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Showing posts from August, 2009

MeMe Award

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What a wonderful way to start a day... I got a blog comment from Caterina Giglio, at La Dolce Vita and inside was this little blog award! wow! I love her work and her take on life, make sure to stop by her place and say hello! Caterina sent it to people who, in her opinion, exemplify this quote: Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you too can become great. now I am to tell you 7 things about myself and pass this on to 7 people: 1. I have a chronic illness so I 'retired' at an early age 2. I don't have a favorite color 3. Like Caterina, I'm mostly self-taught 4. I still shoot the wrappers off of straws in restaurants (when I'm with my kids:) 5 . I'm a Presbyterian 6. I lived in upstate New York until my senior year in high school 7. My favorite book/movie is Pride & Prejudice ok, so here are my choices for this little award, because they make great art and they a

Life is Like a... Cupcake

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Who would have thought that two weeks in a row I'd be able to participate in the Inspire Me Thursday challenge . I didn't have a lot of studio time over the summer so photography has been the creative outlet of choice, one of my favorites, I might add. Even though my kids are older (7th and 8th grade) and don't require the kind of hands-on supervision that toddlers do, opportunities were scarce for collage, painting, altering and serious journaling. I didn't mind though, because like my kids, I'm old enough to understand how limited my time with them is; for years I've heard about the dreaded adolescent phase when they won't be caught dead at the mall with me, my opinion will carry as much weight as a grocery list, my witty sense of humor will no longer be funny but a freakish side show, only to be outdone by my lack of style, good taste and tact. Why am I so sure this is imminent? Probably a little media influence, some recall, a bit of reality. Right now I

Inspired by Color

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Inspire Me Thursday's   latest challenge calls for the use of the colors pink and orange . When I read that I wondered how I coulld showcase the brilliance of two colors that I absolutely adore, but don't often (enough!) use in my work. I was taking a walk this morning and I opened to the world around me, the beauty of summer, still in full color, blossoms drenched with fragrance, the steamy sensation that portends another hot day... though my children have returned to school and the house is quiet again; the Altered Attic beckons, still messy from the last few occasions I managed to find time for art.  While admiring a neighbor's garden I recalled a photograph I took back in July and loved but hadn't yet used. So, when I came in (and cooled off!) I opened the computer and there it was, waiting, like then, floating in the gorgeous pond in the backyard at the home of our good friends Ron and Vickie.   I didn't create the flower of course, like most of the natural wo

Sing from the Heart

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Earlier in the summer, I found my self in a creative slump, a flat, static stretch; feeling OK, but not great, a little down but no major depression. I’ve spent the past three years spent learning mixed media techniques and processes; I realized that now it’s time to move to the next level. Do more than arranging elements in a pleasing design on a page, or canvas. I need to find the source of the muse and, at the same time, understand the forces that subvert creativity. Like fear. Fear is a byproduct of most journeys; who, after all, isn’t afraid of face-planting at some point. My problem is that it often takes hold before I get a good footing on the path. I’d been producing work that I really liked, so naturally fear arrived like a beautiful, fair-weather friend. I found myself doubting - will you really stay, even if I turn out to be a lot less perfect than I’d led you to believe? Will you abandon me just as I get my hopes up? It’s no secret that growth involves risk, but after a few