Blogging A LOT more...

I know... I know... it's been six days since the last blog entry.  But think about it... blogging now IS a LOT more than I have been in recent memory.  Alright, that's copping out, isn't it?  Does it count I've been sick, under the weather, yukky, blah-blah-blah and avoiding the computer, emails, everything?  I see... not.  OK.  I offer you no excuses.  

But I have had a lot of time to think and doodle and contemplate where I'm going in my next projects, and finishing up a couple more too.  A break is good now and then, just not too long a break.  I've almost convinced myself I can easily be a hermit.  I haven't made it past the end of my driveway in so many days, I can't remember.  Well I'm not trying that hard to remember, either.  This last week has been so full of excitement and invitations and events and I've had to decline all of them.  I'll probably never have another week so full of fun things to do.  Isn't that the way life works out sometimes?  It all works out one way or the other.  It does.  

Now to get busy.  I owe valentine art work to three artists and they are nearly ready to go... and then finishing up a wedding present for a gorgeous couple and then two projects in the early stages, too soon to talk about (that way it gives me the chance to change my mind, my direction, or maybe just change period without any self-imposed guilt??) ha!

Here's a couple pictures from my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project:

 To the left is the cover.  The photo on the right shows the front and back covers opened flat.  Faces... just faces/expressions.  Ok - til later.  Sooner rather than later (fingers crossed!) *smile*

TRYING OUT A NEW SPACE

Trying out a new space and design just to see how it "feels".  Haven't made my mind up  yet... but thinking about it.

Life Is Good!!

Cowboy at the Copper Shade Tree Gallery

Life is good.  I'm in the middle of so much activity, I need a little time to sit down and share it all with you.  For now I will leave you with a wonderful picture of my dearest Cowboy relaxing on the front porch of the Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, Texas.  We attended the Artist's Reception for 22 Texas artists selected by esteemed judge Ginny Eckley to participate in The Art In Fiber 2011 at CST.  Yes, I was juried in and am one of those 22 Texas artists!!  My juried piece is entitled, "Sunset In The Piney Woods" and there it is on display at CST!!  

Sunset in the Piney Woods

I have seven other works on display that I will share with you shortly and also will share some wonderful fellow artists whom I have come to know, love and count as friends in my local Studio 105 art group. 

 If you get the chance to visit the The Copper Shade Tree, you will be in for a treat.  My Cowboy and I discovered Gerald and Debbie's gallery about 5 years ago after it just opened and we were thrilled. Little did we know we were making new friends, but the art we saw was absolutely stunning  -- and you should see the gallery and how it's grown now!!  You will be impressed at the talent that abounds in Texas and CST will become a regular destination.  You really must check out the wonderful place Round Top has become and if you are looking for a wonderful place to stay the night, David and his side kick Billy Paul at The Round Top Inn will treat you like family.  And the morning breakfast... More on that I promise shortly.  And one last question before I log off til tonite....

I am contemplating dropping "Flutterbugartgirl" from my blog and just having my name... any thoughts?  More "professional" sounding?  I love dearly my FlutterbugArtgirl persona.... so.... just contemplating.... ideas/thoughts....? I'm going to be blogging a LOT more frequently because I have a LOT more to share.  Life is good... in so many ways!

Good Things

I've been lucky enough to be able to spend a few extra hours in the Artistphere even during the holidays.  That makes me unbelievably happy.  For the first time in a long time, the various pieces of work in various stages of process leave me with a calm feeling.  Not panic.  No urge to rush, to do over, to make it perfect.  Permission came out of Nowhere - to put something aside when it seems "stuck" and just pick up something else and begin where I last left off.  It's become a soothing process to have multiple back up projects.  Therefore, whatever mood I'm in - I have a project.  If it's hand work, its here.  If its machine work... there's these.  Need a little painting and drawing time?  Yep.  I can bounce and be productive at the same time.  A not so novel idea that finally found me. 

FAMILY TREE

In the travel down my humble and imperfect road of life, often I am reminded what defines family to me: Unconditional Love.

It doesn't matter if you are biologically connected, adopted, step, foster - or a friend who is close enough to be considered family. Sometimes our friends treat us better than our family does. What kind of family member are you?

When you pass by a family member figuratively broke down on the side of the road, do you pass them by, hoping they don't see you? Do you pass them by, honk, wave and make fun of them? Do you share his/her misfortune with others for a laugh when actually you are humiliating them? Do you kick them when they're down? Do you drive by, then after a few miles turn around to see if they need help? Do you immediately pull over and offer assistance? What kind of family member are you?

You probably know one of my favorite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi who said, "Be the CHANGE you want to see in the WORLD." We could borrow from his words and apply it to our personal lives: "Be the CHANGE you want to see in your FAMILY." Are you the kind of member who has your hand out taking, taking, taking from wherever you can get it? Are you the kind of member who turns and runs, hides behind closed doors and unanswered phone calls when a fellow member is in need, whether it be emotional support, help doing a task, or whatever else? Do you make promises to assist and then don't follow through?

Do you help cultivate the family tree? A family is like a garden: if you only pick the fruit and flowers and don't put any effort back into the crops - watering, pulling weeds, trimming, nourishing the soil - then soon you've used up all the bounty and failed to replenish the tree, the plant, the garden -- and it withers, becomes weak and dies from neglect. The next time you want an apple or pretty flower there's nothing there.

