Spreading the Love (and money) the best I can

I know that by it now it seems the entire world has heard about the heartache happening in Haiti, and hopefully, they have done something to help out, if possible. I know that our family has tried to help in its own way with some donations and lots of prayers and good thoughts!

But I still wanted to help out more, and since I lack a bottomless bank account, I wanted to offer the best I could. So, for the entire month of January, I am donating ALL proceeds for the sale of ANY original encaustic painting in my Etsy shop! Yep, all I will take from the sale is the cost of shipping. The remainder will go towards Mercy Corp in order to help those suffering the aftermath of such a horrible event.

Hazel Learns a New Word over Thanksgiving!

If At First You Don't Succeed....Lessons in Sinuses

The past two weeks have really taught me a lot, crammed into some tight times amid some tired nights. I had been feverishly working towards preparing for my first time selling my art at the Corvallis Fall Festival. I had been painting, making prints, organizing, listing, all while doing the normal housework, applying for holiday shows, etc, etc. Then I caught "the cold". It was a week and a half out from the festival, so I figured I would get over it in time to get the last stuff ready and be good to go.

Funny, how I thought that.

Well, I did get over the "cold" on Thursday. But, it really didn't leave as much as get nice and comfy in my sinuses. Now, that is where I normally suffer from colds, so I figured I could deal with some stuffiness over the weekend. No biggie. Did it before many times.

ouch.

The thing about my sinuses this time is that they weren't joking around. I got a serious sinus infection that wouldn't budge even with hot compresses, neti pot dousing, hot tea, and OTC medicine. No, this infection was there to stay; even while trying to set up a booth and unload all my gear by myself. in the hot sun. while I was cranky and in a lot of pain. Yes, I am a whiner.

So, Saturday afternoon of the sale rolls around and I'm sitting in the booth doing my best imitation of a gal having fun when my parents visit and they find out just what is happening. That is when I get whisked away to the local Emergency Room where they give me antibiotics and painkillers and tell me to rest and drink lots of liquids. Not easily done sitting in the sun at an art sale.

So, I had to leave the art festival a day early. Which entailed packing up all the gear and both, but this time with the help of my parents (and the joyful blur of painkillers). I spent today at home instead of trying to make money at an art fair. And I should have been angry, hurt, frustrated at my current state, etc.

But, surprisingly, I'm not. I'm really at peace. I mean, I'm a little bummed that all my work didn't turn into some more profit which could really be used now (especially to pay the doctor bill) but it was so nice to just sit and relax and HEAL. And, maybe it's because of the seasonal change (and the coming cooler weather) but I just want to take it easy, enjoy being a mom, do some crafting and relax. At least for the next few weeks. Then, I will be aching to get busy again. I mean, I am starting a new painting class on wednesday and I hang my art this weekend for a new monthly show, so I'm by no means stopping the onlsaught of the to-do list. But, at least I am in the mood to slow down a bit!

Getting Busy

So, I've been busy; very busy getting ready for the Corvallis Fall Festival Sept. 25-26th! I've been going to the studio every free moment I get to work on some new work, and that has been challenging with a very active 17 month old daughter running around like crazy! But I did get some extra hours in this weekend to finish these two new lovelies!

They are both 18" square and can be displayed seperately, but were made to go together. I had a lot of fun working with the colors and textures in these pieces! And so, even though this is just a quick photo of the paintings in my studio, I still needed to share!

Gratitude

This photo is a shot of what I've been working on over the past several weeks. New work, new ideas, new directions, but all with an underlying theme of color, happiness, life, and gratitude.

Gratitude is a very important element in my life right now. I have a lot of it. Granted, not much has changed with the day to day happenings, but I have just started really realizing how very blessed I am. And how much I have to be grateful for. Big stuff. wonderful stuff.

So, as I get busy with life and upcoming art shows, I just wanted to share a little of what I have been up to, and letting anyone reading this just how grateful I am!

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

It's been awhile. A long while. Over a month since I wrote here. And I did think about it several times; sometimes out of guilt or obligation, sometime out of anxiousness. But I just didn't know what to write. So, I didn't.

Now, I'm slowly coming out of my self-induced cocoon and getting back to living the life I want to live. A positive one. A happy, productive one. A life I can get up in the morning and look forward to unfolding. I'm not completely "there" yet, but I have a plan, and that is a good place to start.

I took an amazing art class in early July in the lovely town/island of Vashon, WA. It was taught by the amazing printmaker, Mary Margaret Briggs. I have pics of her studio which I will share shortly, but for now, there is just a taste of the work that came out of her workshop above. This was not a piece I made in class, but rather something I made at home afterwards - the first encaustic art I have made in over a month. It felt so good to get my hands back "in the wax" and make something that really makes me happy. I made several more from prints from the class and will share them shortly as well. But for now, baby steps. I mean, I finally have something to say. I shouldn't let it all spill out at once!

Home is Where the Joy Is

This was one of those glorious, wonderful, calm and peaceful weekends we get so few of around here. We hadn't overwhelmed ourselves with "to-do" lists, we didn't have too many scheduled activities, we just enjoyed the natural flow of things and had a great time!

A trip to the farmer's market always has a way of starting the weekend out well, and so do things like sleeping in a bit, taking a family bike ride through the neighborhood, playing in the park, and eating fresh sweet cherries.

I thought that this new little encaustic painting really summed up my happy thoughts of home. Hopefully, I can remember this sweet respite of calm peace during this increasingly busy week to come. I think everything would go much smoother if we all carried a bit of "home" in our hearts, so that is my goal this week!