Caution: Possible Time Waster

On my daily visit to How About Orange, I found this new toy. It's called silkweave and it lets you create interactive art that looks like silk fibers blowing in the wind. At first I just said, meh. But, I tell you, it is addictive. You drag your mouse around to get it going and you can even control which way it blows. 
If you scroll down, there are some wallpapers to have. That is where I got that pretty image up there.


All we are is silk in the wind. 
Sorry.

Bits and Bobs

The lesson this week for the Raw Art Journaling workshop over at Artists of the Round Table's was 'Found Poetry'. This is all the words and phrases that I cut from a Sephora catalog.

And this is the end result. I wished that I had left it alone and not added the flourishes in the corners but am overall satisfied with the exercise. My next exercise will be to remove a page from a book and selectively cover some words to reveal the 'hidden' poetry there.

Exercise. I finally got some. I took Abbey out to the Reservoir this afternoon and walked the two miles around the lake. We both enjoyed being out there again. We used to go regularly when I lived out that way.

Look at the shadows. Can't you tell it's almost fall? This makes me think of Peter Pan and his lost shadow.

And finally, here is a blurry, but happy, pic of Abbey enjoying nature.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

CREATE.

There's a lot of creative activity going on here. This year has proved to be a creative slump for me. I decided to end it. The slump is over. I am going to create with abandon. I am not going to worry about the end result. It will be about the process not the product. And I'm going to blog about it too. For what it's worth, I am sharing.

I was inspired to make these bunnies over at my friend B's blog. Carla Sonheim (love her style - of art and teaching) shares

a tute over at her Snowball Journals.

This guy is my favorite. The technique is so simple (which is the overriding theme of Sondheim's instruction). You just make a very simple line sketch using a Tombow pen. Then you take a round watercolor brush and bleed the lines in for shading and texture. The Tombow ink is water soluble and it does all sorts of neat stuff when the water hits it.

I couldn't stop making bunnies. They are so quick and every one was a suprise. I like this guy too. I think he looks a little worried.

I tried a couple of my toy poodle, Abbey. Not a particular likeness but the feel is there.

I just love the way the ink bleeds into shades of gray and blue and pink. I don't think the nuances of color show up here. You just have to trust me and try it yourself.

The first one below is raw, just ink and water. I thought her features need to show a bit so I added some detail with a SF Pitt pen. I don't like what I did to here hip, but heck, I'm gonna show you my mistakes!

In other news, a new workshop is starting over at the Artists Of The Round Table yahoo group. We are being led by Quinn McDonald through her book, RAW ART Journaling. I am excited about this and hope to find much inspiration. Quinn is a certified creativity coach. The subtitle of the book is Making Meaning, Making Art. Sounds good, eh?

Yesterday, I attended a writing prompt group with a friend. It is led by author, Nancy Peacock. Now this one was a stretch for me. Clearly, I am not a writer, but I did find it interesting. I will probably go again. Who knows what will happen.

I have been sewing too. We have formed a little sewing group at church and I am looking forward to hanging with this great group of women. I am sure to find inspiration there and some help too.

That's enough for now. I have to finish some laundry and get ready for the new week.

Later....

Late Summer Garden

Been out playing with my camera this week. Summer is winding down and it shows in the garden. My favorite time of year is approaching....

This man is a temporary. His owner couldn't take him when she moved so he has been sleeping here for now.

Beauty remains in the dying flowers, I think. These cone flowers are lovely as they fade and their form changes.

The watering can rusted through, but makes a nice pot. The succulent is a reminder of a friend.

This and That

• I honor of all those who gave their lives for our freedom! I feel gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy in this country and I pray that we do not lose them.
• I have been playing over at pinterest. What fun! I love looking at other's boards and it's fun to have a place to corral the things I find and want to keep....much better than bookmarks. If any of you have boards, leave me a comment. I want to see.
• I am following a new blog. Visit my friend, Lacey, over at humming right along. I like what she is doing there. I am glad to have some new blog candy because some of my old stand-by bloggers are slowing down. Just sayin. (Hey, before I hear any snide remarks, let me just say, I have never been a regular or frequent poster!)
• I love this 3-day weekend action. Wish my headache would leave, though.
• OK. Two post in one day? I am a feast or famine kind of gal...yep, I am.

