A Very Good Day

Hey guys!  I just HAD to pop in tonight to share a few things.   It's been one of those pay it forward happy days.  Seriously.  Where to start....where to start.   Yesterday my Dad called and asked if I was going to be headed to Scott's Flea Market today because he was thinking of driving over for the day.  I blogged about Scott's last month remember?  Last month I spent serious money on some amazing finds.  This month I had a little stash of cash and a mind set to NOT come home with anything that took up floor space.  Nope. (although it was painfully hard not to come home with a few finds!!)  So here are my two favorite finds:

 A pink velvet pillow with tulle fringe and a dainty vintage Girl Scout pin attached (cost:  $5.00).  Mailey Grace LOVED it!! 

And then......last month I found a guy selling hand carved metal jewelry stamp thingys.  Yes, I thought I'd died and gone to jewelry making heaven.  I poured over the trays and trays and bought 4, including a beautiful bird one.  Unfortunately they did not stamp into the metal like I thought they would.  Darn.  I think I can embed the images into PMC clay though, so not a total loss.  Today I found the one above!  LOVE.  Big puffy heart LOVE.  And yes, the PMC clay and I are going to become new friends asap.   Because Jeep and I have a little love relationship.  Like I love it kind of relationship.  (cost:  $30)

After a wonderful day of flea market exploring with my Dad (which was so nice) I came home to find a little box sitting at my doorstep.  Huh.  Who is this from?  I opened it up to find the sweetest little assortment of artsy goodness and note that made me cry happy tears from a BLOG reader!!!  So sweet Alicia...you have helped make my week that was a not so good into a very good one indeed.  Like the icing on a yummy cupcake kind of day!!  Your kind words, lovely bookmarks and pincusion I will treasure forever.  And I can not thank you enough for taking the time to send your kindness to me at a time when I needed it so. 

So right now.... I'm sending all of you a ginormous hug....feel it?  oooooweeee...what a day.  Yep.  Things are looking up in this house and that new horizon I've been painting is finally peeking up from the canvas.  Yep.

Balance

"life is a balance of holding on and letting go"  rumi

So this is what keeps me balanced right now.  I suppose it always has.  Yesterday I let go of one dark cloud, and am mustering the strength to let go of another.  But as Rumi said so wisely, life is about letting go and holding on.  It's just figuring out what to let go of that's hard.  And since I am SO not a quitter, letting go is the hardest part.  Sometimes I realize to late that what I have stepped into is really not good for my life.  You ever get like that?  I think letting go feels alot like a failure, that you are saying "I can't do that".   But I can't do it all, nor is it healthy too.  So this week, our last week of summer, I am going to focus on being a mother and open an old door that needs revisiting. It's time to stop opening new doors for awhile and focus on the ones I already have.

Good Things Do Happen

I truly believe that good things happen to people each and everyday. Even on the worst of days, something good has happened, you may simply have overlooked it because bad things tend to make more noise. Sure, it's easier to dwell on the bad, but seriously, the good you have in your life is a much greater influence. Try and focus on one thing a day that is truly good, something to be thankful for. Write it down on a sticky note and attach it to your steering wheel, bathroom mirror, just somewhere as a gentle reminder. You'll find that as days go by, you'll start adding to the list, or noticing a pattern. Sometimes as a family we sit around the dinner table and say our high and low points of the day. I want my children to recognize as well that life has plenty of uck, but it has plenty of wonderful. And again, seeing patterns as to what gives you joy and pain is good to understand. Somerset magazines has started a publication about this subject, life. Living life, and seeing the good there is to be had when you open your heart and mind up to it. Simple things are featured in this issue, like taking a bath outside. Hey, I've used outdoor showers at the beach and seriously it is a very good thing. So this week has been one of those weeks where good and happy things are seeping from my pores, and it's only Tuesday. I find that really BIG good things, well they tend to travel in 3's. And I'd like to share those with you. So here are my 3 for this week.....ooooo...weeeeee....it's a good one!

1. I got to meet Kelly Rae Roberts at the Demdaco showroom. You'd have thought I was meeting the President I was so excited and flushed. Okay, well not the best example for me....maybe the last president. Anyhoo..... 2. I met a lovely lady named Anne. I don't want to jinx anything. But let's just say that was a really good, good. 3. At Barnes and Noble yesterday the new Somerset Life Magazine was on the shelves. And in it was my newest article. sigh...

My son William while checking out was beaming.....he kept saying to the check out clerk, "My Mommy is in that magazine." She did not hear him though because she was too busy trying to sell me on that darn club thingy that's $25. Finally I stopped her and said, he's trying to tell you something. Then she oooed and ahhhhed over the article. And yes, I was happy, but man William was beaming! You see, this article was all about the two with me, Mailey and William, complete with super pics of them. Which he thought was way cool. I hope you'll pick the magazine up soon. In it are many thoughtful articles on living a life that includes being silly sometimes. There were articles by many people I recognized, which always gives me tummy butterflies. I noted one from the Swirly Girl and Kelly Rae. Both of which are represented by Demdaco too. Small world. Well, doors are opening here in this studio and I am excited about the potential that lies ahead. I hope that you see some GOOD today in your life too and aren't afraid to share it.

