Secret #3 -- Following Your Fascinations

The prompt for this secret was to write about what “en-courages” us and then to take one small step in the direction of our dreams.

I know it sounds sappy, but my husband’s love and encouragement helps me be brave. He is my constant, unfailing support. He reminds me to believe in myself and that I’m stronger that I think I am. I can do more with him by my side, and those things I absolutely can’t do, he can do for me.

Journaling helps, certainly, as does talking to my best friend, my mentor, art friends, and/or my husband about my fears. All support me fully and encourage my every endeavor. Being well-prepared helps with some things, but over preparation just causes increased anxiety in other situations. Doing the hard thing first often helps, as does making a list (so I can cross things off!).  I’m a believer in the law of attraction, so I set my intentions and then just try to stay aligned with them, taking whatever action I feel inspired to take; inspired action gives me courage.

I took my brave step on Tuesday. I set up a complicated still life and drew. I have high anxieties around drawing, so this was quite the way for me to spend my afternoon. I’m taking a basic drawing class at the local art gallery, but I don’t practice outside of class, because of these anxieties. Since then, creative juices have flowed steadily. In fact, I’m in the midst of an all-nighter, creating away!

Another Show For Me???

A few days ago, I received a phone call from an acquaintance of mine who manages the art for a local coffee shop. She asked me if I'd be interested in doing a one-woman show. I told her that I'd have to check out the venue before I committed to the show, but I'm pretty excited about the opportunity! I'll either go Friday or Saturday to look at the space and see if it's something I can work with. My big concern is having enough art to fill the space! I sold three pieces at my Featured Artist Show and I've not replaced them in my inventory. I am working on a table-top item right now, but I don't know if the venue is table-top friendly -- another reason to check it out before I commit to the show.

For those of you who don't believe in coincidence ... Just this evening, I ran into a friend who asked if I was going to have another show anytime soon. That's almost weird, isn't it? A little wink from the Universe, perhaps?

Secret #2 -- Honoring Your Inspirations

I’m still playing “catch-up” with my 12-Secrets posts. Chapter Two presents the reader with three challenges. The first is to spend 15 minutes a day in quiet time, simply to listen to your thoughts. The second is to build a creative sanctuary, even if it’s just a collection of inspiring objects in a portable box. The third challenge is a Creative Style Inventory.

I have not done the first challenge on a regular basis. I could claim that I’ve been to busy, but I believe that I could find 15 minutes to do something that was important to me. The reality is that it never occurred to me to do this again, after I read the challenge. I just turned the page and went about my business. I confess that there was a little bit of resistance on my part, as I read the activity, especially as it is a daily, repetitive, activity. I will try it when I’m finished with this post to see how it feels.

I’ve also made a decision not to do the second challenge for now. John and I are looking at apartments, getting ready to move soon. That seems like a bad time to be creating a new space in my home. Yes, I could just create a box of inspiring objects – but I have too many inspiring objects for that! I have rubber stamps, fabric swatches, paints, ephemera; I’m ready to get into a new dwelling and get things organized! We are hoping to find someplace big enough for me to have my own art room.

So that leaves the Creative Style Inventory. I thought I’d share my answers with you as I work through them.

