TUcKEr!!!!

Well, we have entered puppydom with a vengeance. Tucker has been with us for almost a week now. We picked him up about 13 hours after returning from the east coast. He is settling in nicely and as long as I am trained to take him out, we do ok. My studio is definitely off limits for him so I am not getting much done. I was lucky to get my Stampaway supplies ordered this week. He is 10 weeks old and a beautiful mix of black and brown. He is 10 pounds at this point but as furry as can be. I always love the poodle coat before maturation. Will he grow as big as his big brother, Bogart? Only time will tell. He can put his paws on my shoulders when he stands. I am sort of hoping that Tucker will be a little smaller. We'll see! Here are some puppy pics!!!

Impending Puppydom etc......

June is passing by so quickly as we are in the midst of preparation for puppydom. Right now Tucker is the name of choice but he could end up as Truman, Kikkoman or even Blackjack. We'll decide while we are on vacation for the next 10 days. Will our 10 year old Bogart be ready for this????? Hmmm.......and two black standard poodles. Will we be able to tell them apart? I would guess so. Tune in to find out. Enjoy my altered calendar for the month. That will have to keep everyone busy while I am gone to the east coast. I'll eat some Armand's Pizza in Georgetown and some Cincinnati chili on the way. Happy 4th of July to all! We'll be back after that.......

Birds of a Feather

In celebration of our daily birding here in Missouri and an ATC exchange online.....enjoy........! Soon we will be adding a puppy to our household so don't be surprised if somehow there are some furry pictures uploaded in July!

Miracles Happen

I had fun transforming another 4" x 5" canvas that was leftover from a demo from last year. This one started out spot brayered with some Golden Fluid acrylics and Krylon leafing. At least that's what I think was on it last year. To update it and make it into something more than a background I added two noise stamps in eggplant Adirondack and then trees and leaves in black and white. I took a gold Decor It pen and played with the shapes a little and then added the sentiment. It was a fun exercise today.

Expect Great Things

Well, we are into June and school is almost out here in St. Louis. I am so looking forward to summer--hence the title of this entry. Everything is beautiful here right now, mostly due to the 11" of rain we had in May. We are still avidly birding in our backyard and are attracting a wonderful mix of species. We put up hummingbird feeders yesterday and are hoping that the Curry Cafe will attract them as well. I've been working on a watercolor tall book swap for a local group here but took some time last night to rework a canvas I had done in a demo last year sometime. I was pleased with the overall effect. It is so fun to rework something that is just lying around on your desk. This piece started out as a spot brayer demo and ended up showcasing not only acrylics, but gesso, dye inks and metal work. You just never know where things will end up sometimes. That's the fun of these processes.

Shapes

I spent some time last night playing with circles. I've not done a lot with circles in my artwork because I am generally a more linear person, but thought it would be nice to do something a little different. An aside....I hate ovals. I have no idea why, but can't say I have ever even made anything with an oval shape in the 14+ years I have been playing with paper. That dislike also extends to oval mirrors, turkey platters, etc. I wonder if an oval did me wrong in my childhood! I never get tired of squares or rectangles. Hmmmmmmm. I wonder if other people have shapes they just don't care for. Let me know!

Sammi

This is a digital of the collage the photographer is printing to celebrate her regional championships win. I couldn't resist putting it up.......always the gushing mom.

Embrace Imperfection

I was up early this morning before the rest of my household and had a delightful bowl of cereal outside on my patio. The understory is now completely filled in our ridge. It is beautiful in its imperfection and is the perfect backdrop for our bird "restaurant". Things were quite hopping this morning, as a matter of fact. I think our "Denny's" opens up before the sun and then continues a brisk business all morning. It is fun to see the couples show up and the brazen hussys or BMOC birds try to break up the camaraderie. Nature does imitate life very well, but doesn't worry about every little detail. Hence, today's artwork theme. I enjoyed marring the background some before adding the wonderful paisley tree. It was a fun exercise today in using what I already had and putting it together in a haphazard way. The sentiment came from a conversation with my best friend a couple of days ago.I love it when nature inspires and when things just come together because they should.

