Pottery? Nope!

So, after 4 weeks of pottery lessons, I have concluded that I will not be a potter.  I still LOVE pottery, and will just have to get used to the idea that I will have to purchase it, not make it.

I discovered that throwing pots was just too strenuous for me -- it takes a lot of muscle to do this!  So, I thought that maybe hand-building was the way to go, but I soon found out that I wasn't very good at that, either!  Also, I'm an Instant Gratification girl.  If it can't be finished in a couple of hours, I'm just not interested.

Unless you own your own kiln and wheel, you have to take weeks to get a finished product.  And, those things are really expensive, so that's out!  Oh well, I'm glad I took the lessons.  One more thing off my bucket list.

Another Rabbit Hole!

Well, I've fallen down yet another Rabbit Hole!  My friend, Rebecca, and I went to our first pottery lesson this morning!  These are the 2 pots that I made on the wheel (with a lot of help)!

The one on the left has a nice gash that I accidentally made - but we decided to keep it.  It really looks cool, and I think that the finished glaze will make it look even cooler!  Next week, these will be dry, and we'll start learning about firing and glazes.

I will admit that throwing pots - while being fun - is also very physical.  My hands and my arms are screaming at me!  But, I brought home some more clay and tools, and I'm going to try my hand at hand-building.  That might be a little less strenuous.

A New Start

You know how sometimes you're walking through Kirkland's or Pier 1 - and you see a piece of art for sale that just grabs you, and makes you want to paint something like that?  Well, that's what happened to me a couple of months ago.

So, I went to a painting club a few weeks ago (dragging all the stuff I thought I would need) - and I made this "start".  Collaged on papers, then painted over and just messed around.  The background is still not finished, and I'm not sure exactly what will go on top yet, but I'm liking the way it's starting to look.  This is a large painting (24" x 26"), and I have another canvas the same size that I would like to do something that would go with this one.  Usually, that doesn't happen, so we'll see.

But, I did discover that painting club won't be for me.  I realized that the way I like to paint requires me to have EVERYTHING close by - since I never know what I'll want to use!  So, unless I go back to watercolor, I'll be painting alone.

Haley's Turn!

I've been spending a lot of time this weekend with my granddaughter, Haley, and her brother, Truman, while my daughter and her husband are on a little trip to see my grandson in Pensacola, FL.  Haley loves to draw, and is very good at it!  I was looking at her sketchbook, and told her that I wanted to scan her drawings into my photo program, and then print them out and use them in some collages!

So, that's what we did today!  I think they turned out terrific!

Haley's Mermaid

My Collage using Haley's drawing - "Be the Sparkle in Someone's Life"

She definitely is the sparkle in mine!

Studio Finale!

Finally!  My art studio is pretty well put together.  Still a few boxes that I don't know what to do with, but all in all, I think I might be able to get busy soon!

I'm so lucky to have a practically full basement to use!  Here is my little sitting area and gallery.  Don't you love the ballroom floor!?

Where the work happens!  Still trying to get everything just where I want it, but for now, it's OK.

And, my little sewing area - cause I still love to sew stuff!

Finally, here are some mantras for me to use in the coming weeks - "Pick Me Ups" -  little sayings that I put together at Under the Cherry Blossoms in Mount Dora!  Gotta keep positive!

More Boys in the Studio!

Yesterday, my grandson, Zack and his cousin, Will came over to mow the grass for me.  Then, we got to play in the studio!  They both wanted to paint, so we had a little fun!  They were great students, and I think they did really great!

Truman's Painting

Finally got into the Studio today - with my grandson, Truman.  I helped him make a Collage/Painting - "Winter Tree".

New house, lots of boxes!

So, we finally moved into our new home in Blue Springs, MO.  The movers came a day late, but all is well and we are trying to dig out from under all the boxes!

Below are photos from the basement, which will someday be transformed into my studio!  I felt really sorry for all the boxes that the movers had to carry down there!  But, they were great, and didn't mind a bit.

And, would you believe  - there is a full kitchen in the basement!  No bathroom, though.  I just might to try to teach some classes down here.  We'll see if I can ever get it going.  I'll post again when I have it all set up.

The Holding Room

Since my last post, I've been working like a mad woman - the first thing I did was to totally clean out and pack the studio.  Once it was empty, I started bringing in all the boxes that I packed, and before long, this is what it looks like!

I still have quite a few boxes to fill - and then the packers come to pack all my breakables on Monday, and on Tuesday the movers come!!  We'll be out of here sometime Tuesday afternoon - then the kitties and I will be on a plane on Wednesday (with my good friend, Donna) headed for Kansas City!

Soon, I will have the great pleasure of UNPACKING all these boxes and try to find places for everything to go!  Fun times!

Oh, do I hate packing!

Yes, I knew these days would come -- but that doesn't make it any easier!  The photos for today show what has been packed (so far) from the studio!  And, that was after purging before listing the house!  I have way too much STUFF!  But, I can't seem to let go of much of it!