• When did your creative awakening or reawakening occur? About four or five years ago, I made a new, highly creative, friend and she encouraged me to start making jewelry as I had a hard time finding jewelry that fit. That started my creative reawakening, even though I no longer make jewelry (in fact, I did not make much jewelry, although I sure bought a lot of supplies!). From there, I went on to try my hand at more sculptural works, and began playing with fabric. I eventually hosted a group of artists who were exploring color journals in a round-robin format. I remember mailing off a book the morning that my father died; that was three years ago in February. Since then, I’ve gone on to be the Featured Artist at the Redlands Art Association (October, 2008), with a show of mixed-media pieces.
• What talents do you have, naturally? I’ve been told that I’m good at composition and color. I’ve also been told that I have a way with words.
• Which elements (fire, water, wood, air) draw you toward them? Fire and water. I’m fascinated with small (candle sized) flames; I love the way they flicker and move about. Water is very calming and soothing to me.
• Where and when do you create? Where and when do you wish to create? I tend to create at the dining room table, usually in the evenings or late at night. I’m trying to work with my creativity, coaxing it out at other hours. I wish I had a room of my own in which to create, and I wish that I was more of a morning person. I wish I created throughout the day, every day. Creating everyday is a goal of mine. I don’t expect to create a masterpiece each day, but I do believe in the value of showing up to my tools, of honing my skills.
• What activates your creative energy and what drains it? My creative energy is often activated by the promise of a new technique or a new product – I love working with the new. Sometimes I try new things and they don’t take me anywhere, but often times, I find something to add to my creative arsenal. My creative energy is also activated by pain – mild to moderate pain. The ability to work through pain gets me through a lot of bad days. However, pain – anything stronger than moderate pain – also drains my creative energy. It’s just very difficult for me to stay focused and creative when I’m hurting. Another thing that will drain my creative energy is fear. Fear my art won’t be good enough, or compare favorably to someone else’s, but also fear of touching something emotional within myself through my art. Fear is a big energy drainer for me.
• Do you use creative rituals? Which ones? If not, invent some. I really don’t use any creative rituals. So many people do, that I may reread this segment of the chapter and consider creating some.
• Does nature influence your creativity? How? I’m not sure if it does, or how it does. I know that I sometimes feel more clear-headed and ready to tackle a project after a walk, but I’m not sure if that’s about nature or about the exercise. As I much as I love the country (I was raised out in the middle of nowhere), I’m a city girl now and I love it just as much. There are certainly powerful influences and inspiration in the architecture, dressed windows and city smells.
• What has been your greatest creative hurdle so far? As I previously mentioned, it is fear: both the fear of being judged – and found lacking – and the fear of my own emotional response to the creative experience. I have found that when I can let go and enjoy the process, the product is better – and I’m less concerned with the outcome.
• What time of day are you most receptive to inspiration? Inspiration most often hits me when I’m actually working – or playing – with my materials. That is why I really want to develop the habit of “creative every day”. When I’m doing other things, ideas don’t just come to me very often, When I’m actually playing with my supplies, working with the materials, trying new things, inspiration hits. It doesn’t seem to matter when that is. However, as I mentioned before, I’m much more likely to be playing with my art supplies in the evening or at night. 

Recently Purchased Rubber Stamps

These are samples from my most recently purchased rubber stamps. None of these had been used until I look impressions with them today. Most are stamped crooked -- because I was on the phone while I was stamping and not paying as much attention as I should have been. Some of these are wood mounted (still my favorite), but most of them are red rubber. The four ATC size stamps in the top picture and the Christmas stamps in the bottom picture are Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous line so they come premounted on cushion; the rest of the rubber stamps I had to mount myself. I don't know if I'm going to continue to buy red rubber, or if I'm going to mount it. After seeing Kate of Invoke Arts work with unmounted rubber, I may try that. She made it look so easy and it would certainly be cheaper and less frustrating!

Riverside Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival

I've had quite the day! I spent my afternoon at the Riverside Convention Center, at a scrapbook and rubber stamp convention. It was lots of fun, and I spent way too much money. Look tomorrow for a picture of all my treasures! This ATC was made by Kate at Invoke Arts. I loved their products and I learned a lot of new techniques by watching her work. I'm actually eager to carve out some time to play. She recommends three to five hours at a time, so that you have time to not just make a card or a few ATCs, but to really play with your materials and techniques. I'm not sure when I'll find three hours -- much less five! -- but I'm going to try to very soon.

I made this ATC in a class taught by Miss Jennifer of Auntie Amy's. It was so good to see those ladies again. I've really missed them since Amy decided to close her store. This ATC was made on a metal substrate -- how cool is that? In addition to using papers, stamps, and buttons, we used rub-ons, which I'd only used a couple of times before. Would you believe that a crop-a-dile made the hole for the ribbon? It was like butter!

Tonight, I was in such a mood to play with art that I gesso'd several pages in my new art journal. Note that I still didn't do anything actually creative, but I came a lot closer. Prep work ought to count! Even though I wasn't doing anything particularly expressive, it felt good to be smearing that white stuff around on my pages. My new art journal is a moleskine -- the lavender one -- and I'm already loving it. I'll have to work hard the next few days to get caught up at RAA and around the house, so I have time to play!

