In with the old and new

I realize I haven't written for quite awhile. I've been in the midst of an office remodel/paint project that was just a mess. Things were out of place, hidden under tarps etc.

But now the painting is done and I am officially back in order. Today I even got lucky at Home Goods and found the sweetest little chair I have ever seen. It is oh so comfy and just perfect for me to use when I am not at the computer. I have this vision of me all curled up reading a book.....more likely it will become a cat bed.

The paint turned out great. I am completely digging this color scheme as it makes me so happy. Only 8 different "audition" colors from Lowe's before I found something I liked, ha! I did the wave pattern free hand with a paint roller. I thought I wanted to sketch it out but that felt way too contrived, so I erased all my marks, took a deep breath and started to paint.


This is the first time I have ever decorated a room all by myself just picking exactly the colors I want with no regard for anyone else. John and I are pretty compatible on most decorating matters and we are certainly civilized with our compromises. But this was all about me. I mean who's kidding who, John would never select these colors for his office nor would he pick a distressed and painted old table as a desk.

Which made it so special when he came in with cocktails to toast my "new digs." Next up is his office.

The cool thing about all this snow (we have 4 inches or so) is the marks where people and critters have walked. Yesterday I saw two sets of deer tracks leading right up to our family room window. I wish I would have seen that; two deer, nose to glass, peering into our house.

Happy Happy

And speaking of drawing....

The Living Camera. Click on the link and go watch this video. The guy is amazing.
Thanks Karyl, for giving me the heads up on this. It is absolutely fascinating.

Just draw already

Seems like a lot of my artist friends are exploring drawing right now, either taking classes - Shari just started one and Deb did one last summer - or simply working at home on a daily drawing practice. It is funny, this whole issue of D-R-A-W-I-N-G. Very terrifying to many of us it is.


I remember when I took my first drawing class back in 2001 I think? The night before class I happened to be talking to my nephew Curtis. It was also the night before his school started, either kindergarten or 1st grade, I can't recall. Anyway, I told him I was going back to school the next day too. He asked me why? I told him I was going to learn to draw. And out of the mouths of babes, he replied, "Oh, I already know how to draw, I'm going to learn how to write."
Such a perfect line that I have quoted him often.


I knew how to draw when I was a kid. Lots of evidence of that. I can't remember exactly when I lost my way with drawing. Maybe it was in the 8th grade when I suffered harsh criticism from my witch(or was that bitch) of an art teacher, Ms. Seimer. She bluntly told me I would never make it as an artist. I was quite tender hearted and foolish enough to believe her and for many years just stopped. Somewhere though I found my way again, realizing my tender heart is exactly the reason I do my art.


Once again I am taking a drawing class. The wildly talented Leslie Reuther is my teacher. She is a doll and is helping me refresh some old skills as she also introduces some new ones. I am slowly losing my fear. My eyes are starting to see again. The world of negative space delights me.


Last night in class we played with ink. Black Higgens ink. As much as I love charcoal's forgiving nature, the permanency of the ink thrills me. It is daring, my version of sky diving perhaps. Here is one of my studies made in class. A quick little piece, done right at the end of our time. I'm going to have to call it "floating pepper" since I didn't have time to finish, ha!

Just take that red dot and........

Filling out art show apps is so utterly time consuming. Admittedly, part of my problem is a lack of organization with my slides. Imagine a B-I-G hanging file with 5+ years worth of slides all dumped in a very piggly manner. Some in partial sleeves, some in full sheet sleeves, some just loose. I hope my photographer doesn't read this or he will come over here and smack me with a 2x4. I keep saying I am going to organize it one of these days but "one of these days" never arrives.

The other problem with apps and show entries is inconsistent requirements; nothing is standard in this biz and you have to carefully read the app to figure out what is needed. Hold the slide the way you would view it. Put your name on the top of the front. Full name or last name only or last name followed by first name or maybe last name and first initial. Centered or to the left. Mark an arrow to indicate the top of the slide. Oh no, make that a red dot and put it in the lower left hand corner. Oops, sorry, the dot goes in the upper right this time. Or hold the slide the way it would go in the projector, which is upside down. Then label so your name can be read. Submit an artist statement, no resume. Resume, no artist statement. 20 word statement, 21 word statement, 25 word statement outlining your process only.

You get the drift. Mind numbing details.

This is why Zapplication is so great. You load all your images onto their site, enter your information once and it is stored for your future use. A few click click clicks, the application is pre-filled with your data and presto it is done. Last year I got into nearly all the shows I entered off of Zapp. This year my success rate is zero. Which means I have spent nearly $250 on entry fees but have yet to be accepted into a Zapp show. Hmmm, what is wrong with this picture? Luckily I have a lot of other stuff going on, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
And in the misery loves company school, none of my friends are getting in the Zapp shows either. We are all scrambling to identify some alternate shows to enter. Which is what I was doing today of course.

One of my greatest pleasures as an artist is being able to donate my art to raise money for worthy causes. I hear some of you snorting with disbelief, and I fear that by admitting this the number of solicitations I receive will surely double. But I am serious. It gives me terrific pleasure to pick and choose causes I want to support. I know I donate more through my art than I could ever afford in cash donations.

Right now I have a couple charitable requests on my desk, both local events, one for The American Cancer Society and the other for a group called Therapeutic Horsemanship. I gave a piece to the Cancer Society last year and will give them one this year. My grandfather and John's Mom both died of Cancer and I have seen it (that being the C-word) touch families of probably everyone I know.

Therapeutic Horsemanship is a new group for me in that I have never heard of them. I am intrigued by their mission though: to provide equine assisted therapy programs for individuals with disabilities in order to develop their maximum physical and psychological potential. I mean how cool is that? I love the idea of children and adults having an opportunity to work with horses. I need to see if I have anything that seems appropriate or possibly I will make a special piece.

So what do I get for these donations anyway? One thing I don't get is a reasonable tax write-off. Due to some idiotic law, artists are only allowed to deduct the cost of materials, not the retail value of the piece. But I digress. I do get exposure because the art is generally on display in a silent auction and everyone who attends the event will see my piece. Typically, all donating artists are also named in the program.

But better than any of that is the reward of knowing my art can help others, even in a modest way. And I really really love that part.

Our household

You know you've perhaps been married too long when your Saturday night entertainment consists of giving the kitties catnip and watching them play.

Actually, I am the one known as "the pusher." John is the one in the kitchen cooking lamb shanks for the humans in the house, that being me and him.

Merlyn is the one rolling on the living room floor fully enjoying the catnip to the point he has some on his head and he is clearly in some drug induced state. Izzy is the one pawing the carpet like a cat possessed. And Gilligan is the one trying to act above it all, curmudgeon that he is. I did see him licking the floor though.

So yesterday morning I was reading the paper and glanced at the ads in the food section. And there it was, one of our local grocers had a recipe with a picture of an elderly man proudly presenting a tray of food. The headline and name of the recipe:

"Grandpa Jim's Wiener Winks."

At which point I snorted coffee out my nose.

It's been years since I first saw the Experience Music Project in Seattle. I visited alone since John was working as I played tourist. I didn't own a digital camera back then and film was precious (expensive) but I took so many photos it was nuts. I don't even remember the inside of the museum or any of the exhibits. It didn't matter because I was so in awe of the building that made my visit complete. In fact, I spent more time outside than in.

That was my introduction to Frank Gehry. I had never been an architecture buff. But this structure rocked my world. I walked round and round and looked at every curve and angle. Trees filtered the sun and the cacophonous glint of shape and color was absolutely stunning to my eye.

Tonight we watched Sketches of Frank Gehry, a documentary by Sydney Pollack. Mr. Gehry says he envies painters because he can't paint. Well, I would tend to dispute that; I think he paints with different supplies.

