Thanksgiving

Once again, Thanksgiving found us at my mom and dad's. Minus Gary-who was home with a horrible muscle spasm in his back. Kept him up all night wed, so he was in pain and sleep deprived. I got him some meds before heading for mom's. Mom, Dad, Nathan, Suzanne, Ty, Travis, Patrick, Addison and myself were there this yr. Had all the usual fixin's minus a few pies this year. Spent several hours eating, visiting, cleaning up and having pie before heading home. Gary was better and we watched "Angels and Demons." Sometime i'll actually think to take a picture of the whole family-something we don't do because we're together alot. The St Louis family always jokes that we take alot of picture when there, but that's because we don't see them all the time-they don't take pictures when together as we don't here. Maybe at Christmas...
Debe and Dave from San Antonio were here last night-so we got to visit with them a bit-nice to see them as it's been quiet awhile. Might fit in a small bit of shopping later today-away from the mall~and a final note-it's *that* time of year, so check out this blog from time to time: Tacky Christmas Yards It can be quite entertaining...

Ft Worth Botanic Gardens

Sun Gary and I had a burger at Jakes, then went to the Botanic Gardens.
Came across several statues in the first area we walked through. This was my favorite with the birds in the nest. The knockout roses were in full bloom-and smelled really good.
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Had to get pictures by this giant pecan tree-it's been here longer than the gardens. It's hollow now, so lots of kids were having pictures made with them inside it. We found a quiet spot to sit by the stream for awhile. We would have liked to have stayed longer, but we had a party to attend for Addison's 2nd birthday.

Now THIS is how you eat a piece of birthday cake! Happy Birthday to Addison!

Something New*Coming Soon!

Seth Apter has decided to present The Pulse as a series of online and print projects. And the first will begin next Sunday, November 22 Secret Sundays will present the answers to the question asking for your art secrets...and there are some great ones already! There will be a post every Sunday until everybody's responses have been posted.

Musings on the Day

Gary and I were talking yesterday about seeing a Christmas wreath hung up on a subdivisions' entry. He said people now just think Thanksgiving/Christmas are one holiday...
Today we go eat a late breakfast. I'm talking and suddenly look and and say "oh my God a Christmas tree." I was stunned into silence. I think my mouth was hanging open. Nov 5th-a freakin' tree. It was lit and decorated which means they did it before the 5th. Unreal.
I've had a very emotional week-and yesterday felt i needed some "art therapy." Fate stepped in because i saw on Facebook that teesha moore posted that she put video's up on her blog-on making a 16-pg journal from one sheet of paper. I watched that last night-and several more. She has the video to make the book and also has video's of her process of filling in those pages. I watched the rest this morning and there are more to come in the future-I know what i'll be doing in a little while.
Riley loves me! I think gary's getting jealous. Everywhere i go, riley must follow. Not just follow, but sit in my lap. Gary can sit with him but if i walk by-off he goes to find me-and sit with me. Jack and Nala will sit by the door or on the floor, but mr R. is right there with me. Nice to have puppy love.

Grand Canyon

Was going through old posts and realized I never added pictures from the Grand Canyon this spring. So here are a few-It had rained before we got there, so it was cloudy-and very chilly-in
May. I love these trees-they smell so much of pine-it was so fresh up there after the rain.
The last picture was taken at sunset-we just barely made it to the last viewing area

Halloween...

I told my nephew Patrick that i would make him into a mummy for halloween, so sat afternoon i headed over to get started. When i had both legs wrapped is when we realized we should have had him go to the bathroom-so he was "undone" and sent off. Had him change into sweats instead of his wind pants-afraid the muslin would slip too much.

Addison was a cowgirl~She looked cute in her little cowgirl hat and curls! We went to a "trunk or treat" and i have to admit-it was better than i thought it would be. I used to think it was more of those trying to do away w/halloween-but it's not-the trunks were decorated with every theme imaginable. The winner in my book was this trunk and couple-fabulous! One car even had a fog machine going-




Patrick went off with his friends, Suzanne and i took Addison around-she was more interested in just looking and walking fast-but she did manage to get some loot. It was fun seeing all the costumes-even Capt Jack Sparrow was there-he came close to looking like johnny depp too :)

A Few Pictures...

Thought i would post what I made for my swap for this month's art mtg~I made this guy-and 3 girls, however the picture of the girls didn't turn out too good. so he'll have to do. i'm working on a few more-so i'll post when they are done. If i had had more time, they would have been more embellished, but since i came up with the idea the night before, had to whip them out a bit basic. Oh well~just sparked more ideas for me.

Class at KC Willis' Studio: Leslie Venable's Bound Reliquaries

KC Willis now has a studio-where she and others are now teaching workshops. An upcoming class in Feb is Leslie Venable's Bound Reliquaries:

http://studioretreats.ning.com/page/visiting-artists-classes

The class is limited to 10 people. When the first 5 sign up there will be a drawing and one of those lucky artists will receive the class at 50% off the class price... :) But hey it doesn't stop there....when the next and final 5 sign up another drawing will be held and one of those lucky artists will receive the same 50% off discount off of the class!!!!!

2 lucky attendee's will get 1/2 off the cost of the workshop-good odds with only 10 spaces!

You can click above to see the info on KC's ning site, and go to Leslie's blog to see her work~

Pictures and Sneak Peaks...

I call this the "missouri" spider-they were everywhere-in kimberling city and st louis. will have to look it up-but this is the underneath-looks like a face-cool for this time of year i thought.
These are some of the books i found in Branson-think i pd $5.oo for them all. They might become covers of new books-or used in a piece of art.

