After a fairly long hiatus, I have returned to my creative self. I have missed this outlet but it is innate and although I have been busy as a new adoptive mom to a teen, and how chaotic my life has been through the pandemic and reengagement with the world, I tapped into every opportunity we had. During lockdown, my family bonded endlessly which was brilliant for us and much needed. We did a virtual paint event. I switched my focus and try to offer support and opportunities to my daughter. I steered her through a theatre production, voice lessons, drawing lessons and sewing lessons. She is now back in HS face to face and in a special program for fashion design! The positive side of Covid. One of the many ways we bonded that also included my husband, was we collaborated on a mural in my daughters room. I worked with her on what her vision was and settled on a beach theme. Google as my guide for inspiration, I sketched and mapped out in a paint by numbers methodology, on my daughters bedroom wall, sections to paint and provided the paint for each section. Each of us brush in hand filled in the space, I added touches at the end and we all signed our names. Highly recommend for your family and I am happy to guide you in this process if you want to try it in your home!
 I wish I huddled my thoughts together today before I jumped into my latest project...
Inspired Then Sidetracked It has been frigid cold here in the North East. Snow covers the ground. Ice has formed on any surface not exposed to the sun. Anyone walking around for longer periods of time than going from home to car then car to ___ is covered up because it is dangerous! Not a very interesting stage setting. But as I was driving home from town this morning I spotted a person standing on the side of the road bundled up from head to toe and just staring at the ground. Not sure if they were staring down to block the cold or if they were waiting for a bus or a ride. It happened so quickly that the only memory etched in my brain was a person standing in the cold in a maroon down coat with fur trim collar. Suddenly it was interesting! I was trying to imagine this visual all the way home and envisioned me getting home and immediately putting this on paper or canvas - debating my medium, the colors, the shadows. Wondering how to memorialize this brief piece of my day. How did people do it pre-camera? Pre Google optic whatever? I squashed the internal banter and hurried home and then got side tracked. What Am I Doing? Noticing the time, my brain went to lunch mode and more so thoughts about what I would eat for lunch. I was almost home when I rerouted back to town for some lunch. The thoughts of my person in the cold fading with thoughts of tuna sandwiches and then any other groceries I should pick up while I was out. While eating lunch I had the realization that I had more pressing and delinquent projects needed to be tackled prior to beginning this new one. One being that several weeks ago we decided to host a Puppy Bowl (Super Bowl) party and as an excuse for me to spend money, I slipped into the new JoAnn fabrics to check out fabric for an eco friendly solution for a Super Bowl party tablecloth. Yes, we have hosted Super Bowl gatherings previously and no we do not need a new tableloth. Needless to say I settled on a fabric and very carefully selected trim, etc. Was I being the MacGyver of crafts? the selection of football themed fabric, or even sports themed fabric was slim to none. Alas I purchased 2 yards of a green and white football field-ish looking flannel and brown trim something or other (hoping to represent the game/sport itself and not a specific team). Did I tell you I don't really know what I am doing? Super Bowl is next week and I have the supplies but never started putting this tablecloth together. So today was the day! I'm Not Going to be Defeated I don't sew. I own a sewing machine. I have taken classes, but I don't do it enough to know more than to get by. Boy did that bobbin challenge me today! Another blog for my sewing machine experiences would be good for a chuckle (ear marked). What should have taken me at most an hour or an hour and a half took me about 3 hours. For some unknown reason the main thread feed and the bobbin thread kept tangling and it wore my patience beyond thin. I did my yoga this morning so I tried to be all Zen like and find the lesson in this and basically decided that I would not be defeated!! Well Almost I finally got my threading in order and even switched things up to better quality which involved new colors, broke a freakin' needle and finished or at least finished up the supplies that I had. Now I need to go to the local fabric store (mom and pop but I heart it) and buy more trim if they even carry what I need, so I may complete this tablecloth in time for Puppy (Super) Bowl. ~Heavy Sigh~  I have two questions:
