Some more artwork--

This, like Wile E. Coyote, is gouache resistance. It is not easy to control. The postage stamps are of a lighthouse and a luxury boat. My friend who got this liked it and framed it in her office. Her address went at the bottom of the card. My message went on the back.

To me the stamps are often as important as the message. This lady is an employee trainer who works with hard-to-place clients. My message was along the lines of, "I made this and thought of you!" She has often said that in her job she is a lighthouse bring people's ships in. She also loves luxury (her husband has a gorgeous boat) and the sleek boat is a tribute to that!

My favorite medium for my art is envelops and post cards. I don't like making cards so much because I like the element of surprise with the post office-- hand canceling my work, they become part of the artwork and make it more alive. On Wile E., I needed extra postage and I explained to the clerk my theory on art. I gave her the money and told her to choose a stamp and put it on. She laughed so hard at me getting excited, "See? Now it is alive!"

Some artwork-- finally!

I turned these into things to mail. When you make an envelope go the long way, it becomes a flat and costs .83 to mail. This does not bother me-- I over spend on stamps all the time because I use them like stickers!

Wile E. Coyote went to a friend who is nuts about him-- I put his address in the sign he is holding. I of course would put more stamps on this.

The lady in the green blazer is me. My sons saw it and said, "She looks just like you" and confirmed what I thought. A close up of her is in my picture in my profile.

Sucked into Anime

I will be posting some of my artwork tonight.

I just drew myself in anime but I don't know what my superpower will be. I had to draw the kids. And the dog. And the cats and all my friends. My kids like it and I thought it was cool. Now I'm obsessed. I'll just show my own pic for now and some other works that I have turned into post cards with gouache resistance. I'm getting used to drawing with colored pencils-- I never used them as I didn't knwo how to blend them. I'm just learning the medium.

This is a Donny Osmond song, believe it or not. I think that Donny is a stallion even though I was too young to appreciate him during his heyday. I like this anime version.

Mother's Day!

It is Mother's Day

my mom won't see this blog but I've made her a pretty card for the day. . .

My mom has always looked like a million dollars. The first time my husband saw her, she was in a red dress and looked like Jessica Rabbit and he said he decided to marry me then. I thought that she was a movie star until she took me to her work where she was a commercial insurance broker. The image was shattered until she explained to me what it meant to insure businesses. Then I decided that she was like Florence Nightingale of businesses and I was proud of her. She had better taste than anyone I knew, dressed to the nines all the time and was classy. One day we went to a really swanky restaurant for lunch-- I think that I'd had an eye doctor appointment-- and the waitress was rude to us and everyone else. My mom left a double tip and complimented the maitre d' in front of her and told him how she brightened up the room with her presence. The waitress' face lit up and later my mom went back and that told her how her life had been falling apart that day and how she had been afraid that she'd loose her job but found the ability to smile after my mom's compliment. (It wasn't that she was rude-- she was sad!) My mom was NOT understanding at home, but I appreciate how good she was to people. She had money and lots of it and she helped other women out all the time in small ways.

My mom used to take me figure skating at 4:30 every morning in spire of working 12-16 hour days for her clients. It wore her out and I was too oblivious to know. I pay her back by taking her granddaughters and grandsons to their own early morning practices.

She had a disdain for my teachers. I thought she was a snob until fairly recently when I told her that the kids' teachers seem to want me in volunteering all the time when she told me about how my teachers always asked her to come in and volunteer. She was overwhelmed with her own life, oversaw her own employees as well as he own book of business and they rebuffed her over not wanting to come in.

My mom was an artist-- I remember her scribbling one day and seeing it and I saved it for years. It was of tree branches and a sunset. She is going back to that. Sadly but good for her-- since my dad died, she doesn't have to babysit him and his horses. She is dating someone who inspires her and knows when to leave her alone. She is now encouraging me and putting me in touch with a few artist friends and we are exchanging ideas. We like each other now.

I like how my mom has aged. She sent me a pic of her in tight jeans, leather jacket and a bobbed hair do. I sent it to my husband and he said, "When did you do this and not tell me?" She still looks like she is 40 or younger. I have been blessed with her genetic make-up.

