little things…

i feel so repetitious with all this “i’ve been such a busy little bee” prattle, but it’s true.  i feel like i have four point seven full-time jobs lately with web design, clients, my shop, prepping for a couple of exhibits, family, “me” time (huh?), volunteer stuff that i keep finding myself doing, one world one heart, updating my sites, etc.  it’s made for little time to art.  but as most of you, i can’t make it though a day [nicely] without being creative.  web design isn’t enough — i need the feel of fabrics or fibers, the smell of paint or something to get me through a day most happily.  so, i’ve been taking little bits of time to make little things lately.  mostly ATCs and ACEOs and other small-scale paintings and collages.  i have two or four swaps going on, some gifts i feel i should make, and a few to sell… soon.

i’ve been enjoying making some paper and cloth ATCs.  i’ve started a few over the past week and finished the two above.  i love the contrast between the smooth papers, with more rough and texture papers and softness of the fabrics and fibers.

i’m also doing a series of “love affair” related ACEOs for two swaps.  and some naughty vintage erotica ones too, but i may not post those here.  or maybe i will.  you’ll just have to wait and see.

the “little things” are fun as i can create them when i have little time… between helping with homework and putting whatever i’m making in the oven, etc. and can easily be set aside when a client calls.  i am, however, going to be spending time creating the things i have really been wanting to create for the past year — finish my mechanical and light-up pieces that have thick layers of dust on them.  that is one of my passions, and something i haven’t had the time to partake in for way too long.  i’m lucky — my husby is an electronic genius.  i say “what if i wanted this to have a head that turned?”  he says “buy this and that and this and that other that and i’ll do in it a night.”  gotta love that!

i’ve been on a frida kick lately too.  i started to make this for the gorgeous and talented gaby but as i have a problem with injuring myself to the point of drawing blood when using an awl, a sewing needle or working with sharp metal.  as a result, i bled on the back of this card not once, but TWICE.  so, i’m making her a new one.  i’m not going to post the new one until after you receive it so as not to ruin any potential surprise.

since this is all battered and bloody on the back, i’m going to make it into a wee shrine of sorts.  it’s such a lovely image of frida and the wee fresh-water pearl matches her bow so well.  since taking the photo, i fixed the necklace piece to be more perfectly centered, and you can’t really tell in the photo but a lot of subtle text in the crackle that doesn’t look too shabby if i do say so myself.

for a BIG thing, i must announce that my sweet and wonderful friend debrina has finished her pages in my book “the museum of forgotten things”.  i must admit that i grew quite weepy when i saw it last night as she’s done such a phenomenal job.  it’s utterly perfect.  i’ll add one image below, but go check out our pulp redux blog now to see the rest.  now.  you’ll LOVE it!!

i’ll be posting my first additions to kim’s book “fragments, vestiges and remains” in the next day or three so peek back.  then i have until the 22nd to plan and execute my other two pages for her book and ship it off to debs who gets it next.  i must hurry as the 14th is valentine’s day and i’ll be mucho busy, the 18th is my birthday (i’ll be 23… again… for like the 10th or 13th time) so i’ll supposidly be busy, and maybe out of town the next weekend for a night so i must hit the book again tonight!  sooo much fun!

ohoh, and a last note.  see side bar for fleamarket floozies — we’ve created a group for our barterables.  and i’ve updated my barterable page (see link at top of page).

cheers!

featured artist: donna watson

copyright donna watson

i recently had the pleasure of interviewing donna watson of layers, a contemporary mixed-media collage artist/painter,  as the january/february featured artist on my altered bits site.  since the first moment i laid eyes upon her amazing artwork i was in love, in awe and extremely inspired.  most, if not all of you have heard of donna i’m sure, and i would imagine that you visit her blog on a regular basis to see her outstanding work and read her inspirational thoughts and quotes.  after interviewing her, i felt that i knew so much more about her than i had known before and it makes me admire her all the more, both as an artist and as a woman.

copyright donna watson

not only has donna shared a great deal of wonderful information about herself and her art career, she has shared with us an abundance of amazing art.  there you will find thirteen delectable pieces — some of which are even for sale.  but go read the interview for yourself >>

thank you so much, donna!!

one world one heart giveaway

One World One Heart was created by Lisa Swifka in 2007 as a way to bring bloggers together from all over the world. Last year over 900 bloggers from 28 countries participated! i am quite pleased to be participating and will be giving away the following:

ONE

your choice of EITHER the black and white (er, black and coffee stained) man OR black and white woman, framed and matted in a 5″x7″ frame (as a 4×6 print).

