Glancing Back in the Rearview Mirror

I always find myself at quite a surprised state come New Years. It has a habit of sneaking up on me amid the excitement of the holidays. I am often otherwise immersed in random activities so that the new year slips by without much notice from me. I guess it's easy to assume that I'm not one of those late night party-goers either.

This year, it's pretty much the same story, except that I find myself reflecting a bit more on the past year since it was such a monumental one in my tiny short life. And oddly enough, I haven't been thinking about what I accomplished in matters of success, ego and glory (though they are all nice, obviously.) It's not about art shows and new shoes and acceptance letters. It is all about those things that sneak up on you, knock you flat on your black, and smile down upon you saying "hello there. This is life calling."

1. I gave birth this year. Something I NEVER thought I would be able to do. And yet here I am with an amazing 8 month old baby.

2. I grew up this year and entered adulthood (yes, at 33). And no, not just because I had a baby. But because of that child, I had to learn (begrudgingly at times) that it is NOT all about me, my wants, my needs.

3. I also learned, however, that if you don't take care of your needs, you get fried and worn out like "jam spread on too much bread" and that isn't healthy either.

4. BALANCE

5. I need help from others and am not "an island". This is hard because I like being the one that can do things herself - and do them well, thankyouverymuch! But, in "real life" it's not always possible.

6. I found joy in NOT doing. In sitting, breathing, watching. Most of that was also around a very curious and amazing little girl.

7. I also found a bit more patience, because I had to. Though I hope there's a lot more out there, because I sorely need it.

8. I experienced the realization that I am never ever going to be perfect. Not even if I make a million lists, stress myself out, act cranky to others, and obsess. So, I am going to work feverishly hard at not trying to be perfect so often.

9. I learned that baby weight really IS hard to get off.

10. I learned that people are only human, and are inherently flawed and fragile, and that is what makes them so beautiful. And it is what makes life so damn wonderful in those beautiful human moments. And I will try to remember and cherish each one of them in the new year.

Happy New Year to everyone! Peace, love and art in the new year!

A Sunny Remembering

This was the only icy snow covering in sunny San Diego earlier this month. We went down there to visit family and attend a memorial service. While we were there, we decided to take in the sights at Balboa Park.

The theatre there was performing "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and this was in front of the theatre. Funny now to look back at that "snowy" tree after having endured 14" of the white stuff in rainy Portland.
We walked through one of my favorite park areas - The Spanish Village of the Arts. It is a vibrant village square filled with artists' studios and beauty all around. This was out front of a glass studio. I just loved it!
We walked through their pavilion (think greenhouse without any of the glass) and enjoyed these lovely tropical plants!
A view from an archway along the main promenade in the park. The architecture was phenomenal and I enjoyed seeing the sights!
Finally, this amazing hibiscus was blooming in early December! It was amazing seeing so many blossoms and color. It was a rude awakening to return from San Diego and get hit with snow and ice just a week later. But we enjoyed our southern retreat and the heat it kept in our hearts!

Holiday Gift Spoiler - Dad, Mom, Kim Don't Look!

So, all these snow days (and some long naps) have given some time to work on some holiday gift shadow box collages. I've had these box frames (from IKEA) for awhile and have been wanting to do this for soooo long. Now, I actually got around to it. If you are my father, my mother, or my friend Kim STOP READING and go do something else...hee hee. ..

This one that says "quilt" is for my sewing obsessed mother! Her sewing room is purple so this little goddess of the stitching will be happy at home...complete with some vintage lace and orange thread!
My friend Kim LOVES writing and literature, so I wanted to make something that was a literary goddess. She also loves the SCA and historic costume, so that's why this one has this look. In fact, this was the very first one I made. This has a stately lady of lit with some fun letters, a metal cat charm and some really fun white round decorative disks.
Finally, this one is for my road trip loving father. It has a fun vintage map in the background featuring one of his favorite highways - 395 in eastern california. (and lake tahoe!) It also has some fun vintage photos, a key for starting a drive and some funky felt animal stickers that I simply HAD to add to it! I'm ready to go for a drive!

Snow Day!

Here is my beautiful baby girl getting ready for her first outing in the snow. If you look closely you can see she still has some applesauce on her face from lunch...she HATES getting her faced cleaned! My mom made the little fleece hat for her which she promptly pulled off after this photo. I LOVE baby hats like a freak, and my daughter barely tolerates them. Figures...
Remember the movie "A Christmas Story"? The poor little brother gets bundled up for the snow in about a gazillion layers, falls down outside in the snow and can't get up? Well, this was Hazel after the same thing. She fell down flat on her back right after this photo was taken. It was hard to stop laughing. Ah, the joys of family.

I'm staying home today making crafty things I will share with you in another post. But in the meantime, stay warm, stay silly and stay crafty!

