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.