pookieville

Big projects!

O.k. I have a few bits of big news. I have been working on some projects, and didn't want to say anything here until all was set.
The first thing is I got this really great email from a store in Ojai called Artful Living, and they have invited me to come and teach! YEE HAW! AND, the store and classes are held in an historic Victorian house in the middle of town. AND, I get to stay over in the historic Victorian so that I can teach the next day. AND I can even bring a guest. How cool is that?? I am so excited to get up there. I have some dates set for May 17 and 18, and I have already begun packing in my head.
My next bit of news is a new class schedule that Paul and I have put together for Zinnia. It is a series called "Third Thursday Make and Take". So, on the third Thursday of each month, we will have a mini class- 1 1/2 hours, and it will cost $25.00, and we will have a little wine and cheese and make a mini mess. We planned it during the farmers market so that maybe the family could go to the market, get something to eat walk around, and by the time they are done, so is the class. We have some great things planned like fun button and bead necklace, Wood houses, paper bows, paper balls... more news soon about upcoming art events/sales, and I am sure lots about Artfest!!

Counting down~

I can't really believe that the time is almost here for me to start packing up art supplies and oh yeah some cloths to head off to Artfest.  I am getting nervous and excited, and worried I will forget something important. Once I traveled without my drivers license, bad idea. I swear it was an accident.
I lay in bed and pack in my head and try to figure out how to take a queen size blanket (as it seems we don't own any smaller) and my favorite pillow as well as warm cloths.  Can I wear the same pair of pants for 4 days? hmmm..

"Maybe you could glue the cats ass shut-

speaking of which..." this was actual conversation at our lunch on today. I swear. You invite the family over,hide plastic eggs, fix a ham and this is the kind of conversation you get. Maybe I need to get a higher quality plastic egg for next year. hmm. I still can't believe how fun it is to have an egg hunt. I had to insist on a few rules this year- o.k. just one, no body checking. Luckily I only had to give one 2 minute time out for unsportsmanlike behavior. I hid 113 eggs and happily all were found this year. Last years situation lead to the plastic egg rule. Its a good rule I think we will keep it. Anyway, we had a really nice lunch and everyone hung out for some time after, and then when they all left, I took a nap! Hooray for naps!! Other important happenings here in Pookieville would be the naming of the saw. I know you have all been on pins and needles about this. Well, it was really hard to choose, but I am going to have to go with Fanny. Our winner is Paul!! I thank you all for your input,but Fanny is a funny word on its own, and as a name it is even funnier- so there it is, Fanny the chop-saw. I leave you today with a picture of my SIL after she raided the sweet pea patch- Happy Sunday ya'll.

Do you want a dance update?

Oy. As they say in the dance world, (and yes, I know all about the dance world now ya know) it was kinda ugly out there tonight. My Mom used to say that when you dance with someone who is good, it makes dancing so easy and fun. Well tonight, I didn't dance with too many good dancers.  Remember me telling you about short smiley guy? Well, he's  still short, but even he has given up his smile for a look of utter consternation. He couldn't figure out the waltz stuff tonight, so he just kept doing his thing. His thing was making me do a waltz spin, over and over. It was embarrassing because no one else was spinning, but as a good female partner, I have to follow. So I did, and then I made sure I skipped in line and never danced with him again. My other nightmare partner for the evening was bald guy big ego. I haven't told you about him, now don't get him confused with 6'8" guy- we like him.  Bald Guy Big Ego
(BGBE) doesn't like to "lead" and gets  annoyed when you don't follow. Do you see the problem here? He acts like it is your fault because you didn't promenade- no matter that he didn't give you the slightest hint that he wanted to promenade, well, he didn't even give the slightest hint that he was dancing either. I made the mistake of trying to tell him how to tell me with his hand which way to go. Yeah - that went over pretty well. I tried to skip on him too, but I still managed to have to dance with the guy 4 times tonight. One guy said to me, " I always dance better with you" awww. Isn't that sweet? NO it was sad. I wasn't winning any prizes out there either. Yeah- it was dang ugly. I got mugged out there tonight. My highlight was getting to dance with "The Ringer". I don't know his name, I just know this guy can dance and he makes his partner feel like a superstar. The 2 other girls who did not come with partners were honestly racing me to dance with him. I  am not joking here, and while we were dancing if I would look over they would make a face at me! I finally left BGBE and broke the circle and walked right over the "The Ringer" and said "I need to dance with you now". He was loving it. At the end of the class I got the chance to dance with the instructors husband. Dang- I was good.  O.k. he was fabulous and made me look good. Can you say superstar? It was like floating to music. And that is why I go back to dance class.
Oh- would you like to know what happened to my partner? Yeah- went and broke his toe. Do we believe him? I don't know..

