Fairy Godmother's Birthday Card

Four days ago I mentioned that I had made my "Fairy Godmother" a birthday card but I was not going to post it until she received it. She does read my blog,after all. That wouldn't be too fair for you to see it before she did. Here's the front of the card.

It's made with recycled painty baby wipes. Here's the inside- with fold out from recycled "Nut-Thins" cracker box, stamps paint, of course, and a few paper pieces of my original art, which you might recognize.

And here's the back of the card where you can see some of the lettering through the paint.

I was pretty happy with the way it turned out and so was fairy godmother. There's nothing sweeter than something hand made and the fact that you've made someone else feel warm and fuzzy. Over the next several days I want to share with you a few more pages in my Smash Overhaul book. So, please come again. Thanks for stopping by............................................jo

Thank Goodness

Thank goodness for coffee and Morning Pages to spill my crappy stuff on to. Thank goodness for faces to cover it up. Thank goodness for my knowing this helps me to start my day.

What do you do to empty your head? Do you use art? Thanks for visiting.

I Just Couldn't Help Myself.

My daughter was sorting through some of her boxes in her bedroom recently and came across an old sketch pad of hers from when she was a little girl. She was, at first going to throw it away, and I suggest she just might want to save it for "posterity." She put it, and some of her books on a downstairs book shelf and it was then forgotten about. A couple of days ago I had to lift up the sketchpad to use the dictionary. (Does anyone besides me still use a real dictionary?You know. The kind that you can hold in your hand? It seems to me I could have used the online dictionary but it was like habit to go get it. Anyway, I opened up Liza's sketchpad and I just couldn't help myself. Here is the earliest photo where I have begun to add color but you can still see the original outline of her sketch.

Here it is finished. Yes. I said finished. How many times have I said I don't know whether it's finished or not? This is finished.

Can you tell I had fun with this? This piece makes me smile- big time. Liza got lots of laughs as I sent her photos every time I would add something new to it. She loves it as much as I. So. I told her she would have to think about doing some more drawings before she started her new semester in college. In the meantime, in the lower right hand corner are both of our names as the artists. Stay tuned. My fairy godmother's birthday card is done but I can't show it to you until she receives it. She reads my blog so it wouldn't be fair for her to see it here first. Thanks for stopping by..................................................jo

This Morning

I wrote about Seth's open call for submissions back in April, of my deciding to bite the bullet, life is too short, maybe my art is not that good enough etc.etc. But I persevered and told the critics to take a hike.com. I am very excited to see my work here Thank you, Seth. Thank you for stopping by.......................jo

The Art of Being An Artist

I ran across this recently. It speaks volumes. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Things Artists Should Be Thankful For Sylvia White September 22, 2011 Art of Being an Artist “Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind. ” Lionel Hampton By the time most artists come to see me, they are usually beaten down and depressed by the struggles of the artworld. They have been abused by their galleries, taken for granted by their collectors, misunderstood by their families and exhausted from juggling real life with creative need. It is so easy to forget how special you are, when there is no one around to remind you, but you. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I give you my list of 10 Things Artists Should Be Thankful For. Print this out, fold it up and put in your wallet. Send it to your artist friends. Read it whenever you feel all your work is for nothing and you are thinking maybe you should just stop making art and grow up. Post it in your studio when you are wondering what the heck you are going to do with all this work? But, most of all…believe it. Remember, it is impossible to feel thankful and be depressed at the same time. 1. I am thankful that I am not one of the majority of people in this world that wakes up every morning, goes to a job they hate, just to come home and do it all over again. 2. I am thankful that when I am away from my studio, my ideas come with me, they keep me company everywhere I go. 3. I am thankful for this passion that gives me so much joy (and angst) but mostly joy. 4. I am thankful that when I have left this earth, I will leave something meaningful behind. 5. I am thankful that I have a mind that can not sleep, I will never be bored. 6. I am thankful that there is a part of my life that nobody can control, except me. 7. I am thankful that no one in the world can ever take this gift from me. 8. I am thankful that I am brave, it takes courage to pursue my gift. 9. I am thankful that I am never satisfied, it forces me to move forward and grow. 10. I am thankful I discovered this list! Pass it on

Thanks for visiting.

We Gather Together

The Chair is finished. I rather like it. I played around with photos of it today.

I hope you are enjoying this day. Thanks for visiting..................Jo