February word…

Here it is-my word for February is… WISH!  Though it is a short month, February is full of promise, excitement and potential!  February, at least around here, tends to be gray, cold and snowy and there are times that it gets a little old.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to focus on finding a bit of excitement hiding just below that gray.  I think of it as a great time to design my spring gardens, hunker down with books to grow my mind and heart and find time to be creative.  I look forward to what is ahead and I wish for you all this February  joy, peace, grace and above all-love…

Up and at ‘em

OK, so I finished the piece I was working on and must say I might be happy with it!  I seldom enjoy or appreciate my own work the same way I do other’s work so it feels weird to like this one.

The overall image is 51″w x 66″h and I may have to create a wall to hang it on!  Looking forward to hitting the studio for the next installment…

Who knew?

I was trolling my long list of emails this morning and came across an alert that caught my eye.  My thanks goes out to Micropaint.com for featuring an interview I did at the Wet Paint 2010 exhibition opening!  I must admit it feels a bit odd to watch myself–reminds me why I should practice talking about may work!  Either way, I am grateful to Micropaint for featuring me this morning. Thanks!!!

Wishing you all a creative day…

p.s. here is a peek at my next piece-this is in process so it will be different by the end of the day…(image removed-check for completed image on separate post)

Wet Paint

Didn’t get to it yesterday so figured I had better get a post together this morning before I hit the studio again.    I have been painting away and enjoying being back at it!  I have also just returned from a show in Chicago so that is probably fueling my enthusiasm!

Wet Paint 2010 is  a great show featuring 52 works from recent MFA’s and current MFA students.  Curated by Sergio Gomez MFA, the exhibition is running at the Zhou B Art Center through February.  Mr. Gomez curated a provocative and diverse show and I feel honored to be a part of it.  If you find yourself in Chicago make sure to check it out!

Now for a bit of wet paint of a different sort-new work!  Yay!  It has been a while since I let my hair down in the studio and painted for the sake of painting.  Although I am preparing for a solo show-I have deserted the restraint of my encaustic work and have gotten messy with my oil paints.  Boy, does it feel good!  The top image is 24″ x24″ and the lower is 36″h x 48″w.

So there you have it!  Hope you are well and feeling creative!

A little self diagnosis

I have come to the conclusion that I am suffering from ‘Post Master’s Disillusionment Disorder’-disclaimer here-I am not making light of any real disorders out there.   What I am doing is taking aim at the fact that my ’superior’ (yes, they used that word) qualifications have made me outstanding in my field!  Really-it is more like out standing in a field of rejected applications, discarded resumes, wasted discs(undoubtedly doomed to live out eternity in some landfill somewhere :/), un-answered emails and harvesting a bumper crop of debt from postage alone!

It wasn’t so long ago that I was coasting on the idea that now that I had my MFA (a terminal degree-what I now understand as having more than one interpretation) I could find a ‘real’ job.  Needless to say, I have not found that ‘real’ job-or any job for that matter.   I have tried every angle; implemented well intentioned advice-read the blogs-tried the suggestions and here I sit-waiting on the furnace repairman wrapped in a blanket and wondering what to do next.

This odd dichotomy of occupying both realms of over and under-qualified is not what I was prepared for.   I have continued to try to exhibit as often as possible-entered competitions and submitting proposals and so forth- I am not hanging out just waiting for opportunity to come knocking.  Unfortunately for my under/overqualified self all these things require funds and with no job-real or not-these opportunities are gradually becoming out of reach.

What to do now?  I refuse to allow myself-regardless of qualifications-to give myself permission to wallow.  Believe me-wrapped in my warm little blanket I am sorely tempted!  OK, so I have allowed myself to rant a bit-but it was more or less to get it off my chest so it didn’t devolve into something else.  What I need to do now is figure out what is next.  I am down to my last 6 stamps and how do I make those work hardest for me?  I choose to keep the faith!  Keep getting involved and trust that some one out there is looking for an artist who is overqualified to do a good job or willing to take a chance on someone who is qualified in the wrong areas but  fully capable and willing to work hard!

My word for January has been ‘Peace” and I continue to focus on what that means.  Even just saying it quietly to myself helps me take a deep breath and relax.  Peace is something I aspire to and pray that it touches you today as well!