Food For This Week

"Just because I get hunger pangs does not guarantee I will get to fill my belly. But what it does tell me is that I was created to eat. These inconsolable yearnings tell us that we are creatures who have been crafted to find fulfillment somewhere else. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanations is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfies it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably, earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, so as to suggest the real thing." CS Lewis ~ The Problem of Pain

"...this deep hurt is a signpost, showing us the way out or better the way in. It is a long, narrow, and painful wound inflicted by Love...Like Cupid's arrows, God sends shafts to pierce and to wound us. God in no sadist. He is speaking and wooing and reminding, and He will hurt us if He needs to. After all, the strongest and most powerful arrow He ever shot from His quiver was Jesus, and He did not shelter Him from pain. He has a million shafts to choose from, though some are subtle, even mute, those arrows that strike at the oddest moments...Sometimes He takes away in order to point the way and sometimes He stabs by giving. Either way He wants us to pine for what is not here, but there, in Him" Timothy Stoner ~ The God Who Smokes

Those two quotes served as the meditation during the Prelude to Worship yesterday. Both quotes are very timely for me. I have been thinking about my cravings and what happens when I divert from my God-given desire for Him to the tangible things around me. The result is "too much". Too much food, too much shopping, too much TV, too much internet, too much worry, too much idle time...the list goes on. The consequence of all the excess can be devastating to body, mind and spirit (and finances). And worst of all, it crowds my time so that my relationship with God is devastated. There is a constant battle to stave off the call of "the world, the flesh, and the devil" and allow my heart to be consumed by Him...more of Christ, less of me.

I will listen again to the sermon when it shows up here. My pastor taught from John 11. This is where Mary and Martha lose their brother Lazarus to death and Jesus restores him to life. We learned about God's purpose to our sufferings and afflictions and that Jesus is our reward. Now. Today. I am anxious to listen again and flesh out my notes.

I have a lot to chew on this week.

The Big Read

The Big Read

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books printed.

The Rules:

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Post.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (Currently reading on my kindle)
2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (This one gets everything-all time fave...have read many times and WILL read again.)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
4 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible (Am working on reading through. I think I might be on the 3 year plan.)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
8 1984 - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (Right up there with LOTR. First novel I ever read, I think. Lost count # of times read.)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I own the book but have NO desire to read.)
15 Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tried to read once...bored me.)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams -
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (Have it. Started it about 5 yrs ago. Still want to read.)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis (Love this series)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis (Wonderful)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (Listened to audiobook - want to read it)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernières
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (Have read about half....guess I got distracted.)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi- Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert (Never have gotten around to this classic - don't even own it.)
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (Mama gave me this when I was 12 along with Little Women. Go figure.)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (Sixth grade teacher read it to class & I loved it. Finally read it as an adult - loved it again.)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Émile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - A.S. Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (This book found me a few years ago. I am glad.)

I've read 19! Not too shabby. I was surprised at how many titles were new to me.

I picked this up over at upsidedownbee. You can go over there for "the rest of the story." Thanks, B.

...and A Happy New Year!

2010,

It has been "ok" knowing ya, but I'm not gonna miss ya.

Don't take it personal.

2011,

I am looking forward to you. Welcome.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Friends! It's Christmas Eve and I need to get busy, but I wanted to put up a little post here first. My baby girl is asleep on the couch, my dog at my feet and my first born should arrive with her beau a little later. I am looking forward to a very nice Christmas time with my family. I have finally gotten to a place in my life where Christmas is not a dreaded time of stress. Praise God!

We will hang out here until late afternoon when we will go to Christmas Eve church service followed by a casual dinner with extended family. Tomorrow I am cooking a nice breakfast before S and her beau leave to have Christmas with his family. I think H and I will stay in our PJs all day unless we decide to go to the movies. Doesn't that sound nice?

I even enjoyed wrapping gifts this year, decorating my own paper. That being said, I am not finished, *ehem* one of the reasons I need to get up and get busy.

More later, loves.

Merry Christmas!

Candy

Coffee Table Talk

It was a great long weekend. Uneventful and spent mostly at home. The weather has cooled a bit and the promise of fall is in the air - my favorite transition of the year.

I did a little thrifting on Saturday. I scored a new coffee table, two really.

The round shape frees up some space here.

And look, it has a bitty, little table that rolls out to hold my stuff. I think we will hang together for a while.

