tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49529596711896763622012-01-30T14:58:31.750-08:00This is where I've come to play, to gather words, ideas, and color. Rhumba, tango, sweet Sunday samba. I need you to come close. I need you to inquire. My heart has a space which belongs for gathering, gathering wild with you.©jcbJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.comBlogger1011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-86300214898122323182012-01-29T11:29:00.000-08:002012-01-29T11:29:11.543-08:00

Remember that Joni Mitchell song CIRCLE GAME? For some reason I found myself singing it as I was doing these two pages.The words just jumped onto the page. These are the last two pages of IN THE VAN moleskine. I am working in it backwards. I have discovered that although strengthening the pages with gesso was a good idea, it wasn't a good idea for using certain pens or markers, in fact, it messes

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-63359288188701088802012-01-28T11:16:00.000-08:002012-01-28T11:31:49.517-08:00

Being an artist means ceasing to take seriously that very serious person we are when we are not an artist. ~Jose Ortega Y Gassett I have been sitting on these images of these ladies for awhile. They were sent to me,royalty free or open downloads, or whatever you call them. The original photo had about 5-

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-5840940483523540302012-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:002012-01-21T09:05:37.800-08:00

That's it. Just playing.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-64282993132007286762012-01-19T17:06:00.000-08:002012-01-19T17:09:10.462-08:00

I have kept a very large sketchbook in my car for several years. Must have been that I began some work in it at home and then began to continue unfinished pages in the morning before work. Why I thought I could manipulate this large book on my lap under the steering wheel,(and juggle my coffee mug) is a mystery. Eventually, I forgot about the book and it lay buried in a catch-all junk milk crate

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-70953408988547755532012-01-16T08:25:00.000-08:002012-01-16T08:32:45.528-08:00

We must show up for our own life. Be brave, be messy. Be loud. Be strong. Trust yourself. ~Sabrina Ward Harrison I am just having a blast. What more can I say? Finding "nifty" things like plastic lids, metal lids, cheapo foam shapes from "Wally World" for stamping. Lots of color, collaged peices from my own art, more paint, more collage.. layers and layers. I dunno what I will do with these

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-74784001860790165702012-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:002012-01-12T18:02:50.801-08:00

Where did this come from?.......... I asked myself. It began with two pages of "smashed" acrylic paint and I didn't know what to do with them. I began to just throw paint on..... blue.Some black.... This cobalt blue which I dearly love...... and the two doodled drawings just jumped onto the pages saying," Oooooh! Pick us! We belong in there with the blue!" Then came the other doodling around

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-63317487167729546972012-01-09T16:35:00.000-08:002012-01-09T16:37:41.902-08:00

........ I'm just doin' it. This is in my little 5x7 Moleskine. Was playing around with watercolor crayons on top of crayons and watercolor, which is all on top of gesso.Then I added some collage work. I am surprised the paper has survived. I want to work on faces this year. The nose is lopsided and the mouth is not quite right. I'll keep working on it. And she looks a little bit "possessed."

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-21790097865386369562012-01-08T08:36:00.000-08:002012-01-08T08:39:21.736-08:00

It was like this when I showed it to you. I played with some lettering and added a few more doodles...... and now it looks like this: And here's a cropped version: I think it's finished now.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-77829435212867792142012-01-07T07:13:00.000-08:002012-01-07T08:41:16.997-08:00

I found these in the same box I found my old art work from elementary school days. They're not mine. They were my father's from his school days art class. A hand made booklet full of snowmen in different positions with different faces and expressions. Today is my father's birthday, or would have been. I have only to walk into my studio and see and smell the old Cabinet cigar box

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-74528475187160289782012-01-07T06:16:00.000-08:002012-01-07T06:22:04.396-08:00

Thinking without doing is just waiting. Doing is hard. Doing repeatedly is incredibly hard but it's what you need to do. ~Danielle Nelson I'm having fun with this mail art. I laid out all the post cards I made on the floor and it became one large, colorful piece. I kind of like it.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-60382421346649436102012-01-04T15:10:00.000-08:002012-01-04T15:10:07.205-08:00

