pookieville

Where have you been?

Oh yeah- it's me that has been missing. I was still recovering from Clark's demise. Actually I had such a filled weekend I can't even remember everything that I did. That's bad, especially when no alcohol was involved. On Friday, I did something I just can't recall. On Saturday, I did a class a Zinnia and Diane, Celeste and Gina rocked out these soldered glass luminaries- even overcoming my wonky glass cutting skills. Uh- hello, how cute are these?!?   O.k. I gotta go crash for a while, but more tomorrow- I promise.         
                                                                                                                                     

So, that M.A. is in Italy. We hate her ( not really, but just a little) . She asked me to go visit her cats while she was away. I think she thought that would be almost as good as going to Italy. Well she was wrong. MA has rowdy cats. Cute, but rowdy. Today, while humming in my head, "doh de doh doh doh" and looking for said rowdy cats I turned into the bathroom at Moss cottage to find this!!!

Oh the horror. Poor dead squirrel. I actually gasped and put one hand up to cover my mouth in shock when I found him. I couldn't find any ID on him, ( as he was wearing no pants) so I'll just call him Clark. Services were short and only M.A.'s one female cat attended. She did tell me a long story most of which I was too distracted to follow. Come to think of it, I may have judged the boys too quickly- A long time ago my father told me that squirrels don't fall out of trees, they have heart attacks. And really have you EVER seen a cat catch a squirrel? NO! So, Clark must have died of natural causes- oh and that would explain the bottle of nitro pills  clutched in his tiny rigid paw.  Sorry for judging your cats so quickly M.A. hope you are having fun on your Italian vacation- we are having super duper fun here in L.A.!!!

Bee Art~

Whew- those lady's at the womens club can wear a girl out! I did a small show in Eagle Rock yesterday with some of my art posse ( Denise, Joe and Paul , Shari and Michelle) Great company and lots of laughs- but those Lady's held a lunch and fashion show that started at 11 and ended around 3. That's a lot of fashion show!
I'll tell ya about the mimes later.... no really ....mimes. What I have to show you today are two pieces that I just recently finished. Collage on canvas which is new for me, as I usually work on wood, but since Artfest, I decided that I work on wood so that people won't think I am trying to be an "artist" well I learned on my trip that I am an "Artist" and I am not ashamed any more to work on REAL surfaces like canvas. So there. I created these pieces to generate some money to donate to bee research and the study of colony collapse disorder. Our bees are dying, so go plant some lavender and sunflowers in your yard cause they like that. And don't use any pesticides. o.k.? Cause they don't like that.
Anyway I sold this one yesterday !! YEA!!!!

this one is still for sale Canvas size is 5 x5 and the edges are painted. $30.00 and it all goes to bee research.
Have a terrific Sunday, and remember to hug a bee!!!- well, maybe just wave nicely to one. :)

Third thursday and other goodies~

Last night I went to Zinnia to partake in the a new series of classes called Third Thursday Make and Take. We did button and bead necklaces. BUT, as I am the slowest crafter- I never got the the ribbon part and barely finished my necklace- so I have decided to wind it around my wrist and have a lovely spring bracelet. Yea!!! We had a really good time and Paul got us all saying his new catch phrase, "because baby Jesus said so..." and it kept cracking us up. Of course I can't stop saying it today, so I might have to kill Paul (because baby Jesus said so.) :)

I spent most of today in the yard, I realized today that the problem in my yard is not the size, it is that I am an ADD gardner.  Yes, that is a real thing, because I have it. I need to go to the Dr. and get some meds. for it. I have weeded in 5 different spots, and not actually cleared any of them. I just wander and water, and randomly weed and in the end I have made a bigger mess than I started with.  I did find this one plant in bloom today, if you can ID it for me that would be great.   My grandmother and I both loved this one, and neither one of ever knew what it was. When it blooms I always think of her. Is is a dog wood?? Do those even grow in Southern Calif??? Anyway it is the sweetest little bloom.

o.k. and now back to the messes that I make- I had to stop and take this picture the other night as I was working on my chunky book pages- my hands were absolutely covered in antiquing gel, gel medium and brown paint. The end results were good, but the process was uh ...interesting.

If you are in my chunky book group- look away now-  I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
Tomorrow I have a show at the Womens club in ER, so I hope to have some great pictures for you!
Enjoy your Friday!!!

The first third Thursday~

I know that title is odd- but it really is going to be the first third Thursday, and we are kinda excited.  So here is the plan, Paul and I are putting together shorter less expensive project oriented classes that will happen on the Third Thursday of each month- $25.00 for each class that will last approx and hour and a half. We provide wine and cheese , and supplies, all you have to do is show up and play! Thursday April 17th at 7:00pm  we will be making a sweet spring necklace with buttons and beads. Call Zinnia if you have any questions and also, be sure to check out the web site as I just realized that Tamara has added an online store!  Now we can get our craft shopping done at 11:00pm - or while at work!!