Daily Picture "Catch Up"

"Catch Up" is in quotes because I've missed a few days of my daily picture, so I can't completely catch up!

Remember the roses that John sent me for our 10th wedding anniversary? Here they are, still gorgeous. Saturday, 24 January, 2009.

I'm working on a mixed-media piece for someone near-and-dear. I just can't get it right. On this one, the transfer came out great, but the collage elements are kind of over-powered. I may have to try yet again. They do say that the third time is a charm! Thursday, 22 January, 2009.

I'm taking an online scrapbooking class and we had our first class chat.  It was so much fun, and nice to get to know everyone a little bit better. Picture of the screen during the chat; I don't remember whose idea it was to take a picture, but it was a great one.  Tuesday, 20 January, 2009.

Laundry. What more is there to say? Sunday, 18 January, 2009.

Pizza out with a friend. We went to Gourmet Pizza in Redlands. I had the "Crabby Bill's" (garlic butter, mushrooms, green onions, real crab, shrimp, mozzarella & Swiss cheeses, and avocado after baking) . Yummy! There is a new pizza place in town; Sandra and I will be trying it out soon! Saturday, 17 January, 2008. 

The First Secret -- Book Discussion

I’m a little late for the party, but I recently signed up to be a part of an online book discussion. The rest of the group is on the third chapter and I’m just starting the book. The book we’re reading is The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: A Portable Mentor by Gail McMeekin. The discussion is facilitated by the generous and talented Jamie Ridler. I hope to get caught up in the next few days and then I’ll be posting on Friday or Saturday in response to Jamie’s prompt in connection to the chapter we’re reading. The first “assignment” was to post where we are “on the journey to your creative self”.

When I first set down to answer this question, I wrote a 2.5 page Word document full of fear, longing, and tears – and I hurried through the end of it so I could move on to the "real" version of this post! It was cathartic and good for me, but I don’t think that anyone else would be interested in all I had to say. So, rather than write about my entire creative history, I’ll just talk about where I am now.

Currently, I’m a mixed-media artist, but a blocked one. In fact, I recently finished a 12-week long course in The Artist’s Way, and I’m more blocked, creatively and emotionally, than I was when I started the course! I’m trying to get unblocked by making art, but it feels stale and predictable. And foreign.

I am taking a basic drawing class at the local member-run art gallery, and I alternately love and hate it. I’m the least experienced artist in the class, so my work is somewhat sophomoric. But when I’m able to get lost in the process while drawing – well, I love those moments. And, not surprisingly, I’m not as judgmental of my product when I was lost in my process.

I even know what my issue is – fear. Yes, I’m afraid that my work won’t be good enough or meet the standards that my previous work has predicted or that I have set for myself. But that’s really the least of it. I’m mostly afraid of the emotional consequences of giving in to my creativity. You see, somewhere along the line, I emotionally shut down. I can feel myself wanting to wake up, but I’m afraid of what will come up, what will need to be dealt with. I’m afraid of losing control, emotionally, and I’ve worked hard for a long time to maintain that control.

I’ve read through the first three secrets/chapters of the book and it’s left me feeling very anxious and edgy. I am both wanting to create and finding myself fearful of creating.

Since it’s after midnight, I think I’ll go to bed and deal with the tug-of-war tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary To Me!

As I mentioned previously, today is our 10th wedding anniversary. What a wonderful day it has been. John and I haven't done anything really special -- just spent time together when he got home from work. He sent me the most beautiful red roses. Here they are before I trimmed them and put them in their vase. They are just gorgeous.  Thanks, btw, for all the well wishes -- both in comment form and via email -- that we received from all of you!

I mentioned in a previous post that I am taking an online scrapbooking class and that one of my assignments involved making an "attribute book" for somone I love; I chose my husband, John. It's done in an 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" format and stored in a lavender pleather binder. The binder is very luxurious. This is the title page.

Each page includes an attribute and a quote. This page is "enthusiastic". This picture was taken at our wedding rehearsal dinner. 

