I'm Doing the No Snow Dance

Hello friends! Hope you are well. I'm doing the NO SNOW DANCE TODAY AND TONIGHT as I have had quite enough after the last snow that hit here in Virginia a couple of weeks ago. I grew up in New York State and also lived in Boston for a number of years so I have had enough to last me a life time. Virginia does not know how to deal with it, and I find it hard to deal with Virginia not knowing how to deal with it. The older I get the less patience I have to deal with it. Yes, I know it's pretty if you do not have to go out in it, break your back shoveling to go out in it etc and if you live somewhere where they know how to deal with it. When I was in college in upstate New York we went to classes by holding on to ropes that were suspended from one building to another,and weighed our back packs down with bricks and books so we wouldn't be blown away into snow drifts. They did not cancel classes. Here, the mere whisper of the "s" word sends people flocking to the grocery store for bread and milk and schools are let out early. Sometimes I think the weather people, the media, and the grocery stores are in "cahoots" with each other. So, while this last snow was more than a whisper, and it came down very hard and fast, it was a royal pain in my you know what. Ok. Enough of my whining. I am working my way up to putting my house on the market so am doing a lot of downsizing and packing. The majority of my boxes will say "studio." I am moving to a much smaller place but a studio I will have- in place of a living room and dining room. I mean, who needs that when you've already had that. It is more important to me to have a place to come home to where I can make happy messes. Something new to share- a kind of continuation of work in my last post. I seem to be very drawn to this watercolor and collage thing. For those of you who follow me on Instagram, sorry for the repeat. Got to get back to my packing. Wishing you a peaceful and creative weekend. I'm going to make a quick stop at Paint Party Friday since I can't seem to stay awake long enough on a Friday night to post much lately. I wonder if we could do a hash tag for Paint Party Friday on Instagram. Anyone thought of doing that? Thanks for stopping by.

Seeing Things Differently

So, one of the things I wanted to do this year was learn to draw. I finally got my hands on and have been devouring Danny Gregory's book The Creative License. Last year I altered a cheapo calendar planner from the Dollar Store and every morning in the car before work, I documented by life with tidbits of journaling and bits of art. It felt good to me to do a little art before I went into work. I will show you that finished book at another post. Now I am starting from scratch, learning to draw, learning to see things differently. I found in the last two weeks, I cannot finish a drawing in one session- it takes one session to sketch it out and another to add some color to it, and, I really have no idea how to work with watercolor, so I really am just experimenting and playing. It's quite different for me. It tests my patience. I am so used to slathering, spreading, throwing down some paint. But I want to illustrate what's going on in my life or my day, along with some tidbits of journaling. So here is what I've started with. Please excuse the poor photographs. It is night as I am photographing and posting and the lighting is not very good. So, there you have my humble beginnings of illustrating my life. I am linking to Paint Party Friday. Go hereif you want to see lots of wonderful art and a friendly, supportive place to be. Thanks for visiting here. I hope you have a peaceful weekend......Jo

She Laughs Without Fear

Greetings friends and Happy New Year!! I hope everyone is well. Just wanted to share something short tonight. It's been a heck of a work week and it's all I can do to sit at this keyboard. I've been playing around with water color for a few weeks. I really do not know much about working with water color, but I know I do not want to paint with water color in the traditional sense. I have much admiration for true "watercolorists" but I know that's not me. So, I've just been playing and learning what the paint will do, and then adding bits and pieces of collage. I came up with this. I'm pretty pleased with it. I gave it the title "She Laughs Without Fear" as I have decided that despite the changes that are happening and will continue to happen in my life over the next several months I will laugh without fear. It's kind of my new mantra. I wanted to say how much I appreciate you who visit my blog, who check in on me in various ways, who leave kind words of support and encouragement. It means so very much. Thank you. Thanks for stopping in and I wish you a peaceful, creative weekend. I'm going to the party hosted by Eva and Kristin. Happy Paint Party Friday!!