The View ....

from my studio table. Lots of projects in going on over here!

Plastered!

I took Stephanie Lee and Judy Wise's awesome on-line class on plaster. They are coming out with an e-book on the subject if youre sorry you missed the class. (It was truly fabulous).

iCAD: Index Card A Day

I have been following Daisy Yellows iCAD - index card a day summer fun. Her idea is to draw, paint, collage and/or write on one index card every day during the summer. I dont think I have done one everyday since June 15, but I have been doing it. It gets me doing some piece of art frequently... which is the whole point.

I drew this piece with my left hand (and painted it in with my right). There's something very freeing with drawing with your non-dominant hand because you dont expect it to be fabulous!

Bookmaking

I love to make books. I recently found this blog where she is making a book a day. That is way too ambitious for me, but I will try to make one a week. Here are a couple of quick mini ones that I made and will give away as part of my trades at ArtFiberFest next week.

Can Art Change The World?

I LOVE Ted Talks, but this one is utterly amazing!

JR's TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out | Video on TED.com

Play Date

I spent my afternoon playing with paste paper paint (and eating Indian food and drinking tea) with my sweet friend Laura. A really good time was had by all!

An Artful Journey

I just returned from an amazing three day art retreat in Los Gatos.


"If you are afraid to take a risk on paper how will you do it in your life.?" The funny, adorable, talented Jesse Reno.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My mom is an amazing life and art coach! For my birthday she gave me four free coaching sessions. Part of my "homework" is to start blogging again.

I bought this sweet cookie from an adorable young guy (maybe 7 yrs old) who was selling them by our local Trader Joe's. I just couldn't resist.

Have a wonderful, loving day.

On-Line Classes

I have been bitten by the on-line class bug and have taken some amazing classes. I highly highly recommend taking DJ Pettitt's photoshop class! When she offers it again run and sighn up! The amount of information she offers is huge.

I also am just finishing Stephanie Lee's Thought Threads class and what an amazing journey thats been. I wasnt looking for a journaling class, but something about this class called to me and I am so glad that I listened! Not only does she write beautifully, but her posts and emails are always positive, supportive and uplifting. I am really sad that this class is ending and that she doesnt offer a TT 2! I am surprised that writing has really been supporting my artmaking.

Ok, there are two other classes I want to take. One is offered by Julie Pritchard and the other is by Mary Ann Moss of Dispatch From LA. Lots of fun is in store for me!

Kindred Spirits

I met Shari a few years ago at ArtFiberFest and we have remained friends ever since. (One of the best things about art camps are the friends you make). I don't get nearly enough opportunities to see her. She was in town this past weekend so we had breakfast at Crepevine, a favorite spot for both of us, and a trip to Flax Art Store.

I have to admit that I was so happy and excited to see her that I spit some of my food! Sorry Shari! If you don't know her artwork, go see it on her blog here. Shari always impresses me with her artistic abilities and the ability to put herself out there in a straightforward, serious way. I admire her inner strength and the courage to follow her own path!

By The Way...

I forgot to mention that Rice is one of my all time favorite teachers. She is fun, yet low key, and extremely generous with her time, information and supplies. She threaded every needle for me when I just couldn't see the eye. Just know that she believes on sewing on each and every bead... no glue for her!

The Month in Review!

Jeez, its been two monts since I last posted! Hmm, I have been busy... but thats a bit ridiculous!

FRIENDS!


Guess who came to visit me? Rice and Earl! (Sorry, Rice, I don't know how to put the two dots over your e) Its been waaaay too long and it was great hanging out for lunch and a short trip to Flax Art Store. I would have played all afternoon, but it one of my all time favorite bosses was retiring.

We've had DJ for six months now! Were all accustomed to each other. In fact, yesterday we took him to the off leash dog park by the bay, and we were able to let him off leash because he now has recall! It was an exciting moment for us. He's such a good boy and we love having him!



I have been doing some art. I made this journal with some scraps of my favorite paper. The picture isnt that great, but I am really pleased with how it came out.


Lastly, were on staycation! Taking some time for work, but staying home. Its lovely! So none of this for awhile:

The Week In Review

I have been gardening at mom's house to thank her for watching DJ one day a week. Here's a picture of DJ gardening... he helps by eating the grass:

I have also been working on a quilt. The pattern is from Nine Patch Pizzazz... its fun but a bit challenging. Sorry, not the best picture.


And, lucky me, I had breakfast with my dear friend Cindi who I never see often enough:

Its been a good week! Hope yours has been too. Here's wishing us all a good next week.

TED

I have just recently found TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks and have been watching a lot of them. They are short amazing talks under 20 minutes on all kinds of subjects. I just watched this:

Goodbye Sweet Maxie Max

My brother Ryan and SIL Brooke had to help their sweet 8 year old rescue greyhound Max cross over so that he can chase rabbits. We always remind whoever has to do this very hard and painful job that all of our other cats and dogs will greet this one on the other side.

I am crying while typing this... Max was such a GREAT dog and we will all miss him!

Lucky Me!

Look what I received in the mail painted by my very own beautifully talented nephews!

An Easter Egg! Its the first (of many I hope) mail I received from them. It made me very happy! Thank you Colton and Graybug. I love you!

May everyone have a day filled with treats from loved ones. Happy Easter!

Come Tweet with Me

Ok, when I first heard about Twitter I thought it sounded dumb and did I really want to join another social network when I am already on Facebook. But, my SIL sent me an invite. With two little ones she and I dont get as much time to chat so I signed up. Imagine my surprise that I love it. Its quick and easy: a great way to stay in touch and find out whats going on. I am loving it. You can follow stars like the Obamas... but they twitter so much that I miss seeing the tweets from my SIL. So I opted out of those.

So come tweet with me! I'd be happy to send you an invite and you can see for yourself. (I dont like Facebook as much, but am also happy to send you an invite to Facebook too.)

DJ isnt....

spoiled is he? (gasp)

This made me soooooo happy.....

This morning in a family conference call with my Nevada City brother Michael and my Boulder family, my sister in law Brooke told me that she has an application on her IPhone that allows her to push a button and go right to my blog! WOW... who knew???! I just had to blog today so that they would have a something new to read!

My three year old nephew wanted to know what I was doing today so I told him that I was on vacation and going to a very pretty place where there are wild turkeys, hawks, and crows. (Of course I made the appropriate bird noises when naming each bird). I spent two very lovely days doing meditation and yoga at Spirit Rock. The grounds are so stunningly peaceful and beautiful. Here are a few pictures from my day (I tried to get the birds... but that just wasn't to be).

Learning Curve

I am having fun playing with my new Mac, but theres definitely a learning curve... especially with photoshop elements.

Speaking of learning curves I wanted to post a picture of my bird quilt from Jane LaFazio's class. It came out just ok... I really struggled with it. I cant wait for her to offer another class though.


The last project I am doing for her class is a shrine. I need to do a lot of handwork on it... so it may take me awhile to finish it, but here it is as a WIP: