GOOD ENERGY DAY

It was so sweet to spend the day with my son Chris, Tasa and Oma.

If I could only bottle up that love and just save it for my next blue day... sigh.
You are my sunshine Chris.

DADA ANGEL

When I created this piece, I was feeling my father beside me.  Dad passed away over a year ago,

and when Mom wanted his workshop/garage cleaned out, I went through a lot of my father's stuff.

Dad always was working on some project.  He had a lot of artistic talent, and created some fun art, though

he didn't officially call it that.  He would of called it tinkering.  He was  great about saving things, so I have a lot of fun objects that I acquired.  The copper leg on this angel is from Dad's collection.He shaped it into this loop and hammered it flat, for what purpose I don't know.  I found it in a small bucket of  assorted copper wire that he saved, and now here it ends up in one of my art pieces.  So I know Dad was standing beside watching me assemble this piece.  I could really feel his energy.  And I could feel him smiling.  Because I know my need to create is greatly inspired by Dad.  It's nice to have that fire in your belly passed down from your parent, and a nice way to remember my father.

So this Angel title is appropriate and is partly created by my Dad.  Thanks Dad...

ta
ps I have no idea what the "head" was.  Just a strange piece of metal, and I am not even sure where it came from.  Will have to ask my husband, he might know.  The body of the angel is river driftwood, the wings are old pages from a book that I machine zigzagged with  blue green thread and then covered with beeswax. 

NEW DADA DOLL ART

This dada bird flew into my studio this morning.  She was full of pine needles in her body cavity (an old metal can found in my wanderings in the woods).  When I was shaking out the needles, I thought surely with such a small opening to this can - about the size of a quarter, surely weather couldn't just pack all those needles inside, there was nearly 1/2 a cup full.  I decided it is more likely that a small mouse? might of packed in all that for a nest to keep warm in.  But who knows, it's the bird's secret.

The head of this bird, can you guess what it is?  I especially like the wings.  One is a piece of weathered

drift wood that is so perfectly shaped like a wing and the back wing is a piece of bark off an Aspen tree.  The tail feathers are cut from an old metal decorative plate that was embossed with a design was highlighted blue.

I liked the color and decided my bird could use a fancy "feather" muff around her neck. 

  Did you guess what the head is made from?  It's the back part of a wooden shoe stretcher, the part that wedges into the heel.

ta..

xoxox dada

(SOLD)

I finished this sweet guy this morning.  I tried to not get the blaring glare in the photo, but it wouldn't go away, sorry...  He is full of love with a big heart that I scratched xoxox on.  I used an old metal horn and a caster wheel for the legs.  The arms are some crazy spiral metal from something.. I have no idea what.  The head is a piece of  metal I fished out of local cabinet shop's firepit.  I think the spiral metal arms came from that same place. The wood is a sample piece from the kitchen design place where I score pieces of wood.  They will often toss this kind of stuff in the dumpster where I rescue found goodies.  I used an old coffee can to cut out the metal wings.

  Keeping your eye open for junk is always fun.  You spot something, you haven't an exact idea what you

are going to use the found piece for, only that you like it and might use it in art at some point.  Then there is the hard part of collecting  found objects.  They accumulate!!! and before you know it, your studio starts to look like Sanford and Son's!  But I always smile when I think about the end result.  Where the stuff came from, even some from far away sources and here it is, all come together to create art.  It's magical.  It's a nice way to recycle.

And even a better way to start my day.

ta

BACK HOME

We had a great trip. WOW... Lot's of fun time with the grandkids in Orlando, then more fun at their home in Valdosta Ga.  Giggles and wiggles and  very little time for any art, though I did some fun drawings with Jillian, who loves to draw.  We harvested pecans, their yard is littered with the nuts from the huge pecan tree in their backyard!  How fun!  And yes, we ate some too!
  My favorite quiet time was spent at a nature preserve in Georgia where we walked a boardwalk through the
swamp.  The soft air, the quiet sounds of nature was truly blissful.  If I could of, I would of spent an afternoon there alone, sitting in nature and just BE'ing.  I loved the lily pads and how they contrasted with the dark murky swamp waters, my favorite scene from our walk. The temp was perfect that morning.
  Made it to the beach.. St Simons Island and Daytona Beach.  I can never get enough of that sea air.  ahhhhh.
  Today is catching up with house chores, laundry, etc.  All those to-do's that await you when you come home.  And spending time with Marley who was thrilled we came home yesterday afternoon. 
   Tomorrow back into Lunar production and lots of art to create for upcoming shows!  Can't wait!
ta

FLY AWAY FLY AWAY

KISSES AND HUGS!

WE ARE FLYING AWAY...  time to run off and visit the grandkids in Georgia.. I am packing my flip flops and planning on some sweet Georgia time with Jillian and Seamus.  We are landing in Orlando for 3 days

of constant fun with the grandkids and then back up to Georgia for a week of endless hours of giggles and fun.  It's cold and rainy here so BYE BYE cold weather and hello sweet southern warm air.  Caress my toes,

ease my aches and pains, it's been a mad house to get away.  All the pre-getmethehelloutofhere-stuff. 