It's time for trees!

I admit, I'm usually a tree snob. I only like noble firs, and even then I like the tall thin ones with lots of space between the branches to really show off the heavy glass ornaments I always seem to buy. Yep, I'm one of THOSE people. But this year, we have a VERY mobile 8.5 month old baby crawling around and my stately noble filled with breakable objects just didn't seem to make sense. So, here we have our simple small doug fir christmas tree perched safely up on our old coffee table keeping those lights and small objects away from Hazel's curious hands!
I was actually somewhat prepared for the tree this year as I started making some unbreakable felt ornaments last month. I love felt and have made some felt ornaments in the past, but this year it was time to really go crazy and make enough to fill the tree!

I spent some time searching for a fun first ornament for Hazel...and was just disgusted with the selections out there for "baby's first christmas" ornaments. I wanted something fun and not cheap plastic with pink storks or something. I ended making this one for her out of felt. The "H" is out of sparkly red felt...and I even added pink buttons....she is a girl and I'm sure she will love the pink in a few years even if I don't.

This is an ornament I didn't make, but I've always felt it really signifies the reason for this season. It's time to slow down, enjoy the winter season, welcome back the light that will soon be returning, and try to spread peace wherever you can. We're enjoying the peace and quiet this winter storm has brought to our city, and the warm glow of the lights on the tree as we take in beautiful seasonal movies.....like "Tropic Thunder".

Oh come on, you didn't think I would remain entirely serious?

The weekend of ART

I am involved in two fun and exciting events this weekend!

The first is an art opening at Moreland Frameworks and Gallery. They are having a holiday Art Show with several local artists, including 10 new pieces of my work. The opening is Friday, Dec. 5th from 6-9pm. The gallery is located at 6517 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202

The second event is the Da Vinci School Holiday Art Fair. I will have many original pieces and reproductions for sale for this two day show. This is the last time to get my work before the holidays. And, 30% of all artists' sales goes to help this wonderful Portland Public School!

New Encaustic Works - Just in Time for Holiday Sales!

I had some time in the studio, and some new little sizes of bases, so I decided to get busy and make some fun little pieces - perfect for holiday gifts for the holidays!

This piece is 3" x 3" and features one of my new milagro hearts. I carved the image into the wax and filled it with both red and a deep van dyke brown for a weathered look.
This sweet little piece is the same 3" x 3" size but has a completely different feel to it. That is a skeleton leaf embedded into the wax with white and the lightest wash of green. There's lace paper in there as well as fabric. I then incised into the wax and colored with dark brown. I just love this!
These two pieces are actually on stretch canvas panels that are 4" x 5" and 1" deep so they really stick out from the wall! The one of the top left has vintage paper on the base layer, layers of wax that have been scraped back, paper and a tree incised into it. It reminds us all to do what's natural - "grow".

The second one's base layer is actually a woodblock print I carved and it is mounted on ALL sides of the piece! Then I added one of my ladder images with the urging to "climb".

I will be posting more images shortly, and will have all these pieces (and more) for sale at the Da Vinci School Sale this Saturday and Sunday. Visit my website for more info on the sale!

Holiday Fun in the Studio

I had a few moments of quiet play time in the studio yesterday during a nap, so I quickly got to work making a few fun things. I wanted some homemade gift tags for the holidays. This one above was an image I carved into a stamp and put on some yummy antique white cardstock. I love the colors!


These simple tags say "solstice greetings" and will be used for my friends' gifts at Yule. I love this stamp!

And finally, I had to include this "shoe" shot. I had no idea how festive my feet (and rug) were! And you've got to love the striped knee socks. Well, I do.

The Day It Rained Sauce

This Sunday was not a day of rest at our house. Oh, no. It was the day we decided to process two large boxes of granny smith apples from Jason's parents. We were going to make applesauce. We've done this for several years now and I love homemade unsweetened applesauce. So, even though we were tired from all the holiday-ing with family, we decided to tackle the apples.

And what a battle it was.


We started cooking and straining the apples....and continued with the process for hours. This is just a very small sample of the sauce that was coming out of the food mill.




This is our canning set-up on the stove. The large canner on the left is for processing the jars once they are filled. It can hold 9 quart jars at one time. The pressure cooker in the back is ENORMOUS and is filled with applesauce heating up and ready for canning. Jason's parents bought us the pot for canning and we use it so often for sauce rather than pressure cooking. But it is so nice to have. The small pot in the front (which is still pretty darn big) holds the chunks of apples while we boil them to soften them.
This is sauce in action. Notice the wine bottles for reference to the enormous size of the pot of sauce.

Voila! After about 6 hours (Jason also cooked a roast during this time because he has mad cooking skills!) we have 22 quarts and 5 pints of homemade organic applesauce. That would be 6 GALLONS! MMMMM......