Recently I came across some very old art work of mine when I was in elementary school. One page was totally colored with brightly colored chalk shapes. While art journaling recently, I decided to cut out some of these shapes and use them. Seemed to fit. Seemed to fit on this particular page where there were shapes already. Here it is in progress. I have also decided that I am pretty clever

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-54557932815129979412012-01-02T14:44:00.000-08:002012-01-02T14:55:15.416-08:00

"Creativity is medicine. It is not dangerous or egotistical. It is life affirming and essential. The more we use it, the more steadily, readily and easily we use it. The "healthier" we are." ~Julia Cameron This is a work MY MAN and I collaborated on back in June. It's about 16x15 plywood and hangs over my computer desk. Recently I left a few pieces on MY MAN's work table for him to add to.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-1329025865945318822012-01-01T12:10:00.000-08:002012-01-01T12:14:47.070-08:00

I was nominated for this award by Robin at Pink House Studio and Ann at Anne's Art. I am sorry I don't know how to properly display your websites/blogspots.I guess I need to learn about linking...... lol. I recently purchased Blogging for Dummies. :) I thank you both for this award.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-79463197003031787042012-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:002012-01-01T10:29:01.237-08:00

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. ~Nietzsche I am liking this new found freedom of throwing things down, giving myself only a few minutes to do each task. I am not thinking about it as I do it even though I hear my inner critics' words tell me, "Wait! Do you really want to put that there?" "Yes, and be quiet!" I say. I am finding

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-14070448437323306602011-12-29T16:26:00.000-08:002011-12-29T16:33:50.682-08:00

These three peices were all done at the same time. I gave myself 5 or ten minutes for each task, which gave me no time for perfection, no changing, no rearranging. My challenge was to NOT make things pretty. I just wanted to go with it, moving along with no thought or planning. On cardstock I wrote in large scribble as fast as I could with whatever thoughts came into my head. Then I threw down

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-81650001843645148592011-12-22T17:46:00.000-08:002011-12-22T17:51:45.461-08:00

I have been MIA for longer than I had wanted. Life , you know.. I went around the house after work today and set out little things, simple things, that are dear to me at this time of the year. Things that I made when I simply had no money, let alone no money for art supplies........... things that sit in corners which once sat in small children's rooms ............ delicate music boxes that

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-91671825580260781772011-12-11T14:22:00.000-08:002011-12-11T14:24:23.087-08:00

Just playing around with backgrounds in the Moleskine I have in my emergency creativity kit. I gessoed the pages and threw down some crayon and watercolor. I literally did these pages in the car 20 minutes before work. and the Sketchbook Project Journal is ready for mailing. Good bye sketchbook. Maybe I'll go to Brooklyn and "check it out."

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-49726295103455398882011-12-04T07:06:00.000-08:002011-12-04T07:13:37.288-08:00

Wish upon a star.............. and leave it hanging there ~Stargardener I had such fun with this. I painted the background with both acrylic and water color and found the original "paper doll" cutouts I made as a child, scanned them, cut them out and then altered them with prisma color and gel pens. The squared colored pieces of cardstock were made with a brayer and

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-24051397808403669652011-12-02T15:58:00.000-08:002011-12-03T05:19:39.143-08:00

Meeting a deadline is new to me in the art world. I used to have to meet deadlines in college with terms papers and projects. I used to have to meet a deadline when I was choreographing a project as a dance major in college or a rehearsal. I had a due date when I was pregnant with twins nearly twenty one years ago. The first art deadline I had to meet was a deadline with The Sketchbook Project

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-17284974119337584142011-11-29T16:59:00.000-08:002011-11-29T17:01:45.351-08:00

I love colored glass, especially in windows. I am good for saving old bottles from lotions etc. I couldn't couldn't walk away from this kitchen window one early, chilly morning last weekend. and in the early afternoon of that same weekend there was this one from the window of "Studio A." I continue to play... with index cards. I have been playing with things that "resist"