P.S.  I confess…I am looking ahead to my word for February (‘Wish’)

Of things yet to come

A small-well not so small, it’s six feet long-taste of my upcoming show!  I am excited to have the opportunity to show some of my favorite work!  Of late, I have worked small and mostly with encaustic but this-this is freedom and so welcomed!!  I have broken out the big brushes and my messy jeans and I feeeeeel good (nah, nah, nah, nahnah).  I tossed this one out there as a way to prime the pump so to speak-and indeed it has done its work-my painting mojo is back

So, stayed tuned for more info on the show-and if you can’t wait until then leave a comment and I will be in touch!

Now you see it-now you don’t

OK, so the snow is gone  It was fun while it lasted but now it is back to reality-sort of.  I still have plenty of the white stuff outside my windows so I am happy!  The reality part is that I am suffering from a case of major  lazy today that is keeping me from getting anything accomplished-so not cool.  Especially with deadlines!! My motivation seems to have disappeared with my virtual snow storm and I need it back-like yesterday!!   I am looking for a few good tips for pushing past the ‘I just need one more cup of coffee and THEN I can get to work’ syndrome I am staring down.  Anything??

Snow Business

I don’t know if anyone noticed, but…there is snow on my blog!!  By tomorrow it may be gone but for today I have snow!  I was doing a bit of updating and cleaning up and discovered this little box that I could tick off and Jack Frost would deposit a virtual flurry in my digital world.  For someone who loves snow this was a must do.  After making my  little click/save move I immediately had this thought…’I wish I had found this sooner’.  Not that I suffer from a lack of snow-I have plenty right outside my real window which, at the moment, is performing its powdered sugar dance all over my yard.  But really, how often do you get a chance to have it snow on your blog?  Too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Opportunity.  Ah, that omnipresent state of being that can be so elusive at times.  Opportunity lurks, knocks and waits around every corner or so I have been told.  I kind of believe it is merely present-we just need to be aware of it and willing to take advantage of it.  I also believe that there are things I have missed out on because I haven’t been paying attention or, perhaps more accurately, avoiding certain situations.  I didn’t really want to take the time to do anything to my blog over the holiday season.  After all, I was so busy skipping through all the festivities that I couldn’t spare the five minutes I needed to clean up my virtual act.  The interesting thing about my digital snow fall is that I(and my visitors)  could have been enjoying it all season long.  I caught the tail end of it and felt a little pang that I could only enjoy it for a short time. Truth  be told-I wasn’t THAT busy-I COULD have taken the time-and more importantly I SHOULD have.

‘Should’ is a loaded word so I use it carefully.  It can cause a tremendous amount of pressure resulting in guilt and that is useless in my book.  The ’should’ I am talking about involves those moments when I know I am putting off-dragging my feet-procrastinating and other wise avoiding things that need doing but I just can’t manage to prioritize the whatever-it-is and get it done.  These instances almost always result in missed opportunities.  Had I done my little clean up earlier-I could have enjoyed the silly little joy of seeing that snow every time I checked in on my blog.  Had I done other similar tasks they wouldn’t have multiplied (exponentially) into a mess of tangled tasks that impede my progress.  Lesson learned.   I wish the snow could stay on my blog-I know it would look weird in July-but it would be a little reminder to pay attention…to do those little tasks when they ’should’ be done.  It can make things so much easier and may have unexpected results!

OH-one last thing.  PEACE!  My new header is a result of my post holiday hunting trips!  I had seen these before the holiday and fell in love with them (PEACE and WISH) and they were finally budget friendly ($1.25 to be exact).  I am a nut for lingual objects-magnetic poetry on my wall (magnetic paint rocks!) books as far as the eye can see  and now these  I couldn’t resist starting my post season decorating with a little PEACE!  WISH will make an appearance sometime but for now PEACE is where it’s at…

And so it begins…

Welcome 2010!! Wow, it is hard to believe that last year is gone already-not to mention the first decade of the 2000’s!!  I am happy to be here on this first day of the new year when I can survey the blank squares of the calendar-unmarked and full of promise!  Fresh, no mistakes, no regrets and bursting with potential. Period.  For now it is a concrete fact that I have not missed any appointments,  over scheduled or over committed myself…yet.  I know those days will come but for now I am just reveling in the fact that this day is new and so are the next 364.  I know this can be said of any day of the year BUT there is more joy and gravity in saying it on the first day of a new year-nay-a new decade.  I am ready for you 2010-my arms are open-my time is yours and I am waiting for you to surprise me with the pleasure of your company.

