The busy end of the year

Yep, I'm busy, just like everyone else it seems. My dear friend dropped me an email today to see if everything was alright between us because she thought she might be getting bad vibes. No, I told her...I too busy to send vibes. I'm just missing in action!

Amongst all the other things I've been doing was my girls' first irish dance recital. They were two of the only girls who had REAL curls at the performance. They did a stellar job! Of course I got all weepy.

Matt is traveling like crazy which makes it feel even more like solitary confinement, EXCEPT for the great work I've been producing. I'm creating a new line of paper for Creative Imaginations that I think I'm going to call Brushstrokes. I LOVE IT! Seriously! I can't get enough of it. I'm just working on a birthday/celebration line right now but soon I'll be working on baby and/or wedding. I can't wait until I can share it here on the blog! Oh, its going to be such a long wait until CHA WINTER!

I am getting things ready for CHA Summer in July. If you'll be there, please stop by and say hi! I'll be at the CI booth for most of the time.

back to work!

Finding Motivation...and following it

I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love right now. I don't love it but I'm committed. Once I start a book, (more than 5 pages) I feel the need to finish it no matter how much I dislike it. Of course it takes at least 2 chapters for me to decide that I don't care for the book. I think the book is written well enough it's just that I don't love the subject matter. I'm bored with listening to her find herself and her struggle (at this point in the book) to be able to meditate in an Ashram in India.

I'm SOOO busy right now and I'm spending this time (or wasting this time) listening to her struggle when I could spend the time struggling with my own demons, like say--my organization of time. I am getting product ready for a Holiday Co-op jury this weekend, I'm creating finished product for the packaging of my Parts and Parcel line, and I need to be making art for my new paper line...did I mention that I desperately need to do laundry and that I'm being talked to about a bigger role in the Brookline Open Studios (Lunch meeting on that today!), and that I've needed a haircut for 3 weeks and but don't even have the time to call for the appointment!

So I've actually pulled an idea from the book. I'm going to dedicate the hard days of art making to someone. Today is Becky's day. Today I will do well because I'm doing it for Bec. (in the book the author gets through a grueling chant by doing it for her eight year old nephew---I will do it for my 8 yr old daughter).

So, here we go... time to make the donuts--I mean ART.

Inspired by Others

So, this weeks Illustration Friday prompt was WORRY. Even though I'm just now posting on Tuesday (thanks to a LOVELY weekend in NH), I actually started this piece after scanning the handful of entries that had been posted as of 11 or so on Friday. This entry by Willie Baronet was really the inspiration for my piece this week. His sketch of dry-spell-worry was an instant catalyst for my piece entitled Never Enough Time. While Willie worries about running out of ideas, I worry about running out of life before I can get the ideas out of my head!

I'm sure I've mentioned all this before in my blog, somewhere. But let me explain things again while you are looking at my worry. When I was in the midst of writing my first book I would send my mum pics of some of my projects. She would give me feedback and once asked me if I was worried that I would ever run out of ideas. I told her NO! I was worried I was going to have to leave this earth waaaaaayyyy before I had the opportunity to share all the ideas that were swirling around in my head.

This is definitely the reason why I've written 6 books since 2005 and why I teach whenever I can. I just feel an intense need to pass my ideas on. Now, I'm not saying that every idea is a great one, but I've found that if the idea lives on in my head for more than say....4 weeks, I know its something I'm going to have to pay some attention to. I also don't necessarily get the right ideas at the right time. Right now I'm designing a new line of stamps and all I can think of are the 5 new book ideas I have that I'd like to propose to my editor. (They're coming Mary Ann!) Later today I have to put together my proposal for teaching at Art and Soul and I'm sure all I'll be able to think about is the art co-op I have to prepare for next week.



And now that I've given you a little glimpse into myself, check out this new book, Mixed Media Self-Portraits by Cate Prato that I've contributed to! I haven't seen the inside yet but the list of other artists is amazing.

But enough about me--now I've got to write up the class proposal...

IF: Wide (Your Future is Wide Open)

This week's IF prompt, WIDE, immediately had me humming Tom Petty's Into the Great Wide Open. I also spent Monday at the Museum of Fine Arts taking part two of The Grand Tour: Sharing the Museum with Children class. While there I looked at a fabulous collage that was by an artist named Catherine McCartney (I think--I'll have to go back and check it out) The piece was a statement about being anything you want to be. It was just fabulous! Fabulous! Fabulous!

This piece is in an old Crystallized Ginger tin that was "packed for the S.S. Pierce Company" which happens to be a local Brookline name. Hence the reason I originally bought the tin. I wanted to make a piece with a door opening and at first I was going to try and actually build a door with dollhouse components but I didn't want to wait until I could get to the store. The tin is gessoed in black and the left side (the lid) is written on in a few different pens and inks and then was embossed to give some dimension and depth to the writing. The right side is a doorway to the future. I want my girls to aim for that opening as I have. The buildings are both city and country dwelings. I feel we can only make good decisions and choices when we are presented with all (or many) of the options. If we never see what we might become--can we ever know to try?

