Information About Information

I used to say, before computers and internet, that it was the librarians and people who knew where to find out where or what information others needed who were the heroes of knowledge - the ones who would always have job security.

Now I see, according to Seth Grodin, on one of his latest blog entries, Getting Meta perhaps they still will be in this new world.

Frozen Patterns

In the past I have written about "grids" ... "repeating elements" ... "living/dying" ..."patterns"... spirals and circles. Somehow, they all relate to me and my art expression. I get them from the universe all the time, via cards and presents loved ones send me and I can soapbox enough to bore you for sure normally, but not today. Today is just for these pics getting taken - period. Having them in my image files is this first part of the goal done. The girl/boy motifs are all things my mother/father sent me over a span of years. I guess maybe that is them. And the three birds are actually things I received from one Aunt. Every few years I would get some kind of wish from them with these patterns in the theme. I always wanted to photograph or use them as groups of repeating patterns/themes somehow.

Keeping up with my art goals regularly has been harder, if not more difficult, than goals in physical exercise, eating for life, and about on the level of the proverbial "book I am writing"... So, getting these pictures this day was a baby step to one general art goal - all the baby steps add up to a real walk the talk, if I live long enough :-)

The use of generic collage is to just get them as a group in this blog as an example of what I think about when roaming my rooms! Another baby step reported on. Just needing to keep something like this regular - showing up at the artist way page so to speak. The word "Frozen" was posted by the Friday Illustration group and I grabbed it for a writing prompt here. I get reminder emails on a subject each Friday and generally dream of drawing for the prompt but never actually execute them. My loss. I saw the topic called Frozen and felt it hit me right in my creative stomach, but could be expressed more in writing than doing a drawing. This collage and writing lessens the guilt I feel over not really participating, just watching from behind the scene, in that group ;-)

I feel frozen with several art projects hanging in my head for too long. In the spirit of baby steps I needed to do some little part of one or another this weekend, or kill them. Some, I have actually killed, but I tend to hang on thinking I will finish eventually. I needed the individual pics in this collage for other projects. In taking them, I also got to experiment with the collage feature in Picasa and glad I did because I will probably never use it again, if I do not have too. Very clunky, not enough control over each added image, and the final image is way too HUGE to be posting to internet. Had to go in and fix with Photoshop in the end.

The synchronous part of today's post was Michael Nobbs posting a tweet and sending me off to a wonderful artist: Kate Bingaman-Burt, who's drawing ability, style, words, creativity and the whole focus of her online presence just blew me away. And of course for today deal in patterns with a recycling collection type philosophy! The link, as the illustration part of this post, goes to her zine patterns page. But, please, spend some time there and check out her other Flickr pages and her blog - EVERYTHING is just great ;-)

Re-birth, re-seed, remember

Man, I am not sure about that title. The title is harder to write than the post sometimes. That is it for now. Even the post will be short as more than anything I want to get this picture here.

Spent time in my small flower bed taking out the summer flowers to make room for late fall ones. I had some winter pansies I had to get into ground.

As I was picking my annual seed heads to dry and save for next year, I found this little one! Please note, the blooming flower sprouted and grew from the seed head itself. I was leaving that bloom on the plant as long as possible to get a head of seeds - as I normally do with some. It was mixed in with a bunch of others.

I almost threw the whole thing away as the bloom was rather limp and small and I was in a "cleaning mode" not a real "gathering mode". Almost missed this wonder and had to save and share it.

Alhtough I can not grasp the words of how this relates to my art or creativity, it has just made my weekend more inspirational and every time I look upon it, I just smile and have hope for the world... nothining more profound than the wish of this one little seed, no dirt, sprouting it's way out into the world ;-)

Between a twitter and a blog stage

There is a lot of talk lately on one of my online art groups about twitter and it's advantages vs. disadvantages. I think it is not for me as yet. As one member said, you have to have something to market or really want to share/say something out there to make it work for you. Otherwise it is just another crap fun share show...

