The Story Of.....

going to work these into some collages.......

Muskrat, Weasel, Woodchuck

Been working on this for a long time....sometimes just posting art helps me see the imbalances etc. With this one, I think the middle is too linear. But it's fun regardless.

On a Sunday

I'm in a holding pattern right now......almost done with my book, almost, almost.......these little glimpses are still waiting patiently. Wait until I tell you what is in those two beauties up top. I'm really enjoying my stash of 1950's housekeeping manuals.

I'm being featured in Artful Blogging's Summer issue! And I'm feeling a little starstruck perhaps......it's really nice, I'm excited to see the article. Until then, I promise to be around a bit more. I'm landing this plane....and then taking off again I'm sure.

Juxtaposition

disregard the wrinkly fabric

Sometimes in my piles of pages, fabric and drawings some line up with each other just so.....this is the start of a piece that simply just started itself.

Catching Up

Catching up here....been sick, sick, sick....finally. Yes, I actually was getting a bit worried that I was not catching the common cold. Sure, it's great to have a healthy immune system but I think there is something wrong with people who don't get sick. Is that bad of me? Yes. But I digress, I have been having a wonderful year so far. You saw my excursion to Puerto Rico but what I didn't tell you was that there was also a SURPRISE party thrown for me by my husband and siblings. And let me tell you, this was no easy feat. I am not nosy, I don't go through my husband's emails or pockets, but I am very intuitive. I can sense when something's awry. My brother told my husband, "Good luck with that, Beth is a gumshoe (which required both of us to look that up-what a GREAT word). But I was surprised, completely and totally surprised. Unfortunately, there aren't any pictures of the party since the pictorial historian (that's what I call myself) was the flabbergasted center of attention and not behind her camera. There is a video of my entrance and I came through the wrong door, I've been told. What what I have seen of it, it is pretty darn funny. So as soon as I can figure out how to get that off my husband's computer of a phone, I will.

Other than that (I'm still reeling).....I've been working on a project that is done in a very specific children's book style and I'm finding that that type of work brings out the worst perfectionist in me. It's simple characters, watercolor washes and line art, an illustration style I have always enjoyed, but not always enjoyed "doing". It doesn't leave much room for error. And after painting the same page for the third time, it gets frustrating. But it will turn out good in the end, it will, it will, it will..........

So, I got a Nook Tablet for Christmas and have completely turned to the dark side...no, not totally, I'm just a little gray, somewhere in between. Having this hi tech tool has been more rewarding than I would have thought and one of the gems that I have been reading is by Eric Maisel, a creativity coach. I know you too have been thinking, eh gads, what IS that and is that really necessary? I just finished his Coaching the Artist Within and with the Nook I am able to electronically highlight the parts I want to re-read and then with the touch of a button bring up all of the key parts I want to reflect on. I truly, emphatically, completely, totally, irrevocably, entirely recommend this book for any creative person. I am already reading his Creativity For Life and it is equally impactful (apparently the dictionary is telling me that this is not a real word-who knew?). What I love most about his books are that they are extremely practical and not full of lofty quotes like "Trust the artist within." I'm also finding that the books are great tools for procrastinating.....which is one thing he tells us to try not to do, do the work, make the mistakes.....go through the RIGHT door, I mean, really.

Puerto Rico!

El Morro National Park (fort)

El Morro from the inside

Angel in the cemetery

view from the fort

colorful buildings (it is the Carribean!)

love the red door

red door building second level

So, Puerto Rico.....who knew? And I highly recommend. Absolutely wonderful. We went for just two days and nights but it was perfect, like a dessert of a trip. Unfortunately, I got back to a kid with pink eye, one with "growing pains" and the ongoing saga of parenthood, never a dull moment should be tattooed on my forehead. The respite was nice. Now, back to work, artwork that is.......

40!

my grandfather's alarm clock...kids got to it, hands not attached anymore, like time stopped

 Well, I just can't believe how good 40 feels.....well, actually it's no coincidence, my gluten free diet has settled like a warm blanket into my body. I am healthier than I have been in years. All of my pain is gone (except the ankle and that's just going to take time and has nothing to do with my disease and everything to do with, well, turning 40). I am so blessed to be able to feel better simply by the foods I eat and the foods that I don't eat. It only bothers me a little that I didn't have a birthday cake yet but my mother is going to make me a GF pound cake tomorrow.