I loved the movie; to hear conversation between these old friends is a treat. They share thoughts any artist will appreciate, ideas about fear and inadequacy, success and failure. Things I needed to hear today.

Artfeast was fun and we enjoyed the evening immensely although I think (actually I know) that I might have drank a wee bit too much cause I was pretty happy.

There was a hilarious incident after we first arrived. John was off finding drinks for both of us and I was circling the silent auction tables to review the items up for bid. I felt the presence of someone following me but tried to ignore it. I was looking at a child's toy, a huge box, The Erector Set, contemplating whether I should bid on it for the boys. I felt someone moving closer to me, kind of within my personal space, you know? Anyway, I glanced to my left and saw it was an elderly man. I tried to step aside and recover my space without being rude and he looked right at me to announce, "I could sure use an erector set." Blink.

Thank goodness, just then I saw John approaching with our drinks and I practically sprinted over to him, trying so hard not to bust out laughing.

I could tell you but I'd have to kill you

The judging was held over at the Kemp Museum which is where ArtFeast is being held. I met the other judges, Don Wiegand (sculptor) and Dan Younger (photographer). We are all pretty easy going so it wasn't too hard to come up with choices. We started individually and then eventually worked together discussing the top pieces. We relied on each other's area of expertise for guidance and that helped us to pick a well rounded group of award winners.

On the Photography in particular, it was very interesting to me to learn why one photo was better than another and I appreciated Dan's patience in that regard. Coincidentally, my naive eye also selected a photo that he ranked at the top.

Don is hard at work on a sculpture for UMSL which is where Dan is a Professor so he invited Dan for a studio visit after the judging. I happened to be standing there at the time and also snared an invite because Don is really polite like that.

Oh. my. God. To say it rocked my world is an understatement. Geez, I don't even know where to start. First of all, please check out his website to see the work.......Wiegand Studios and then check Wiegand Foundation to learn more about his mission. Simply amazing sculptures. His house/studio is absolutely the coolest place ever and ding dong me didn't have a camera with me. He built it himself out of rough-hewn wood, enormous windows and steps leading to the various levels within the house. You can ramble around and explore Don's hat collection, enjoy the historical artifacts he maintains, or simply bask in his indoor garden area. The place is magical with the feel of a tree house although it is on the ground of course.

And the sculpture. Oh my. Don talked about his process and I was fascinated by the steps involved in creation of these masterpieces. Experiencing the tour with Dan (Professor of Photography) made it even better as he asked intelligent questions, unlike me who stood there with her mouth hanging open as I was so much in awe. For instance, Dan asked about the lighting and it opened up a dialogue about the importance of shadow in the work. Then we moved into a 3D vs. 2D discussion and Don said it is difficult for him to see things in 2D anymore. I remembered back to the one time I worked in 3D which was the Marathon project 2 years ago when I made Leapin' St. Louie, the 6 foot tall running tree frog. And yeah, I get it.

What a great day though. I love that kind of artistic/intellectual/visual stimulation.

Here comes the Judge

There are a couple local arts organizations that I support without fail. I have a membership at both Chesterfield Arts (which is located a few miles from my house)and Art Saint Louis (in the city). These are groups which support local artists, where the employees sweat blood and tears over their jobs to help people like me show their art and get my name out. Do I believe I need to help them with time and money donations? You bet!

This weekend is the annual fundraiser for Chesterfield and I donated a piece of original art for the silent auction as I do every year. You may recall last year my donation won 1st prize which was not only a delightful surprise but financed my bidding and allowed me to acquire a terrific piece by another local artist who I adore, Paul E.

By virtue of last year's prize, I have now been appointed to the team of Judges for this year's auction. Today is the judging and I am so excited as I have never done anything like this before. The others are more experienced and I will try to follow their lead. But knowing me, I will blurt out whatever pops into my head and soon find myself with foot in mouth, in over my head. But that will be water over the bridge as they say (or not, I always butcher these cliches, much to the amusement of my companions). Whatever I do I know I will approach it with gusto and passion. And may the best artist win.

Just say NO to PAT

Sometimes I go through phases where I spend a lot of time on the computer. Not doing anything special; playing mind numbing games (Bejeweled or Spider Solitaire), reading blog entries. drifting from one link to the next or shopping.

You know how it is. If you're reading this blog, I must assume you are no stranger to the Internet. We all know how one quick Google (what did we do before Google anyway!?!?) can turn into a half hour or more. Let's be honest. If I added it all up I bet I spend several hours a day on the computer. Some of it legitimate work, but a lot is PAT.

What is PAT you might ask? Pissing Away Time, that's what it is (PAT sounds much more civilized, doesn't it?). And it's a crazy concept, not dissimilar to the phrase, "killing time." Why would we want to kill time? Time is our most precious commodity.

So today I am starting something new. I am just going to say NO to PAT. I am going to have to monitor myself as parents do with kids and TV time or video games. I may have to put a timer on my desk when I read email.

But first I need to check on this eBay auction I am watching........baby steps, baby steps.....

Good good good good vibrations

The Daily OM today talks about Joyful Flow and the message is so appropriate for me right now. I would love to copy their email over here but no portion can be copied without permission and I want to respect them in that regard. You can go to their site by clicking the link to read it for yourself if you wish. But here is the MB notes (not to be confused with Clif notes) version.

Feelings vibrate. Anger, guilt depression at low vibrations; happiness and positive feelings at high vibrations, hence the phrase "good vibrations." So the Beach Boys had it right. Clearly, we feel better when we are emitting the good vibrations and when we are around people doing the same. When we are in this state, we feel more optimistic and energized and thus capable of manifesting our dreams.

I spent Saturday with a group of people all emitting good vibes. We went over to one of my collector's house. Actually it is a house she is trying to sell and she wanted to stage it with original art. She loves to support local artists and had this idea to rent art from us so she gathered some people to bring their art around on Saturday. She has a gorgeous home and the setting was amazing, just the kind of place where you long to see your paintings hang.

It was terrific fun, carrying art around and picking locations to display each piece. My client first picked the ones she liked best, careful to not reject anyone which was so wonderfully sensitive. I got to play decorator for an hour or so as I helped her.

By the end of the afternoon, the house looked amazing, classy and upscale, totally inviting. There were 5 of my pieces on display plus pieces from my good friends, Heather and Greg (click to see their websites). We all were paid up front for 2 months rental, how cool is that!

But the best part of the day was being around a group of people with such great energy. I met some artists I didn't know and we talked techniques which is always fun. My client and her husband are delightful; it was a treat to be with them in a casual setting. I felt completely surrounded by good vibes and my soul drank it all in.

Sunrise dreams

When I was down in Florida for the last show of the season I met a couple who wanted me to do an abstract commission for them. They are lovely people, the kind of people I could call friends if we lived closer and could hang out.

I haven't really done any abstract commissions before; all my custom work tends to come from my Common Denominator series. Where people furnish family photos and then I make a collage painting.

But I visited their home, took some photos, saw "the spot" and felt I had a pretty good feel for what they wanted.

Then the holidays hit and I was thrown for a loop. I really intended to ship the painting well before Christmas but one thing led to another and it simply didn't happen as I was so busy and simply felt too blocked to paint. I did stay in touch with the clients. I explained the situation, then sent them a holiday card and told them it was a top priority for the new year.

Voila. Here it is. Shipped out early this week, received yesterday and they are over the moon about it. Whew. I always worry you know. Did I really "get" their ideas? Will it look good in their home? Will it even survive the shipping? Blahblahblah.

This is a 24x30 by the way and includes some interesting navigational maps in the background along with vintage ephemera from their city and state. Plus cool player piano music with the word "Dream" exposed. And these folks really do live a dream, looking out at the ocean every day, with a backyard on a canal. I can't think of a better home for my painting.

