My Painted Stairs

Hello there, and happy July to you!  We are reaching the end of what seems like a very long hot spell here in the heartland....and we are thrilled to see it go!  Cool breezes are blowing in this evening, and tomorrow's temp is only supposed to get into the mid eighties.  Yippee!

Here's a little peek at my finished staircase at the house. 

They kind of give me an itty bitty thrill.  Hope you are having a good weekend so far!



The Pot That Saved Me (well, maybe not quite that dramatic, but close)

Do you ever have those days?  One of those really bad days?  One where you wonder, "what's the point of it all?"  Like.....seriously.....is there even a point to what I am doing right here, right now, sloshing this paint around, rearranging and wiping down shelves.....etc.  I was in a bad mood the other day....nothing seemed to be going right, and it felt like a rather pointless day.  Yes, even the "happy dreaming bear lady" feels like that sometimes! 

Then, enters a painted pot that changed my outlook in the blink of an eye!!!!
Mackenzie, from the Prairiewoods Transition Center, and her baby boy, Vinnie (is that a kick ass name for a baby or what?!) delivered this pot last week.

This magnificent, fabulous, miraculous pot!!!

It was painted by my Art Rocks kids as a thank you for the art making time we had together in the studio!

Each student painted a little Dreaming Bear on the pot. 

Amazing!  And they are thanking me?  It really is the other way around.....and this fine piece of art was a good reminder for me that day.  These kids bring so much joy to my life and my heart.  They have no idea what a positive impact they have been in my life.  And what GREAT ENERGY they bring to my studio!  Woweee!  The place just vibrates when they are in there!  I'm so happy to have the opportunity to work with them again in the fall.  These guys/gals can do BIG things people!!!!

THANK YOU to them for reminding me that no matter the size of the gesture, what you do really counts.  There is a point.....one heart can touch many hearts....and so on and so forth.  Every thought, movement, and expression has a purpose...and can be part of something really big and good.

Thankful, grateful me.

Time with Katie!

What a fun afternoon!  I had the pleasure of spending it with my sweet niece, Katie, in the studio! 

We had some lunch, cupcakes for dessert, and then some valuable, irreplaceable creative time.

She is such a good egg.  So happy to know this sweet soul.

Happy Friday, everyone!!!

A List of Things to Give Up

The universe always sends us what we need.  This list of things to give up is so very wise.  Enjoy.

Quote on Awakening

Found this quote the other day....and loved it.  Enjoy!

"Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.”

                                   ― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom



Recently Reading....

Hi again!  I forgot to mention in my last post that while on vacation, I indulged in a little reading as well.  Three out of the four places we stayed in did NOT have TVs in them, and that was perfectly fine with us.  It made me shamefully aware of how often I absentmindedly turn the TV on for no good reason, clicking through all of the channels.....just for the noise.  And let's face it, there is very little GOOD TV out there.  Lack of TV on our trip really helped me to "settle."  It's good stuff, settling.

First I read "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave.  Absolutely wonderful!!  I found myself going back to certain passages and reading them again, because it was so beautifully done. 

Lovin' Man and I both read this one.....it's fascinating!  I believe Jon Ronson, the author, is also the author of "Men Who Stare at Goats."  Smart, witty, sometimes scary....but very interesting.

I've been finding myself in a bit of a creative "lull" lately, so I'm trying to stretch myself by looking into different concepts/exercises/etc to get the juices flowing again.  This is a fun, encouraging book....I have seem some grumbling here and there online about it, that it's sending the wrong message, but so far, I don't agree....it's about finding things...anything...that inspires you, and turning into something that is authentically you. 

Well, I've got some bookmarks that need inspiring messages, and some little fabric owls are calling my name to be stitched up....so I'm off!  Hope you are having a sunny day!



Getting Back Into the Routine....Maybe....

Oh this poor, neglected bloggity blog!  Hello friends!  I'm finally getting the "oomph" to get back on track with everything....sort of.  My hubby and I returned a couple of weeks ago from an amazing belated honeymoon, and right before we left, was the marion arts festival, the busiest day of the year for our store!  We had such a great time!  I was very good about taking photos with my phone, here are some of them.....

We flew into Portland, and headed north into Washington state, and stayed on Lake Quinault for a couple of days.  We hiked the Olympic National Rain Forest, and it was the most amazing place I've been! 

Very lush, and green, with moss growing everywhere.  And we were cursing Columbia, makers of our so-called "waterproof" jackets.  Whatevs.

This is the gorgeous Lake Quinault Lodge.

This is Lake Quinault.  LOVELY.

We drove south to Cannon Beach, OR and stayed a night...right on the ocean!

