abundance

 

 so beautiful...yes?

gratitude

It's the day after Christmas and I'm just feeling the goodness of it.  Yesterday was lovely, but filled with feeding family, overcooking the roast beef, and lots of dirty dishes. Today is laid back, leftovers and paper plates.  There's time to breathe and that's a good thing, I'm realizing, after this week.

Monday, I got, what has to be every mother's nightmare, a phone call from a stranger on my daughter's cell phone telling me that she had been in a car accident.  I hear, but don't hear, that she's alright, that an ambulance has been called, and that her car has flipped.   Flipped, hospital, accident, these are the words I remember and try to forget so that I can make my feet continue to move.  I rush to the hospital, about an hour away, and she is ok, she is ok, she is ok. That's what I keep repeating to myself.  Just a really nasty cut on her wrist, where she tried to protect herself as the car turned over.  I can barely bring myself to think about that.  As a parent, you want to be there to protect your children.  It is a visceral thing.  I know I have to forgive myself for not being there.  Part of parenting is letting go, right? I can only be thankful that people were there to take care of her, that someone up above was looking out for her, thankful that she's here, resting on the couch, eating Christmas cookies. Today I can finally breathe and feel that I am blessed.  I got the best Christmas gift I could ever receive.  I am deeply grateful.

palette

I am addicted to making treasuries on etsy.  I particularly love focusing on shops that haven't had a sale yet, kind of like rooting for the underdog.  I count myself as one.  I find it very soothing, like creating a jigsaw puzzle with my own pieces, creating my own palette. It sort of feels like making an online collage. Anyway, here's one that features my daughter's print - Blue, third from the left.

Enjoy!

an introduction of sorts

 

My friend recently said to me that when you walk into our house, you know who we are. So I thought I'd let my studio do that, try to tell you who I am, that is.  I had to stop myself from cleaning it up, putting things away, you know, like you do for company or maybe, your mother-in-law.  But the real me is just not that neat.  My work is messy and gluey and requires lots of cutting and lots and lots of paper. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  So while I do like to start a new project with the decks cleared, that 's just a temporary reality that doesn't last very long.   

Hmmm...now I feel kinda naked.

Ok, so now I'm imagining all of you naked so I don't feel so embarrassed.

okay

I'm a mixed media/collage artist, which for me means, that I dabble in everything.  Like a jack of all trades but a master of none kind of thing.  Here's a bit of what I do.

This mixed media collage was inspired by the headline - I am my own house.  I connected with those words in some way and worked without thinking, just allowing a kind of flow. So here I am now, thinking about it.  Sooo...to me the house symbolizes the outer shell to the inner life.  It's literally the shelter for the life within, my children, and figuratively, I am the house, I am their shelter.  But the house is also my shelter, the protective covering to my inner thoughts and feelings.

Wow, that was like therapy.

Same time next week?