Play day and Peace

Some weeks my days are really filled in until Thursday gets here. Its like I can say ah Thursday I don't have to do anything today if I don't want. I have a great desire to stay in pajamas all day and do whatever strikes me at the moment. That may mean Art or weaving or being on the computer for hours or just reading. It makes for a nice day, a little way to recharge.

I have been collecting supplies for my Painting Faces classes. I am happy that I already have lots of the supplies. I would have thought I had every type of paintbrush but of course I don't. I have never used mop brushes so it will be interesting to see how they are used. I probably could have used my filberts but I think if I want to get the full benefit from the class I should use the supplies recommended. I had to get some fixative too. I really could use it on my other drawings so it will get double use. I like when that happens.

I attended a peace rally yesterday and it was a great time, these events locally just seem to get bigger as each year of the war goes on. I took some video but I have not downloaded it or edited it yet. I was on the nightly new, my little claim to fame this week. We had 5 minutes of silence for each year of the war where people either froze or lay down to represent all those killed in the war. We also did a candle light vigil for those fallen. It was an animated group of people of all ages. Some people brought their dogs with little sandwich board signs on them. I really liked seeing all the dogs, that was great to having them participate too. Here is the video I took.
















We now have his and her scopes for wildlife viewing. D got one for me to use, its a big heavy duty thing that should hold up during windy days. It has the capability to use a camera with it. So maybe when we head to Yellowstone this year I will be able to come back with some incredible pictures.

New Challenges

I just wrote this post for my 100 day challenge group and think its probably important enough to share here too.

One of my intentions for this season2 challenge was to eat better and exercise more and I think it was one of those that I added on to the end. It wasn't a major focus although something I have wanted to do. I can't say i have been diligent with it at all. In fact the other day i was lamenting to myself, why is it that I keep making lousy food choices. On one had these choices give me comfort on some level but can make me miserable on others. I have an acid reflux problem so eating some things really does make sleeping at night miserable. So the question is why do I still do it, Some of this is the Ego making me think I need these things but maybe its more than that. I did ask the Universe for help on this matter and also thought I wonder what its going to take to make me change. Well the Universe I think supplied the answer yesterday.

I had my annual womens checkup yesterday and found out my cholesterol and triglyceride numbers are way off the scale. My Dr. has suggested a low fat diet for 6-8 weeks, increase exercise and then to get checked again. If there is no improvement then I am going to need to go on medication. The one thing I hate is taking medications, I already have 3 that I have to take every day and I am determined not to have to take anything else. This is a strong motivator for me but I am not certain if it will be enough to counteract a lifetime of not eating right. In some ways it feels like that this is the time I will be able to change this pattern and I am excited to start on this journey. I mean how many bags of potato chips does a person really need to eat in a lifetime!

I am putting this out there cause I know I am going to need your support and encouragement in the next few months. This is a journey I want to go on and I don't think I would be doing so if I weren't doing the challenge. I know that you'll be going on it with me and that in itself is a major help. Thanks for reading this long post. I love you all.

Kate

An eventful trip

I am back from the trip to McCall and what an adventure it turned out to be. Sadly I did not take any pictures so you will have to use your imagination here.

We had a lovely ride up there. McCall is a really beautiful area, they had tons of snow and it was quite picturesque. We stayed with Kay's sister and brother in law. we went out to a local place for dinner and spent the evening quietly at home. The real adventure did not begin till Thursday.

First let me tell you about the van, Its a 1973 VW van with the bed that lifts up on the top. This van was in a field for ten years before my friend acquired it. She got a high school age boy to make it his school project and he along with her sister who is an upholsterer worked on it on and off for 2 years. The inside is nice with all new seats and a great stereo system, they removed the stove but it has nice cupboards and a bed too. The outside of course looks old it needs a paint job badly. She plans to take the vehicle to Mexico where she plans to work at some Organic farms.

