Out with the old.....

This picture's been hanging around unfinished and I want to have everything wrapped up for the new year.....no unfinished business. So, I finished up this ol' girl here and thought I'd share. I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!

New Paintings....

It's been busy.....but hopefully things will calm down after the holidays and I'll have lots o' goodies for you.

New Books!

Sketchings!

Book Cover Art!

So, I've been more than absent lately. But not for lack of doing things. I've actually been uber busy. As you know I've opened an Amazon store. My day job has kept me insane. Been working hard getting ready for a holiday show and etc, etc. Basically, life has kept me busy.

But, here's something new! A friend of mine William Thornton book has been published. I was fortunate to have been asked to do the cover art and here it is!

Check out the book here:

www.brilliantdisguises.com

http://brilliantdisguises.blogspot.com/2009/11/and-now-word-from-our-sponsor.html
http://brilliantdisguises.blogspot.com/2009/11/brilliant-disguises-soundtrack.html

And don't forget to check out my Amazon store. I've got vintage children's books, unusual fiction and nonfiction.

Recently sold!..... Hand and rod puppets: A handbook of technique by Hansjurgen Fettig

Blackwood Books

I am now a seller on Amazon. Click here for my storefront. Go buy something!

That's me on Halloween as a Calavera. Happy Dia de los Muertos!

Pen and Ink Illustrations

My, my....how the time has flown by...

I look up and October's nearly gone. Here's what's been keeping me busy.....experimenting with pen and ink drawings.

Tell me what you think.

P.S. I'm now a seller on Amazon. I've just got a few books listed but hopefully more will be coming soon. Look for Blackwood Books! Maybe even a possible book blog. What do you all think?

Paintings and Thriftings!

So here are some new goodies to gander at.....The top photos are painting I've been slinging paint at and the last two are recent thrifted goodness. The more thrifted goodies I find, the more I want to include them in my Etsy shop. I have already included two thrifted goodies. I am making a full hearted attempt to make my Etsy shop more successful. So far, I've just started it, put a few things in and let it sit. But no more! I want it to work for me...so I have to work for it.

I've been growing up a lot lately.....(pretty good for someone almost 30) But, as we all know, growing can be painful....but it's neccesary. I feel like I'm becoming a better person. I also realize that our choices lead us down certain paths.....common sense, yes.....but sometimes realizations like this take awhile to sink in. And my realizations are sinking in.....and I'm focusing more on what life means to me and can it mean for me. What is it that I want? What are my passions? What do I need to lose to gain what I want? Etc, etc. I feel like everyone goes through this, some sooner and later......I think a lot of my current "growth" has to do with turning 30 and considering all those things I was going to have done before 30.....my to-do list is still pretty long!

Well, I've rambled and carried on.....making little or no sense. You know, I hate stream of consicousness mess but my blog seems to be just that.....well thanks for having it out with me. I promise my next posts won't be so........exasperating.

Have fun!

P.S. Sherry and I will be doing a holiday market on Nov. 21 called Hanna's Holiday Market. Come by and see us! Click the link for more info!

Etsy Shop Update!

These two items are now in my Etsy shop! Go check them out!

Etsy Shop Update!

Just a quick mention that I've lowered the prices of my prints in my Etsy shop and updated it. Hopefully, more updates will be coming soon!

Zombies!!!

Here are some pictures from last years Zombie Parade! BRAINS!!!!

P.S. New artwork coming soon! I promises!

Hello Fall!

So, fall has been here awhile now.....and here I am just now greeting it. Fall is my favorite time of year. The colors, the scents, the feel of the air all equaling to total love!

Saturday found me participating in my very first "real" art market. All in all a great success, despite my ability to gain two flat tires in the process! Hung out all day with Sherry! Excellent! Got a Hawaiian shaved ice and sourdough bread! Sourdough bread takes me back to when my grandmother would bake it in a huge oven. Nothing is better than fresh sourdough bread hot from the oven!! MMM!

