What does fame feel like?

If it felt like how I feel when I look at this, I could learn to like it. Seeing my work cleverly made to look monumental and gallery-worthy is sort of heartstopping. A moment of wow...can you just imagine????
And for just a brief second, I almost can...



Your turn, now. Go on. Imagine really being seen, or being heard. Scary-good-thrilling-awful-unbelievable-right-bizarre-surreal-joyous....heartstopping...

What a trip!

Never Stop Learning

There's the kind of learning that happens unintentionally. Things like, an unattended vegetarian chicken patty left alone cooking in a toaster oven for too long will fill the upstairs of your home with a eerie smoke that simply won't leave. Or perhaps, that fact that two cats and a ziplock baggie full of catnip, when left in a room together, will transform your living room into some kind of freaky feline crackhouse, with kitties rolling in ecstacy on the floor and making meepmeep noises.

(Mmm. Seems both these bits of learning resulted from leaving things unattended. Short attention span, anyone?)

Anyway...
There's the kind of learning that is intentional. I don't know that I have that kind too often, where I actively persue new knowledge. Did years of school and college just sour my inner scholar to the whole idea of "studying" something?

Today, however, my wonderful friend Melissa answered my request of her to teach me something new and totally different...soldering. I really had to commit to this lesson, and bought a soldering iron, some flux and (annoyingly) the wrong sort of solder. (Mm. Another unintentional lesson: There are different kids of solder.)

I have to confess I was nervous because it involves a very hot soldering gun and a lot of patience...but man, I am hooked! I just love love love what I can make with it.

Here are my first 3 (not quite complete) pieces. The long pendant and small square will have some charms and beads added to the jump rings.

I learned something new! ON PURPOSE! Yay me!

Vroomm, vroomm!

Is it art?

The fine art of the Pinewood Derby Car has once again become a pursuit in our house. Spring brings the Pinewood Derby for our wee Cub Scouts, and this marks cars #7 and #8 that I have helped the boys build. (Not Dad's strongest area, though no doubt he could do it, somehow it has become my specialty) I give you now this years entries:

Ian's " I Gotta Catch Up"

and Noah's " Road Rally":

Mother Nature

Don't mess with her.
I think I jinxed the entire East Coast by smugly crowing over the easy winter, and how Spring was upon us at last.
Mother Nature sprung something on us alright.
Brrrrr! Sorry, everyone. My bad.

Ancestor art

Teeny tiny portrait...huge wall...what is a girl to do?
I had this wonderful photo of my grandfather, the youngest of three boys, that I wanted to feature in my living room. I also had this fantastic wooden portfolio he stored his art is that he had made for himself in his youth, and had stained a vivid cherry red. Inside were sheet of aging white paper, some at least 50 years old. I also had all these nifty old wooden curly tracing tools from his drafting days (French Curves! Thank you, Judi!). Somehow I brought all these elements together to create a 2' x 4' piece for my living room...with that little 4x6" photo as the focal point. The background painting is watercolor, gesso and graphite on artboard, with a dash of embossing powders.

Painting? What's that?

Been a long time, it seems, since I picked up a brush with the intention to create an Actual Finished Painting. Yet, somehow this week, I made one. And am heavily into a second one that I think is closing in on finished.

The best part is the "framed canvases" are actually ugly Target type artprints I got at Goodwill for $2 each and painted over. Instant framed substrate. Woot!

Here's a few more that have come out in the last few days!

One World, One HeART

EIGHTY THREE COMMENTS! Never could I have foreseen this! More people in one week than since this blog began! THank you to all of you lovelies and for your kind words; it has been a sheer delight to visit all your pages and come together for this sepcial event.

And now...drumroll please...randomizer.org has declared the winner to be...MICHELLE!

I am honored to send these jewels to Michelle, who I have come to know a bit about via her blog. Being a mom takes so much spirit and love and compassion...mothering an exceptional child can take repeated leaps of faith, and the ability to find light and joy where others might fear the dark.
Please visit her blog HERE, and be inspired all the things that make her an exceptional mom.

Click on the LINK to get details on this wonderful project