(Almost) Spring Cleaning

Getting ready to shut down my computer and really dig into some (almost) spring cleaning. I also have to finish unpacking all my art supplies from my Michael deMeng workshop! So lots to do and I can sit and noodle on the internet all day long.
Wish me luck!

It has been a while since I blogged!

I treated myself to a trip to New Orleans for my birthday this year. Michael DeMeng was the instructor, and it was a great workshop. I arrived on Wednesday and left on Sunday and created an apothecary box titled: Queen of the Mardi Gras Remedy box.

Below are some of the boxes completed from the workshop.


My box is the middle box in the photo below and Juliana Coles' box is to the left.


This is my completed box.

Here are some of my bottles in pre-production.


Juliana Coles after a long day of sanding and drilling!


Michael DeMeng gives a great class and I am so happy that I treated myself to this splurge!
For more pictures see the Valley Ridge website. If you get a chance to take one of his classes, be sure to take it.

6.5 inches and a 3' snow drift.

These are the nice pictures. Not the one of the 3' snowdrift that I had to shovel out of the way so I could back out of my garage this morning.
This afternoon when I got home I had to finish the job and it was only 3 degrees! My fingers were frozen!
This is not what I live in the sunny southwest for!

Moonshadow

As I was driving south on US 54 I was wondering where the almost full moon was. Suddenly I was treated to an amazing MOONRISE! The moon was HUGE as it came up over the mountains. I wish that I had my camera, it would have made a gorgeous picture (if it would have come out).

Photoshop and textures

I signed up for Kim Klassen's blog
She offers free textures, and free instant classes. I have not taken any of her pay classes (just discovered her last week!). Check it out

CBS Sunday morning

This program has been part of my Sunday morning routine for many years. Lots of interesting and thought provoking features.
But this AM, as part of the coverage of the Haiti earthquake, they showed the most inspiring game of soccer. It was played with amputees who has lost legs in the earthquake, and they were playing on crutches, full bore, all out, falling and getting up. Per the feature, being an amputee pre-earthquake in Haiti was shameful, and they were outcast. Since the earthquake and the number of people who have amputations, the outlook for amputees is much brighter. Outside agencies are teaching Haitians to build prosthesis (wow, that is had to spell???) and become physical therapists.
All in all, an inspiring story.

Great Quote

Good artists copy, great artists steal.
- That one’s been attributed to both Picasso and Steve Jobs of Apple.

It was 48 degrees today and it felt like a heat wave! It has been cold here, no snow but in the teens every night and only in the 30s during the day!

Collages

I am taking a fotoshop fun class from Lani Puppetmaker. She asked us to do some collages and I came up with these two (the one above I had already made last year, but the one below is new.)
On Thursday we will do some layering in photoshop, which is one of my (many) weaknesses in Photoshop! Should be interesting.

I am also going to Notions and Potions, An Apothecary with Michael de Meng and Kathy Engen in New Orleans. Check out Valley Ridge!

New Years Clutter

I found this quote on mystoryart.com:

"Affirm for yourself that you are a success. Affirm that you are successful in getting rid of your clutter. If you are having a hard time getting started, be grateful that you are such a successful clutterer. Who else could have amassed such a collection of stuff?" --Norman Vincent Peale

I am a very successful clutterer!

Interesting Quote

"Art is not a thing; it is a way." Elbert Hubbard

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

My therapost recommended this video from TED. I love this site and got a lot out of the video.

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

We got snow today

I went back to work on Monday, and it was OK. It took me most of the day to go through my email! I found out that I had a vacation day and a floating holiday that I needed to take before the end of the year, so I was off yesterday and today! Not bad for my first week back at work.
I removed my Holiday background and now cannot find where I got it from to get another one! But I will find something.
Worked on the black and white wedding quilt that I have been working on for a long time, and got a lot of it basted, but it is a king, so it is huge. I said this is the last full size quilt that I am doing!
Happy New Year to all...

Happiest Holidays to one and all

I am visiting my mother and family in Tularosa, and wish the best of the season to all.

My Daily Horoscope

for today:

Pisces (2/19-3/20)

You are very artistic. You have artistic sensibilities. You have artistic socks. In almost every way, this is a good thing. You do a great job decorating. You see possibilities other people don't. You're more in touch than the average bear with the magical and the spiritual. But sometimes you have trouble accepting reality as it is, rather than as it could be.

Work on realism.

I will have to really work on this...

Beautiful poem for a gray, rainy, wintry day

My sister-in-law Sissy and I used to call these the drizzmibles~

yellow - Anne Sexton

When they turn the sun
on again I'll plant children
under it. I'll light up my soul
with a match and let it sing. I'll
take my bones and polish them, I'll
vacuum up my stale hair, I'll
pay all my neighbors' bad debts, I'll
write a poem called Yellow and put
my lips down to drink it up. I'll
feed myself spoonfuls of heat and
everyone will be home playing with
their wings and their planet will
shudder with all those smiles and
there will be no poison anywhere, no plague
in the sky and there will be a mother-broth
for all of the people and we will
never die, not one of us, we'll go on
won't we?

I was in a Santa Fe Gallery and saw a breathtaking yellow painting (yellow is still my first love) and this gorgeous poem was posted beneath it. The gallery owner graciously printed it out for me!

You may never look at a pencil in the say way again

Check out this link:

http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/pencil-tip-micro-sculptures-by-dalton-ghetti/

Truly amazing!

Weathers's great here...

I know a lot of you are shivering or crawling out from under snow, but I just came back from my daily walk. It was 58 and I wore a light jacket and short sleeve T shirt (I immediately took the jacket off...)

I have been trying to decide how to work on some anger issues that I have, and have started this three page spread. Background is red, violet, magenta with oil stick writing, more lettering and paint. I am sure that I am not through with this yet, but it is a good start.

Another TED video

Birke Baehr: What's wrong with our food system Video on TED.com

I guess that I grew up knowing where my food came from from my grandmother's garden and my grandfather's animals.

Fascinating Talk on TED, great ideas

William Ury: The walk from "no" to "yes" Video on TED.com

Check it out.

Great website

http://www.mystoryart.com/ is a great site for information, kits and inspiration. Stop by and check out her downloads.