Fall has found me being very productive, in the ways of art, the ways of housekeeping and general taking care of life! Fall brings me a sense of hope and possibility. I read tons of Ray Bradbury and non-fiction books about medieval history. I love the life I have during fall! And I feel more alive. Maybe these feelings stem from some ancient way of life when men had to bring in the harvest and make final preparations before wintering. I don't know what it is exactly but I know I feel it and therefore, feel alive.

I hope this season finds you growing and moving in whatever direction is laid out before you. And I hope all is well!

A Bit of New...

Here's a look at what kept me busy today....well, this and helping my mother-in-law move houses in the rain. But she's a great lady! Hope everybody's having a great weekend!

The little chicken is actually a softie.

P.S. I just found out that I won a Pikaland giveaway! Yeah!

What I've been up to....

The top picks are a not-so-recent thrift store find and the last photo is some new paintings that I've been doing lately in preparation for an art show with my friend Sherry! These I think I will sell. It will be my first time trying to sell originals.....I can't wait to see how they do! I'd love to know what you guys think!

Tomorrow I'm headed past B'ham to teach kiddos animation and it looks like it's going to be a blast. But....the 4-hour drive there and back does not sound fun......

Oh, well.....I hope you guys all have a great weekend!

Changing.....

Mushrooms grow thick in circles outside.....circles.....Life is full of circles. I feel my own life circling again and again. Focusing on one aspect of my life and then moving forward onto something else and ultimately finding myself back where I began, but somehow different, somehow bigger and more confident.

Rings of mushrooms where once thought to be where fairies danced...pulling in an unwary mortal, pulling them into the spinning, frantic dance until the mortal falls exhausted from the reel and finda life around them had changed.....lovers aged and gone, children grown old. It's strange sometimes how our modern life can be like a fairy's dance.....we move faster and faster until we fall exhausted and discover what was really important is gone......

Circles, around and around forever. Changing seasons, time moving forward from birth to maturing to aging to dying.....only to repeat itself again and again. The sun, the moon, water, everything moves in circles. So, why do we fear them? Why do we fear the slow times, the dying times? Can we not remember that after death, comes birth, something new and shining.

The creative life is full of circles, trying one thing, pushing past, letting something die for it to be reborn as something new.....
I find so many people are afraid of the circular nature of creating.....afraid of the dry spells, the creative block.....afraid that nothing new will be born.....

I think of these things as the seasons change. Autumn is my favorite season......a season of harvesting and gathering, but it can also be seen as a season of waiting, of declining gracefully into winter's sleeping embrace.....Autumn has many things to teach us....it teaches us to gather our creative thoughts and ideas to prepare for a creative winter.....so that the new, better ideas, images, songs, stories can emerge in the spring of our creativity.......

Hmmmm, this post is a bit different, but I suppose that I'm in an Autumn mood in some ways.....and this post has nothing to do with the image posted which is simply my newest work....


Well, I hope your cycles roll gently and encourage you to new things....at least that it gives you enough energy to rejoin the fairies! :)

Do people even do this anymore?

So, I have a particular......case (I refuse to call it a problem!) I have entirely too much vintage paper ephemera. Now.... most of this comes from two huge scrapbooks where someone has diligently cut magazine clippings, greeting cards and all sorts of pictures from various sources. Some of it has come from various yard sale finds. Talk about recycling!

I love going through and picking out images that are making a come back today. But what to do with all this treasure? I'm thinking of creating mixed media books that incorporate some of these images, framing some, etc.... but there'll be no way for me to use them all. And their wonderful! Do you think they would sell in packets on Etsy in the vintage category? Any other suggestions?

I've got tons of this stuff......and if you see anything in particular that you like and would like to get or are wondering if I have any particular images, just let me know and we'll go from there....of course some of the images shown are mine, all mine....hahahaha!

Sometimes after storms there will be rainbows....

This rainbow was so bright and colorful....you could even see a double arc.

New Obsessions...

So, a chance encounter with a blogger acquaintance made me realize it's been a dreadfully long time since my last post....so here are some recently thrifted goodies and some new dolls which are becoming quite an obsession! My, my, how the days just slip away some times.