This is my favorite page, partly because of the theme and partly because of John being in uniform. He's in the National Guard and I'm so proud of him! I had so much fun putting the the album together. It highlights 22 attributes, or characteristics, that describe the way I see my husband and hope he sees himself. Focusing on his positive qualities this way, I fell a little bit more in love with him as I worked on it. It was a wonderful experience for me. I gave it to him for our anniversary. He loved it.

Another Giveaway!

Congratulations to Kathryn, over at KV Creative Designs! She is celebrating her Blogiversary with a giveaway! She is giving away lots of yummies, so stop by her blog and check it out! You just might be the lucky winner! And tell her that I sent you ...

No Photo Today

There is no daily picture for today because one or more of the cats hid the camera! I couldn't find my little digital camera all day long; John found it about an hour ago under the dining room table. Sadly, all photo ops for the day had passed. Tomorrow the daily picture should be back.

Speaking of tomorrow -- John and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary tomorrow and I couldn't be happier! Think of us and wish us well!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Playing Catch Up

Today, I spent most of the day at the Gallery, trying desperately to get caught up. I barely made a dent in the receipts that have accumulated since the first of the year. I'm so far behind! Normally, I don't let myself get this far behind, but having been sick for the past several days ... Well, that prevented me from getting any work done. I still don't feel completely myself, but I am feeling tons better. 

Project365 CatchUp

I ought to be in bed, but I can't sleep; my legs are restless. I've taken something to calm them down. I thought I'd catch up on my picutre-a-day posts while I was waiting for my meds to kick in. The pics are in reverse order, with the most recent one on top. I'm feeling a bit better, so I should be able to stay caught up now.

Tuesday, I felt human again, with the help of Coricidine HBP. I still don't feel really well, but I was able to work at the Gallery for a few hours today. I finally got my final December bank deposit made! LOL! I'm planning on going in for most of the day on Wednesday. I bought these magazines several days ago, butI  just felt like dragging them out to look at them today. I read every issue of CPS; this is the first issue I've ever seen of artists' cafe. 

Monday, I felt pretty awful again, after my week-end of activity, so I stayed in bed most of the day. I really should have gone to the Gallery and worked, but I just couldn't make myself do it. I did drag myself to drawing class Monday night, but then I went home and went back to bed with the laptop. B'Orange, the shaggy duder, curled up on my chest as I was taking this picture, so you see the laptop on my legs between his fur!

Sunday night, John and I celebrated my father-in-law's 77th birthday with him and my mother-on-law. We went for dinner at the Black Angus and then went back to their house for cake and coffee. I truly enjoy their company, so it was a delightful evening. The yummy chocolate cake was from Albertsons. 

Saturday, 10 January, I took a bunch of cold medicine and then went to Collective Journey for a class in digital photography taught by Kevin Bondy of Vivid Treasures Photography. The class was very interesting. I'm eager to get to know my camera a bit better now. Must read instruction booklet!

At Christmas, the newley-married-Hutts gave us some S'mores-in-a-Jar. I made them up on Friday. Here's what they looked like when I took them out of the oven. They were yummy, though a bit awkward to eat. They were very crumbly when they were hot. When they cooled down, they were bar-like, but somewhat hard. Either way, they tasted pretty good.

How We Live ...

One of my favorite authors and bloggers, Patti Digh, tweets, "Seems we can choose to be in 1 of these 3 phases: Reacting against, responding to, or creating new (being generative). Which are you most?" Definitely food for thought ...

I think I do pretty good most of the time with not reacting against, although I do have my buttons, just like everyone else! Thanks to Jai Pausch and her recently deceased husband Randy, I'm learning that "it is what it is." This has helped me tremendously in my efforts to not react against so much of the time. Never one to worry too much, I worry even less these days. As I type this, however, I can think of one issue that I need to stop reacting against and just let go of. I need to take a deep breath, step back, remember that what will be, will be, and move on. The decision is being made by the powers that be and now I need to work to support it fully.

 

As an artist, I love creating new -- or being generative -- whether it is new ideas, or solutions, or producing actual works of art. I am especially thrilled to come up with a new idea these days, now that I'm on so much medication and my thought processes are a bit muddled. 