All went smooth until about 150 miles from home. She had added some oil the last time we stopped. NOW black smoke was coming out of the back. We found the oil was low again and their was oil all over the engine...not a good sign. We left the vehicle on the side of the road on the freeway and then she got in the car with me and we drove to the next town Burley, which was only 5 miles away.

While in the gas station looking up mechanics in the yellow pages we asked the clerk if there was a VW repairman. She was a teenager so had no clue. At this point someone in the gas station said he knew a mechanic and he was just a block away so we followed him. He introduced us to the mechanic and his wife who ran the office. they were very nice, it was 4:45 at the time and they stayed open to help. He suggested we add more oil and then come back and he would look at it. So we picked up some oil and drove back to where the car was. We added oil and headed back to Burley. After looking at it he thought the engine needed to be rebuilt, something about a seal needing replacement. We asked if we could drive it home and he said to keep oil in it and then to drive slow. So for the last 150 miles we drove 50 mph on the freeway to get home. It took forever but we got home safe and sound. The joys of owning a VW van right Kai and Pam.













Here is a pic of Sarah and her boyfriend Kyle when the went Salsa Dancing. College kids get to have all the fun...

I got the supply list for my painting faces class and luckily there are only a few things I need to buy. Its is 2 weeks and I can't wait to begin.

















Here is my latest pencil drawing. I think its time to get a different view to start playing with. Its been suggested to try drawing faces from magazines so I may just do that next time.

The Top of the Morning to You

The Top of the Morning to You..... and the balance of the day to Yerself. That was the Irish greeting in my family on St. Patrick's Day. So I hope you'll all be wearing the Green today... Oh you say the first part to someone and they say the second part back to you.

Norah, thanks so much for the card, my mom used to send those all the time so it was a nice thing to get. It made me think of you and her too.

I've got a long post started about my adventure last week but I will post it later.
Have a wonderful green filled day.

All dressed up with nowhere to go

I feel like a person all dressed up with nowhere to go. My one appointment today was for my annual exam and the office called fifteen minutes before I needed to leave to cancel it. Its strange if I didn't have the appointment I would be doing a trillion other things but now since I have showered dressed eaten and put on makeup I feel like I need to be going somewhere. Its hard to switch gears at the last minute.

Tomorrow I head up to McCall Idaho to help out a friend. She has a van up there being repaired. We'll go together in her car and the going back I will drive her car and she will drive the van. We are spending the night at her sisters house. Its a 7 hour drive so we won't do it in one day. I have never been to McCall so it should be an interesting trip.

I have been reading this

and it is so excellent, I am working on the curiosity exercises and finding them to be very profound. The first thing you do is write down 100 questions which I found to be hard to do. Then you pick your top ten and then one of those and come up with 10 questions about it. It is a very interesting exercise to do. I recommend this book to anyone exploring creativity in their lives or working any kind of project.

Sunday Evening

Ah the changing of the clocks always is an adjustment. I decided to in part take it easy today but also spend some time in the studio. I painted the paper for a new journal cover and made the journal today. I tried all day to get the pictures to upload with no success so I am back on Monday trying again. For some reason it will only let me load one picture at a time.


















This is the front, those are a series of butterfly's on the front. When I was putting paint on the paper I added some Shiva oil sticks and ended up with a hole on the paper somehow. So I covered it up with more paper. I could have worked around it if I had seen it before I cut the piece out. Then I found a hole on the back too.













Here are the inside covers. At first I couldn't find any end papers in my stash that I liked so I layed down cream card stock and then this music paper over the top. I think it looks ok, its not jazzy but the music notes are cool in their own right.


















This is the back of the journal. The colors look a little washed out, its prettier in person. This one is full of watercolor paper and it all sort of different brands which made it difficult to make but I think it will still work out for art. Right now it won't close. That happened with the other journal I made to but now its ok so I think this one will settle down a little. I am going to put something heavy on it to see if that helps


















Saturday I got these bundle of goodies in the mail from Violette. There is a lovely card along with bookmark, magnet and more of her Art. She is such a sweetie.
















