I am what I am

Here is my latest painting. When I started out I had a completely different theme in mind. As it developed so did the meaning. Through all of my self discovery from writing in my journal and sketching each morning I have come up with this. "I am what I am." I still view the world the same way I did when I was teenager. I still think I look the same way I did when I was twenty. At least in my eyes I do. Oh I know I do not look the same way. I know I have wrinkles and a saggy butt. I know I have grown in many ways and learned from my mistakes. I have incorporated new techniques and styles in my life and in my art. I realized this as I look at my old art work. My drawings look just like they did when I was young. I hated the way I drew. I felt my drawings were juvenile. After all these years the way I draw has not changed. It is all right. It is who I am. I'm OK with it. I have learned to embrace myself and love who I am. It is a good thing. It is OK to be me.

Celebrate

Hi everyone! I'm back. I can not believe it's been over a week since my last post.
It has been a week of celebrations. My husbands birthday was last Friday, my nephew got married last Saturday on my mom's birthday. Then yesterday was my birthday.
My husband took the week off and so we have been on a staycation. We decided not to go away for vacation but to stay right here in San Antonio. There is so much to see in our own backyard.
Yesterday I had a day of indulgence. My friend and I went to a day spa. It was fabulous. I had a facial, massage, manicure and pedicure. Boy do I feel pampered and special.
Needless to say I have not been doing much in the creative zone. Hopefully I will get back to normal soon.
I am so thankful for the wonderful week I have had. However, is anyone else feeling a little worried about the economy? I really do not want this to be a political blog or anything to that nature, but I am having a hard time not being concerned.

Altered Art Journal Letter G

Here is the next page of my altered art journal. Letter G for garden.
The words are not mine. It is a quote that I found. At this point the author is unknown.
"My garden of flowers
is also my garden
of thoughts and dreams."

by the way I posted some great shots from my backyard.
Head over to my other blog Picture This to see butterflies, a spider and a cardinal.

Award

Thank you Pattie for this cute award! I am very honored. Just look to the right and visit all my favorite blogs. I honor them today. I have so many therefore I can't just pick a few.

So...today I start in a much better mood. I realize how much I need to create. I worked on my altered art journal and it is coming along great. It's amazing how the simple little act of painting can make me feel so much better. I was in such a funk the last couple of days because I spent too much time blogging... I know I'm addicted to it but too much is too much. I have to get in my studio and create at some point. Yesterday I finally pulled myself away from the computer and pulled out the paints. And wow what a difference it has made.
Now I have to go outside and secure all my hangy things on my back porch just in case we get some high winds from Ike. We are not in his direct path any more but we'll probably get lots of rain and wind. That's what they are saying on the news anyway. Hurricanes have a mind of their own. Who knows we may not get anything from it. It's better to be safe.

Time Flies

It seems the only art work I've been able to do lately are these sketches. It is a good thing I enjoy drawing these girls in my journal each morning, or I would not have anything to show.
I'd like to use her in a painting. These are my intentions of course. I still have the task of trying to make the painting look like the drawing.
I don't know where the time goes. I spent most of the morning trying to change the look of my blog. All I wanted was a simple little background change and before I knew it the whole morning was gone. It gets really frustrating after awhile. With the help of a blogger friend, at least I figured out how to get it done.
This afternoon I worked on the next entry of my altered art journal. I'm using magazine cutouts to collage the background. I thought it would be so neat, but at this point I'm not so sure. I should probably wait until I learn some of Paulette's techniques. The backgrounds class starts next week.
It will be fun. The only thing I worry about is I don't want my work to look like a copy of Paulette's. It is so hard to come up with your own style. I'm trying to learn and grow as an artist by taking classes and expanding my horizons. But at the same time I feel I'm just going to look like a copy cat.

Alphabet Charms

I have spent the better part of this week taking pictures, editing pictures and then putting these on my Etsy shop. What a job! I made these a few months ago, before I got into face painting and blogging. I have been wanting to put these up for sale for awhile now but knew the task would be difficult.
So here they are anyway.
I made these out of left-over broken vintage china.
I soldered them like the memory glass pendants. Then I placed alphabet stickers on each and glazed with diamond glaze to seal.
I think they turned out really cute. You can go over to my Etsy shop to get a better look at each one. I am selling them separately.
I do not have the charms in letter M, N, Q, or X.
I am selling them on the chain, but of course they would look great on a charm bracelet too.

In Memory

My daughters best friend left us a year ago today. So today we remember Erica. We miss you and love you.