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.

Finished Line, Time Travel, and Happy Paint Party Friday

All week long I've been showing you my Project 52 of altering a deck of cards. I began this project on a whim, not really thinking I'd complete it, or thinking I might get bored and quit. It was a challenge for me to work really small. And while I think I started off pretty motivated and inspired, there were times in the middle, I was not inspired which is why, I think, it took me so long to finish it. I really had set no time frame except to finish it in a year and even that didn't work. Nonetheless, I found myself saving the teeniest bits of paper and ephemera for just this project. One time the fan blew everything I'd saved in a small container all over the place, and then, I'd moved my studio from the upstairs to the downstairs, so finding my in progress container took some doing. Here are the last few cards in my deck, which I will say, are probably my most favorite of them all. I laid them all out on the floor and dared my cats to walk on them. .........and they did right after I took the picture. HOpe you've enjoyed my Project 52. Tell me which one or ones did you like the most? Happy Paint Party Friday. Twenty four years ago today I rode to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Ma in a 300ZX and brought two children in to the world. I was nearly 33 yrs old and they were 33 weeks old. Today I celebrate the bright, kind, productive and creative people they have become. I love you, Eliza and Marshall. Happy Birthday!!! Linking to Paint Party Friday *** Note to self. After writing this post you have to remember to actually link it. lol

All Day Long

I'm nearly done in showing you my altered deck of cards. I started this project I call Project 52 about 18 mos ago, of altering a deck of cards. I thought I'd get a bit creative by placing Etude, on the keys of my old mahogany, upright piano. I hope you've been enjoying my little mini canvases. I'll show you the rest tomorrow. Thanks for stopping in.

A Pile of Cards

I altered a deck of cards. You can see earlier ones in previous posts but here's a few more. I was not as enthusiastic with some of the cards as I was with others. Some are just plain "simple." The people on the vintage photo card came from some of my family photos although right this moment I cannot tell you who they are. And Anne Lamott is one of my favorite authors. I have this quote hanging above my desk.To me, it's kind of like a reminder that we're allowed or supposed to give ourselves permission to play and make messes not only with art but in our lives in order to figure out what it is we're supposed to be doing. IN other words we often have to go through some _____ in order to get to the good stuff. Does that make sense? Thanks for visiting.

Wish I Were Still There

Last week I was on "staycation." Ironically, it coincided with my mother's leaving/relocating to her new home in Ct. I was glad I was around to help her and see her off on her new venture. And I was able to get away for a day with one of my favorite people in one of my favorite places, so I actually could feel I had a bit of a "holiday" before heading back to work. It was a perfect day. Here are a few more cards from my altered deck of cards. More to come tomorrow. Thanks for visiting.

Happy Paint Party Friday

All week long I've been showing you my altered deck of cards which I have deemed Project 52. I began this project about 18 mos ago and just recently finished it. Here are a few more cards. I was trying to get a little more creative in how I photographed some of these cards. I take a pause here to share with you a family gathering photograph taken last night at a family gathering celebrating a "send off" for my 82 yr old Mom who is beginning a new chapter in her life. She is retired clergy after more than 30 yrs and is looking forward to new ventures in another state. It is a major change for her as you can imagine. So here you have us including our four legged friends. Me and Mom. And my daughter with her grandmother. You can see we enjoyed not only the sweets but the "spirits." Okay. A few more cards to share with you before I head over to the party. It's a warm, supportive place to share your art and see what others are doing. So, that's all for today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Hug those people you love for they will not always be here. One more thing. I am now on Instagram (jogatheringwild) and would love for you to follow me if you are inclined. I also would love to follow you if you let me know you are there. Thanks for your support. Thanks for visiting here today. Happy Paint Party Friday.

Rethink Chapter 9

Continuing to show you my altered deck of cards which I began about 18 mos ago and just recently finished. Wonderful gluten free cupcakes we had for dessert last night at a small family gathering in celebration and bon voyage for my 82 yr old Mom (is gluten intolerant) who is relocating to a new state to begin the next chapter of her life. More pictures to share with you on that tomorrow as well as more of my altered deck of cards. Thanks for visiting.

Altered Deck of Cards

Thank you to the kind "welcome back" committee. I often worry how long people will stick around if one lapses in blogging. I tend to feel guilty when I've gone this long. Sometimes one just never knows how long one might be gone. Yesterday I showed you the first few cards of my altered deck of cards. Here are a few more. More to show you tomorrow. Thanks for dropping by and for sticking with me. I hope you are well. I am off to spend a few more last hours with my Mom who is leaving the city tomorrow morning to begin a new chapter in her life.

PROJECT 52 COMPLETED

About 18 mos ago I started a project of altering a deck of cards. I showed some of them to you here here and here. Since one of my goals for myself this year was to finish some projects before I started another (yeah right), I have done just that with with my Project 52. It was a good way to challenge myself, use up scraps and work smaller, which at times was ok (Like art in the car) but at other times, not. Like I lost or misplaced some cards and had to buy another deck. I didn't like some of them so some cards have been altered as many as three times. I can see how some of my art has changed and know exactly how/what I was feeling/doing just by looking at these mini canvases. I gessoed, painted, stamped, used up scraps directly on the cards. Sometimes I just plain glued down something I'd already done on deli paper or used that as a background for inspiration. Sometimes I was bored with the cards and left them for dead for awhile. Some I really like and some I can just let go. So, once again.......... here are the first few. I will catch up and pass the "here, here and here," for those of you who have already seen them. The bear is my mother's childhood teddy bear. I dearly love it. I needed this month long break from blogging. To refuel, to nurture me, to help my mother pack up her house. You know........ life and **** happens. I'm on a roll again. Thanks for visiting and please come back. P.S I am now on Instagram under jogatheringwild so if you would care to follow me there I would appreciate it very much. Thanks.

A Little More Spring, Please

Lots of rain on top of that already melted snow. My back yard is like a swamp. Not sure what I'm going to do with this and the ones I've previously shown you, but, I am having fun playing in this giant Moleskin journal. Thanks for visiting.

A Little Bit of Spring

Strange that 3-4 days ago we had a sleet/ice storm and a little more than a week ago we had nearly 10 inches of snow. Today it was nearly 70 degrees. Feels a bit like spring but I know it's not quite here yet. At least that's my prediction. I think it's a big tease. But this also makes me feel like a bit of spring. How is it in your part of the world? Has spring arrived? Thanks for stopping by.

LIfebook- The Finale

I've been showing you my work from a year long on line workshop called Life Book. I did not do every lesson partly by choice and partly due to time constraints. These last four of five pieces are from Life Book lessons. I enjoyed this first one because I learned to draw a face from a different view, which was not comfortable for me since I hadn't practiced any other than facing forward. This was also supposed to be a celebration of our positive qualities which are listed on the back of the paper. The next one I am showing you was Tam Laporte's lesson on being present to and in your life, called Stags, Patterns and Ritual. Again, this one was a bit of a challenge for me in a drawing sense. I can't tell you how many times I drew and redrew the face on this stag. I almost scrapped it out of frustration, but in the end was okay with it. The next one was also inspired by Tam's lesson called The Sacred Inner Eye. The next piece is not part of Life Book but something I did this year and includes my love of houses and buildings in art, so I included it. And finally, the last one is probably one of my favorites. Coming home to ones' self can be left to ones own interpretation. That's it. At some point I will decide if I want to bind it in to a book or perhaps choose a couple to frame and hang up. I have been researching a Bind-it-All machine and something called The Cinch. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of these? Thanks for visiting. I am linking to Paint Party Friday and thanking Eva and Kristen for hosting this week after week.