TWO

an altoid or similar tin, with four frozen charlottes and some vintage buttons, nested in a bed of burlap and/or other fabric and/or lace.  it will slightly differ from the image displayed.

THREE

a OOAK fabric, paper, vintage lace and metal embellished ACEO/artist trading card with a lovely image of frida on it, made by me today, just for this give away.  the lace is obviously a tad wet still in the photo, sorry.  just wanted to get it up ASAP.

FOUR

TWO crackled window PDF tutorials (well one tutorial each for two people ).  if you win, i will send you an ever so secret link so you can download it.

FIVE

i will be giving away one digital collage sheet of your choice from my site: http://alteredbits.com to TEN people. (six new sheets being added this week, btw.)

i had another piece in mind to make for this AND a couple of other supply-type items so check back over the next few days as i will be adding it if i get the time. that’s cheap, i know, sorry.

when commenting, please let me know which item(s) you are most interested in. make sure i have your email address or some means of being able to contact you.  the drawing will be FEBRUARY 15th, 2010 and i will use random.org to generate winner — in the meantime, to remain sane, i’m going to number each comment so when the time comes, i don’t have to count a zillion times.  the winners will be posted sometime between the evening of the 15th and 17th (as i may be going out of town — my birthday is the 18th).  oh, and you MUST have a blog to win.

on a more personal note, i feel like a jerk for not getting back to a lot of you regarding bartering, or responding to emails.  one issue after another around here — short story this time is that i injured my neck and back horribly and haven’t been able to move much.  being on the computer and phone hurts so i’ve been avoiding it all.  huge apologies, especially to donna and jill and johnna and keriny ninny and the wonderful barterers.  i’ll get my act together soon, promise.    and AFTER that, i’ll post pulp contribution photo.  wohooo!

P.S. I think OWOH players have broken Blogger this evening.  I can’t leave comments on any of those.  Good thing I have WordPress.

the barter circle and living greener

well hell in a hand-basket! i started this year out all good and strong and creative and ready to kick artistic bum, but less than three weeks into it i seem to have crapped out. well, i’m still creative and overly-motivated but there was a wee hick-up or three. the short story: ruptured ovarian cyst… not that you asked.  and 3 new clients plus 4 more potentials.  and worse stuff, but i’ll save it as this must be quick.

anyway, most of you know that the lovely ms. debrina, jo and others and i are part of the dottie angel challenge. if you missed that, in a nut shell, we are only buying used and handmade for the year of 2010. i think this is a great to be even greener. i was “green” WAY before it was cool, i assure you, but this is just taking it one baby step farther. since we aren’t buying new and at least in my case have heaps and loads of excess or duplicates (who needs 5 bottles of one step crackle!?), i have created a new page on my blog entitled “barterable bits” — according to spell check, i made that word up.  anyway, peek above and you’ll see it.  soon, i will be adding photos and more items.  for now, it’s just a preliminary list.  wanna trade?

and check out debbie’s barter list here:

pretty post coming soon with new art and zine news and other good stuff.

color psychology… and my bonnet

every year or three we succumb to a strong urge to paint various rooms in our home a different color than the year(s) previous (or rather the husby just sighs and says “as you wish” and i get it done).  it seems we are drawn to different hues in cyclic patterns.  for example, i used to like red.  then for a few years i utterly despised it.  poof!  i wake up one day and red is the most lovely hue that ever existed.  i’ve always been fascinated by such things.  right now, i reestablishing a love affair with hues of earthy green, both light and dark, and super deep almost brownish purples.  i have loathed purple for years.

