Quiet days

Here are a couple photos from my drawing table, on this day there wasn't much happening on either side of the glass. I've got my drawing table up against the french doors to make the most of whatever natural light that there is this time of year. The tracks come a little closer all of the time but I haven't seen their maker yet. I continue to work on that chair but you can already see the mood shift and I'm not sure whether I'll be finishing it this time or not. Still, it feels good to be doing something and trying to move a few things out of my way out there. Almost anything is positive change and I'm looking forward to having some extra space soon.

Lazy Cat

Sometimes contentment is pretty basic. I'm like a big, lazy cat. All it takes is a bright ball of yarn and a sunny window to make me want to curl up and enjoy the afternoon. I may actually finish one of these afghans...or take a nap. Either way it's been a pleasant morning and I'm wishing you happiness today too.

Eight year chair

I keep starting this chair, painting on it a while in one theme or another then sanding it off and starting it over. I don't know why but somehow today I decided to take another crack at it and see if I can actually get it all done before I change my mind again. What will I do with it? I have no idea but If it doesn't get finished and sent out it will probably end up just helping to keep other projects from hitting the floor. Either way it will be out of my way and I'll turn my attention back to that stack of canvases. For now I'm just "playing" and kicking ideas (and paint) around.

Still Paintin' after all these years

This photo is about 40 years old and I'd painted flowers and vines over the jeans and shirt and other designs on my canvas tennis shoes. I've painted a lot of other things since then and never given it too much thought, perhaps I was just too busy doing it to think about it.
Now, I'm just a bit amazed that it never occurred to me to wonder about the course my life was taking and so much of it slipped by when I wasn't looking that I find myself wondering what else is out there for me, was there something I missed?
Today I'm thinking it over but tomorrow I'll be covered in paint and it won't matter until the next quiet moment when I wash out my brushes and consider other lives and possibilities.

Splat

Some days are just a waste of paint and time. Whenever I head into the studio I'm never quite sure where the work will lead and as you can see, today it went nowhere fast. Laying out a few colors and moving them about with knives and brushes will usually stir something up but today all it stirred up was dust. (We'd been sawing lumber in there the last couple of days for yet another project I haven't written about--don't worry, you haven't missed much)

Tomorrow I'll approach things from another angle and start out with one of my favorite photos from last years garden. If nothing else it will be a nice diversion from a winter that's been much too cold and expensive (now that I need to heat the studio as well). Perhaps worrying about that is what put a crimp in the 'ol creativity today

Both of these paintings have been on progress for years but I went back to work on them today and am still not convinced that I'm finished with them yet so I'm going to list them and let buyers decide. Every time I make more changes I'll update the photos on etsy, a sale will tell me that it was just right for someone and it's time for me to leave it alone.

Paint and ponytails

Just finished the painting of summer in my front yard and headed back to the house hoping to turn some bits of elastic and fabric into pony tail holders. It's a great way to use things up and turn them into something useful and seems to be going fairly quickly. One more bunch of "stuff" cleared out of the dining room and the possibility of getting some cash for them excites me as well. It all feels like progress to me.

The next step

Having done a drawing OF the dishtowel and embroidery things I decided to draw ON the towel and embroider it. Trying of course to keep the design simple because it is after all just a towel and there are a lot of other projects around here that I want to finish up and send on their way. I heard it said recently that all the "stuff" piled up around your house is just "unresolved issues" it's there because you couldn't decide what to do with it the first time you saw it and many of us have been moving these things around for years rather than make a decision about them. My New years resolution is to set them and myself free from this cycle-what's yours?

We were startled by a loud noise this morning and found it pretty funny that an old and supposedly broken radio suddenly popped on in a little bin of things I'd been sorting and set aside a few days ago. The weird thing about it was that no one had gone near it and nothing had been moved so it's a mystery to us but got me wondering what else was in there. The day can move in interesting directions and who knows there could be something amazing in there.

I'm still sharpening that new set of pencils but beginning to "play" with them a bit as I answer the mail today. Just about everything is wrong with this drawing but it's a start. The piece of fabric was shaded in to see the folds but the colors I used didn't pick up on the scanner. It won't matter much as this is in the post to a friend in England who will simply appreciate the fact that I took the time to make the attempt and for both of us that's enough for now.

My own little corner

Thanks to friends purchasing a bit of artwork I've actually got a bit of wall and cieling t0 work with in the studio and am enjoying that a lot. Once I get a few more things moved around so I can get at them I plan to start painting canvases and furniture again instead of the walls. I don't imagine this inspires you as much as it does me but it does show that the Beatles were right you can accomplish about anything "with a little help from my friends".