I like animation. I mean I'm not an obsessive fan, but I do like it, especially animals since I always imagine animals with human characteristics anyway(I mean they are human, aren't they?). Animated pigs are faves of mine; that little mouse in the movie with Geena Davis was great; fish can be fun. Heck, the cars are cute too.

But why oh why did someone decide to animate chocolate chip cookies?

With Tivo (greatest invention other than the iPod) we rarely watch commercials, but during the Golden Globes the other night, I watched live TV cause I was doing laundry and was up and about too much to patrol the TV. What is wrong with Cameron Diaz by the way, does she look like crap or what? That hair, that dress, yee gads.

Sorry, I digress. Back to animation.

Does anybody know what I am talking about here, that totally ignorant Chips Ahoy commercial with a bunch of chocolate chip cookies in a car. One of the cookies is driving, the others are passengers and they are snatched out of the car by a disembodied hand. It is just so ridiculous. Stupid stupid stupid.

It annoys me to even remember it.

The Iceman Leaveth

Our power came on yesterday, woo hoo, and we moved back home. The kitties were happy to see us and last night we had all three of them in bed.

Luckily, that is not our tree damage, but a property about a half mile from us. We were very fortunate in that regard, to have suffered no obvious damage. It will be interesting to see if our new landscaping survives though. The other shots are funny ones of John and me trying to survive our homeward bound adventure, these shots taken before we moved over to Beth's house.

All in all I feel so blessed. Although it was certainly disruptive to lose power, I am just grateful to have shared the experience with my favorite person in the whole world, that being my hubby John. He and I maintained our sense of humor which actually made it fun believe it or not. And spending time with Beth, Frank and the kids was the cherry on top.

My Electric Outage

You may or may not have heard the Midwest suffered a big ice storm on Friday night. We haven't had power for 2 days now. After toughing it out the first 24 hours, we finally moved to my stepdaughter's house this morning. Despite the circumstances, we are having a really fun time.

Ameren, our utility company, has a website that we check frequently for updates on our situation. The site actually has a link entitled "My Electric Outage." Like My Summer Vacation I am guessing. It cracks me up every time we sign on. Then this lovely graphic pops up along with some very non-committal information such as they don't know why our outage occurred, when it will be fixed, etc.

So very helpful, our Ameren is.

And even more potty talk

I have already ranted about women's bathrooms - see October entries . When writing the original cell phone post, I imagined a couple different scenarios that I know many of us have witnessed.

Say you are already in the bathroom and your phone rings. Whatcha gonna do?
First choice, hit the mute button so it stops ringing. Second choice, if you're.....well, you know....temporarily indisposed.....let it ring. And thus ends the choices.

Ok, so let's say you are on the phone and happen to be walking into the bathroom. There is one obvious choice here. Stop outside and conclude the call, then do your business.

So last Saturday night I saw a first (you knew I was going somewhere with this!).

I was in a nice restaurant with my husband and friends. After being seated, I got up to go to the bathroom. Another woman was also walking toward the bathroom. We both entered at the same time and, as I went ino the stall she proceeded to make a phone call. Of course I was temporarily paralyzed from the actual peeing process as I didn't want to make tinkle sounds during this woman's phone call. I finally slapped myself in the head, peed, flushed and then washed my hands. As I was leaving the bathroom, the woman concluded her call and also walked out.

She did not use the toilet, didn't wash her hands, applied no makeup. In fact she didn't use the bathroom for any of it's usual purposes. She used the bathroom solely as a place to make a phone call. Oh lordy, lordy.

Rebuilding

I am not big on resolutions these days. I don't know how many years I swore I was going to use the New Year to achieve Balance in my life. Um yeah, well......still working on that one. So I never seriously resolve to start exercising or anything like that.

But of course I do. Except I tell myself I am just trying to rebuild an exercise habit. Last year, during the hustle and bustle of my art fair season, this funny thing happened. I totally fell off the exercise wagon. Not all at once mind you. I first started missing my Monday night Yoga because we were always out of town. Then I dropped my walk/run down to only a few days a week, then maybe once or twice here and there, then one day I realized it was simply absent from my routine.

I was all gung ho to start back last week but The Universe apparently had other plans and dealt me a snarly cold/sinus problem instead. Totally sapped my energy.

This week I started for real, popped out of bed on Monday morning and put my pedometer on the belt of my robe because I am a dork like that. I had already walked 500 steps before I even changed out of my PJ's! Of course the moment I got on the treadmill was when the pedometer decided to stop working so I never saw my total for the day.

To get me all revved up, I have decided to pick a "group of the week." The Ditty Bops are first up because their music is fun and also invigorating; so many of their songs have a superb walking beat. I can walk and sing, sing and walk to my heart's content with The Ditty Bops. But when Sister Kate comes on, oh boy, that's a tough one because it is such a great dance tune. I only hope I don't hurt myself too badly when I fall off the treadmill.......

We went to see Dream Girls yesterday and all I can say is go see it. Seriously, just go. It is good, really good. I wasn't even sure I wanted or needed to see the movie as we saw a great stage production of the show last year and I was quite content with that. But I am really glad we went as I tremendously enjoyed it. I think I probably need to buy the soundtrack because there was even more great music that the stage show including some tunes that will be excellent in the studio when I take my dance breaks, tee, hee, hee.

Speaking of music, I got an excellent CD for Christmas. The group is Paris Combo, the CD is called "Motifs." Super music, very upbeat and terrific for painting.

In other news, I have been working on new things, paintings that are a total departure from my usual work. After weeks of a creative block, I finally ventured into the studio and even got into a "zone," which resulted in some cool work that pleases me. I am not quite ready to go public yet, but stay tuned and I will post pictures shortly.

Frequent flyer miles?

All the dead bodies moving around the country is kind of wigging me out.

First there is James Brown with public and private viewings in three different states. Then Gerald Ford, also honored in 3 states. He was President so I can cut him some slack. But James Brown? Sure, I loved his music too, but enough is enough. Bury the man already, oh sorry, I guess they finally did. But I think I heard (this is one of those moments I wonder if I am delusional?) that his outfits were changed for each different venue.

That is so not right.

Gateway to the West

This is the 2nd time I have lived in St. Louis and until the other day I had never been up inside The Arch.

If you've never done it before, The Arch has a tram system built inside which allows you to ride to the very top. The tram is made up of tiny "pod" cars that rachet the entire 630 feet up to an indoor viewing area where you can peer out windows on both sides and if it's clear (which it was), you can see for miles. A bird's eye view so to speak except I don't think birds fly that high.

And what a way to contemplate the beginning of a New Year - looking out over the land and celebrating an amazing warm December 31st day. I wish I had such a crystal clear view of the coming months, but I guess that would take away all the fun.

Cherish the Moment

We are heading off to my parent's house for the holiday. My entire family will be there which means Mom, Dad and both my brothers with their families. It's been over a year since we have all been together and I am excited about seeing everyone. I am also bummed because I will miss the grand kids, but we will celebrate with them afterwards.

As we go into the wild blue yonder of Ohio, I hold wishes for all of us that we can Cherish the moment this holiday season. Sometimes it seems that life is spiralling out of control. The excesses sadden me and I long for simpler times which I fear will never return. I find myself getting caught up in the fray to a greater extent than I would wish. I want to step back and focus on all that is important to me, because I am blessed with abundance. My life, my husband, our family and friends and of course my art - these are the things that truly matter - riches that cannot be purchased.

