Thinking of Others

Next weekend is Mothers Day, a very big deal to a lot of people worldwide.

This week, is a little known awareness week:
Infertility Awareness week.

This video is in honor of all those who struggle daily.

What IF? A Portrait of Infertility from Keiko Zoll on Vimeo.

A Life Well Lived

Experience has taught me that the greatest inner tranquility comes from developing love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts our mind at ease. It helps remove our own fears and insecurities and gives us strength to face obstacles - it is the ultimate source of success in life.

~ HH Dalai Lama

Big Celebration

After 18 years, my husband has cracked the code to me birthday.....

the longer the celebration the happier I will be.

I am celebrating the BIG 40 this weekend into next weekend.

I have asked for it to all be kept secret from me and he and others have played along so far.

What a luck lucky girl I am !!

Back to the cake and cookies

~the birthday girl~

Big Migration

May is going to be a big gallery month for me....BIG

I have started to gather work for various locations and started the delivery.

The first two locations are part of an Open Studio exhibit

Montecito Frame and Gallery

&

Gallery 855 at the Art Center

Here is a MAP of all the locations

the next ones are related to the SB Printmakers

Info to follow.

Drunken Sailor

Art geek alert

8ply mat cutter

I am a traditional artist.

I know how to cut mats, frame images, burnish plates, develop film, print proofs, mix chemicals

hands-on is my training and my motto.

I have a problem deligating responsiblity...just ask former supervisors!

hahaha

(I am my own boss now)

So I am gathering tools...great fun tools!

Hell you only live this life once right?!

For many years I have cut my own mats for my work.

When it was time to buy a mat cutter of my own, I saved for a month...and at the minimum wage I was paid back then...it took a great deal of effort.

I use it so much that it has paid for itself times over.

Well Logan just came out with a new 8 play mat cutter.

For those of you in the know, you know what I am excited about. For all the rest of the people who don't live in my house...8 ply could only be cut commerically before now (literal translation= $$$)

Now I can cut them at home! Museum grade thick mats, professional thickness...

I am such a geek., and a happy one at that, it is en route to me now.

Big Sign

"In the toilet"

Well it has become glaringly obvious that I am not going to be able to blog everyday this month.

I am sure giving it a big effort and a big try...so here is yet another belated entry.

"April Storm"

There is a storm a brewing.

 The clouds came in overnight and rained half of yesterday and then the strong storm winds pushed the clouds away and I am greeted again by a bright sunny day.

Sometimes I feel like this is the pattern of my life...extreme calms punctuated with extreme storms.

Heck isn't it all our lives.

I think for me, the practice of how I deal with these extremes has been key to staying in my boat.

A yoga teacher once said to my class, "you are taking this class to learn how to fall; so when you are 70 and trip taking your groceries into the house you can get up again and brush yourself off."

Here is to another Asana, another downward dog, another breath.

"To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else"
HH Dalai Lama

Big day of nothing

One of my two pieces in the foreground at the Earth & Sky exhibit.

"Signal" digital C-print 2009

I stayed home today to wait for a package to be delivered. It also gave me a chnace to get a little much needed sleep, and I slept till 9am....way way way late for me. Every effort to get out of bed before then was like fighting thru a sleeping pill.

I did a lot of nothing today...far from what I had planned when I layed down the night before.

How is it that it all seems possible the night before when you are planning it out in your head and when the sun comes up the next day it all seems scattered to the winds?

frustrating indeed.

so I swept the floors.

My other work being looked at

" My tears made it hard to see" digital C-print, 2009

Big finish

A portrait of me by my 6 yr old niece

The Artwalk is over, I have sold a few things, met a few personal goals...chatted with some dear new friends and am now ready for a wonderful warm bath to soak my tired dogs.

Thank you to all that came to enjoy the weekends activities!!

17th was big

My pop hung out with me all day...thanks to Stacie Logue for this pic!

I spent all day yesterday at Artwalk, talking and trying to not get sunburned.

People love the flags and babyclothes....many of which went home with others.

Another full day ahead of me...pictures to follow.

Another Option

this big boy gave me both dinner and breakfast

and

a lot of gas.

Halting production

With a big pile of packaged goods in front of me, my sweetie lovingly told me to

 "stop production, you have enough"

So friends, I am done making for Artwalk.

I only have to clip a few threads and make an inventory sheet....then tomorrow we set the tent in place.

I feel fine...fine and signed

I am making available signed handcolored prints

the whole series will be available matted and signed and handcolored

I love how these look!

big gift

I bought myself a new camera toy

Preparing for a big production

tonight after a long long day of numbers and symbols I am cutting more paper for more flags.