And now this one, given to me by my generous friend, which has served me well and remains a worthy table, has gone to live with my friend, B.

I have some other things to share but I've been distracted and now it is past my bedtime. So...

Later kids,

Nitey Nite.

Random Stuff - Mostly Art

• I had an art party last weekend with a few of my friends. It was a sleepover. We had fun hanging out and chatting while playing with art stuff. Here's the table after everyone went home. Now, doesn't that look like fun. I felt like a ten year old girl coloring with her friends. We plan to make this a regular event. We all need it!

• See the brie box that I turned into a button box. I got the graphic off someone's blog. They were giving away printable images. I sure wish I could remember who.

• Recently, following the lead of my friend B, I joined A.R.T., which is a yahoo group of artists. It seems to be a cool community. I signed up for a workshop based on a book by Carla Sonheim, Drawing Lab. Well, I have issues finishing things so I quickly fell behind the group and just gave up. I regret that quality in me and am working on it. Even though I dropped out, I highly recommend this book, especially if you think you can't draw. I still want to go through it. *sigh* These were exercises from unit 1. Fun.

• However, when I ordered Drawing Lab, I also ordered another book, Totally Tangled. This is partly to blame for my neglect of my drawing labs. I love to doodle and that's just what tangles are. Here's one of mine, copied out of the book. I am signed up for another workshop based on this book. Maybe I will stick with this one since I have a head start!

• And then there is the Pam Carriker journaling class, Shades of Grey, that I signed up for. There are only three videos and I have watched one and a half - there's the finishing issue again. I must go back and finish because she decided to retire the class right after I signed up. Now she's given plenty of notice for any normal person to complete the lessons. But me, not so much.

• I did get inspired to make a journal page this week. It is not yet finished. I must add some text but I must wait for inspiration (uh, the finishing issue). Oh well, here it is in its current state.

• And finally, here's my cute companion asleep on the other end of the couch.

Nitey Nite, Kids!

Trapped Inside....

...and loving it! I have been in the house for two days because of the winter storm that passed by here. All my work and church services have been cancelled. Thankfully, we didn't get the ice accumulation that was expected so we didn't lose power. I have spent my time watching Hallmark movies, knitting, napping and finally, today, got into a little artwork. The fruits of my 'leisure'...
Coco Vee Cape
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending knitting workshops with Jane Slicer Smith. She is a designer from Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed 2-1/2 days of listening and learning. The workshops were related to her new book, Swing Swagger Drape. I bought a kit from her last year and have been too intimidated to start knitting. Now I feel fortified with knowledge and technique so the imtimidation factor is way down. I am knitting this cape to practice the mitered squares techniques that she taught in the workshop. I want to be consistent when I start my jacket. The technique is fun so I am enjoying the process.




This is a baby blanket that I am knitting for an expectant friend. The baby is coming in the spring so I am knitting the blankie in cotton. This is an easy and pretty mindless project.



This is the portrait that I showing in my previous post. I added some collage element to her and am considering putting a little 'tight and buff' on her to add some subtlety to the face. I like this girl and have to leave her alone a lot because I tend to overwork things and I don't want to mess her up.

Now it's time to venture out with a friend in search of food.

Thank You, Sondie

I went to my first in person art class tonight at Flynn's Coffee Bar. Artist Amy Smith taught techniques for making collage papers using acrylic paint and other things. She makes many cool things, some of which can be found in her esty store here. We were a nice group of six and it was fun. The picture above is one of my papers. It is painted on a sheet of scapbooking paper which we drizzled paint on and then smeared it around with a pallette knife. After that dried we added various embellishments. Some were created with everyday objects like bubble wrap and drywall tape. Think this one kinda looks like a garden. I am looking forward to more of Amy's classes. I must remember to save my pennies.

I much appreciate my friend inviting me to this.

Simply Stated

I discovered The Simple Woman's Daybook over at my friend B's blog. I decided that I would participate. I thing I can handle a list. So here goes...

FOR TODAY January 11, 2010...

Outside my window...It's cold. The light if fading as this day is running out.

I am thinking...about times past. Carefree days of early childhood spent with my first friends, sitting on an old army blanket in their backyard playing with paperdolls. I was at home there. We lost touch so many years ago. I am going to visit my old friends this month. Anticipating with happiness.

I am thankful for...God's providence, for the grace and mercy that has been afforded me.