when i moved into my husby’s house, i was a much nicer girl.  i said “i’m having someone paint every room in this place — you pick the colors and i’ll pick the hues.”  yeah, not doing that again.  he wanted blue for the kitchen and orange for the dining room and living room.  orange?  i ended up creating a lovely warm terra-cotta pumpkin bliss, as we later named it, but it’s a bit much for four large walls in my opinion.  hues of orange evoke feelings of energy and excitement.  no wonder i never sleep…  i wish to paint it so i can relax.  i am thinking about either coffee-stained organic white cotton or dusty crocheted tablecloth tea-party or old crumbly paper (we like to make up weird paint names as we never chose one of those pre-mixed square-on-paper-card hues).  our downstairs hall, for example, is the most GORGEOUS shade of “bum dust” (which i would paint in the whole main level of our house if i wasn’t into different hues for every room).

i’m thinking that i will keep the blue hue of our kitchen and dining room for another year.  it’s happy happiness blue.  hues of blue create feels of calmness and serenity.  blue can also lower your pulse rate, so if you have high-blood pressure, maybe a nice azure room in your home would be of benefit to you?  or you can come for a visit for tea.

how you do chose one single color to paint a wall?  there are way too many options out in the world.  i’ve decided my bedroom — that’s easy.  the walls with now be “my morning coffee” with “my favorite mug” as the trim hue — you can see just below.  the mug is a deep chocolate brown, not black as it may appear.  but how do i pick my living room hue?  put them in a hat and draw?  let the husby do it?  if he picked, it’d probably either be lime green or…. no, he’d keep it “orange”.  (and he would never really pick lime green.)

browns and tans bring a sense of warmth, comfort and security.  i love the earthiness and natural feeling of these hues.

but enough of that — i got distracted and this distraction has turned to excitement.  my plan for the day was to post this blog entry, read a dozen or three of some of my favorite blogs’ newest posts and do client/computer work.  got the client work done for the most part.  check.  got most of this post done — i had some other colors and feelings and blah, blah, blah, but i had a thought.  “i want a bonnet so someday when i get my trike, i’ll be ever so cute peddling around my neighborhood.”  actually my REAL thought was “i want a bonnet.”  so without a pattern, sewing skills to speak of or any decent fabric, i managed to create my wee bonnet anyway…

ingredients: left over fleece from my wee bug’s solstice skull blanket, some crushed deep red velvet, coffee stained cheese cloth and two types of lace, coffee stained piece of vintage crocheted tablecloth.  oh, and two long pieces of black velvet ribbon to tie it.  it’s ever so cute if i do say so myself — nowhere near the bonnet i posted the other day that i said “i wish i could sew like this!!” but maybe with practice…

the back is cute too with all of it’s over-stitched red bits (it was a tiny bit too big so i had to take it in here and there).  or at least i think so.  my mom will make fun of me and say something about how i look like i’m trying out for a part on little house on the prairie but whatev.  she’s is so not cool enough to wear my hat! 

i kinda failed on taking a picture of the right side, which has a cute red polk-a-dot but you get the idea.  as if five photos isn’t enough, i know.

happy wednesday… tomorrow for most of us.  i’m going to see about going used window shopping for our new studio (like literal window shopping — i need to buy two of them).  wish me luck as this is my fourth trip to find “the perfect panes”.

2010: 2+0+1+0=3

numerologically, i think that 2010 will be an infinitely better year than 2009.  2009 is a number two:

Number 2 – Duality, Division, Polarity, Choice, Gestation, Cooperation, Service, Support, Waiting, Diplomacy, Patience, Psychic, Intuition, Adaptable, Empathic, Partnership, Mediator, Comparison, Receptive, Helper, Collecting, Reproduction, Balancer of Opposites, Subconscious Memory, Positive and Negative.

reproduction?  must be why i did so many uterine and fetus pieces.

anatomy of motherhood

2010 is a number three:

