Monsters Everywhere

Well since summer is here some of my creative juices have to go to my children's activities. Today we read 'Leonardo the Terrible Monster' by Mo Willems. It's a great book and lots of fun to read. After we read it we created our own monster and talked about who he was, what he liked and what made him sad. It was fun and easy to boot.

Yesterday we had a surprise 'monster' in the garden in the form of a black snake. I'm not a fan of snakes myself but my boys love them so we got a nice view from the basement window of a garden snake in his element...my garden.

Jumping for Joy with Inspiration

I'm back from a trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina that has left me full of inspiraitons for my artwork. I've never experienced so much discovery at the beach before and it was so exciting. I saw sand dollars, starfish, sting ray (swam right by me!), crab and some unknown sea creature my boys call a baby sting ray. The weather was rainy and sunny and both had a beauty and mystery all their own.

My collage work is really developing nicely. I've started creating my own collage papers using all the paper that invades my house daily through mail, school reminders and church reminders. I layer with stamping and painting to create a totally unique papers to collage with.

I have three shows on the schedule for this fall. Two shows are back to back in September and one is in October. I'll have more details as we get closer.

Spring Break in Savannah

I just returned home from a wonderful trip to Savannah, Georgia. I wanted to tell you about some of my favorite shops there. These are pictures from The Paris Market, which had great home accessories, furniture, art, books and more. Other shops I visited included One Fish Two Fish, @ home - a vintage general store and Architectural Elements. We had the most amazing dinner at Bistro Savannah, a restaurant featuring only organic, in-season regional foods including fresh goat cheese and local produce and seafood. We also took a walking tour by Architectural Tours of Savannah which was fabulous. I really think I could live in Savannah (if I could only afford it).

The Great Frame makeover

Well, I'm finally doing what I really wanted to do with my frames. When I started this journey I made the frames and stuck to the quotes to be safe, since I knew this was safe. My original idea was to paint the frames decoratively with graphic elements. So, when I was asked for a donation for the Children of Grace preschool I decided to follow my heart instead. My promise to myself and my customer is that each frame will be original and one of a kind. Mass producing is so boring anyway. I've also done a small painting that will be added to my etsy site today. Check back often to see where this new direction has taken me and my art.

Life is more than food and the body more than clothes

This piece is more mixed media fun as I'm exploring all the possiblities of images, old papers and paint.

I started the layers with tissue paper, an old recipe, one of my photo's and one my mom took of me as a girl. There are words also written all along the edges of the piece that you can't see from the picture. One side says "consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn. Yet God feeds them."

The premise is that the bird represents the raven. That God clothes and protects him beautifully and simply while I sometimes worry how my needs will be met. The cupcake and the lollipop represent the abundance of God and the crown is my identity as a daughter of the king.

The issue of food and fashion is also a topic that women struggle with in our culture. I know I do. Worrying about what I eat (not if) or what I'm wearing is so wasteful. These are the things God provides even to the birds, how much more He does for me.

The Beginning of the New

Here is the beginning of the new. This piece started with the red sketch I posted last week. Through layers of paper, gel medium, paint and oil pastels I began to take what was old and make it my new. This piece (still unfinished) is about the conflicting ideas women are given regarding self worth, beauty and acceptance. the words through the middle of the piece include statements like "Put on some lipstick" to "It's what on the inside that counts". The figure is resting with the weight of these statements on her but, her foundation is firm. She is her fathers daughter, unconditionally loved and pleasing to him.

A New Direction

A new year, a new point of view calls us to make changes we hope to incorporate into our lives. Whether it's weight loss, positive thinking, going green or praying daily it is a goal. I have many goals for 2009, and a new direction in my art is one. Art vs. Commerce has long been an artists dilema. Can you balance the work you want to create with work that is profitable? I hope so, because in 2009 I'm going to try to follow my creative instincts more than my marketing instincts. My work will not be drastically different but it will come more from me and who I am rather than what I think others are or want.

Here are some sketches of what I'm working on. I'm looking at the simpler side. I'm starting at the beginning again by drawing and sketching more and looking at receipts and expenditures less. On that note I'm off to my studio (the basement!) to get to work and to gain some peace while letting my creative juices flow.