Feeble is as Feeble does

My memory gets worse and worse all the time. Good grief. I have vague recollections of things, like I know I was involved at some level, but I can't remember when or how. Of course you know the Drama Queen exaggerates, but I have noticed certain, ahem, failures in memory.

This fabulous pouch for example......

bookhou.com
Pouch

Yesterday I received a package in the mail. Smartly wrapped, it contained this beautifully made pouch. It is soft linen which has been silk screened with cool designs. Fully lined, the pouch was clearly  made by a very good seamstress, not an amateur like me. It's just the sort of thing a person who calls herself StencilGirl would love. 

But I didn't order it? Or did I? Hmmmm, I searched my 'stuff I order' folder and yes, I really do have a folder with that name. Searched Paypal for money sent. Found nary a record.

But wait......I have some fuzzy memory of entering my name in a contest, perhaps an online magazine - oh my gosh, it is coming back to me, Covet Garden?? I think I might have won this, woo hoo!!!

All I know is that I reallyreally like this pouch. I believe it will travel with me because it makes me happy, being made out of two of my favorite colors with patterns I completely dig. 

Check out this website to see all the products made by bookhou. They must be pretty cool peeps and I suspect I might like them. I do know I like their stuff, that is for sure and no, they didn't ask me to write this, I just wanted to.

In the meantime, I gotta ask.......is anyone else out there losing their memory????

Home Again

So I snuck out of town for about 10 days. You didn't even realize I was gone, did you? Hmmmm, I tried to plan it that way, what with all these thievin' peeps on the Internet. You don't want to reveal too much, huh?

Geez I am so not wired that way.

Anyhoo, here is a photo show of my trip:

The drive. I participated very little in the actual driving part. I really don't like to drive very much. In fact, if I won the lottery, I think I would hire a chauffeur, that is how little I really like to drive. Whenever possible, I sat in the backseat with my friend Julie and we watched videos while the men handled the actual navigation and driving part.

Sketches. I was playing with some watercolor pencils and doing quick sketches. It felt really good to allow my drawing muscles to come out. They are feeble at best, but it was fun. And it reminded me of how much I really need to draw. Julie and I set up a quasi-studio in our rental house and we made some arty things each day while the men solved all the world's problems. They also cooked for us, how lucky are we, huh??

Patterns. You know how I love patterns. This was a light at the hotel on the way home. I think I see a stencil in my future.

Pelicans, they were everywhere. Such amazing birds, I caught this one on my iPhone believe it or not. 

Yes, we were in Florida. No, it wasn't warm. Maybe 2-3 days of warm weather, but I had to buy more clothing at the consignment shop, that is how cold it was. Luckily the sun was shining. And we did have a lot of fun.

Book Contest - Yay for Jenny Doh/Contest closed-we have a winner!

This contest is closed, our winner is.......AMY.......as selected by random number chosen by my grandson Aidan. After much discussion with his brother regarding potential selection methodology. 
Feel free to read the story anyway though.....
I have told this story before, so feel free to skip ahead if you are bored.....

Anyhoo, many moons ago, I was invited to teach at Squam. It was a big honor for me, I hadn't taught at very many places back then and I knew hardly anyone. I traveled to New Hampshire by myself, yep, I drove there, in some crazy need to manage my supplies by hand (ie, not shipping them). I arrived to find a fabulous setting where it seemed like lots of the people already knew one another. Naturally I knew not one soul. I felt like a kid dropped off at camp. Ahem. That's just me being a baby in case you are wondering.

I went to my cabin, found my assigned room/bed and unpacked my things. I was pondering my next move, hmmmm, what to do, where to go, how will I fit in here.....I walked out of my room, still slightly dazed and smacked (uh, yeah, pretty much literally) into Jenny Doh. Like some sort of starstruck teenage, I said, uh, hi! You're Jenny Doh. As if she might not have realized that. 

And so we met. And kinda hung out a little bit, went to dinner, walked to the after dinner gig where she was giving a Keynote speech, attended the Jonatha Brooke bonfire event. Oh my was I ever smitten. Cause Jenny is so Smart. Adorable. Talented. Genius......well, you already know those things. What you might not know is that she is also very genuine. Authentic. Compassionate. Real. Kind. 

When she asked me to participate in her book, it was a no brainer. 

The book, Creative Pilgrimage, is out now and I got my copy a few weeks ago. 

WowWowWow, this is really a nice book. If I hadn't been given a copy I would buy this book. Seriously. There are wonderful pictures and great stories about a number of retreats (pilgrimages) that have become near and dear to my heart - Squam, Valley Ridge (only 2 spots left in my class, this being a quick salespitch digression), and of course Artfest, the place where it all began for me.  I knew all this would be in the book. What I didn't realize is there would be such cool projects. 

I mean these projects really rock. Artists such as Tracie Lyn Huskamp (soon to be a designer with StencilGirl, her stencils being cut literally as we speak!), Carla Sonheim, Alisa Burke, Flora Bowley and more. 

Jenny has graciously offered to give away a copy of the book!! 

So, here's what you need to do to enter.......just leave me a quick comment about the idea of Creative Pilgrimage - if you've been to a retreat, tell me where and how it affected you. If not, let me know where you reallyreallyreally wanna go and why. 

I will have my grandkids make the drawing on Wednesday night at 6pm CST.

And Pssssstttt........pass it on......just click a link below to Tweet, Facebook or what have you. If we get a lot of entries, I will throw in a copy of my book too!! How's that for fun!

What an Honor!!

Saturday night (week before last) was Art Feast - the event where we made the chairs....anyhow, it was my extreme privilege to be honored as the Visionary Artist of the year by Chesterfield Arts. Wow. My hubby managed to snap a couple photos, including one of me with my hand blown glass sculpture, wowza. What an amazing honor.

Well Lookee here......

I so love it when people use my stencils and then tell me about it. I mean seriously, could there be a better endorsement from my products? Anyway, take a look at what Deb (Stamp Dancer) has done! Isn't this great?!?!?

Grounds for Sculpture

Last year John and I were very privileged to have a private tour of J. Seward Johnson's Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey.
It is an absolutely magical spot and I would strongly recommend a visit if you are in the area. I was lucky enough to meet Seward when he was in Chesterfield to celebrate the installation of his Awakening sculpture. He is a delightful man with a wry sense of humor and that is evident all throughout the sculpture grounds.

When reviewing recent photos, I found this one that John took of me in Seward's"bedroom." I don't know if he actually sleeps there or not, but I would like to believe that he does. It makes me smile.