I'm not saying we should enable bad habits, contribute to irresponsibility, but I'm talking about genuine help/need; of helping someone who is doing their best to help themselves. Or maybe someone who's made a mistake or errs in judgment and now is trying to make it right. We're all there, every day. We all goof up, make a bad decision, and most of us can take care of those little uh-oh's ourselves. But lilfe happens and sometimes is unfair, and sometimes we let things snowball out of control, or life happens beyond our control. We all get there one way or another eventually, (if you are human, LOTS of times!), whether we recognize it during the journey or at the end of the journey when we are trying to cope with losing and loving and letting go. How many times do we enable one family member, but refuse help to another? Do we lower the bar or expectations for one person and raise it for others? Do we only help if there's something in it for ourselves or do we treat each other equally and with that same unconditional love, dignity, and respect we want to receive in return?

It would be so easy to just be ourselves with our closest people: family. If we treated each other by the standard set by the Golden Rule: "Do Unto Others as You Want Them to Do Unto You." In other words: "Treat other people the way you want to be treated by them."

Sometimes we have toxic relationships in our family. Sometimes we have relationships in our family where the person is doing the best they can with the skills, tools and knowledge they have. I'm not talking about people who are a danger to our mental and physical well-being. I'm talking about people who are just plain difficult or just not there for us. We gauge for ourselves what closeness, distance or boundary is healthy for us with that person. But do we stop loving them unconditionally?

You might be thinking, "I'm there if someone asks. If they don't ask, I they must not need my help." Well, some situations are so obvious, some are so embarrassing, and some are so painful that asking for help is a hard thing to do. If you see it, do you ignore it, or come to your member's aid? Do you broadcast it to the world and have a good laugh or are you discreet and trustworthy? Have you considered that even if you offer assistance and the person declines, they know that you are there if they need you and they are not alone on the road? Next time, perhaps when they notice you are in need of a hand, they will take the initiative to offer assistance. Maybe they will follow your lead and you can depend on them to be the first one to show up to help YOU.

Think about it. What kind of person/family member are you, really? We are taught as little kids to be kind, considerate and courteous to everyone we meet, even people we don't know. Hopefully we teach our own children social skills: being polite and having manners. How many times do we treat our friends better than our family? Do your actions speak louder than your words? Are you full of words but no action? Are you dependable? Do you put conditions on your affection and attention? When you have a request of need help, do you expect others to jump for you but when the tide turns, do you keep putting them off? Little things do mean a lot. A simple request unfulfilled speaks volumes more than words that keep offering promise. Have you said, "I love you" to someone and they replied sarcastically, "It shows." Everyone laughs. Think about it. What is that really saying about YOU?

"BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD." It's simple. It's easy. It's unconditional. You will make someone feel like they matter. And there is something in it for you: you are tending your family tree and it will be there for you when you need it. Best of all? You are making a difference to someone. It will make you feel good inside. For a long time.

I'm off now to turn on the garden hose and drag it over to the Family Tree to see if it's parched. Have I been doing my part? I'll reevaluate myself to see what I need to do better because I depend on the Family Tree so much. I've spent many a hot day in the comfort of its shady canopy...

Change

I imagine we all find ourselves here periodically throughout our life more often than we care to acknowledge.  Change is unpredictable, it is scary and exciting and full of opportunities we have yet to discover.  Yet I sit in the middle of change contemplating, over-thinking, over-analyzing when all I really need to do is jump in feet first and enjoy the exhilarating rush change always brings.  What did I say the other day?  Renew, refresh, rejuvenate.  If only I could remember those three R's when I have self-doubt.

This post I'm keeping relatively short as I review I see more time spent on uploading cleaned up art studio pics rather than finished work.  The art studio (again using studio term with a hint of guilt at the moment) - is seldom tidy.  When I'm actually working on something it's a literal tornado alley in process and in the aftermath of creation.  Do you suppose God had a tornado alley place when he finished creating the Heavens and the Earth?  Who cleaned it up for Him so he could start the next project?  Maybe He cleaned it up after he was finished admiring his work... 'cause how would He find His tools and supplies unless He was super organized which I never quite seem to be once I start pulling stuff out to use.  Just wondering...


Before I leave, one word about The Sketchbook Project. I've been sketching regularly in my moleskine journal since before we went to Hawaii (more on THAT later!!)... and here comes the sketchbook project (Thanks, Annie!)... not that I'm all that great a sketcher or painter or artist, but it reminds me what I learned from reading Melanie Testa's blog and articles: practice, practice, practice. You really can see the improvement from page one to the last page.  A metamorphisis if you will excuse the cliche'.  YOU can participate by clicking on here: http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject/features or on the icon over in the upper right hand side of my blog under "Cool Places".  Think it over, it might be fun.  I just have a calling to this project and to promote it.  Maybe it's part of my "change".  LOL  Can THIS be my "change of life" era?  hahahahahahaha

Happy Artful Day to all.  Off to the drawing board, literally!
~(if I can find it)...