Speaking of gluten free flours, I went into a little natural merchantile last week for the first time. It's 3 miles down the road, I have lived out here in the Western part of the county for nine years and have never gone in. And as I walked into this store, which smelled just like a health food store in a 100 year old building and reminded me of Whole Oats in Boulder. Amazing how smell can bring back memories....there is still a Suave mousse that if I smell it, it reminds me of being stood up on New Year's Eve when I was 16. Anyway, I was pointed to a golden bag of GF flour, Authentic Foods Multi Blend Flour as one of the best by the store's sweet and kind owner. So, right now, I am cooking up a loaf of banana bread and it smells wonderful......more later.

Vday Wrap Up

A favorite road of mine (I drive this to the gym and run it in the summer)

Oh, snowy tree lined road.....only saw a few of these this winter, how disappointing. But it has me thinking about warm....more on that later.....a little trip for my 40th is coming up. We are going to a place that I have only seen the airport of....on a layover. I'm taking my new lens with, great pictures to come.

This year I was the proud momma of three kids WHO MADE THEIR OWN VALENTINES. Yes, yes, I know, I can hardly contain myself. Here are a few pics of them:

With only a little writing and gluing help from me......can you tell? Design blogs eat your heart out! I prefer to work with projects with kids that require as little adult handling as possible AND that have only 1 or 2 steps and no inter fusing webbing, hot glue gunning, metal bending and such. I know you are thinking, she is the next Martha, I know, I know......

Box of Treasures

My grandfather's postcard to my grandmother three days before their wedding

My grandfather's lists (apparently he made many) and he was a SPE

Grandmother's commencement

before email

I recently inheireted a box of wonderful letters and keepsakes from my grandmother and grandfather. The postcard in the first photo was sent to my grandmother days before their wedding. My mother says that her father was a very to the point person.

My mother passed these delicate papers and cards on to me to take care of them. And I will...I may be putting together a "scrap" book of sorts.....


I'm also going to immortalize some of these pieces in my artwork. (Thank goodness for scanning as I won't use these originals)....now what I want to do is find OTHER people's boxes o' stuff (circa 1900-1960) and use those originals. A friend of mine goes to auctions all over the county here in Virginia. The estate sales often have plenty of personal papers and such. Could be fun!

40th birthday this Thursday....bought myself a new lens for my camera (since I fell down the stairs and ruined the lens)...I'd been meaning too and what BETTER reason than the big 4 0.....now back to work.

The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits

notice the arms.....then look above at the legs......a happy accident

As I Walked Out One Evening
W.H Auden

As I walked out one evening
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat

And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
'Love has no ending.

I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street

I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.

'The years shall run like rabbits
For in my arms I hold
The flower of the Ages
And the first love of the world

But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime
'O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.

'In th burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss

'In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.

'Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.

'O plunge your hands in water
Plunge them up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.

The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.

'Where beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.

'O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

'O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.'

It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.


Now that's a love poem.
I know the art above has licensed scrapbook paper in it and so I'm not planning on reproducing them.
That said, I am still working on the book that you saw in the Night Studio post. It's taking longer than I thought. But I've realized lately that perfectionism can be a good thing. If I am going to put something out there, it's going to be my best work.

Mother Daughter Convo

she's reaching-work in progress

Conversation with a four year old daughter.....

"Here Mommy, read this!" (It's a rogue Halloween book found on her shelf, okay actually the Halloween books are always on the shelves and well, okay the Christmas ones too...which as you can imagine keeps my kids constantly confused.)

On the front cover of the book there is a bat hanging upside down but try as you might you can NOT explain to a four year old girl that bats hang upside down.....oh, no, you must continue to read said book upside down even though you have pointed out many times that the words are upside down and realize that this basically means nothing to an illiterate four year old.

"But LOOK!", you exclaim, "The wolf is upside down and look the skeleton too!" No, no, no......
emphatically, they    are    not.

And this is my evening.

Little Church Tucked Away

Always meant to stop by this little one room church about 3 miles from my house....scooped up the camera today and finally stopped by.....Ketoctin Church 1854. This is why I love living in Virginia....

