aaad.14/15

There, I'm really happy with this - it came out just as I hoped. Northern Lights. Acrylic on canvas board. Sorry about the glare.

no aaad yesterday

In my defense, I did paint a background yesterday and am going to try to paint the foreground today. It will have to be a combined aaad - after all, not everything was built in a day. I'm disappointed with myself, but have been feeling so tired, it was bound to happen - and putting together another quickie but not-so-nice piece was going to depress me - so there you go. Here is the background, I'll try to have a photo of my painting by the end of the day.



On a brighter note, I spent a good part of yesterday house hunting in Seattle. Did not find the perfect home for us yet, but did see a real cutie-patuti of a house - it has one of those doorbells you crank and the light switches were all the push button kind and the yard was wonderful with a big old cherry tree in back and the most beautiful platter-sized BURGUNDY hydrangeas against the mustard gold paint of the home. No bath on the upper floor and no room for a studio for me, and no fireplace... or I might seriously consider it. Click the picture to check it out - she's cute.

aaad.13

Oh, it almost didn't happen. I was just soooo tired today - almost useless tired. Though I still managed to get a lot of things done - I don't know how that happened. Here is the last thing I've managed - more like forced myself - to do. And a brief explanation and excuse for it being so... lame. Last night was Children's Book Illustration class... and I have to say, I hope it improves. An hour was spent staring at a piece of blank paper wondering... "what does a fox look like again? What does a rabbit *thumping* her hind leg look like again? What does a rabbit running look like? Wonder if I can hide my lack of talent by putting them all in clothes? Though Luke would get a bigger kick out of it if I could draw a rabbit with a bare bum running to hide in it's rabbit hole - yes, he'd like that a lot, hmn...I wonder if he's ever going to do some demonstrations on illustration techniques or if I'm supposed to know all that already..." and more such thoughts like that to fill the hour as I scratched away on the paper trying to pretend I could draw and was artist enough to be there even... and so today, I headed to flickr.com and pulled up some foxes and rabbits and printed them off to try to draw... and I tried, just a little bit...this is all I've got in me - I'm off to bed.



Luke: "Eeny miny moe. Catch a tiger AND a toe. My mom says pick the best ONE!"

aaad.12

This is my aaad from yesterday. A scarf from hell. This was so beautiful in my head - the skein of yarn was very expensive and wonderful looking all wrapped up - a soft, warm bundle of autumn magic - but then I broke it open and oh, what a tangled mess. I spent most of the day untangling it as Luke picked it up and pawed it and Tiger jumped and clawed at it... and then... as I knitted it up, I had to pull it back out four times until I finally decided to knit it the long way to get the rows long and blended together. What a mess. I almost wish I'd just kept it as a skein of yarn in my basket to fondle and wonder about it's possibilities...

aaad.11

Here is my aaad.11 - I can't believe I've made something creative every day for two weeks - plus I've been working on knitting this big "thing". I'm not sure what it is going to be - it's a project from last year that I picked up and couldn't remember what I was thinking when I started so I've just been going with it. Anyway, back to my aaad - this is a beautiful bead made by Larissa Spafford of Port Townsend - I saw it and had to have it and made this simple necklace out of it. It was so simple in fact that I feel like I'm cheating with my aaad - but that's ok, I've got other stuff in the works too.

Site Updates

I uploaded the word ring necklaces, the pink sapphire flower, the red and black crane and the two autumn bracelets. Thanks for looking!

Port Townsend

We spent a wonderful day yesterday visiting friends in Port Townsend. Another town I'd love to move to... but the commute is a bit too far and expensive for Frank... sigh. Sun, art, food, ice cream, sea glass and seals... oh and a deer, in town, munching on someone's hedge.

Balance

Actually, I was feeling a bit UN-balanced. I wasn't sure I was going to get a day 10 aaad in or not. I was messing around all morning playing at soldering some things... some of which got fried because I'm using my lampwork torch which is a little hot for soldering metal, and some which worked out just fine, but none of which is a finished piece of art. Even a photo of them all in a nice shiny pile wasn't going to cut it. So then I tried to sketch a leaf while Luke was riding his bike... but no one really wants to see that sad little work of, ahem, art... and then... this came about. Balance - because we all need some, especially me. Black tourmaline, Tourmalated Quartz and Karen Hill Tribe silver bead. The stones are supposed to have great balancing energies too... so double whammy.