A dream come true for this flatlander!  I put my toes in the Pacific for the first time, officially.

(not bare toes....no, no....too cold for that!)

Then we drove back to Portland, where we stayed a few days.....our landing spot was the Kennedy School....an old school that has been renovated into THE coolest hotel EVER.  Stay there if you ever get a chance.  Above, is a picture of us enjoying artisan ice cream at Salt and Straw.  To die for...can you see we are happy??? 

Portland is a city you can feel comfortable wearing stripey knee socks!!  And I did!

The Japanese Gardens were heavenly....like a different world.

Our final evening was spent on the Columbia River Gorge with this breathtaking view.

This waterfall was right outside our hotel.

We absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed everything on this trip. 

Perhaps subconciously,  perhaps not, we intended to devour every morsel of this experience.

We ate lots of good food, met many kind people, saw nature's wonders all around us,

heard the ocean as we slept, and we laughed a lot.  A lot.  We napped when we wanted to, and we read a couple of books.  I feel so lucky to share it with my guy.

Things have been kind of funky since I've been back....I've really struggled to get back into the groove again.  It's true when they say that travelling changes you....it really does.  Looking back over the photos makes me relive all those memories/feelings/experiences all over again.  You are not the same person as you were before the trip....you are richer after them.  Grateful and happy.

Friday Ramblings

Wow!  Here we are, around the corner from Mother's Day, already!  The time does fly!  I'm working from home today, as my Little Man sprained his wrist rather badly.  He has been resting on the couch with an ice pack and some pain meds.  Not fun....but at least it's not broken!  Thank goodness!

 It's a GORGEOUS day out there.  Perfectly gorgeous.  It has me wishing I owned a large easel so I could paint outside on the patio!  We might take the doggies to the park later on, and let them run some of their energy off.  Until then, I'm working away on multiple projects....lots of canvases and furniture pieces, as the Marion Arts Festival is next weekend!  The biggest day of the year for us in downtown Marion....we will be busy, and I want to be ready for it!  Wish me luck!

Collage Faces!

I'm getting more and more confident with faces....painting them, drawing them, piecing them together with collage papers.  Ever since the postcard swap, I've been addicted to making these funny faces.  The girls at the store helped me build my stash of painted papers.  In between projects, they painted up some random prints for me, and I've really got quite the collection now.

The first one is my favorite so far............

Thanks for taking a peek!  Have a great weekend!!!

More Creations from Art Rocks!

Hey there!  I wish I had met these joyful souls much earlier in the year!  Unfortunately, their school year will be wrapping up, so I won't see them again for a while.....but boy, did we have fun this time!  We painted on oblong canvases. 

I think they liked it!
Check out the textures!

And the sunshine......

Brandon painted an elephant......

a smiling elephant.....

and a volcano spouting fire and lava.......

Kendra did some lettering.......awesome!

Happy, happy canvases all around!

A big thanks to my Art Rocks peeps for a fabulous time, hope to see you again soon!!!

Another Home Project Started

Howdy!  Did you have a great weekend?  I hope so!  Ours was nice and busy.  Lovin' Man and I attended a fun neighborhood fiesta on Saturday night.   Ummmm.....maybe we went just a little overboard....well, HE went overboard.  He always does.  But it makes me laugh.   

In addition to the party, we had a romp with the dogs at the dog park yesterday, and took our first trip of the season to the farmer's market in Hiawatha.  Our Sunday dinner consisted mostly of items we purchased at the farmer's market....and boy, was it tasty.  So much more flavor than store bought veggies, I think. 

A few weeks ago, we tore up the carpet on our staircase, and I've been intending to paint them.  It took me a while to make up my mind what to do, and I finally did!  So I got started on them today! 

Here are the before pictures.....

As you can see, there was a pretty nasty paint job hidden under that carpet.  I was really hoping for nice wooden steps, and then I would only have to paint the risers...but no such luck. 

In the top pic, you see that bottom step has already been started.  The steps themselves are going to be chocolate brown, which will coordinate with a few other accents in our house.  Not too exciting right now, but stick with me.....it's gonna get funky up in here!  Stay tuned!

A work in progress.

I've been reworking this old canvas.....besides collage faces, I am also obsessed with colorful trees.

Still working my way through it....and having a ball.  It's fun to "smoosh" paint around.

Blissful.

Peek at Home Studio Table

Spring is when my juices really get flowing!  I'm back to having super messy work tables, and trying to stay out of my own way to get things done!  This is my table at home....canvases in progress.  I still am in love with doing these collage faces!  Can't.  Stop. 

It's been terribly windy here lately....but today has finally settled down and the sun is shining.

This makes us glad.

Wishing you a creative, happy day!