I am thinking this might work....

So I am thinking about getting out all of our goggles, scuba masks and snorkels for the next few days. The rain is unbelievable with umbrellas impossible to keep right side out. And shoes? Well lets just say there is no such thing as weather proof in my closet! My clothes are soaked, my hair a puffy mess, and I really should have considered my water proof mascara this morning. So maybe I should do as William has here: But with a shirt on of course. I don't want coal in my stocking! Have a super soaky Monday! Tomorrow I intend to stay home and cuddle the doggie, clean out the art room and finish some details on the garden painting.

Rainy Days Don't Get Me Down.....Well Actually...

It's been raining here again. I pass a small horse farm everyday and once again the poor horses were desperately seeking high ground because their small pond was more of a lake in their pasture. And now that the weather is cooling, the rain is even more unpleasant to get out and about in. And most uninspiring I have to say. I finally have a clean desk, clean house, Christmas decorations up and presents wrapped. And guess what I did today? Got back in my comfy clothes after the gym hour and did nothing. Yep. Me, Jenni Horne actually vegged in the BED with the old lady cat and dog. Boy were they tickled to have Mommy around. BTW there is nothing on TV worth watching during the day.

So I am sending you out tonight with an up close view of a newer umbrella painting. An umbrella.....have you noticed how cool they are now? They come from very tiny to large enough for a small army, have amazing patterns or solid beautiful colors, and are very swift to open with one little finger. But all accomplish the same thing. They shelter us from the rain. And those of us with a little more punch to our personality you can tell, because we have the patterned umbrellas, and maybe even some super cool zebra print rain boots. Look at your umbrella and think about it, does it tell anything about you? Then look around the next time it rains and try and guess a personality based on a stranger's umbrella (or are they the stubborn ones without an umbrealla?). I betcha it'll tell you tons. And it'll give you something to giggle about if you run into them in the Target isles later on.

Pictures from a Rainy Day

As I stated in the post prior to this, it has been raining now for over 24 hours. And while rain is a usually blessing to an area, this type of rain brings a mixed blessing because of the potential for flooding. So yesterday while driving in the rain and thinking about blog posts, I thought I'd snap a cool shot to show how life was around these parts right now. And I have a fun new phone. So here is one in color of Greenville Street. And then I turned the setting and started shooting these below. Yes, while driving in the rain. I had the phone propped on the steering wheel and just shot randomly. I was in AWE of these shots. They look spiritual.....I see spirits walking towards me in some of them. Perhaps I see this only because Valerie and I saw Paranormal Effects Saturday night, but my son was in the back seat saying, "Mom those pictures are scary, like ghosts are walking towards us." I really like them and plan to use the color combinations and compositions in some new texture paintings. I've never really been one to paint with a dark, warm palette. So it should be a nice door to open and explore.

These photos are totally untouched. No photoshop magic. Just a cool setting in my phone, a rainy dusk, and my eye for seeing something that I am sure most did not last night while driving down HWY 29.

A Rainy Day Symphony

It's been raining here now for 24 straight hours. It's the kind of rain and wind that turns your umbrella inside out. You know what I mean? Yesterday while trying to get the kids into the dentist it pulled this trick on me.....and I am sure we gave the passerby cars a treat with our shenanigans to get it right side out. And in the meantime we all got soaked. It's raining now as I type. I can hear the drops as they trickle onto the gutters outside my window. It's a peaceful sound, almost melodic. The occasional car drives by and makes the whooshing sound under their wheels. Lily is snoring beside me, and the dryer is running. It's a symphony of sounds this morning. And it's calming. This piece is called, Raindrops. One morning while it was raining I noticed a beautiful pattern on the back van window. The rain was making these oval shapes with lines falling down from them. I quickly sketched it out and painted the above. Yesterday I noticed this again. Only the drops made more rounded shapes with lines falling down them. I loved the overlapping and overall composition it made right on my back window. This time however, they looked like balloons. And now I can't get the composition out of my head. So what's on my agenda today? Painting balloons. And on a rainy symphonic day, I think balloons are the perfect pick-me-up.

Okay, So Maybe the Rain was Meant to Be

So I didn't have to sit in my car too long on Sunday to realize that I was going to have to put my girl panties on, unload, set-up and get ready for customers. Because for some reason, God decided to let the rain cease on our little patch of Peachtree City for our little craft fair on Sunday. As soon as I finished painting Lions with 1st and 2nd graders in Sunday School I hopped in the van, raced over to my spot and found my buddy Phillip and his Wife Susan, and then Ellie and her girls to help me unload and set up. I guess my whoo-hooooo blog got some sympathy ratings and they came out like little army ants! Yeah for friends! I wanted to show off some of the new offerings here at Mattie's Social Circle. Adorable bottle cap earrings.

