came from the universe. I had no idea she was coming out when I started working on the background this morning. She called to me and I let her come forth. After I finished her, I decided to put her into three frames. I will show that tomorrow because I am running out of time this morning.

Work is calling me... and it's raining again.. yumm...

ta.

CLEARING MY AURA

Today I had to run to the post office to ship a package to my son-in-law in Hawaii. I had used a cardboard box with a beer company's markings. I blacked out with a big marker all the words, symbols, etc. My marker wasn't as black black as it used to be, but it did a pretty good job. Well, apparently not good enough. The postal clerk said he couldn't accept the box because he could still read the beer name. I was so P.O.'d at the P.O!!!!!! So I had to run to the other side of town and buy a new big black marker and black it out more. I even used tan tape and covered the black. It passed his "inspection" and my package got shipped out. Good Grief.

So I came back to my studio and prompty sat down with my art journal and floated down the

river of renewal and cleansing. Letting go all the anger and frustration. These things never happen on a day when you have all the time in the world... you are trying to get errands done quickly, but no. It ain't gonna happen the way you envisioned.

So I cleared my aura. I pushed all the crap out of mind and cleared the air around me. I now am peacefully going to step into my day and get my work done. Art saves me once again.

ahhhhhh

OHHHWEEEEE!!!! Wild women feet here!!!! I

have been working on my wild women outfit for this Friday night's Wild Women opening. All the Wild Women dress up wild and wacky.. and this year I am dressing up with wild spirals and flowers. I just finished these flip flops with flowers, birds and even bird nest with bird egg.

And you know what is the very best of all?

I will be soooo comfortable in these...happy feet, dancing feet, smiling feet! Yes, I am a wild woman who loves comfort! Gone are the days of high heels.. I don't even own a pair. And I don't miss those towering torture chambers one bit.

This is one of the perks of getting older.. being comfortable. But still ready to leap out the fashion window and be wild and crazy. Ohh love love it.

I promise I will reveal more of the WW outfit... but now I have to leap wildly into my work for the day!!!!

hope all of you have a very Wild and Wacky Artfilled Day!!!! I might even wear these all day just to perk up my MONDAY!!!!! They make me smile!!!!!

taaaaaa-aaaaahhhhhh!

MUST CLEAN STUDIO

OH GASP!!!!!! STUDIO A WRECK!!!! TIME TO CLEAN THIS PLACE UP!!!! So I diligently

rolled my my sleeves and jumped into THE CHORE this morning. The dust bunnies were hopping all over the studio, even Sylvia was sneezing. She is sitting there in my window in her flower pot giving me the eye. Yes, okay Sylvia, I get the message. It's time to clean. I do love to walk on the Art side.. but it was getting knee deep around here.

I can be the Queen of Clutter at times, but even I hit the overload button and say enough! Time to clean this mess up. And it's so NICE when it's all done. I have been on a big push doing art for WW and now I need to clear out some of the chaos to make room for new art. I always keep a pending ART todos on the back of my studio door. It allows me to keep the ideas that bubble up out front in view for future art projects. But those will have to wait for me another day, because today I am cleaning up this messs.

The art dollies were smiling down on me when I got done... which makes me want to jump into art. But alas, the rest of the house needs some help today too. These are the times when you wish you could clone yourself...

okay tomorrow I promise myself some quality art time. Promise. In a clean art studio.

yeeeessssss!

ta