Optomistic thought of the day

I am going to post something optomistic as many days a week as I can.

Today it is a quote:

None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are. Anne Rice

Remember the Good, the Bad, the Ugly?

I first saw the movie while attending NMSU in Las Cruces. The Rio Grande runs through the town, and as college students are wont to do, we went parking and partying on the river. Imagine my surprise when the hanging tree from the movie was one of our favorite parking/partying spots! So I feel a special connection to the movie and was fascinated by this rendition of the iconic theme song!

Quote of the day...

Nine times out of ten, in the arts as in life, there is actually no truth to be discovered; there is only error to be exposed.


Henry Louis Mencken, 1880 - 1956
 
Home from vacation and as always it is good to be home. I enjoyed my trip and visits with family and dear friends...
 
My son and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium, and if you are in the DFW area, you must really see it. And if you haven't seen it lately, they have added a new wing...
 

I am on VACATION!!!

And I REAALLLLLY needed it. I came down to my sister's house yesterday to celebrate my Mother's 87th birthday.
Since it is apple season in southern New Mexico and my nephew has LOTs of apple trees, we about a half-bushel of apples. We used my sister's apple peeler/corer and worked through them in less than an hour- much shorter than peeling, coring etc. by hand. It is a very ingenious, low tech machine and works like a charm. And it taught my nieces that apple juice comes from places other than a juice box! They were organic, so there was some critters to deal with but that is to be expected.
This afternoon we will have apple treats!

Great weekend!

The J squared nuptials came off without a hitch last night (Joe and Jan= j sqaured). Great ceremony performed by our friend Marya, and then we all jumped into the pool and hot tub.
Sunday the girls went to see Eat, Pray, Love. I enjoyed it.
My dear friend had to have her 22 year old cat put down on Friday, so I am very sad for her.
It is REALLY RAINING in ABQ this afternoon!
So all in all a very good weekend

This is green engineering!

A solar roadway. Great idea, check it out!
Getting ready for the wedding of Jan and Joe tonight! Best of luck!

While cleaning my studio this morning

UGH! I hate to clean the studio, but I was down to about a 12" square space to work in on my HUGE worktable (about 54" x 40") so the time has come....
Anyway while I was taking a break and reading email I found the following two quotes by Andy
Warhol:
I like to be the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing in the right place. Being the right thing in the wrong place and the wrong thing in the right place is worth it because something interesting always happens.
and

When people are ready to, they change. They never do it before then, and sometimes they die before they get around  to it. You can't make them change if they don't want to, just like when they do want to, you can't stop them.

Back to cleaning... fun fun fun

This big box turned over my giggle box!

thought that I would share it with you.

Since I have been surfing instead of cleaning, I found this cute video!

Another great quote for artists and/or writers

The blank page is only pretending to be blank. Everything that ever happened is hiding underneath it.


Margaret Atwood
(who just happens to be one of my favorite authors!)

Old technology effects from new software

Intersting article here: on apps that imitate imperfect old technology. Check it out

What a jam packed week!

But in a good way! Work is still work, but the Computer Creatrix 

is really moving along. New client and that is good.

Extreme Journalism is still also fabulous. 

And I have posted two of my videos to my You Tube channel. Check it out here

And it has been RAINING all over New Mexico for the last two days.

We really appreciate the rain, as it is sometimes very rare!

  

Can't get blogger to let me center this sunset pic, but this is an un-retouched photo from my balcony. Since there is moisture in the air the sunsets are spectacular

Immediately before I took this pic, there was a squre bolt of lightning.

I waited for 15 minutes and it never happened again.

Just one of those once in a lifetime things, I guess.

20 things that I love (besides my family...)

Part of an exercise for Juliana Coles' Extreme Journaling Workshops is to draw a natural scene and then list 20 things that I love.
1. rainbows
2. trees
3. BBQ smoke
4. Sizzling steaks in #3
5. fecundity ( I just love the sound of it!)
6. waves
7. labryinths
8. blue skies
9. Stairway to Heaven (the song)
10. oceans
11. the smell of rain
12. popcorn
13. the moon
14. the smell of baking bread
15. hummingbirds
16. red wine
17. waterfalls
18. cats
19. mangos
20 2012, as that is when I can retire
21. roses
22. sunsets
Of course I could go on...