Number 3 – Trinity, Union of Divine plus Human, Manifestation, Positive, Expression, Subconscious Mind/Imagination, Creative, Optimistic, Enthusiasm, Expressive, Charming, Humour, Fun, Attractive, Friendly.

all in all, i look forward to 2010 being an infinitely better year… and i’m going to focus on making several changes to facilitate that.

the other day, i noticed the dottie angel challenge on jo (of the crow road)’s blog.  i have always been quite mindful of my purchases with the exception of art supplies.  i always, otherwise, buy recycled or post-consumer products, used when i can, or things made from renewable materials. i pack my son’s lunches in reusable containers and send him with bamboo “silverware” and a cloth napkin, etc.  i refuse to buy plastic garbage bags and things like that, will not ever knowingly buy anything from anyone who uses styrofoam, take my own cloth bags when going shopping, recycle EVERYTHING that can no longer be reused, compost, etc.  i love the earth… but i digress.  the dottie angel challenge is a year-long pledge to purchase ONLY handmade or second-hand items.  i am going to do this.  i am a bit scared about the fact that i’m quite low on tacky glue which i’ve started using heaps of since taking KC’s fantastic workshops, black thread and… well, that’s it ’cause i’m a hoarder of things i love to use art-wise.

what is the name of this painting? i call it two hearts. close-up of a fabric/paper collage i finished yesterday.

i will take this a bit farther, and see about bartering things as i need them if i cannot purchase them used.  so i’ll just put this out there…. anyone want to swap some tacky glue and/or black spools of thread for anything?  i have heaps of things i can trade.  any manner of paper/paper-products, other glues/adhesives, paints, metal/glass/etc. embellishments, etc.  let me know if you do.  other than that, i will have to get QUITE creative as a) our vacuum cleaner belt just broke and b) my husby melted my favorite rubber spatula.  but we shall survive.  i will likely be a horrible person and neglect this pledge for my son’s birthday and next solstice/christmas but otherwise i’m quite on board.

debs, two words for you in response to your post: glad rags.

second, and just as important to me, is to catch up some of the commitments i’ve made to myself, i.e. finishing projects i’ve started once and for all.  at the same time, i refuse to put myself under the same pressures i found myself under last year even if it was by my own doing — if i don’t like a project or no longer feel connected to it, it goes into my “art recycling pile”.  i’m not going to stress on finishing something i don’t love anymore.  art is fun and i always want to ensure i enjoy myself fully — i had some holiday commissions this year and thought i was going to die trying to keep up with getting them done in an assembly line fashion.  not fun.  so i’m not going to do that anymore.

i made this for my dad for a new year's gift: this is his father who died when he was three. he was so handsome! i look a lot like him.

at the same time, i’m going to focus on some alicia things i’ve neglected.  i haven’t touched my books i’ve started for myself or my art journals in months.  that ends now and i will commit to taking “me” time — we should all always remember to do this even if it means making less things to sell or skipping a day of blogging, or at least i think so.  in general i’m quite a busy girl with a husband and kiddo, two point five businesses, being a member of the PTA (long story) and the school’s “green team” (i do the monthly newsletters, etc.), school and community volunteering, etc., but i will still take a few minutes per day for myself.

speaking of blogging, i hereby semi-contradict what i just said by putting one additional big expectation upon myself.  i have met so many wonderful and amazing people this last year and formed great friendships and aquaintanceships along the way, gained heaps of inspiration, shared lots of techniques and laughs and did many swaps.  i want to keep this up while trying to spend more time letting the people know that i admire and respect them by taking more time to visit their blogs, etc.  i feel like a shit-head for not keeping up on what everyone has been up to for the past month, though i know i shouldn’t as i have had a lot going on.  i just like and/or love you guys though and want you to know it. 