Porcelain pendants .......

And whittle charms perfect for the charm bracelet......

So sales wise it was a low day, but I met some great people. And perhaps doing this particular show was really more about meeting those around me than making money. So I count my blessings for the weekend instead of dollars. And they are bountiful! I spent quality time with my dear Mother, Nancy, and met these amazing crafters; Tiffin of Linwood Avenue, Jessica of Peachtree Photography, and Joy of Joya Jewelry.

"We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives." -Dan Zadra -So I thank you girls. And all who came out to say "Hi!".... you are the best!

I Love the Rain....

I just love it when it rains. The sound of it hitting the roof, the trickle down the spouts, the little drops of water left behind on my bushes, the glisten it makes on the landscapes, the smell. Yep.... I like the rain when I can curl up on the couch and leave the front door open to hear the sounds, nature becomes so quiet outside when it's raining I've noticed. I DO NOT like the rain however when I am participating in an Art Show that I have prepared weeks for and haven't slept good in nights because I am so excited about it! Oh, poor Jenni you say, it rained. Let me tell you something blog readers. IT RAINED ALL DAY....seriously it rained for like 10 hours straight. I got up at 6:30am, left the house around 7am, drove through the rain to find it raining where the show was, unloaded in the rain, set up in the rain, sat in the rain during the show, and then guess what, at 6PM, like clockwork, it stopped. Yes-sir-eee-bob. At the end of the whole thing. Laugh if you want.......I was. Well, not really. See here, rain (okay maybe not so much....but it was there I promise you!) However, there is always an upside with me. Mom, Ellie and I set up the tent, new grids and table Friday when it was not raining. So this morning I just had to unload inventory and set it all into place for the droves of buyers I was expecting . I was able to drive right up to my tent and unload. And since I have a mack daddy awesome tent, I was able to set up dry as Barbie on her sunning deck. I was a happy camper....at this point in the day.

It looked great. I love the whole look. I have to pat myself on the back for the booth magic, it is there to be had for sure! I know where I need to add inventory though for Norcross Arts Fest in two weeks, and that's mainly paintings. Where are they all I thought? So I'll be painting the next week since nothing else sold....man bummer.

Doesn't look like it was monsooning does it? Well it was. If you'd thrown me a bar of soap I could have lathered up real nice. At one point my trusty helper Mom and I looked down and our feet were under water.

Oh these little treats were so ready to go home with happy owners today.

Well, tomorrow is another day. And according to the weather man it will be much like today. Well sugar. I packed all my inventory up into my car for fear of it totally wilting and warping. I've made an executive decision that if it is raining in the am I will go and sit in my car behind the tent for one hour. And then call it quits if I can't get out of the car without getting wet to the bones. Hey, I just can not risk loosing the hundreds of dollars in art, frames, jewelry, etc.......especially with two weeks until Norcross. So, lessons learned, and I'll be fine. Just very disappointed right now. sigh......

I have to give a big shout out to my Mom who hung out with me all day and ate foot long corn dogs, iced cookies and drank lots of Starbucks with me. It was nice to do nothing.....since I rarely EVER do that. So I guess not all was lost. And I met some really cool girls beside me. And since we were all little wet doggies set out in the rain together it made it fun. Oh and kudos to Ashley the director of the show for keeping her little head on without pinching someone else's off in the meantime. She was wet to the very core of her being, running here and there. Trying to help those who had rivers running through their tents, and practically blaming her for the rain. Yeah, like she wanted it to be like that. Ha. She was such a trouper I tell ya!! Well, I'm off to dreamland now. I am sure visions of water will be prominent in my dreams tonight!

PS I think I am no longer going to paint umbrellas. I think they brought some of the bad luck today.

We Found Love in the Rain

Here's a peek at some of the work I've had on my desk the past couple of days. We Found Love in the Rain is a collage piece on canvas. I combined my new layering paint techniques with favorite papers and stamping. It has been seriously dry the past month here in Georgia. So dry, that our Bermuda grass feels like toothpicks under your toes! Yesterday while painting this I was dreaming of rain and how lovely it sounds on the windows outside of my studio. And how sweet it really is to share an umbrella with someone you love. Then today it rained! So maybe I'll go paint up another rainy scene to get it to rain again tomorrow. hehehe....