Sometimes It's Nice to Go Back To What You Know

Have you ever followed an artist long enough to see transition in their creative process? Take Picasso for instance...the Blue Period, Rose Period, Cubism, those were major transitions in style. I have definitely gone through some periods, or stages in my creative process as well. From fairies, pears, houses, flowers with bold backgrounds, simple landscapes, Mattie birds, campers, texture series, bikes, collages, they are all a part of my journey. And then Friday I went whoaaaaaa. Jenni, seriously. What is it that you enjoy painting, what gives you that man I love the way that turned out so I am not going to sell it feeling? And I went to my den and looked at this:This is entitled Morning Rest. I believe it was painted about 3 years ago, before I smarted up and actually signed and dated my work. There is something in this painting that I love. I remember painting it on my kitchen table one night. And when finished I was like, okay, I am an artist. And have never let it go.

So last night I took what I started in Morning Rest and added my newer techniques of texture and collage. It's much prettier in person.....the lighting on a drab day is hard with larger paintings.

I am in total love with Amy Butler's scrapbook papers. They have the feel I try to evoke in my paintings. It adds such unique dimension when you add paper to your canvas. Just love it.

I also added dimension through the carving into the medium and filling of the lines with encaustic oil sticks. I've got a busy rest of the weekend with baseball tournaments and football games, but Monday I have several compositions ready in the sketchbook to go along with this new phase of my creative journey. It felt so good to be back the the brush.

She's Always By My Side

This is dear Ellie. One of the four cats running a-muck in our home. I truly believe in a prior life she was an artist. She's ALWAYS on my art desk. And if she's not here, she's resting on a new canvas painting laying to dry on the kitchen table. Her girth makes a hammock effect in the canvas. Which although it makes my head spin, I have to giggle too. There's always cat hair in my paint, in the palette, on the computer keyboard, on the edges of my collage paper, tickling the brushes and of course all over the floor my feet rest. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. When the rest of the house sleeps away(like right now), she hangs with me. And talks, and pushes things around. So if you receive a felted bird or painting some extra fiber, consider it good luck. She seems to bring the best luck to my little art world. (A day later I see in this photo she's got her paw on Uncle Sam and I am pretty sure she's on top of Lady Liberty. hehehe At least she didn't eat them.)..

"It's Raining, It's Pouring"...

Here's a new happy painting in the Mattie and her friends series. Are you singing along now? It's stuck in my head too! This painting is available for purchase in a new gallery for me. It's called Dogwood Gallery. It's located in Tyrone behind the Legacy Theater. I'm also teaching adult painting there on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30 if you'd like to join me!

Marist Holiday Traditions

I've been very behind on my blogging posts lately. The days seem to be getting shorter! I've also been a busy artist bee getting ready for the Marist show which was last weekend. I'd been told it was "the" show to be chosen to participate. And it was a HUGE show. But I think I'll keep my comments to a minimum about it being the "it" show. First, I found very quickly that it was more of a craft show, not an art show like Norcross. Ladies came out in droves for this event. And they were buying, and buying......magnet boards that is. So, a lesson learned and nothing lost only gained. I would participate again should I be asked. And this time I'll be better prepared and have my booth arranged a bit different. Thanks Mom for staying with me all day Saturday and for the yummy pimento cheese sandwiches! I had plenty of stock for this show. Magnets, prints, pendants, new glass ornaments, original works of art, felties and more. Since I've got a show every weekend in November, I planned ahead with the stock and am ready to go!

Here's a view from the aisle. We had exactly 9'x9' in which to sell from.

Inside my table was brimming with goodies. I was very proud of the display and can't wait for the Gifted Flea event this weekend!

A Little Vacation!

The kids and I headed off to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a spell this week. I had asked the kids a couple of weeks ago what was one thing they wish we'd done this summer we had not gotten to yet. They both looked at each other turned back and said "THE BEACH!" Billy started a new job this summer which did not allow for a family vacation, bummer. So when my sister Molly called me to come hang with her, I packed the car and we went!
Oh, we love to play in the white sandy beaches here.
My little surfer girl!

Here's Mattie in the sand. She was so cute until about 5 seconds after this picture when the tide came and swept her away. We have always enjoyed making sand sculptures at the gulf. There is always an artist in me yes, but the sand is so fine and powdery, it's very hard to make a castle. So we made Mattie, a fish, and a panda. It was fun. It was too short a trip. I want to go back!