Goodies in the Mail 2

I haven't had a minute to devote to my art these past few days. We are working fast and furious on getting the daughter's house ready, babysitting while said daughter works, and I have been tutoring for 2 hours each day.

I have had some lovely mail, however. First I received a lovely envelope full of ephemera from AnLiNa Designs with foreign language newspapers, lovely papers, labels, bingo card.....such fun!




And then the next day I received my hand drawn art supply ATCs from a trade I was participating in through ATCsForAll.




These two deliveries have been my eye candy for this week. Today and tomorrow are still babysitting days and I am tutoring each day. On Friday morning I am leaving to go north to my Mom's for the Mothers' Day weekend. I probably won't get any art done while I am there, but I will surely have fun cooking for her, taking her to second hand stores and grocery shopping, playing cribbage and Yahtzee, watching the Tigers and game shows.....it will be BIG fun. I am also hoping to catch up with a couple of friends from high school that I haven't seen to talk to in probably 20 years.

I will check in when I can. I think I will be far from internet access while at my Mom's but will be sure to take the camera and will share pix when I return.

I am still waiting to hear from vickylw so that I can send her the lovely book she won. If I haven't heard from her by the time I return from my Mom's on Monday, May 11, I will select a new winner.

Bye for now!

Birds Singing, Warmish Breeze Blowing

It is April and the weather is really beginning to feel good. The furnace is turned off for the day time hours and the screened porch is open to the house. The hubster has taken the two little girls to the park, so I am taking this opportunity to blog.

Beginning this week, we were only going to have the girls all day on Tuesdays, but then their Dad had surgery yesterday and so we have had them most of this week. I don't yet know how the recovery from his procedure is to progress, so don't know when my schedule will improve.

Meanwhile, the mail person drove into the driveway to hand deliver some larger parcels. Two of them were for me. One was the lovely journal I won from Rice at the Voodoo Cafe. If you haven't yet subscribed to her blog, you really should.




The other was the paper painting I purchased from Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson. If you are not familiar with this artist, you owe it to yourself to go take a look.



I did get a chance for a little while to work in my art room and began pasting torn text papers to 140 # watercolor paper in preparation for the 9 inchies I am making for a swap. I have never made inchies before and thought this would be the way to get text onto all of them before they were cut so small. It looks like I need to reglue some of the corners of the torn pieces before cutting them. I then put strips of masking tape on it in random places and brushed a green wash over all.



For now, the library just called to say that some of the books that I had ordered through the state wide library, MelCat, had arrived. I think I'd better finish reading "The Power of One" so that I can begin reading "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox".

Also, I should list the books I read during the month of March:

Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by Wrobleski
Letting Go by Pamela Morin
Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

So far, I have read 14 books in 3 months, so I am still ahead of the average to achieve 50 books read this year.

See you later.

Bye!

Exercise, Memories and CED2009

I tried out a new non-program plan on the treadmill on Wednesday. I warmed up and cooled down at 3.0 mph and for the in between 21 minutes I alternated walking for 5 min at 3.5 mph and then running for 2 min at 5 mph. A very nice workout.

I also had a good mail day today. I joined the North Light Book Club and placed my first order for 3 free books and a 4th for 14.99. The club I joined is all artist books. Here is a picture of my first 4 choices.


I wrote another whole page of memories from my life before age 10 in my art journal. Some of it was not really for sharing, but it felt really good to get it out. That lead to the free writing on the right hand page. I spent my school days at the Ursuline Academy with the nuns - brutal! Since it wasn't really to share word for word I lightly gessoed over it so it is not quite so readable.


After that I tried a self portrait in a different watercolor journal, but didn't realize you can't erase on watercolor. It just eats the paper. I am used to doing my faces on smooth paper. At any rate, neither attempt turned out very well, so I gessoed over lightly so the faces show through a bit and then collaged how I felt. I don't think these pages are done yet, but it was a good start.


I need to do some more practice of bamboo stalks for my Chinese Brushwork workshop. I seem to be using too much ink. For now, it is 12:11 am and I am in need of some sleep. As for you, don't forget to live in the moment!

I'm in Heaven

The postwoman came to the door today because the mail included a package that was too large for the confines of the mail box. My first thought was that my books I had ordered from an artist book club had arrived. But that wasn't it.

I received a wonderful surprise in the mail today. Some time around Christmas, I commented on the blog Contemplating the Moon about a memory from my childhood and I was chosen as the winner of the book "1000 Artist Journal Pages". I had just checked out a similar book from the library, "1000 ATCs" and was confused at the time thinking that was the book I had won. And the ATC book was a very nice book. But, the journal pages..........I am in heaven. I started my first artist journal yesterday and was feeling quite like I wasn't artist enough to do it. This book has reinforced for me that there is no "wrong" way and that I am free to create however I want. I am so fired up to do today's entry.



Bridgette not only sent me the book as the prize I had won, but included a beautiful 4 x 4 stretched canvas original work of art. I have read so many times in others blogs how sharing and generous this artist community is and had experienced it in so many comments on my blog and well wishes to my email, but this is the first time someone has sent me something so serendipitous - I am deep in my mid-winter grey period and really needed a pick-me-up and this was just the ticket.



Also included in the package was a card with her original artwork on it. Such a wonderful way to start this day - and such a thoughtful gift. Thank you, Bridgette.




I am going to start playing with a two page spread in my art journal and get some of the background started now before my daughter goes to work at noon. I will be in charge of two little girls until bedtime and will not have all the time I would like, so this will be a good jump start on these pages. I feel as though I am writing in run-on sentences this entire post, but I am so energized by this unexpected gift.

And so I am off; don't forget to live in the moment.

Goodies in the Mail

The hubster just brought in the mail and I had three (3) packages - boy, do I feel special!! *-)

The first one I opened was a "People are People" swap I participated in through ATCs For All. They are very nice additions to my collection.



The second package was from a new friend, Dianne, whose blog I subscribe to. Now that I have her address and these treasures, I need to make her something special and reciprocate. Not only did she send a lovely ATC to trade, but the card she sent them in was exquisite and also
handmade.



The third package was from Carla Sonheim and it was something I had completely forgotten about. Some time ago I won some flower beaded coasters from India. They are even nicer in person.


The baby is sleeping, the hubster is out in his workshop varnishing, and I think it is time for me to do a bit of art while I can.

See you next time; for now don't forget to live in the moment.