I especially liked the sticker with the bubble and message, it was like she was saying hello and I could actually see her. A really nice touch.

I was feeling pretty down and depressed today so what's a girl to do. Well Art of course.

Samantha Kira did a post on this prompt "I should" so I decided to do one too. I started out trying to make a lovely gold background but there was green paint on the credit card I used to paint with so I had a mess. So I just left it and worked around it. The second page I tried again but instead of nickel azo gold I picked up burnt sienna. I guess there is no way I was going to make a gold page today.

I took myself to lunch to cheer myself up. There is a Mexican place in town where I can eat for under $5.00 so that's where I went. After my meal I drew this. I recently bought a couple Derwent graphic pencils and really like them.















Then in the afternoon I was playing around while watching TV and drew this lady with the half face. She was fun.

















I hope you had some time today to do a little Art for your peace of mind.

Give Her a Call

Its my mothers birthday today. She would have been ninety today. I am missing her smile and her laugh and her soul. Go give your mother a call if you can. Time is always precious.

Here is a picture of my parents taken long ago.



















Costume Saga Continues:

I used Rit dye remover on the sleeve and it took the pink out and also made the beige color white. Now the sleeve is a different color and won't match the other sleeve or the rest of the costume. Sarah has more fabric so she'll mail it to me so I can make another sleeve. Hopefully the dyeing will work better the next time. I think I will try dyeing on some more samples before I do the actual sleeve again. Wish me luck.

What's going on here

Everything is breaking

Sunday my hair dryer broke and then yesterday my vacuum cleaner broke. I spent the afternoon shopping for a new vacuum. This is what I ended up with after going to 4 stores. It is quieter than my old vacuum and cleans much better too, that is a plus.




Dyeing fiasco's

I am dyeing the sleeves for Sarah Final Fantasy costume. they are supposed to be pink at the bottom and gradually get lighter. I did a sample which look good. Then when I got back to dyeing the sleeves the dye water was cool so I heated the water up and then tried to do the sleeve. Oops, big mistake, solid color no gradation. A quick run to the store to buy some color remover was in order. Now I need to remove the color and start again. Oh what fun...

Turtle Power

Suzi blu did a video on Mola's and her journal challenge this week is to do a page on your power animal or on an animal you have an affinity for. This is my page. I used paint and portfolio oil pastels, stamps, markers and a sharpie fine point pen. It was fun to do. Why don't you try one of your own.

Playing with another camera

I got a separate memory card so I could play with Dave's camera. He has a Sony Cybershot DHC H9. It has a much better zoom than my camera has so I will be testing it for some time. I love my Panasonic Lumix but sometimes I would really like a camera the can do more.















This is Astro, what a face....















Here is Flynn watching as I feed the sheep.

















Then my eagle buddy a little closer. We had a red winged black bird on our feeder so perhaps spring is on its way. Soon I have new things to photograph.

A couple of sketches

Its cold and snowy and windy and miserable out today. There was a coyote in the field behind us and Dave was rushing to get a picture and he slipped on the ice fell on his knees and twisted his back. So he has been in bed all day.

I have been reading my grandmothers letters from 1901-1903 this afternoon and wow I can't stop. Now that I have them in order its easy to follow their story. Can you imagine your salary being $10.00 a month. Then there was the time her sister after giving birth almost went mad. The doctors wanted to throw her into an insane asylum but the family resisted and nursed her back to health themselves. Then there are stories between the lines when you have to guess what is going on. Such fascinating reading amongst the mundane normal stuff.


I had some extra paper left over from making the journal so I have been sketching on it at odd moments.


















I drew this scary lady around 4 o'clock this morning she sort of reminds me of Joni Mitchell. Now that I say that I think her cheek bones are not high enough.


