Bits and Pieces

Good Morning!
Today I find myself up early uploading pix to the computer to share. First request was of my new art room/studio/place/hideaway. I'm moving into a smaller space so I've been unpacking and sorting and ever so carefully going through my things deciding what I can and cannot live without. What a tough decision, and also what a mess! That's my theme. It all looks so pretty when you get everything organized and then here comes that first project and the organization all goes out the window! I am a messy maker, love to just fly by the seat of my pants, digging in drawers and pulling out supplies and getting into the flow and not stopping to tidy up. *SIGH* Maybe I can conjure up an art angel who will tidy up behind me, fluttering here and there and scolding me but happily organizing everything just right. Or not. Accept the unchangable; stop fighting the Universe, Katie!! So here's my space, my new place of being:















These are my table skirts as you can see - I didn't have enough of one material to cover both tables, but I loved both of these fabrics and decided what the heck, go for it. I wanted to use fabric I had so these are what I had the most of. I'm really drawn to turquoise, lime green, hot pinks that line of colors this year.

My very favorite thing in my art room at the moment is my peg board. I painted it layers and layers of color so you can see pinks, greens, blues, turquoise... and my two original Spirit Dolls reign over the area. Painted soup cans hold pens and pencils and various hooks hold various supplies as you can see. Since this picture was taken, I've already re-arranged the pegboard; the paintbrushes are no longer kept in the basket near the bottom and there's more "gadgets" up there where I can see and reach them!

The pegboard hangs over my main table for drawing, painting, etc. To the left would be my sewing/cutting table, the first table as you walk in the room.

Then there's my supply drawers and plastic cabinets shown below, you can see they sit beside the book shelf of supplies to the left of the room, behind me when I'm working at my table.














You know my space wouldn't be complete without a place for Art Dog Sancho and he quickly designated under the window as his place. So I set up a pillow and one of his favorite blankets on top of a storage bin right under the window for him. The window is framed with lights and old lace curtains that have not yet been replaced. Also there is a new window waiting to be installed. The new window is an energy efficient window with the prairie design. It will allow more light into the room! This is an east facing window that looks out onto the front porch and front yard. Roses and pots of geraniums are beginning to bloom. Not only can he combine his Art Dog skills with his Guard Dog duties, but Sanch can also catch a nap in the afternoon sun. :-)














Now that you know what my space looks like, are you going to show me yours? *smile*
Next post will be what I've been working on (fingers crossed!!).
Til next time (sooner rather than later!!!) ~ K

The QUEEN of CUPCAKES

Where DOES the time fly to? I meant to post sooner rather than later, and here it is later. Geeze. Another mental note to post inside a head that's already overflowing with things to do, places to go, people to contact and ideas to make! *Grins* So just a quickie here as it's dinner time (well actually past) and the Cowboy is patiently wondering what we're having. (Hint: it has to do with take-out). *smile* I was pleased with my latest drawing/creation - she's going to be incorporated into my Studio 105 name tag, probably ATC's and a couple Valentines. Who knows what else? She's actually Queen of Cupcakes -- oh I've been craving cupcakes for a whole month! I'm in search of the perfect cupcake; I havent had the perfect cupcake since I was with Lauren last August in California at a place called... Vanilla Moon Bakery I think!! Something tells me I'm not going to be satisfied tonite unless I have a cupcake... do you think Cowboy will settle for cupcakes for dinner? I'll let you know...

Computer O Computer

I've been driving myself crazy trying to fix a glitch in my computer - it won't stay connected to the internet suddenly, but the rest of the computers in the household have no problem. Persnickity thing thinks it's smarter than me! So far, it is. I considered dropping it out the window on the second story, but I decided to wait until we get the bigger windows/door on the front of the house would be more fun. (Hopefully by then it'll be working and death by dropping won't be necessary). Meanwhile I click away on the dinosaur laptop that seems at the moment to be out performing the newest model.

Last night after a few hours and several Advil I thought I had found the problem! Yay! But closing one door opens another. Now my antivirus is missing a component and won't reinstall per it's very specific instructions. Somethings are better left alone until we are in a better mental state to cope. That's when the delusions of dropping things out of second story windows began to amuse me. Crawling up on the bathroom counter to reach the window stopped me from acting immediately. I know that was it.... hehehehehee

That's the way most things work: you fix one thing, another problem raises its ugly head. Or you pull up a little flooring over there to fix and you end up having to replace the floor in the entire room (and sometimes the adjoining room too!) Ask us, we know all about that! We can smile about it now thank goodness! Now we're trying to find a reputable insulator to insulate the entire flooring under the house - Cowboy researching and four different insulators with four different opinions as to the proper materials/method to use. One arrived with the wrong size/R factor insulation he was going to staple and "piece" to fit between the joists - nevermind Cowboy crawling under there and seeing it gaping 4" on each side of each joists - thank you to an alert F-I-L who was here when they arrived while we were at work!! Do you have to do it all yourself to get it right or the way you want? Cowboy has been doing so much and working full time and the decision to pay someone to do the insulation was not easy to come by. But so far its been an ordeal researching and finding someone who will show up, let alone do good work. I'm even considering crawling under there to help him! Now that's bad. Don't dwell on the visual of me under the house. What happened to the time when a person took pride in a job well done and you didn't have to worry about being taken advantage of? Or am I looking back fabricating a perfect world that never truly existed at all? Naive? Wishful thinking? Just being impatient? I know it all works out, sometimes not on my internal time frame, but it works out in its time. I look at my art space, getting organized, boxes piled high, a small clean space with a cutting mat, pencil and some paper. Fabric and boxes of supplies here and there and even things that don't belong in that space find it's way "for just a second" while some other room gets attention, then that "just a second" turns into a week because, you guessed it -- something else cropped up while preparing that other room.

