« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »
April 28, 2007
Glutten for punishment
Just when I told myself I wasn't going to paint a larger painting right before I move I have. I just can't shove these little beauties onto a small canvas! This means that in order to discipline myself to finish this one I'm going to hafta listen to my favorite cable shows instead of watch them. If I had some great new music maybe I could just kick back with TV off and listen to new tunes, but alas our Napster subscription ran out. The fancy Zen Joel got for Christmas collects dust since we have not a cent to dedicate to the music. Where is the love, huh? Anyway, I have no idea what the next weeks will bring besides the exit of the old and the bringing in of the new. The Cooleys made it into their new place last weekend and I'm already planning the get togethers and kid swapping. When I am in my new place I will not be scouting out a studio spce right away, oh no! Not this mama. I have very little time to spend away from the homefront. I need to be able to put pasta on and throw paint around at the same time. So my dining room table (that we scored for $10) is a little bit marred from artist abuse rather than just faux distressing. That's alright by me. As much as I love nice things, they just won't stay nice very long in my house. The grass will grow back.
When I'm sitting at my spotchy dining table, easel parked next to it, I will be able to paint, make dinner, converse with husband and children, and watch the construction guys finish Phase 3 of Jefferson Heights.
For this prequel to the busy life, I will depict Brownie and Cookie again, with great joy. Their friendly gaze will bring me delight since there is no weight to their watching, just gladness in creation. Creatures that hide some sort of mystery that God whispers to us through fuzzy paws, floppy ears and marble smooth eyes. Stay tuned.
fine art | By | 1:04 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 26, 2007
Trippy
When you are painting critters over and over again you get kinda tired of the same old thing. We'll see how this trippy pink thing turns out, I kinda like it.
fine art | By | 9:34 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 25, 2007
Buggin'
I finished my Beetle Pod, now I just hafta make it down to IKEA to get a frame for it. I'd love to hang it at the Clothesline if it doesn't sell before then. I've been looking at the calendar trying to see what needs to get accomplished before we close on our new house. There's going to be lots of babysitting and trips before it's all said and done. My mom and dad are giving of themselves so much so that we can accomplish stuff in peace. It will be quite a blessing, especially for my marriage. It's amazing how quickly a tiny problem becomes a reason for marriage counseling when the kids are underfoot. I have an amazing praise to report: seems the home inspector for our old house in Marietta has found no problems except that the dishwasher doesn't work. Amazing!! After all the "uh-ohs" and "oh-no's" and "I-dunno-Ma'am's" it seems all those workers opinions didn't seem to matter in the end. We have restored that house to a point that it is pretty and comfortable. And I am praising God that the inspector didn't find anything else that we have to fix. The diswasher is a drop in the bucket compared to roofs, porches, chimney's etc. We have not a single dime left to put into this house. We are squeaking into our new home by the skin of our teeth. God just keeps bringing us little bits of money and it comes from my art sales. Little by little. I want to say thanks to you all who have waited until this spring to buy pieces of art. God has given you the desire because this artist needs the money now more than ever. And of course, you need art more than ever (wink). I hope to get a few more pods worked on before my brother and his family come in a couple weeks. Cuz by that time, it's time to pack it up and move it all.
fine art | By | 10:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 23, 2007
Asking Forgiveness
Beetle Pod, in progress
I haven't been feeling 100% great about my real time, real life job these days. I have been wanting to flee, have a vacation from the everyday. When I see the work that comes from the artists at 4 Bridges I wish that I had 6 months to work with no other distractions. It works me up to great frustration. I had a good cry about it. But after its done I remember that I have chosen a life that has many facets, and many rich wonderful things. I can't buy snazzy clothes, or even snazzy canvases. I don't have a day job that I can relate to the professional world, I am a mom that goes to Wal-Mart and playgrounds and the CDM. When I do have to relate to the professional world I find myself over-make upping, changing my clothes a million times, and fixing my hair over and over. Whatta crazy person I am. I drive Joel nuts. He always looks comfortable.