School is almost out!

I have no idea what I will do with my children for the summer! Eek! We'd hoped to take them to a town a few hundred miles away from where we live so they can see the ocean, but the gas prices are killing us and even driving into the City is steep. I have a friend in England who has seldom left her city and I couldn't BELIEVE it but now. . . I can believe it!

My husband is wanting to buy them some art supplies and have me let them work on art each day and do some school work. It's not about enjoying a break for them but sanity for me.

I get to plant flowers around the icons at my church. Things die that I plant but the priest's wife just laughed and said my hands are blessed this year. She usually does this and loves the job and it's not like she has a shortage of volunteers. I think she wants me more involved. I'm actually liking it. I'll probably plant what does well in our area. I'd thought about doing a Marian Garden in the catholic tradition, but I get snapped at about not being Catholic by a deacon when I do anything that reminds him of Catholics. (I was raised Lutheran which is close to Catholic and you can't get it out of me!)

There is a sidewalk art competition coming up in July-- I am getting a composition ready for that. I can't wait to start massage school. We have five athletic teams right now playing t-ball, base and soft ball. College is over but I am already worn out with my so-called break!

My operation is on hold-- I have a bad infection in my foot and they are giving me antibiotics for it. I've had it for several months and thought it would go away when I had strep, but alas it hung around.

I have 15 credits left if I don't minor in art. Last semester full time was too much. I am dropping down to a writing internship and an online class-- both to be done from home and locally. The last three classes are going to be a headache as they will be in the spring and it's costly to get to the classes with how high the prices are now.

The prices are fun-- they have become a challenge to the kids and I. Even in the best of times my husband and I have had to struggle and that's not bad. What's funny is that I realized that I spend about $120 or more each year on Dreft laundry detergent (it's good for people with allergies) so I have started making my own and it works well. I also make my own dishwasher detergent which I spend even more on each year. I did not know that I could make my own. In the back yard we have a laundry line and clothes get dry faster than they do in the dryer even in my cool weather! I spend about $250 a year (combined) on laundry and dishwasher detergent and I have just spent about $50 on a years' supply for both. Making them is not hard.

The boys are learning to bake brownies and cookies and the other stuff that the girls seem born knowing how to make as they hang with me. My 12 year old was proud of her 8 year old brother for making some really good brownies and had me sample both of them and ask which was better-- I'd not say but agreed that they were both delicious. He was proud of himself. They are helping me bake bread every night. They have also agreed to help me with a vegetable garden. Forced economy can be fun if you are able to respond to it well.

Mother's Day is this weekend. My church doesn't get into it, but I wish I had money to take my children out like I send my mother flowers on my birthday. I may complain, but they are all great kids. They just got home from school and gave me presents-- the best kind that get lost normally. This year I have a box to put the presents in. They are hand printed butterflies and hand print birds and flowers. I will make a nice lunch on Saturday night and we will go on a hike on Sunday.

I've changed my music to Willie Nelson-- You were Always on My Mind and Toby Keith with Willie in Whiskey for my Men. I grew up listening to Willie-- I hated him. I was raised to hate marijuana smoke and the lifestyle, yet there my parents were, listening to him and Johny Cash and other country music. They'd play him and many other country musicians at night. This time of the year with the windows open, you could smell faint aromas of horse manure, hay and clover and maybe, if the wind was just right, the tractor. My parents would have drinks and the house had a party atmosphere. They'd have friends over and there'd usually be drinking but nothing bad and laughter filling the house. After the age of 14, I'd have often made the dinner for everyone and helped serve it on a table that I'd set. (I liked doing this-- I am not suggesting child labor!)

Since last year I have started to listen to this again. I hardly drink because even small amounts of fermented fruit cause me to break out, but I like to have a glass of wine when I can afford what my parents, wine connoisseurs shared with me and my brother. My kids hated it but as soon as I told them that their grand parents loved it, they tolerate it. Music like this massages my mind-- stress from money problems goes away because money was not an issue to my parents as far as I understood it. The food always tastes better. The kids ask about their cowboy grandfather and I tell them funny stories. My husband loves coming home and hearing the music when he parks the car.