I love the idea of an assemblage illustration like this and I'm thinking of exploring this further. What are your thoughts??

Brookline IS NOT FLAT

Hmmm... I guess I didn't realize how many hills there were in Brookline. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have had HOT soup for lunch. I almost made it without stopping but when I got to the last hill I was seriously feeling sick. I need to get a waterbottle holder for my bike next time. And maybe a new bike that has WORKING gears. But it was fun just the same! I even got a little emotional when The head of the bike parade looped at one end and passed us going the other way. Yeah! to saving the planet.

Abby made me a mother's day card at school and said I was a good mom because I took care of my family. AND I was a Wonderful mom because I take care of the Planet. WOW! I guess my recycling (and bicycling) are paying off as good examples--for Abby at least.

Oh, and for those of you who did or didn't see the Brookline Tab article here is the link....the video of before and after is there now too! and if you didn't already think I was a little bit off my rocker, take a look at the before video! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?

I've started my Illustration Friday piece (theme WIDE) but it's not complete yet...think "the Future is Wide Open".... Stay tuned

Brimfield I-Spy

I spy, with my little eye:

a Chinese imported box that will make a perfect assemblage spot

glimmering crystals, I'll make lovely ornaments and use the whole lot

speller book with entries like: The bishop is no bibber nor bigot

Three metal frames all dirty and rusted and each has a letter slot

two strings of oval and egg shaped beads for necklace couture that is haute

a plethora of metals thing, what I'll use them for yet, I know not

I'm not sure what happened yesteray but I definitely hit a wall at noon. I think I should have taken a morning break and I could have gone a bit longer. I think knowing that I was going to head back with friends on Friday was reassuring enough that I felt comfortable heading home at about 1.

I toyed with a bunch of paper weights and whether or not to buy them. I'd like to use them for my potential art co-op this christmas but I'm not sure. If you've seen my (co-authored) book Handmade Gifts, you've probably seen the really great set of paperweights I made in there. I'd love to make a handful more but I'm not sure if they'd sell as holiday gifts. Thought??? Right now I'm going to focus on some altered paper jewelry, small works of art, ornaments, and metallic message boards. I'm thinking "bits". "bits" of art, "bits" of whimsy, "bits" of beauty. One of the strings of beads I found look like speckled birds eggs. Now I'm in search of old bird illustration books...hmmmm the wheels are turning.

I love a challenge. Really. I just LOVE them. Give me three ingredients and dare me to make dinner, give me a new tool or supply and aske me for 3 new ways to use it. Give me 7 kinds of chocolate and dare me to pick a favorite (ok that last one was really just a ploy to get some chocolate!)

hmmmm....

Maybe I'll go bake some cookies...

All the News that's fit to Print

Yep, that's me with a strange man in my bathroom. It's the photographer for the Brookline Tab. They're doing a story of some sort about our carriage house/home/renovation/and maybe living in Brookline--sort of article. We've been told that we are the first real estate article to make an appearance in the Life section of the newspaper.

Matt made them a CD with pics from before the renovation including the video I shot. They will be adding some of this on the website. The article is being written by Neil Simpson and once I have a link, I'll put it here. It's been fun showing off the house for the umpteenth time. I'm not sure when I'll tire of it all. I think I love Matt more every time I talk about how we worked together to make this incredible home. Oh, and did I mention that he washed the floor for me on Mother's day?!?!? How could you not love him?

Also, another exciting happening today was getting to meet Author Annie Barrows (writer of the Ivy and Bean books). If you have a 1st- 3rd grade daughter, niece, grandaughter, cousin, stepdaughter, or other such young lady in your life who hasn't read one of these books yet, stop reading this blog and hop over to Amazon and order one (two, three, and the NEW four!) This is the book that turned Bec onto reading--I mean not just because I told her too. But, instead because she wanted to. Like when she could have turned on the boob tube! I know! FANTASTIC! Annie was wonderful with the kids. She was fun and encouraging and answered a TON of questions (a number of which were asked multiple times). No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't trip her up.

Did I mention my latest goal? I might as well put it out there right??! When I moved to Brookline my goal was to get my art into a coffee shop. I hadn't had ANY shows yet but I knew I wanted a good goal for my new life back in Massachusetts. YEAH! My art work is looking lovely at the neighborhood hot spot... Kookoos! SOOO, my new goal, to work on in my spare time (HA!) is to write and illustrate a children's book! Don't hold your breath. It will take me a while but there it is--my new goal. Thrown out into the universe for someone to hear, read or hold me to.

For now? My goal is to make it to the grocery store for toilet paper, milk and something resembling a vegetable before the natives get hungry and restless.