Dream.Create

Another inspiration necklace - this one says Dream and Create and I used a thicker gauge wire to make the ring, and I made it a little smaller around. I think I like it better.... but I'm not quite there yet.

Today is...

Today is International Day of Peace. It's also our wedding anniversary. It's a wonder I didn't miss either one of them as neither one is on my calendar. I don't know when IDOP started, but nine years ago today Frank and I had a party and got married (it was beautiful, though I'm sure if I had it to do over, I'd do it differently). And also another anniversary - twelve years ago this week, since our first date. I think this might be the first year I've remembered it and really thought about it in the way people think of anniversaries. I've never been one for making a big deal about them... and I think I set a precedent for this when, for our first-year anniversary, I scheduled a trip away with a girlfriend that weekend - not on purpose - I just forgot. Frank didn't seem to mind. The next year I think we both completely forgot until the day of. Pretty much all of the nine years would have been that way except my mother always reminds me one way or another. Usually with her sentimental "Oh, the stargazer lily from your wedding is blooming again and it's SO beautiful!". And Frank is actually even worse than me about it: he thinks our anniversary is on the 23rd, not the 21st, and no matter how many times I correct him, I don't think he's ever going to commit the right date to memory.

But for some reason, I've been thinking about it this year... I guess because it feels like a really long time. We have both changed so much in the 12 years since we met. We are lucky that we are growing in a similar direction though - we could be in trouble if that were not the case. And also, I realize there is not much in my life that has been around longer than he has been. A handful of friends, my family, a few sentimental heirlooms... that's about it. Kesia has been around for 10 - that's pretty close. Nine years in this house that I'm so desperate to move out of. Yes.... it feels like a very long time, yet it's passed in a blur. A blur of working and playing, remodeling our home, illness and healing, everyday living... and... Luke. I hope the next 9 years are not so blurry... though I bet they will be. I'm sure they will be interesting though - things are looking that way at least. And next year, I've been promised an anniversary vacation. Spain or Italy or Ireland. That will be an anniversary to remember. At least I hope so - if we don't forget.

Hope Ring Necklace

I've had this one floating around in my head for MONTHS. I still need a little practice soldering and stamping the rings, but this is going to be a new line of mine - the rings will say all kinds of things and I can put all kinds of charm things on them. I'm really proud of myself for breaking out the soldering gear finally after having it in a box for 6 months. AND getting it to work!



It will have to be my aaad for the day too since I'm running out the door for the afternoon to a kid's birthday party.

New Necklace for Magpies

Pink sapphire & sterling silver pendant, black tourmaline, garnet, silver & suede.

Pumpkin Sketch - aaad.07

Luke: Mom? Why do you call me Babycake?
Me: Because you are my baby and you taste like cake.
Luke: NO I DON'T! I taste like PUMPKIN!

Drawing Class

Tonight was the first night of my drawing class and I'm thrilled to say it was FUN and a complete success for me. I put away my inner critic, I refused to look at anyone else's drawings with anything other than detatched interest, and I drew something unlike anything I've ever drawn. A cube, a ball, a cone, a paint can... lots of shadows and shading and wow was it ever a boring composition - but fun to do! The instructor is great too - totally encouraging and not at all snobby the way some art teachers can be... he's an African American artist with dreadlocks who mostly is a painter but he draws these great pen and ink sketches of blues club scenes (his dad is a blues guitarist). He put us to work and then just came around to each of us and showed us ways to correct things or do things a little better.



This will have to be my aaad entry since it's the only thing I finished today - I tried to put another layer on one of my journal backgrounds - but it took to long to dry and so I never got around to writing on it.

Two Bracelets for Autumn

Carnelian, Nephrite, Aventurine, Mookaite, Karen Hill Tribe Silver.

Budding Artist

And I don't mean me. Luke asked for a journal. He said it was not fair that I had one and Dad had one and he didn't... and so I bought him one. And he started filling it right up. Here are three from tonight - I'm sorry, you probably don't care about a 4-year-old's art, but I think these are pretty amazing, considering up till about a two weeks ago he's been all about scribbles. He sat down with his new little pumpkin (yes, I spoil him rotten) and started drawing. First a pumpkin... then another, then a whole pumpkin patch!







