good thoughts

Self Portraits

2009-01-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

Hi. Have you ever done a self portrait? Maybe not in painting or drawing, or even art, but in any area of life?

This past fall I had the opportunity to teach art to 7th graders two Saturdays a month at Kipp Austin College Prep School. It was a great experience for me. I haven't taught in awhile, let alone to 7th graders. My goal each class and project was either to introduce them to a period of art history or a professional art career. The students always surprised me, the projects I felt the least prepared for were the ones that they always embraced and enjoyed the most. Interesting how that works, isn't it?

My FAVORITE project that we did were photo collage self portraits.I showed the students a variety of different artists self portraits through the ages and even some of my own that I have done through the years. I took a digital picture of each student, had it printed and then they were all given a stack of magazines to go through and the challenge " tell me something about yourself that I didn't know before." They were pretty much allowed to do anything except cut the photo of themselves out and stick it to the paper and hand it in - they had to use color, words, images... something to make it an interesting collage and something that would tell the rest of us who they saw themselves as - now or in the future. The end results were amazing. I wish I had pictures to share with you of them because that were great.

As I prepared for each lesson during the semester I would do the project myself. This mostly started out to see how long it would take and make any revisions necessary. But this project was a little different for me. It got me thinking about the value and importance of self portraits in our lives. I think what is so important about doing a self portrait of any kind is that we take few opportunities in life to just sit and look at ourselves from the outside in. To study ourselves. For those of you who are artists you know the feeling of studying the human body and loosing yourself in the form and shape of what is in front of you. I think the same thing can happen when you take a step outside of yourself figuratively and look in. You may be surprised by what you find or see.

I wanted to take the opportunity with this self portrait to tell my classes that I was pregnant. Some of the students had figured it out on their own, but the majority hadn't. I sat down myself with a stack of magazines and started tearing out things that stuck out to me. Then I sat back and looked at what I had and started assembling them and tried to figure out how they related to one another. In the end a few things surfaced about the thoughts and fears that I had/have about becoming a parent - things that had never crossed my mind before. I learned something about myself.

I hope as we start out this New Year that you will take some time to reflect on your life, on the things that you enjoy, the things that you struggle with, the things that make you who you are as a person and let yourself roll around in those thoughts for awhile. You may come out on the other side learning a thing or two.

Silence

2008-11-20T06:37:00.000-08:00

Can someone please tell me how it got to be the middle/end of November already??? How is it that Thanksgiving is already next week and the Christmas stuff is already 40% off? Hello Friends, if anyone is out there still. I know I have been a blogger slacker this fall, so I understand if no one is attempting to keep up with me these days.

Anyway, I wanted to share something briefly today that we did on Sunday with our community group. Jon and I facilitate a group every Sunday night that is essentially a small Bible study. This past Sunday we watched a Nooma video. I won't go into a long explanation about what Nooma is - all I will say is they are a series of videos put out by a pastor named Rob Bell who is pretty awesome in my opinion. And I truely mean that in every creative sense there is. His book Velvet Elvis made me want to jump up and down and scream, in a good way. My personal opinion is he has a really fresh perspective on things that is still rooted securely to the foundations of Christianity. But again, like I said - that is my personal opinion there are alot of people who disagree with me on that.

Ok, so my point of what I wanted to share today...my rambling is getting the best of me... this past week the video we watched was called Noise. It was about the Noise that surrounds us, the visual noise, the audible noise, the noise that we can't get away from and the noise that we run to because we are too afraid of what we might hear in the silence. I'm a big fan of silence. I need it to calm me down. I need it to think clearly and regain my footing when I let myself get wrapped up in the daily drama of life (because we all know I'm also a fan of drama sometimes...;)

One of the last statements that is posed in the video made me think alot about where we look for answers- in good times and bad. For whatever reason I felt compelled to put this "out there" to whoever maybe reading this. I don't know why but here goes. The question is this...

"Is is possible that you've been searching for God in the winds...the earthquakes and the fires...and He's waiting to speak to you in the silence?"

Have a great week friends...be back soon...

Thumbs Up...