New Videos from Juliana Coles

From the Trenches: Notes from the Field


Juliana Coles Favorite Supplies (a two part video!)


Enjoy!

July 4: gettng real and personal int the pursuit of happiness: {589}

Third installment of zingers (for me) of Simple Abundance:
"Many of us mistakenly think that lowering our expectations means we must surrender our dreams. Absolutely not.  Dreams and expectations are two very different things. Dreams call for a leap of faith, trusting that Spirit is holding the net, so that you can continue in the re-creation of the world with your energy, soul gifts, and vision. Expectations are the emotional investment the ego makes in a particular outcome: what needs  to happen to make the dream come true . The ego's expectations are never vague: Oscars, magazine covers, the New York Times Bestseller list. Your dreams must manifest exactly as the ego imagines or someone isn't going to be very happy. And guess who that is? The ego! Since none of us can always predict the future... this kind of thinking is self-destructive. Because if we don't live up to the ego's expectations, we've failed again. And at some point we really do give up.
The passionate pursuit of your dreams sets your soul soaring; expectations that measure the dream's success tie stones around your soul. ...Living your life as a dreamer and not an "expector" is a personal declaration of independence...Dreaming, not expecting allows spirit to step in and surprise you with connection, completion, comsummation, celebration. You dream. Show up for work. Then let spirit deliver your dream to the world.

Simple Abundance Part 2 It's always my choice

Second quote from Simple Abundance
July 2: The simplest of Pleasures: One Good Thing That Is.
"Not too long ago, an 8 A.M. phone call announcing a major change in plans sent my day careening out of control. I hung up the phone, my heartbeat accelerating. In one stroke my carefully arranged coping stragety was out the window and my host of commitments had been amade almost unmeetable. This was too much, I thought, as I paced back and forth, muttering and moaning under my breath. I had three choices before me, but only one real-life solution: scream with rage a the top of my lungs, put my head in the toilet, or take a deep breath and redeem the day with Plan B.
...So I poured myself a cup of tea and reaclled the Hasidic prayer, "I know the Lord {Goddess} will help --but help me Lord {Goddess}, until you help.
The reality was that the day would be as hards as I made it. Or as pleasant. There was nothing I could do about my circumstances but accept them. "It's always my choice," I reminded myself. Not necessarily  to like ... but to try to catch the ball. ...success in life is not  how smoothly we execute Plan A; it's how smoothly we cope with Plan B. "{Curly brackets and bold are mine}

Simple Abundance

As some of you might remember, I am following Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I will go for days, and then a ZINGER will really hit home. June was a very active month, and alot of stuff went directly into my soul.
June 28: Repotting: Giving Roots and Yourself Room to Grow:
"" I don't know when I myself am potbound," Gunilla Norris confesses in her numious devotional, BEING HOME, "lacking courage to be replanted, to take the shock of the new soil, to feel into the unknown and take root in it.
We too, need to consider repotting for growth. But when? When we wilt even before the day begins. When we can't remember the last time that we laughed. When we have absolutely nothing in the next 24 hours to look forward to. When this happens, week in, week out, we need to realize that we're pot-bound. We need to gently loosen the soil aroud our souls, find something that sparks out imagination, quickens our pulse, brings a smile or giddy lilt  to our converstaions.
But repotting does not mean that we have to leave the marriage or quit the job. It just means that we need something new. "
I'm not so sure about the last statement, but time will tell. More in my next post.

Wow, two posts in one day!

Gorgeous blue flower from the courtyard at First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque.

Albuquerque Lavendar Festival

Albuquerque has a yearly Lavendar Festival and we attended again this year. Looking forward to the Lotus Pond at Los Poblanos, we planned an afternoon on sketching, relaxing and good vibes, but the pond was closed! Bummer. We wandered for a few minutes, but then left. Maybe next year. I did get a few good pics, but we did not stay long enough to get much. BTW, there were lots of other events at different locations, but we were looking forward to the Lotus pond!

Awful work week

But I did get some work done, artwise. I am taking a class from SARK, titled Dream Boogie and this is my doodles while waiting  for the audio class to start.