i’m totally not trying to copy debrina — we just have much in common so it shouldn’t be surprising that some of our lives and interests and desires overlap a bit.  one thing i really want to do this year is get a new bike and ride the hell out of it.  i miss wind and nature and movement.  it’s not that i don’t go outside anymore or anything, but generally when i have “free time” i want to put art first 100% of the time.  i think i’ll just knock that down to 94.7% and get my arse out there a bit more.  drive less and all that.  the grocery store i frequent most is only 4.7 miles.  a nice 9.4 mile round trip.  so, my huge goal is to find one of these used (a tristar trike!):

it’s my dream bike for just puttering around town.  i could easily fit several days’ worth of groceries into the back with a six-pack for the husby.    or ride to the library and bring home a heap of books.  i love this thing!!  i MUST find one used as i’ve been dreaming of this dang bike for months now… except i want the back chrome fenders and little streamers on the handlebars and a bell.  but shhhhh.

i love the heck out of my new sewing machine and the fact that i haven’t gotten my long locks caught in it like i used to when i attempted machine sewing.  it’s been so much fun!  i’m horrible at it though, still, or at least nowhere near as good as i wish to be, so i vow to keep practicing.  my goal for next year at this time is to be able to make myself a bonnet just like this (copyright gibbous fashions):

the one i really loved and have been spying was removed from the site, sadly, but i adore this one too.  and the roxy bonnet!  oooh… these are handmade!  i can buy one!! 

last but not least, i must get 100% organized.  i will get one room to perfection, and the rest are crap.  then it alternates.  but no more.  this year is a year for removing the old crap and organizing what remains.  i mean seriously, who needs four desks??  three dressers?  so yeps, downgrading and organizing.  love the idea of this and will love it even more when we’ve completed our mission.

i made this for my dad to go with the other one. this is his mum. she was such a pretty lady. had to make this not too fancy 'cause... well, pops doesn't like fancy.

ohoh, this should be 7 but i already said “last but not least” so 6.5: while we are downgrading our home’s interior, we are upgrading the exterior.  in short, converting our garage (which is currently not a garage inside — it is filled in it’s entirity with a skate ramp.  half pipe, really.) to a studio.  inside will be my office for my web design business, outside the art studio.  we are cutting windows into the garage to overlook our gardens, having it wired for internet, etc. so we can have another computer out there (we have lots — not buying one, don’t worry), building work benches down each side with the wood we will recycle from the half pipe, building shelves along the whole back wall, etc.  it’s going to be gorgeous.

as a final note, i want to let you all know how much i have enjoyed meeting you this year and getting to know you.  some of you have become very dear friends.  thank you so much for all of the great inspiration: debrina, lisa j., kim, lisa s., jo and simon, kerin and charlie, seth, jill, donna, patti, all the debbies and debis, rainey, gaby, natasha, kc, johnna, joanna, sam, tracey, laura, etc.  <3 to you all!  and everyone else (rushing off to make dinner so don’t fret if i didn’t type your name — i’m just flighty and in a rush but i still dig ya!!).

now… go look at the pulp redux blog again… deb’s has posted some magnificent additions to my book!!!!

LONG overdue post: art stuff, collage camp, thank yous and happy new year!

i feel as if i’ve been in a coma for the past two weeks.  three weeks?  maybe four.  i have no sense of time and started this post almost a week ago.  everything in life was put on hold while trying to assist in the care of my sweet gramma, trying to find her the “perfect” home, etc.  and omg, we DID find her a home that is beyond perfect.  wouldn’t have asked for half as much as where she is now, but now i know.  she’s great — went from not being able to lift a fork to feed herself to walking from her room to the living room, which is quite far in her large new home.  i’m beyond thrilled. thank you all for your wonderful thoughts and good wishes.

this will be for sale on my site when i remember where i put it - thank you for the image, jo!!!

i also knocked tons of items off my 46 item long to do list and added some new ones… and finished those too.  i made my wee man a blanket with skulls on it (below), a painting/collage for my husby, a painting for my son, a book for my husby with a fabric collaged little pouch i made for it (can’t post all of the photos of that one as it’s got some naughtiness to it — peek below for the non-naughties though), finished another journal or two (alice in wonderland one that debs mentioned is below), made a crap-load of ornaments (well, ten isn’t really a crap-load — some beaded, some fabric, a couple resin clay), designed and framed a small handful of prints for various family members and fell utterly behind in all else (blogging, reading blogs, marketing the businesses… hell, there were two days there that i didn’t even shower.  tmi, i know!).