There are so many moments to cherish; the touch of John's hand as we walk into Home Depot, the sound of Ian shouting our names with excitement "PapaYiaYia", the vibrations from purring cats pressed up against me, the smell of cookies baking(Grandma's recipe). I cherish these moments of the season and wish the same for all of you.

Happy Holidays.

So what is going on with my art biz you might ask? Hmmm, good question. This world of art fairs is a crazy one. You task and toil all year long, traveling around like a headless chicken, scrambling in between shows to create sufficient inventory. The pace is hectic yet exhilarating. Then poof! The shows are over.

I think a feeling of letdown is inevitable. I liken it to what an actor must certainly feel post performance. To maintain this life it must permeate your every pore. You travel to fun spots and meet your adoring public week after week. Ok, I exaggerate, but you get the drift. Then it comes to a screeching halt and poof, the season is over.

But instead of true "down time" I am now faced with the grueling decision of what shows to do next year. Many of the Spring shows are already accepting entries and lots of deadlines have passed. I made a decision to sit out the winter season for several reasons, the first and foremost being that I am tired and my creative energy is low.

So I will start up in April . I already have a few good shows lined up and I have already gotten rejections, most notably Des Moines which was one of my best shows last year. Ouch.

So that's what I am doing. Still working. Finishing up the last commissions. Mentally regrouping. And trying to find time restore myself in between. Plus the ol' Xmas situation. Other than the Gingerbread house, we have NO decorations around the house. I feel badly about that, but apparently not bad enough to actually get them out. We are traveling this year, to my parents house in Cincinnati. And maybe I'm just tired, but to decorate a house that will not host a celebration seems nuts. At least that's what I tell myself.

We got to pet a penguin at Grant's Farm! Here is a picture of Aidan, being held by his Dad. There were two little penguins visiting from SeaWorld and they were just adorable. I was so surprised they feel downy soft; I think I was expecting them to feel wet or oily as they look so slick.

And yeah, I was probably just as excited as the grand kids.

Let there be cake!

I love the show The Splendid Table. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I also subscribe to the email newsletter. I use Lynne Rossetto Kasper's recipes a lot because I know I can depend on them. This is one of my new favorites that I first made for Thanksgiving and then again today for a holiday party. I will also make it at my parents house on Christmas.

Pumpkin Upside Down Cake w/Cranberry Pecan Topping (from A Passion for Desserts, shared by The Splendid Table)
8-10- servings (I think this serves A LOT more than that!)

8 ounces (16 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree(be sure and buy 100% puree)
6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Toast pecans in a 300 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Then Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.
Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and whisk until smooth. Pour into the bottom of the prepared pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries and pecans. Place them in the pan on top of the brown sugar mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, & oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. Stir this mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Then spread the batter over the cranberry pecan topping.
Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Place a large plate or platter on top of the cake. Invert the cake and plate together then removed the pan. Carefully peel off the parchment paper.
Serve with whipping cream.
Ok to make a day in advance, just cover and store at room temperature.

Gingerbread Fun

Sunday I went to a Gingerbread house decorating party at Heidi's.

When we first arrived, Heidi allowed each guest to select a vintage apron from her vast collection. We all got to wear one so we could keep our clothes neat. And thank goodness for that because I was a real pig with my decorating efforts, geez, they will probably be vacuuming up my mess for days to come especially since I shredded the frosted mini wheats for the roof and ugh, what a mess that was.

I had never decorated a gingerbread house before but Heidi had it all organized perfectly. She had tables set up with "work stations," each one with a fully assembled house, an idea book of suggestions, tons of candy and a squirter of icing. I am pretty sure it's not really called a squirter but I don't know what those things are called, like you would use to decorate a cake, you know?

The hardest part was simply deciding to S-T-A-R-T. I had this crazy idea I wanted to plan it out, the anal part of my brain started to kick in right away. Luckily I quashed it down and just went at it to find decorating was terrific fun! Not to mention a tad addictive, I could have kept going for hours. And how cool it is that you use ICING as the glue! Woo hoo, it was so handy to be able to lick my fingers clean. I just need to remember NOT to do that in the studio when using my gel medium.


So here is my final result. I am sure you can see those Frosted Mini Wheats on the roof. Those are beans "tiled" on the chimney and the walkway. The Juicy Fruit gum is so colorful; I haven't seen that stuff for years and it tastes just as yummy as I remember although the flavor goes away too quickly. And see that star? Well, it is a gumdrop smashed flat and then I cut it into the star shape.

Thanks so much Heidi!!

The snow is getting kind of ugly, the way it does after it's been on the ground for awhile and the melting has begun. But it didn't stop the boys from having fun when they were over here.
It is delightful to see them play, the way they are so inventive with basically no materials.
Take one snowy yard. Add 2 boys. Wait to see what happens.
It is really cute and tons of fun.

6 Things

My friend Share-air-ree, share-ee, bay-bee.......tagged me to do this 6 things deal. Supposed to be 6 weird things about myself. Eeeck!

1. I don’t like onions but I enjoy onion rings. In some perverse way, this inconsistency defines me.

2. I am superstitious and always wear my “lucky dragon” earrings the day I am setting up a show.

3. When eating waffles (a rare occurrence), I start in the middle and eat outwards. I don’t like the edges and leave them on the plate. I once did this at a business breakfast (back in my corporate life) and my boss found it hilarious, said it looked like a dog had eaten my food.

4. I hate to drive. Or better said, I hate driving in traffic; I actually enjoy open road sort of travels, especially at high speeds. But if I won the lottery (a really big lottery), I would hire a chauffeur.

5. My toes function almost like fingers in that they can easily pick things up and turn faucets on and off (if in the tub).

6. I can hang the bowl of a spoon off my nose and hold the position long enough to amuse my dinner companions.

Way Worthy!!!

I have never met Bernie Berlin in person but felt I would like her the moment I read her blog. Not only is she a terrific artist, but she also runs an animal rescue in Tennessee. And you know how I lovelovelove my animals. All animals for that matter - in many cases, I love animals more than people.

So naturally I wanted to participate in her fundraising auction, currently taking place on eBay. Here's the link to the auction. I think maybe Bernie has more art that is continually being loaded, so keep checking back and bid often. There are a couple of my small repros on there right now along with a purse from my friend Heidi and some pieces from the amazing Claudine Hellmuth . Plus interesting works from a few artists I don't know. I am in good company for sure.

Bernie even called me up the other day to thank me for my donation. We got to chat a bit and she's a doll. What a class act! I hope she makes tons of money for those critters.

Here's the website to learn more: A Place to Bark
Here's the auction: eBay Auction

I got a new camera. An early Christmas present, We aren't really doing gifts this year, but agreed we needed a new camera. Or rather I needed a new camera and talked John into it. I wanted it early so I can learn how to use it before I document the holiday.

It's a Canon Powershot SD700IS Digital Elph and it is adorable, so tiny. I wanted something small so I could carry it in my purse. I am hoping this will prompt me to take more pictures.

If only I could master all the settings, good grief it does tons of really cool stuff that I haven't quite figured out. The User Guide is written in camera speak and I need some dumbed down version or maybe somebody to show me some of the functions since I am more visual. In the meantime I am amusing myself with the Warnings:

"Memory card: dangerous if accidentally swallowed."

I wonder what happens if you swallow it on purpose.

Big storm.
Beautiful snow.
A half million people without power.

We are among the lucky ones just enjoying the view. And pretty it is.

It is darn cold though and I hope the power can be restored soon as this must be totally miserable.

Feathering my nest

It is finally starting to turn cold. Not that I object to the 70 degree weather we have been experiencing here in St. Louis; just remarkably balmy for this time of year. What a gift it has been! But I knew winter would eventually arrive. Whenever the nights grow long and there is a chill in the air, I have this overwhelming urge to work on the house, redecorate, move furniture, clean closets, and organize. I feel like I am settling in and feathering my nest.

