Pieces of Me

I am an original. There is no one quite like me. I'm learning to accept my flaws and my features as pieces of my true self, the curvy, intricate pieces of this puzzle of my existence. The pieces that make up this wonderful person are filled with self-doubt, and doubt keeps me from moving forward. I need to let go of preconceived ideas that my paintings should look a certain way. I need to quit comparing my art to others. I need to embrace each mark I make on the canvas as special and beautiful and unique to me. So what if no one sees the beauty or the meaning or my uniqueness. So what if I don't know what it means either. What comes from inside is mine alone, for me to cherish and celebrate on this journey to be more ME!

New Practice Works on Paper

After re-reading Kelly Rae's Book I decided to turn my fears into affirmations. Behind each stem is a positive phrase which started out as a fear. I took the fear out and put the possibility in. This piece was also to practice some techniques I learned in Paulette Insall's e-course "Color Me Beautiful."

This is another practice piece from Paulette's e-course. After dripping and scraping paint across the paper I tried to find a hidden subject come through in the paint. I saw the heart-shape and created a weird looking tree around it. I really enjoy seeing the layers of paint come through and the way the intersecting lines create shapes and color changes.

Another practice piece (12" x 12" on watercolor paper) called "Serenity." Loving the technique of painting around an object instead of filling it in. Love the way the interesting background shows through and again how the intersecting lines create great color changing opportunities. I'm trying to move my work more in this direction rather than traditional landscapes where I try to paint exactly what I see. That just frustrates me and I'm finding it boring! This is sooooo much more fun!

New Hearts from Northern California

Wanted to quickly post these hearts we found while on vacation in Calaveras Big Trees State Park last week. 

Carved heart in felled giant redwood.

Bugs eat heart-shape into leaves on a tree in the South Grove of the Park.

Scrambled egg heart on Paige's breakfast plate. She's great at finding hearts for me.

Fun @ the Fair

Yesterday found us at the Orange County Fair having a wonderful time on a beautiful summer afternoon. The weather was mild, not the blazing heat of the blacktop I usually dread, and a slight ocean breeze. The crowd was small when we first arrived, so Scott and Paige ran from ride to ride enjoying spin after spin after spin. They even resembled a loving brother and sister on this day...it was such a treat. I loved watching them enjoy each ride, especially the fun houses.

We took a break from rides to watch the adorable All-Alaskan Pig Racing and wander around the farm animal area. As night fell, we grabbed a few delicious bites of nourishing food and sweet treats. And when you forget to bring jackets, you scour the fairgrounds looking for affordable warmth. So we now sport wearable OC Fair souvenirs. I scored with a cute, green fuzzy jacket, but the kids were happy with theirs OC Fair jackets since that was all we could find.

It was a delightful day!

Brownies Earn Patches

Paige, Makena and Whitney displaying their new art journals.

Paige and her friends got together this summer to earn a few extra Brownie Try-It patches. At my house we worked on art related projects. The girls are displaying the art journals we made with a yarn art cover and tag inspired by Kelly Rae Roberts book "Taking Flight. " Most of the elements in this project cover the Stitch It Together Patch, but somehow we turned it into art. We used the sewing machine to stitch the patchwork pieces together and we sewed a button onto our painted patchwork tag. We roughly stitched the journal together with yarn and the yarn art cover goes with the Color and Shape Try-It patch. We have a few more projects to add to the inside of our journals to complete the other patches. I had lots of fun making these journals with the girls, I think they did too!

Sample journal I made for myself. Can't wait to add stuff to the inside.

We also made paper plate color wheels.

"Firework" Painting

On the third day of Total Alignment Connie asked us to paint to a song that makes us move and gives us energy. I love the song "Firework" by Katy Perry for it's energy and lyrics. I played it over and over and listened to every word. This painting session was so much fun. For the background I was painting with my hands and globing paint right on the paper, smearing it and spraying it with water and letting it drip...I had a blast. But best of all, I was all alone with no one barking at me (literally or needing my attention) so it felt really good! I have included the lyrics for "Firework" below and I urge you to read them. They harmonize perfectly with what Connie has been talking about in her messages about Total Alignment. Enjoy!

Firework
by Katy Perry

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,
drifting through the wind
wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
like a house of cards,
one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
6 feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Painting "FREE" & "FEARLESS

Exercise #1 from Connie Hozvicka's Free Workshop
"Total Alignment::Opening the Heart Center"

"Don't analyze" she said, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't just paint, especially with kids talking to me and dog barking in the same room. I should have painted right when I got up. I don't think it would have made any difference. I still can't paint FREE or FEARLESS. I painted my heart as instructed and then didn't have a clue what to do. I knew I was suppose to just paint...but what? So I started putting random colors down and watched the way they mixed with the color next to it. I set the timer for 30 minutes and tried to just cover the paper (18 x 24 inches). I'm supposed to paint like a 5 year old and she had mentioned lines, so I painted some squiggly lines. I still had 10 minutes left and the paper was covered, so I started on the next layer. Thought I would paint a black frame around it since I hadn't used black in the background. Then boxes just came to mind, kinda like my heart (where I'm supposed to be painting from) is boxed in. Now the right side looks kind of bare so I thought for a minute, which I'm not supposed to do, about what to add, flowers! Added a few swirly flowers. Even though the painting isn't supposed to have meaning and I'm only to focus on the process, I can't help but interpret the painting to mean "Rosy on the outside, blocked on the inside." Who knew painting from the heart could be so hard. My mind tells me I need a direction and a plan, my heart is blank! Click the button on the right to check out Connie's Blog. Total Alignment started today and will run all week, but the workshop will remain on her blog for future reference. Let me know if you check it out...she is too darn adorable. I'm sure you will love it.

