What a Weekend!

What a weekend!! We went to a wedding at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps and WOW what a great place for a wedding. We spent most of our time looking at fish which was nice because weddings and receptions can be so socially awkward so it was nice to steal away and fish watch! I spent a great deal of time at the jelly fish tanks taking flash free pictures of these amazing creatures- there is something about them that are so magical to me! The rest of my two days off were spent looking at houses, making purses, looking at more houses, discussing houses, painting and working on more purses...uggghh...not enough time to get everything done but we are a little bit closer to finding a house, which is actually a huge accomplishment!!

Good Day!

Today has been a very good day- I just heard back from Artfiberfest and I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching 3 classes in October- please stay tuned for more info! I cannot express how excited I am about this opportunity and cannot wait to take part in this amazing retreat!!

In not so exciting news....I am also very excited to have found this punk inspired, pyramid studded bracelet on my lunch break- finding yummy accessories for cheap might not be exciting to most but I LOVE a good bargain and I have been looking for something like this for a while- who can beat $7.00? Unfortunately, this is going to be a doozey of a weekend- I HAVE to finish up some wholesale purse orders, prepare for my demo at CHA, clean my art room and the house (AGAIN), go to a wedding, go house hunting and desperately try to get a little of relaxation here and there- YIKES-wish me luck!

This is Today

Back to work today after a nice long holiday weekend and as much as I complain about having a job and wishing I could stay at home ALL day long and paint...I must say that I work in a lovely place. I snapped this shot as I walked out of my office for lunch- big blue sky with big puffy clouds and all the lovely spanish architecture surrounding me- I really need to be thankful for what I have today and stop wishing for perfection. I'll try harder- I promise!

In other news, the weekend was actually the first in a long time that I have relaxed- my hubby made me stay in bed yesterday with my book and magazines and before I knew it I was sucked into a marathon on the history channel of Monster Quest (my new favorite show!). I have this strange interest in legends and creatures such as bigfoot, the giant squid, sea monsters, etc. Yes, random fun fact about me that my husband can attest to as well as the many conversations that I start leading with the phrases like...what would you do if you were camping and saw bigfoot? Do you think that there could actually be giant sea serpents in remote parts of the world? What if there really are birdzilla creatures that eat people? Well, my day spent in bed learning of all the world's monsters and scientific data to back up their existence was like a dream come true!

And last, I found out that I will officially be at CHA on Tuesday, Feb 12th at the F+W Publications Booth #1751at 1:30pm doing a demonstration promoting my book Canvas Remix. This is both exciting and nerve racking at the same time! I feel like such a newbie in this whole process but it can't be as scary as meeting up with a bigfoot...right?

Illustration Friday- Plain

Monday in Photos

Productive

Today has not only been a productive day but a creative one! I spent a great deal of time cleaning our house this morning- after weeks of emotional distress over where to live and steps to take to buy a house...our humble little apartment has suffered! And the worst of it was my art room which was literally trashed! Thankfully a good clean and time spent organizing means I will be productive and that was just what happened! This afternoon I got tons of stuff done- I have been working on new purses and in between waiting for the layers to dry I started on a new series of paintings and this is the first! After months spent on a book and then lots of my time spent making functional items (like purses) it feels so wonderful to paint a painting- what I love most!

Embrace the Unknown!

Oh my goodness, my brain is tired, my head hurts and I am officially spent! Things have been crazy these last couple of weeks as we begin the process to maybe buy our first home- yikes!! So many decisions to make and things to think about and it is just now dawning on me at age 32 that I just might officially be an adult! I have gotten very few creative tasks accomplished this last week because our evenings have been filled with conversations (thanks to me), emotions and of course tears (since I cry about everything). I have exhausted myself with worry and I am declaring today that I am finished fretting about the unknown and instead I am choosing to embrace the looming questions. In the meantime this weekend will be spent painting (hopefully a little bit for myself) and filling some little orders and working on all kinds of new and wonderful opportunities that have come my way. And… I must give a heartfelt thank you to Maryam from Marrakesh for the wonderful blog entry about the recent tote bag that I made for her- please go check out her beautiful blog!! Tonight it’s a movie with my hubby- I need to have some fun!

This is Me Today

This is me today- reflective, challenged, creative and trying to be calm. Life is crazy right now, we have been spending our free time trying to figure out what comes next, where do will we choose to live in 6 months and where do we see our lives going? Big questions to tackle with the rest of my own uncertainties- like how best to market my book? what will CHA be like and will anyone want to watch my demo? how will I make it through my day job when art deadlines are looming? will I continue to lose sleep over the noisy students above me? and the questions go on and on and on. But I have decided to just address what I can do today- this is me today... confused but thankful, tired but strong, restless but creative...and that is enough for now.

Italy Here I Come!!

So it is official I will be kicking off my book release in Italy! You know what they say...go big or go home?!?!? Below is more information and links- feel free to email me with any questions!!

Toscana Americana Workshops
presents
"Canvas Remix
in Tuscany"
Painter/Instructor
Alisa Burke
Cortona, Italy June 28-July5, 2008
Join painter and mixed media artist Alisa Burke for a week of inspiration, travel and creativity. Marking the release of her new book Canvas Remix, Alisa will dedicate the week to teaching techniques and projects pulled from her book. With the village of Cortona as our backdrop, we will find inspiration in the sites, sounds and flavors- We will explore new colors, images, and ideas from our surroundings. Be prepared to delve into the world of a modern painter by learning about canvas and paint- techniques that range from free writing to graffiti to color glazing to splattering and making a mess! We will then push our canvas paintings and redefine your concept of art- Be prepared cut, rip, sew and remix your canvas into lovely objects and mementos that represent this amazing journey to the Italian countryside.

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Back to Life

I am back from Oregon and as usual I am kinda bummed to be back- I love the Pacific Northwest, I love the rain, the crazy weather, my home on the coast and I often go through a week of transition after spending a week at home. The week was relaxing, lots of hanging out, lots of visits to my favorite spots and lots of board games. Unfortunately I had to cancel my class that I was teaching at my parents gallery due to the crazy weather and snow on the mountain pass between the coast and Portland- too icky for Portland attendees to drive! (but I will return at another time to teach!) in fact it took us almost 5 hours to get to the airport because of snow and ice! The whole week I was at the mercy of my husband and brother who just might like each other more than they like me! They were running around like they were 15 year olds looking for trouble, playing games, and teasing me- YIKES! But overall it was good to step away from stuff, good to take a break and get ready for the next big push! I can thankfully say that I just sent off my last author review for my book and the next time I see it, it will look like a book- I can't wait! So much to do, so many decisions to make for our lives, lots of exciting things to come!

Illustration Friday- Soar

Just a little doodle from my sketchbook- I thought it fit perfectly into this weeks word!