Life and other stuff

It sure has been a while since I had something fun to share here. My former husband of 20 years (Joe) was diagnosed with cancer in October and life has been pretty crazy ever since. I think we all must live with a belief that those who are close to us will continue to be there. If we focus on how much our friends and family mean to us, and how fragile we really are, I think we'd live in a state of fear. So, we go along confident that those we love will be there for a long time. Having Joe become suddenly and seriously ill, has been earth shaking for me and my whole family. I've been working hard at helping my children feel secure, and my business when I can. But, I openly admit, the kids come first. :)

As for art... I'm developing work in my imagination which I look forward to bringing into real life. When my mind drifts to scary thoughts when I'm going to sleep, I use my imagination to create beautiful pictures. It's fun, life affirming, and gives me ideas of images to create when I actually get to paint again. Following Thanksgiving, I'll be working on a new ornament for Christmas. A gallery that has invited me to do an art showing in April has asked me to participate in a Christmas ornament fund raiser and I'm ready for a new fun assignment. I'm planning to paint a special dove and then embellish printed copies to press between glass. Then I'll use the same method I use for the pendants to make an ornament. I can't wait to see them in real life! I'll post pictures when I get the first done.

Till then, Happy Thanksgiving!

My first birdie ornament

I've been working on this design in my head for a few weeks now and it is finally in the real world! Oh, I just love it! Soooo.... cute. I've been playing with exactly how to sculpt, paint, and finally what to use for the hanging loop. I wasn't sure what to put on the bottom, but I really like to little organza pouf of a tassel.

First birdie ornament all finished!

I'd love to know what you all think. I plan to offer this on my ETSY site, so feedback is welcome.

I'm off to Mount Shasta, CA to celebrate the new year with my folks. I hope that your new year's eve is a wonderful celebration!

Blessings

New Year, New Projects... so excited!!!

As each new year approaches, I feel invigorated and excited about the "starting over" that New Year's Day brings. This year I plan to launch an ETSY site and do some craft shows. I love making art and sharing it with others. When I made my first birdies, I made them because they got in my head and I wanted to see them in real life. Then a neighbor fell in love with them, too and I've been making them to order for her and her bird-loving family. So, I plan to offer some on ETSY. I think that doing craft shows allows us to talk with people and get real feedback from people about our work. The combination seems like a good idea (we'll see how it pans out in real life!)

I also do work with stained glass, painting, fabric... Someone once told me I have ART ADD. That may be, but I prefer to see myself as someone who has many interests and likes to explore them all!

Something I've been playing with is the idea of putting a hole through a birdie and running a ribbon through it's body so that it can be an ornament. Here's the first one I'm gonna try before I've painted it.

first birdie ornament before sanding or painting

You can tell by the size of it in my hand that it's pretty tiny. I love the super little ones, this one is sort of medium sized. I can't wait to see how it looks finished. Maybe I'll even give her a tiny nest.

The creative process pulls me along and keeps my sunny side up. I can't imagine living without it.

Art makes me happy. I hope you are having as much fun as I am!