I do plan on some down time.  Put my feet up and READ.  Have 3 goodie books I am hauling with me.

Hoping to get some quiet time to do just about nothing in particular.

So miss me.. or don't.

I am out of here.

ta-ta....

STICKASOREUS FISHES BY EMALIE

Go here:

   She

 loves loves loves to paint.

  And I love to watch her.

 The message to all adult artists is in this video.

ENJOY!

Have a Creative Day!

ta

and she loves bunnies too.
(this bunny in the snow is for you Emalie from your faraway granny!)

MAGIC IN THE STREETS OF BERLIN

Take a moment out of your day and watch this.  Promise to smile.  Promise to feel a sense of wonder.

This is what God meant for us when he gave us LIFE.

WONDERMENT IN CREATING

ORGANIC DADA DOLL

Just finished this 2nd piece. Today, I worked for an organic idea of nature.  I thought about the ancient people living in nature and how it was such an enormous part of their lives. I thought about the Chaco Canyon people. The elements of weather, changing of seasons and how their lives were often dictated by that force.  How nature and elements possibly forced them to move away, though there are several theories on that.  Compare that to our present world and how we as humans often think we are above that force, and then when typhoons and hurricanes and earthquakes hit, it quickly reminds us of the power of nature.  I know even on a basic level, the absence of sunshine can pull down my spirit if I allow it.  Wake up to a cloudy day like yesterday, and how it compels me to nest inside and my ambitions seem tampered down.  Then wake up, like today, to a beautiful blue sky and the sun bursting into the studio, gets my energy flowing and I am ready to tackle anything.

I did no face.  Sometimes the general head shape speaks more than features of a face.  Keeps it more
of a broad representation. 
ta

NEW WORK FOR UPCOMING SHOW

Last night, I  started on a series of 8 pieces of art for an upcoming art show at the Aspen Chapel Gallery called  Small Wonders.  We are to do 8 pieces of art 12 x 12 x 12 size limits that will show from November 18th through Jan 3rd.  And since I have just received my book Who's Your Dada? ( a marvel of art, by the way)....

I decided I was in the MOOD!  So I hauled out my stash of JUNK and started pulling pieces..  Now mind you this is just the tip of the iceberg on my collection.  And as you can see it's a great pile of STUFF.  Rusty cans, odd metal shapes, bottle caps, drift wood, well, you get the picture.  JUNK!!!!!

   So then I started playing.......  and here's what I came up with within a short time.....

A nice beginning.. all just layed out for possibilities..  have no idea where this stuff will take me.  Just have to

let the junk guide me along.  Play with a sense of FUN!

Old wooden hanger wrapped in cloth, old doll legs, rusty tin lids:  a start. 

But then this piece was completed this morning.

What is a little hard to see in this picture is the body is an old mini ham can..  and inside sits a very

old kid's shoe.. complete with a bell.  The "feet" are those rubber coated baby spoons.  The metal wings

cut from an old tray from Campbells Soups... an old canning funnel, and of course an old doll's head.

I found this sweet little kid's shoe at an old mining dump in Utah.  Complete with the bell.  It touched my heart.  You just wonder who's shoe it was, and where is that person now?  Certainly has no clue I am

taking his old shoe and putting it into an art piece!!!  Life is just amazing, isn't it?

One down, 7 to go.

ta-da

BRRRR...

Woke up this morning to low hanging clouds and the promise of rain/snow today. I am missing the warm sun coming into my morning space.  So to warm up my studio, I made a fire in the woodstove.  We have lived in our new home for over a year, but this is the first fire I have made in the studio woodstove.  I LIKE IT!  So here I sat, warming my toes, and sipping my coffee, dreaming of the beach.  This might have to become my morning ritual through the winter.  Yummy way to start my creative day! 
  So, what is stoking your fire today?  Mine?  Some morning art then work on orders.  Yesterday I made some banana nut bread and my "reward" for getting my work done, will be a cup of tea with some warm banana bread later this afternoon.  This is the way I like to spend  cold winter days. Even though it's barely fall on the calendar.   sigh.    it's the mtns you know.  And my friend in Florida is complaining it's in the muggy 90's.  Which I don't love either..  perfect weather? Hawaii....I invite you to come with me  here... notch  up to a full screen, lean back and put your feet up, sip your brew, and let's zen on the beach for a little while.
Ease on into the day.  yeah... like this.

ahhhhhhh......

