Ever Feel Powerless?

As I was creating this journal page I realized the reason these images called to me was because they spoke to the feeling of powerlessness I get on occasion.  It's a feeling you get when you wish you could change something in your life but there is nothing you can do. 

One example:  My baby girl, who is no longer a baby, got married last year and moved to NM.  I miss her more every day but there isn't anything I can say to make her want to move back to California. She has a wonderful husband, a great job and she just bought a new home.  I understand why she moved there and yet I hate that she is so far away. It doesn't help that the cost to fly to NM is skyrocketing. My plan to fly there every few months to see her is not looking all that feasible anymore.  I'm very thankful that we are closer than ever before and that I have the opportunity to speak to her by phone at least 4 times a week.

 

It's official

It's official.  I sold my first piece of art. When I received the email asking if the piece was for sale my mouth dropped open. I never expected to sell one of my pieces. I wasn't making them to sell and therefore it wasn't even listed as being for sale. But the buyer said she was interested and wanted to know how much I wanted for it. 

Of great, I never even considered that I'd sell my work but now I had to come up with a price?  How do I do that? It's not like you can charge by the hour, and who kept count any way?  Somehow I came up with a price and she still said yes. 

Wow, I sold my first piece.  Picture me jumping up and down at being validated as an artist. Here's the piece:

Fly little birdie, to your new home, fly. And thanks Haley!

I've been busy

So you want to know what I've been up to? Silly question because if you're reading this blog it's to know what I've been working on recently. First up:  Not long ago I joined an Altered Switch Plate Swap at http://www.atcsforall.com/ and made these for the swap:

What do you think?  I like all of them but the flowers are my favorite.  I'm curious to see what I get back in return.

My Guy and I also decided to throw a dinner party for 8 of our closest friends and that happened last night.  The party, wine and food were a great success. How could it not be, they are all wonderful people.  Oh and I want to thank Linda and Mike for bringing us 6 bottles of their home made wine.  We've yet to taste it because we had so many other bottles already open. But I can't wait to try it.

So you are wondering how does this party relate to my art? Well, for about a year now I have been planning to create a mosaic table using a very complex design (for a mosaic newbie, that is) and I'd been procrastinating because, as usual, I was unsure of my abilities to handle the design. However, wanting it to be finished by party time necessitated that I simplify the design greatly to something that I could finish by Friday evening. It wasn't the design that I originally worked on, but both My guy and I love it.

My Guy thinks I work great under pressure; I guess I do.  He didn't think I get it done on time considering when I actually started cutting the tiles (with a ring saw).  But finish I did.. mostly... it was finished enough to serve dinner on. I'll tell you, I felt a sense of accomplishment.  Here is a picture of it:

What else have I been up to? This isn't art related but it is fun to eat the results. Yes, I've been tending my vegetable garden.  Green peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and lemons. (Nothing on the lime tree yet.) Anybody have a to-die-for eggplant recipe?  if so, please, please post it in the comments section.

OK the last picture isn't from the vegetable garden but I'm proud of it just the same. They are my unripe lemons from a lemon tree I've had for several years.  Why am I proud? I've finally remembered to water it on a regular enough basis that it is actually growing lemons this year. :)

Thanks for reading. What has your week been like?

Name That Tune

These ATCs were made for an ATC Swap, at http://www.atcsforall.com/, called Name That Tune.

 

Sharp Dressed Man:	I Got You Babe
Hush Lil Baby	I Love You Truly

 

Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.....~quote by Charlie Parker ~

Black And White ATCs

I created these for a swap Black And White swap at http://www.atcsforall.com/   but they weren't the one that were sent off to new homes after all.  I chose others to fly. I should have taken a picture of them but alas I forgot. They really were much better.

 

White ... is not a mere absence of color;
it is a shining and affirmative thing,
as fierce as red,
as definite as black....

By: Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)

ATC's Traded

These are my newest ATCs created for trading at http://www.atcsforall.com/ .

The theme was image transfer. I used packing tape as the transfer method.

Be as a Bird

Be as a bird perched on a frail branch,
that she feels bending beneath her,
Still she sings all the same
knowing she has wings.     ....by Victor Hugo

This is a mixed media collage on a canvas panel. Size is 5 X 7. Bird is a photo on a cloth background fabric and rubber stamped leaves. Stamp was carved by moi (me).  Sheet music is from scrapbook paper.

I love that quote, and I wish I could be as a bird with my art. 

Sunflowers in Woodland

Ever since we moved to our new home, I've been fascinated by the fields upon fields of sunflowers that are grown in our area.  Here are some photos I shot during a drive along the country roads near my home.

 

                              

Fever

Here is an journal page inspired by the week I was sick. Other than this I haven't been inspired by much. I think I'm procrastinating because I want to paint a portrait of my daughter but I'm afraid I'll do a horrible job. So I don't do anything at all. I hate that about myself.


Fever
Originally uploaded by LittleBit-ATCs

Catalog Girl

Here's a my practice piece, a portrait painting with acrylics.  It's a page done week before last, before I got sick. 

I'm just learning to paint portraits with acrylics and I never realized how hard it would be to paint the shadows and various tones of the face. I've painted flowers before and it wasn't this hard.  I'm such an impatient person, and having to paint over several days is tough.  I should probably take a class but I'm more of a self taught person. (Hey I need an excuse for why it doesn't work.) I was thinking I should probably post a copy of the photo I was painting from but I'm not sure I want you to see how really bad my painting is.  What do you think? Should I? 

Last week was a waste as far as anything, including art, was concerned.  I was sick, sick, sick with 102 fever and the flu, I guess. Not sure exactly what it was that made me so sick that it had to be burned out of my body and had to take a whole week to do it.   All I wanted to do was sleep.  UGH...I hate sleeping, especially sleeping during the day.    Thanks goodness that's over. 

That's all for today, thanks for reading.