This year my efforts have focused on our offices. Since John and I both work out of the home, office space is very important to us and to date we haven't gotten it right. Although we have been able to do our jobs, I think we both felt somewhat compromised in our set ups. I felt like I wanted to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing look, something that suited my personality. And John was making due with a crappy old desk that wasn't nearly big enough and didn't begin to meet his needs.

So, major reorganization has begun in the Shaw household. First of all, I knew for sure that I didn't really want the teak furniture anymore. Incredibly, all this furniture used to be jammed into my tiny office. It is lovely, but not my thing and thankfully John wanted it. The photo shows him hard at work at his "new" desk.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted instead. It was one of those deals where I felt I would know it when I saw it. My ideas, as usual, were all over the board, but included - shabby chic, sort of retro, a little kitschy, but also homey. All the while maintaining a fresh and organized appearance. I wanted a place to hang out in comfort, a refuge of sorts. The kind of spot where I would walk in and sigh with comfort knowing I am home.

This blue table was the first step. I saw it and immediately knew. Of course I didn't realize it would be such a major league pain in the ass to move into the room but that's a story for another day. Geez. And the little green chest of drawers belonged to John's mom, one of her many antiquing projects. I found the star wall hanging at the same shop where I bought the table. And the "bookcase" at the side of my "desk" is actually the hutch from the crappy old desk John was previously using. That was John's idea, to sit it directly on the floor(he's so smart thinking out of the box). It works perfectly and allows me to have all the office stuff that I need (printer, scanner, working files, paper stuff) right at hand. Not shown in this picture is the rest of the desk, a large table that houses my mongo size Epson printer and my light box.

I have still not made decisions on paint. If you look closely at the picture with the star, you will see some of the contenders, all taped to the wall. John's office also needs to be painted and transformed from a child's room into a more elegant executive space. He has chosen a warmed taupe that will be lovely with his eggplant futon couch (not shown, it's where the cats and I hang to watch him work). And I still need to find the perfect cozy chair for my space plus a bookcase. But we are on our way - I will post more photos as we refine our efforts. This is just the beginning.

Zip zip hooray

I just finished reading A girl named Zippy: Growing up small in Mooreland, Indiana. Such a fun book, heartfelt yet hilarious, this memoir ranks right up there as one of the best I've read. The prose is written through the voice of Zippy, a nine year old living in small town USA. Through this witty kid's eyes we come to know her family and many of Mooreland's quirky inhabitants.

I totally related to the book and it summoned up memories of my own childhood, first living in a small town, then moving to a city suburb when I was about Zippy's age. I laughed out loud at her accident-prone behavior, her relationships with animals, her struggle to find her place. And as I laughed, I remembered my own struggles, the way I never really fit in anywhere, how I always felt the odd girl out. And how I also seemed to distinguish myself through crazy accidents.

Like the time I was jumping on the trampoline in gym class. Believe me when I say I was no athlete. I was the kid for whom that "each child shall be allowed to play 2 innings" rule was mandated. I was the kid who, during my 2 innings in right field, could somehow still manage to screw up the game. But jumping on a trampoline, well, even I could do that with some confidence and finesse. So jump I did, higher and higher, imagining this as my specialty, even mastering (well, maybe that's an exaggeration) some "moves" such as when you land in a seated position, then turn around mid-air to land facing the other way.

On the fateful day, I waited my turn with the others,. I had watched several kids before me, the cute popular ones, always endearing themselves to everyone, teachers and students alike. They had mastered this dismount technique which involved a little bounce that catapulted them right off the side of the tramp allowing them to gracefully land on the floor.

My turn finally arrived and I trembled with anticipation scrambling up on the tramp. The first jumps were timid as I found my trampoline legs, but soon enough I was jumping and jumping for all I was worth, doing the moves successfully and even trying moves I had never tried before. A sense of euphoria ruled; I was exhilarated and high on glee.

Looking back, I don't remember making an actual decision to try the showy dismount. But when my turn was over, there I was, attempting this deceivingly simply move, bouncing right into it. Except, I didn't gracefully land feet first on the floor. Somehow, my butt dragged over the edge of the tramp right in the exact place where one of the springs was attached with the hook facing up rather than hook facing down. That hook caught and tore the back of my sweatpants, exposing my new underwear with the orange goldfish and cobalt blue tulips. Momentum continued to propel me forward but the hook held strong so that I was left hanging off the edge of the trampoline, literally by the seat of my pants.

Several people, including the teacher, helped to extricate me. I was fine, not really hurt except for the bruising embarrassment. And another rule was quickly made, "no fancy dismounts from the trampoline."

Daily Om

It's a good one today, about hopes and dreams and whispers from the Universe. Check it out here. Lovely ideas for contemplation.

I always whisper to the Universe, sometimes in the most insignificant ways. For instance, all last week I was thinking about the sale and how I would be furnished with an 8 foot table and 2 panel walls. I am so used to the tent that I can basically hang a display in my sleep. But a table, hmmm, what to do with that!?!?

I pulled out my tablecloths (that being a gross exaggeration as they are really old hunks of mismatched black cloth) and naturally I didn't have one long enough to cover an 8 ft. expanse. I sure didn't want to spend a lot of money or really any money for that matter. As the week went on and I pondered this dilemma, I decided I would just wing it with my black cloth. But naturally I kept rolling it around in my head, obsessing really, about how it would be so much nicer to find a sleek tablecloth, something simple yet classy.

On Friday, that would be Friday the day before the sale, I happened to be in Walmart, a place I rarely shop. Desperation had set in as I was searching for drapery hooks and had already been to a couple stores with no success. I was right in front of a Walmart and didn't feel like driving around any more.

So I entered, with trepidation. Truth be known I am a little scared in Walmart. They just have too much merchandise piled up everywhere and the old claims adjuster in me imagines things flying off the shelves and hitting me in the head. It would be so awful to die a slow death smothered by bags of Pepperidge farm stuffing mix.

Wandering around the store in an aimless stupor, I stumbled across a pile of fabric items, some packaged, some not. Draperies, placemats, tablecloths. And that is when I found it, the perfect tablecloth. Long enough for an 8 foot table. Colors perfectly coordinated with my art. Classy and sleek like a seal; I just loved it.

And the best part; it was on clearance for $5.

I think I am going to get to work on those life dreams now.

I was reviewing the airline carry-on guidelines today. I haven't flown in awhile and knew that liquids were allowed, then they were NOT allowed, then maybe they were, blahblahblah, I just knew it was confusing. Anyway, there was a blurb in today's paper that clarified the situation in time for holiday travel.

Appears that liquid or gel products can be carried onto the plane if they are in 3 ounce or smaller containers stored inside a quart size zip top bag. There are exceptions where the 3 ounce limit does not apply and I quote,
"baby formula and breast milk; prescription and over the counter medications, including KY Jelly....

Huh????

I kid you not, it was listed in that exact order, ahead of liquids for medical reasons including life support. Perhaps I am unaware of some other critical usage for KY Jelly.

2nd Annual Art Market

Saturday, November 18th
10am-4pm at The Heights.
Centrally located at 8001 Dale Avenue
in Richmond Heights (314) 645-1476.

In addition to my mixed media collage paintings, I will offer a variety of small functional items such as journals and notepads, all embellished with hand-painted papers and original collage paintings. I have also made tiny reproductions of some favorite pieces from 2006 – they make perfect little stocking stuffers or gifts for you – get them before they are gone! Plus a “clearance bin” of adorable(if I do say so myself) hand crafted items that are being "retired."

If you're in the St. Louis area, hope to see you there!