And, I'm not finished in the studio yet!  There are still a bunch of odds and ends - plus everything that is in the closet - that's mainly sewing stuff and things that have no other place to be.

So, my goal is to have that room emptied, scrubbed and cleaned, and ready to be moved by Friday!  Then, I have to start on the rest of the house! Trust me, it's not as bad (except for the garage)! 15 days till Closing - 21 days to move!  Will she make it?!

Getting Closer!

Of course, during this time, I haven't been able to make any new art, so here is an older watercolor piece - "Country House".  It reminds me that we are getting closer to the move.  There are still a few things up in the air that must be resolved, but I feel that it will all work out.

In the middle of trying to get our home loan from Bank of America, we threw in the towel - and started over with a new lender. (With only 3 weeks till closing!)  Crazy, yes?  Maybe, but BofA was really making us crazy!  The new lender says that the loan will be in place well before closing.

Yes, my nerves are shot, and my house is a wreck - but if all goes well, we'll be in our new home and close to my family in about 4 weeks!  Then, once I get things unpacked and organized, I'll be back at my art table, ready to get creative again!

Moving Soon!

We sold our home last week!  I feel so lucky, since it was only on the market for a little over a month!  I've truly loved living in this house - and having all the outdoor space, but it's time for us to go back home.

Then, as soon as we got the contract finalized, we bought this house in Blue Springs, MO!  It's a much older home, but has been updated some.  So much smaller on the main floor, but it has a full finished basement - so it will work!  I can't wait to be living closer to my son, daughter and grandkids again!

Now, we just have to get through the next few weeks of inspections, appraisals and whatever else gets thrown at us, then we'll be good to go!

Abstraction

I painted this acrylic abstract painting several months ago.  It was supposed to be horizontal, to go over my kitchen sink.  I could never figure out if I was finished, so I just put it aside - and basicly forgot about it.

Then, as I was moving things around, getting ready to list the house, I pulled it out and hung it vertically in my fireplace room.  The more I look at it, the more I like it - so I guess it's finished now!

Color Blocking the Butterflies

I received my new stencils from the Stencil Girl Stencil Club today -- and decided to play with the Butterflies.  The other stencils are of Birds and Flowers.  I might try something with them tomorrow!  There really is a border of washi tape all around the outside of the journal page, but I just can't seem to get my photo right.

I know, it's been awhile!

Yes, time has certainly flown by since my last post!!  But, I've been so busy getting the house ready to list.  Finally, it's now for sale!  I'll be going to KC later in the week, and next week I'll be house hunting up there.  Won't be able to buy anything until we get a contract on this house, but I want to see what's available now.

This art journal page is using last month's Stencil Girl Club stencils -- it's taken me a long time to get back into playing with paint!

Almost Done!

I finally finshed cleaning and purging the studio (almost).  All the glass cupboards are now just waiting for the movers, as well as the closet and the rest of the room.  Now, I have to go through all the bottom shelves and cupboards and sort out all the stuff that's been in there for 12 years - stuff that had nowhere else to hide!

Actually, moving can be a great motivator to get rid of things that we no longer want or need.  Of course, there are so many emotional ties to objects - and some of those are valid.  I just want to feel lighter.  I remember when we moved into this house, I had so many empty rooms and shelves!  It didn't take long to fill it to the brim!

This is only one room!  I have so much more to do before I can put it on the market in May!

The "Welcome Home" banner is something I'm making for the church - it will be gone soon.

To the right is my art table and everything that I can't live without during this process!

And, to the left is my sewing station - cause I still have to make things for Mount Dora! (And, notice that I've cleverly hid the litter boxes?)

I'm Still Here!

Thought I would post an older collage piece, since I haven't been making art lately!  I can't believe that it's been a month since my last post!  What have I been doing???

Really, not much!  Making prayer quilts, cards and bowls and stuff for Mount Dora - and just doing nothing!  But, now, we've decided to put our house on the market in May, and plan on moving back to Kansas City!  Lee's Summit, MO to be exact.  Even though we love the weather here in Florida, we miss the kids and the grandkids - AND Spring and Fall (Winter, not so much).

So now my focus will be on cleaning out closets, drawers and cupboards and getting this place ready to sell!  I hope there will be some time in there for making some art -- we'll see!  Wish me luck!

Hope and Love

Man, I need to order some more Stencil Girl Stencils!  I'm part of the SG Stencil Club, and if I want to post my journal pages on their FB page, I can only use SG stencils.  So, all of my posts are starting to look alike - nothing but birds in the garden!!  Oh well, I just got paid for my last class, so I see an order in my future.

Today's Collage Class

I taught another "Creative Collage" class today at She Scrapbooks in the Villages - and once again, had a great group of gals who were all so creative!

Left to Right

Seated:  Angela (Happy Birthday today!) & Shayla (my youngest student so far - 12 years old!)