Valentines

Finally, a child who wants to make his own valentines....be still my heart. Today, I am working on Brain, Child and it's coming along nicely, there's corn chowder in the crock pot and the sun is out. I'll take it!

Lady In Red

Today was about 65 degrees in January, in Virginia, wow. I felt like I was cheating on winter enjoying the warmth so much. How is it that we can get a summer like day in the middle of winter but don't have a winter like day in the middle of summer?

Speaking of Which

the bookshelf with real books, you can't cut pages out of a Nook, you can't

box-o-goodies

lucky you, i went all 70's on these photos but it's a rainy day and it fits perfectly (those are GF cookies-not too shabby)

1.  I am trying to go through ALL of the letter tests, this week it's MRI and EMG. If anyone has others to suggest, let me know because surely I have not had enough in the past two years...OMG.

2. I have been reading through almost all of my blog posts from the last five years. Wow.

3. I am writing in list form because.....it's easy.

4. I am sitting in my hallway with my laptop on my lap not able to move because I put the 4 and 6 year old to bed for "rests" at 12pm and have been guarding the hallway ever since. Yeah, it's just like glory days of nap time gone by. Except for they aren't napping.

5. Recently, my Kindergarten kid does not want to go to Kindergarten (alas the "rest" he is taking today). Who doesn't WANT to go to Kindergarten? I'm not sure what to do about this because after much interrogation all I can get out of him as to why he doesn't want to go is........wait for it.......he doesn't want to. (argh).

6. I want to look forward to something and I want it to happen, like, tomorrow.

7. Today my littlest one (4) was outside (while waiting for her brother's Kindergarten bus that he did not get on) in her pajamas, no shoes and eating a popsicle (it's like 40 degrees out and drizzling)- mom of the year! I know, how does she do it you're asking.

8. Speaking of which, I saw the movie I Don't Know How She Does It and I still don't know. This is purely one of those cases where the book has got to be better than the movie.  And in a complete flip, the movie The Help was so wonderful and so much better than the book. I don't think I have ever claimed such a thing. It's probably because when I read books, I hear the words and dialogue in my head in my own voice and let me tell you that I do not do a good Southern accent, so thank goodness for amazing actors.

9. Speaking of which, if my life were narrated by someone I wonder who it would be......hmmm....I would cast Tina Fey.

10. And speaking of Tina Fey, I am going to upload her book to my Nook, yes, I know, I know, I went digital. It was a present. I never thought I'd see the day. But Brain,Child went digital too and I have heard that my cartoons have their own page so, well, I want to see them.....but I still love the pages shifting through my fingers and the gloss of a good magazine. And speaking of which.......you'll see soon.

Blue Leaves

I found this photo in a 1952 National Geographic.....no caption really, just blue leaves up in Cape Cod.

The List

Life is a pure flame,
and we live by an invisible sun within us.
~Sir Thomas Brown

I ate lunch today by myself.....in a fancy restaurant. Yep. I did. Now, many of you may have already checked this off your list of bold things to do long ago but not me. Now don't get me wrong, I've wolfed down a sandwich or two in a Panera on my lonesome. But I have never had a waiter ALL to myself and it was grand. Like they were waiting on me! Wait a minute......anyway. The food was delicious and I didn't even act like someone was coming to join me or fiddle through my purse for my sketchbook or send texts to my sister (which by the way would have gone something like this.....i am n a restrant by myself! smiley face and she replies what u r n a restraint? You can take it from there.).

The thing is I was (I guess past tense is the correct tense here) so self conscious for like, forever. I never would eat by myself surrounded my conversing couples and family orbits, what would they think of me? Gasp. I can sum up my "sc" by this little story my mom once told me years after the incident, apparently I wouldn't get up to throw my trash away at Kings Dominion (an amusement park) because I told her, "What if people look at me?" (and I quote). As if there is NOT enough to see at an amusement park that people are going to strain their necks to watch a 13 year old stride to the bee infested trash can to discard her lunch and make bets on if she trips or falls or doesn't quite make the launch into the can forcing the embarrassing re-delivery into the can. It's exciting stuff.

In years since, I got well past that low but I've always had some little fringe of it in me. Next I want to go the movies by myself IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY....I know, I lead a crazy life. What's on your list?