Here I am writing about it rather than getting it done. I DO have an agenda today and it will involve MAKING A LITTLE ART TODAY in addition to getting some order to the space and our house in general. Yes you saw from yesterday's picture Farmhouse is a little rough around the edges, but you should see how soft and comfortable it's become already on much of the inside. I'll have to snap some inside pics to share. It's coming along, slowly but surely. I remind myself daily of the progress and Cowboy and I remind each other. At the end of the day when we're upstairs in our little hideaway snuggled in bed talking about our hopes and dreams for this place, I am reminded of something else: there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Welcome 2010! As though it would never get here, my blog sat vacant for too many months. Months that seemed to me only weeks; weeks that had been days ran long into months before even I began to notice. And I hid, not wanting to confront the sadness and the fear of even starting this blog let alone keeping it going. One flippant comment wounded me so easily. My inner critic raised her ugly blonde head and began, "I told you so.." My Creative Muse withered in the back of my mind, ignored.

Oh, how I ran! Ran as psychologically far as a mind can get, Then BANG! Happy New Year! 2010 finally arrived! New beginnings, new adventures, new outlook. We're allowed to be out with the old and in with the new, whatever that be, is up to us. It's funny how, when you're ready, everything looks better in a new light. And so we begin again, or perhaps pick up where we left off.

I am humbled and thankful for so many things. Life has been a whirlwind the past few months - but everyone is as the holidays approach one after the other and the year winds down and we look to a new one on the horizon. We hurry to finish up loose ends only to begin weaving more.

This fall left us with an empty chair where Mom O sat and commanded us. Yes commanded us. We were lost this season without her here to organize and tell us where and when to be. She was, it seems now, the glue that kept us together, the organizer of all things family. And we had learned helplessness. We didn't have to think anything, just do and follow the lead. So we had much to overcome in the oddness of the celebrations, the sadness of the captain missing at the helm. But having said that, and surely she would shake her head at us (she did NOT like new traditions and let us know more than once)... we did attempt a couple new ideas, if not traditions, in the very least they were new experiences. And with that we found comfort and joy in unexpected places, and in not forgotten familiar faces. Big arms, warm hugs, family, friends and food. What more is there in life?

Cowboy and I - we don't do drama. We don't do it well and prefer not to do it at all. Know what I mean? We are a mixture of someone who doesn't like confrontation and someone who believes that if we just talk about it, we can solve anything. We had so many warm and loving invites over the season, and we took you up on a few and the rest we tried to find some semblance of "normalcy" within our inner circle of parents, children and grandchildren. Sometimes We were the parents, sometimes WE were the children. We ebbed and flowed and sometimes we didn't get a good bearing on decision making til the last minute. But it all worked out, it always does, doesn't it? No stress, that's what I tell my daughter-in-law - "No Stress Allowed" - And I like it that way, I think we all like it that way. I’m trying very much to live my life as such. So if we didn't get to sit at your table and break bread, it didn't mean we didn't want to; simply we had something else we needed to do or decided we needed to do or just plain it's where we ended up. It's all good. And that's what I'm looking to for 2010 - it all being good no matter what it is.

What does any of this have to do with art? Well it's the art of living life, of making way for more creativity, an exercise in thinking outside the box. At least that's what I'm telling myself. At least it's getting me dusting the cobwebs off this blog and thinking about clearing a bigger spot to work on my art table. In my new art room. Studio? Can't quite get there with that word yet this year.

Ahhh new art room you ask? Yes. This fall Cowboy decided we would move to his mama's house and we have affectionately nicknamed it the "Farmhouse". We spent so much time going back and forth working on it and collapsing at the old house we finally moved in and decided to work on it as we go. We’re still moving bits and pieces of ourselves here, in boxes and bags and more stuff than we can imagine two people could possibly collect. It is definitely a labor of love, will be a long labor of love as we do what we can, when we can, as we can. Everything in its time. And that's okay. It's life, it's how it works when you stop fighting the universe, stop trying to figure it all out and just be; be yourself in your own skin in your own little niche in the world. So this is it for us: and it's a piece of his mama and her mama and daddy, and all the aunts-uncles-cousins-friends of a few lifetimes. It is an old house, with good bones and loads of character, rooms full of memories of good times and more still to come. Grandchildren and grandchildren’s children have slammed the screen door and swung in the porch swing. It stands tall, tired and worn, but familiar and comfortable like your favorite pair of jeans. I look at it and I see what it was, where it is, and what it longs to be. A lot like me. Possibilities. Potential. A work in progress. It is Home.