i also made a genius set of double layer curtains with a little pocket under the bottom layer (you know me and pockets!) to hide my wedding ring in when i’m cooking so my jerky husby doesn’t hide it and pretend it fell down the drain.   yeah, he did that once.

journal: available in my shop

oh wait.  i also made lots of new collage sheets that i have yet to post, a few scarves, a couple of cuff bracelets, some small fabric collages thanks to the magnificent KC Willis’ genius collage camp workshop, and started two large ones.  i totally forgot to photograph most of it though ’cause i’m a jackass.  (a couple of the things are being sent to the wonderful debrina though so with any luck she will photograph them for me with her new fabulous camera, hint, hint!)

speaking of KC and collage camp, it is only $75 instead of the regular $98 this week.  go sign up and join in the fun!! i was the queen of not knowing how to sew, not that that has changed, but she makes things so easy and so, so much fun!

i haven't taken a photo of the completed piece, but i made this for my husby for solstice

detail of the 3d skull just below — that part was complete in this shot.  the fabric above ended up way more dark and grungy and there is a frame of black crackle paste and other textural goodness around the piece, more collage and painting, etc.  this photo is crap… but what else is new, eh?

i have been so busy and sick with worry about my gram, taking time to visit her, and inundated with company and travel and such that i have missed out on thanking some of you for the amazingly wonderful things i’ve received for the art exchange.  i’ll post some now and some later due to the length of this post.

first big thing i sewed with my new machine: finn’s snuggly blanket (skull flannel on one side, fleece on the other — basic, i know, but i sewed it straight which was a challenge for me!!!):

from the fabulously talented rainey of the josie bagley company, i received one of her magnificent white rabbits (she knows me well, clearly, and i LOVE this!):

from the talented debra of dryadart, i received this fabulous altered book page — i LOVE plants and gardening so as i’m sure you can imagine, i adore this:

from jacky in austrailia of art4moi, i received this super sweet and fun stuffed owl.  i love her!  she is perched upon my “favorite shelf” as i call it, right in front of me so i can look at it all day.  she even stands up on her own!

this one makes me sad.  i got a super sweet book, an ATC and a note from this person — if you see this PLEASE email me!!  the sad part was that the package was damaged and the note was half wet and smeared.  the rest of it was totally fine.  the return address on the envelope is where it ripped, and the signing of the note was totally illegible, as well as part of the past two sentences.  i love this book!  and i’m sorry it’s a horrible photo.  i have it on my bookshelf next to all of my favorite books and journals.  please help me find who made this so i may thank her.  there was no contact info in there (actually, i received three other peices with no contact info too, sadly).

happy new year everyone!  some of you are already there — like debs, lisa s, kim, etc.  how’s 2010 so far?  i’m suffering from a hang-over a day early, stupidly, so want to go to bed at 6… but i won’t.  how dumb is that?  the ONE time i get my drink on (with three whole beers), i do it new years eve-eve!?  sheesh.  anyway, i hope you all have a very creative and prosperous new year and i thank you all for so much inspiration and eye candy in ‘09, and feel so thankful for all of the friendships i’ve made this year.

xo

ADD, a tree, and feeling flowery

i was speaking with the great and lovely ms. kerin gale the other day (what else is new) and she brought something to my attention.  i paraphrase: girl, you are great at starting projects but suck at finishing them.  how right she is!  after we got off the phone, a mere seven hours later (i exaggerate), i made a list of pending projects.  omfg.  i will hereby start NO new art projects until at least 68% of these are completed or thrown away.  between random art tangents and holiday gifts, i have 48 pieces in the works.  48!  who the hell starts and does not finish 48 things!?  wait, after this weekend it’s actually only 47.  THAT’s how ADD i am.