This afternoon I went for a totally different look.


I hope you are having some fun this weekend.

First Journal

I have been wanting to learn how to make journals for a long time. So I put it as one of my intentions for my second season of the 100 Day Reality Challenge. That way I knew I would do it. Here is my first attempt. I used Teesha Moore's technique using canvas boards for the front and back pieces. So here is my first try.

I made a zillion mistakes but I think it will be a functioning journal. I was using this one as a test, I have material for one with heavy watercolor paper and a bigger size. Hopefully I will do a better job next time. You really can't tell the mistakes by looking at the pictures, but I had things that weren't centered or cut evenly, the holes for sewing were not even and the sewing is not tight enough and on and on. Practice makes perfect though so I will try again soon.


















This is the front.



















This is the back

















This shows the inside papers I used. I am so glad I took the time to do this. It really feels good to get some goals accomplished. When was the last time you tried something new?

A flock of birds

Sarah sent me this flock for my birthday. Two are on clips and three are on magnets. I had mentioned I wanted some bird ornaments for my tree after Christmas so now they are starting to appear. These ones are so cute.

Wonderful Birthday

I had the most fantastic birthday. I had greetings from many of my Art friends and 100 day challenge friends and other internet friends and family and then went out to dinner with 14 people. It was great. Here's the video.


















Here are some of the goodies I got. I think it was the year of the bracelet since I received 4 of them. They were all made by hand so extra special in my book.















These three were made by my sister Peggy.














This wild one I love and it was made by my girlfriend Gari.













The earrings came from my sister Marianne and are Laurel Burch but kind of heavy, so if I find I can't wear them I may use them in a necklace or as an embellishment for something else.














Here is a hat my sister Peggy sent me, it is knitted and then felted, I love it. Its the perfect color Purple...














This print was given to me by my friend Kay. Its a beautiful fall setting, I wanted to grab one of those apples right out of the basket.

Finshed I think!

There comes a time in a project where you don't know what else to do so I guess you need to say its done. I really learned a lot doing this painting. I am better at mixing colors, learned what colors looked crappy with a blue background an how to fix mistakes. I look forward to the painting class I am taking next month since I know I will learn so much more. Now I am ready to work on something different. I made a little movie with all the stills leading up to the finish.



I would appreciate any comments and constructive criticism about my painting. I am trying to learn so if you see anything you'd like to point out leave a comment or send me an email.

Sunday Morning

Its Sunday Morning, I decided to stay home today. I am going to work on the painting today. Its sorta funny I stare at it everyday and think I need to work on it but I do something else instead. Its some fear again, so I am going to conquer that today and move forward.

Just as I was about to go to the studio Dave came home with this.


















Its my birthday present and he could not wait till Wednesday to give it to me. He is such a little kid sometimes. No its not the ipod but what the ipod sits in. Its a charger and speaker and the sound is fantastic, has its own remote and I really like it. So of course I had to play with it for awhile.

I did go work on the painting again but it still has a lot of work. I have painted the dress 4 or 5 colors and then just slabbed white paint on it to start over again. Ah the joys of creating.

I haven't done much with the journal page either. Sharon from All Norah's Art wrote and told me she uses one layer of napkin so I guess I was right there. I painted over the flower a little, stamped the word spring on a separate piece of paper and glued it to the page and then decided I hated it and ripped it off which of course took off the paint and gesso and I am back to the taped page I started with. Sometimes art really is a process. Maybe tomorrow I will have something worth showing. Happy Creating to all of you.

New Ideas

Yesterday I spent most of my time scanning letters and organizing things for the book about my Grandparents. I really got a new insight or revelation about the project. It became clear that this project is like doing a thesis or having a job and I need to start treating it like that. Its always been this small past time and if I continue to see it that way it will take me another twenty years. I moved my computer and printer to the kitchen table where I can spread out and this will now be my focus. I have set new goals regarding the project. My plans are to finish scanning the letters next week and start printing and reading them after that. I just realized I have a good twenty or so letters that have no dates so I am going to have to figure out where they fit into their story. That will be challenging but still fun.