And the Hirsch's win

Today was my baby's birthday. I can't say how many years or he will kick my butt. Here is a picture of him cooking risotto last weekend. He is a good cook, great in fact. Not the only reason I love him, but it doesn't hurt.

We had a nice day. Celebrated in various ways, from snuggling in bed to sharing a fun lunch to dining out tonite. It was a lovely day celebrating John's birth.

And yes, the Hirsch's won...........in number of cards sent. Geez, they totally won, 4 Hirsch cards in total, exceeding even the Hoffman (my maiden name) contingent.

Happy Birthday sweetie. May you have many, many more.

Color therapy

A friend sent me this link to a very cool site. Rather than try to explain, just click on it and try for yourself. Mine was spooky accurate, saying, in part......"enough is enough - and you feel that you've had enough for a while.......you just would like to be able to shout 'stop' and experience a little peace and calm - even if it be only for a little while."

Hmmm, wish I would have thought of that.

Anyway, here's the link:

Colorgenics

Good Reads

During our wannabee vacation last week I finally read 2 books that I enjoyed. I say finally because I have been reading a lot of junk that hasn't been great. Stories that were contrived with shallow characters. Or books that were so cerebral I couldn't grab hold quick enough when all I wanted to do was lose myself in a book. Yes, I have been hankering for a good read. Lucky me I found 2 of them:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
This is a tale of the circus, told through the voice of a 90+ year old man, a nursing home resident, who ran away to the circus when he was in his 20's. It is set in the depression era, the time of the traveling circus train. I lost myself in this book, the descriptions of circus performers, from the midget to the fat lady to the animals, I was drawn in to the John Irving-like book. The story is happy and sadly poignant at the same time. Sure, it's a little cliched and sure the ending is over the top (maybe that's the big top) but you are so in love with the characters it doesn't matter. A very quick read.

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
I thoroughly enjoyed this story of self-absorbed 30 somethings. The book centers around 3 friends who attended Brown together and are now making a life in NY. They consider themselves to be culturally elite and entitled, above it all in their own minds. You perhaps know people like them. You love them, you hate them and (if you're getting older like me) you maybe even remember being a little like them at times(oh, you mean it's not all about me?). This is crisp sophisticated writing, often funny in a tongue in cheek kind of way, and always thought provoking.

Errands

Yeesh, I was running and running all day long today. One errand led to another to another and before I knew it my day was gone.

I am supposed to be making smaller inexpensive products for the holiday but I've been struck indecisive. I hate it when I do this. It's not really indecisive per se, but a case where I have so many ideas that my brain is spinning out of control thus I can't pick a direction.

Bottom line, I was lacking supplies (yes, hard to believe) so I headed to Dick Blick to pick up a couple of things. Of course that meant I would be near Whole Foods. Which meant I had to get olives....the ones stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese...the ones I buy only 4 at a time because they are a little on the pricey side...the ones they keep behind the counter. About $1.50 buys enough for 2 martinis which is a nice little treat.

On the way home I popped into the mall to shop for John's birthday next week. I can't write about what I bought because he might be reading. I did not get it at Macy's though due to an idiot salesman named Jay. Good grief that guy is overzealous; he just drove me nuts, or in this case, he drove me right out of the store.

While at the mall, I stopped in Williams Sonoma for risotto and finally broke down and bought this darling little espresso maker I have lusted after. It replaces my old broken lid model that has lasted for years. I also bought some coffee there, Illy, a brand I had never tried before, the fine ground dark roast Espresso.


I had to hurry home to brew up afternoon lattes for me and John which was so civilized I fear I may have started a new habit. They were absolutely divine if I do say so myself, rivaling those from any coffee shop. If you have never tried one of these stove top coffee makers, they are the best. In fact I own a fancy schmancy one but I honestly prefer the stove top model.

Topless

We did something different on the last day of the show......popped the canopy off the tent! It looked really cool; I loved seeing the gorgeous trees above the tent and it allowed the sun into the booth. I think it helped sales as well since I had my best ever single day sales on Sunday. What a terrific show and an exhilarating way to end my Art Fair Year!

So, onward and upward we go. I have a couple holiday events to prepare for. And several commissions that I have collected on my journey. No vacation or play time just yet. But I remain hopeful.

Great Gulfcoast indeed

This is Pensacola beach, the view from our hotel. It is really fabulous, the sand is so white and fluffy it looks as if it has snowed. And it is a cool here, but not quite that bad and also warming up significantly today, to the upper 60's. Then into the 70's for the rest of our visit.

The second view is what I saw upon waking. Gorgeous. There is nothing so restorative as the water. This is a lovely way to end my season.

The show starts in a couple hours. If you're in the Pensacola area, come see me at the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival.

Beam me up

We are in Montgomery, AL, on our way to Pensacola. Staying in a Hampton Inn, per our usual pattern. This is an older one and, although it's been updated it's not quite as nice as some. The linens, mattress and pillow selection are still great though.

There is a smoke alarm above the bed, smack dab in the middle of the ceiling. It has a tiny green light which I am guessing is a power indicator, like it is working? Last night when the room was pitch dark, it cast a spotlight onto our bed. I kid you not. There were no performances in store though. John was pretty wiped after driving 9 hours in heavy rain. And I was wiped from telling him how to drive during 9 hours of heavy rain. I exaggerate, but I was a total wreck all day as that kind of driving scares the crap out of me.

Onward we go to Pensacola this morning where we will set up the booth.

We exercised our right to vote today. On Saturday I smacked myself in the head when I realized we were going to be out of town on election day. Of course it was too late to get a ballot sent in the mail, so we had no option but to go to the Election Board.

I didn't want to miss this particular election because there are some big issues on the ballot here in Missouri. I am kind of passionate about some of them, especially the one on Stem Cells, enough so that I have a bumper sticker on my car that says Yes on 2.

And Lordy Lordy there was a big crowd. We stood in line for probably 45 minutes which I didn't really have in my schedule since we are leaving town tomorrow and I had a long list of stuff that needed to be done. Apparently there was something on the radio or in the paper that suggested elderly folks may want to vote early at the Election Board in order to get personal instruction on the new computer voting machines.

Oh.

Make that elderly folks and John and Mary Beth.

Seriously, it wasn't too bad as the line moved quickly. And frankly, I was pleased to see such a high level of interest in the election. I just hope they were all voting the right way. Or maybe that would be the left way.

Paper & Paint

Several months back I mentioned an Altered Book swap that I am doing. It's the only swap I am involved with; this group meets once a month and we exchange books. There are about 22 (?) people participating in the swap, so this has been nearly a 2 year project. Yikes, how time flies!!!

Anyway, here it is, my final spread, for Harriet's Favorite Things book.

All I did here was gesso the pages and then glue down scraps of my paste painted paper. I was pretty happy with how it turned out though and it even seems like a happy piece to me. Probably cause I was working with 2 of my favorite things.

Almost Play time

I am holed up in the studio readying myself for the next show, which also happens to be my last outdoor art fair for 2006. It is hard to stay in the moment as my mind is racing ahead to all the things I want to do once the shows are over. I am taking a long time off, months in fact, to replenish the well and explore all the ideas I have been journaling. Because I have been very focused (oh, you think I'm obsessive?) with the shows and have simply not allowed myself the luxury of dabbling in other mediums or even varying my process too much.

That is a luxury you know, all that Play. I have several friends who spend a lot of time at Play and I can't believe how envious I am. That is the kind of thing that can make me jealous(if I let it), seeing other artists with the freedom to engage in full-time Play. Because I used to do that myself before I made the decision to have a business and put myself fully "out there." This making of art for business, the business of art to earn a living, changes everything. It has to really, if you expect it to work and any reader knows I am nothing if not determined.