Floral Fun

It looks like I've been busy but actually these photos are 3 or 4 years old. I'm looking forward to posting pictures of new work but just haven't gotten to it yet. Meanwhile I thought you might enjoy seeing these projects. All but one or two of them are gone now so it was fun to think about them again and to notice how very fond I seem to be of blue...or at least I was then, I don't seem to be using quite as much of it thse days (which could be more of an economic than a style choice because the blues I tend to favor are generally the more expensive ones). At any rate I'm thinking about painting today and thought I'd share that with you.

Decoratorspeak

They say that your home should say something about you or your personal style. That of course is the problem as you can see. I'm a mess and so's my house. It just looks busy and confused and coincidently so am I. Somehow I just hadn't thought of the 2 being connected until I decided to have the dining room "done". OK, I decided to THINK about it and even made a decorating attempt or two at it myself but as you can see I got a bit distracted with other things...and this photo is AFTER I hauled tons of the art & craft projects out to the studio. There are still a couple of paintings in the living room but that needs to change too. Lucky for me it's New Years and a time for resolutions. Too bad I can't decide on one but then I can always do that next year.

Fun project for "junk" mail

Half a dozen garden catalogs arrived yesterday,of course I'm deciding which ones to cancel and making sure they all get recycled but in between things I think it's fun to save the pictures I like,add them to this bordered paper I had on hand and then attempt to draw some of the flowers to decorate that days letters. Yes, I do write a LOT and I try to keep them as visually bright as possible as many of those I write to are loosing their sight. I don't save up a lot of pictures, just try to use things up and pass them along as they come in. Perhaps that will create a positive energy flow around here which could affect everyone and everything around here. What a Great Way to start the New Year ! I may even return to my tradition of locking myself in the studio on New Years Eve and not coming out again until the day that first painting of the New Year is finished...at which point I emerge, eat half the planet and pass out. (perhaps not such a good idea after all...)

Making the best of it

While the studio is more or less under construction and everything is tossed aside I'm "playing" with the mail and recycling clippings from my garden catalogs into stationery to write my friends and a few favorite relatives. This also gives me a chance to get those pencils sharpened and try drawing a few types of flowers that I haven't tried before. (the drawing is on the envelope and Yes, I'm going to need a lot more practice to get it right which of course is why I do it on envelopes instead of investing in a sketchbook.)

Weekend projects

I've just put the kettle on as I write this . A cup of tea sounded like a good idea and I find myself wondering how long a person can survive on Ramen before they have to get their butt in gear and go grocery shopping. Not worrying about that just now as I take turns between working on the afghan in the house and the sheet rock in the studio. My hubby and I have a system where he does all the top bits and I do anything I can reach from the floor. We're doing walls right now so I have no idea why I shot the ceiling except that I LOVE those doors and the way the light bounces off the pattern in the leaded glass. YES, I am easily distracted by shiny objects but then you knew that or you wouldn't be reading this, would you?

A quiet Christmas

Staying in today except for brief attempts to clear the driveway and a few paths around to everything. The phone and internet gave us a chance to keep in touch with everyone until we get ready to head out of here and visit folks. I'm crocheting an afghan which feels kind of nice in this weather and from time to time I go back and sharpen a few more of the great colored pencils that Doug bought me. It's the biggest set I've ever seen so I'll be at this for a while. In the meantime I'm thinking about all of the other ways to be spending a Christmas and wishing you all a great one.

The start of the snowstorm

It's Christmas Eve day and Doug just shot this video while I put on a pot of coffee so we'l start our day by sharing it with you. As you can see he's shovelled a path to the studio so I may head out there for a while as another wave of snow is headed through in a few hours and may derail our plans to spend the evening with family in town. Yes, this IS Minnesota and we should expect things like that. I'm just glad I dropped off presents at thanksgiving, "just in case". Meanwhile, I'm finishing a cozy Christmas afgahn as Dougie's present this year. With this sort of weather it just may be more useful than a lot of things I could have bought.

Bag Lady

Well, I've been away from this blog quite a while. As you can see I've been sorting through fabrics and "playing" at the sewing machine. No one seems to buy art these days but everyone needs somewhere to put things so these bags should come in handy and of course I'm enjoying a little extra shelf space as I continue to sort things out. I'll try to write here more often as I do.

Did you notice that the handle on one of the bags is made out of a necktie ? Who knows what I'll come up with next. Be sure to keep reading and I'll try to keep it interesting. Bye for now.

Shiny

You never know where you'll find a bit of inspiration or what will make you smile but I couldn't resist shooting pictures of the way this looked this morning. Yes, I'm easily distracted by shiny objects...

All together now

Here's the painting as it started (you can read back to the post where I painted over it & made changes this year) The center photo was the image transferred to fabric 10 or 15 years ago and pieced and hand quilted. The interesting thing about this quilt is that the artwork was all different sizes from 4 inches square to 16 X 20 inches so it was odd to see everything in similar sizes and one block was even scanned from a piece of painted furniture which is also gone as are a lot of the paintings I used in it and so it's fun to curl up in your work, remember, dream and take a nap-now there's art you can use.