A Quest For Focus

______________________________________

** My Paradise


Called Home **

Sooo Sari....

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The hubs, dog and I just got back from another road trip to Georgia - that drive just beats the snot outta me even though all I do is sit in the passenger seat (I'd love to have a turn at driving but noooOOOooo, that just wouldn't do for hubby). It was really nice at any rate once we got there - mom was really with it this Christmas, she was bound and determined that most of the food and ALL of the gifts would be prepared and wrapped and what a fine job she did! It is always so awesome to be with the family at Christmas. My trips are never long enough though, it would have been nice to pop in on a friend or two or maybe see an old friend that was playing at the Foxes Lair but alas..just couldn't squeeze it in, maybe next time.

So I got home to find a bag full of amazing color in my mailbox - I'd ordered some sari silk scraps from India off Etsy, they are just eyepopping, the colors, embroidery and embellishments are really amazing..do take a look (yes, crappy pic taken from the Blackberry again):

Yummmmmm! No idea what I will do with them yet but whatever it is it will be good to be sure!

Another first for me was I painted a goat. I've never painted a critter before but I was in a WTA (winner takes all) and the winner picks the theme of the ATC, it was:
~GOATS~
Well, I was a bit horrified at the thought - I mean animals are just not what I paint but after finding a photo I liked I set to work, I blasted Christmas music (the fun kind like Elvis, Aretha and the like) I sang and smiled through the whole process and here you see my sweet goat:


IS THIS THE CUTEST EVER?!?!?!
It was another one of those pieces that I was heartbroken to part with and the only reason I did was because the person who won would appreciate it and take care of my lil guy without a doubt.

So now I am missing my goat.........................at the Shores


Shalom

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Wooohooo! I shopped online for all my Christmas stuff on Sunday, here it is Wednesday and almost everything has been delivered already....truly amazing - everything had free shipping to boot (I SO hate shopping, unless I am in an art supply store book store or Home Depot - I was born without "the shopping gene")

Ok - I am getting sooooooo close to completing all my swaps for December WOOT! Starting in January I am going to be a little pickier about what I do (not to mention I have a TON of things to get done renovationwise around the house still). So anyway, I did a painting where my partner likes "Indie", yellow and likes the Hebrew alphabet so here's what I came up with:

"Shalom (Peace)"


Like it? I'm happy with it - it'd make nice notecards maybe, I'll think on that one. No more for today, tuckered out...............at the Shores

Mentoring

Saturday, December 12, 2009

I finally got the backdrops for the childrens Christmas program finished and delivered to church today...they were waay huge to paint - 4 king size sheets, tough to find a place that's big enough to work on them and painting on fabric is not exactly easy. The kids were great - I miss going to things like this since my kids have up and grown on me :o/

I am in a swap with a young 16 year old that wanted to learn to make ATC's, her mother asked if I would since her daughter saw some of mine and wanted to learn more about them and I really believe that mentoring is something everyone should do at some point or another in their livesif the opportunity arises. After reading a little about what she likes I decided to do these for her - I did not want to send first to inhibit or make her nervous so we were to send them out the same day:




She likes grunge music and since the only one I was familiar with was Kurt Cobain that is what I did. I used photo paper and alcohol inks for the background then cut a stencil of Cobain and used flat black spraypaint. The quote I found was perfect for this...and for her - she'd mentioned that she'd never be as good as me and I was hoping to encourage her to be herself, not to worry about what others do.

The second one is from a photo of Kerouac Alley in San Francisco near Chinatown, Jack Kerouac used to hang around here back in the day - the reason I picked this for her was in reading about her she said she reads Kerouac. I was completely surprised, really, I mean how many 16 year olds even know who Jack Kerouac IS?!? I hope she likes them and can be inspired to go on and do her thing...I look forward to seeing what she has for me.

Welp...this old girl is off to bed, got a busy day tomorrow trying to get my 2nd tree decorated and work on a painting that needs to go out Tuesday........making some ZZzzzzzzzzz's.........at the Shores

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Saturday, December 05, 2009

I hope everyone has had a great kick-off to this holiday season! We drove 11 hours to Georgia for Thanksgiving to be with my family...how wonderful it was - always is and worth every minute of the travel!

A couple things I've been working on, I've just sent the last in the Puccini swap - I did the original opera poster of Turandot (I scanned it before it was complete, I still added Giacomo Puccini's name to the top):



Next I was in a Warhol swap which was number 5 in the art lessons series. My partner loves Boston Terriers so I cut a 2 layer stencil and figured since the stencil was cut I may as well pop two out for her:




They're pretty Warhol-ish eh? I hope they LOOK like Boston Terriers since I am not too familiar with the breed.