I started a journal page last night. I am trying to incorporate a piece of a napkin in it. I separated the layers of paper but I think I should have kept them intact. The flower looks very transparent now. I think I just may paint over it. We'll see how that works, I'll post it later.

I went shopping for a new desk but nothing seemed right so I guess I will be waiting longer for a new desk. I want to find the one that will work perfectly for me and sometimes that it hard.

I hope you are all having a great weekend...

Cutest couple

I saw these two hanging out on the river on my way home today. It was really a beautiful day. When I first stopped they were talking or screeching. I tried to record a movie of that but it stopped by the time I got going with the camera. It sure was interesting to hear, usually they are very quiet. The one eagle moved to a branch closer. Maybe they wanted to be closer.

Fantastic Concert

The Barrage Concert was beyond fantastic. The band consisted of 6 on violin, 2 on guitar and a drummer. The fiddlers danced incredibly while they were playing. It was quite incredible. If you ever have a chance to see them perform go for it. You won't regret it. I'd go see them again in a heartbeat.













These are my final pages for the RR book. They are done and off in mail.













I have been working on a painting. I am taking some in progress pictures that I will post when its done. It will be fun to see how much better I get after taking Paulette's class.
















This is after my first session of working on the face. Here you get to see the new easel in use. I love it by the way.

















This was the second session. I want to make the neck bigger, its pretty skinny I think. Do some more work on the hair and the face and the background too. I'll be changing the dress color and more. Yes, needless to say It still needs a lot of work.

New site for 100 day challenge

You'll notice something new on my sidebar it says I am a member of the 100 day reality challenge. Its a new social network site for the 100 day challenge. If you click on the link it will take you to my page and then you can see others too and join yourself. If you are all interested in these concepts I encourage you to check this out. It will change your life. I also have a blog over there where I will talk about 100 day challenge goals and experiences.














I have been trying to get these pages done for the latest round robin. They all seem to be this blue aqua shade this time.














The theme was texture and they wanted us to use the theme of our book. Remember mine was kindred spirits, so you'll see new and old photos amongst them. I am not sure if they are really done yet.














I really liked the picture here, of a secret shared between two friends.














I need to add something here but I am not sure what. I have 2 more pages to do but I think I may just make backgrounds and journal on them.










I am headed to see this group tonight. They are a Celtic group that fiddles and dances and totally entertains. They are called Barrage and I think it will be great. I only found out about the concert over the weekend so th only seats left were way in the back but I still think it will be fun. Dave can't go because of his cold so I invited two girlfriends. It should be a blast.

Online classes

For all those who asked about online classes.

Kathy Johnson's blog shows her CD's and has link to her classes on her sidebar. I could not recommend her highly enough she is wonderful.

Paulette Insall list her classes on her blog also. Her painting faces class is almost full. Her backgrounds class is full.

I bought a birthday present just for me... You can see the easel I got to your left. This is the Bob Ross table top easel. Suzi Blu raved on how much she liked it so I checked it out. It was only with that 40% off coupon that I could afford it. Easels are pretty pricey and with the coupon I managed to get 32.00 off the price. You can't beat that. I have it all set up with a canvas ready to go. The color is darker than the picture actually a nice warm elm. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't fit where I wanted to put it. I hate it when you buy something new and it makes you rethink the arrangement of the entire room. Now that of course has nothing to do with the easel really. I actually like it and think it will be great to use.













I found this little journal kit yesterday while out looking for inspiration at all the craft stores in town. Its by 7 gypsies and it has a chipboard cover that you can decorate in any way you want and 3 sets of signatures and instructions on putting it together. Being the journal fanatic that I am I couldn't resist it. I think it will be fun to decorate and put together.