The line across the top (a large sketchpad which would not fit on my flatbed scanner) is part of a journal entry, about self sabotage. The line visible here reads SABOTAGE has always been one of my issues. There are several sketches, and the colored entry is a list of what is holding me back from completing my dream, then colored over with markers. Most of mine were about MONEY. The BRAVE FINDER is an intuitive name SARK gives you when you sign up for the class.
Also anticipating Juliana Coles' new summer session of Extreme Journaling

Forgot to add that I also purchased some things in Madrid!

I am practicing with my macro setting on my camera in order to get better closeups of my art to post on etsy. I bought a tri-color copper bracelet and some labryinth earrings! So I did more than just look at art. Buying jewelry always cheers me up!

Sunday Afternoon trip to Madrid

I promised a friend of mine from the Rustdyeing group on Yahoo that I would take pictures of her art hanging at Johnson's in Madrid. Sunday afternoon, after the lunch bunch had brunch, I took off to Madrid. Her art was amazing. I love Madrid so I walked around and checked out the galleries. Saw art by a lot of people that I know and found an old friend that I had not seen in several years. Adelle had some great art in a gallery, and we discussed web sites, art and galleries. I am always on the lookout for possible customers for my business the Computer Creatrix.

My new Etsy Shop -- The Creativity Continuum

I have meant to put some stuff up for sale on Etsy, and I have now set up a shop.
Check it out.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nmcreatrix

I have snugglies, wall hangings and some misc. stuff.

Graduation snugglie

Snugglie made for the recent graduate (my great-niece Lacey)

Page from extreme journalism altered book

copper and sage green paint, left page unpainted, right smeared with a credit card.

Just background

It is VERY WARM here!

I promised that I would not complain about it being hot, as this winter hung on for so long and was so cold and nasty! So all that I am going to say is that it is VERY WARM! And I would much rather be hot than cold! It was only 95 today, rather than the 100 that it was over the weekend.
I made it through my first day back at work after a week's vacation but I was bushed last night, I was in bed by 8:45 and then woke up at 4:30. Luckily I could go back to sleep! It was a much better day today, and I am not so tired.

Once a month is not enough to blog!

June is when I am going to become a better blogger!
This week has been fabulous, I have been on vacation. Went to the last of the graduations (I had three this year) on Saturday, May 29th, picked up my Mother and we came back to Albuquerque.

Terry and Kassi's black and white wedding Kanji quilt

We have loafed around, visited and ate all week. I have got several projects started and well on the way to completion (Terry and Kassi's wedding quilt, a snugglie for the graduate, and started on several more snugglies). Mother and I finished tyeing the graduation snugglie, and it is ready for presentation.

First Mailart from Julia in Red Wing MN

Front and Back of Postcard, but without a return address...

Fabric giftie from Helen In Hobart Australia, small pieces of fabric.

This has also been a good mail art week for me. I got an emphemera swap from Jennifer in Florida (it really came last week but I did not have time to acknowledge it!), two mail art postcards and a little giftie of fabric from Helen in Hobart Australia via sendsomething.com . I have scanned them all in....

Happy Mothers Day!

When we attended the reunion in Mayhill my sister and I discovered a picture of our Maternal Grandmother Onie Clayton in 1914. She was enrolled in a Domestic Science Class (wonder exactly what that entailed). She is seated to the left, and I love the mobcap.
After we found this picture, I came across this quote in my Simple Abundance daybook.
"...women may not have had the vote or the trappings of power... but they were the moral, spiritual, and physical center of the home, responsible for creating a welcome retreat of beauty, comfort and contentment  that would protect, nurture, sustain those that they loved. To achieve this, ordinary middle class women elevated the pursuit of domestic bliss to an extraordinary art form, from white linen Sunday dinners to blue-checked gingham Indenpendence Day picnics. "
This is honor all the mothers in my life: Onie Clayton, Floye Clayton Adkisson, Lonnie Adkisson, Frances Weatherford. I love and treasure you all.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere!

Busy, Busy!

On May 1, 2010 my sister, mother, uncle Charlie, Aunt Allene, Cousin Marsha  all went to a reunion of the two room schoolhouse that we had all attended in Mayhill NM. My niece Grace and her two daughters and cousin Kay went with us. My grandmother and brother had also attended. The school was demolished in 1986, but was an active school until 1960. I have created a webiste http://www.wix.com/weatherscf/Mayhill-school to show the pictures that alumni have contributed. The first picture is from 1903 and has three of my grandfather's siblings listed! Amazing, isn't it?

