Well now...where have you been?

Newest work in progress!

Well...where have I been?
1. Moved into a new house
2. Had a baby
3. Had a kidney stone
4. Had some very, very, very busy days

So....to save you the boredom of reading all that...I'm just posted pictures of my newest work. Please, tell me what you think! Most of these are available for sale. Email me if you're interested!

It's been awhile....

Well...my poor little blog has been ignored. But I must say it's been a summer of a lifetime. I've not announced it here....but I'm 5 months pregnant and between that and buying a house to have room for our newest addition it's been very busy lately. I have had time to work on my Etsy listings...the two pieces you see here are available.

I think I've finally found a way to use my tin milagros that I've been making which I talk about in this older post. Adhering them to wood allows the tin ornament to be enjoyed without the pesky edges being a danger. And I really like the way the tin shines off the wood. Maybe I'll get a chance to have a tutorial/painting progress thing of sorts for this type of work.

What do you think of these?

I plan on making different "milagros"...maybe some goddess/myth ones....wheels are still churning here....

New Mini Folk Art Available

This new series of folk paintings are done on wood using acrylic.

The first three paintings will be available in the shop today. The last painting will be available as a print soon.

Other good news! My work is now offered for sale in a gallery in Talladega!

Folk Art Bird

Here is my newest painting. I painted it on Monday...the day before I found out some news that floored and bewildered me. I'll probably discuss it more later....but as from now, I'm taking things easy, learning to trust myself, trust processes, and hold my heart and soul gently.....

Good News!

My Epson printer arrived yesterday and I'm going to be working over the next few days getting it set up and learning how to operate it....and offering prints very soon! I'm very excited!

Does anyone out there have any tips, advice?

It's a Epson Stylus Photo R1800.

My painting above looks kinda blurry but I think that it's because the white reflected the light and blurred. What do you guys think? I recently got a book on Norwegian rosemaling and I tried some the techniques from that book here...

Well, that's all folks! Enjoy your your St. Patrick's Day and the warming, breezy days!

SPRING!

Spring is almost here! I can feel it! It's not just the gentle slow warming of the days...but I feel it in my spirit....a wakening, a quickening, a rebirth...

My birthday is next month...so many years ago, I was preparing to be born in my mother's womb...maybe this is the source of these feelings...

It's just when the breeze filters in my open windows and takes away with it the winter's chill and old air and I feel like I could fly away with it...dance with the warm current of air into a warm, green place of growing....

Rabbits slowly take over the fields and their statue counterparts take over my porch. My father-in-law who passed away nearly a year ago, we shared close birthdays and these last few years he would always give me a porch rabbit. As we clean out his business I find more rabbit statues and want to bring them into our lives to honor his memory.

Rabbits, of course, represent many things, among them...fertility, new birth, intuition, promise, fulfillment and balance. Rabbits are tied to the moon and their gestational period is between 28-31 days which of course is the length of a month. The month being tied to the phases of the moon. Cool, huh?

And did you know you can see a rabbit in the moon...similar to the man in the moon?

And it's the Year of the Rabbit....

So, I suppose if I feel a little hoppy, springy, and full of life and possibility these days..it's to be understood.

I think we have these mythic symbols and practices in place for a reason...they speak to our most centered humanity and beliefs. They are bits of our soul embodied in tangible things...to be celebrated and honored. They are after all ourselves....

The paintings above are ones that I've done at different times. The first one I did in '08. And the bottom one was completed last week. Rabbits often pop up in my sketch books and it's interesting to note how my style has evolved over the course of time.

Which one do you prefer?

New loves!

Up there is Mary! Our recent addition to our tribe of pups. She was abandoned near a creek where we had taken other dogs to walk. Her companion--a large male dog that looked a lot like her was deceased. She was freezing, half starved and fearful. We took her to the vet and discovered she was 3 months old. Well now, she is becoming the hot shot around here... Playing with our largest dog--a bull dog mix and generally causing a ruckus.

Down below is a new painting I recently completed called "Don't worry you'll get there!" --SOLD

I had no idea where I was going when I began. I just wanted to play and create a background for a later painting but I liked it so much I just kept painting and decided that a little sketch in one of my books would go perfect with this background and voila! This painting. I really like it. Something different but fun. It's mixed media with scrapbook paper background, tissue paper, a page from a german book and cheese cloth with paint dried in it.

I started another one yesterday and will have it to show soon.

Other things I love...

My new laptop valentine's day present from my husband (who I also love)! I made him a guitar rack for his cigar box guitars, diddly-bo's and regular guitars. Maybe I'll have pics soon.

Warm cuddly puppies on snowy days! (It has snowed an unheard number for Alabama of 4 times this winter!)

New books to read!

And the possibilities of things to come!

Which to listen to.....

The heart versus mind
It happens all the time
The battle of two wills
Call it what you will
My heart said go
But mind said no

Aisha Ludmilla Pin

Head or heart? Which one do you listen to? Should only one be the deciding factor? Or do you need the head to ground the heart....or contrariwise, let the heart give the head wings.....

We get stuck. Stuck between the two desires...feelings of wanting to do something, needing in your heart to do something contrasted with your head saying...stay a little longer, not now, wait, and on and on.....

The Decision

Oh, wouldn't it be so easy to separate the two....
But then what would we have? And what and how would you choose, head or heart?

All I'm trying to do.....is carry my heart gently.....

“The heart is the only broken instrument that works.”

T. E. Kalem

A somewhat funny, sad sidenote: The hand holding the heart thing I made a few years back is broken....

And these questions are open for discussion, comment, leave experiences, share stories....it helps...