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-35757292037504062902011-11-20T07:51:00.000-08:002011-11-20T07:56:13.300-08:00

Yesterday these trees had leaves on them. could be these trees would look like this again............. There's always hope. This WILL come again. Stay warm everyone.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-8012114363083387312011-11-16T17:51:00.000-08:002011-11-20T07:30:28.179-08:00

I have been incredibly, wonderfully, creative lately. Seriously, I feel like creative "stuff" is running, bursting, pouring out of me. I've been wanting to explore art journaling more and so I am doing just that. I have a 7x10 Moleskine sketchbook that was purchased nearly 2 years ago, until one day I started gluing stuff to the pages. Then, I started adding paint. Then I found myself adding

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-29159777570353942352011-11-11T06:51:00.000-08:002011-11-11T07:02:54.464-08:00

I've been busy............ haven't we all........... but not too busy to notice the changes around me, within me .....the bursting, brilliant colors of this season........ I had a birthday... ... I finished The Sketchbook Project Journal. It's titled Untitled...untitled-not named, not called by a title, having no right or claim, not entitled.......... and so I carried those

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-1720430502492793562011-10-30T06:32:00.000-07:002011-10-30T06:47:18.743-07:00

This is my most favorite time of year, although this year I seem to be more aware........ of the colors, the patterns, the shadows, the hair on my chin, the dark spots on apples and bananas, noise, my internal rhythm. mongoloid squashes and then there's The Sketchbook Project Book that is so thick now it does not close and some of the pages are coming unglued. I guess

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-55616240588801057552011-10-10T07:21:00.000-07:002011-10-10T07:21:29.339-07:00

I have finally finished this peice. It's poster size, mixed media collage. I am for now calling it 'Winter.' What do you think of it? Your comments are appreciated.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-76289221338179281332011-10-09T08:34:00.000-07:002011-10-09T08:34:24.824-07:00

Maybe I am getting some of that...... audacity. No. On second thought, I already have some. I've always had it. I'm just showing it more.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-32053565723263176572011-10-08T05:05:00.000-07:002011-10-08T05:05:25.791-07:00

Another journal page in The Sketchbook Project............. Carry me back to the place where I was me and didn't have to stop and seek the reasons.....

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-1045917048588767012011-10-05T06:32:00.000-07:002011-10-05T06:46:27.713-07:00

Good morning. While I have lots of projects going on at one time, I am mostly concentrating on finishing up my journal for The Sketchbook Project. I am really finding it hard to be confined to this 5x7 space. Here is how one journal page started. and here is how it looks now. I'm still not sure if it's complete. Here's the other side. I should have

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-44403326202482141132011-09-28T15:31:00.000-07:002011-09-28T15:31:26.607-07:00

Another Sketchbook Project Page............ I've been thinking more recently of what being menopausal means to me... aside from the fact that I feel at times I am going through puberty all over again... I have decided for me... this time means I am bursting with creativity. I am also bursting with impatience. I have no problems with sometimes telling people to leave me alone and I decided that I

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-67001217183280031132011-09-25T08:21:00.000-07:002011-09-25T08:21:39.965-07:00

My father was a United Methodist minister. One of the things of his I inherited when he died on September 11, 1993 was about 10 yrs of his sermons. I was not old enough to understand much of what was going on in the world at the time these sermons were written. I have begun to read them, and in some cases, to use actual physical peices of those typed papers in my art. This is one example. It

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-73216374111019316992011-09-18T16:28:00.000-07:002011-09-18T16:28:39.908-07:00

Here's another finished page of my journal. I have no idea how I arrived at this. I guess it was the bright background paint and the doodles. I think every woman should have a hat like this to wear at least once. What do YOU think?