There were about 100 people in attendance and a great time was had by all. More pictures are coming from the celebration and some related pics we found.

This is the barn that my Grandfather Allen Clayton built. It has been around as long

as I can remember, so it is at least 60 years old. Houses are gone (demolished or burned)

but the barn endures.

Is this April 30th???

It is not much snow, but it is SNOW!!! On April 30th

I am heading south to Mayhill/Cloudcroft this weekend and I heard on the news that

there is 2-3 inches on the ground in Cloudcroft.

I AM READY FOR SUMMER!

Art, Mailart and new Kitteh pics

Next to last batch of mailart, using black and silver hand stamped background and copies of journal pages.

Kittehs keeping the world safe from maurauding birds. I think they are as happy

as I am about spring finally getting here!

Last batch of mail art. I made a total of 21 cards in about 3 weeks.

This is some canvas at that I painted several years ago, made into

cards very nicely. the address side is hand carved stamps from

a Carol Sanchez workshop at the National Hispanic Cultural Center

Off Center has an annual Quirky Albuquerque House tour and I was asked to contribute.

I applied burned metal (a la Cynthia Cook) to my house, and used the same metal

to shingle the roof. I tried to use metal curls for smoke in the chimney

 but just could not get it to look like I wanted.

More Mail Art

First Full day of Spring Happy Dance

Although, New Mexico has an odd habit of welcoming sprin in a rather eccentric way! See pics from March 20, 2010 (first day of spring) And last year it snowed Easter Sunday (although it was very early last year...) My wise old grannie had always said that there would always be an "easter storm" in the southern New Mexico mountains, and they usally have one. these are patio plants that I had to bring in while the exterior of my condo was restccoed. They sprouted while I had them in the house, and I forgot to bring them in when it was supposed to snow!
But this is ENOUGH! NO MORE SNOW!
Today is in the mid 50s, sunny and clear.

Mail Art pics

Ist mail art postcard, this is some Lonni Rossi fabric that I had left over from a large project

address side of 1st postcard

Second Mail Art postcard

address side of second mail art postcard

Third mail art postcard

Address side of third mail art postcard

I have not decided who I will send these to, but I do enjoy the mail art  and this is the first time I have incorporated fabric into them.

Enjoying a leisurely breakfast on Friday

I had to take a friend to the airport at 6:30 this AM (poor planning on both our parts as neither of us is a morning person - but overseas flights/connections can be dicey and protracted!). Since I do not have to be at work today unitl 9:30 (again, poor planning on my part) I am sitting at Flying Star Cafe on Central enjoying breakfast (french toast, yum) and a large pot of Earl Grey tea. I may start doing this more often, as they have free Wi-Fi and I can surf the web and take my time!

Work continues on Juliana's project for the Computer Creatrix, and I have another job that is coming up (not art related, drat!) but my name is getting out there! Publisher is giving us fits, but we will persevere. I already know a LOT more about publisher than I ever wanted to know!

No pics today, but I am in an art swap at the Extreme Journalism site that is bringing in wonderful mail art. I need to catch up as I owe two pieces and have used up my inventory.

More later and I will try to post pics from my metal work and the mail art.

Another Saturday cleaning house

 My son is coming in tonight to go skiing, so I am cleaning house and getting ready. I needed to do it anyway, so it is not a great sacrifice or anything.

I have also backed a cake for a birthday party tonight, so I have been busy. It is warm enough to have the windows open (which made the cats happy...) but is supposed to snow again tomorrow.

I AM READY FOR SPRING!

I took a great photo today for the birthday

 card I am making for W

The cup is a present from my sister....

Been BUUUSSSYYYY!

Juliana and I have been working on the online classes, and there was finally a breakthrough! We are still creating, and making stuff up as we go along! Anyway, that has been keeping me busy. Check out our latest video
My 60th birthday has come and gone (played cards and had a potluck in ABQ, and then had cake with the family in Tularosa) and I really do not feel any different. No new art, as I have been putting all my creative juices into the work with Juliana, but it is creative and very satisfying