Hey- don't forget to scroll down and play in the "name that saw" contest-

Collage and transfer techniques~

Saturday-
collage and image transfer techniques-
12-3
Zinnia
1040 Mission
South Pasadena
626 441-2181

This class is always lots of messy fun, we will play with paper, paint, glue and much more and you will learn a few tricks to tuck away in your collage bag! Hope to see you there!
Call the store for sign up! The second picture is work done by Joe Carrion.

Name that saw contest!!

I  have had some projects in my head and this weekend, the weather allowed, and time allowed, and I got to PLAY!!! I made a whole batch of bunnies that will be going into a shop soon. More on that later..

I also played with paper, and glue and had lots of fun making these-
These are class samples- and more on that later too...

But, the most fun and the most dangerous was taking my new chop saw ( thanks big brother!) outta its box finally and reading the safely instructions, and then using it!!!

I cut up all these cute wooden houses (more on that later too) . I have covered some in paper, and antiquing gel and crackle medium and they are looking pretty cute if I do say so. So, this is what I am thinking. Any decent saw should have a name. Help me name my saw- if I choose your name I will send you one of my finished houses. I will choose a name on Saturday the 22nd. O.K. I want to see some good names here- and I want to see a lot. Game on!!

On Saturday M.A. from Dispatch from LA came over for a visit. She brought her trusty camera, and  I feel like my house had a portrait sitting with her. She was kind enough to share her pictures with me, and these are just a few of my favorites.  Thanks M.A. it is always nice to see thing through another's eyes! I gotta finish that dang hallway.                                    

This last picture was something I knew M.A. could appreciate. It is the drain on the side of my garage. I love that jade plant. I'm sure it makes my neighbors crazy, it makes my Dad crazy. It  makes me smile every time I see it. Thanks again M.A.!

Tin house class at Creative Courage Arts~

Sunday March 16th from 12-3-
Come and play at Creative Courage Arts in Woodland Hills and build a tin house for a little fairy, or perhaps a shrine to hold something special to you. This class is lots of fun to do because students  always surprise themselves with what they create. Contact the store to sign up! (818) 884-1771
Here are some samples of houses that I have made, and some from students-

Monday~

Is spring over ? It feels like summer today. I have been cleaning my studio space, and organizing, but I had to take a break and play with the camera some more. Here are todays ttv photos. BTW- if anyone can tell me how to fix those big gaps in my blog I would be very appreciative- they make me nuts!!

Through the viewfinder- or ttv

I found a group on flickr that takes photos through the viewfinder of older cameras like the Kodak duaflex. I love the images, and though some of you can do this with your photoshop, I can't , and I wanted to try the whole thing out. I purchased and old duaflex on ebay, and I love it! It is a beautiful little camera with so much charm, and I promptly put it on my shelf for a few months. This morning, I finally decided to play with it, and build a fast, down and dirty "smokestack" to block light out so that my digital will work with it. This first picture shows what you see with a digital through the duaflex.

The image in the viewfinder is that cabinet I just bought- remember? And no, I do not bite my finger nails! Ever since massage school I can't stand to grow them out.
This next picture I used my cardboard light blocker-

Now despite the blur, due to my wiggle, and the fact that Ian looks absolutely possesed, I am thrilled that I could make it work. I will be playing around with this more.  (Note to self- don't sneek up on Ian anymore.)