In The Art Studio Again

The last month or two has been filled with family losses, Grandma followed by Mom-in-law (yes it is she who was my topic a few blogs down in Cougars from Passion Island - Ms. Joy Nell Puckett Owens, most fondly known as Mom O by me)... and though our hearts are heavy we pick up where life left off. Gradually. For the first time in weeks and weeks and weeks I had an art day in the studio. Yay! It was tough at first to focus and allow myself to let go and play, but little by little my Muse took me by the hand and pulled me in. In the middle of things I gave myself permission to be happy about what I was doing and began to delve into creating. I had signed up for this fabulous online Graffiti Art class by artist Alisa Burke and I missed the entire class due to family responsibilities. Wonderful as Alisa is (not to mention kind and understanding), she is keeping the site open longer and I was able to finish up a project and post it to the website! Yay! A big accomplishment for me! Thank you Alisa for enabling me to get back into creating and teaching me some facinating techniques! I'm still practicing and watching the videos, but I had to share what I've competed so far:

Well, this morning my computer or blogger is not allowing me to post my pictures. Dang! As soon as I figure it out, I'll add them. It may be this evening as I'm off to work here shortly...Happy Artful Day Everyone!!

Lost in Cyber Space

I'm amazed it has been this long since I've blogged. Time has flown past in the last month or two. My life has been topsy turvy with the loss of three important people in my life. Two of them dear women in my family and the third a southern gentleman - all of whom my life has become richer in character because of them.

My art has suffered as I've been on the run - not spending much time in art turf. One thing I've learned along the way is that you need to be selective who you share your art with. Sometimes your Creative Muse gets bruised (or is that your artistic ego?) and then the Inner Critic reemerges and says, "I told you so". Funny how we tend to believe the critics and people who ridicule or belittle our efforts and yet it's much more difficult to accept a compliment. So perhaps my art has suffered in ways because of this too. Intentional or not - let's be kind about our opinions of someone else's work. After all, beauty as in art, is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm telling myself this morning not to be afraid to get my hands dirty again, play with the paint on my fingers if that's what's calling to me, think outside the box and expand the process and don't be confined to the anal "you-are-childish wow-you-finger-paint-woo-that's-so-hard" attitude of others. Hey don't knock it if you haven't tried it! Not only does something as freeing as fingerpainting free your inhibitions, it makes for good therapy too! *smile*

So let's get out our paints, brushes, fingers and whatever else we choose and get on with our creative spirit. I'm yearning to color with crayons this morning - maybe I'll take a pack to work with me...

Happy Artful Day!

Grunge Art Play

My newest inspiration is Alisa Burke http://alisaburke.com/. I've had her book, Canvas Remix for a while and have been wading through prior commitments so I could try some of her wonderful techniques. I'm anxiously awaiting the start of her online class: Grafitti Chic.
In the meantime...
Yesterday I got to play in the studio - and I do mean PLAY - I actually ended up eventually using my hands to smear the paint! I can't begin to tell you how much fun that was and so liberating and free. At first I was stifled and trying to make it "perfect". It didn't look anything like I was picturing in my head. I was frustrated and didn't want to get up AGAIN to clean brushes so I globbed paint on my finger and patted around daintily. The next thing I knew I had a kalidescope of colors on my hands - both of them - and messy and finger painting and smearing. Not only was it a lot faster and freer - I think it was more of an open expression and made for good art. Isn't that what our Creative Muses keep trying to tell us? Don't over think it - just DO it?

So I did. Try it. It was FUN FUN FUN. Yes, it may look like a horrible mess and accident gone awry, but it was the very look I was trying to express. The first doll body above was not gessoed first; I think if I'd have had a neat print fabric for a base, it would work. But I stopped at this point because I'm going to gesso over it. See the second doll body picture? That is the first doll body I did, but I gesso'ed it before I started adding paint. The colors are more vibrant and it has more of a canvas texture for the paint to adhere to. I thought maybe the gesso would make the doll body too stiff, but it's not - still quite pliable. I think this is the beginning of a new generation of Flutterbugartgirl Spirit Dolls.

The Cougars on Passion Island

First I'm going to show you what I made my mom-in-law for Mother's Day - a wallhanging of her and two of her girlfriends from work. They went on a cruise (Mom O's second!) this spring. They had this photo taken at Passion Island. My m-i-l Joy is on the far right. (She said they teased her about her vacation hat - said she looked like Gilligan from Gilligan's Island!) I took the photo and scanned it on t-shirt transfer, transferred it on to fabric and went to work with paints, stamps, markers, etc. I wanted a sweet yet humorous piece that played on the Gilligan theme but also the three "Cougars" at Passion Island. My Inner Critic wavered at the final result, but Cowboy previewed it and said his mama would love it! He was right. She got a kick out of it and so did the girls. She let me borrow it back to photograph, and I had trouble getting a good one since I had finished it with a shiny finish. My artpal Heather (who is also a photographer I've found out among many OTHER artful talents) gave me a tip on how to cut the glare. Not the quality she would produce, I'm sure, but it's good enough to see so I'm posting it! *smile* Fun, yes?!?

Studio Redeux 2

I'm still playing with this (blog) and not sure how to post more pictures in the same blog entry. I need more practice here! I'm sure there's a way but my pics keep migrating to the top. So hang in here with me...
Well at least this one did end up to the side instead of at the top like all the rest I've been attempting to publish... Now you can see ALL the junk I still have. Do you think I need ANOTHER go through and toss out more? If you have any ideas or suggestions to improve this little space PLEASE share with me!!! All ideas welcomed.