The giddy-ness of now rests firmly on the shoulders of the last days of 2009 which were filled with frolicsome fun-firsts and frivolity.  OK so that may be a bit heavy on the alliteration but it kinda works here!  We had some really dear friends joining us to usher in the new year and I was busy bustling about tidying up, cooking and assembling tasty treats and in typical fashion–getting distracted by creative ideas that wouldn’t go away until I gave them free reign.  I had seen these cute little stockings for vases and what not and concluded in the middle of necessary doings that I had to stop everything and make them!!

My cat has an unusual propensity for licking certain sweaters and he had wreaked havoc on one of my all-time favs when I wasn’t looking.  This resulted in an unsightly hole in a very conspicuous spot with no hope of being repaired.  Solution?  Cut it up and make a snuggly sleeve for a tall glass vase-fill it with lights and ta-da!  Partner this with a vintage glass vase cozied up in a former cable knit sleeve and I have some warm atmosphere to carry me through the cold winter yet to come.  Little happy dance and back to the prep work…

I love to lay a sweet table and enjoyed the rest of the prep for our small little gathering.  I have an affinity for silvered glass and collect it (usually at after holiday sales when they are marked waaaaaaaay down) whenever I can.  There is a crispness about silver that is refreshing to me and the extra sparkle it adds never fails to put me in a festive mood.  So, here are a few shots of the humble and growing, groaning board.  These pics were taken pre-arrival of our guests and so while it may look sparse-believe me-it blossomed into a full blown feast fit for royalty!

Front left is a version of Mississippi caviar that contains the prerequisite black-eyed peas for good luck in the new year. Center front is a mixture of two varieties of home made crusty French bread toasts-plain and Parmesan/herb stuffed accompanied by an Artichoke Hummus.  In the background is a family favorite that goes way back-Black Olive Salsa.  May sound a bit different but it is always a hit, especially when it is served with blue corn tortilla chips.  You will also find the customary salami and cheese platter as well as a new addition (not in this pic) of Asian Maple calico Potato cubes (pictured below on left).

Upon arrival our guests added Mussels, amazingly yummy stuffed endive, traditional hummus and crackers, home made fudge, fresh shrimp and fresh veggies.  Add to that champagne (mandatory!), lemon strawberry martini’s(mmm) and an assortment of savory ales (ahhhh) and a good-nay- very good time was had by all!

So here is to our beautiful little birthday party for the new year!  You can’t top heartfelt, non-stop belly laughs with dear friends, delectable food and learning new beer games from your adult children (long story-another post).  I couldn’t have asked for anything better…

And-here is to each of you finding those moments where it all comes together and the joy is real.  May you have a new year that fulfills those endless possibilities hidden in the empty squares of your calendar!

Cheers, Salute, Prost and here’s wishing you joy, peace and a great 2010! May each day be So Worth It!

Happiest of Holidays and best wishes for a beautiful 2010!!

I am anticipating that this will be my final entry for 2009.  Hard to believe the year has blown by already and when I look back it has been a full year indeed. There have been some truly amazing experiences this year.  From the simple to the profound the events that have transpired have moved me and grown me.

I would have to say that these last few days have been the harshest of the year as I have watched my son say good-bye to a very close friend-something a young person should never have to do.  Likewise a parent should never have to say good-bye to a child and seeing this unfold before us has been a sobering event.  One draws their own children a bit closer with the realization that tomorrow could be so different than today.  It seems somehow cruel to find lessons in someone else’s sorrows but we grow in the sadness as well in the joy and are reminded to never take anything for granted. To reach out when we feel prompted and say those I love you’s (even if it makes them squirm)  are suddenly more important than what color sweater we want to put under the tree.  Festivities pale in the presence of real truths.

As we approach 2010 my fervent prayer is for peace for our friends as they heal and for the rest–awareness.  Be aware of the need around you and meet them if you can;  aware of the effervescent blessings that bubble up in the smallest forms–from an unexpected smile to a chance encounter with grace–these small little moments are the ones that surround us and what we would genuinely miss if they disappeared.  So, I don’t really care what color sweater I get this year, or that I even get one.  All I want is one more day with my family and one more after that—and so on, and so on, and so on.

Peace, Joy and Grace and see you in 2010