I have also felt very deflated about my kids and not knowing what to do with them. Feeling out of control. I have appreciated those of you out there who have told me that you feel the same way, that you're going through the same struggles. I want very much to feel that I am not alone in the struggle of parenting, but when the fit hits the shan I want to just make the chaos stop. 8 years of marriage and 2 kids, ages 4 and 2, just seems to be alot. A lot of responsibility, and for me a lot of guilt. Guilty that I am not all things all the time. When I should be playing joyfully with my kids, I am trying to frantically email before folks come banging (literally) on my door. Instead of getting the groceries purchased before noon, I am writing checks and mailing out art show invites.
I guess life will have the natural ebb and flow of craziness. I am happy knowing that I will be in my own new house very soon, and a chunk of our debt will be paid. There will be miles to go before I sleep, but during this hub-bub I am reminding myself of the jewels I have. I am surrounded by the noise of relationship: kids, husband, parents, cat. And at 1am when I am painting the newest set of pod paintings it is quiet and I can be alone. I wake up depleated some days, but the lack of sleep is sometimes worth the mental health.
Thanks to all for your admiration, conversation and consideration as we bumped into each other at various events this weekend. I am on the mend, and I feel these exhaling posts are valuable to some of you. Be encouraged, those of you who need it. I am glad to have you reading and caring about your choices too. Blessings.
the spirit within | By | 4:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 21, 2007
Kid's Tent
At 4 Bridges, we spent most of our time right here with the facepaint, bejewelled crowns, corn dogs and ice cream!
Really an amazing festival, go! Go!! See the great art!
mommy time | By | 5:06 PM | TrackBack
April 20, 2007
special finds
A Spring day brings us outdoors to find new exciting things to do with Grandma's recycling. My mom is blown away by how much oatmeal we eat. I tried to freecycle oatmeal containers when we lived in Marietta. I was sure there would be a VBS that would need some supplies or something. It's better that we have tons of empty oatmeal containers than empty soda cans or Snickers wrappers. Jos and Eden just loved marching around in the oatmeal containers pretending they were boots.
Our Clothesline show is going to have a blog to follow our inspirations, goals, goings on etc. Maybe it'll just be me and Cat most of the time, but it's worth a try! Check it out from time to time: Clothesline-Women's Art
| By | 9:41 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 19, 2007
Restocking
Here's my groovy little bird pair. Super fun and decorative! I'm not sure if I feel that it;s done, but I might put it in my etsy shop anyway.
I'd love to post some pictures of the kids and the fun things we've been doing. But between Uncle Sam and the Clothesline Show postcard I've had no time to blog. I have to exorcise my computer of this new strange Adobe Photo Manager that makes it more difficult to resize pics. I love this one setting on my camera, but it makes huge pictures! I just haven't had the time to figure all that junk out.
But some things that are in the works (besides buying and selling of homes) are a new pod series. These pods are made from hardwood floor blocks from my new house! Pretty neato. I'd like to do more beetles on these blocks. And I have a few sales to report! Becky will be buying my Metro III. It's a lovely painting and Becky has been persuing my art for awhile. It's great to have fans!! Jennifer B. is the lucky owner of the Beetle, for her boy Luke, and she will also be getting Garden Blessing. And I will have the wonderful assignment of painting Luke's portrait. God is good to give me some business these days. Thanks blogland!
And I"m dying to paint a wasp....
fine art | By | 9:31 AM | TrackBack
April 18, 2007
How many artist's does it take to get to the Tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
ELEVEN! ARGH! I'm done! It's too much, almost gaudy, but everyone is included. Next time, it's gonna be simple. Now, should we start a blog?? Because I need something else to do.
fine art | By | 12:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 14, 2007
Finished:Not finished
The Beetle is finished and will hang in Luke's room....
The Bird Pair is not finished, the flowers and leaves look like skeletons, but soon.
