Black Bear

I saw you in the woods, up close, a long time ago. I saw you in clouds this past fall, and tried to understand your message. Everything I read about 'bear energy' says it's time to reflect and 'be', vs. 'do'; be meditative, trust your own intuitive feelings about your dreams and goals; be true to boundaries and spend time connecting with Mother Nature. Well, after the chaos of February, and now, continuing into March, this seems almost impossible in my life.  But when the idea for this little painted stone came to me, it was something I couldn't not do.

It's one of those simple, "1-2-3"  projects that makes me smile, and gives me purpose in my 45 minutes of solitude at the end of the day. I don't have to embark on adding to one of my 'bigger' projects - though those are beckoning constantly - and I can still feel a sense of satisfaction. I think bear will like his final resting place, very much.

Thawing Out....

I created this today and with it,
had so much more to say.
It illustrates my winning poem,
scored just the other day.
Uncertain sometimes what to write here,
for blogging to me is new;
they say it's no good to get personal,
but it's my space...can't I keep it true?
I really wanted to post the artwork,
but after the poem was up I could see

that this space of mine was perfectly fine

with just an eye and a bumblebee.

They Are Done!

I'm happy to say that despite in the mayhem in my world over the last few weeks, I did  manage to complete one painting, my Mermaids. A few  waves painted here, and a little glitter added there, and viola! This is one of my mixed media pieces that is complete, right down to it's sparkly finishing touches.

 

Of course, it is those very sparkly finishing touches, plus my lack of finesse with my camera that hinder you from really seeing some if the details, but hey, I'm sure you get the general idea. I'm thinking of a way to 'seal' the whole piece with out dulling over the glitter, and I'm thinking that my old friend modge podge will do it, as long as I take care to paint around the glitter areas. I thought of spraying too, with a fixative, but not sure how that would work out. Any ideas as to what kind of sealants work best for mixed media pieces?

The 'day after' snow photos

OK, so these are about a week and a half late, but I wanted to share anyway. Here are two decent photos from the recent snow dumpings on my town.Everything looks so pretty and pristine when it's sunny and white....until the stuff starts melting - then it just gets heavier and heavier to shovel! But I prefer to remember it like this, then to view it all melty and mushy and re-frozen, and gray...the way it is now.

After the snow, and the snow, and the snow...

Fantasy: I was hoping to update this blog and finish/start /continue some artwork during the recent snow days. Reality: I have no widgets (at least, I don’t think I do….) still not sure what the difference is between ‘following’, getting email updates, or url-ing on my blog and remain confused about refining the layout stuff. How the heck do I get my banner smaller, and add some bullet points underneath it? (probably back to the HTML). And there were no updates to, continuation of, or new beginnings happening at my easel, or in my notebooks. I did manage to snap a photo of a fabulous after-snow sunset and some photos of a near white-out from the blizzard while it was happening. I’m coming off of almost two weeks of nonstop snow, school closings, snow bound kids, & stir crazy me. Yeah, I had this crazy idea that I was actually going to do some creative stuff on those snowed in days…puh-leez. I did allot of laundry, sweeping and mopping, and half way successful attempts at organization. And reading…lots of magazines to grab my attention – perfect when my attention span is frayed and frazzled to hell. But I’ve got some ideas about what my fantasy spring wardrobe will look like…( strappy sandals, blousy tops, breezy minis and indigo jeans and capris to die for) which made me start thinking about my jumpstarting my commitment to lose weight and get healthy. I may not be able to seek enough solace in my house to create, but I can crank up the stereo and use my mini-weights!

Something new from something old

Maybe it takes a snowed-in weekend to get around to creating something that's been 'on the table' for awhile. This collage is one such piece. I've had the parts of it -hand colored copies of photos, magazine cut outs and colored pencil drawings - for some time, but hadn't envisioned the collage as a whole.

 

It is a paper collage of me and my sister and our mom, from way back...much longer ago than I can remember. I guess snow days also allow quiet time to reminisce, to remember, to think about all that is, what could have been, and what is to come. Some people , they say, leave an indelible mark on our souls, even after they've left us. All of the memories I have of my mom are vague, at best - but, in my mind's eye, I imagine a loving steady relationship between the three of us...we three.

progress and a new direction

I had been thinking that the skull motifs would really work in the girl and goat painting after my last post. I decided to add a few to the bottom before I put the skull lanterns in the background. We'll see where it goes.

 

 And flaming snake lady is making progress.