May You Feel Happiness

Whole

Whole ~ Writing Myself Whole ~ Admitting I'm Whole (with no holes) ~ Moving The Pieces To Create A Whole ~ The Whole Shebang ~ Loving With My Whole Being ~ Admitting I'm Not Whole ~ How Do I Become Whole ~ Can I Ever Really Become Whole ~ I Ate The Whole Thing ~ I Want The Whole Thing ~ The Truth And The Whole Truth (so help me god) ~ Making You Whole ~ 

Oh boy, this thing about "Whole" gives me a lot to meditate and journal on.....................

What about you?????

Yep, I'm lazy

You know what I just figured out?  I'm lazy.  Yep, I'm lazy.

What are you up to?  Have a great Sunday.

still looking at this one

I'm still looking at this one too.  Thinking about some glaze.  Don't have a name yet either....this one is escaping me for now.......got any suggestions? 

Off to do some final holiday shopping.  Need to get things in the mail.

The kids have the week before xmas off of school.  I think I'm going to have my grand daughter and a couple of her friends for the day to make ornaments and cookies....give them a break from daycare mayhem.  May have bitten off more than I can chew, but I guess it is just for one day.  Little girls are so darned cute!

We've had snow on the ground for over a week now.  Very unusual for my part of the world.  Makes it feel like Christmas.  But I must admit I'm ready to ditch the heavy coat.  Not big on the heavy duty winter stuff.

Oh, and we bought a new coffee grinder.  A Breville.  Bought it from some place in Seattle.  They do these really cool online demos which made it easier to buy.  Wow, our coffee really rocks now!  We've also discovered there are lots of little coffee roaster establishments in the area.  Who knew?  So the next big purchase will be a new coffee maker....ours is an antique.  I'm gonna feel kinda sad not going to Starbucks any more.....I'm gonna miss those breakfast sandwiches.  Guess I could learn to make my own, now that is a novel concept!

Well, I'm giving myself the "make a change" award today.  I don't think I've ever had so much to say on my blog. 

What's up with you? 

The Club ~

The Club measures 24 x 24 x 2 and is mixed media.  I'm not sure this one is complete yet.  I feel it needs more depth but am having a difficult time figuring out how to achieve it.  Any suggestions??????

Going bigger

Fun challenge. Time for a career enhancing move.

My husband is now making my cradled boards. He's doing a great job and I'll soon have enough panels to last me quite sometime.

Do you paint large?  Got any suggestions for the learning curve besides of course needing more paint, more medium and larger brushes........

I'm using Golden Open Acrylics along with Open Medium.  But still getting things to REALLY blend takes a bit of getting used to on a bigger scale.  I've been working on 16 x 16 and wouldn't have thought 24 x 24 would make that big of a difference.......maybe it is all just in my head. 

Started these two yesterday.....

16 x 16 Acrylic and Oil Pastel on Canvas

The Committee

The Committee - Acrylic,  6 x 12 deep cradled canvas

 

 

What A Surprise !!!

I had a painting that I really wasn't happy with and had set aside.  Took it out and ended up with this!  Trust me this is not even close to resembling what I painted over.  I like the result though.

16 x 16 acrylic on canvas board

Epiphany

Dumping a painting???? Do you ever???

Well.

I did a life changing thing the other day.

I looked long and hard at a painting I'd been working on.  Decided (finally) that no matter what I did, I would never be happy with it. 

So I picked  up the paint and did an a'la Jackson Pollock on it.  Covered it all over.  Came back the next morning and discovered I really liked what I did and saw so much possibility, different things I could do to it.......it was an

EPIPHANY!!!!!!  

I have never been the type to put a canvas aside and come back months later to finally figure out what it needs.  Basically I start a painting and stay with it until I'm satisfied that it is finished.  But this radical move was new territory for me and it was refreshing!!!!! 

Tell me about your processes? 

I'm still slugging away with these.  Think maybe it is time for an inspiration break.

I like where they've gone but something is still missing.

Saturday Bringith Much Wonder

I've been painting all day.  It is 4pm and I'm still in my jammies.  A good creative roll going here.

First up is Five Fishes.  I'm still puttering about with this one and it feels boring to me so I think we're gonna let it simmer a bit and see what crops up.  I added quite a bit, but it still isn't there.....where ever "there" is.

And next is Forest Fire.  I've been working on this one for a couple of weeks now off and on.  Finally this morning it seemed to come together.  Recently my husband and I drove thorough a nearby mountain area that had been through a forest fire. It was a cool and misty day.  Everything hung in a fog and seemed like a place for dreams and discovery.

Please feel free to comment.  Good or bad, I like to know what you think.

Currently working on Five Fish....

16 x 16 acrylic, pencil, ink on canvas board

The Chama Pods

I had a really fun cabin get-away this weekend with my husband to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  And wouldn't you know it, I found more really cool pods.

Acrylic and ink on 16 x 16 canvas board

Pods

Something about these pods fascinate me. 

Another one........I've been busy

A few months back I was out on a noon time walk and stopped to get a closer look at red tip yuccas that grow everywhere here in our area.  They have these funky sort of pods which in my imagination kind of morphed in to the pod shapes you've seen from me lately.  Those shapes really speak to me......so here is yet another installment of the sacred and mysterious pods....

Not yet complete......I think....

acrylic and ink on 16 x 16 canvas board

Ok, I think this is it

But I really value your feedback, so please leave a comment.  Or if you don't want to leave art feedback that is ok, just leave a comment anyway.....I'd sure like to hear from you.....

This one was fun................

