Angel and The Iron Horse (the color of dreams)

The seemingly random nature of dreams can often lead to revelations about one's self or one's situation.  What do our dreams really tell us (and do we really want to know)?  

Of late my dreams have included (in no particular order) angels, locomotives, chairs, cheese, snow, tea, buckets, letters, numbers,  rockets, rainbows, elephants and ladders....how about you?

Be sure to check out the Heart Handmade Holiday Zine!  Marichelle put together an amazing collection of words of wisdom, artist interviews, wish lists, recipes and diy projects from many of us who contributed to her Heart Handmade blog this year.  

Seeing in all directions...

As I was working on a few more pieces in my "Cloud Study" series I gave into the desire to put myself in the clouds.  I became a student of the clouds in my rocket ship and could see in all directions.  What a beautiful view it is once you awaken to all that is around! 

 As I begin to think about all that I am thankful for (as Thanksgiving approaches)  I secretly  wish for the ability to broaden my perspective and raise my voice...what is your secret wish?

At my window (sad and lonely)

Just wanted to share this sweet little guy who appeared in my studio this week.  He looks out at the sea of possibility and gets by dreaming big dreams...

Happy Friday!

The Stargazers (gathering dreams from souls lost at sea)

Here is a peek at the almost completed painting I showed you the other day.  This evolved a little differently than originally intended but I'm really happy with it.  I like the pale blues and browns on the top and the star catching net is really just bursting with stars...

talk, talk, talk...(oh, and talk some more....)

What an amazingly social, emotional and exhausting weekend I've had!  I am so happy to report that five of my paintings found new homes at the Friday night  group show I participated in.  It was a lovely and inspiring night filled with great conversations and connections.  On Saturday Chuck and I took the kids to a large and inspiring rally in Chicago protesting the passing of prop 8 in California.  Saturday evening we hosted a party for the parents in my little guy's class.  I can honestly say that talking about my work to so many people is still kind of odd...it makes me feel somewhat disconnected from the work.  It felt very good to be back in the studio this afternoon listening to music and getting to work on a few new pieces. 

 The top piece is entitled "Little Yellow Bird (contemplating song)" was inspired by the  experience of using my voice to try and impact change this weekend and over this past year.  This painting is now in my etsy shop with a few new "Glamour Girls" and "Party Girls".  The second piece is the beginning of an idea I've had in mind for a while that I hope to develop over the next few days...

timing is everything.....

My mini moo cards arrived yesterday just in time for my show...YAY!!!  My 1st order seems to have been lost in the mail and the moo print people very kindly reprinted them and sent out a new order which arrived just in the nick of time ( I am absolutely ga-ga over these little things!)  In fact I ordered 3 more mixed boxes right away because opportunity knocked yesterday (more details on that later).  I've got to run...there are grapes to wash, cheeses and amazingly yummy honeycrisp apples to slice and pricing still to be done.  Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post.  The connectivity and environment of support that exists in the blogging world still catches me off guard and always warms my spirit.  Have a great weekend!

My little secret....

Every time I finish a painting I photograph it, name it and show you all but what you don't know is that it's never really done at that point.  I start off with the best of intentions but by the time I do all of the steps listed above I'm ready to move on... and I do.  So now in the final days before a show I have to make up for lost time and immerse myself in building and painting frames, attaching sawtooth hangers and wires (both of these involve power tools and are kinda fun), signing and dating each piece (which involves doodling and coloring which is kinda fun) but that leaves me very little time to complete the 4 new pieces I wanted to take to the show.  If I just skip the sleeping thing I can probably manage to get it all done!

The show I mentioned is an artist reception and sale Friday evening (like a trunk show).  One member of a collective I belong to opens up her home and I think this time there will be 5 of us showing work (but many others represented by cards, flyers, etc...).  There is food, wine and lots of networking.  I've done two other shows this way and really enjoyed them.  If anyone is in my neck of the woods and would like details just convo me....

what's old is new...

Here are a few pieces I was able to finish up yesterday afternoon.  The top piece "Transcendence" is an old painting which came to life with the addition of a silvery winged woman (i think the name still fits).  The second piece "Work, work, work" you may recognize as the barn painting from a few posts back....happy saturday!

9 caged birds (stirring souls with encouraging tidings)

Here is the "bodies of lies" panel from last week....the girls like it much better now!  

Child's play...

I've been invited to join a game of tag by the incredibly talented and inspiring Katherine....

Here are the rules:

1.  link to the person who tagged you

2.  mention the rules

3.  tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself

4.  tag six other bloggers by linking to them

5.  go to each persons blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged

so here goes...

1.  i am obsessively neat (as in clutter free)

2. i hate to dust (so my house appears very neat and tidy but is secretly very dirty)

3. i am incredibly superstitious ( in too many weird ways to list here)

4. i LOVE cheese ( current favorites are coolea,  mt. tam and grafton 4 yr)

5.  i listen to the band  wilco way too much 

6.  i always paint standing up

Tag you're it:

leililaloo

mummysam

contemplating the moon

amanda blake

paper*crown

gretchen mist

Glitter and voting....

This morning I'm off to make many golden sparkle wands to add to this collection of silver ones (for our school's holiday fair).    The world my kids live in is filled with fairies, gnomes and archetypes of good and evil....but more and more they are waking up to the realities of the world and today we all have a chance to make a difference in that world.  I encourage everyone to wave your magic wand and cast your vote! YES WE CAN!!!!

Vertigo (and a block in progress)

I spent this morning at the hospital being treated for vertigo.  I don't usually write about personal stuff here but this has to be one of the strangest things I've ever experienced.  In the middle of the night I couldn't walk without grasping furniture and when I made it back to my bed the room was spinning at warp speed.  Any time I turned over the spinning became unbearable.  So this morning I headed to the ER to and I have a bit of fluid in my ear but no sign of infection (which is good).  My right eardrum has burst twice in the past few years and so next week I will be headed to an ENT to determine the cause of this episode.  Typing is pretty difficult as is walking and standing so I think I'll be off line for a day or two until this passes....

(above is a little block in progress)

Beware of the heat gun!

  All of these glamour and party girls will be on their best behavior so they don't share the fate of the nudes/windows/mountains/doors....

Seriously, the painting from the last post was just not working for me and so it has been "reworked".  As I fired up the heat gun and started scraping back the painting I really did feel like all these girls were watching in horror as the nude figures melted away.....