Monday, Monday

It is a dreary, rainy Monday...it was not quite as dread filled as I imagined but the day is not over yet. I meet w/my favorite little artist's teacher in about 20 minutes... I hope we can come up w/a good plan and get my girl on track.

I am happy to say, I started a new mixed media piece for my Green series. I am optimistic about it and the colors are very autumn-ish...orange & green. Oh, get this, one of the moms at school sends her children to school with trash-less lunches. I am totally impressed and in awe. The most amazing thing about it is how casual she is about it, like everyone has clothes napkins to send their children to school with. But seriously, it is a great thing and many kudos to her. What a fabulous example, Ed Begley would be proud.

Well gotta run...more tomorrow and happy creating!

Tomorrow is Monday...

For someone with no job, I shouldn't dread Mondays but for some reason I do. Perhaps it is something that is just so ingrained in my psyche that I have yet to overcome it. This Monday showcases a meeting with my favorite little artist's teacher. We are only 12 days into the school year and already there is a problem... So needless to say, I am not feeling very confident in my parenting skills and to make matters worse we had a horrible Saturday but on the bright side we did have a good today. Maybe, I am not such a bad parent only time will tell. And there is always therapy if I really screw things up LOL! But my wonderful trusted friend gave me a pep talk (really a pep IM) so I think we will be ok.

But back to Mondays and the dread, could it be that Mondays signify the end of relaxation and just being? People are rushing off to work and children are trudging to school and the inevitable question is...Is it worth it? Why do we run ourselves into the ground? Do we really need a 5 bedroom house when we only have 1 child? Do we really need a flat screen TV in every room? Should a child be pushed to reach higher and higher academic levels all before the age of 6? These are just some of the many questions that run through my brain as I examine my own life and my dread of Mondays.

Here are a few more....Is not working so bad? Can we survive as a one-income family? Will not having granite countertops in my kitchen kill me? No it won't but having the expenses of a two-income family means one-income won't cut it, at least not right now. So, this Monday will also see a continuation of my job search but if I am lucky maybe I won't have to search too much longer and the joy of making art. I am hoping to create another piece for my "Green" series. That should chase the Monday blues away...

Till tomorrow my friends and happy creating!

Pumpkins

Yesterday was a very productive painting day. Five new hand painted cards celebrating Autumn. They were so much fun to do. It is good to break out of my normal subject matter. But I was lucky enough to create a commissioned piece which I will post in early October if I can get a better picture of it. Somedays I think I am getting better at taking pictures and then other days I think I am getting worse. Oh, well...

So today I was in NYC, near the United Nations. I had an interview that I am very excited about. Hopefully, everything will work out and I'll have a 5-6 month temporary position. Fingers are crossed.

Well, that is all for now. Happy creating!

Just Pictures Today

It has been awhile but I have been busy painting cards for Hounds on the Sound. Here are ten cards, "Puppy Luv" and "PawPrints". Enjoy and happy creating!

Hello Again...

Hello
Again hello

Just called to say: hello.
I couldn't sleep at all tonight
And I know it's late
But I couldn't wait.
Hello
My friend
Hello

Neil Diamond

I can't say that I can't sleep since I will be out cold very soon, however, in surfing through the web and my book marked pages I realized it has been a few days since I posted. So then I thought...perhaps someone misses my musings so I should post something. And well, since this song popped in my head I thought I would have that as the beginnings of this post. :-)

Aside from my ego-enhancing thoughts that someone might thrive on my posts, life is good. Tomorrow night I head over to the Greenpoint Gallery for their Salon Show. I have entered 3 pieces and maybe I'll get lucky and place...it is a long shot but a girl can dream can't she?

Sleep well all and happy creating...your mostly humble friend :-)

Hounds on the Sound

I survived the Patriot's Day Flea Market on 9/11. Basically, it was a break even day but I learned a good lesson...flea markets and hand painted original artwork don't really go together. So with that behind me, I am prepping for Hounds on the Sound which maybe a better match. I will be posting an invite on my Facebook (FB) page in the next day or two.

The newest line up of hand painted cards are called "Woof" courtesy of my favorite little artist. As you can see they are bones since the event is to help dogs. I also have another design that is a play on the bone shape and then it is an attempt at paw prints. So much to do and not a whole lot of time.

Tomorrow, I head to Brooklyn to drop off 2, maybe 4, pieces at the Greenpoint Gallery for their salon show on Friday night. Don't worry, I'll post the invite on FB for this as well. I am hoping to go to the show since I think it will be a fun evening.

The other item to prep for is a second interview on Friday. I'll keep you posted on how that goes as well.

Well, that is all for now. Have a good night and happy creating!

Sweet Blooms

The Patriot's Day Flea Market is on Saturday and I am almost ready. Today, I painted two more Sweet Blooms which is the next series for my hand painted cards. There is one more to do but I have posted the completed ones here. Unfortunately, my photography skills are still lacking since you can't really see the nuances in the coloring.

I do need to determine what artwork I will bring with me to sell. Since it is a flea market I am thinking super affordable pieces. The objective is to sell as much as possible.

My favorite little artist and I had a good day. A trip to the art store always makes us smile. I bought some new paint and finally figured out what type of brush I really like. Even better, I found a $50 gift certificate and was able to use that to pay for all my new fun stuff. My favorite little artist used her tooth fairy money to pay for her purchases. It was a good shopping day.