I'd have to say that I spend most of my time responding to. The alarm goes off; I get out of bed. The cats are hungry; I feed them. There are sales at the Gallery; I record them and make the bank deposit. Unfortunately, I do much of this without deliberate thought or conscious choice on my part. I'm just responding to my environment. 

That is about to change, however! Come Thursday, 15 January, I'm embarking on Season Two of the 100 Day Reality Challenge. For 100 days, I'm going to make a concerted effort to live more consciously and deliberately. I haven't fine-tuned my intentions yet for this Challenge, but I'm working on them. I'm working on it backwards: I know what my practices will be, I just don't know what the intentions are that those practices represent! My practices will include morning pages, gratitudes, daily exercise, and following a new Secret teaching-a-day book that I recently got. 

Last season, I took on too many practices and the first day that I didn't do them all, I fell off the practice-wagon and couldn't get back on it. I just became overwhelmed by all that I took on. I'm not going to make that mistake again this season, so I'm keeping it light. I may do more on any given day, but I'm not going to push myself or hold myself accountable for anything other than those four practices. 

As I said, this starts Thursday and lasts 100 days -- Wish me luck!

Another GiveAway!

Chrysti Hydeck, an artist I follow on Twitter, Facebook, and in Blogland, is hosting a series of giveaways on her blog. Be sure to stop by and check out what she's doing. She's giving away some great prizes.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Daily Pictures ...

I've been taking them, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been sick. I'll try to get caught up on them tonight or tomorrow during the day. I should go to the Gallery Monday and get some work done, but I'm just not sure I'll feel like it! This cold has really kicked my butt!

Home Sick!

Yesterday, I woke up feeling just awful, so I've spent most of the past 24 hours in bed. This is last night's picture; I've just gotten around to posting it. B'Orange loves to lie in bed with the people, so he was there with me most of the time, lying at my feet, making it difficult for me to get comfortable! At least he wasn't lying on my chest. Usually I don't mind that, but my chest feels heavy enough, with all the congestion. I just have a bad cold, but it's a really bad one. I take so much prescription medication that I hate to add an OTC medication to the lot, but I finally broke down and took something and I immediately felt better. Treating the symptoms does have its value.

Last night, at 7:49 PM, we were treated to a 4.5 earthquake here in the Inland Empire. No damage at our house and no injuries anywhere, I believe, so it was quite exciting. I actually LIKE earthquakes, having never been in a bad one. I remember a couple as a kid in Arkansas, and then I've experienced a couple out here. The earthquake last night was my biggest one to date.

Fun With Friends

Today, John and I went and spent the late afternoon and evening with the newly-married Hutts. John showed Alison and Steve one of his favorite games, MegaMek on our laptop (MegaMek is a futuristic war game that runs in Java). While they were doing that, I worked on John's Attribute Book. I think I'll have it finished this week-end. Steve treated all of us to dinner from Pizza Hut -- Creamy Chicken Alfredo pasta, breadsticks, and Honey BBQ Chickenwings. It was yummy, and a good time was had by all.

Scrapbooking

I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but I'm taking a class through Big Picture Scrapbooking called A Life Well Crafted, taught by Kolette and Jason Hall. The class lasts a year long, but I've only signed up for the first month to see if I'll like it. So far, I'm loving it. There is so much more depth to these assignments than just picking out pretty paper and gluing embellishments down on the pages. I'm looking into myself and learning about myself, as well as about scrapbooking. It's a good class. I'll probably continue on the month-to-month plan (in case I get overwhelmed when we eventually move). 

Above, you'll see some of the supplies for the Attribute Book I'm working on for this class. I'm making the book for my husband. I had a hard time finding papers to use that seemed masculine enough and that went with the album that I bought before the class started without knowing what it was for! I'm pretty happy with what I bought today. 

I hope to have the album finished by the end of the week. I'll share a bit of it here.

Have I Already Shared This?

I was web surfing instead of sleeping, and I ran across this YouTube video. It's vaguely familiar, so I wonder if I'd seen it -- and thus shared it -- before. If so, my apologies. If not, enjoy! It's truly inspirational.