I remember being a wild horse, running free, stopping here and there to munch, sniff, scratch an itch. Then I was pastured, but still had quite a lot of freedom to ramble around at will. Now I would say I am harnessed. And sometimes, on those bad days when I am feeling completely overwhelmed (yeah, that happens even to Pollyanna girl) it feels like I am dragging a cart behind me.

Don't get me wrong, no complaints here, I love what I am doing and I am not just saying that because I write these words on a public blog. I reallyreallyreally love what I am doing, it is so inextricably linked to who I am I simply could. not. stop. I check myself with that silly old question: What would you do if you won the lottery? And of course I would do exactly the same thing I am doing. Possibly not as many shows because this was an extraordinary year. I was naive to enter so many shows. Then I had amazing good fortune to be accepted into so many of them. Being new at this, I didn't want to decline any opportunity. In retrospect it got a little crazy at times, that being a slight understatement which will cause my husband to snort while reading this sentence.

So here I am nearly at my season's end. A little tired. OK, make that a lot tired. But also feeling very fullfilled and certainly proud that I have accomplished what I set forth to do. I am blessed beyond belief. And this little horsey is champing on the bit to P-L-A-Y and see what comes up next.

And another thing

Don't talk on the cell phone while you are in a public bathroom. Actually this extends to any bathroom. You would think this goes without saying; I mean get a clue people. No one wants to share your potty experience.

Potty talk

It has been awhile since I shared a pet peeve. It's one of those subjects never discussed, a dirty little secret of sorts. Yet something I notice all the time in public women's bathrooms. You ladies all know what I am talking about - women who pee on toilet seats.

I mean what's up with that?

The thing is, I'm guessing most of us can plead guilty to this at one time or another because it is drilled into all girly girls that we must not ever, under any circumstances, actually sit on a public toilet seat. Which means we have to learn to pee while squatting and that is when the potential dribble occurs. OK, I'll be the first to confess, I've done it myself. But at least I have the decency to clean up for the next person.

In fact, I believe I have refined if not perfected a Squat, Swipe and Kick/Flush technique. It goes something like this:

Perch yourself over the toilet. It really works best as a squat, like if you have ever lifted weights, a true squat with your butt stuck out in an unseemly fashion. This allows for proper balance (even in stilettos) and ensures that you are actually over the toilet bowl as opposed to the seat.

Pee.

Wipe, but hold onto to the toilet paper for a second longer as you quickly peruse the seat to see if any dribbling has occurred. If so, use the paper to quickly swipe the seat clean, then drop the paper into the toilet. Turn and flush using a karate-like kick of the handle. Voila. It's quick, it's efficient and no flesh ever touches a questionable surface.

Don't even talk to me about how I handle all the Porta-Johns I encounter at these outdoor art fairs.......

Kentuck - o - rama

Well, what a show this was. Fun. Fresh. Freezing cold, not necessarily in that order, the cold sort of lurked underneath it all.

First of all, the fun. In addition to being an art show, this is also a music festival which attracts terrific groups, mainly southern musicians. My booth was situated close enough to one stage to hear some of the music and it was neat to hear groups who were new to me. Such as The Avett Brothers (what a hoot!) and the Pine Hill Haints. The music was blues meets country meets rock with that southern influence thrown in for good measure.

Fresh refers to the artists, many who I had never met before. You see, all year long I've been part of this roving band of gypsy artists traveling from show to show, where I see largely the same people every weekend. But this was sooooo different. I met Chris Hubbard, standing next to his Heaven and Hell car, in the first photo. Click on the link to read more about Chris; a really neat guy. I would have bought some of his art if he hadn't sold nearly ALL of it by the time I met him early on Sunday morning (hence the atmospheric fog hadn't yet cleared). I don't know who owns the other car but I saw it in the parking lot every day. I can't see doing this to my beloved Saab(at least not just yet), but I enjoy seeing Art Cars.

Below is the space that was next to Chris. I didn't meet the artist, but his medium is 5 gallon plastic buckets which he melts down and fashions into his art. He is sort of a legend and was working with a gallery owner when I happened to be over there, so naturally I didn't interrupt. Clearly, he has quite a following. I believe he and Chris were both "Guest Artists" which means the festival invites them to attend, they don't actually jury in like the rest of the crowd. It seemed like most of the "known" folk artists were guests of the festival. It was fascinating to see such an amazing range of folk art, from painted rocks to found object assemblages to funky fiber, quite an assortment. I was so rocked by the show in general. I would love to do it again and hope I get in next year. Even if I don't get in, I think I would attend just because it's that cool and that fun; really something to see and experience.

The last picture shows the back hoe removing water that had accumulated after a heavy rain on Saturday night created several "lakes" throughout the park. Ugh, what a mess. Luckily, we were on high ground, so it didn't affect us, but it was horrible for some booths and the festival staff did an amazing job removing water and placing wood chips on the ground.


And freezing, well yes, it was that too. Supposed to be mid-70's all weekend, but we awoke to 38 degrees the first day with a projected high of 70. It's pretty hard to make a clothing selection that will cover such a wide temperature swing - can you say layers? And despite my 5 layers, I was still very cold for the first 3 hours of the day. That was before John located small Coleman Propane heaters (which he bought for me & 2 of my friends). I put that thing under my chair and nearly set my ass on fire. Which felt really really good.

We are heading out today, down to Kentuck, a fantastic (at least I am hoping) show in Alabama. A friend of mine did the show last year and has talked about it at length, about how it showcases such interesting art. The show was written up in a couple big name magazines and it apparently is known for featuring folk/outsider art. I have no idea if my art will be a hit or not, I mainly hope I don't spend all my earnings buying other people's work, ha, ha.

And I am also hoping I can catch some rest in the car. After being sick for about 3 days and getting tons of sleep, I felt energetic and back to my perky self yesterday. Which means I was also back to my insomniac ways. Ugh. Nothing worked......Bedtime Beats CD, Hypnosis tape, Tylenol PM....it was horrible. John and Merlyn were both snoring of course. But the worst part was that I hadn't made up the guest bed since Rhonda was here, so I had nowhere to sleep. I was wandering around the house like Linus, dragging a blanket and a pillow, moving from futon to couch to futon to couch, hoping for a spot that would do the trick. Even the cats stopped following me after awhile.

More pics from the Opening

This first pic is Rhonda, Chris, Jennifer, and me. Rhonda is one of my best art pals who I met several years ago doing the Venus Envy event. John actually met her first while they were vacuuming a huge room together. She has become our very good friend and also my "mentor" in the Art Fair biz. She actually introduced me to Chris (he & Jennifer are the gallery owners) earlier this year. Lucky for me, Chris had seen my work and urged me to contact Jennifer (which I did) and the rest is history. Rhonda works in Clay and she had some of her vessels in the show too.

And this is me and Robin (with John looking on). Robin is another one of my good pals. She wins the award for best companion at a flea market or antique mall. She manages to find the coolest stuff and is exceedingly generous in turning things over to me for use in my work. I mean that's something special, a friend who will share good finds with you!!! She also has a wicked sense of humor and we routinely crack up during our little escapades. You can't see it in this photo but she is wearing the greatest Sailor Jerry's t-shirt. I would love to get me one of them if only they were still available.

Am I really this short?

Here we are at the gallery, me(short, even in 3 inch heels), my friend Claire (sporting her new adorable haircut) and John(his ever handsome self.

We traveled to Columbia with our teeny tiny entourage, that was Claire, Rhonda, and Robin, plus John and me. I was so happy to have my friends along. It meant a lot to me.

