PEACEFUL Christmas Card!

Illustration Friday-Help

Graffiti Christmas

Just a Little Preview of my Weekend Work

Illustration Friday- Mask

a hero is someone who has given his or her whole life to something bigger than oneself.
-joseph campbell

Whirling

Life feels strange right now, so many unknowns, so many possibilities, so many things to do. I have been on this creative whirl lately and it feels like I can't stop. It is all I think about, all I do in my free time- what a lovely feeling to have something so true and dear to me- my art. I still have a day job and thank goodness for the flexibility! Times like this keep reinforcing my desire to embrace a full time artist's life but I have to practice patience. Financial freedom in my life and my marriage is more important to me- I am working THIS hard for the next chapter in our lives and that chapter will involve working for myself as an artist- there I said it and now my dream is out there floating around in possibility-SCARY! Until that time I will keep myself focused and continue to work hard as possible even if it means staying up late painting, creating and trashing my poor messy art room!

Illustration Friday- Might

Deep is a wounded heart, and strong
A voice that cries against a mighty wrong;
And full of death as a hot wind's blight,
Doth the ire of a crushed affection light.
-Felicia Hermans

Little Lovelies!

Once again there has been more creating going on this weekend- my fingers are sore!

Busy Creating Ornaments!

I have been busy- as usual creating some fun ormanents out of scraps of old paintings- so much fun!!

More Thanksgiving Leftovers

Holiday Weekend!

For the last 3 years Andy and I have a tradition for Thanksgiving- we drive 5 hours to Arizona to visit his grandparents (mom's parents) and uncle and his mom and sis meet there. We all congregate at a tiny mobile home and basically don't leave the house and play cards and eat all day and into the night. This year it was the same and then we came back to San Diego a little early and got to spend time with my mom who was down here to visit my brother for the weekend. Lots of family...lots of FUN! Over the weekend Andy and I bought this funny video for cats and all it is video of birds flying and eating for two hours. Our cat Jack LOVES it and sits in front of the tv mesmerized

YippEE for New Purses!!!

So I in the middle of finishing up some more graffiti purse- here are a few!

Illustration Friday: Clear

Black and White Inspiration

We went to a beautiful outdoor wedding this last weekend and though I often complain about the Southern Californian lifestyle- I must say that I did appreciate the amazing October weather and the fact that I could wear a little dress, strappy shoes and sunglasses at the end of October. It was at the Hotel Del which is an amazing place to spend the evening- just lovely!!

The Art of Expressing Yourself

So as usual life has been busy and crazy every day is filled with more and more stuff! Last week I taught a workshop at USD called the Art of Expressing Yourself-where we take time to freewrite and reflect through text and then create art with our reflections. This workshop is always wonderful especially with college students who it seems are often too busy to take time for reflection and creativity.

Illustration Friday: Smitten

Bittersweet

Boy is life bittersweet, when things are up and feeling so on track, it is inevitable that life will pull the rug out from under you. Though this has been theme of my last week, I have tried to turn these challenges into something positive and put my energy into art and my creative process. Tomorrow is Monday and I am hoping for a better week!

So I traveled up to Laguna Beach on Saturday to give a museum/gallery tour for the University of San Diego's Board of Trustees. Boy was that nerve racking!! I had to be on very good behavior, which is not that hard but I was nervous about not offending anyone and being happy and upbeat the whole time!! The worst part for me was my wardrobe- I was nicely asked to wear white shirt and kaki pants and then wear a USD scarf around my neck. One of the galleries that I walked into, I was asked if I was a flight attendant...so I had to walk around Laguna looking like a flight attendant...great eh? Oh well, I was paid very nicely and it was actually a lot of fun to spend a day dedicated to fine art. If you haven't been to the Laguna Museum...go...they always have really fun pop art exhibits come through and it sits a top a lovely cliff overlooking the ocean. Sunday, I spent cleaning my art room, unloading and cleaning my car and hanging out with Andy. A nice clean art room just made me want to create so I started on some more art and made another mess, oh well!

It's Friday and once again I am beat! I got back late last night from Burbank from taping my episode of Craft Lab. It was lots of fun and everyone made me feel comfortable and at home. The host Jennifer Perkins was great and super laid back which helped my nerves. The whole experience was kinda surreal for me with all the cameras and the whole tv thing. But is was a cool experience and the best part was that Andy was also on the show- they needed extra crafters to work along with us, we just had to pretend that we didn't know each other! Now I have to get my energy up for tomorrow, I have to go up to Laguna Beach for the gallery and museum tour that I will be giving, I have not done much to prepare and I may have to wing it but I am sure that it will be fun.

