• Art - Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: a decade of blogging edition

    April 10, 2017 - By 

    Today for T stands for Tuesday I’d like you to help me celebrate a real milestone…an entire decade of blogging!!!

    I am so incredibly shocked that I have been at the keyboard sharing my work with the world for 10 years now! I started the blog on a whim and wasn’t sure if I’d even had any readers but was thinking of it as a digital diary of sorts. I hadn’t ever had success a paper diary or journal so who knew I’d still be at it all these years later.

    Take a peek at my very first post…

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    The blog itself has went through many changes over the years, but though it all the content has remained the same. The visual presentation and the platform have changed. I was on Blogger for the first 5 yrs then purchased my own domain and moved over to WordPress.

    Blogging helped me learn to identify myself as an artist…something that was very difficult to say out loud for the first time. Of course, part of that is likely due to growing up in the upper mid-west, raised in a conservative Lutheran church.  We cannot take a complement. No seriously…it’s a sickness. If someone says, “OH I love that new blouse!”  Instead of just saying “thank you” like a normal person, people like me will try our best to avoid accepting the complement by down playing everything… “Oh gosh, you wouldn’t believe the great deal I found on it at blah blah store…I’m sure it would look even better on you…” totally avoiding the acknowledgement of the compliment because that would be to “full of yourself”.

    Ok not sure where that tangent came from but hey…it’s my anniversary…I can get off track if I want.

    I’ve “met” so many wonderful like minded people through blogging from all over the world. I shared my art, crafts and photography. Gardening, travels and kitchen experiments. My failures and celebrations. Blogging has become an integral part of my self-expression.

    I have noticed a tendency lately for people to use more social networking than blogging. I have found myself falling into that trap as well. I post something on Instagram so I don’t bother creating a post about it.  Such as this…

    A painting in progress. I was commenting that I wasn’t sure where I was going with it or even if it looked best in this direction. This quick superficial post without a followup on the blog is what I want to stop myself from doing…mainly because it’s a little lazy. It’s tendency I’d like to break myself of quickly.

    So have you had enough deep, introspective thoughts from me yet today? It’s been that kind of day. Having an introductory meeting with hospice will do that to a person.

    We do have some exciting things on the horizon though…a wedding anniversary and a choir trip. Truth be told, I’m only going in spirit on that trip, but I can’t wait to see and hear all about it! More on that at a later date.

    So what’s on tap for me…an appt for mom and a parent meeting about the trip to NY.

    What are you doing today?

    T stands for Tuesday
  • Around home - Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: highs and lows edition

    April 4, 2017 - By 

    This week has been filled with a roller coaster ride of emotions and events…frankly, I’m exhausted. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play along with T stands for Tuesday but I’m here and will share the highs and lows with you.

    Let’s just get the low over with so we can move on to brighter things. My mom has Stage 4 Melanoma so her time left with us is limited. Exactly how limited, we don’t know. Now my absences from blogland both in posting and visiting make a bit more sense. Anyway…mom is determined to live what life she has left on her own terms which I highly praise her for.

    She has a good friend in her building that has taken a big sister role in her life. She is such a sweet lady and I am so grateful for their friendship. I wanted to show some appreciation to her and put my nervous energy to a creative use.

    (Note the wine glass as my beverage for T stands for Tuesday)

     I think it turned out pretty well and when I delivered it to her apartment I learned that yellow is her favorite color! I love it when things work out that way.

    I also got my plants started…well some of them. I still want to start a few more.

    I used old kid cups that were just going to hit the recycle bin as my planters. I literally had them in hand over the bin when I realized they could be used for my seedlings. I just drilled a couple holes in the bottom for drainage and ta-da…mini pots.

    You may also notice the markers in each pot. I cut down container lids and wrote on them with sharpie marker. Since it’s April (Earth month) I thought I’d point out those little recycling tips.

    Now just about a week later I have this! 

    Do not adjust your screens….that is the full spectrum UV light you see in action. The different color LED’s all combine to cast a pinkish purple light and obviously the plants love it!

    On Thursday last week the kids and I drove to Fargo, ND. We spent the night in a hotel before taking a tour of NDSU in the next morning. J said he thought it was a little too big for his taste but is still planning to apply since they have really good guaranteed scholarships for students with high GPA and ACT scores. Fingers crossed that he does well on the ACT this month. Mini-me said she didn’t like NDSU at all. Ok…check that one off the list for potential schools for her.  I, myself, spent a brief time at NDSU as a freshman. The campus has certainly changed since then.

    I also did some work on this painting.

    I am letting it sit for a few days to decide if its done or not. I’m thinking it is…what do you think?

    Today has a repairman coming out for my stove. Luckily I called in just days before the warranty was to expire. Also lots of phone calls and emails to take care of since I pretty much took yesterday off. I really needed a breather day after last week.

    What are you doing today?

    T stands for Tuesday
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Mixed media girl

    January 22, 2017 - By 

    I had to try out another girl right away but on a sturdy substrate this time. 

    I glued random bits of papers down onto a discarded book cover for texture and a first layer of color. I added paint in various colors covering up the blank areas next. I loosely sketched my girl and began filling in with paint, gelatos, neocolors, charcoal pencil and even plain old colored pencil until I got the look I wanted.

    NExt I added stamping with Staz-on and lightly colored them in with watered down paint. Again I used Tim Holtz stickers for my words. Lastly I added the yellow lace trim at the top to give it a finished and feminine look.

    I’ve already sketched another face this time on an old canvas. Hopefully you’ll be seeing that one real soon.

    I’ve been very prolific with my art over the past few days. I have two journal pages that I can’t wait to share as well. (well…I am going to wait until the next post to share them) Stay tuned.