one of the things on my list was a journal project assigned to me by the gorgeous and ever so talented debbie of debrina’s diary.  the short version: we are each starting a blank journal (or rather “decorating” an existing one) and sending them back and forth to write things to each other, draw, doodle, paint, embellish, etc.  just a sweet sisterly-friend thing.  she is sweet and flowery and i think it rubbed off on me… my very first ever sewing attempt:

i coffee stained the floral fabric which is a left over swatch of 50s fabric from a fashion designer web client… somehow i missed returning this little piece to them, whoops!  i swear it was not on purpose.  the sari silk on top is from the bundle patti sent me the other day and the left side lace and bottom trim is from debs.  thanks girls.    reminder: this is my FIRST sewing project so don’t make fun of me.

i cheated and started a second one (please muffle your laughs).  on the top little x-stitched on fabric piece, i will stamp “chapter two” or “part two” or something.  dunno yet.  i was going to sell it but the back few pages got ever so slightly water damaged in a dime-sized area, and, well, it’s wonky.

both of the front pieces (the red and the light blue) are pockets.  i always lose my pens so this way there is no excuse for my flightiness.  the blue fabric that i used in both is from a doll skirt from when i was little, and the red ribbon atop this one is from my favorite porcelain doll’s hat (again, from childhood — i shoved her in a box by the time i was 9 and too tough for dolls).  the gorgeous red fabric in the center is from the great and amazing lisa of mudhound primitives, as are the larger buttons on both pieces.  the whole thing is totally crooked because i sewed it while on the phone with my neck all cricked and looking at it cock-eyed.  it makes me giggle — it’s perfectly quirky, just like me.

debs liked the vine stitching and sharpie-colored-in leaves on the other one, so i added it to the binding of this one.

we also got our tree up and decorated, which was nice.  i started celebrating christmas for my little guy ’cause how fun christmas is for a child!  we also celebrate winter solstice and have a feast and give each other hand-made gifts (i have a fuzzy skull blanket, a painting, a collage and a book to complete in one week PLUS we now have family coming for 5 days to celebrate the solstice with us, etc. so i think that means i have to make more things?!  and clean house!).

thanks to my sweet and gorgeous friend jo of the crow road, our tree is infinitely better than years previous.  she sent us three ornaments from england then sent another three she made herself!

i love these all so very much!  even my boys were quite excited.  thank you, sweet friend!

every year since his birth, my mum has gotten my little bug a frog ornament, AND my husby’s uncle brought us a box of husby’s grandma’s vintage glass ball ornaments last spring when he came up after her passing.  i think we need a taller tree next year.  little bug won’t let me not get one.  i’m so humbug.

today i only have one order to ship out (so far) and three invoices to send to web clients. the rest of the day i’m going to spend catching up on everyone’s blogs as i know i have missed so very much in the past 2+ weeks that i’ve been not really here.  plus, i’m going to be SO busy the rest of the week with 47 projects, helping to move my gram to a nursing home and having company arrive for five days on thursday, etc.  what are YOU doing this week?

more soon.    off to seth’s blog first because i’ve missed TWO secret sundays and that just kills me.  if you haven’t read it yet, go NOW!  it’s brilliant!!  (and then go peek at pulp redux again!)  ((yes, i will likely bring both of those up in every post for the next several months.  it should just be a blog post signature.))

moms, grandmas, great grandmas… and stuff

i had every intention of posting a huge blog today with a zillion of the things i’ve been up to and some of the fantastic gifts i’ve received from the art exchange but i can’t focus.  i just learned that my grandmother is in the hospital and they think she has suffered from several “tiny” strokes this week.  she’s not doing well, but i can’t go there until they call me… and the phone isn’t ringing.

as i wait for news, this is a perfect time to share something really dorky that i made for my mum’s birthday on the 5th — she doesn’t appreciate anatomy like i do so i wanted to try to do something pretty or sweet.  she liked the house book by angela cartwright and sarah fishburn.  i think it’s called “in this house” and i’m sorry that i’m not looking it up or linking to it right now.  i’m just writing to distract myself to be honest.  anyway, i don’t have the time to do a whole book for anyone right now (actually, i lie — i’m making a book for my husby for yule)… so i made her a mini house.