Gotta run, tons to do today.............................at the Shores

Puccini

Monday, November 23, 2009

I am halfway done with a Giacomo Puccini swap, actually it is the first in an Opera Series. My partner was also the host and he sent me 3 ATC's, only one was required - awfully nice of him for sure. Anyway, I wanted to do a stencil of Puccini and since he sent 3 I figured I'd best at the very least send him two back so for the second I did a geisha to represent Madame Butterfly one of his most popular operas. I really really...did I say REALLY am uncomfortable painting the human form and if it weren't for the white face paint I would have scrapped the idea for sure...here are my babies:


The background of the Giacomo (calling him by his first name like he is a friend of mine..sheesh) ATC is mulberry paper and I used my cut stencil and black spraypaint, I made a very little tassel with some DMC floss, that tassel is why that card looks kind of blurred it lifted it off the glass a bit - he looks rather full of himself don't you think? As for my Madame Butterfly, I really liked how she turned out but the scan is terrible probably due to the textured background paper I used and what those black spots on her face are I sure don't know, there wasn't anything on the scanner bed or on her face...ghost spots! So, there you have it...I still have one more to do for my other partner (ok, since I have the stencil cut already I'll probably send two) but I think I will do something from Turandot this time!
ok...I'm outta here - catcha later, chillin'..............at the shores

Queen of Her Castle

Sunday, November 22, 2009

I've been painting an 8x10 for a swap called "There's a Word for People Like You", basically you were to go have a look at your partners profile and make a painting/collage for them. Well, my partner made it very easy on me to choose a word for her - the first line in her profile was "I am the queen of my castle", pfft, you don't have to hit ME on the head to get my attention! Anyway, below is the painting - I rarely ever use blingy, glittery sorts of things in my art but this just screamed for it:



Glitter can be found in the flowers, apples, the word Queen and the flying birds and the crown is of course rhinestones, hmmm something looks crooked - oh well, that's my style I suppose....hope she likes it!

Cleaning up my mess to start another............................at the Shores

Busy, busy

Friday, November 20, 2009

I seemed to have lumped a lot on my plate these days, I mean things that really should not be a priority...swaps, tags and the like but I just can't seem to help myself - I have a ton of things I need to get finished before we head south to my mothers in Georgia for Thanksgiving. I have some backdrops to get done for the childrens Christmas program at church, I think I'll make this number one...I hope it doesn't rain all weekend since they are so big I would really like to work on them in the driveway.

I've finished a cute little angel for a homemade ornament swap (not a very good picture):



I like to take a little something for my mom when we visit and after a nice person in the UK sent me some stitch markers I knew my mom just had to have some - my first attempt at any kind of beading but I thought they were pretty. I made 2 sets, one for knitting (R) and one for crochet (L) another crappy picture from my Blackberry:




I think on the drive down I'll make a little bag for these to go in for storage.

Welp th-th-th-that's all folks, time for bed - I have one busy day tomorrow so for now you'll find me snoozin'...............................at the shores



Monochrome

Sunday, November 08, 2009

I was in an ATC swap ...they were to be monochromatic so after looking at my partners profile I see blue is her thing and since Europe is mine I thought I'd mix them for this:

Blue Moon Over Venice



Do you think I should send sunglasses for viewing of the second one? For some odd reason this was the second ATC this weekend I did in shades of magenta - not exactly a color I run to for comfort normally but seemed to be the color of the day for me - I scanned it crooked so it is totally wonkey but just tip your head a little to the right and it'll be just fine!

Untitled



The weather has been outstanding here, it was nearly 70 degrees and anyone who knows the weather in northeast Ohio this is something to marvel at in November, it sure won't be long until the first snow flies and it will be downhill from there for several months as we are perched in the middle of what is called the "snow belt", Lake Erie can be thanked for much of it I suppose.

I am outta here for now, you can find me................................at the shores

Feelin' Goofy

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

I was caught up with my swaps and saw someone was doing an "Old Maid" swap on Swap-Bot and thinking about it took me back to those silly cards I had in the 1970's...after finding a set I started painting a couple, it's funny really - I remember every inch of these cards, maybe because I just played it a lot?




Pretty goofy eh? They were done more for mental health I think! My friend Jeannie wants them, she had major flashbacks once she saw them...and to be honest, there are only a handful of people I'd rather have my art anyway so the girls will be shipped off tomorrow...BON VOYAGE LADIES!

Time to snuggle into bed (it's freeeeezing).........................at the Shores

Learn Something New

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Well, I was doing this ATC for someone who likes the works of ee cummings so of course I set out to do a bit of research and found he was also a painter...am I the only one who didn't know this??

Here is one of his watercolors (date unknown):


Anyway, I just thought it was interesting! Here is the ATC I did for her, I might just learn to write on these ATC's straight one day :/


It's real simple but I like how it came out.

It seems as though overnight the leaves have fallen from the trees, they are nearly all bare, unlike the ground which managed to catch them all and now you have to just guess where the driveways are and despite the winds they just seem to never blow anywhere...one day our yard guy will be here to get them up before they kill the grass! Until then here I am, marveling at the pretty colors on the ground   .........................at the Shores.

