A creative bit

A couple of fun, funky, file folders. 

Yes, Summer is Here!

I don't need a calendar, we skipped right to August weather. The lawn, plants, animals and me are all feeling stressed.  Though we don't have extremely high temps here in MO the humidity makes up for it.  I could say I'm feeling it more as I get older but I know the summers have been getting hotter.  The day I got married it was 105 degrees,the hottest day of the year in CA in 1959.  With no a/c the candles drooped in the candelabras :)  When we left CA in 1996 114 wasn't unusual and when we were visiting in August of '08, 112 felt like we had driven into Hades.  Today we stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter and if I had to make a choice, I'd still choose summer.  I don't like to be cold.

The sunlight and warmth energizes me and makes me lazy at the same time.  I want to be outside working in the yard and at the same time want to be inside working in the clay and being creative in some way.  I have to admit though, I've been lax at both lately.  A health problem has taken my energy and created a few problems resulting in unexpected delays. I realize how fortunate I am to be living in this time and have wonderful doctors - yet I get frustrated that I can no longer do everything I plan on doing.  But this too shall pass and I look forward to being active again soon.  Thanks to everyone who has sent good wishes, they do help.

Spring is almost over

Days - weeks - months!  Time is flying by.  Spring goes so fast, there is so much to do in such a short time.  One of my first items is to check the garden. Which perennials are coming up and which ones need to be thinned or moved.  Any bare spots?  Make plans to fill them in.  I always like to do a major spring cleaning, though I'm a little behind this year.

Only a few days till summer is officially here and a whole new list of things to be done.  Projects waiting to be finished, new ones to be started, it's always so exciting to have these long summer days to work.  I love the light that comes into my studio, always energizes me.

Cover of the New Book

Available for purchase soon.  Check here or on-line.

Mother's Day has come and gone!  It will be Father's Day soon.  I'm hoping to surprise my husband with a special gift but not sure yet if it will work out as it involves some travel.

Still finishing up the details for the book, just a dot here and a dash there but it takes time.  I'll post a photo of the cover.

Facial Reconstruction for Artists -- THE BOOK!

Yes, finally!!  Publication date is getting closer and even though I'm tired it's an exciting process.  Realized exactly how much I didn't know about writing a book - it always looked easier :) Watch for the ads in Art Doll Quarterly and CDC, autographed copies will be available on the website and you can order it on-line. This is a self-instructional guide, similar to the class but you can work on it when you have the time and take as long as you need.  I've taken all new pictures and spent time on the drawings. Large 8.5 x 11" format.  If you have any questions, just let me know. I've had a question about the content, this is not a class to teach you forensic facial reconstruction but how to use some of the techniques of facial reconstruction to improve your own work. You can utilize the information in the book to improve your own sculpting - or it's also good material for anyone who draws and paints as the information on the skull, muscles and tissue depths is a good foundation for any type of art.

A beautiful Easter

Couldn't have been a nicer day to celebrate such a wonderous occasion.  Church in the morning then a bar-b-que in the afternoon with my sister and her family.  After things being turned upside down for so long it was wonderful to just relax, enjoy the day and not have to worry about anything :)

A New Month!

March is here and it will be a busy month.  A birthday and anniversary in the first week then some studio time to catch up and photograph work that has been "lingering" on the table :)  New photos soon to come.

The garden in winter; my deer has stood guard over my garden for many, many years.  Even though there is still a lot of snow, the Thyme is still growing.

A New Year!

I've always loved new beginnings and get excited about starting something new.  The first day of school; the first day of summer vacation; the first really brisk fall day; beginning a new art project and of course, the start of a new year.

I don't make formal resolutions but I do spend some time thinking about last year and what I'd like to do different this year.  More time to concentrate on my art is right at the top.  Often day-to-day life takes over and I get tired, frustrated and lose my momentum.  I'm one of those people who need large blocks of quiet time to work and it seeems like every year I have less of it.  So one plan is to have some smaller projects that are easily completed and keep my muse alive while I work on long range projects.  If you've found something that works for you, share it with me.

I've come to terms with my kidney problems; learned what I need to do, what not to do and am able to move on.  It's taken awhile, but I think I'm there :)

I really believe this year will be the best one yet, I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you better and sharing more of our work!

A little of our New Year's snow, a real treat for me being a California girl.

Christmas is Over

Christmas is over for another year, I just packed the few things I'd had out this year. We've been so busy with the house there wasn't time to do it right so most everything stayed in storage. Our Christmas was quiet but so nice and relaxing. Santa was very good to me this year :)

I love to start a new year so am anxious to get things cleaned up and ready to begin anew next week.

Another year older!

I turned another year older yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny day, 72 degrees. We celebrated by buying me a new digital camera -- I'm so in love with it!! I think it's smarter than I am but it's fun to be learning something new. The years go so fast I sometimes feel like I'm caught in space - just spinning - not making any headway. Here's my first attempt at painting "in" the picture - I've not yet learned to edit in the camera though.

