farewell, 2012

on this post, no picture.

bye, 2012.

2013...you and me, well we've got a date tomorrow. we are new to each other and to the other we are both shiny. honeymoon phase. let's rock this time we have together and keep the love flowing.

to celebrate your arrival, i am starting a new photo a day. this time with my iphone. wherever i go, so do you. let's spy cool things together. let's make cool things together. let's experience cool things together.

and please, please, please be kinder to me than your predecessor! or i will kick your ass! just sayin'.

goodnight, november

 

lately, i have been feeling like my eyes have seen the same thing far too many times. there are days that just feel like missed opportunity to see something new. to experience something new. 

and then, without going anywhere new, i am reminded that each moment is new. each moment is a different experience. 

 stay awake. 

when the soul needs a rest

what are you looking at?

the face in my 

mocha coffee 

appears rather surly.

as if the heat wasn't enough...

was there some concern that the heat wouldn't drive us all mad?

i had a crazy dream...

i had a wild dream this week. a wild, beautiful dream.

with all the usual oddities about time and place and who is who of the dream world, i dreamt that i was part of a spectacular renovation of maybe a downtown adjacent group of space.

i only wish that i could describe what was done in these spaces. innovative, creative, striking, liveable, simply gorgeous spaces.

there was an eclectic, stylish to her bones black woman who oversaw the first project. she had a vision of what she wanted but not down to the particulars. she brought in different people to take charge of different rooms. one designer did an amazing job. the lighting was magical. illuminating but soft and transcendent. like being in the glow of a giant firefly. the space was three open stories and there were some pretty fabulous dividers. as the tour went through showing us what was done, the dividers in the three story space were retracted showing a completely different and truly amazing space. a totally new flow and incredibly inventive space. i was brought to tears by the sheer beauty and creativity that went into the room. 

another space was a mosaic of natural water features and plants and sitting areas that were organically incorporated into this space. i thought how creative these waterfalls and moss beds and things, again, i can't even explain here, were.  stunning. 


after this, i was told that i would be in charge of the next group of spaces. i panicked internally. i couldn't produce something that could come close to the sheer genius of the first group. 


then a little voice in my head said 'you don't have to know what to do. you don't have to be as creative as these people. it's a collaboration. find the right people.' and i felt better. and more empowered. someone said i would make a gm.


i often have dreams that are delivering me messages. often i will wake with a phrase from a song that is running over and over again, telling me something that i need to hear. 


so upon awaking from this dream, i thought, 'oh, i get it. i don't have to know everything. i just have to pull the right people together who can create all these things that i could never think of.'


pause.


and then i realized that it was ME who created all of the things in the dream that brought me to tears. it was me.

more to come this week but this is a great contest

 

 this place has great online classes. one in particular that i loved was lori vliegen's lettering class. check out this cool giveaway!

my girl comes of age

i love my car. love it like mad. she has come of age now. we still have a long time to travel new and old roads together. to celebrate, the universe gave the gift of a single mimosa bloom. such a gift as there are no mimosas around here! a little pink firework captured in time.

uncommon garden gala

i am grateful for the creativity and vision of some people. not everyone turns their backyard into a garden of delight. nor do they open it to the public once a year to support the arts. thank you, dan, thank you. you are a visionary and a light.

built stone by stone, he breathes fire as night falls.

her fire was as the siren's song

my first and i am totally in love

i have waited, not patiently, to see my first bear in the wild. i have waited for a long time. stomping my mental foot when i see people in LA having a bear sighting. passing all the bear crossing signs where, by the way, i have NEVER seen a bear crossing. or even loitering.
but this week, up in the smoky mountains, i saw her. or him. at close range. i am so grateful and will forever love this bear. thank you, little bear baby, for coming to meet me! big bear hugs!

looking right at me!!!!!!!

mom loves a party

my mom always loved a party. recently, one of my brothers-in-law turned 50. a bunch of people gathered to celebrate and as i looked out the kitchen window, i was reminded that my mom wouldn't miss it for the world. plain and simple. love.

springtime spotlight

this little pencil went to work

saw these fun sandals in a catalog. 

the inktense pencil sans water. i love using the sakura micron pens for outlines as they are waterproof and don't care if i paint all over them. without the water, it's all pencil-y.

add water and they come alive.

a serious love

oh, derwent inktense pencils, how i love thee. let me count the ways.