I am making a list, so I don't forget all the things I need to have done by weeks end.

I am putting the necklaces together and ordering photographs.

I am eating ice cream

and

taking another hot bath.

Big thoughts and timelines

If I was a singer, I would look like this

I am too distracted with work and packing and self imposed deadlines that I can not even think strait.

So I here is the random pic of the day of me "taking a time out on the patio to breathe and think."

Xander is helping the best way he knows how.

I like wearing that jacket, it feels like I am wrapped in a warm blanket all day.

 Safer from my crazy world.

Hope everyone had a great Sunday!

World of color!

cupcake print

handprinted lino with added hand coloring

Big work today; lots of assembly and packing for next weekends big gig....hopefully someone will want these items and I won't have to do the walk of shame back to the car with all the same goods I took from it hours beforehand.

I added color to the prints and I really like how they look, just waiting for the mats to arrive next week and they will be packed and ready to roll.

My newest set of prints of the cowboy seem to be really growing on me.
My nerves might get the better of me and I will make more new linos before next week
These little flags came out great...or at least I like them.
Hopefully they will be a big hit too.

cowboy flag

big delays...

I feel asleep before posting last nights blog...I think I get one more time to try and post daily.

I am the blogger, so I will make up the rules as I see fit.

hahaha (evil laugh)

Here is my newest couple:

I can barely walk in my studio from the amount of product that is in various stages of labeling, photographing or packaging.

more to come.

Big cat little snail

Theo and the snail

I think this theme is proving to be a little more difficult than I had thought it would be.

I am searching my mind for something to say or express in the theme of BIG.

Our cats are allowed outside time on the patio while we are there.

We tried the let them hang out on their own thing...but Theo tried to become a flying squirrel and I just about had a literal heart attack at seeing him cling to the edge of the terra cotta tiles on our roof. Xander meanwhile has no fear factor, so a jump is a jump; off the roof or down two stories into incoming traffic.

So that was an easy choice....outside but monitored.

While sitting outside eating lunch I watched our strictly indoor cats "discover" a snail.

Xander assessing if it can be eaten or simply tormented

*no snails were harmed only mildly harassed

On seeing these photos I realize that Xander looks like a Chuck Jones cat.

A classic Tom from Tom and Jerry

I loved these cartoons as a kid, I didn't like the ones when they spoke.

Those were just wierd.

I am off to draw now.....

Thanks Chuck wherever you are.

Big finds!!

Due to a big headache I am late in posting April 7th's entry.

There is a whole cult of the plastic camera, and The Diana camera is the badass big shot, along with Holga and Seagull. I am totally in love with the look the plastic camera creates and if I was able to still processing my own film, I would be eating up chemicals in the darkroom with pure abandonment.
But alas
I am now without a darkroom and require the assistance of others to process my film.

While daydreaming a little yesterday and found this AMAZING item....
This this little jewel is the "middle road" the happy marriage of the camera and the lens.
The dream-maker
http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/diana-lens-for-SLRs
ahhhhhhhhhh

I have also been experimenting with TTV (thru the viewfinder) photography.
Here is what that is all about and the picture at the top of the post is one on mine using this technique.

I am so in love with making art....I truely cannot image doing anything else full time any more.

Picture of the day

Big picture of a Tiny Van

 Until I really get the hang of it, I am expanding on the idea of "Big".

Funday Monday

I feel like I am in a funhouse at a carnival....what a wild ride today!

Lots of great stuff happened after the morning rain left and the wind blew open the blue blue sky.

I have a line of kids clothes...I have been making handmade kids items for the last few years.

I call is The Bird & The Bean I have a site and a blog and an Etsy Shop.

It keeps me busy when I need things to maintain their speed of utter chaos.

Today I got a little email telling me that an ecowise tee that I make is being featured on Etsy's The Storque.

It is kind of a big deal...to give you an idea of the exposure that this one item has received...the picture had been looked at a little over 100 times before the story broke today...as of now 9:30ish pm it has been viewed almost 500 times!!

Here is the super great write up on Eco ideas for kids

PLUS

Sweetbeets AKA Lisa Zuraw (the author) has some seriously classy letterpress cards in her shop.

SweetBeets also wrote about the article on her BEAUTIFUL blog ModEcoKids!!

I am very thankful for the coverage and the interest in my little clothes.