And the Opening was faboo. Jennifer and Chris are simply the best providing not only a stunning exhibition space, but excellent food, good wine, lots of people. It was exciting to see my art on the walls in such a setting; one of those "pinch me" moments. Also surrounded by other incredible art. The Asst. Curator of the gallery, Joel Sager, is part of this show too, with a new series of oil and tar paintings that are absolutely stunning. The kind of paintings that make me want to fall on my knees in worshipful adoration.

There are about 15 of my paintings on the walls and a group of 9-6x6's on a table. John took these photos early before the crowd arrived. Later it was pretty hard to get shots of the art because there were lots of people all around.

It seemed like my work was well received. One of the pieces actually sold during the opening and that was a thrill.

But alas, now I am sickly. My sleepless nights have apparently compromised my immune system and a sore throat and cold snuck up on me yesterday. Ugh, not really what I needed. So I am resting and taking it easy(actually I am writing a blog post, but I am going to rest shortly), trying to get better before we leave Thursday.

(And, just in case you are wondering about this psycho arrangement of photos and text, Blogger, has a true mind of it's own in this regard. It simply will not allow me to arrange photos in the way I want; it tends to put things wherever it wants.)

Gallery Show

I've been talking about it for months and it is finally here. My work is part of a the fall group show at Perlow-Stevens Gallery in Columbia, MO. I made the delivery last week, drove the truck all by myself; really, I am quite capable despite my princess reputation. They hung the work on Saturday and the show actually opened on Tuesday although I haven't seen it yet. The reception is tomorrow night and I will be attending with my own teeny-tiny entourage - ie, very good friends who will give up a Saturday night to drive an hour and a half for dinner then stand at a gallery with me for 3 hours then drive an hour and a half home. My parents declined the opportunity. Thank goodness for my adopted family/friends.

I am just a wee bit excited. I will take pictures of course because I will remember my camera this time.

And, if you're anywhere near Columbia, MO, check it out. This is a wonderful classy gallery. I can't say enough about the owners Chris and Jennifer as they are delightful people.

So, life resumes

Whew, just like the title of one of my collages, I am coming up for air. Mom and Dad are gone, I have finished the laundry and the house has mainly been restored to normal (whatever that might be).

It was a good visit. Mom and I spent a lot of time in the studio and I set her up at my paste painting station. She painted a lot of papers that she will use in projects for a home show she is doing in November. I think she had fun getting messy because she usually works in her kitchen and I am guessing she holds back a little bit because of not wanting to completely trash the place.

Many funny moments over the weekend. I won't allow my Dad to smoke his obscenely stinky cigars in the house (duh). So he smokes out on our patio. He actually stands outside the door and continues to watch TV through the door. Mom said he does the same thing at home although he even pulls a chair up to the door. It is pretty hilarious and unfortunately I didn't think of getting a picture of this till it was too dark.

After my parents left, John and I celebrated our 13th anniversary yesterday. We thumbed our noses at all those naysayers who said it wouldn't last. And yes, there really were such people. It is pretty funny to think of today, but I remember actually discussing that "objection phrase" when we were working on our marriage vows. Because I knew someone would really object.

We have the last laugh though and I thank my lucky stars I ended up with this man as my partner. I could not have wished for a better friend to be at my side during life's journey. I simply cherish him.

Check it out!

Last week I made a piece for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. They have an upcoming event called eARThworks:art for an endangered planet. I challenged myself to produce something different and I really stepped out of the box. I was pretty excited about the result which can been seen here.

If you are local, you may want to get tickets for the Gala Auction on Saturday, November 18th. John and I will be there!

My mom and dad are visiting later this week. I guess for some people that would be no big deal. For me of course, it signals massive amounts of work as I turn the house upside down and attempt to complete all the "projects" I have wanted to do in the last 2 years since they visited. Ugh. Like the guest room for instance.; the closet has become a dumping ground for all sorts of things that have no home. Like clothes I intend to donate. Old framed art we are not using. Empty shoe boxes (huh? why am I saving these?). Fuschia feathered boa (don't ask).

The room is large and bright and I have this idea it should be inviting and appealing in a bed and breakfast sort of way. At this point there is a bed and 2 little wicker chests. That's it. Spare you might say? Un-decorated is the look that comes to my mind.

My mom is a craft hobbyist and just loves my studio. She is enthralled by all the books and art supplies and I could probably just leave her down there for the entire visit. In fact, she has announced that is all she really wants to do; hang in my studio so I can teach her things. Nice? Yeah, of course it's nice and I really cherish this opportunity. But the place is simply a mess from too many back to back shows. The downside of all this space is I can spread out and the mess has moved way beyond reasonable parameters.

Yesterday I tackled the studio. Worked nearly all day long to put things back in their places. John restored the art to the gallery walls. I went through a huge(and I mean H-U-G-E) pile of paper stuff that has been stacked up on a table because I was too lazy to sort through it after I got the flat files. Finally got things into nearly all the drawers and labeled them. That was pretty cool really. I had to make something last night (I could tell you but I'd have to kill you) and it was so easy to pull out the drawer of "Painted Paper Scraps" and instantly gather up some cool stuff. What a bonus!

And I even painted again into the wee hours. This habit of working late is serving me well and I am getting a lot done in the hours from 9pm to midnite or one. It's like my special time, just me and the cats because all three of them join me. Oddly, I still get up about the same time in the morning and currently don't feel I am missing the sleep. Of course I might hit the wall at any moment.

So today I tackle the guest room and then I am going to ramble around some of my favorite bargain spots to see if I can find any cheap yet charming things to put in there. Like a small chair, a side table, lamp, even a luggage rack would be good.

Tomorrow will be the dreaded dining room.

Will it play in Peoria?

I will answer this with a resounding NO! Yeesh, what is it with the shows! The Art Fair Gods giveth and the Art Fair Gods taketh away.

After such an amazingly stellar weekend at Plaza, I barely scraped together enough money to cover my expenses at Peoria. OUCH!!! It will go down in history as my worst show of all time, the weekend John and I worked our asses off in Peoria for no apparent reason. As an aside, those of you wondering why I went - this is a highly rated show that was recommended to me by other artists - very competitive to enter, etc. So that is why I was there. I won't return though; there simply was not enough interest in my work. Despite a picture of my art featured in a newspaper article (a huge image of Real Deal, what a rush it was to see); despite the fact my art was shown a a TV commercial; despite the fact 2 of my pieces were in a Gallery Preview show.

In fact, the Gallery wanted me to sign a contract and leave some art with them, an offer I would normally have jumped all over. But I declined. I mean what's the point? Honestly I have better venues. So I said no which is something new for me as I am very very bad at saying no.

The one good thing, I saw my friend Ann Cianciolo, who I haven't seen all year long. We ended up giving each other gifts. I bestowed 2 of my collages for her to add to her collection. And she is making me a ring. I already have her absolutely fabulous "leg" earrings, silver ones with 18k gold accents.

The weather was also good, the kind of perfect fall days that are so special here in the Midwest. And the Mark Twain Hotel (if you ever find yourself in Peoria) is really a lovely reasonably priced boutique hotel. Great beds, linens, bath supplies. Plus free internet.

It also helped that there were many many artists not selling, it wasn't just me. I know that is horrible to say, but misery(after all) does love company. So sad though when the majority of us don't even make our expense money. There was an incredible ceramic artist from Florida, Patricia Mullins, who makes the most gorgeous intricate high end ceramics. One patron actually said to her, "thank you so much for coming all this way to show us your work." And that is sort of what it was like, an exhibition where people didn't realize they could buy, or they didn't have the money, or who knows? I had heard perhaps Caterpillar (the main employer in town) had recently made lay-offs. And that could have been part of the reason. I'm not sure what went wrong as the promoters did a wonderful job and threw a lovely show, covering absolutely all the bases from set-up to publicity to amenities. Very nice people, it's just too bad the clientele didn't buy.