Fa La La

I don't know about everyone else, but December is roaring by me. We had three days of ice here this week so I didn't do any driving except what I had to. Now I am really behind. I will say I felt like I was in Narnia every time I looked out the back of our house to the ridge. The ice was beautiful to behold. Instead of promises to keep, I have boxes to keep, I think. My studio still has quite a few, although my shelves are filling with stamps. The artwork pictured here are some stampbord inchies I did to share at the Collage Club luncheon tomorrow. I had a lot of fun doing them. There are four layers in all and then I distressed the sides and wrote the words. It felt good to get at least some art done in December.

House news: We should close in the next couple of days and will only own one house after that. Keep your fingers crossed.

I hope everyone has a joyous and festive holiday season.

October musings

Well, October has quietly slipped by ins ome ways and roared in others. We moved over into our new house last week so we have boxes, chaos, more flies than I can murder in one day, and some damaged furniture from the move. But, even with all that....I love the house! I have space to myself and love the wooded area we are now living in. A new discovery: turkeys do not adjust well to concrete. I watched them meander in a meadow one morning and then look like roadrunners as they scurried to the other side of the road, then meander again. It was a funny sight to see. Artwise...not much going on. My studio hasn't even gotten on my radar. Food and sleeping quarters took priority. I did have a chance to work on a series of Halloween houses for an ATC exchange tonight. I hand drew the ones above.....I don't hand draw often but it worked that I could do it while Sammi was at the gym. I hope they are well received. That's all from the new Curry abode.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Living Inside a Box

We are still living here in our apartment for a few more weeks. Move in day is October 11 and I can't wait. Sam has started school which is freeing my time somewhat, but am dealing with reacclimating here in St. Louis and the tiny apartment which seems to be closing in on me more each day. I leave on Friday to visit my dad in Williamsburg. We are at the cusp of putting him in an assisted living facility by my sister. The decision is difficult but it is a safety issue as of now. Art has been almost non-existent but this piece is the sign in page from my new altered calendar that needs to be sent off next week. Just a bit of doodling to add interest. Enjoy the fall!!!!

Stampaway 2007

What a crazy time for our family. We arrived in St. Louis in the middle of the night on the 2nd and I left to return to Cincinnati with Tracy on the 8th for Stampaway. I can't even remember how many years I've been attending, but I think this is my 7th year teaching. I loved the clocks that were done in Time of Your Life. They really took off and had a ball doing them. My favorite class was my new stampbord class...LOVED IT...... It was fun to see everyone try the new techniques. THANKS TO EVERYONE IN BOTH CLASSES!!!!

Tracy and I had a great time at Stampaway and cavorting about Ohio. We hit an antique mall in Springfield on Friday and I managed some finds. I bought two vintage windows and two post boxes. Both are for the new house. We hit the ground running at the Friday preview party. Tracy loved the new designer for IO, Leigh Hannan, so we spent a long time there. I already had all but two designs that I wanted so my damage wasn't as great. We also had to by soldered charms for necklaces from Artful Illusions . That family is one of the nicest I've met so I enjoyed plunking down a lot of dough there. Last year I bought a lot of their unmounteds and totally missed the jewelry so it was nice that I could poke through their stash this year. Connie's party was a fun time as usual. The usual cast of characters were there as well as a special guest, Carol Duvall. We spent a lot of time chatting with the JudiKins crowd both at the booth and the party. They are always fun and inspirational at the same time. I've been a longtime JudiKins fan.

Now it is back to the grind in our one bedroom apartment! Here is my temporary email address: nancycurry1@gmail.com if anyone needs me.

Perhaps

This artwork sums up our week. We lost the sale of our house because of Joe, our sex offender that lives on our cul-de-sac. Apparently because he plea bargained and did his 8 week stint in jail and a few weeks in counseling, he can go on with his life while ruining ours. No one can make him leave unless he keeps his yard unkempt. It doesn't matter that he wants to chat/meet/greet underage girls. So we are still moving next week and the house will sit. Sit. Sit. Perhaps it will sell. Perhaps it won't. Perhaps ..............................

On a more positive note, this is a piece ( 6 x 12" canvas) I did for the art auction for charity at Stampaway. I am quite pleased with it. On my regular website there is a duplicate that I did for my bff, Deb....That one is in Tuscan colors that will go with her house. I do love working with stampboard. It is great for home deco.

New email until we move into our house is nancycurry1@gmail.com . No new posts until we are in the apartment!

Movers and Shakers

We are nine days from the movers beginning the four day process of packing and crating for storage. But GOOD NEWS ............... the Curry abode is S O L D !!!!!!!! That development was Wednesday but I think it has taken me a few days to know that it is real. No rest for the weary, though, because the move is imminent, but at least we don't have to worry about it standing after we are gone. Prep continued this week for my Stampaway clock class. I think drilling took me 6 hours or so, but all canvases and matboard are drilled. I have to write the instructions, and pack the kits this week. It will be nice to have that done as well. The picture today again isn't art, but it is the first pic that Jim, Sam and I have been in since she was a baby. It was taken on the cruise and I think we will use it for our XMAS cards this year. Enjoy............