Tomorrow, I need to finish the Sweet Blooms and I am also hoping to maybe do another mixed media piece.

Happy creating!

Mixed Up Crazy Day

Today was a bit of a crazy day, well actually the last two days have been hectic. My favorite little artist started kindergarten yesterday and we are adjusting to a whole new routine since she is taking the bus this year. And since she is the second stop in the morning the bus comes early (well for us anyway), 7:45. So every morning I wake her up at 7:10 so she can get ready and be on time for the bus. Once she is safely aboard her bus, I wait until just after 8 and drive over to the school to make sure she arrived safely and she knows where she is going. Now, please know the school has a whole system for making sure each child gets to her/his assigned class safely but until I know for sure she knows what to do I will meet her at school.

Today, after leaving the school I got myself together for an interview in NYC. I left plenty of time for traffic since the location I was headed to was easier to drive to then to take the bus/train. It took me longer to get there and get home then the interview lasted. I am not optimistic that they will call me back and oddly I am really ok with that. However, feeling that you will once again be rejected just puts a depressing damper on the day. It was beautiful and sunny but I still felt sad that is until my favorite little artist climbed off her bus and was home!

The rest of the day was very productive from an art perspective. However, I will have to wait to post the pieces completed today since it was too dark to photograph them. But on the bright side, here the mixed media piece I did yesterday, "Go Green", 10"x12". I have to say, I really have a lot of fun creating these mixed media pieces. I don't know if it is just the fact that it is something new or that I get to pull apart documents that made my life (and the lives of some others) a living hell. No matter which it is, they sure are a blast to create.

On a different but related note, my favorite gallery in Brooklyn, The Greenpoint Gallery, is having another salon show. I am so excited to submit my two new mixed media pieces for exhibit. I'll be sure to share more information on the show.

Have a wonderful evening and happy creating!

Baby Butterflies

Preparation for the Patriot's Day Flea Market continues. The latest addition to the product line is the Baby Butterflies. Four are featured here and I have one more to do. Ideally, I'd like five variations for each notecard subject matter. I did paint five butterflies but, unfortunately, it ripped when I was removing the tape. I was able to cut it out, however, I am hesitant to glue it onto another card...I think it will look cheap. I am also at a loss for what other subject matter to use for the notecards.

Tomorrow, is the first day of school for my favorite little artist. She will take the bus and I will meet her at school. Her uniform is all ready along with her favorite color socks (purple, in case you're interested). It is hard to believe that she is starting kindergarten. We can't wait to meet her teacher and see who from her pre-k class will be in her class.

For me, tomorrow will be a painting day. One more butterfly to do and then maybe begin work on a mixed media piece. It will be so strange to not have my favorite little artist with me during the day. The goal will be to stay busy while she is in school and countdown till the bus drops her off.

Well, that is all for now. Hope you enjoy the butterflies. Happy creating.

Cars, Cars and More Cars

Since I am unemployed, um, I mean in transition, there was no formal vacation this year. It was a real bummer since normally where we vacation is full of inspiration for me. So we kind of did a mini-vacation...an overnight in Parsippany, NJ. I know sounds super exciting now doesn't it?? Well, all sarcasm aside, it really is a good time if you like classic cars and the 50's. We spent two days at Lead East with family and friends. There are hundreds of classic cars to look at and lots of vintage items as well. I grew up with a car enthusiast for a Dad so cars are in my blood. My very first car was a 1964 Thunderbird, what I would do to own one again... In all honesty, the one I owned was very worst for wear. Oh well, maybe one day :-)

It is hard to believe that summer is almost over. School starts on Tuesday and my favorite little artist starts kindergarten. She is looking forward to taking the school bus and meeting her new teacher. We did the first time bus rider program on Thursday so I have a good idea of the route and am happy to know that there is an adult monitor on the bus. Oh, how different our days will be once school starts.

If all goes well, tomorrow, I will have a bunch of pictures to post. I have been busy working on my hand-painted greeting cards which I have nicknamed "The Littles". Reason being, the painted image is only 3"x4.5", small and sweet. As much fun as The Littles are to do, I am itching to do a large piece. Well, relatively speaking since my works are small to begin with but usually larger than 3"x4.5".

On a different note, I received a message about a possible job interview so please cross your fingers for me.

Well, that is all for now. Happy creating!

Z

Here is the latest installment to the alphabet by Garnet :-) I am slowly painting each letter so possible clients can see an example of what it looks like. Of course, since it would be a custom piece their version would be one of a kind (OOAK). Ideally, once the alphabet is completed I'd have cards made of all the letters.

Also, I received today all the cards I ordered for the Flea Market on Sept. 11. They came out beautifully. I am really excited for the flea market, it will be my first one and I am optimistic that there will be a market for my cards.

In addition, to the photo-cards I am working on individual hand-painted cards. The Little Mommies" are the first installment but there will be many more. My thought is to do at least five variations on each theme. So, there are two more mommies to paint and then figuring out what to do next. Maybe more angels and butterflies?? Possibly some trees? So many options. But I really need to make sure I plan things out well since I need to be ready for next Saturday.

Well, that is all for today, my friends. Happy creating!