Listen Closely

I am trying to get quiet and listen, hoping that I will know which way to go. It is easy to get lost in the quiet where I live now. I am hoping that the solitude will help me on my journey.

Sunkissed Moments

Well, May is here and a lot is in bloom. I am thrilled to say that we are getting our house landscaped today finally. I will, of course, post a picture when it is done. I have really been enjoying getting back into doing some painting so I painted a series of abstract designs for Mother's Day cards that can be found on my site. Having a brush in my hand is one of those tactile experience that I missed while struggling to deal with our relocation. I hope I am coming out of it. Happy Mother's Day.......and many sunkissed moments for all of you.

Ordinary

I actually did some watercolor yesterday while Sammi was at the gym out of some paper that I had to cut up to move.....enjoy! It is amazing what you can do with a clipboard, Lyras , a waterbrush and 5 hours. Art felt good again.........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAMMI!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Sammi!

Tomorrow is her 15th birthday......I am hiding this piece of canvaswork in her locker for a surprise this afternoon. ENJOY..................................

Imagination

We are finally coming out of winter here in St. Louis and boy do I need spring badly. This has been the longest winter in my life for many reasons. My in-laws were here over the weekend and we were able to tour Grant's Farm on a beautiful, sunny day yesterday. It was wonderful. Sammi's season is done and she won the Region IV championships in South Dakota last weekend. What an amazing meet she had. She moves on to train level 9 now for next season.

I did this included artwork for an ATC exchange for favorite quotes. I hope I can rediscover my imagination. It seems to be hiding somewhere these days.

No art in sight

Sammi's season is finally coming to a close so maybe art will begin to happen again. We have one more meet...regionals in South Dakota... in April. Then she starts training for the next level (9). It never ends, but at least we are local during the rest of the year. I am enjoying being part of an ATC art guild and collage club here in St. Louis. They seem to have more inspiration than me these days, but I do enjoying the gatherings. Wonderful people with wonderful ideas and hearts of gold.

No art as a pic this time but here is one of Jim and Sam headed off to the Barat Academy Father Daughter Dance tonight.... Enjoy!

White on White

There are big flakes of snow coming down yet again today, although I doubt we are in for any accumulation. I am SO ready for spring after these latest snows and forced hibernations. But at least it is the endish of February. We leave on Friday for Wisconsin so I am sure we'll be heading into more snow there, but at least it is just overnight for the latest and greatest gymnastics competition. Two weeks from now is Tampa so at least we are going south.

Not much arting going on here, but I am uploading an ATC exchange card that was appropriately themed: white on white....esp. since I keep seeing those flakes. It was an interesting card to do. The background is torn deli paper spot coated with gesso. The lacy embeliishment was embossed in white as were the words. It was a stretch going almost colorless, yet I really like the finished product.

Still unpacking here so no new classes scheduled until Stampaway in August. Stay tuned for any changes to that schedule.

Hard Holidays where art and music meet

No, this isn't my art at all, but the cover for a new EP put out by my nephew, Jon (25). His long time friend, Tia, did the cover artwork for him and it turned out great. I have put a link to Jon's myspace (or click here)so that anyone who wants to can listen to his music. Jon has been creating music for years and it has been interesting seeing the evolution and the depth that he now brings to the table. My personal favorite off this EP is Used Books Torn Pages but Nations and Hard Holidays are creative as well. I am amazed at the varied layers of music that can exist within one song and as everyone knows by now, I love layers in my art and the constant reveal. I wish Jon all the best with his music and his life. I celebrate what he has brought to all our lives with his talent.

2008 art

I promised some new art online and here it is. The two jpgs are new class samples done on layered canvas. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Celebrate '08

Happy 2008

everyone....

We had a great trip

east for Christmas

but headed back

early to St. Louis

so Sam could have

a shot at going to

her first meet.

The foot isn't quite

at 100% but she

was able to compete

and win three events

and her meet in Kansas City over the weekend. Art samples to follow tomorrow online, but for now I just wanted to celebrate my amazing daughter. Here's to a happy and healthy '08!!!!

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!!!