i found a photo of my great-grandmother anna while helping my gram move into the retirement community she currently lives in and sadly, her face had been accidentally ripped in half (my great gram’s photo, that is).  i repaired the image digitally and decided that she should go on my mum’s birthday house.  anna’s favorite things in the world were four leaf clovers, apple pie and chain-smoking.  she sounds like she was an amazing lady.    she would sit in the grass for hours, smoking and looking for four leaf clovers… then probably go bake a pie.

i really have to work on my hinge creation.  that was pretty much a nightmare.  anyway, anna used to sing songs in german (her parents moved here from germany) so the german text and music bits are actually significant.  i have no idea what the german says though and hope it’s not rude.  the lovely fibers are from the sweet and wonderful patti edmon.  (i know her blog URL by heart so don’t think i’m playing favorites by looking one thing up and not another.)  i thought the photo looked too pristine after i fixed it so i had to rough it up a bit.  see how i am!

the door of the house opens to reveal a photo of anna as a slightly older lady, her husband harry, my grandma as a little girl and her brother.  in the pocket, i aged some paper and wrote out g-grandma’s favorite apple pie recipe and put in a little happy birthday note to my mum.

so, that’s that.  i was supposed to be the featured artist in a huge incidental show… as in i was supposed to have my art at a place that was host to a hollywood movie wrap-party but the location was changed, sadly, so i’m not doing it.  well, i’m still going to have my art there, just not as many pieces.  that’s one of the things i’ve been working on like crazy lately and part of the reason for being so dang quiet.

another part of the reason i was so busy last week is because i’m a mum and i have a son with way too much homework.  there was a “family assignment” to build a historically accurate house for his native american tribe, which for the life of me i can’t recall.  the front ended up more painted, but here is what we did (the photo is small but the house was quite large):

i did get to work a teeny tiny bit on my own stuff (meaning gifts for people) at least.  if all is well with my sweet grammy, i will have lots of time this week to finish up presents and get back into the stuff for my upcoming shows.  the second photo is HORRIBLE but the piece will be cool.  i hope.  i’ll post completed photos one of these days i’m sure.

sorry to everyone for being so MIA lately and not catching up on blogs, responses, etc.  my plate is overly full right now — like a nine course meal.  with two deserts.  and hor d’oeuvres.

and omg, omg.  go look at the pulp redux blog if you want something gorgeous to look at!  debs, the great and magnificent, has posted some photos of what she’s doing with my book.  yummy stuff!!

my phone isn’t ringing, still, and i’m stressing out so i’m going to go find something mindless to do.  hope my grammy is okay… ’cause i’m a shitty grand-daughter and haven’t seen her since late march or called her in three weeks.

art collaborations (are fun!)

sheesh, i haven’t posted in forever and a half. this time of year is always utterly insane with thanksgiving, no school days, mum’s birthday (have to attempt make her something sweet every year!), school parties and stuff, winter solstice and gift making, more no school days, christmas and more present making. and baking (i invented the BEST gluten free apple berry pie and gluten free pumpkin tarts though). plus the two businesses go through bouts of time-consuming insanity which i attribute to holiday shopping and “let’s make sure we get this done on this year’s taxes” — last-minute website update stuff.  i’m so glad i postponed the zine — i hardly have time to breathe!

this is what i am most excited about and proud of this week. i have to say that i get giddy with pride and arty-bliss every time i look at this. it’s called (if i can remember correctly) “two birds pondering each other while sitting on a crooked fence under a crazy moon at the edge of a city”. it was a collaborative piece i did with my amazingly talented son (who, by the way, picked the name of the piece). he’s six. and since he came out of my body, i’m allowed to say he’s “amazingly talented” and get away with it (he thinks he’s non-artistic, hmmph!). i love his birds and i’m having him make me several of them to get tattooed around my leg, maybe wing in wing.  their beaks are so fantastically geometric and… just perfect.    he’s so cute — he wants to make art cards out of them and try to sell them on etsy (so he can buy more legos!).

long post this weekend with super good news and 6+ new pieces of art IF i can find the time to photograph them.