Card Club Today

This morning, I participated in "Card Club" at Collective Journey, the local scrapbooking store. It consists of several women who get together each month for project goodness. They each talked about what they've been working on during the past month, and many passed around samples. A couple of women even brought things to share, so I got some really great papers. Then there was a small project to work on. This was the first time I attended Card Club. Everyone was very nice and welcoming. I'll definitely be going back!

Today we made Valentine Tags that each held a Hershey's miniature. They aren't great pictures, but here's a snap of the table where some of the women were working and then a pic of the completed tag. They turned out really cute and were a lot of fun to make. I even got to work with that really sticky double-sided red tape; I had never worked with it before. I love it!

250th Blog Post Giveaway!

For Christmas, I got an unexpected copy of Bernie Berlin’s Artist Trading Card Workshop. However, I already have a copy! To celebrate my 250^th blog post, I’m giving away my “previous owned”, barely used copy (I think I’ve looked through it once) to an eligible person in a random drawing to be held Monday, 12 January, at about 10PM PST.

To enter, just follow the easy steps below:

1.        Mention the contest in a post on your own blog, and include a link to it in your post (http://www.lantier.org/2009/01/250th-blog-post-giveaway.html).

2.        Leave a comment for me on this post, so that I can check out your blog.

3.        Check back to see if the random number generator drew your name. If I did, contact me at art@lantier.org with your address, so I can get your book to you. After three days, if I don’t hear from you, I’ll choose another winner!

What Have You Done?

I've run across this list in a couple of blogs, most recently at Airy Nothings. I thought I'd share what I've done ...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (or Disney World)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables 
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise ( A couple of day cruises)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day …

 

Now it’s your turn … what have you done?

Sunday

Today was one of those slow, comfortable days that feel so special. I talked to my mom and best girl friend in Arkansas; I worked on some bookwork; I hung out with my Darling Husband, and I spent the evening with my wonderful in-laws (that's Ward and Margaret, pictured above). Our team -- the Philadelphia Eagles -- won their playoff game, so it was a good day!

Upcoming Giveaway!

I'll be making my 250th blog post soon, and in honor of that I've decided to do a giveaway! I have an extra copy of Bernie Berlin's Artist Trading Cards Workshop to pass on to someone who stops by my blog. I'll leave the details on that post, but I just wanted to let you know so you could make plans to stop by again if you're not already a regular visitor.

Saturday Night

Tonight, John and I went over to friend's house for a potluck and gaming. The Bowperson's cooked a turkey and a veggie (eww! peas!) and provided all the table settings. The newly married Hutt's brought pumpkin rolls and a cheesecake, Karl brought yummy garlic mashed potatoes, and John and I took a corn casserole that got rave reviews. Dinner was wonderful, and the company was superb. After dinner, everyone but me played a role-playing game. I was welcome to participate, but I'm not a big fan of role-playing games. I had lots of fun watching the game play and listening to the banter between the players. This is one of my favorite groups of people; I hope we see them again soon. 

The picture of the day is my husband during the role playing game. 

Daily Photo

Today, I spent a fair amount of time working on bookwork for the gallery at home. My task was to write checks to all the artists who have money coming to them (we operate as a consignment type business). I'm on the Ms. 

Edited to add: I deleted the pictured after a couple of people HELPFULLY pointed out that I showed account numbers in my photo. Thanks, guys!

Daily Picture Project?

Since I got my new digi-cam, I've been taking pictures of everything -- including my dinner at Claim Jumpers! I've decided to start a serious picture-a-day project. I mentioned before that it was a goal of mine to do that, but I've decided to make a commitment to it. I've had a couple of people mention that I should blog my daily photograph. I may, at some point, start a separate blog for that, but for the time being, I thought I'd incorporate the pics into Mixed Grill Favorites. Let me know if that works for you, or if it's distracting.

Today, I made art with a friend. She worked on photo-cards to sell at the Redlands Art Association and I worked on the background for a piece of art that I'm making for someone near-and-dear. Here's my background and my supplies, just before I cleaned up. I think I'll add a bit of darker blue to it ...