Here again!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Woot! 2 posts in as many days...I think it is because I am sick and don't really have it in me to do much else.

I made a couple ATC's today and think I just might make a couple more, these are just for stash - private trades, I have had the same old 4 for trade forever, I am thinking they just might never go so here is one of my newest:


This sort of scene always reminds me of winter up here, the cardinals against the stark white background of the snow...truly an amazing contrast.

We hired a new snow plow guy today, how I HATE waking up and you are knee deep in snow and get your shoes filled with snow before you get to the vehicle, this guy will plow once there are a few inches on the ground - kind of like a fairy of sorts ('cept he's a big hairy guy) you wake up and head out and voila' driveways are already plowed! I LOVE that!

Well, off for more artin', I'm making some goofy ATC's just for fun...will post once they are finished and until then, this girl is gettin' her art on..................................at the Shores.

S L A C K E R

Friday, October 16, 2009

That's the word for me, I finished moving out of the old house and have done nothing for 2 weeks. I have to still paint my art room, finish tiling the basement bathroom, sketch my design for the mosaic mural I am doing on the fireplace surround, stain moulding...blah blah blah...yeeech!

I've owed a friend an ATC for weeks now and it finally went postal today except it wasn't an ATC, I painted a 5x7 instead as a birthday gift:



It's the cover (or one of the several different covers over the ages) of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" a favorite book of hers - I hope she likes it. I enjoyed painting it but wish I had had a bigger picture to go from!





It has been terribly cold here (rain, snow mix) and it's only October, scary to think of what this winter will bring. A bit of advice to anyone installing tile in the kitchen or bathroom - INSTALL A FLOOR WARMING SYSTEM! Trust me on this, they are very inexpensive and heaven to walk on when it's cold out!

Here freezing..................at the Shores

Red Queen..

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I started having a look Tim Burtons movies and came across images from "Alice in Wonderland" which will be released evidently in 2010...I am so in love with what I've seen, the pictures they have released just as "teases" are way too awesome -the colors are really something, I can't wait to see the movie. As soon as I saw the Red Queen (played by Helena Bonham Carter) I had to paint this image...I am rather fond of red

I think I'll keep her for awhile.................................at the shores

Time Set Aside...

Thursday, September 17, 2009

I thought that once I decided to start this blog that I'd be here faithfully every other day at the least - but no, not happenin'...I am for now going to blame it on still trying to get moved out of the old house, this I can use at least until the end of the month when it HAS to be empty!
I have however, been spending late nights getting some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) done, I've just finished a couple for an Art Lessons Swap on Swap-Bot. We only had to do one but I have swapped with my swap partner twice previously and she has always sent an extra one so now's time for payback!








This is a sculpture by Gauguin circa 1887/88, naturally he used a young Polynesian girl for his Leda, my first real attempt at using Prismacolors - I think I might like them well enough once I figure out just how to use them!












Here we have *deep breath* "Crouching Marquesan Woman See(n) From the Back" - I've seen the title with See and Seen so not sure which it is, Gauguin circa 1902.
This was not very easy for me, sure don't know why (the human form has never been easy to me I suppose). I always wondered why he always did women/girls with horrible looking faces and feet?!? heh, probably why I picked one with neither!




That's it for now - I need to get back to a special project for a special friend, will post once she get's it! Until next time - still sitting.....................at the Shores.

Glorious

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Ever get really upset when someone in front of you is driving too slow? Or maybe has too many items at the express lane at the super market? Snaps at you for no good reason? Today's message at church reminded me that we just don't know what's up in peoples lives, death, divorce, job layoff, an elderly person nervously gets in front of the wheel to get their meds because the kids don't have the time - you never know...best to smile and forgive. The hubs gives me a hard time for always being too nice, but even I have my time of impatience and unnecessary anger - just a work in progress I guess!
Now on the other hand, today I completely shirked all duties and had a nice lunch with the hubs on the deck over looking the lake then proceeded to slack in the hammock with a good book which led to a nice nap to be awakened by a "how about a ride on the boat?" from Tom (the hubs)...glorious, simply glorious
....at the shores

Broke Down And Did It

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Well, after all the years of enjoying other peoples blogs thinking "I don't think that's for me" I have changed my mind. Not really sure what changed my mind, maybe it is the fact that we've just moved into a new home I've been renovating the past year and it feels like a new beginning...I have a lot more space for my art table and have been elbow deep in paint just about every day, I have become so much more inspired by everything around me, I can't get enough creative time (my husband may say it's too much as he occasionally catches an glimpse of me fly by on my way to the fridge for another iced tea only to head back up to continue my mad art session!) Or maybe I need this to sort through the billions of things running through my mind at any given moment? We'll see.
I browsed through thousands of blog templates only to come up a little short on my expectations, maybe one day I can make my own (yeah right) to satisfy this but until then this will do.
...at the shores
 

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