Chez Curry

Well, here is a non art-related picture.....our new house that's going up in Missouri. Jim stopped by tonight and this is the first pic I have seen so I had to share. I am busily prepping for my Stampaway classes that need to be finished before the movers come. Today's fodder included packaging up clock movement pieces and painting 70 canvases black. Everything is coming along, although I have to admit it is difficult doing this in the middle of prepping for 2-3 months of storage. I have to keep telling myself it will all get done. It will all get done. It will all get done..............yada yada yada.

Up, Down and All Around

These days I spend a lot of time going from up to down. Today was a down. I see other houses selling in the neighborhood, yet mine can't even get an offer. This puzzle piece for an "opposites" puzzle parallels my up and down mood. I love to play with patterning and love to doodle so I spent the afternoon on this piece while Sam was going up and down at the gym.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have an up. Who knows..............

Home Stretch

We are home from our wonderful trip to the Mediterranean. I have officially fallen in love with Rome. The flora, fauna, and flavor were just so wonderful....all except the taxi drivers. The rest of our trip was as wonderful. We saw so many begininings of civilizations that it is hard to pick a favorite but if I had to I would say the pyramids at Giza. They are amazing. Even more amazing is the fact that our party all traveled in a four foot wide and tall, downward angled passageway about 150' into Chephren's pyramid. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Had I known what it was going to be like, I might now have gone, but I am glad I did now that I am sitting in Cincinnati.

The cruise itself was wonderful, too. We did a lot, but also were able to relax some, too. It was wonderful to be on the trip with our chosen family from Boston, and equally as wonderful to still have that bond after eight years apart. We are very lucky to have friends like that.

Now it is back to the grind. We have a month left and then everything will be in storage until October. I am busily prepping for class here tomorrow and packing my materials for the Stampaway class will be a priority in the coming weeks. The moving man cringed today when he saw my studio. That's all I'll say about that.

Coloring Outside any Lines

Well, Sammi is finally on the mend and the house is still on the market. Our new house in St. Louis will be started at the beginning of June so this chaos will continue into the fall. My friend, Deb, inspired this ATC from top to bottom. She brought me back these Technique Tuesday petal stamps http://techniquetuesday.com from Florida. They are so petite that they are a perfect size for cards and ATCS. I must confess that I bought two of the larger sets on my own after that. She also found the text stamp and thought I needed it, too, since it is the title of my blog. I finally got around to using both today. It was fun being down in the studio again even if just for an hour or so. I worked on some charms for a mingle, too, and I am very pleased with them as well. I hope this trend continues that I can get down there once in a while just to scratch that art itch.

May Day

My best friend started me on the tradition of May Day baskets when we lived in St. Louis in the 1990s. I didn't grow up with that tradition, but thought it was wonderful each year when one was delivered to us. Well, I have my own imaginary basket today that is filled with the blessings that have been delivered to us over the last couple of weeks. Our house is up for sale and we have had a number of showings, but no buyers. Words have been critical, but I am trying to see the big picture and know that there will be a buyer for us. My father seems to be articulating better and we have had some great conversations together. I don't mind playing "fill in the blank" when he is showing me he wants to talk. Finally, Sammi is back in school this week and is recovering from her gym accident from last Monday night. She plowed into the high bar with her head before falling to the ground and jamming her knees into her face. We are very lucky that she had only multiple level 2 concussions and bursa fluid in her knees. After three days of "brain rest" she was sort of back to her old self. She is still on crutches but even the knees seem to be getting better. Unfortuately for her, she had to miss her regional competition in Indy, but we are just happy she is on the mend. No art pics today, but there are pics from her in the ER and taking 2nd on beam at state last month. Anyone who has my book knows how much I love her, but not everyone knows what "heart" she has to push through as many obstacles as she has had. I celebrate her "heart" today.

Diffusion

I've spent a lot of time during the past three months diffusing life's curveballs, but more keep getting thrown at us. The house is now up for sale as of Friday and we have had our first showing. They are marketing the house with a working studio so it doesn't have to be as pristine as the rest of the house. My foot still isn't healed so I have to be off of it as much as possible. I can't believe that it is still not right after about 12 weeks. The boot and I have become one soul. We are probably going to build a house in St. Louis but I'll know more about that next week. The builder took forever to get us a cost analysis, but I love the lot. I'll post a pic if that happens next week. Unfortunately I had to pull out of Artiscape so I can get my body healed. Lisa's event has been one I have always wanted to go to, but never seemed to be able to because of Sam's competing season. It had worked out this year and I was eager to teach. I hope it goes well for everyone. The piece featured in this post is for my calendar exchange. It is the first art I've sat down to do in weeks (watercolor, permanent markers, sprits bottle, Hampton Arts stamp.)

Once Upon A Time

I've spent a lot of time this past week thinking about "once upon a time." No conclusions on why things can't be as good, but definitely thinking about it. Hence, the piece of art above that I did yesterday while cleaning out my studio to put the house on the market. I can only hope that some day in the future I'll be able to look back on this and reminisce fondly!

Teal...all day...all the time

I had a lot of fun working with some leotard patterns to do this teal challenge on one of the Yahoo lists I am on. Sam leaves today on a bus for Orlando and I fly out tomorrow morning. She doesn't compete until Saturday so I am hoping to get out into the sunshine while we are there a little bit.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!

True Blue

I can't believe it is already February. It does look like we'll be relocating this year to St. Louis.....a trying time this has been for all three of us. My time has been spent beginning to get the house de-cluttered, but not too much art has been happening. This week, though, I sat down and did this piece of canvas for a mingle.