30 Minute Painting Exercise
from Wyanne's "Paint Free" e-course

This painting is from Wyanne's E-course "Paint Free" and this is a 30 minute painting exercise. I was to paint something from my childhood that I loved and I choose candy...I know, weird huh? Well, big surprise...didn't know what to paint. So without a lot of explanation, this is what came out! Not too happy with it, but I'm focusing on the process...right?

Second part of 30 Minute Painting Exercise
"Candy 2"



Yikes...I know! I don't know where this came from or what happened. It looks like a scary Picasso self portrait or something. This is totally not something I would ever paint. The is the second part of the painting above. Needed to paint for another 30 minutes and this is what I ended up with. I laugh every time I look at it! I guess this is happy me after eating candy!

I'm happy I made time to paint lately, even if I'm not so happy with the results. I know all this playing like a 5 year old will help my heart and hands become one...eventually!

The Older I Get...

The Older I Get -- The Better I Cook is my new take on the old one shown below. My Mother-in-Law had the plaque below hanging in her kitchen for as long as I've known her. When she moved, she handed it down to me and I proudly displayed it in my kitchen as as testament to my love for cooking. However, as my style has evolved over the years, the cute country look didn't suit my taste anymore. So, as I say with many things I see in catalogs, I can make that! So I redesigned it, bigger and better. I took what seemed like forever to finish this darn thing and it's changed directions many times. I'm pleased with the final outcome even though I'm not convinced it's finished. But it hangs in my kitchen nonetheless and I can always add to it later.

Paint Free Exercises

I recently purchased Wyanne's e-Book "Paint Free" and I'm working through the projects. The first painting above is an exercise to paint continuously for 30 minutes without stopping to think about what you're painting. It's not what I was hoping to end up with, but I like it.

The next exercise was simple, old fashioned coloring, which I do quite often with my eight year old daughter, but never really gave it much thought as I color. Below is what I learned while I was coloring.

I found Wyanne through You Tube while watching some art instruction videos and watched several of hers as well. I fell in love with her style of loose painting or "PAINTING FREE" as she would call it. When I saw she was coming out with an e-Book, I jumped on it immediately with a pre-order. I'm still struggling to find my own style and I know part of that is I'm not painting enough. This summer I'm having trouble finding time to paint, but working through this book has motivated me to MAKE THE TIME ... I deserve it!

A Recommended Read - The Alchemist

photo from Stillwater Free Library

Just finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I thoroughly enjoyed this book not only for its simplicity but also for its inspiring story. This book is a must read for anyone on a journey of their own to discover their path in life, to realize a dream or to better understand who they are as a person. It's filled with wisdom about discovering the treasures within ourselves and about listening and following our hearts. It encourages us "to realize one's Personal Legend" and that "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" if you can read the signs and open your heart to it. So many quotable and thought provoking passages...such as "Because I don't live in either my past or my future, I'm interested in only the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man." And "That's what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too." Definitely a book that will stay on my bookshelf forever.

A Busy Few Days...Are They Over Yet?

Starting with the more exciting event of the few days, taping of the Extra Show at The Grove in Los Angeles. Taping was going on just as we entered the mall and the girls were invited to be part of the audience. Paige is in the hot pink (not a great photo of her, but it's all I had with Mario Lopez) with Samantha next to her and Karly and Kayla behind them. Unfortunately they didn't make it onto the show last night due to their side-stage position. It was, however, extremely interesting to watch the taping process. Then it was off to the main destination, The American Girl store, below, where we had fun shopping and discovering new hair styles (for some of us and their dolls). 

And finally ending the day with a Swim Team beach evening at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. Dang...to much go, go, go for me. And then yesterday....it was off to the Farmers Market at the Great Park in Irvine for produce shopping and carousel rides with Grandma Vera.

And ending that day with a BBQ and fire at the lagoon. The kids had a great time and now I need to rest. Oh yeah...it's off to Wild Rivers today to ride the tubes then to swim practice and then Cooking Club. Yikes!

New Hearts + Blogging Excuses

OMG!...it's been so long since I posted anything on my blog and it's been driving me absolutely mad. I don't like to write a post without a photo, and I haven't been very good about photographing the things I've been doing or working on. The end of the school year and the beginning of summer has kept me busier than ever! I was painting like mad in May and June, but never really finished anything or got around to photographing my work. I've been playing catch-up on life and trying to get things done that have been staring me down for months...filing, good housecleaning, cleaning out kids rooms and bookshelves, clutter busting and such. I would like to bring this blog up to speed and I'll start with these heart photos. The heart above is from the sidewalk in front of my house...I can't believe I've lived here five years and never really noticed it. The heart below is a water spot on the patio from our impromptu Memorial Day gathering after a fun game of Frisbee golf. Paige noticed this one...she is an awesome heart finder, always searching and point them out for me. And finally, the heart rock below that Scott found while at Cub Scout Day Camp as a Youth Volunteer at the Orange County Outdoor Education Center. I always know when he comes home and says, "Mom, I have something for you!" that it's some kind of heart. I'm never disappointed!