Why on Earth has this project taken forever?? Junk I'm telling you - junk. Well ok, maybe not junk to me, but I MAY have had to personally touch a whole bunch of it before letting it go... and then there's the stacking and restacking, and taking it from one pile to another and second thoughts and trying to stay focused, and let's not talk about all the interruptions that happen with life and work and friends and family and am I trying to point the finger to everyone but ME? OK. Busted. It's just so hard to let go! (Do the whiney voice thing here I don't do that so well unless you ask the Cowboy but he's not allowed to weigh in on this topic at the moment, okay? (*grins*)...

But the ARTDOG now... he approves of everything I do. He's so sweet and generous and loving. I let him sit in my chair if he wants. I make his bed up on the table when he's sleepy. Now if I could just get him to drag off some of this extra stuff.... hmmmmm....

Studio Redeux

It seems like it has taken me forever to "hoe" out my art room. First it was the spare bedroom, then the sewing room, art room, and now art studio. That "s" word is a big word, but we're trying it on for size. It's getting easier to say out loud. *smile* I can't believe all the junk I had stuffed into that little room. Here are some pictures of how it looks now....


You might be wondering where the "before" pictures are...hehehehe.... nope I'm not posting them. It's too embarrassing or maybe really you'd be impressed with how much stuff I was actually able to cram in to such a small space. Ha! Regardless, here's the end results. I think I need to sew a skirt around the tables to hide the storage underneath. What do you think? At first I was toying with the idea of using vinyl table cloth material but then realized the lime green stuff went out with the first round of tossed out stuff. So I might buy a pretty fabric that I just love. Did I say BUY fabric??? Well don't tell Cowboy - he'll croak!! I don't happen to have enough yardage of one pattern to make a skirt. I'm estimating I need 4-3/4 yards at 29" to match the height of both tables (the brown one is slightly taller than the smaller white table. I'm so glad to have the tables cleared off and everything in it's place. Now I can create to my abandon!!

There's the little issue of a few piles still in the living room/dining room area... left over after the "give aways", the garbage, more stuff I'm still mulling over tossing out or keeping or even going through and looking at to decide. Yes I'm probably a classic hoarder. I "might" use this, oh! I "might" use that... I see potential in so many things, but will I actually use it? The REAL question is: Will I actually be able to find it again in my piles? Gosh the truth hurts sometimes! But I have to tell you I feel so relieved to be in my neat and tidy space. If I could hire someone (is that Cowboy volunteering in the back there??) to just gather up what's left over and get rid of it and not tell me what's in there, I'd probably be just fine without it. Know what I mean?

Published in Quilting Arts!!

So here it is: "my" page in the current issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. My "Imagine" or "John Lennon" art quilt on page 72 in case I didn't mention that a hundred times already! I'm still excited about it, I look at it a little less now (it was every single day there for a while) and I was almost stopping strangers on the street to say, "See this? This is mine." Or maybe just a simple "I did THIS." Strange but true. My 15 seconds of "fame". Well I love it that my quilt made it onto those hallowed pages of QA. I know I must move on. But I can't. Just yet...

What will really be neat is when I get it back and can hold it in my hands again. I've had a couple offers to buy it but I'm not so sure I want to sell it. This piece of art is a first, a first of a kind and I'm not sure I can really part with it. Maybe I can make a replica or two. I'll toy with the idea for a while, I've got some time.

Besides that, I've been very AWOL in the blog department. July so far has been quite busy with obligations, family visiting, and work. Everything has seemed to have picked up pace in the last month. So much swirling. The "lazy days of summer" have been anything but. We did get away with my brother who was visiting from Oregon. We took a road trip that ended up being not so much on the road as it was in air conditioned hotel rooms. It has been a scorching hot summer and Steve was thinking about maybe retiring here one day. Scratch that thought. We nicknamed him "The Snowman" as he thought he was going to melt. We had to coax him to walk on the beach at 6:30 in the morning, and threaten him to get him out of the room and into the truck so we could take him out to experience a little Cajun cafe called "Crawdaddy's" in Corpus Christi. Never mind that he ordered the spicy Cajun crawfish platter. He only thought he was hot until he started in on that pile of crawfish... We actually found a snow globe in a gift shop that was made just for him: inside the globe was a snowman sitting in a lawn chair in the snow, underneath a palm tree with an "umbrella drink" in one hand. (I think there were Christmas lights strung in the palm tree too). It was the perfect "official" souvenir for him to take back to Oregon. And to remind him, in case he gets the crazy idea again that he might want to move to Texas.

So that's it in a nutshell for me the past few weeks. Juggling everything and spending not as much time making art as I intended. Life tends to interfere if we let it. I did actually sketch a bit while we were gone and have a few projects in the works. I'm hoping to spend at least part of tomorrow and all of Friday in my art realm. Instead of "hoping" I ought to be determined. Otherwise I think there will always be something trying to take up my time. Prioritize. Do what's important and what makes you smile. Even for a bit. A little "Katie-1st" going on. Maybe I'll gather everything up I've been working on and snap a pick -- it'll be a pathetic pile of doll bodies with heads rolling around, half-done drawings and a few "I-wonder-just-what-it-is-I'm-trying-to-make" pieces. I figure a bad start is a start, nonetheless. Better than staring at a blank piece of paper.