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-39281980417140131192011-09-17T05:57:00.000-07:002011-09-17T05:57:22.161-07:00

Toasted Almond Creme Cake. Yum. Melts in your mouth. Light, airy, sweet but not too sweet. Ingredients: mascarpone, cream, eggs, sugar, ladyfingers, apricot kernels, wheatflour, cornflour, butter, roasted almonds, amaretto liqueur. I had to look up what mascarpone was. A soft, italian cream cheese made from cow's milk, and ladyfingers kind of threw me off. Ladyfingers: a small finger shaped

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-79591860294643429002011-09-16T08:12:00.000-07:002011-09-16T08:12:46.838-07:00

In April I talked about being a part of The Sketchbook Project."It's like a concert tour, but with a sketchbook," the web site says. The participant is sent a barcoded sketchbook. The filled sketchbook is sent back to the Brooklyn, N.Y Library by the postmarked deadline in January 2012. The books are packed up and transported to about 14 major cities, beginning in April 2012, where they are made

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-71934286568171419262011-09-15T15:44:00.000-07:002011-09-15T15:44:49.275-07:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-49889270481356278372011-09-14T16:47:00.000-07:002011-09-14T17:02:17.316-07:00

Yesterday I showed you what each studio looked like. Studio A is inhabited by MY MAN who turns out these monster paintings on light weight plywood that look like this: and this I reside in Studio B and this is what I am doing lately. and these What does this say about us as people, as artists? That MY MAN prefers not to be restricted or confined in small spaces or

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-66644865609277248072011-09-13T17:13:00.000-07:002011-09-13T17:13:48.162-07:00

After the earth quake, hurricane and tooth extraction .... there is studio A and studio B. However, in this transformation and momumental undertaking during my week off from work, there is something I have noticed. This is what my art table looks like: and this is what MY MAN'S ART table looks like. More thoughts on that tomorrow. I leave you with this.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-53439380931767856072011-08-26T18:13:00.000-07:002011-08-26T18:23:10.808-07:00

MY MAN and I had a cyber space romance for months before we actually met each other. We'd do this a lot on Sunday's and we'd talk about Samba's because we both like to dance. Then it became "What would Sunday's be like if we were not in fact talking in cyberspace or on the phone?" and we decided it would be Sweet Sunday Samba. Hence the name of the piece which I first showed you when it was a

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-2080520658829383802011-08-23T18:14:00.000-07:002011-08-23T18:14:00.656-07:00

I think I could easily become addicted to doing these little cards. It's a great way to feel like you did something, that you did something creative, that you used up some shredded, torn paper, got your hands sticky with Modge Podge, threw down some color and listened to the voice in your heart before turning out the light. And we had an earthquake today. It was very scary. Good night moon.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-39433493762862320472011-08-19T12:16:00.000-07:002011-08-19T12:33:38.661-07:00

My twin son and daughter will be twenty years old in two days. Yeesh. Doesn't seem possible yet I can remember it like it was yesterday. I gained 70 lbs. Yes, you read that correctly. It's amazing what a body can do- in this case, house two aliens. Just hold on til 34 weeks they said. (I was already on bedrest for a good month and a half.) Good Lord!! Weebles wabble but they don't fall down and

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-28058955485223907462011-08-18T11:15:00.000-07:002011-08-18T11:15:58.894-07:00

Do you know sometimes when you see a word or read a word as something else when you look at it for the first time, or when you're tired? It's really a different word but you keep wanting to or your eyes or brain keep wanting to see it as something else? Maybe I just really missed the entire Sponge Bob Square pants thing......lol I found this pretty cool web site: http://

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-4003797592800240092011-08-17T16:27:00.000-07:002011-08-17T16:27:03.316-07:00

Not been good about posting lately. Life does present many challenges as we all know. My Mom was the recipient of the accordian book shown in the last posting, but here it is again.and I was the recipient of this: ........ smoked salmon and spinach broken omelete with oven garlic roasted potatoes. Yum. MY MAN can cook!!