Standing:  Susan, Sue and Paula

Marsha was also there, but left before the photo shoot!!

Thank you ladies - you made the day so much fun!  And, you all did amazing work!!

Signs of Spring

Here in Florida, we are experiencing a gorgeous Spring-like day!  It led me to do this little journal page, using some of the stencils I received yesterday from the Stencil Girl Stencil Club!  This is a great stencil club, with a lot of added bonuses!  Check it out - click the Stencil Club button on the right!

It's Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  46 years ago, I went into labor on this day - in the middle of a great snowstorm!  Finally got into the hospital at around 10pm, but my beautiful baby girl decided to wait till the next day to be born!

So, Happy Birthday - tomorrow - to my wonderful daughter and best friend, Serena Dawn!  I love you more than words could ever express!  xoxo

Birds on Stilts

Today in the mail, I received my "Mixed Media Inspiration Deck" by Kiala Givehand.  These cards are to be used to prompt you if you are stuck - which I always am!  So, I drew four cards from the deck - and here's what they said!

I had just gotten some new stencils from Stencil Girl - and I was wanting to use them, so here they are!  The worst part for me was writing with paint and a paintbrush.  I have such difficulty, that I don't like to do it.  But, in the spirit of the cards, I did - but I had to go over the letters later with a black pen.  Still don't like it, but, Oh Well - it is what it is!  I certainly will do it again - there are 52 prompts, so what could go wrong?  Ha!

Stencils

I've joined The Stencil Girl Stencil Club.  In this club, you receive 3 exclusive stencils monthly, and access to all sorts of wonderful sites!  While I'm waiting for my first club stencils to arrive, I've been playing around with the stencils I do have.

Derwent Inktense Blocks

The other day, I received my Derwent Inktense Blocks.  I've been watching all sorts of videos using these blocks, and was very intrigued.  You can color on the page with the blocks (which is how I made the rainbow) and then add water - they become like watercolors, but once dry, they won't reconstitute - so you can add more wet paint or medium and they won't change their color! And, what intense colors!  Also, you can wet a paintbrush, rub it on the block and paint that way - that's how I did the flowers.  The flowers are a new stencil I bought from Stencil Girl.

So this is just a page in my journal, testing out things.

Wonderful Mail!

So, not only did I receive this beautiful tag from Jessica Sporn, she also sent me this cool card!  I love getting gifts from other artists!  I have a little place in my studio where I put all these treasures.  Some things I've bought, others were gifts - and they all are so precious to me!  Thank You, Jessica!

And, she's giving more things away -- check out her blog and go onto her Stencil Scavenger Hunt!  It promises to be a lot of fun!  Now, if I would just get back in there and create something myself!

Inspiration from Jessica Sporn

After watching Jessica Sporn's video, I was inspired to try to use the technique to make some more bookmarks!  Although I used paper, instead of paint as the background, I still feel that they turned out pretty good! (I've got another 3 in the works).  And, I won the tag that she gave away at the end of the post!  I should receive it in a few days - how exciting!

Birdhouse in the Woods

This is a painting I did today, at Carlynne Hershberger's Studio during her monthly "Painting Party".  Since we all paint the same painting, and it's a copy of one of hers, I usually give these away to my family.

Carlynne is responsible for almost all that I know about doing art!  I started taking classes from her in 2008.  She helped me with oils, watercolor and acrylic.  If you live in the Central Florida area, check out her workshop on April 3 & 4 at  the Lifelong Learning College at the Villages.  She will be teaching "Color and Texture in Acrylic Landscapes".  I'm going to try to be there!  You can see samples of her incredible work here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/hershbergerhuff.

It was fun to get into acrylic painting for a day!

Finally Fixed

Finally!  Took my computer in to be cleaned - had a bunch of unwanted stuff on there!  He explained to me that Blogger is owned by Google, so they are always trying to get folks to use Google Chrome as their  internet browser, so once in awhile they fix it so you have to use Chrome to make things work on Blogger.  I've done that before, but I didn't think that it was the problem.  Anyway - my advice to anyone having ANY issues with Blogger - try Google Chrome and see if you still have the problem.

So, these are my other "Paper Doll" bookmarks!

Problems

For some reason, I'm not able to upload my photos to my new post.  I'm not sure how to fix this, so if anyone has some hints - please let me know.  So frustrating............


When I try to add the photos (it does let me upload them), I get a small circle on the page that changes colors - and then everything freezes, and I have to go totally out of the internet to close it.


I'm thinking of changing my blog to another site.

Paper Doll Bookmarks

 

 

Today, I was inspired to start a little collection of "Paper Doll" Bookmarks.  I found these darling faces and accessories downloads in an Etsy store.  Then I just collaged them on bookmark blanks, and added the dresses and words.  These are just the beginning - I have a bunch that I want to do for Mount Dora.  I've added photos of each of them, so you can see them up close and personal!