I am not at that stage yet. I can barely keep up here and with all the other stuff in my life, am keeping it simple. But want to keep the momentum of sharing here. Nothing earth shattering, nothing to sell or promote as yet. One artist's post I appreciate reading lately is pulling away from the "blog" concept. He feels people are trying to make their writing too "important." He has redesigned his whole presentation to just essays. Then another friend I know just keeps putting up beautiful pictures of places and things around her area and life. Nice... just a quick look at somewhere else in world where someone thought enough to arrange beauty in their life, or nature Herself is especially inspiring.

So, as a compromise I will post here more frequently just by sharing things I find here and there. Short posts, longer than twitter but linking to other things I find beautiful, creative, or just inspiring... others' artDreams which get me going.

Here is the one for today, looks like a lovely book. The video of the author and a preview of a documentary about him is inspiring by themselves. The video is shown below the book listing:

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Body, Mind, Soul & Creativity - a balance

Today, I wrote in my Morning Pages* about how my new aqua fit class is helping me feel stronger and more flexible. Good... Then, I got into how giving up eating dairy for two weeks seems to lessen a skin problem I have, but not enough to really feel that that is what causes the problem directly. But, still, good...
Then, I started writing about how tired I get of spending so much time writing about my body in the practice meant to move me forward in my creativity - and overall, how, in general, this middle age time period seems to be all about thinking and working for my BODY waaaaaay too much. Ugh...
All this body stuff is necessary just so I can walk around my local supermarket and "keep on my own" - as they say. I am getting complete knee replacements in the coming year so it is also necessary to prepare - but I hate all the time it takes besides a full time job and home.
I have spent most of my life in my mind, my art, my soul and a creative life. Not any more! Then I get angry when my Pages end up reflecting that sort of thing instead of where my creativity is going or how my meditation is...
So, got through the daily entry and another part of the Artist Way path is something called synchronicity. We practitioners like to share these type of occurrences in our lives. For the sake of blogging, here's mine for the day. I get to work, open my email and find my daily horoscope. I am not a huge follower of astrology but did study it a million years ago so still have some interest. What does it say to me?
"You may not be able to tell where to draw the line between reality and fantasy, making the decision process more difficult now. Expanding your spiritual horizons is easy, but keeping yourself anchored to the mundane world at the same time is also worth the effort."
So, if you are looking for me, I will be over by my recumbent bike, after work, later today... dreaming...

*"Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages-- they are not high art. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind-- and they are for your eyes only." Julia Cameron

Analogue Series Contest

Michael Nobbs has now put up a contest to win one of his drawings. I have three of his Beany's but would love a framed drawing too. (almost feel like a Michael Nobbs Groupie - but hope I have known him too long to get that title!!!)

Anyhow, here is my submission for the Analogue Contest.

The minute I read his blog on it, I thought of a conversation my Mother In Law and I had a month ago. I was staying at her place, which is actually a basement apartment in her daughter's house. We were upstairs in the kitchen and Mom said, "Oh, I hate this! I need to wash my hands and all there is is this smelly, liquid, squeeze out soap. What has EVER happened to the old BAR soap on a dish, that one can grab and just use?"

At the time, I agreed I like having bar soap handy also, but it did not come to mind until Michael's post on "what is analogue" today.... I think he knows that even if I do not win, I am so pleased he inspired me to do a *terrible* drawing, no matter what, today ;-)

Analogue Series Artwork Share

My friend and AWGrad colleague has got me back here again. I have been THINKING too much of what to write here and then shutting down because of the quality and/or time necessary... keeping up a blog regularly is not as easy as one would think...

He is, as I have posted in previous messages, always an inspiration. His latest blog post made me say a "HA! wait til you see what I have done in your Draw Your Life booklet, Michael!!!!" Always good for getting an artist moving... for better or worse.

He says he has gone analog, somewhat. You can see Michael Nobbs posts here, but I want you to finish with me first! I have been following his analogue series the last days but have had thoughts like, "Oh gawd, am I THAT old? I still listen to tapes regularly, and he talks like they are the way of Seven Track tapes, oh dear!" Then, after today's post I needed to say, "Hey! I use an even older analog whisker at least once a month for my scrambled eggs." And now show off the page, in his booklet where I had even drawn the thing the other day.