2008-11-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

hi there. i'm sick today. and i just chased my dog around the dining room table after a pen. anyone want a dog? just kidding.

jon and i are in full bed and breakfast mode here these days. as i mentioned in my last post, my parents were just here for over a week. it was good to visit with them and get alot done around the house. the middle of this week are here expecting some more family from jon's side to come into town. fall is a great time to visit tx, especially if you aren't ready to let go of summer quite yet. you get the best of both worlds - cooler nights and warm days.

anyway, i don't have too much to share with you right now - only one tidbit of exciting news....drumroll please.....
it's a girl!! :) we had our ultrasound appointment last week and found out that we are expecting a little girl! i think we are both surprised, even though we had no preference either way, we both just thought we were having a boy. and i'm pretty sure that, that notion just came from the fact that everyone else had started to tell me that they thought i was carrying a boy. anyway, we are delighted.

everything looked good and healthy. the dr. said i was still on track for my march 15th due date. we got to see the little one moving around a little bit on the ultrasound. i have been feeling her move alot more lately. it's like having my own little alien growing inside of me :)

they were unable to get a good profile view of the baby. we did get to see her hands alot though. it was pretty amazing to watch her move her little fingers. here is my favorite picture we got from our appointment. looks like she's giving us a thumbs ups sign in there!

hope fall is finding you in good health and spirits where ever you may be. be back soon....

Fall Fun

2008-10-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hi there. Just thought I'd share some pictures from the past few weeks. We have been really enjoying some Texas fall weather. I love this time of year. If I can't be in the Northeast for colorful leaves, at least I am some place where the sun is always shining and the temperature is rather perfect, low 80s and chilly at night and in the mornings.

Last weekend we took a trip to Sweetberry Farms in Marble Falls, TX with our friends Brandon and Jenna for some pumpkin patch fun. I swear, when we were kids there was one type of pumpkin. Now it seems like the options are endless!

This truck was on the farm with pumpkins in the back of it. The colors and textures in it were SO cool. I couldn't resist.

We attempted the Texas shaped corn maze. There were 8 cities hidden inside that you had to try and find. After about 4 cities Jenna (a fellow pregnant person) and I decided there was no shame in giving up. So we sat outside of the maze and waited for our fearless husbands to finish it up.

Well that's all for now. We have two weeks of company coming up. I'll try to be back in the mean time with some actual creative stuff that I am working on! Take care and enjoy the time of year!

Lancaster, PA

2008-10-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

I love Lancaster, PA. Have I ever told you that? It's no Austin. But it has it's own wonderful, unique charm to it that is just different. I mean, where else can you go where your local Walmart or grocery store have horse tie ups out front? (for the Amish) There were a lot of charms I really enjoyed about that area of Pennsylvania. When I went back a few weeks ago my goal was to get to experience as many of my favorite things there as possible.

Downtown Lancaster is really growing into itself. There is a WONDERFUL variety of small, local restaurants to pick from. As well as some really great shops and art galleries. But one of my all time favorite things to do in downtown is go to "market". Central market. In Austin that is the name of a really nice, high end grocery store. In Lancaster, it is a real farmers market where you buy your meat from the butcher, your jelly from the Amish people and you take your pick of vegetable and fruit vendors. It is the oldest farmers market in the country, dating back to around 1757. You can learn more about the history here. When we lived there I would go down there really early most Saturday mornings and do the majority of our shopping. I loved every minute of it. My girls and I took a visit there while I was home, just long enough for me to remember the wonderful smells and buy myself some homemade jelly and jam.

Another new treasure that I visited on my trip was a store called Building Character. Be still my beating heart. My good friend Heidi took me there during our visit. I wish it were there when I lived there. It is an architectural salvage store. They have pieces of old houses - everything from windows, to doorknobs to keys. Everything in the store reminded me of my grandmother's house (you never know, some of it could have come from there!). It is the type of store that I always wished existed and who knew, it does! It was so cool, anyone reading this from up there - it is worth the visit.