From the kitchen...beans, tahini, olive oil, garlic, lemon, and smoked paprika waiting for a spin in the Cuisinart to become yummy hummus.

I am wearing...comfy corduroy pants, a fleece top and my favorite felted wool clogs. Made 'em myself.

I am creating...experiments in mixed media as I try to find my own voice in my art.

I am going...to see my daughters on Wednesday.

I am reading...A Chance To Die, the inspiring biography of missionary Amy Carmichael.

I am hoping...that my headache will go away and stay away.

I am hearing...the fan on my portable heater and the TV in the next room.

Around the house...bathrooms are screaming to be cleaned and the clutter everywhere is really bothering me. I planned today for serious cleaning but, alas, it didn't happen. One bathroom will be cleaned before I go to bed. Mean it.

One of my favorite things...I love trees.

A few plans for the rest of the week: some art time with my friend B, a visit to my daughters, a Tea with my Bible study group, work, worship.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...my artwork. Inspiration for this came from Pam Carriker's youtube tutorial on mixed media portraits. I'm not finished with her yet.

OY!

The dog. She is a bull in my china shop. Charlie needs her forever family. Now. She would make a great farm dog. Farm dog, by day, that is. House dog by night. Yep.

Sign Me Up

I am joining B in the Photo Hunt Challenge for October. I will follow through. I will follow through. I will. There.

My first entry is up there. It is "Something Orange" In the physical world, it is terra cotta, but it sure looks orange to me here. I used Paint Shop Pro to crop all three.

I think this one will be my entry for "Contrast". Maybe. I do like dappled shadows but I might come up with something else.

Hey, I could've had "Something Spooky" and "Something Entertaining" in one shot today. I gave the dog (the big one that B is entering for "Critter") a bath. In the shower. With me. Hey, it is the easiest method I've tried that I can afford. You understand that there are no pictures though. And just let me say this critter smells much better! Can you tell that I trimmed her face a bit as well and her ears? Can you tell that she is completely worn out by it all? I love it when she is worn out. She is too cute. And she really does need a new and permanent home. Any takers? Just leave a comment and I am sure we can work something out.

Dragnet Wisdom

A frind sent me this in an email. I love it. Who knew the wisdom Joe Friday and Bill Gannon would apply so many years later? I am not very politically-minded so I hope I don't offend anyone. I just think its great.

Please, No Fainting

Geez, it has been six months since I have posted. Hey, my kitchen window is open again. A lot has happened around here, but that is for another post another day. This post is just an icebreaker for me, more pictures that words.

I decided, for my re-entry into bloglandia, to show you some of my artwork in progress.

First, my most recent creation. I am decorating these letters for my youngest. They were plain, white, wooden letters given to her last Christmas. She was going to paint them so I asked her to let me collage them. It has been great fun. My friend B has been coming over for art dates and these were accomplished while working with her. It is good to have someone there to give instant feedback (not to mention the motivation to actually create!). These are not quite finished. I think that I will add a beeswax finish and put some ribbon around the edges to finish them off. I like them and hope Miss H is pleased when she sees them.

Next are some unfinished (unfinished seems to be a recurring theme) projects that I am working on for a portrait class at Suzi Blu's online school, Les Petit Academy.

This is one of the first sketches done for the class. It was drawn in a sketchbook then pasted into the Moleskine journal and covered with clear gesso. (I love the Moleskine. Just sayin.) I don't know what is going to happen with her next. I have to watch some more videos to see where Miss Blu is taking me with this.



Next, another sketch drawn in a sketchbook but pasted onto wood. You can see how see started out on the left. I was liking her. I added some more shading and I still liked her. I pasted her onto the wood and then... I added the gesso. The graphite smeared. Really bad. I thought she was ruined. I was sad. But never fear. I scanned her and sent her to suziblu. Suzi said "she's not ruined. You can't ruin her. These portraits are shabby. She will be fine". I said "whew". I am anxious to see how she will be finished. I really like her. Her eyes are a bit wonky but I like her mouth and the overall feel of her.

Finally, the gypsies are drawn in the journal. They are fun and were copied from suzi's example pretty close. My details are different but the page layout and theme is all suzi. It's how I learn.


Well, enough unfinished art. I must now take care of business so I can work on my art today. I will post pics of each piece as I finsh it.

Now, let's all go create something!