2013 rang in with promise and it delivered a lot of change. It was very challenging with very strong agendas for our family, finances, employment, health, legal matters, responsibility and obligations. I feel like we lived through "Its a Wonderful Life" and I couldn't be happier! I feel good! Life is good! Art played several roles in my challenges this year! It provided me an outlet to establish myself back into the local art community and as a result I was in my first juried show. Woot! People like my work! I have sold several packages of my paintings on blank cards this holiday lending me some extra pocket money! Woot! I have received several requests to be commissioned for personal paintings in 2014. Woot, Woot! I have myself registered for more classes. This was huge, because I use this as my studio time and enjoy the collaboration with other artists. I tackled some new creative areas such as knitting and received very positive feedback and made some sales too! Woot, woot, woot! Finally, we lost my Father In law in early December and as a memorial to his creativity and uniqueness, I created these Christmas tree balls for his/our immediate family. He was a master Origami creator to the end and an amateur Astronomer, so I captured these two elements. The frog origami was remaining from his memorial service, sparkly cool tinsel represented the stars and the dried flowers were from his memorial gathering. Painted on the back are his name and dates. Cathartic for me to create, but also again reconnecting me to my interests this one being my thoughtfulness and emotional side and showing it in an expression of grief and then dabbling back into my love for drying flowers. So to answer my own questions, what the heck happened this year and where did the time go? Well, I grew in so many ways. Time stood still and it fast forwarded. No DVRing needed! Change can be difficult and sometimes we need to slow it down, change direction, even change the roads we are on. Doors or even windows always open people, look for the signs! I have crossed over into the uncomfortable and out of my zone of normalcy. Not seeing the forest for the trees it was hard to understand this process as I was going through it but I get it now. This year was my plot twist and now for the new chapters. God bless and have a wonderful 2014! It is official! I will have a painting in this show.
49th Annual ARTISTS OF NORTHERN WESTCHESTER SHOW Sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Briarcliff, Croton and Ossining Route 9A, north ...of Croton-on-Hudson Directions on website: www.uucroton.org ARTISTS AND FRIENDS OPENING RECEPTION - Saturday, November 9th, 4:00 – 6:00 pm ANW Small Works Show Extended Exhibit Hours: Nov. 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, Dec. 1, 1 – 4 p.m. http://www.uucroton.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1316501&eventId=709058&EventViewMode=EventDetails This is a juried show. (Ah Grasshopper!) I had to provide 3 works to be evaluated by a committee and then find out if I was accepted to participate or not in the show. If the committee had a recommendation for one specific piece to enter, they would let you know upon acceptance....So I was selected BUT they did not let me know which painting they liked - maybe they liked them all! So, now I must decide which one of the 3 to submit to the actual show. Here we are again! It has been a long time! News! Blank Cards! I had turned my paintings into blank note cards and was giving them away as gifts....and then I started getting requests on how more could be acquired! So, I printed up a bunch and have packaged them and sell them for an assortment of 5 with a pen. Below is a basket that was on display at a local fair that my kind creative friend offered to place on her table while she tended and sold her jewelry. Great teachers gifts!  Spent part if the morning sketching. Venue was the mall, so chose to have a few mannequins to be my models.
Been really busy these past two weeks. I have volunteered my time to do the publicity for a friend's new theatre group's premiere show. I have been surfing the web and contacting newspapers, schools, radio stations, local groups and organizations, to drum up interest to attend their performances....creating calendar events, printing fliers...old school style and some mod stuff too. Creative? Writing! Yes, I wrote a press release that was distributed online and I mailed it...regular US postal service! Ha! Not THE most creative, but I am enjoying the whole process and reconnecting with my community theatre roots and peeps.
 Again with the food! Another made with love birthday treat. This time for my husband. Homemade sauce. Homemade meatballs. Homemade pasta. My first attempt at the pasta, my best success at sauce and meatballs! Not too shabby for an Irish gal!
 Sometimes my creativity comes in the form of a cake! Baked with love for
our Auntie's birthday.  Lesson on flesh, left my model's hand blending into her belly and looking like she may be pregnant! This was not a live model series, but a sketch done by
my teacher that we used during a lesson on flesh. |
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