Hey, I just learned today I can blog without posting a picture. Ha ha! Seriously, I will get my routine down and blog by Tuesdays, picture ready or not. That will be my goal. There I said it out loud and in print. So it's got to be.

And one more thing before I sign off -- I heard that Heather's jewelry is selling like hotcakes!! Congratulations Heather!! Click on her link over to the right or her website here: www.heathercraigstudios.com. She also has an Etsy store. Isn't that what we artists hope for? Can you imagine not being able to keep up with demand??!!! Let's happy dance for her on our way out shall we?!! Happy Arful Day til later ~~

TWIDDLED WITH THE GADGETS

I did find the "Followers" gadget and published it over there ---------> per your request. Along with a couple others I'm playing with. I'm learning... slowly.... a thousand excuses for not having time, not having pics to post etc. Over in the "LINKS" section are some great new artists as I mentioned in the previous post and also added Holly's felted purses/bags - they are gorgeous. This talented artist just opened shop on Etsy not too long ago. Of course I'm leaning toward the hippie girl bags, don't you think? Which one is your favorite? The bigger one reminds me of the Julia Roberts bag that was so popular last year (was it last year or the year before???)... anyway Holly packs a similar one around with her lately as her go-to bag of everything. It could almost be an overnight bag. Depending on how many art projects you take.... *smile*

FRIDAY FRIDAY

It has felt like a week (or two) of Mondays! Did you feel it too? There have been so many obstacles to art it seems like sabotage! ha! Today nothing will get in my way. I have some photos to upload later and I was up early this morning overflowing with ideas. Projects on the burner included an art doll collage swap with Heather and grunge jacket project, organizing and getting a place for my sacred art sisters to gather and play. Here are a four of my favorite inspirations:
http://lindaedkinswyatt.blogspot.com/
http://sonjahagemanndesigns.blogspot.com/
http://artquilter.blogspot.com/
http://josephineedge.blogspot.com/

This is the current issue of Quilting Arts - and I am soooo proud and excited to have my art quilt featured on page 72!

My John Lennon art quilt entitled "Imagine" is there in living color. I'm still pinching myself and recuperating from doing cartwheels and happy dancing non-stop. I am honored and humbled and wanting to scream at the top of my lungs all at once!
It is my first entry to one of QA's reader challenges. It took a lot of courage and self-talk to convince myself to enter it, to even slide it into a padded mailer and let it go. It feels good to share my art, scary and exciting all at once - and I think the mind set of "sharing my art" rather than the concept that "my art will be judged worthy or not" is a much healthier mindset. And probably a lot more accurate. Even if something doesn't "make the cut" that doesn't render it unworthy. It just didn't fit the criteria at the moment. But the art was shared. That's what's important: to get our art out there and share it with others. So perhaps the goal each day will be to not only Make a Little Art Everyday.... but also to Share a little Art Everyday. Even with just one other person. Art is in the eye of the beholder, it is to be shared. Art is eyecandy, pass it around and share it with one other person every day.

Have You Hugged Your Pet Today?

Here's a picture of Sancho exploring outside the day I was trying out fabric dye/painting. I have several projects in progress and none of them ready to show you. So you get to see my sweet artdog. :)

First though, I want to "Toot my own Horn" as my friend Edz would say. I am so excited that one of my art quilts is published in the next issue of Quilting Arts magazine!! Yay! (Insert Happy Dance here, and y'all join me!)... Page 72 if you are interested... you are, right??!! Having said that, let me get back to the topic at hand. Maybe we'll revist this topic when the actual shock wears off. *grins*

I've got ATC's in progress, a postcard swap winding up (yes Mama Hen Jo, I'm almost finished!), an art doll swap taking shape with my artpal Heather, my inner critic is nagging me and my muse is finding her zen place. Art-zen master Hula-girl Sonja is always keeping me on my toes. Next month I'm going to work on finishing up what I have undone (Girl Undone sounds like an artdoll to me)... and I'm going to squeeze as much art time as I can in between work and a week out of town and my big brother is coming to spend some time with us (he's a hoot!).

I've been trying to wend my way around facebook now and then (sorry Heather I'm a slooooow learner huh?) and mostly hanging out at the new Quilting Arts Community sight: www.quiltingarts.com Have you checked it out yet? There's so much information and new friends and inspiration to be found there. You will be so inspired by the galleries of artwork, and I hope to see yours there soon.

Have you hugged your pet today? If not, take a minute right now and do that. Do it twice. Then get into the art studio even for ten minutes. As I told a friend a little bit ago, a little art does a soul good.

A Lot of Inspiration from Marsha

I needed a little inspiration today. I'm working on a project and I'm stuck, baffled, not sure where to go with it. Everything I try doesn't seem to do the trick. Is it time to let go, toss it out and start again, or am I just needing to get over the hump?