I won't draw the tapes I listen too, but here is an older drawing of my last typewriter. I know, I know, rather mystic looking, huh? But I did have a fondness for it and at the time was doing an piece comparing old composition to the "new" composition machine called a computer, so the internet still had a mystic part to it.... I had drawn it by hand and this was one of the first Photoshop play times I had had.

Re-deaux

Oh, I hope I am not showing my crassness by mis-spelling the title! I am posting this quickly as it is a thought and so therefore becomes a quick blog, no picture, no special title or what... Late on a Sunday evening when I DO have to get ready for work tomorrow.... ugh... IS there such a thing as a "quick" blog? Or is that a "twitter" these days????

Today, I went into my blog template and reset some of the parameters so the type could go wider on screen space and there was not such a large margin around it. I loved the colors of the template I chose here at blogspot, but it was too narrow. It made for intensive scrolling which I personally hate. So, I had to dig up my OLD html skills from way back when and see the details in this template to re-arrange things.

So, I see I got that solved and now the paragraphs all run together! There is no real leading to this blog. Or, the new term: paragraph spacing. Am I being TOO much of a desktop publisher? Is a blog not supposed to be decent type layout? Or is it that you have to go pay for a special website blog to get decent layout? Hmmmm, no comment. I am actually putting two hard returns between each para in this entry to see what it does... I guess that is the "re dueax" part in the title ;-) Still glad I have like two followers and no one really sees this.

Did read in Keri Smiths' blog today, she has young children now and it is wearing on what she feels is her ability to social network. HA! Almost glad to hear that. Now I know what has been "wrong" with me for the last 30 years ;-)

I NEVER have been good a social networking and all that. I think that is why I have had a regular job all these years, in design, publishing, layout, all that - but still, always FOR someone else. But then when I had kids, it was really a good excuse to use for not "networking" or being a REAL artist - had to support the kids. Interesting to read another perspective....

OK, onward to see what this post looks like! Took some pics of outside terrace today and the cat, as normal, but not to be published here as yet.

Tenacity in Art

Had an experience with geese this weekend. Started me thinking about my own artistic tenacity. There is a four lane highway at my end of the Bay and it cuts through a large acreage of swamp land, home to all kinds of wildlife. The road has a speed limit of 40mph but that just means most go 60. I know people who won't drive it at all due to it being a "death alley". The one side, next to the more expansive water, is a gathering place for birds. If you have seen my web album, you know this already. I have pictures of the birds seen there. I love riding down this road every day and night - most of the time. It is also a dugway between two hills and the view as you go down either side of the Bay is lovely.
This time of year, there are many gaggles of Canadian geese hanging out. They can not fly now but concentrate on eating and getting strong for their soon to be fall flights outta here. They raise their young and are rather friendly as people stop alongside the road and feed them.
In the spring I had already experienced a bunch of them trying to cross the road to the swampy side early in the morning and had come home that night to see two females dead in the road. Most people could care less the geese can't fly and this is their land more than ours. They are busy going to work or play. I do care so it all becomes an emotional issue for me.Anyhow, this Sunday morning, on my way to visit a friend, there were these two male geese with several "teen" babies, right alongside the road about to cross. It was not early morning and was very busy. The babies were oblivious, eating voraciously along the side - the two younger, first time parents, males (probably mates of those females killed in the spring) were walking up and down alongside the road -about to head out across it. My senses went on overdrive.
I went past them to top of hill and turned around, came back down, turned around to their side again and pulled over as far as I could out of traffic, put my blinkers on. Picked up the bag of popcorn, I just happened to have, got out of car and went towards them. The babies came right up and were just as pleased as punch to see me. I tossed popcorn over the railing down towards the water and shore which they willingly went after. The two adults, no. Well one thought about it but the other was not about to let me change his mind. He was hissing at me and coming at me and then as the babies ran back to me again for more (man, they eat like power shovels!!!) he was going to lead them right over me across the road if he had too. I was amazed and even got back in car moving slowly alongside the road honking the horn, thinking that would get them to move off road. But noooooo, not that one. He came toward the front of my car and looked as if to fight that!
I won't go into whole story of it. I will say I was very glad when I came home later in the afternoon, there were no squashed geese seen there. If you want to hear the whole story go to my web album. You can see the brave goose that taught me what tenacity and determination is in his worlld. Made me think about it a lot and realize, "I need to be that determined in my own creativity and art. I need to not let the popcorn of life and the creative monsters that seem to attack me AND the road blocks that seem to be in my path, not deter me from what I know I need to do and where I need to go." I have never seen such a stubborn animal in my life and that is what I need to be in my creative goals...