1. i love you because you are a tease, appearing all demure and then coming on like mae west.

2. with the encouragement of a smidge of water, you like to be pushed around. 

3. once dried, you WILL NOT rewet no matter how i try. you have chutzpa! 

4. your resist outliner is so clever...graphite that doesn't smear, even if you want it to!

5. you are intense...oh, i get it...inkTENSE. clever you. ink instead of watercolors. 

6. there are 72 of you! and each of you lives with me and fits in my great milk mustache maker cup!

7. you are a light packer when we hit the road...a water brush, some paper and a few colors and we are outta here. 

8. you are purdy! smooches. 

art every day...to the swap we go

these are reversible charms {elliements} that i made for a charm swap coming up at ornamentea. my first charm swap (which i have repeatedly called a charm swamp). hope they like them. can't wait to see what i get in return!

art every day....yeah, yeah, yeah

okay, i know that i am only close to a month behind in posting. i have, however, created every day. today i made something for a couple who is getting ready to marry. i am purely delighted with this. they stand only about 2.75" tall. handmade from clay and their little stems are fine copper tubing. this is not a great photo...just doesn't show the wonderful color or texture because there was little natural light. and they are sealed yet. the little speck on mr is one of the tiny metallic flakes in the clay. the mr photo shows the pear-ly color goodness. so darling. get it? they make a perfect pair!? hope they like them!

art every day...a touching reminder

i love to create. 

i really do. but it can get a little lonely sometimes. when i am in the process, there really isn't much else i am aware of. but when i am done and i am doing the other stuff...photographing, describing, measuring, listing, sending things out into the world, it can be a solitary process. 

this morning i received notice that a pair of earrings in my shop had sold. yay! i do love sales!

but this one will stay with me, i imagine, for a really long time. this note was attached to the sale...

"My father's name was Ellie (Ellis) and sadly, he passed away last week at 93. He loved birds. I will give these charming earrings to a family member. Thank you." 

my heart goes out to this thoughtful person and their family. i understand only too well how hard it is to lose a parent. and yet this note filled me with gratitude...that this man was loved so much that he will be missed and that his child chose something created by my hands as a positive reminder of someone important.  

if i ever forget that my work matters to someone, i can think of this note. 

i know that i will think of this man when i see birds, as i do with my mom when i see clouds.

art every day...falling deeper in love

did i mention yet how much i am loving this new camera? still haven't learned how to use it...i will get to it eventually. this was a shot from just after nightfall and the moon was laying there all come hither like. who could blame a girl? 

today i am grateful for my eyesight and ability to more fully experience nature.

art every day...red dog, blue dog

today i am grateful for my pups (who don't look anything like these) and their always ready love.

art every day...a blond, a redhead and a brunette

today i am grateful for the how much fun it is to find my style!

art every day...life finds a way

today i am grateful for the fact that 'life finds a way'.

art every day...THE BIG LAUNCH!

today i am grateful for people who don't just dream...they do!

i made this fine silver pendant to celebrate the big launch of the new company name, logo (can you guess what it is?) and website of a wonderful friend and 

FABULOUS coach, author and speaker, 

Mary T. Scott!  

check it out...MaryTScott.com

 

art every day...gray clouds

today i am grateful for a sunny outlook and a warm home.

i think that i will have to scan these little paintings as photographing them at night doesn't seem too effective.

art every day...bluebird and sunflower

today i am grateful for raining saturdays.

art every day...friday night lights

today i am grateful for the way lights melt across wet, night time streets. sigh!

art every day...top to bottom

today i am grateful for our library and that they have a book that i really, really wanted to read!

art every day...my new zoom!

today i am really grateful for the optical zoom on my camera because i would never have been able to see this beautiful bird as more than just a little black spot! i am also grateful for red lights so i had time to snap this photo!

art every day...wired

today i am grateful for the awareness of being high strung and knowing that it is in my power to change that feeling.

art every day... the ebelskiver learning curve

today i am grateful for the yumminess that is ebelskivers and for the willingness to make them badly so that that i could learn to make them well.

art every day...something's fishy

today i am grateful for the ability to shop at great local shops like ornamentea and great online shops all over the world. i love how connected we are.