Rolling my eyes, fidgeting in my chair, chewing on my pencil and trying to force myself to rescue what I'm working on, I look desperately all around the room. Searching... stalling. Then my eyes see it. I began to remember, the wheels begin to turn and, well.. here is it's story:

The picture to the left shows a beautiful hand felted piece made by one of my wonderful friends, Marsha, who lives in Oregon. Marsha and I met in our writing group and we instantly bonded. We lived in the same small town on the Central Oregon Coast and we've had so many crazy adventures, I wouldn't know where to start with the stories. Marsha is one of those forever lifetime friends - it doesn't matter whether you live next door or 2000 miles away six states over -- when you hear each other's voice you pick up where you left off. She's always just a phone call or airplane ticket away. So whatever Marsha bestows upon me, is really, really sacred. This particular piece of felted fabric was what she called a "left over" but she thought I'd like to play with it and make something. (She actually used the words "left over" in describing this beautiful textile I was in awe of). Of course I'm enamored by it's beauty but also that it's handmade by my dear friend. I had it hanging as is on my wall for a while and then pretty soon as my little art "studio" became more and more cluttered (I mean FILLED!) it found its way into a drawer, essentially lost and forgotten.

It was the class at Quilt University that required us to find a piece of fabric or fiber that we dearly loved. To USE in a project. You know the feeling; you can't possibly force yourself to cut into that lovely fabric you just love so instead of using it and displaying it in a work of art, it's hidden, folded, forgotten until you stumble across it sometime. You can see what I came up with in the next photo on the right. I used her piece as the mountain and as the colorful stream bed below it. I absolutely love my wallhanging that features Marsha's felting. But it WAS one of the hardest things I had to do: make that first cut. What if I ruined it? What if it's hideous and I've wasted Marsha the artist's precious time and material? What if my friend is disappointed that I ruined her gift? What if? What if? What if it turns out to be a work of inspiration? A work of love? What if it makes me smile and inspires me everytime I look at it?

What if I head back into the studio and re-think my project at hand and ask, "What if?"

More Fabric Dye Day Photos

I really didn't picture myself spending the time or energy dyeing my own fabric. I was surprised at how easy and fun it was and I do think I'll spend more time doing this after all. I was always envious of artists who would take the time to dye their own fabric. Who knows where this will lead? Not bad for a first timer, eh?

Fabric Dye Day

Yesterday I was able to spend a big chunk of the day experimenting with dyeing fabric. Annie and Wallie from our Studio 105 design group were dyeing fabric on Monday during our group meet. The fabrics they made were so delicious! I gave it a try and I had some great results too. I tried using rock salt on a few but I didn't do something quite right as I didn't have much result with that. I need to check back with Annie and Wallie and see what I omitted! Still, it was great fun.

One More Show and Tell

This is one of my journal pages from my monthly art journal 2008. She's printed on vellum and one of my favorites. The colors, the layering, everything turned out exactly as it was in my head.

Here's a couple more pictures of dolls I've made. The first one shows dolls made with patterns by Patti Medaris Culea. I love her dolls and patterns. The three dolls are a series. Together I call them "The Slumber Party". The slumber party doll on the right is named Orgazma. The doll on the far right is an angel named Angelica. It just occurred to me she appears to be praying for Orgazma. Ha! Orgazma was given away as a gift. I let a friend pick which doll she wanted knowing she would pick Angelica. To my surprise, she grabbed up Orgazma. Go figure!

The other photo is a doll called Me, Myself, and I from an elinor peace bailey pattern (with the same name)for a class of hers we attended in Houston. My friend Marsha flew out from Oregon and we went together. She'd attended a couple of elinor's classes before and knew we would have a blast. elinor drew the face on my doll for me (it's supposed to be my face). Her body is psychedelic and reminds me of my first experience with the menopausal years. I left her naked because I loved all the colors; it seemed a shame to hide them beneath clothing.

SPIRIT DOLLS

I was wondering what I was going to write about today and I thought nothing better than to share My Spirit Dolls with you. I started making them a couple years ago and as you can see, there's still a few bodies waiting to have heads and become true Spirit Dolls for someone. In honor of my beloved Art Dog Sanchie, she has a cute doggie on her front - from the Laurel Burch Kindred Spirits line. I love anything Laurel Burch! My Spirit Doll has travelled with me to various places and especially if I'm flying: Oregon, California, Arizona are a few of the places she's been. Usually I have her peeking up out of my carry on bag full of magazines and goodies, or tucked gently in the outside pocket looking out at all the hustle-bustle. She has Spirit Sisters in Hawaii, New York, Oregon and Texas. Then there's their baby sister, Little Spirit Doll who is a necklace. I must take her picture and post soon. You can tell from Spirit Doll that she has a simple-drawn face and that she was part of my early exploration into faces. I love her so. She is simple and yet so magical; beautiful and comforting and soulful. I think she works in sync with my guardian angel, I am so lucky!

I AM THE MOON OF MANY HARVESTS

This piece is a self-portrait I did in a Quilt University class enitled "Self Expressions" taught by Myrna Giesbrecht. It was a wonderful class that taught me much.

The challenge was to find the colors, shapes and textures that represented YOU in the final project. I love this piece as it moved me to step outside my safe zone and work in a new concept that stretched my imagination and my being. I find such peace, tranquility and familiariarity in this art quilt and the space it occupies in my house.

I AM the Moon of Many Harvests in so many ways both literally and figuratively.