These are snippets of 3 pieces i am currently working on~will post full pictures when they are done~

251 and a giveaway

I originally thought i would have a giveaway for my 250th post-but i missed it by one. So for all those who actually leave a comment this next wk-you will be in a drawing to win something~ probably the piece that i did for my class last month. But, i've been known to change my mind in the past-and it could end up being a different piece of art, but as of now, that's what it will be.
also-check out the link next to this post-no affiliation, just found it today-some cool digital art sheets~

Missouri and a Wedding

Drove to missouri with my parents on the 23rd-we stopped in Kimberling City to visit with my grandfather-were able to see my gram's headstone at the National Cemetery in Springfield while we were there. Fri we headed up to St Louis for my cousin Nicole (and Eric's) wedding. Reception was held at the Planetarium~very cool-even showed what the night sky would look like on their 50th wedding anniversary. It was nice to see family that i hadn't seen in so long.
Beautiful wedding.
Sun after the present opening, my aunt took us to the new CityGarden downtown. Beautiful gardens, water features and sculptures there. My fave was pinnochio. Of course, we had to stop at Ted Drewes for frozen custard on the way home! yum.
Got to visit with my cousin Kim on monday-met up with her mom and my parents for dinner in St Charles-at R T Weilers. Customers can bring in their pet photos and they are hanging in the restaurant. Back to grandpa's on the way home-spent a day there and now i'm home- got spoiled with all the wonderful cool fall weather...

Greetings from St Louis

No pictures yet-i'm in St Louis for my cousin's wedding and can't upload. The weather up is is wonderful-cool temps. rained a bit on wedding day, but not during wedding time. Reception was at the Planetarium-the place i saw my first star show as a child~very cool. Wanted to update, pictures when i return-we'll be stopping in the Branson area on way home to see my grandfather-so stay tuned~

Poison Ivy

Just when you think the yard is devoid of all poison ivy, it comes back-and you don't realize it UNTIL you start to itch. And i do mean itch. It is on my arms, legs, feet, stomach and i believe my face-unless that is just sympathy itch...
Gary of course, got none. never does. ever. We worked in the yard sun-cut down overgrown grapevine that appeared again this yr. I thought we had everything-but after the itch started, then the red lines and bumps-i knew. I went back out and sure enough-there was poison ivy. I donned the rubber gloves, got the scissors and plastic bag to shove it all in-and hacked away. I think some of it might have come from the dogs-they were facinated with that area of the yard until we cut everything down. Time for some cold compresses-they say not to scratch-obviously the brain that came up with that one never had poison ivy...

KC Willis and Sarah Fishburn

Sarah Fishburn is teaching a workshop in December at KC Willis Studio Retreats
Those that read my blog know i took 2 online classes from KC the past few months-which i loved~although i haven't been too creative this summer-the idea's are there-just need a better frame of mind.
Sarah has been around "forever" and you are probably familiar with her work-if not, check it out!
Check out KC's new studio retreat info too-she's hosting several workshops there!

Teaching

Here is a class i'll be teaching at Stamp Asylum in Plano Tx on sept 19th.

In this workshop you will create a piece of wall art using a variety of paints and papers while learning a technique to add texture to your backgrounds – not only in this piece but in other you create later. Once the texture is complete, you will add imagery, draw your cage, accent it with charcoal and seal for a finished 12" x 7" piece ready to hang. To create a similar palette as the sample, you will need dabbers in the following colors: Aqua, Citrus, Cool Peri and Juniper. Optional: Pool, Lake and Pink Sherbet dabbers. If you have a different palette preference, bring the dabbers for your palette. Also bring your tool kit that includes paint brushes to paint and to glue.
Donna Joy [$45]

Cheryl of Ten Seconds Studio posted this on her blog and thought i would pass it on. It made me wonder how many people smiled every time they thought of what they saw that day~or how many wanted to "jump in" and dance with them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

.with no warning to the passengers passing through the station, at 08:00 am a recording of

Julie Andrews singing 'Do, Re, Mi' begins to play on the public address system.

As the bemused passengers watch in amazement, some 200 dancers begin to appear from the crowd and station entrances.

They created this amazing stunt with just two rehearsals!

Final Phase: Disentegration Collaboration

This past winter Seth Apter started the
Disintegration Collaboration (DisCo)
We put our bundles out in the elements until May, then revealed
what they looked like after 3 months. Now the final phase-creating a piece of art with pieces or all, of our bundle. I took some of the papers and glued them to a piece of plywood, then added part of the bundled papers that survived the wind, rain, sun and ants. Added some paint for a bit of color and a few rusty washers-
If you go to his blog, you will find a list of links to other artists that did all 3 phases-you can see the final products of the elements!

Yep, still alive

But that's about it. working on a few things (art) that i'll post when finished. I'm also finishing up the deconstruction project that Seth Apter started this past winter.

Still Here

Still alive-trying to work through some "stuff"~no art to speak of, but soon i hope!~

KC Willis Studio Retreats

If you have followed the art of Lipstick Ranch throughout the years, you are in for a treat! Besides the online classes she is now offering, KC Willis now offers retreats in her new studio at her home in Longmont colorado-http://studioretreats.ning.com/
Check out the website for info regarding a retreat in this gorgeous setting!
If you aren't familiar with her work, check out Lipstick Ranch to see what you've been missing. I've admired her layering of vintage fabrics, cowgirls and doo-dads for years~ and recently got to take her online class-and am about to start the second one~a treat for sure!


Visit KC Willis Studio Retreats