Update.

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Photo taken at class on 3-22-11... ALMOST THERE!
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The eggs are not done yet, and there's an area of nest by the far-right egg that needs detailing.
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And, this canvas has been around for so long, I'll have to touch up some worn spots in the background (not a major deal).
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I'm estimating a month, maybe... and I have ideas for the next subject already under way!

lost in the sticks... ;)
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Art Show Time!

Once every two years, our art studio has a Student Art Show - and this is the weekend! The studio holds us to "real" art show rules, brings in an outside judge, and basically helps prepare us for showing our work in the wide world. There is champagne for all, and tables full of appetizer and dessert-type nibbles brought by the students. (There's a competition for best in each category for the food - so we bring out our best!) We all pitch in to clean the studio, accept the entries, hang the show, and play host/hostess during the event. After the show we all head to a restaurant for the Awards Dinner, where the ribbon winners receive praise, adulation, and prizes.

So, today the studio was busy and buzzing, with everyone talking about final preparations. We're each allowed to enter two canvases, designated either "original" or "copy". Since I paint so slowly, I have only one entry this year - the goldfinch that I've previously posted in this blog.

To keep our "in-progress" canvases safe, the studio requires us to bring them home till after the show. So, I thought I'd post a pic of the progress on the daggone Blue Eggs In A Nest that I've been living with every Wednesday for a year and a half...



GETTING THERE... one stick at a time.

It's all an Illusion!

Some time ago, a good friend asked me to make her an Illusion necklace... I'd never tried one before, so I agreed to see what I could do. After a few starts-and-stops and much head scratching, here's what I came up with:
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Five strands of freshwater pearls in various sizes, with sterling silver crimps and findings. The ends are finished with 1/2" sterling bead cones, a lobster-claw style clasp on one side and a short length of chain on the other to allow for a little adjustment in size.





















All in all, I'm very pleased with how it's turned out. I've learned a few things that I'll carry over to the next one!

Okay... pictures done, and blog post made. Time to ship it! :D
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Gearing Up - here we go...

Craft Show Season is just around the corner... less than a month to go! I've got myself a brutal November shaping up this year, with a bunch of two- and three-day shows booked already.

SO! It's past time to get crackin - got the first batch of Cinnamon Ornaments in the oven this very moment.



Raw materials and equipment - ready, set, GO!!
One pound of cinnamon, one 25-ounce jar of applesauce... some extra cinnamon for dusting the countertop...







Concentrating on gingerbread boy and girl shapes today... these little ones will eventually get pin backs and be pins.






annnnnnnnd.... Ready for the oven! After they dry in there for several hours (turning over twice), I'll let them air dry for a day or so, then smooth the edges with a pocketknife. After that, I'll paint them to look as though they've been iced, and add a ribbon and jingle bells.




But for now.... WOW does the house smell GOOD! All spicy and warm and cinnamon-y, with rain coming down outside. It may still be hot out, but this is the first of that autumn "Snug" feeling for me. Time for a cup of tea and a curlup on the sofa. :)
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This is the art studio where I spend my Wednesday mornings... It's a bright, lovely place with about 25 other painters. Music on the boom box, coffee ready in the snack room, and always some yummy Bath and Body Works soap in the bathroom. We paint and chat about family, friends, and events in our lives - or concentrate quietly and let the rest of the world just fade into the background.
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My easel is the one up against the window, with the small canvas on it.

I started painting in January of 2007, after my sister talked me into taking classes with her. She's a brilliant painter and actually teaches at the studio now, one day a week.

Current work-in-progress, but progressing at the speed of the average glacier... this is my fourth canvas, begun in March 2009. I took this picture in January 2010, and I've come only a little further since then. I've enjoyed it, but am beginning to get frustrated. Ready to do SOMETHING ELSE.

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My third canvas, painted from a photograph taken by Nashville resident Donnie Beauchamp...

Finished in March 2009, and the original lives at my Dad's house.

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This October, the studio will be hosting its semi-annual Student Art Show. I've participated in two so far, and it's an incredible amount of fun! The goldfinch will be this year's entry - I've tentatively entered the Nest With Blue Eggs, but really don't think I'll have it finished/varnished/framed in time. We'll see!

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Fresh start.

I've spent over a year at home now, mostly working around the house and going to art classes and church. The first part of that year was spent in a state of being somewhat numb, mourning the loss of our little Mom and just sort of floating through the days.

Then, in December, a bolt of lightning struck - FlyLady.net, the home organizational website I subscribe to, instituted a chatroom. Having never experienced a chatroom before, I thought "what the heck!" and clicked right on in.

Long story short: Wonderful women from all around the globe also found their way into the room, and all of a sudden I was in the middle of a group of caring friends. They helped me make it through Christmas without Mom... and six months ago today, the Moderator asked me and another good friend if we would consider being volunteer Moderators ourselves. We both agreed, and spent six months of the most intense emotional work I've ever experienced. Rewarding, absolutely. Frustrating, depressing, stressful, addictive - all of those, too. Gone was the solitude I'd been craving - and gone also was any thought of creating ANYthing. Instead, I spent long, long hours at the screen with my co-Moderators, trying to motivate, energize, run interference, enforce rules, calm ruffled feelings, and eject troublemakers. Looking at the past six months, I can count on one hand the number of days I haven't been in that room.

Not. Healthy. I hit burnout Big Time, and knew I needed a solution.

Several days ago, I picked up my copy of The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart by Julia Cameron. I had found the book years ago on a bargain table somewhere, and thought it would be a neat thing to read. Never did - until now. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I read one paragraph and realized that this was exactly what I need at this point in my world.

Three days ago I made the "official" start - writing three "Morning Pages" each day when I got up. Yesterday I began consciously making time for Work during the day. It's amazing the difference in how I feel . Instead of feeling sucked dry, I already feel alive, excited, open-eyed, and ready to step out and grab something new.

I left my old job because I need to work for myself, and WITH myself. Negativity, gossip, critical thinking, complaining and whining are poisons that I seem to be increasingly sensitive to - and those things seem to multiply with the number of human beings in a workplace - or a chatroom. Positivity Promotes Productivity. And I intend to be just as Productive - by MY definition of the word - as I humanly can.

Jewelry

Making jewelry has always been a sideline business for me... more for fun than for any profit. Usually I work in sterling silver, gemstones, and Swarovski crystal, making simple earrings and maybe a few strung bracelets.
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Recently, a picture of a piece similar to this one caught my eye in a catalog. I used 14k gold-filled chain and findings, with Swarovski Crystal Pearls and crystals. All the beads are attached by wrapping the headpins - a lot of work, but they won't be coming loose! The bracelet weighs in at a hefty 1.9 oz.

I made this one for my sister's birthday, but you can bet there's a second one in the works for ME... and maybe some earrings for both of us! The photo makes the colors a little darker than in real life - it's shades of cream, gold, taupe, and copper, with "Vintage Rose" crystals to accent. I'm still deciding whether to make any for sale, since it's a higher-ticket item than my usual. But the process in making it was so satisfying... and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. :)