Almost complete Fridas

My Frida doll came back as well as Sue's which is the last one I have to work on. After that they get sent to Nancy who will submit them for publication. I'm going to add shoes to mine before she is sent off. I am really pleased with how they turned out. I love mine. I also sent a journal around with her and am glad I did. It was fun to see the progress and who did what....
The bottom 3 photos are of Sue's doll. She has a body cast under her clothing.. very cool doll.

A Thanksgiving Blog

The question occured to me last night, "what am I thankful for?" and was at first hard-pressed to come up with anything, because all the concerns, sorrows and frustrations kept popping up.
This morning was different. I had a different perspective on the past year. It was a year filled with highs and lows. I lost a cousin and a good friend. I've been frustrated with my own health issues and am trying to come to grips with the aging process as I watch my mother go through her own aging issues - from her eyes to her legs- wishing I had answers and a magic wand.
These flucuations didn't stop there, but were also attached to my finances. I went from being inundated with business to worrying that I wasn't pulling in enough.
Although we tend to focus on the sadness, as it carries much weight, the good stuff outweighs the bad stuff. Bad may not be the appropriate word here. They are more like lessons, some being more difficult than others.
I'm thankful for the fun times I got to share with Ginny. She'll be missed, but I have some very fond memories. Ginny and my cousin Dennis were in their 40's and much too young to leave the planet. Perhaps they are having way more fun where they are......in their bliss, for sure!
I'm greatful I can be there for my mom. In the big scheme of things, maybe it's good I am not working so much. I'm fortunate I don't have a 9-5 job and have the flexiblilty in my scheduele to take her to appointments and be there when she needs something. This is when I want to be a healer most.
Although my classes were slow, my painting expanded. I was able to paint and decorate some homes and restaurant, and met some really nice people too.
Because of my own health issues, I moved towards a more healthy way of living and am in the process of getting certified as a yoga teacher.
My artwork has expanded too. I've gotten more involved with sharing my art with other artists, from totally silly stuff like flatself dolls to more mature work of having something to say and allowing my art to be more open and expressive.
I've journaled more, both in actual books as well as blogging.
Blogs are interesting in that if you read enough of them, you realize how much we all have in common. We all go through insecurities, frustrations and those enlightened moments when things just go with the flow and everything is just right.
Mostly it is change and how we deal with it. We all go through it. We are in tough times and they change into times of pleasure. We are annoyed by co-workers and everyone else on the street that can't drive for shit to feelings of oneness and compassion. Such is life. The ebb and flow of it all. It is nice to have the balance, the hard lessons being there so we can appreciate the wonderful easy times.
It is a day of thanksgiving and I do have much to be thankful for. From the most basic of things that I may take for granted: a warm bed, food on the table and a wonderful family to the things that are special to me: what I bring into this world, who I am, my gifts. I need to remind myself to bring my light out into the world because there is only one me. We all need to bring our light to others, to share it, let it grow in its true brilliance. We do no one any good by dimming it or keeping it hidden. We are ment to shine and I am truely grateful to those who have allowed me and encouraged me to shine my light.
Thank you.
Namaste

Michelle's grapevines....

I finished up the grapevines today. The room has a nice feel to it and happy with the way it turned out. Nice working with you Michelle :-)

More grapes.....

I painted today in the butler's pantry. First the walls were done in a faux finish and then the vines. So far this is it, but it's not finished. Hard to take a picture from this angle.....although I used the same exact paint, the coloring of the grapes looked different from the one's in the kitchen. I'm attributing it to the lighting. I'll finish this up tomorrow.

I LOVE autumn!!!!!!!!! 

the path not taken 

such a gorgeous day. I love being in the woods 

here's the little doe 

here's the buck checking us out 

I had myself an artists date today. I went to see Elinor's exhibit at the library first and I would have liked to buy all of these. Absolutely wonderful exhibit. They were voting in the gallery and everyone there was ooohing and aahhing over this show. Magnificent!
After that I went to the Marshlands. As I entered, 2 gentlemen were leaving and said they had seen a buck and some wild turkeys. I walked along taking pictures and just enjoying the quiet and smell of the woods. I love autumn. I walked down to the sound (small beach there) and noticed some hoof prints in the wet sand. Being that there was no school today,there were quite a few people there with their kids. Nice mild day. I followed the hoof prints away from everyone but went as far as I could go. Nature called me in another way and started to head back.
I watched a few birds along the way. Some blue jays and an interesting black and white bird. Not sure what it was. At the top of the path I noticed a group over to the side looking intently into the woods. I stopped and one of the women called me over. There at the bottom of where they were standing was a young deer. The kids crept up to it pretty close. But there in the distance we noticed dad and he kept coming closer and closer until we back away. Would not want to make this guy angry! The kids were a bit braver and stayed their ground. Us grownups got distracted by something dead and we were trying to figure out what it was, when all of a sudden the kids screamed and ran, yelling that the buck was coming. We all booked! I turned and the buck ran up to where we had been but ran across the path and into the tall grasses. Nice site to see.....at a distance......

