climbing

Adeline watched as her granny made her favorite drink, afterwhich it was set aside until the "ladies" came over for brunch. When Granny went out to take the laundry down from the line, Adeline quickly pushed her pint sized ladded to the picture of lemonade..and began climbing...

I drew this for Illustration Fridays' 'climbing'. It is a drawing that was scanned used for a digital collage. The thought of fresh made lemonade has me thinking of a bright sunny day!

The view from the lens

Winter can be so beautiful..can't it! But enough already! We in upstate NY can't see over the snowbanks when turning the corner. I am convinced there will still be snow in my yard on Mothers Day! And, it is only January. Keeping busy is the key....especially if you don't have a set of snowshoes. I do have my sneakers..which lead me on the daily run..but after that it is inside for me! I enjoy my time outside, a nice run...a walk with the dogs, but it just isn't enough. I can't sit and chat on the deck or head over to the neighbors for a weekend backyard fire. Oh how I am appreciating those things now! Am I whining? No, just reminiscing..and looking forward!....ok..maybe it is whining in disguise. A little brightness in the middle of winter is the One World One Heart blog give away....to find out more head over to my other blog..(especially if you are Mimi and Moes' MOM!!!!)

http://sodistressing.blogspot.com/

In the meantime, I will continue busying myself. Today it was baking whole wheat bread, making mushroom sherry soup, and a lovely visit with my great Aunt Eleanor. All very pleasant activities! Aunt Eleanor is in her early nineties..but still drives..walks without any assistance, and has a sweet little cat named Milo. She used to take my sister and I for day trips when we where little. Today I brought up the time she took us to Yaddo...an artists retreat in Saratoga...having just read a book that was centered, fictionally, around it. I barely remember going there, but would never have been aware of it had she not taken us, and would never had recognized it in this book I read...The Ghost Orchid..by Carol Goodman. She called it by another name, and also makes many references to the city I live in, Gloversville. Which is quite shocking..as this place seems all but forgotten! I have read many of her books, all of which seem to be loosely centered around upstate new york. They are quite atmospheric, if you are interested in that type of reading.

I ordered it!

Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet: Making Designer Metal JewelryAuthor: Mary Hettmansperger

I did, I did!!! The drooling, the wondering and the ooogling...I had to give in and order this book, which I first saw shades of on http://somethingsublime.blogspot.com/.
Books are on my list of favorite things..in this whole wide world...though the list may be long..but they are near the top. Being so, I have to reign myself in on book purchases...I always have one, if not two books that I am reading. Without them, I feel lost! The library and bookstores..also on the list of faves in this world. I recently joined an online site called paperback swap. Much like book mooch, if you have ever heard of that. It is a book exchange site. You add books to your wish list, and add books that you have, and are willing to send out..in return for sending them out you, receive points. With points, you can then have books sent to you, the ones available.. that are on your wish list. Pretty cool for reading addicts. This book was on my list, and no, it is not a "reading book", but an instructional book...and I was the gazillionith person in line for the book. I broke down, I bought it. Am trying to hold out for the ten Mary Oliver poetry books I want...wish me luck.

What's Beneath

Right now, the rose bush that bore these pale, whisper pink roses, lies deep beneath inches and inches..(or actually, a couple of feet), of pure white snow. Just resting until it is time for it to grow again..and reach towards the sun. How easy it is to forget what lies beneath the snow. It is all so quiet and hidden, waiting to rise above again, and sway in a warm spring breeze.

Family Influences.

So much of my artwork is influenced and inspired by my family. It only makes sense I guess, as the thought of families can bring up so much emotion and so many memories. I painted the picture above from a polaroid of my sisiter and I. I think I was four and she was two. I am quite heartbroken that I can no longer find the polaroid! And thankful that I have the picture I painted.

This painting kept turning and turning...until it evolved into something different than what it actually started out being. It ended up looking like my sister holding a baby up, but started out as a drawing from the picture below.

Excuse the crooked scan I have here! This is a photograph of my mom holding my niece Whitney near a pier in Florida. I thought this was such a beautiful and touching photo, I wanted to recreate it. But somehow it ended up quite different. Whitney is my sisters baby...and the women in my painting sort of morphed into her. I used this picture as an aceo and also created a beautiful necklace with it.

I could go on and on, and show many different pieces of work to you...these are just two! My new blog banner also deserves some of my press time here. It is created from a photograph of my mom as a child...and from another photograph, I believe, of distant cousins? I just found them absolutely adorable. My poor mom, I always seem to be using pictures of her! She is one of the most beautiful women I know....so I find it sort of hard to resist.

So family is just part of my inspiration to create, as is nature and emotion, poetry, my experiences as a nurse....the list could go on and on. I am just thankful for all that I have, and my love and appreciation I try to show through my art. What inspires you?

Creatous

Creatous...is there such a word? And if it is, what does it mean? Is it an action, a noun, a disease even! If there isn't such a word, then I just made one up! And it means to create something. So there you have it. And I am showing your one of my creations. It is made from a tiny, tiny print of mine...adhered to a black filigree stamping. There is gunmetal rolo chain attached to it. I decided to get a little funky and string some twine and ivory batting through it. After which I warpped the fiber with black wire.

I kept trying to come up with some other fibrous material to add to it, but to no avail. The reason being, is after I started making this, I decided I might enter it in an art show at a gallery I joined. The items entered had to be at least 80% fiber....so I kept adding it here and there, however I am not quite convinced I made it to 80%.
The deadline to enter is today....still considering. All I have to do it send an email with the info and jpegs.

In other news....omg!...It is going to snow yet again! This winter is unbelievable! We have no place to put the stuff anymore! One of my newly acquired past times this year is snowblowing. Hubby seems to be on a business trip (80%) of the time there is a storm. He is home this weekend. But I had to learn my way around the beast of a machine while he was gone this past week. I actually had fun though! And I am sure it would have been quite funny to watch. I ended up going around in circles at the bottom of the driveway..over and over again. I guess I pressed a lever to help me turn and never turned it off. Then I ran out of gas in the middle of our driveway..that being the steepest part of it...but have no fear...I filled the baby up and actually restarted it! At the same time I was doing this my neighbor, a few doors away, was orienting herself to the four wheeler plow...her hubby was gone on a business trip too! Girl power! We both cleared the driveways with machinery! We are INDEE-PENDANT!

Blanketed

This is the latest listing in my artfire studio...Blanketed. It is a fine art pendant using a photograph of mine. Custom orders are welcome also! All of my artwork is available to be created into one of these necklaces. If you have a request just drop me a note!

http://distressingdelilah.artfire.com/