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-63398840013790013472011-07-24T06:45:00.000-07:002011-07-24T06:45:18.152-07:00

Yesterday at around 2:30pm MY MAN and I went to run some errands. We must have had been brain fried already to go out in the heat. But when the thermostat in the car registered 107 degrees and the temperature gauge was closer to the HOT, I really knew we were brain fried. Coming back home it felt like the house ac was really pushing hard. I am grateful for it at all- a home and some ac. There

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-3087189495015790012011-07-22T11:13:00.000-07:002011-07-22T11:13:04.868-07:00

I am getting to play today as I have a day off. I threw some color down on strips of cardstock and rather than wasting the paint, I did some pages in my art journal and index cards. I like the effect- kind of like batik.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-76678022020949983512011-07-16T07:43:00.000-07:002011-07-16T07:43:12.101-07:00

I have been feeling rather sentimental lately- call it hormonal, menopausal. Call it a check-in moment, a look at where one is in one's life. Call it a life-is-too-short-moment- so you really want to be doing what you want to be doing as much as you possibly can... call it really missing being somewhere where you feel the urge to go, where you feel some place is calling you. Call it a connection

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-10147548424813189002011-07-10T18:07:00.000-07:002011-07-10T18:40:36.494-07:00

My studio looks like a cyclone hit it again. I am amazed that my artist child can be this messy. I worked on some collaging in The Sketchbook Project journal. The deadline for completion is not until January 2012 but time does have a way of sneaking up or flying by, depending on how you look at it. I threw some color down on some blank pages and collaged some borders in a bigger art journal.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-37279544665233166262011-07-07T17:28:00.000-07:002011-07-07T17:28:34.268-07:00

About fifteen years ago I bought an old Singer sewing machine from a coworker who was getting a new one. I think I paid less than $50.oo for it. It came with all these little boxes containing all kinds of gadgets, much of what I had no idea what to do with. I think I thought I was going to one day teach myself to sew more than the jumper I last made in "Home Ec" class back in junior high school.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-88818008153025279482011-07-03T06:48:00.000-07:002011-07-03T06:48:42.045-07:00

Been working on several things at once........ these are some collage works in early stages..on envelopes..... on wood.... on cheap thrift store finds..

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-61940853252075705892011-07-03T06:30:00.000-07:002011-07-03T06:30:49.546-07:00

A finished page in my Sketchbook Project journal. I really don't know too much about working with watercolors, in fact, stayed away from even attempting them. I admire those that can do it. I just know I love color and am trying to be brave and take chances. I kind of like the results. What do you think?

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-37972026773826238072011-07-03T06:04:00.000-07:002011-07-03T06:04:55.466-07:00

lol... chuckle. chuckle. I know you always wanted to know.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-16456627901255819562011-06-25T11:12:00.000-07:002011-06-25T11:12:14.985-07:00

I am grateful that my Mom saved some of my childhood drawings. I found this recently while doing some sorting and cleaning. Couldn't resist putting it on my studio door. Makes me chuckle just a bit, given my life at this moment.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-50063144084568429492011-06-20T10:03:00.000-07:002011-06-20T10:03:40.251-07:00

I love Jamie Fingal's accordian book over at the Sketchbook Challenge. She inspired me to make this. And since this month's theme is Pathways, I am calling this Pathways to the sun. These are hard to see. Let me try again.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-53783820806718491972011-06-18T09:45:00.000-07:002011-06-18T09:45:15.681-07:00

Ok. So, it's still messy but at least the shelves are up and useful. I don't have everything art related that I've collected over the last 20 yrs of my life crammed into one cabinet anymore. MY MAN wanted to know why I didn't paint them before putting them up. I said for the same reason I didn't wait for you to return from NY to help me lug this up the stairs. I was on a mission. I can always

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-3238645416204706832011-06-16T15:07:00.000-07:002011-06-16T15:38:06.015-07:00

........... I forgot where I left them.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-88495202054488503992011-06-08T17:03:00.000-07:002011-06-08T17:03:49.363-07:00

I've been doing a little bit of lots of different STUFF lately. I'm sure this is not a grammatically good sentence.......this is not a grammatically well written sentence.... oh, what the heck.. I have so many projects, ideas,works in progress..... sometimes I cannot keep up with MY SELF. This one part of me says,"You know you might wanna try finishing this first before you work on that one," and