Once upon a time.......

.....this man came up to me in the supermarket and asked if I ever painted on slate. No, I hadn't. I thought that was the end of that. Some time later, he came into my art class with his son, who I had in my art class, and asked me if I ever painted on tiles..(or something like that). He taped a segment of the Carol Duvall show that involved painting on tiles and he gave me a few to practice on....and that was the beginning of a new relationship! Me and tiles! ok, a new friendship was formed, a beautiful working relationship that included painting on many, many tiles, but did not stop there!. No, I painted on slate pieces, fireplace mantles, tiles in kitchens, bathrooms, here, in Rhode Island, and even in North Carolina and now in Greenwich....yep, my business has expanded thanks to Emelio. The grapes below are due to his referral.......Thanks Emelio, great doing business with you. So when can we go to RI again???? :-)

towels on hold for the grapes

I painted yesterday and today in this kitchen painting grapes on some tiles that had dogs on them. Wherever there are grapes, there was a tile with a picture of a dog.

still painting towels........

Two more towels added. I have to add "trim" to them: pigs for Lexi and Roses for Linday. I'm thinking shells on Michelle's. Today I start the grapes in Greenwich. I will just have to go back and forth between jobs for now.

After doing some work earlier in the day, I spent some time at the beach. It was my "artist's date". It was such a perfectly beautiful day. I found this one tree that had turned color. I am surprised there are not more. So many trees are still green. Mid to upper 60's. I walked onto the beach collecting shells and anything else that was white. I thought I'd take some pictures for the white book to put on my sign in tag. So I got to play. I met someone who used to take Al's yoga class. Small world.

~Art Therapy ~

Although I THINK I am finished, I'm pondering adding to the sunset picture (below) thinking it needs something. Words maybe. I like putting the pictures up from Picasa and from the camera, rather than from scanning them. I don't like the border around the picture from the scan....so I put it up again.
For some reason, when John saw the sunset picture of "opening to the creator" his first reaction was to say that a lot of anger was coming out into my work. It's the second piece I did that he saw something I did not see. Am I not seeing something? Either way, I am releasing through my art and that is good, even if the message we get from it may differ. I wouldn't mind some feedback as to what feelings one gets with this work.

I'm noticing an eye here. Opening to the eye of God..... 

Twilight Tree 

The white house. What it should be, filled with love and peace 

my last spread in Adriane's white book 

Adriane's white book 

New Art : White and Sunset

Interesting when I think about these two books. It's like one extreme to the other. Although white is considered the combination of all color, for me, it was a challenge as it felt like no color. Then the opposite of the sunset colors which to me is all colors except green. This could also be reflected in how I was feeling all month....one extreme to another, being pulled in two directions and finding it very hard to maintain any balance. Work and play....home and career...hibernating and socializing.

Sunset book

Two spreads I did in Gabe's book for the Colorerratica RR. I used pearlescent liquid acrylics for it and regular acrylic paint for the deep blue, appropriately named Twilight. Maybe I'll call the piece with the tree "twilight". The other piece was inspired by a Shamanic ceremony I went to. When we entered a heart that was shaped by yellow flowers, I viewed everyone from behind, opening to the blessings from the Creator and entering our hearts and Pachamama, Mother Earth.

grow...allow...release 

letting go...... 

Begin to be altered 

Can one give birth to oneself? 

Deep Colors

I finished the green, sepia, bronze book. Interesting stuff that came up. I really like the colors and they are similar to the ones I chose. John said it was "dark". What can I say, this stuff is in me and like the autumn season, it's good to release. I never know what is going to come up when I paint...but in light of what has been going on with me...this makes sense. Releasing and letting go and giving birth to my new self. It's time. Autumn is probably the most spiritual time of the year for me, as it makes one ponder the cycle of life more. The idea of releasing oneself back to the earth, but also knowing renewal, rebirth will come again.

The Laundry Room

Still painting at Michelle's. This is a work in progress. So far I have 3 towels, need 2 more. The shelf above the sink has the duck and soap, but still needs some work, some better shading. The shadows on the wall will help it look like it's on the wall and not floating. Thinking I should have angled the shelf differently. Thinking of adding some water dripping off the shelf too. More to come..

THIS IS THE LIFE!!!!!!!

I made this for John and Abby for their wedding present. Instead of giving money in an envelope, I put it inside.