I'm Tired

Yep, I am beat...what a week is has been and it is just going to get more hectic...but the good thing is that I work well under pressure!! I have been working hard to get all of my step outs finished for CraftLab I leave on Wed and actually film on Thursday. Andy is going with me and it should be a nice little escape from San Diego. I am also gathering some artwork and fun stuff to bring up with me. On top of all that, I have had a crazy week at work- I have been running all around San Diego to museums to the printer frantically trying to get everything completed for a couple of gallery shows here at USD- yikes! Weeks like this just remind me how much easier life would be some times if I had full time for my art. But I love my day job and if I can hold on longer, I think things will work out good. Last night was the season premier of the office~ best one yet...HILARIOUS!! My hubby and brother and I were all laughing until our eyes watered!!

What a Weekend!

What a weekend it was! I have been asked to give a gallery/museum tour of Laguna Beach for the University of San Diego Board of Trustees at the end of September so on Saturday I had to drive up and do a little research. Let me just say, I am not a California gal...I am from Oregon and though I live in San Diego, does not mean I am completely comfortable here. Laguna Beach is like San Diego on steroids...don't get me wrong it is scenic and beautiful but it is a wee bit upscale and snooty for my simple taste. So my day trip was stressful because I kept getting frustrated with the shiny cars cutting me off and the designer sunglasses and the fake hair...i kept thinking about the stupid MTV reality show Laguna Beach...ugggg!! But I did my research and had a lovely time at the Laguna Art Museum.


Saturday when I finally made it back from the bumper to bumper traffic...
Andy and headed to Coronado for a sunset walk on the beach and a stroll through town It was a lovely evening and jsut what I needed after a day in the OC!! Sunday I worked on art and uploading lots and lots of pictures for the web, Andy and I made a Costco trip and then back for more artwork. We finished off the evening by watching the Amazing Race...one of my favorite reality shows!!

changes

So up until recently I have used my blog as a place to put artwork. I have been procrastinating for the last year about getting my web site up and running and I have finally done it!! Amazing! So now my blog will be what a blog is meant to be...my journal, my thoughts, my ramblings! This entry is the beginning of more posts and more updates.

A few updates in my life-About 5 months ago I took a step down from my position as the Marketing Coordinator in the Office of Planned Giving at USD~ at the time it felt like a gamble, giving up a job that I had worked up to and worked hard at for a while and where I had a lot of freedom to use design and marketing. But in the long run, it was just not creative enough for me and I also needed a day job that could provide more free time and healthier state of mind to focus on all of the wonderful creative opportunities that have come my way in the last year. And since I cannot support myself and on art alone..YET, I still have to work a day job. But the decision to step down was the best I have made, I work with a wonderful boss in a great office where the two of us get to manage all of the galleries on campus, we get to decorate all of the interiors on campus and are responsible for the all of the exterior design. Not to mention it has freed up a lot of my time to focus on art as well as my other position working with students at USD.

So needless to say I am pretty busy but thankfully I still have time for my art and have found a place in my life to pursue my creative endeavors. In a couple of I will appear as a weeks I will traveling up to Burbank to tape and apear as a guest on a brand new DIY show called Craft Lab I am excited for an opportunity like this!! So life is looking good, I am busier than ever but things feel like they are moving forward in the direction that I have been working towards...yippee!!

finding my place?

I feel like my brain goes around and around in circles...I cannot for the life of me figure out where I fit in. I so desperately want to use my art, use my gifts for something that I believe in but I have no idea how to start. I spend so much time thinking, spinning my wheels about how I can be an artist who is more that just one dimension, who is about more than making money or getting recognized. But at times I barely feel like an artist, I feel small and non-existent and other times I feel as if I possess something greater than I know, creativity that could move mountains. How in the world do I use this to change the world, or even just my world...where do I begin?

One of a Kind Graffiti Bags

The Beginning

So most things I do start out looking like this...a mess...but to me this is the best way to start and this is usually the time when I am able to just let me mind go. I cover my blank canvas or whatever materials I am working on with paint, writing, doodles, scribbles and anything else that feels right at the time. I begin creating layers and layers of this mess and often times use my canvas as a journal. I write my thoughts and then paint over them and then write more thoughts and paint over that. Each layer is really a layer of me. I use this as my primer, my background for the actual peice of art and nobody would ever know that below the surface there is all this mess!!

DC Trip

So it has been a while since posting stuff...now I gotta make up for lost time! Andy and I took a trip to DC in May to visit family and I must say that the highlight of the trip for me was the National Gallery of Art...here are a few of my favorite pics~

Funky Bird

Scrap Wood Angel

Wood is my favorite thing to work with and paint on. I keep a nice collection of scrap wood that I assemple and create funky wall hangings~

Canvas Wall Banners

I had a really fun project that I did for my parents wholesale business (handmade clay hanging tiles) and that was to create a backdrop for their gift show booth. I had the idea to use my "canvas wall hanging" concept that I recently used for my graffiti murals but make each canvas panel a replication of the tiles. I think that the end result is really fun and it added so much style to the booth set up.





I have also been hard at work creating some new banners~ here are a few examples...