Thanks for all your well wishes for the Normal auction. I sold my Clover with Pods and my Red Berry-Yellow Bird. We'll see how much they went for, I'm not sure how many bids. I'll just await a happy check. So my bird stash is low, this bird pair needs to get finished.
Four Bridges is next weekend and I"m off to work for AVA today. We'll see how much they need me. Might be all weekend! It'll be different to serve the artists instead of be one, but I do really like it. It'll be nice to make others shine. I love festivals, they make you feel so high. I hope that working there is almost as great as being in the festival. Come on down! I've seen some of the emerging artists and a couple are pretty awesome!
fine art | By | 11:22 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 12, 2007
To Normal
At the last minute I've been invited to participate at Normal School's Art Auction. I always kinds hesitate to do these things because you have to mark down your work to a level where people will bid on it and hold your breath that it will sell well enough to pay for itself. Even though it was last minute, I felt really good about this. And walking into Normal School convinced me. What a amazing little place. Jellyfish made from deli containers hanging from the ceiling. A fountain in the front hall and a large aquarium full of swimming turtles. I knew I could bring the kids with me and it would be a friendly place. The staff hanging the show was so nice and very appreciative. It was awesome to see some of Lisa Norris' stuff and Judy Condon's work. I definately made the right choice! It would be awesome to see everything I brought sell tonight. I put Jana, Jerah, Reception 3, Metro 3, Clover w/ Pods and Red Berry-Yellow Bird.
Here's the Beetle , he's almost done, I think. I love the paint pen detailing. I'm getting really hooked on it.
fine art | By | 4:36 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 11, 2007
checkmarks
Here's the proof of the art show postcard I did. We're having a lovely gathering at Laura Pettit's house and we will fill her home with art. Some hanging on lines, some on walls. All women, all the time. It'll be fun and it'll be two full days. Come and enjoy some casual art browsing. Laura's home is pretty enough to wander through.
And if you are curious to read my course descriptions for the classes I'll teach next year you can continue the reading.... so glad I can chill for a couple minutes and and have a midnight snack.
fine art | By | 12:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 10, 2007
More to Show and Tell
The Bird Pair I'm working on...
A hat that I botched the bill on, but the part in this picture is pretty...
And the beetle commission that is the first in line these days.
And we have an agreement for our Marietta house! Joel and I wish we were more celebratory. Offers and counter-offers suck. Home sales is hard. We listed this house for 10K more than we sold it for. When we walk away from this sale we won't quite have enough to pay off our home equity debt. But it's over, the waiting, the wondering the continual desire to make the house seem better. It's over!! Yeah!! We will close on our new house on April 30th, maybe a little before. We will close on the old house on May 15th. What a way to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, closing on our old house, finally! We are thankful, we're also entering into a very fast paced month. I hope I can have some time to breathe. I have to get my course descriptions for my fall art classes in by the end of this week. And I have stuff to do for the Clothesline Show. Ohhhhh, way too much to do.
community | By | 12:27 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 7, 2007
The Offer!!
Last night we were watching Empire Strikes Back with the kids while eatin' piza and we got a call from Patty. Someone made an offer on our Marietta house! Yeah Yeah Yeah!! Now I know we're not out of the woods, we're going to counter-offer, but this is the home stretch! Keep praying everyone, the next hurdle in my mind is whatever the home inspector for the bank might say. Because yesterday morning our lovely housesitter told us that the whole drainpipe fell off of our house! I had her and her brother move it to the basement. Ugh. And we've had handy-people tell us that our deck (even with brand new railing) still is questionable. Ugh. Prayer has worked and God is so faithful. We're expecting awesome things. The funniest thing, is part of their initial offer is that they want all our appliances, our washer and dryer and our lawn-mower. Kinda funny, but dude, take 'em!!