Newish things-

This is a piece I took with me to Artfest for sale in the gallery-sorry for the glare. I got it there, and realized that I didn't have a picture for myself and snapped this one quickly.            

this one too! I am happy to say that I sold them both and helped to fund my share of the rental car!
The sad part is they came and went from me so quickly. I have a sale next weekend, and have more things to show once I get some stuff framed, but I will share this one last collage done with vintage paper and vintage wallpaper.

Can you take a little more?

Just a bit more on Artfest- and then I swear I'll clean the bathroom and do some laundry, and try to be a normal person again.
Here is the view from our room early on the first morning. The grass is frosty.               

and the window in the stairway up to the attic of our house

dolls from class with Linda and Opie O'Brien

This last one is mine!
Kari's Mandala from Anahata Katkin's class-                                                                              

Wallpaper people from Anahata Katkin's class- these pictures were taken at the final night show and tell.

Other random beauties from show and tell-

my apologies for not having artist info to credit this great work. It was all so crazy and crowded and so so hot in there- I was just snapping and running.
I did get this one taken too- I got to meet Lili in real live person. A sweet and funny lady. I can't believe we actually found eachother . Don't we look hot in there??

More Artfest~

O.K. I told you the other day that my head is swimming, and ideas are just jumping all over the place. This Artfest thing is so much more than an art weekend. It was a really moving experience to be with so many supportive like minded people. It was such a safe environment, and I feel a change has happened to me, something good. Something big. Beyond that I can't really say what , I think it is something that we will have to wait and actually see. I think it is going to show in my art, and since I have been back I have only had time to dream of art. So tonight, I will post some more pictures that I took while there, I am still not done sorting them all!! I would also suggest that you stop in to Kelly Rae Roberts blog and to Judy Wise, they both put into words some of the feelings that go along with this amazing event. I have to say that when I saw that Kelly was there, I was hoping to meet her, and I did- what a sweetie, and I also got to meet Cori Kindred and Lili- YAY!!

Kari and I had to have a pic taken with Ruth who wore a different nutty hat each day. This was the best one!

A doll I did in Linda and Opie O'Brien's class-

Michelle Allen - the bird doll she did in the same class. I loved this one!

This is the view from our house looking across the grounds, the larger buildings are dorms, the smaller one in the middle is the dining hall.

A car all decked out for the event-

The view from my class with Judy-

I am still sorting pictures- next time I will have some more artwork from classes and house mates.

Home again, home again .....

( floor canvas done in Judy Wise Fabulous Fearless Floor cloth class
the words that you can't read say " the seeds for amazing things to happen have been planted.")

My pictures and stories of Artfest are going to be all out of order, because that is just how my brain is working right now.  WOW! What an amazing experience. I have read about Artfest, and heard good things all these years, but had a better time and experience than I even could have dreamed.  Getting there is like following a scavenger hunt map. Yet we all managed. It was truly a full day of travel that included a plane, a car and a ferry. In the end we ended up here. House 15.
Kari and I shared a room in Officer housing, with 7 other women. We all got along great, and have a year long post card exchange planned to keep in touch. I am looking forward to it.

O.k. back to classes- On my last day, ( again- hang in there, my brain is all over the place. I couldn't even work the coffee maker this AM!) I took a class with Judy Wise. If you ever have the chance to take a class with Judy, do it!! She is so inspiring, and she gets you so excited to start painting, and exploring and playing- I can't say enough good stuff about the gem of a person. My first night at the fort I saw Judy in the dining hall, ( M.A. from Dispatch from L.A. had told Judy I was taking a class from her) she runs over to me gives me big hug and a kiss and welcomes me to Artfest. We shared many more hugs before the weekend was over. Note: if you don't like to hug, this event might not be for you.   Anyway- Judy just has a way of making you keep pushing yourself and to be fearless with the paint, it can be coverd if you don't like it, it can all be fixed, so push it and see where you end up. Hooray for Judy Wise!!!                                                                              

A Packing fool-

If there was ever any question about my packing abilities, those questions have been laid to rest. Yes, I am a bad packer. Oh in my youth, I used to do pretty well, but now, I cram every last thing I might possibly need into my bag making it almost impossible to move. BUT, I have decided that my phone will hold a charge for as long as I am gone, and have decided to leave the charger at home.  O.k. in my packing craze, perhaps not the best idea, but I'm gonna stick with it. I am quite sure that compared to the veteran Artfesters, I have packed nothing. Some are bringing power strips, coffee makers, rugs for their rooms. I shudder to ask why, I am sure I will find out soon enough. I did pack a blankie, and a pillow case ( lovely flannel thank you very much), but as far as being comfortable, I am not expecting to be. Not that I think the facilities won't be up to par, the truth is, I just don't sleep well away from home-  away from the snoring , and the cat pounces at 3 am. I'm just used to it, and it is comforting to me. I am excited, and nervous and excited to be going on this trip, and I hope I have loads of wonderful pictures to share, great memories, and lots of new ideas for my art! Be well and I will talk to you next week!!