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-64248749980299777792011-06-05T17:14:00.000-07:002011-06-05T17:14:40.195-07:00

Yesterday I went to Home Depot and brought back this. and these............. Alright. So I got all this from the car to the front porch. Next to get it in the house. So, this mind you with the exception of 4 cinder blocks on the front porch took me several hours.... just doing a bit at a time and taking breaks........ you know the back is not as young as it used to be. Actually, I have no

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-71430606470954785082011-06-04T07:39:00.000-07:002011-06-04T07:39:00.959-07:00

.. the other set of artist trading cards reached their destination. Canada. These, too, were wrapped in an collaged envelope. It's kind of neat to know that something you made is deemed precious to someone else. Art is meant to be shared. Art creates joy.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-22147190411882996682011-05-28T09:37:00.000-07:002011-05-28T09:52:13.567-07:00

Look at what MY MAN has done. AMAZING!! He did all three of these beauties. Kind of cool don't you think? Kind of leaves us both speechless.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-8171113601879539992011-05-27T16:50:00.000-07:002011-05-27T16:50:41.666-07:00

This is a work in progress. and this is also a work in progress....... I'll come back and show you these when I feel they are finished.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-43569299764890158932011-05-24T16:52:00.000-07:002011-05-24T16:52:21.034-07:00

I am my most happiest when..... I am most happy when....... I feel most alive when I am creating. It brings me joy. It nurtures my spirit. I sent a package to an online artist friend. I emailed her and told her to be on the lookout. I was as excited as she was, in anticipation, wishing I could be a fly in the wall to see her face when it arrived. I get the feeling she was " tickled pink" in her

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-44458767364330255682011-05-23T17:14:00.000-07:002011-05-23T17:14:09.675-07:00

Here's a couple more cards I made for the artist trading card swap. I am beginning to incorporate jewelry or jewelry pieces into my art. and this is one of the mailing envelopes that these little treasures were mailed in.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-58292767225987784472011-05-14T07:57:00.000-07:002011-05-14T07:57:41.284-07:00

Poor thing.. Perhaps he did not make it to the Mothership. (see post before last.)

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-20969860338978456712011-05-11T18:17:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:30:12.562-07:00

I am participating in an artist trading card swap over at Creative Coach Space. We're making 2 standard sized artist trading cards which are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 and then one that is 2x2 and one that is 1x1. I know I'll be getting out my magnifiers and tweezers for the tiny ones. Here is one of my "official" sized artist trading cards. I started out by trying to sew through cardboard with embroidery

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-15643407227148763172011-05-07T11:58:00.000-07:002011-05-07T12:01:09.690-07:00

I found the Mother ship...........

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-4709515775785921582011-05-03T07:31:00.000-07:002011-05-03T07:33:09.270-07:00

I feel like Show and Tell. I recently recieved an awesome gift from a mixed media artist/friend who has a neat blog I 've been following for awhile. While I knew what was supposed to be in the package I did not know how beautiful the packaging was going to be. Was so pretty I didn't want to tear it to open it. Beautiful color and stitching. And inside was another treat. Not only did I get a copy

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-80411572676023535202011-04-30T08:57:00.000-07:002011-05-01T16:50:13.158-07:00

I am so excited to be a part of this.I have until January 2012 to fill it and send it in where it will be part of a traveling library. check it out..http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-84546770545370712442011-04-27T16:48:00.000-07:002011-04-27T16:48:07.792-07:00

over the page in Keri Smith's WRECK THIS JOURNAL. ...............and had a blast doing it.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-5773585633049012732011-04-24T06:41:00.000-07:002011-04-24T15:30:27.403-07:00

........... you hope, new beginnings, love and peace.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-35153327027628146342011-04-23T09:08:00.000-07:002011-04-23T09:08:41.262-07:00

A collaborative venture with MY MAN. 35" x 15" on wood. Happy Spring!