75 Ways to Draw Your Life

An artist friend of mine and one of my most inspiring associates, has a Flicker site (linked in title above) to one of his latest projects. I am glad to see Michael Nobbs is getting a nice crowd following him and his art teachings. He deserves it.
This post is about what I did with this one day at work when I really needed a break. As usual, my resources are limited in the realm of printers and electronic tools, both at home and at work. (even though my work IS electronic publishing for the corporate world) Therefore, I could not follow his directions as given. The first time I went to his site, when I realized I could not do as he said there, I left and figured, "Oh well." Went onto something else.
This week I actually had a little downtime at work and was cleaning out email. Found the link to this project again and went back. Got a little frustrated at the process of downloading the files and knew I could not do the booklet in color or the size he made it. But decided I NEEDED the process right then of an Artist Date and making this my own.
Got the pics, re-sized, and made grayscale in Photoshop. Printed each one to it's own paper since we can not print double sided there. Made an extra copy for a friend.
Took the prints back to desk and proceeded to assemble (which was not so easy with my dyslexic brain and not having double sided prints!)
Then tried to staple and realized could not even do that. My little desk stapler, 15 years old, would not reach to center of booklet. UGH...
Not to be daunted, I figured to leave the back blanks in there and the tops and bottoms he says to trim off, figuring would fill that in with drawing too. THEN would figure out how to staple the pages into a book.
However, in the end, after sitting with the booklets overnight, I realized I wanted to have it as he designed it. His piece, even if in black ink only. So trimmed them up.
Finally it dawned on me - being an altered book artist that I could SEW the pages together. DUH. Which I did and then glue-sticked the backs and now I have two of Michael's small inspirations with which to play on and share with a friend.
Thanks Michael! I love having you in my creative life ;-)

The Art of Making Yogurt

Sometimes I think the most difficult thing about blogging is thinking of the Title for the post. Ugh. Almost as bad as writing an Artist's Statement...
This morning I finally got to where I could make my own yogurt for the first time in about 35 years. Used to do it, while living in a communal house, for thirteen people, by wrapping the quart glass bottles in towels and keeping in the gas oven with no temperature on. The heat from gas pilot was enough to make the yogurt. That went away with leaving communal living, having kids and getting a "real job"....
Here we are so many years past when I ever thought I would even live to, and I am making my own yogurt again. It was a practice, a process, an art then and today. I now have 8 hours to wait to see if it really worked, but even that is part of the practice/art. When I had my own garden I would wait months to see if a planted area would turn out - so I think I can handle this.
Even though I am using an electric yogurt maker as I have no more gas stoves or pilot lights to do the magic, the feelings of creativity are still there. Getting fresh, organic, REAL milk, measuring the amount into pan, and stirring, stirring, while heating. Inserting the thermometer to make sure it gets to the correct temperature, stirring in the culture and then pouring into the jars. It is all an art....
And then the pleasure of seeing the grid again - me and my grids in artwork! Would like to take this pic and using Photoshop turn it into one of those mystic paintings of worlds nestled next to each other with none knowing the other existed.

Where does the art go?

I have often wondered what happened to some of the pieces I have created through the years. As one gets older, even if not famous, or prolific, there can be a lot of art "out there." For some reason, many drawings and paintings I have made, waaaaay back, before family, kids, "real jobs" came about are coming back to me.
Old friends are connecting again (must be a midlife thing) and each time I get together with them, one or another, will give me, or tell me a story about a drawing I had given or sold them.
One of the first in the trend was finding the WWII drawings which I wrote about in an earlier post. Now, the last few months, I have been getting drawings from a series if ink drawings in 1971. I am not super attached to them, not even sure I think they are "good" anymore. Not important. They are what they are, but they lead me to think more about what happens to our art? My friend Ellen said it best when I told her this story.
"One of the most remarkable things about life, as it goes on, is how much we really can't tell what our affect has been on other people who have crossed our paths. You carelessly give away a drawing to a friend and forget about it; and for 35 years it has a daily affect on their lives, and on the lives of other people who enter their house! It's so impossible for us, working from the inside of our heads, to have any idea what our lives have 'meant.' We don't have access to the information."
I am glad I have had some access to that information lately. It is rather provocative and certainly ego boosting ;-)

Buddha in the Tire

In the home garden I once had, I created yard art with items "rescued," most of the time, by local teen friends from the Highway Dept across the street.
Buddha in the Tire came about as what else was I going to do with that huge thing I was given one afternoon. I needed a shelter for the garden Buddha. Needed to re-purpose and save a gift from a young friend. Needed to show the teens anything can become art and recycled, especially in outdoor art.
When I left the house I brought Buddha with me. Could not bring the tire. Below is where Buddha now rests. Not quite as unusual as before but such a natural place for Him, still on the slate stone, still outside in the air and elements, but poor guy - He needs rescuing, again. from the morning glories ;-) (yes, they were removed and restrung another place once this photo was taken....)
I miss doing yard art. Still collecting rocks and smaller items to *do* something with but miss the larger picture - so to speak ;-)

Here is where He sits now - Yes, He IS in there folks! Got His own shady grove to sit in after all these years. Now we loveingly call Him Buddha in the Bush...

Testing the waters

Have dried and pressed flowers and natural materials I grew in my garden for years. Through the years, moved from just pasting them in to a Pressed Flower journal to actually painting with them - some...
Here is a slide show stored in my web albums of the pages I am currently trying to develop. Unfinished work, publicly shown, is normally be a real no no for an artist, but am doing this so to LOOK at them in a different manner and perhaps figure out where they want me to take them.
Had captions on each too but just found one has to save each caption as it is written so lost them all! Hope to add them back in tonight. In general, you can see how they started as just 'records of pressed flowers' and moved through time to start to be 'painting materials" - again a toast to some like Keri Smith who suggest use everything! Flowers as Paintings

In Toast to Keri Smith

I noticed within the last few days a blog entry from Keri Smith regarding grids and her fondness of them. A pic of one of her net grocery bags as example. As a "commercial artist" for a million years, grids and their use for commercial art and publishing are rather boring - to be honest.
I have been stuck to grids and graph paper art for too long, but it does not really bother me too much. Gives me a sense of comfort and familiarity actually. I am NOT dishing Keri Smith here - heaven forbid! I love her work and she has inspired me many times. I just thought it a tad strange to see her bringing up grids. I would have thought she also was as tired of them as I was! However, the path is many and the rivers wide and all of that... perhaps BECAUSE she has not done "commercial art" for a million years she has not had to be part of GRIDS!!! hahahaha.
In honor of that, today, while I was working on my own project "views from my windows", I took a picture I really like with the screen in place over a very close up macro pic of my terrace garden. Here it is. I took it with the thought of making a Photoshop color sample or filter or 'something' but then later was remembering Keri's post yesterday and wanted to post this as a reflection of that.
I currently have so many of those shopping bag nets around my collection of Altered Book stores, I don't know what to do with them - but this "screen" shot was rather cool I thought!
I do have several more pics of this shoot with the door screen in place that I think turned out fabulous, but you will have to wait until I decide what to do with them. Right now I have to go finish cleaning the bathroom and take a shower ;-)

A Walking Artist Date

Went to a local arboretum yesterday. If you know me, you know, the last few years I have not been much of a "walker". I have bad knees and it is hard to walk far. Yet, it used to be one of my favorite past times. Nature walking, hiking, plein air drawing and painting - taking pics...
Anyhow, I HAD to get out yesterday and wanted to see what this place was about. My goodness, it is a nature artist's lover paradise. The smells alone, on an early summer day, slightly cloudy with a hint of rain in the air, mixed with the closeness of the large lake odors near by, was intoxicating.
(and the landscape views were not too shabby either!)
So, here is a link to the web album I stored them in. If you want to leave a comment, I would love it, but don't tell me how I *NEED* to turn off the date feature in my camera. My cousin, the real photographer in the family, already did ;-)
I know he is right but it is a leftover from showing handmade art. They always wanted to know the date you did something so they *knew* you were a working artist!

Artists "ART"

Thanks for stopping by Owen and leaving a little comment about my blog objective.
Yep - you are right, "If writer's write, artists *art.*"Thanks for reminding me.
Funny how one can go up and down with attitudes, or around and back again. I've spent time with creative building programs like the Artist's Way and Eric Maisel, then programs with meditation and affirmations, then, just like that, in one little blog post in a split second, that rhythm can all be forgotten and I post like a wanna be instead of an I AM...
So, you got me to go into my studio and play for a bit last night after work rather than watch bad TV. I just "did it." It was nice, not planned, not forced. Been messing with the dried leaves and flower bits from my previous garden life. I glue them into micro landscapes of themselves, the garden they came from, like they are my paints. Need to get a pic up here sometime soon...
Also, I just had to look up "internet 1996" as the comment about being an old-timer around here got me thinking, "WAS it that long?" Am I remembering right? I don't want to exaggerate!" I found, yes I was right! Whew - memories of AOL accounts, listserv and ARPNet as the bigshots, screeching modem in my ears, only subscribing to newsgroups. Graphics were a BIG no no. No pics unless you were someone special. Does AOL still keep their subscribers off the full www?
I used to wonder "Why am I doing this, being a visual artist, when they won't let me add pics!" Ha, it was addicting, even just the text only writing... and here we are today.
Again, thanks for stirring me up and stopping by here. I don't really advertise this place yet, or tell anyone I am here, but you found me and got me going some again... alrighty now ;-)

Disappointed but OK

Have had a big disappointment in my creative life the last week. But it is OK. Not the first and, as we all know, not the last. Was going to be featured in an article for a large online magazine but job made a stink about a "professional conflict of interests" and now I can not do it.
Must find something in the next couple days to perk me up and get me going again!
Would normally just ride it out or take time to go out into nature, however, also have two huge books to compose and behind schedule.
Hope to come back to this more a bit later when can take time to process more, but still getting used to coming here and writing regularly. Have had many ideas and longings for posts the last week but then go do something else. That seems to be the hardest - this is almost like Morning Pages and Artist Dates - just showing up and making it routine!
Ahhh, how about a share of one of my swan pics! I have these swans that have taken up residence near me and they have a nest in the reeds. First is of the one feeding and hanging out in the Bay near by. Second, is the one sitting on the nest. Interesting I can not tell the male from female or which one is sitting on nest or out feeding! Sometimes I think it would be nice for humans to be more like that.... Soon, the nest will be totally hidden by the cattails they are in. I hope in the summer to see the babies!

Busy Weekend - WWII drawings up

As the title says, it was a busy weekend. Got the usual chores done, shopping and laundry...
Also got some more pics uploaded to my web albums from the days I did the WWII drawing/murals. Seems so long ago... but needed them up there for showing.
Creative Sharing Note of weekend: Watched the movie Gypsy Caravan. LOVED it! Best "live music tour" movie I have ever seen. I don't see many really as not my kind of genre, but this one was fantastic. The passion, the life, the true artistry is life of the musicans and dancers - just totally inspiring...

Postcard Art sent

Suddenly got a good deal, over the internet, for printing 100 postcards to advertise my art again. Have wanted to send old friends and clients "something" to tell them I am alive and creating after all this time in corporate. Was waiting for a deal, then waiting until I had the "right" piece to send, then waiting until I was really out of the day job, etc etc... always waiting, when this offer came through to my lap top out of the blue. The company is Vista Print.
Had to pick a picture right then and words to put on it, so here is what it turned out to be. Sending them out in the world this week. The words on the back say "artDreams created for you" and list my web album associated with this blog and the email.

American Memorial Day

Spent some of the weekend staying with my Mother in law who's husband was in WWII and who's eldest son, my former husband, was in Vietnam. Neither actually were killed during their war, but, both had emotional residue from their service. My former husband had issues which dominated the rest of his life. I knew him before and after and I lived with much of it. ...the less said the better in this post. What this post is, is a memorial to their service by posting the grave pictures I took when I took Mom there to pay respects.

Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity

I was referred to this TED talk awhile ago but just got to listen to it today. Am so excited by it, I had to link to it here to keep for my own posterity if nothing else.

However, for anyone interested in creativity, making art, showing up at the page... this is a MUST listen too!

Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity

I wish I could embed it here for you but can not figure how to do that as yet! hahaha, always evolving ;-)

Friday night and got something to post

Here's a picture of my latest "artwork". Not one of my "masterpieces" but what I have worked on for awhile. A piece of muslin found in the stuff my daughter left at my place when she moved on with her boyfriend to Lost Angeles. (mis-spelling intended)

This is a drawing she startd on muslin in high school, as a project, but never finished. She was never one who might embroider or do this kind of sewing. Just something they tried to make her do but she moved on to other things.

I found it and "saw" the old saying I used to hear from my own Mother, "Home is Where the Heart Is".

So, I added that in cross stitch. Made the smiley faces into hearts and added some more...

Sending out to her in mail tomorrow, in hopes it will make the RV she lives in, on the streets, a bit more feeling like HOME.....

Latest portrait

Have not drawn too many portraits the last few years. Finally finished one for a dear friend of mine. Her grandchildren all at the same age around six months. She suddenly realized she had photos of them all that age and wearing a hat! A nice portrait and size for hanging on the wall in a hall. I greatly appreciated her getting me back into drawing again.

object of blog

I wanted to have a point to writing a blog, or maybe a couple points...

My calling my art work "artDreams" has been around for a long time... but that can always be a generic goal or "object of my ART". With this, I can get away with no real work towards it because of day job and life getting in the way... So here are a couple quick goals with this blog:

1. semi-daily reporting of the creative "thing" I had done for the day - not necessarily the ART of my dreams but somehow even a daily task that makes me think of art/creativity/spirit and have something to share.

2. to aid in this, the reporting may not be correct English... not even full sentences... to be almost like Morning Pages of the Artist Way, except, done in the evening.

3. a way to release some of the pressures, goals, and count down towards official retirement in one year and then in which of course the goal is that: I WILL BE AN "ARTIST" ;-)

at a loss for title right now

Realized, today,I need to write something more than what has been in my head "pretending" to write or journal or post or whatever we call free flow writing these days.

But, with the date staring at me there - how long it has been since I actually took time to write - I feel I have to do NOW.... write whatever is going on... no pressure.... no problem.... just write.

At the same time, I think should not post and save this, then do a better, more organized post later. However, I know I will probably not come back later, at least tonight. So just do it is a blog motto?

There is no save. At least I can not find it right now. Ugh, so THIS would be the "post" for tonight. At least it is a a newer date. I am just learning my way around this site.
What if I post and then, in a half hour, think of what I wanted to post or what might be a "better" post, more timely??? There has to be some edit features I will find.

Can, I have TWO posts from one lap top in one night??? thinking that my *goal* is to write blog posts a few times per week. Not worrying about perfect language or most intelligent conversation.... just TRY to make some part of it centered around artDreams... OK, goal for tomorrow is to figure in more detail how to use this software ;-)

Starting again

Starting a new blog. The one I started last year was just not right for me. I started it in an angry mood to have one in which to rant about this consumer world, but did not post enough.

I need to have a blog with which to use to develop a positive and creative influence in my life.

With the google album feature, I dream to share words, pics, and my art in the web albums and this blog.

See my pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/artdreams