Making progress! My dining room is a dining room again! Finally have everything that's going back to the studio - there. Items that will be stored in the garage are in boxes waiting to go out. Lots of empty boxes waiting to rearrange the shelves and cabinets in the garage so I can store my "not used every day but want to keep handy" items :) This will allow me to have more free working room in the studio and I can move things in and out depending on what I'm working on. Sculpting supplies in one area, painting supplies in another and space to store various projects I'm working on. Right now I have a mosaic in progress, a couple of sewing projects and a special memory project for my family. I like keeping things together so when I have some time I can just pull out the bin and everything I need to work is right there. The down side to that is having enough supplies to store several projects :) But at least I know where things are -- ie, I know my alcohol inks are with the spoon books I'm making for Christmas.

Finished a couple birthday gifts and ready to start on Christmas. I still have to finish the living room drapes but I'll try and work on both at the same time.

Rainy Sunday

Our wonderful Indian Summer seems to have come to an end. The rain started this afternoon and the temperature is dropping. It was nice though to be able to have the windows and doors open while we were painting. Now comes the fun part of painting a mural on one wall in the bedroom...I'll work on designing it while catching up on other things this next week.

The studio is ready to move back into - but where do I put all the stuff I took out? I want to keep it organized and uncluttered so I can find what I have when I want to use it. It's wonderful always having just that little item you need, but it's often buried under a stack of other little items waiting to be used. I started with fabric, several bins have gone to the attic and books were next. Three boxes to "go", not sure if I want to sell them or just donate them someplace. Another two boxes I'm not ready to get rid of yet that will stay in the garage. Those that I want to keep available on a daily basis have gone back onto the bookshelves, just in another room. My fingers are itching to get back to work, I'm so glad we got everything painted and cleaned but now I want to do something a little more creative.

My sculpting group has thinned out, several moved on to other pursuits. I miss our get-togethers, seeing what everyone is working on and feeling the vibes that come with a group of artists. I have several things scheduled that won't put as much pressure on my right hand, after many years of working in the clay arthritis has become a problem. To give it rest I have other outlets ready, a mosaic to finish, some needlework to frame and some will be made into pillows for gifts. A painting I promised last year, a scrapbook to finish for my granddaughter -- more than enough to keep me busy when it's too cold to be outside. Potted the last of my starts that I'll overwinter in the house so now it's just the cleanup before winter is here.

And, yes, I'm still working on the book (s).

Halloween

I don't have any little ones anymore but still enjoy Halloween and all that goes with it. Here's some pictures of my favorite little goblins and big ones too!

Fall is here

We've had rain, cold and sunshine again, very strange weather this entire year but the sun is shining today. We're still working on the house - sorting as we go along. We move everything out, paint and then before we move it back we go through everything, choosing what to keep, what to give away and wondering why we ever kept "that"? It's such a good feeling but takes so long and seems like we're never going to finish.

I'm doing well, taking the winter off from teaching any classes to get things here in order and make it easier on my family. It's been a year now and I've gotten into the routine and it's become a normal way of life for me. Thanks for all your good thoughts.

The new website has been delayed but I am taking time to enjoy doing some things just for fun and will have new items to show once everything is back to normal. Hope everyone is sculpting, sewing, collaging or whatever make you happy!!

August Already

No matter how good my intentions I can't seem to keep up with more posts. This has been a busy summer, strange weather kept us on our toes. Storm damage the first of the year didn't seem that bad but took forever to get everything repaired -- mainly as there were so many homes in the area that needed work done. The final repairs in the house were done just recently and it's a good feeling to get all the construction & paint out of the house. Now I want to start the redecorating, it's been postponed so many times but most should be done before Christmas. We finally chose a wallpaper for the dining room but had trouble matching paint -- then found out the paper is backordered :) I'll keep the sheer drapes but make new swags and valances for just about every room.

The front part of the house will be completed first - and possibly my studio done while everything is still packed up. At least get it painted a lighter color. The kitchen is next on the list but that's a big job due to all the wallpaper that will have to come down and I don't want to have several rooms torn up at once. I love an elegant, formal look - this is a pretty traditional home - but ended up with more of a formal cottage look. Lots of greenery and colors to bring the outside in....we don't have good natural light in the living room so decided on a lighter version of the original sage color we had settled on. I planned to do the entry in the darker color but there isn't a good stopping place and don't want it in the hallway so not decided yet what I'll do. Thinking I'll use some of the darker elegant papers and fabrics in our bedroom and maybe the den...there are a couple I may just order to use for art projects :)

No classes scheduled -- too much going on in the house this year. My first grandson will be getting married in September. In NY, where he moved to be closer to his girlfriend. It doesn't look like we'll be able to go, it's one of those ... can't get there from here...things. Never thought I'd miss his wedding but then never thought about any of them moving so far away from the rest of the family :) That means rental cars, hotels etc.

Last day of sun for awhile

The daffodils and forsythia look so springtime, yet the Ozarks are famous for strange weather patterns. The snow got the daffodils and we've had several freezes that have bit quite a few of the plants that were up. Beautiful yesterday and today but by tonight the storms will move back in for a week.

Spring is Here!

They are predicting snow again on Saturday but the plants and trees know it's spring. Daffodils, Forsythia and Bradford Pear tree.