14 REPURPOSED

 I am reaching a milestone for me. Like a troll under the bridge, sometimes my past sticks it's ugly head up
and spouts off reminding me of my demons from long ago.  The number 14 has been a tripping stone for me in the past.  So when I flipped the calendar this month and saw that I will be with Dan for 14 years, it subconsciously started a dark cloud inside me that came out in a dream.  The dream was very disturbing until I started to piece it apart and really looked at the meaning. I have never been in a relationship that lasted more than 14 years.  That of course, has nothing to do with my current relationship which is so wonderful, I know that logically.  But down in the dungeon of darkness, the troll was whispering to me, here's the expiration date: 14. 
  My old self, would of taken the worst possible outlook and ran with it.  My new self.. the mature, wise
and grounded self.. decided to work  out the dream in my journal.  And what do you know?  The goodness
came through bold and strong.  So I quietly, with a smile, took my broom and dustpan and swept up the
nagging cruel doom-filled words from that old ugly troll, and dumped them into the trash.  And like a seed planted in a new garden, 14 has now become a good number for me. 
  Why am I telling you this?  Mostly because I want to give my new outlook power by exposing it to the world and to sing the praises about art journaling.  This kind of "house cleaning" works so well.  It's powerful.
And it's all available to us if we only do it.  My pal Sheri Gaynor teaches this and to any of you who are looking for insight, her method of  "awakening" is truly life changing.  And the art part is really only a tool used to dig out the information we are looking for.  It resonates so well for me because I am a very visual person.
There is no planning to this journaling.  You just jump in and let the muse carry you and the message just
appears as if by magic.  Oh, look.  It was inside of me all along.  I just needed to unearth the buried treasure.
 so 14 is now my treasured number.  ta-da...

PEACE LOVE AND JOY

Morning Art...

ho ho ho....

JEEPING IN THE MOUNTAINS

Yesterday afternoon, we jumped in our little jeep with Marley and headed up Transfer Trail.  This is a rough and very BUMPY 4 wheel road that crawls up on top overlooking Glenwood.  You do have one beautiful view to reward your bone jarring ride.  Further up the trail, we came into my most favorite area of old growth Aspen Trees.

This one was amazing.  Normally the Aspens grow straight up, with some waves and bends.  But this tree has been really through some wild growing.  If only the tree could talk! ...If you click on the picture you can get a closer look at the knots it has produced! Makes you wonder how that happened, doesn't it?  Growing up in western Colorado, we always called these tree Quakes.  I was nearly an adult, before I learned Aspen trees was it's more common name.  Quakes was the more local name when I was a kid.  The name refers to the way the leaves quake in the wind.  Someday I would love to spend a summer tromping through old growth Quake trees and take pictures of all the unusal ones... that would make a great picture book, wouldn't it?  I have always loved unique growing trees of any kind.  The quirky ones that seem to stand out in the crowd.  Hugely jealous, prehaps.

While driving through this stand, I spotted this heart tree and had to make Dan stop so I could jump out and take it's picture. I wish now I would of hugged this tree. Must do that next time I am up there.  Because this tree really had a message for me I later found out.  The next day I  loaded it into photoshop and "carved" these words onto the tree...  A little reminder about the afternoon I spent in the mountains with my sweetheart!

While we were bouncing along, I was noticing the carvings in the trees.  The oldest year I saw carved was 1976.. but am certain there are much older years if you took the time to really look around. 

  You can see how fall is nearly over in these woods.  All the leaves are nearly down and later we even ran into snow on the ground on the other side of this mtn. 

Marley loves to go jeeping..  he stands most of the way, just loving the air, the ride and the view!

On the way down, lower elavation, I did find a stand of trees with their bright yellow leaves.  It was starting to cloud up, so the blue sky is nearly blocked out by the clouds. 

A fun afternoon.  An artfull day in the mountains.

ta

ARTIST BUSINESS CARDS / BOOKMARKERS

How do you create some artist's business cards that people will hang onto?

 BOOKMARKERS!

I made up about 50 of these from various sections of my art using about 15 images.  Rather than put regular

business cards out that will get lost, etc, I decided to create bookmarkers with my Artist's info on the reverse side.  These measure 5 1/2  x 2 inches and printed on cardstock.  I punched a hole in the top ends, and tied on various fabric strips for flair.  I signed the front of each card and placed an address label on the back

for the contact info. I just hung an art show at the little cafe down valley in New Castle and under my bio on the wall, these will be placed for people to take.  Granted some will take because they are free, but with my blog address on the back, I hope to get some new people checking out the blog and my art.

 I am meeting my girlfriend for lunch there and will take my camera to take pictures which I will post later.

But wanted to share my cool idea...

taaa-daaaa!

MIRACLES IN THE SHOWER!

We woke up this morning to 39 degrees and it's supposed to be even colder tonight.
BRRRRR!
 But in my bathroom, in the window of the shower, sits my sweet cyclamen.  If you have ever had one of these beauties, they come all full of luscious flowers.  But as time goes by, they stop flowering and often the entire plant fades away.  That has been my experience any how.  But this time, I sat the tired cyclamen in my shower window. It gets lovely light and we shower together everyday!  I drizzle water on the plant and the mist from the shower reminds me of a tropical rain forest. And the little tired cyclamen began to perk up and grow.  Then, a few months ago the plant produced small pods which when I cut one apart, I discovered it was a seed pod.  So I took another pod and stuck it into the dirt beside the mother plant.  And miracles!  It is growing.  So much that I swear I can see it grow.  And now the mother plant is pushing out new leaves!  I am sure I will have to transplant the baby cyclamen at some point, but for now the two plants make my shower time just delightful.  A miracle of joy, of growth.

 It's the little precious things in nature that reminds me to be grateful. That when things in our lives are whirling around us, take a moment to look around you and find a miracle.  They are everywhere if you only open your heart and eyes.

ahhhh.....