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-11886649073005690632011-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:002011-04-22T05:04:03.620-07:00

I am making my own stencils. More to come.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-39436090497474746142011-04-21T17:50:00.000-07:002011-04-21T17:50:27.173-07:00

This is what it was like today....... Hope it was like that for you, too.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-37411749032216295082011-04-17T05:26:00.000-07:002011-04-17T05:26:30.615-07:00

Nearly a year ago I discovered the joy of Zentangle®. This art form created by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts, is based on a series of patterns, which when repeated, produce beautiful images. I love patterns. I love seeing the results of patterns put together with other patterns. I like the feeling I get when I "tangle a pattern" or even part of a pattern throughout the day. It seems to focus on

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-57530564315311081042011-04-16T03:38:00.000-07:002011-04-16T03:38:33.096-07:00

I don't always know what to write. I used to think I had to write something serious, something profound, something eye catching. I'm not going to sweat this anymore. I'm just gonna write what comes up and out. So. Here it is. I'm glad it's the weekend and I get to play!!

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-58341421685339054872011-04-11T17:17:00.000-07:002011-04-11T17:17:56.800-07:00

I am working out of Carla Sonheim's 52 Creative Exercises for Mixed Media Artists. The instructions for Lab 32 tells us to create a drawing by using paint blotches or spots. IN other words,"What do you see in these ink spots?" A small blob of paint, a spatula and off I went. I swear these creatures began to develop personalities as I drew them. I finished them off with a marker. It was a lot of

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-12591614491334844332011-04-09T05:42:00.000-07:002011-04-17T05:29:21.842-07:00

Early morning sights and sounds...........Woodpecker. Wait! Woodpecker on metal! Sounds like the clangy ring of an old time telephone. Does that make him a metal head?! Brown bunny "scurry hops" across the front lawn disappearing under the holly hedges....a cacophony of bird sounds, a symphony. The humidity is higher than my head likes this morning..... and here comes Metal Head. One, two, one,

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-20933239156646213272010-10-03T16:53:00.001-07:002010-10-03T17:00:58.436-07:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-20591018000799259272010-10-03T16:38:00.000-07:002010-10-03T16:51:49.176-07:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-83637063735747456662010-10-03T16:04:00.000-07:002010-10-03T16:33:15.778-07:00

It's been a while. Lot's of changes.....I am grateful to pull out sweaters and boots as much as I am aware of the leaves that will soon change color and fall to the ground. I am aware of changes in me and those around me, knowing that we are all changing colors and sometimes falling. Changes are sometimes hard but necessary, like the seasons. For me it's a new season in many ways.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-55558786515779114862010-10-03T15:29:00.001-07:002010-10-03T15:44:43.349-07:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-81289314337209086512010-03-12T18:22:00.000-08:002010-03-12T18:24:14.541-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-52236507301909101042010-03-12T18:18:00.001-08:002010-03-12T18:19:18.096-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-87370752544596641152010-03-11T15:44:00.000-08:002010-03-11T15:46:17.025-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-51911919795907515162010-03-09T17:45:00.001-08:002010-03-09T17:47:46.451-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-47710100337790663602010-03-08T18:06:00.001-08:002010-03-08T18:08:51.099-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-66559450656291104662010-03-07T05:34:00.000-08:002010-03-07T05:44:58.446-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-52711782022460466472010-02-12T14:58:00.000-08:002010-02-12T15:02:35.122-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-76496514559408109772010-02-07T16:57:00.000-08:002010-02-07T17:26:57.624-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-67644579831180949152010-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:002010-02-07T15:39:05.823-08:00

These are the final pages of my altered book project, a book which is now titled Jo. Early pages can be viewed in December 13th post. Thanks for sharing my book with me.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-87595342859271240582010-02-07T15:04:00.000-08:002010-02-07T15:08:41.905-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-33447456403115345722010-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:002010-01-01T15:12:25.090-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-27366775206742978542009-12-27T15:39:00.000-08:002009-12-27T15:44:54.311-08:00

