planning out my life

this page was inspired by the purchase of my new calendar, in an attempt to get my life and my artwork more organized. i took the label from the front of the calendar, glued it to the journal page, and made my notes on there.

the pages were painted ahead of time, so i chose this page b/c of the purple color matching the label (and the calendar was purple!). i used a silver sharpie marker to list out my resolutions and then i drew silver snowflake shapes relating to the design on the calendar label.

this page was created the first week or january, 2011.

egyptian inspiration

another journal page made in advance -- pages painted w/ excess paint in various colors or patterns. i happen to like blue/green/purple together, so i ended up w/ a purple and green layout.

when i wanted to color one night, but didn't feel like the stress of actually doing a picture, i decided that something "egyptian" inspired would look good on this page. i used purple colored pencil on the green backgroun and then green colored pencil on the opposite purple page.

i started on the right side of the design and worked my way to the left w/ no idea or pattern in advance -- just doodling. i decided to leave the right side open and use it for future journaling. w/ that in mind, i lettered the word "reflection" up the left side of the page. i plan to do some journaling in purple ink on the green page. in response to what i might use to write on over the paint -- sharpie marker if the gel pen or ink pen doesn't work.

the background is painted w/ cheap acrylic paint, the drawing is done w/ prang colored pencils, and it's sprayed w/ kumar fixative to keep it from smearing over time in the book. this journal page was done (so far) in june, 2010.

to cut? or not to cut?

anyone who is a girl, who has girls, who hangs out w/ girls, or deals w/ girls in any way -- these people realize the importance of these decisions. my hubby, who raised 3 boys, was not aware of how important the issue of "bangs" might be in a girl's life! (not mine -- but other girls close to me!). the questions -- do i cut them? what if i don't like them? what if no one else likes them? what if they make me look ______ ? will they ever grow out to the same length again?

these thoughts recently came to mind to me as my daughter took assessment of who needed hair cuts for school to start. well, oldest one needed some cut. middle child didn't need any cut but she wanted it done. so, when not being closely monitored, she cut her own hair. youngest one didn't seem to care yet (she doesn't feel as much need to do all that the other two do).

mommy freaked about the self-imposed haircut that needed a trip to the salon to fix, but it all worked out! i guess mommy forgot that she cut her own hair when she was 2!

this page is done on a pre-painted composition notebook page. the color matched the idea and color i wanted to work w/. the artwork was done w/ a brown sharpie marker. there has been no protectice covering or spray protective put on this page.

IF - dusty - 1/21/11

this is a picture of the back of my van. i live on a gravel road and have a 3 mile drive each morning before hitting the highway. needless to say, my car is always covered w/ a fine to heavy coat of dust unless it's raining. my students at school tease me about it b/c they can always spot my car in the parking lot -- it's the one w/ the dusty back window. amazingly, the people who live in the country and on gravel roads seriously consider what color of car to get b/c of how it will "show dust".

a couple years ago when i went to see lee greenwood in concert (proud to be an american), there was a young up-and-coming country star there as the opening act -- brian mccomas. he was so much fun and so talented and so memorable. he sang a song, which has now been released, about the things that happen in "the middle of nowhere". having grown up in the country, i could totally relate to that song the second i heard it. if people only knew what kids/people do "out in the middle of nowhere" and on "those old dirt roads" -- they would be much more careful about where their kids go.

anyway, i've had plenty of messages left on my car for me before, but i have to admit that this one was the funniest. and to think that some people worry and/or get all upset when a cat walks on their car!

originally posted here -- http://mapleleafartistry.blogspot.com/2006/01/middle-of-nowhere.html

cultivate your garden

this is another piece in my randomly painted and arranged composition notebook for journaling. when i'm ready to work on something, i flip through and find a page or color that inspires me and begin.

jerry and i have been spending lots of hours and money in gardening for the last few years. we are striving to get better as we get bigger. we have plenty of improvements to make, but this quote from literature came to mind. we all have "gardens" to "cultivate" regardless of what we do in life. i think this means that we can always make our lives and ourselves better and make connections where we are.

this page starts w/ a painted background, the drawing done w/ fat prang colored pencils, and then a white paint pen used to put white petals on the flowers. in this drawing, i tried to use white on the flower petals to bring out the brightness/lightness of color rather than using darker colors to focus on the darkness and shadow. this page has been sprayed w/ kumar spray fixative to protect the colored pencil from smearing. i started this picture in 10/09, but didn't complete it to my satisfaction until 6/10.

dandelion dreams

this journal page in one that i did in a composition notebook w/ painted pages. i just go through painted pages randomly, using up old paint or paint that i'm just about out of. then when i want to work on something, i flip through and find a color or color combination that seems to motivate me or match an idea i had. then i can start work on my new idea and play w/ it.

one of my favorite spring/summer activities is playing w/ dandelions w/ my little granddaughters. we pick the beautiful yellow flowers and make bouquets of them for the table, plus we pick the puffballs and blow the seeds into the wind.

this page background is done, so this spring/summer when we do this activity . . . i'll get some current pictures of the girls doing this and post on this page. something about these little activities that just seem to carry so many memories w/ them!

on this page, the background is painted in various shades of greens. i used fat prang colored pencils for the dandelion puffball drawing and the lettering. it has also been sprayed w/ kumar fixative to keep the colored pencil from blurring. picture created 11/2010 over thanksgiving weekend. this idea came to me as something i was thankful for having in my life.

topic posted - graceful envelope 2011

ok, the 2011 topic is posted for the graceful envelope contest, sponsored by the washington calligraphers guild. the current flyer is posted here --

http://www.calligraphersguild.org/PDF/2011GracefulEnvelopeFlier.pdf

i am planning to create an envelope for this, and i would like to challenge anyone who likes to be creative to join me. all the expense would be a stamp and your creative time/energy. who knows who might have the winning idea for this topic!

anyone interested in participating can see more information here --

http://www.calligraphersguild.org/envelope.html

there are also several years of winning submissions posted for all age groups!

black pen zentangle

often while we are sitting and watching television at evenings, i am doing some sort of drawing or artwork to keep my mind occupied. this zentangle is one of those very situations -- something to relax the mind and boost the creativity level! even with the "meditative" mindset these are supposed to provide, i still fee quite pressured while doing them for them to be perfect!

this drawing is done in a wire-bound journal on white paper with a black ballpoint pen. the date of the drawing is 4/2009, knowing that i worked on it 3-4 different evenings. it has not been sprayed with any sealant or protectant.

2011 hand prints - family

well, we've missed a couple years of getting our handprints stamped on new year's day . . . but we got back on it this year! we had scott here and summer/lucas/raven/riahna/rain as well as jerry and me. i will get these "autographed" by the participants -- probably on superbowl day.

i think this is such a neat way to document and visualize how much the kids (including my own grown children) have grown and how our family has grown in size (inclusiong and reproduction)! i have a few other pages of these where we all fit on the one page. we could've squeezed it all in this year, but it was more easily created and viewed w/ being a little spread out.