house | By | 9:36 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 5, 2007
Therapy of Springtime
Thanks to those of you who read my sorrowful sigh yesterday. I'm glad I didn't go into everything because that will be reserved for those of you who talk to me in person. Which alot of you got to do last night! Whew! We were joking about how the St. Elmo Playground is a meeting place, a gathering if you will for the whole community. How they need a web-cam there so we can tune in and catch up on what's going on. It's refreshing knowing that there are lots of adults watching over all the kids. Josiah got to play with the Cooleys and Cat came and chased all the boys up the big BIG hill. We got to see the Ferris' and the Sweets. It was so therapeutic. I forgot all the reasons I thought something was wrong when I saw Josiah ask and respond to kids he knew and didn't know with smiles hugs chasing, sliding etc. I am glad I'm not the only mom who has these worries. I guess that's pretty obvious. We played until darkness made Eden's tiny form invisable and we came home full of spring sunshine. The kids slept good and so did I.
***A COUPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS!! Easter Egg Hunt with North River Vineyard this Saturday at Coolige Park!!! Bring all the kids you know! It starts at 11am with games and ends with the hunt around 12:45-1pm!
Check me out in the latest edition of In the City magazine. I cannot find it in print anywhere yet, and it's the 4th, 5th?? But you can check it out online at In the City's website! Eden's portrait is published!!****
community | By | 8:56 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 4, 2007
It's a pity to be so blue
What a beautiful day it is here in the Southeast! The weather is just amazing, crisp, sunny, happy. I am just none of those things today. Ever since last week when I helped at Josiah's Pre-K I've been battling these feelings about what to do. Josiah had a tough day at school again this week and I'm the one upset, not him. Josiah came home and told me that his teacher had to put him in time-out because he was throwing things. I really really hesitate to put this out there. But it is just so discouraging to me right now. Alli has a great little post about her boy and how she wants everyone to know how cool Fuller is. Well, Josiah oozes coolness. Everyone just loves my boy. He's charming, gentle, funny, social, he loves the outdoors, he loves babies and older kids. And he gives great monkey embraces around your neck like those stuffed animals with velcro on their hands. I love seeing his lanky frame climb up ladders or run across large grassy places. I had a huge post about all my fears but this is something that I just have to keep to myself right now.
I am not very worried. I am just feeling like a little bit of failure. I want my boy to grow and learn and it's seems hard for him. He gets really tired and goofy.
I've thought about trying some sort of music class and seeing if he thrives with that. He sings so well, he's dramatic when he sings. And when he had a chance to hold a little cello and play or toot in a clarinet he was thrilled. I also am swallowed up with fear of him not being "normal" or "accepted". I have those in quotes because none of us really are either of those things 100%. I also am washed over with the weariness of home sales and moving, mortgages and money and under all that weight is a creative little girl wanting to squeak out some art here and there. Lord help me, I'm feeling rough.
mommy time | By | 4:12 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 3, 2007
Thin
I'm feeling a little worn thin today. Too much on my brain. But you can enjoy these wonderful pictures from our Passover meal at the Englishs house. Warm, cozy, comfortable, times. Great lamb and wine and Q&A for the kids. Josiah remembered that Joseph had his coat soaked in blood. Jos loves the blood stories. When the mother of 6 tells you you looke tired you probably are. Thanks for the great meal guys! If anyone has a chance to visit the English home (especially for a meal) do it! It's an enriching experience and I've blogged about it before.
Think and pray for me this week. I've been offered a job at a homeschooling group to teach not one but 3 art classes in the fall. I'm mostly terrified of teaching elementary school kids. Grades 2-6 in the same room! Eeek! Lynn where are you when I NEED you!!!
the spirit within | By | 9:16 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 1, 2007
If I could build a playground...
We schmoozed with a friendly Sarah Morgan, representative of the Lyndhurst foundation during the art show on Friday and she told us if we had any suggestions for the Jefferson Street Park and playground. I said I would love to give them notes! So Amber and I need to get together and petition. What would you want? Have you seen something at your local playground that you love?Help me out Y'all!
community | By | 1:35 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack