P-R-I-O-R-I-T-I-E-S

Personal review
Revealed
Involvement in things
Other than those
Ranking high on my priority list.
I realized it was
Time to make some changes and
Invest in those activites that I
Enjoy and fulfill my personal goals for this
Season of life

And so, I have done some soul searching and have made the following decisions:

First, I have decided to no longer be involved in the Gallery at Marina Square. Don’t get me wrong, the gallery and the people in the gallery are great, I just found that during this season in life, I was spending more time and resources than I could afford at the gallery.

Second, I have signed up to be a “Big Buddy” at church. I don’t know all of the details yet, but when they made an announcement asking for adults with special interests or skills to sign up to share them with a child, I was immediately reminded of the days I taught art in my home and knew I had to sign up. It was a wonderful experience to be able to share the gifts that God has given me and encourage children along the way. I look forward to learning more about the program and can’t wait to meet the child they pair me up with!

Third, I have to confess, I had great intensions when I started this blog, but I made the number one mistake – for me. I didn’t set a schedule. And so, I will commit to blogging regularly on Tuesdays…and irregularly = ) on other days. My Tuesday blog will include a “What’s on my easel” section, so you can see what I am working on at the moment, and other things that I think might be of interest to you.

Now what about you? Is there something that you have wondered about, or are interested in knowing/learning more about? If so, please let me know, either via email or posted as a comment here.

As always, I appreciate you! May you have an absolutely lovely day and may you live your life with your priorities in order and fulfilling those things that are important to you!

It's a Wrap!

Wire wrap that is! Last night my BFF Saundra and I took a wire wrap jewelry making class. This is our 2nd jewelry making class -- the first was a beginning class taken last fall -- you know the kind, "this is a bead, this is a pair of needle nose pliers," etc. Even though it was a beginner class, we learned enough in one night to complete a necklace, bracelet, and pair of earrings -- and we left feeling comfortable enough with our "skills" that I made earrings for my friends for Christmas 2008.

I love to learn new things and last night's wire wrap class was quite fun. The class was held at BEADS OF SHARON, an unassuming beadshop in San Luis Obispo. The shop is located in an industrial park, so unless you know it's there, you have probably driven by and missed the wonderful inventory, classes, and assistance that Sharon offers. (Also, Sharon is gracious enough to offer my greeting cards, magnets, and miniature original paintings.)

Sharon started the evening by asking us to pick out 10 beads, plus some findings. We selected our beads and findings and she immediately started us on wire wrapping with a copper wire -- evidently copper is a little easier for beginners to use to learn the technique. As we felt comfortable with the process, we abandoned our sample wire and switched to sterling silver wire and set to the task of creating a bracelet and a pair of earrings. In just 3-1/2 hours, Sharon took us from fumbling jewelry maker wanna-bes, to wire wrappers...

The beads in my bracelet are from top left, clockwise: Garnet, Sterling Silver Bead, New Jade, Yellow Turquoise, Glass Pearl, New Jade, a nut, Serpentine, and another Sterling Silver bead. Sharon didn't skimp on the materials she allowed us to use for our first projects, and she made sure each person had a good understanding of the process.

If you ever have the chance, I would recommend visiting the Beads of Sharon shop and/or taking a class. You might even consider a "girls night" out, birthday party or shower there. It is a great opportunity to hang out with a wonderful bunch of ladies, learn something new, and add to your jewelry wardrobe all at the same time!

Morro Bay Collage Update

You probably thought that I had forgotten about the Morro Bay Collage. Well, I just had several projects that captured my attention, but you'll be happy to know that they are now behind me. I was able to spend some time this weekend working on the Morro Bay Collage.

As I examined the painting, I felt like it was just too blue, so I changed the sky color once again and added some of the colors from the sky to make the painting more cohesive. I'm posting the previous version and the current version so you can compare.

Previous version

Current Version

My goal is to complete this painting this week and get the complimentary Morro Bay Collage cards to those of you who voted for the "light" sky previously.

Oh, I just remembered. I harped on the benefits of painting digitally, but found one "little" problem with the whole thing. As I worked on the painting this weekend I painted, touched up, refined, etc. and then lost all of my work -- you see, I forgot just how important the "SAVE" key is when working digitally. Oh well, lesson learned!

A Blast from the Past

What were you doing in 1969 -- if you were even born then? Me, I was in the 4th grade and evidently had a school assignment to illustrate a poem. The poem of choice was "Poor Old Lady". If you are unfamiliar with this poem, I have included the words to walk you through the illustrations.

Poor Old Lady
by Anonymous

Poor old lady, she swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a spider.
It squirmed and wriggled and turned inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a bird.
How absurd! She swallowed a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a cat.
Thank of that! She swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a dog.
She went the whole hog when she swallowed the dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow.
She swallowed the cow to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.

Poor old lady, she swallowed a horse.

She died, of course.

The last time I visited my parents my Mom handed over this 40 year old memory. Thank you Mom, for being so sentimental and for keeping the things that we kids made over the years. I love you and can't wait to see what else you dig out of your hope chest!

A Fathers' Day Surprise

This past weekend was Fathers' Day. I didn't get to visit with my Dad in person, but did so by phone. I love you, Daddy!

My husband, David, had been wanting to take the "kids" out to the lake, to see if he could start preparing Zoe to surf with him, so we made this our Fathers' Day family event. We went to Lopez Lake and David donned his wetsuit and paddled out quite a ways. Zoe, Kip and I stood at the shore and waited for the call, "Come Zoe!" She ran/swam out to her "daddy" and climbed onto his surfboard. Then I called her from the shore and she swam back to me. We did this several times, so she would see the surfboard as a respite. Doesn't she look content?

The next step is to buy her a doggie life jacket and take her to practice in the surf of the ocean.

Okay, now the surprise.... On the morning of Fathers' Day, I opened up the July/August issue of "Watercolor Artists" Magazine

that I had received in the mail the day before. I sat there reading and realized they had published a "tip" that I had submitted on-line. The tip is actually one that Deb Festa passed on to me, and has become a time and painting saver, so thank you Deb!

When working from a photograph, write down the colors used for the various parts of the painting on the back of the photo. This way you will know exactly what colors you used and you will never have to guess how you accomplished that color mix. Then, keep a completed painting file and include the reference photo with the color notes on the back and a copy of the completed painting.

Anyway, just thought I would share. Have a great day and keep your eyes open for the little surprises that are before you!

Hello Again...Hello.

Yes, I've let my blog postings lapse a bit. Sadly, I can't really "blame" it on anything. I've been no busier than usual, and I have even been working on a new set of artwork for cards. They are very linear -- drawn with an ink pen and then "colored in" -- some with colored pencils and some on the computer using "digital watercolor."

Does this type image appeal to you? Should I keep going or stop immediately and return to doing something more in line with my "style"?

As always, thanks for your comments, your emails and most of all your support!

Deborah

Creative Challenge #14

For the last week I’ve been away from my computer, email and painting…well watercolor and digital painting anyway…

My parents went away on vacation and while they were gone, my sister, husband and I did a mini makeover in their home. My husband installed crown molding in their living and dining rooms and we painted the walls taupe, the ceiling off white, and the trim and moldings white. It was a fun project and my parents returned yesterday to find their home not as they left it…. There were a few casualties – I broke their drapery rod, ruined a rug, and broke a blind, but other than that, they were grateful = )

So, I’m back home and thinking that I need to paint…but what? I have so many projects started and I know I need to work on them, but I just received my latest copy of Corel Painter Magazine and there is a challenge posted. There are a number of images and the challenge is to take one or more of the images and make a digital painting. As soon as I saw the images an idea for a painting popped into my head – I’m not sure if it is a good one, but it is an idea nonetheless and now I am working on a challenge painting.

The images I have chosen to incorporate into the painting are:



From the above images, I have created this preliminary image…





and have painted it a bit to develop this painting…so far anyway. What do you think? It is not my “style” at all, but definitely something to stretch me.



Life provides a series of opportunities to learn and grow – I hope I never tire of being willing to try something new.