Here is Luke with Fangs:



And here is my aaad project for the day. A stuffed bird. It only took me ALL DAY and the good news... I only stabbed myself three times. Someday, when my fingers heal, I may add wings and legs... but that will have to wait.

Another Auction Necklace

This one is for my neighbor and her Bloodhound Search & Rescue auction or whatever it is. I should find out hu? I like it because it's carneilian (same color as her bloodhound "Crush") and it's reversable!

A Few More Layers

Here is one of the spreads after I've worked a few more layers on:

Painting

Just art journal backgrounds... but thought I'd photograph them before I gunked them up with words and stuff.



And a tree that I've been working on. I showed it to Luke one morning before when it was just green grass... no leaves on the ground, and he said, in a real snotty voice, clearly not impressed, "Oh... a tree without leaves...." so I added some leaves. Youngest art critic around... and he lives in MY house. Ah well... I think it DID need some leaves.

Happy Spell

My son is an angel. A real live angel. I say this now, knowing that in an hour he could be pushing all my buttons and I might be sending him for a time out or asking what in the world was he thinking to do whatever it is he will soon do... but for now... this very moment... he's my angel. Here's why:

He comes to me with his Harry Potter wand and spell book - the one he says doesn't really work (it's broken he said, several months ago, because he tried to turn me into a horse "bipitybobityboo, I turn you into a horse" and then... "no, not... so much, this wand doesn't work Mom") and he asks me to tell him the spell that makes people happy. So I thumb through the spell book and find it and it says "think of the person you want to be happy and write their name on a piece of paper" and he tells me he wants to make the people in Florida happy - the people who lost all their homes (he still thinks Katrina hit Florida). And so we do the spell... and he's happy and I'm happy and he asks if the happiness he made for them is now on an airplane headed to Florida. My funny, sweet kid...

Oh and yes, as predicted, it's short lived, I have just been struck by a Spiderman dart and there goes one over the computer... so much for my Angel - he's turned back into Super Hero and is practicing getting the bad guys.

Here's a picture of Tyger camping out behind my computer. On the lookout for flying objects...

Kesia's Birthday

Kesia, the old blonde girl, turned 10. Which means she's about 70 in dog-years... and she's looking it. Good old girl. She's a little on the tubby side but we made her a cake anyway - her favorite - spice with cream cheese frosting. We asked her to make a wish, I'm pretty sure it was to eat the whole cake, not just a slice. Yum!

               

Katrina Relief Efforts

I am finding it helps to hear about the good things people are doing to help out. So I have two good stories to share. This one is fun. My good friend Becky just won this amazing piece painted by a 5-year-old boy named Dylan.




Here is the story: "My 5yr old son entered the room as I was taking pictures of my paintings to put online. I explained to him that I was painting them for donations to the Humane Society. Remembering seeing all the news coverage of the animals that were being rescued, he distinctly remembered the picture of the dog on the roof. I explained to him that a lot of people and their pets lost their homes. He wanted to contribute by painting a picture for me to list. I cut holes in a garbage bag to cover his clothes & sat out some dinosaur paintings as a reference for him. He sat down to create "Dylan's Dinosaurs" as his way of helping. He asked if his picture would be sent to the dog in the photo. I tried to explain that his money would go to help rescue more, but I'm not sure he understands. A few minutes later he asked if I would include a picture of the dog in the listing so everyone would know which dog his painting would be sent to :)"

The other story is about my husband who volunteered to go to Austin Texas to help project manage the database that is going to help people find their lost loved ones and family members. Microsoft is paying for his trip and time and he will be gone at least a week. He's very happy to be able to help in this way. People just really want to be able to do *something* and it's great when they can.

Coral Crane Necklace

I made a new necklace - this one has been sitting on the bench staring me down every time I walk by there for oh... at least 3 weeks... coils and coils of coral and black looking tiger eye with this fabulous Hill Tribe crane pendant sitting on top... calling me to create... finally I couldn't ignore it any longer.