I draw what I feel and am surrounded by.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-9707026014299472262009-12-26T17:25:00.000-08:002009-12-26T17:31:21.090-08:00

Dancing with lit candles at the Christmas candlelight services at church, red poinsettias, snow, live nativity, lots of red candles, holly, red velvet ribbons, ,shiny, golden ,sparkly things, jingling, tinkling things, an olive wood creche ……mystery and majik…….are planted in my childhood memories.When I became an adult and lived on my own or in the early years of marriage when there was very

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-84849385158816516082009-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:002009-12-13T08:28:56.322-08:00

I love jewelry. I have had a lot of it over the years, most of it given to me or passed on by my mother. I don’t think I wear jewelry well. I’m not that good at matching or finding the best to go with certain occasions. My mother wears jewelry well. I can sometimes count on her to “dress me” with just the right stuff.I figured if I can’t or won’t wear certain jewelry, it must be used in art.

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-88851096007703073052009-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:002009-12-13T07:51:14.606-08:00

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this project of transitioning this book from A Help Me to be Good book to a Help Me to Be Me book. It's not quite finished yet but I thought I’d share the progress since I first introduced it back in May.Toward the end of the book on a page which reads I Have Something to Say there is a pretty little girl’s face in the midst of jewels and leaves. She looks eager,

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-80652019659327942642009-12-12T14:39:00.000-08:002009-12-12T14:57:32.802-08:00

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-25833266307735938282009-12-12T14:14:00.000-08:002009-12-13T14:19:07.966-08:00

It’s a cold winter night, yet early in the season. The dryer hums, the dog’s toenails play a ticky tacky tune on the hard wood floors as he crosses, skids, turns the corner to where I am sitting. I learned nearly two months ago he has Cushing’s disease and diabetes so I am learning to be more comfortable giving him insulin twice a day. My eighteen yr old college student daughter sings to a song

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-75022704754323448482009-08-09T18:18:00.000-07:002009-08-10T17:43:48.231-07:00

Go-Lightly should be named Go-Quickly or Go-Rapidly. Go-Volcanic Eruptionly. He who decided upon this name was not very honest or never experienced this. it was kind of like the feeling like I had when my body "became" not my own when I housed two aliens during my pregnancy. When you drink this vile drink of nasty sea water within a short period of time your body, indeed, is not your own. You DO

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-45744400034593924562009-08-09T17:47:00.000-07:002009-08-10T17:36:28.529-07:00

Several weeks ago my brother, Jim, filled up the back of my van with boxes of discarded books and magazine/journals after I accepted his offer to search through them for altered book or collage work projects. It took a week or so to go through them, passing many of them on to coworkers, leaving some for the recycling bin and the remainder to the local Veteran’s

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-55718559605768348412009-06-14T15:13:00.000-07:002009-06-14T15:29:49.895-07:00

In the room I recently transformed and proclaimed as my studio, there is an old wooden, hinged cigar box sitting on the far left end of the brick and board book shelf, visible upon entering the room. Greystone is lettered on the outside lid and Cabinets - 20% Havana Filler aged in cedar in lettered on the inside cover. This 3” box is filled to the top with my father’s crayons, some, unbroken,

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-21654106472624527842009-05-30T14:44:00.000-07:002009-06-04T18:38:33.372-07:00

About 5-6 years ago I was searching for something new in my life. I needed a new career, a change. My self told me I needed to do something more soulfully rewarding. Not only did I need nurturing, I needed to find a way back to my creative self, which I'd believed at one time that I'd always had, but had been buried in a dark closet or hidden away for various reasons for many years. It and I were

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4952959671189676362.post-57100466416295549332009-05-24T10:41:00.001-07:002009-05-24T10:49:33.551-07:00

This is another page of my altered book project. I love this blue. I love the sea. Imagine. Imagine the sea. Imagine sea dances. Imagine not wanting the sea or sea dances. Imagine no sea dances. Imagine not wanting........

Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12785431173356005608noreply@blogger.com2