This was fun, I've made a few tweaks since this photo was taken earlier today.  Will follow up with the next version.

Today I sat down in the studio and just painted.  Didn't over think.  Didn't ruminate.  Just relaxed and let it flow.  What a pleasure......I'm wanting to get into that grove more often....working on it. 

16 x 16 acrylic on canvas board

Acrylic Abstract ! This Is It For Now

For now I feel a sense of completion with this one.  I'm going to set it aside and see if it talks to me.....

I seem to be on a roll....so started this one.  I'm officially calling it "throw everything at it and see what happens".......not a huge success (in my opinion, but what do I know?).  Tell me what you think.....

Not so sure about this yet....

I may eventually have to give up on this one........new technique that I'm liking.  Maybe I just need to spend some more time with it. Please excuse the not so great photo.  I did it quick with my phone this morning as I left for work. There is quite a glare on it......hate that.

 

and here is how it looked when I started 

Golden Open Acrylic Paint Is Wonderful !!!

At Julie and Chris' urging I purchased a couple of tubes of Golden Open paint and some Open medium.  There is a bit of a learning curve, but I do love this stuff.....

Fun With Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen

Julie and Chris, those two gals run a mighty fine online painting workshop. 

I go through moments of procrastination, challenge, hope, anxiety and joy.  Hard to believe that painting can be such a complete and total emotional roller coaster ride for me.....oh yea, did I mention anger, angst, resignation, more hope and joy......

and then, of course, no post would be complete without a quick pic of the ever wonderful Miss Iris.....check out those teeth !!!!

Prayer Flag #1 - Apifera Farm

Here is my first installment on the prayer flag project.  My grand daughter Iris is here with me today.  I took a day off from work to have some time with her before school starts. First grade came so fast !

Apifera Farm is located in Oregon and Katherine Dunn and Pino the Donkey are the ring leaders of a bunch of wonderful characters and one sweet man.  If you've never been to Apifera Farm you don't know what you're missing.  Find Katherine and Pino here .

You can find out more about the Prayer Flag Project

here.

Where are you headed?

click to enlarge

 H. Cordova

It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Cordova, I first found him at an art show 11 years ago when I had just moved to New Mexico.

What a charming and talented man. His work echoes pre-historic themes, animal shaman figures, clay earth maidens, pueblo-style masks and so much more, it is hard to quantify in just words.  I love each and every piece I see.  Heck, as I told him this weekend, "jeez, I'd be happy with your castoffs"!

This weekend I was so delighted to have once again found Mr. Cordova on the contemporary art avenue at the Spanish Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I so interested to also learn that he raises quarter horses.  People take interesting roads through life and I am always fascinated to find such rich diversity and genuine sincerity in people I meet at art shows.  

Love his art. Oh yeah, I already said that didn't I?

I bought a great piece for my home and will post that soon.  In the meantime I'll be thinking of the roads Mr. Cordova walks, the interesting glint of discovery in his smile and continue to visualize what my roads might be......how about you?  Which roads are yours?

Mr. Cordova can also be found online here. 

Paula

who'd-a-thought

Who'd - a - thought

a simple word

a moment of notice

could make one feel as 

though there could be

a friend in the world.....

who'd - a - thought

lots of art coming your way

later this weekend

tomorrow is 

Spanish Market in Santa Fe

time out to visit with friends

after that, look out world

Hope your weekend is good

The Prayer Flag Project: How To Join

The Prayer Flag Project: How To Join: "The Prayer Flag Project... Join us, if you'd like. I am looking for artists to participate in this project. The process is simple: Ju..."

The perfect Saturday

Burgers, beers and my honey in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. 

A life of it's own

I love how once I  get started the painting takes on a life of it's own.

I was six once and oh so creative !!!!

What are your earliest memories of creativity?  How old were you?  What was the triggering event, person, whatever?

So this box above originally housed a block of Velveeta cheese (man cave cooking at his finest).  I nearly threw it out.  But as my fingers touched the cardboard it was a flood of memories that met me.  All the way back to probably around six years old.  I remember being at my grandmothers house (I lived with her about 3/4 time) and holding an empty oatmeal box.  You know the one with that cheerful man on the front!  Oh that box was so cool and I can remember thinking that there MUST be some really rockin' thing I could do with that box.  Wow, a blast of memory about creativity......There was  a lot of fertile ground in me back then......

So.  I'm not going to throw this box out.  I don't know if I'll actually do something with it or not, but I do know that it will occupy a special place in my studio as a reminder that I am creative and fertile and full of possibility.

What about you?  I'd love to hear about your creative beginnings.

Oh to be six again!

When was the last time you got such  a cute easter basket.   My granddaughter Iris is six, I think she'll be a happy girl.  A bike bell, butterfly bath fizzie, sunglasses, hello kitty pez, barbie toothbrush, and of course chocolate!  I used tulle instead of that grass that the cat eats and throws up in front of the dinner guests.  Instead there will be glitter everywhere...a reasonable trade off don't you think?

The garden is in full on grow mode.  I noticed barn swallows for the first time yesterday. Even the little lizards are out and around.

How goes it in your world?

The AV PowerShopper

My friend Annette Vallejos makes these really cool little clutches.  There is a place for a cell phone, cards, cash. We've been calling it the PowerShopper. No more dragging the purse around! You can bet I will be logging some serious miles with this little baby!


Back to Annette, she's the most industrious person I know.  Aside from making tons of cool stuff her main focus is jewelry made from colored pencils.  They seem to be pretty popular.  You should go on over to her website and check her out !!

Today is the day to say YES !!!!!