I updated my sites as quickly as I could after this broke and posted more items to sell, maybe I will get a mailbox full of orders soon. Plus the more clothes I sell the bigger the donation to KIVA!

A great day for the kids clothes.

After work, (machine shop) I went to the COOP gallery I am part of to hear all about the upcoming May show, enter a lottery to find out where my work will hang and hear about all the art events that are coming to the lovely towns of Carpinteria and Summerland.

My name was pulled from a bag to be one of two people to show in a little gallery in Carpintera! WOW

(I bought a lottery ticket tonight, I need to buy some frames)

Plus I am also showing in Summerland and Ojai and Santa Barbara too!!

On the way home, I had a panic attack and tried to breathe in light of all the work that I need to get out the door by the end of the month!

So here I sit writing all the due dates in my calendar, monies due where and when and calculating hours in each day to do all the required tasks.

Send in the Clowns!!!!

Not so big Sunday

Easter eggs for the kitties

 

Today is Sunday....I love Sundays for the most part.
Many of them involve waffles or a newspaper and chai.
Last night we ate a lovely Indian meal where I consumed too many cups of yummy indian chai and proceeded to stay up until 3am trying to not paint walls or rationalize "just staying up into the next day". I made use of some of this time and made a logo for my sister-in-laws new baking blog:

http://www.starflourbaking.blogspot.com/

 I am proud of my limited graphic design abilites.

When 8:30 arrived my brain had already kicked into gear and I was out of bed and working on art.
Today I redesigned my blog and started sewing for Artwalk.

Once the sun began to set, we realized that we had nothing in the house aside from a fridge filled with condiments, so I headed out to pick up something for dinner and possible leftovers for tomorrows lunch.
Much to my surprise, EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED, when did every place decide that Easter is the same as Christmas and that it was ok to close all eateries?!

I ended up at the "Ghetto Vons", the grocery store down the street from us that has three security guards, two metal decectors and a Wells Fargo in the liquor department.

We use this place as a last resort for shopping; and almost always have a "cultural experience" when having to pick up something there. Tonight, it was also the only place open that had things to eat available for sale.

I made chicken (I just learned how to cook chicken) and biscuits and garlic green beans.
It wasn't a very big day.

Big Tired

Cat club mat for the patio

" Only cats club there, meow"

It was a success, I slept in 2 hours intervals most of the night and thank goodness 6:30am arrived as early as it did or I might have gotten three hours of sleep in a row!

I can't help myself, I wake to check on her all night long...it is an auto alarm in my mind.

She awoke "starving" and we were quick to make sure she was fed.

"the Spring Chicken/Easter Bunnie left a surprise in a basket at the door"

100% Uncles idea

1st request, Strawberry Awfuls, we call them this at her urging....Uncle makes them and they are REALLY good...but seeing that we were up two hours before Farmers Market rings the bell, we had to make due with the blueberries that were in the freezer. Good thinking Uncle!

Blueberry Awfuls...mmmmmmm

Mastering the combo lock on the gate

After breakfast we headed out for some manual labor at the garden...once again she ran the show and seeing that we were mostly zombie at this point we did as was requested.

Helping turn soil

Watering Auntie M's winter green jungle

Working up a sweat we headed out for our morning smoothie at 10 am and seeing it had been three hours since she had eaten who are we to deny her brain food.

I mean she has a lot more questions and we have to think of all the answers for them!

Now that she is headed home, and the cats have extracted themselves from under the bed...I miss my name being called every 10 seconds.

Wax resist colored eggs

When is the next school break?

smore making "urban style"

Big is the theme

admiring her uncles map under the magnifing lamp.

I signed up for NaBloPoMo, is stands for National Blog Posting Month. The ideas is to write everyday for a month. This months theme is BIG, not all the months have a theme, but I thought this one fit me.

So prepare for a month of rambling.

I have also realized that my blog needs to be called something...besides my name.

Some cleaver little subtitle. I am working on that.

So todays Big, is my niece.

Overnight with my niece, she is kind of a big deal and I am totally in awe of her...she never ceases to amaze me. Todays questions were big and her imaginings were big and her resistance to going to bed was big.

We catered to her desires to break rules and set her own boundries...after all when you sleep at your aunt and uncles house, things are just different. So we cater to that as well.

Nightime reading

Buzz Buzz-Big Month

New items soon to be available in the shop:

personal indoor flags

Various themes are being made.

Plus a whole new line of cards.

Blank so you can say just the right thing.

Escape, dream or just a quiet hello

Dinner party or Housewarming

Birthday or just want to say something sweet?