Stop This Train

Sometimes there is a song that sums things up so well, you feel overwhelmed. I heard this years ago one night, I could listen to it over and over again. I'm turning forty in a few weeks and it's not the number, or the wrinkles that bother me the most (although, it weird to not be an "important" demographic according to popular society anymore), it's that my parents are getting older, my aunts and uncles, all of the generation before me. 

It is so not about me.


My husband has been trying to figure out what to do for this pinnacle of a birthday. Usually, I want to get out, kidless, enjoy the evening but I think this year I want the young ones around, my whole family, all of them. And we'll ride the train together and enjoy every minute of it.

I've been trying to sum up my artwork and it it's about that feeling, of being home, of being a kid again, that feeling of comfort, family, the little things.....because I can't "go back again" I do it through my art. I even use some of my favorite books, my trusty Girl Scout manual for one.

Art puts me back in touch, back to 19 Carousel Court (yes, that was my first address). I move things around and draw until it becomes apparent, ah, yes, there it is. By making my art, it seems to make me more permanent, like marking my territory somehow, like telling a story left behind for younger ones to enjoy. (I love that kids like my artwork as much as adults.)

This is a good thing, a necessary need, I need to find that place everyday, that place where I feel home.

I chase it in my artwork all of the time.

One in a Million

just for fun....book almost done, 4 more pages.......this one in a million idea is totally Emily at Stamping Bella's idea. I promise, I am drawing more now that I can feel my hands again!!

Sketchbook Look

I am guilty of not putting color in my sketchbooks. I don't like how the paper curls or crumples. But I have decided I don't care about that anymore, everything seems to be crinkling round' these parts. So here's to color in the sketchbook.

Apocalyptic Pants

little miss getting her z's

Often, after a long day peddling my enthusiasm (which is quite disproportional at times) for art to classrooms full of decibel challenged pre-teens, I find myself at home pulling on the most comfortable clothes possible and then collapsing on the couch (well, maybe just for a minute or two).  Tonight,  I have on a baby soft pair of lounge pants. They were a prized gift this Christmas, fashioned from the softest fleece and dotted with Kermits and Miss Piggys....they are also bright honkin' pink. My mind wanders (it's been reigned in all day), to thinking about shows like Walking Dead (don't click that link if you don't like scary things that bump in the night) or Lost where the characters are found episode after episode in the clothes they just happened to be wearing at the moment of mayhem (plane crash, zombie daughter waking you in your pajamas-run! run!, You know-that sort of thing). And I think as I look down at my attire "Would I be caught dead battling zombies in this?"

(You can use that if you want....when you get dressed at any time of day, just ask yourself that important question above. You're welcome, I do what I can.)

On a different note, we have been, well, make that, I  have been desperate to get rid of our Ikea foam mattress (it seemed like a good idea at the time). The mattress and I have been boxing every night for the past few years. I don't always remember the scuffle but I wake up feeling pummeled all over so I know it happens. I don't know what I was thinking, the less is more Scandinavian thing I think is wonderful and I do have many Ikea "pieces" that I love, love, love (like my drawing table)....but not when it comes to a mattress. I am the momma bear of the "too soft" kind. I want to literally sink into my mattress, to be swallowed up, undetectable to children coming in to ask me for juice. "Is Mom in there?", they will ask and turn back bewildered to the kitchen.
So I walked into a mattress store last Sunday and bought the cushiest one possible, no kidding. Tonight will be the test, I will not be ducking, weaving or  bobbing....just nodding.... off......in my Kermit pants.

Nighttime Studio

working in a simple illustration style

my "on the side art"-while working on the book, I'm filling up these gumball machines

anyone read The Ghost of Windy Hill? I happened upon this book the other day in my favorite discard pile

does this say it or what? (by the way-this is the best smelling lotion of all time).

Just a few nighttime glow of the studio pictures.....I've been so spinning head busy as of lately....read the bottle, Beth- RELAX AND THINK CLEARLY....ahhhhhh......

On the Radio

Think I'll probably change the bottom fabric on this one? This has been on my to do list for months-ahhhh, happy. I'm working on a children's book right now. I always like to have "art on the side" while I'm working on a project. It's distracting and helps me get my mind off something that isn't working right or poking at my perfectionism. I could really get rid of that attribute. Note to self-new year's resolution- make more mistakes...