Heidi and I also took a trip to one of my FAVORITE places to eat - Rachel's Cafe and Creperie. They are a small cafe where the wait can be really long if you go during peak times, the food takes a while to make but the crepes are to DIE for! Our plan was to have lunch there. But there as a 45 minute wait and then another estimated 45 minutes until you got your food and...well... baby couldn't wait that long. So we enjoyed lunch at another local spot and hit Rachel's on the way back for dessert...the best part. We shared a nutella and ice cream crepe. Sinful, absolutely sinful and totally worth it.

Well, I am hoping sleep will find me soon. Our dog Winston and I had one of our 2 am cereal eating sessions tonight (it is close to 3am as I write this). I got in bed and my mind just wouldn't stop whirling. Finally my stomach also started growling so I decided if I got up, ate and maybe wrote this entry that my brain would settle down long enough to go to sleep. We'll see how many more bowls of cereal I eat before that happens. Good night y'all.

Out of the loop

2008-10-09T09:51:00.001-07:00

Hi. I've been gone for awhile. My apologies to anyone out there who may check back here often. I know the feeling of clicking on the link and it coming back to the same post that was there last week and the week before. I did some traveling last week and then came home and had some wonderful company a few days later.
All excuses, I know. But at least they are good ones.

I was fortunate to be able to go home to Pennsylvania for a long weekend two weeks ago. I needed to go home. It wasn't quite fall yet up there, but close enough for me. I love Austin, but the northeast will always be "home". I needed to feel some sort of change in the season and to see some familiar faces who I have been missing.

While I was there, I visited the company that I used to work for - York Wallcoverings. It was so good to go back and see all the people that I used to see on an everyday basis. I miss them. Like any job, the people you work with are the ones to help make the every day craziness worth it. What has happened to the wallpaper industry makes me sad. I worked in it for 7 years and unfortunately all throughout that time the industry struggled to keep it's head afloat. I feel like if people could see wallpaper being made, they would realize how awesome it could really be. They would also realize that it's not just all old flowery patterns anymore, that there is some really great, sophisticated design out there. Cost, well...that's another thing.

When I left almost two years ago I didn't think enough to take some pictures of the machines that are used in printing wallpaper. Being away from them now, I realize how cool they are. I feel like I look at things differently now. The following photos are some shots I took on my visit of the Surface printing presses. Surface printing is the oldest printing that is done. These presses are well over 100 years old and are still used today in the same way as when they were originally made. All of the colors that are used on these are mixed by hand in big barrels - there is nothing electronic about this particular process. I find that inspiring.

This is my friend Luke, he's one of the pressmen who actually runs the press. There is a science to getting patterns to print just right. When I was learning about printing and "trialing" on the presses I learned alot from Luke and the other guys who have been doing this for years.

This is a pattern as it is running through the press.

Don't you just love pictures of HUGE gears....I do.

Well, that's all for now. I have lot of things to share with you. I'll be back soon!

Greatful Tuesday: The Smell of Oils

2008-09-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

"Have you ever smelled oil paints?" she asked me? "No." I said. "Well, there is something about them that is delicious, you could just eat them."

This was part of a conversation I had over 10 years ago with my high school art teacher while standing in front of the Jamie Wyeth painting pictured above, titled Portrait of Pig.

I think it's funny the way things happen sometimes. I had recently been thinking about that conversation, as I packed up my oil paints, along with my encaustic stuff last week. I will never forget the first time I DID smell the smells that come along with painting in oils while I was in college. I instantly fell in love with the richness of the intoxicating (and probably somewhat harmful) aroma. I think it is in part because of my conversation that I had years prior with Mrs. Smith while standing in front of that huge painting. So, here I was thinking about that conversation so well etched in my mind and then I also found out that she recently retired from her teaching position at my high school and my mind went nuts with all of my memories and gratitude for her.

Most of my favorite stories of my time with Mrs. Smith actually happened outside of school hours. I grew up in a small town, my graduating high school class had only about 120 kids it in. For the most part, the kids knew the teachers and the teachers knew the kids. I happened to be lucky, Mrs. Smith lived in my neighborhood. So not only did I benefit from her during the school day, but there were a lot of extra trips that her and I took on our own. We went to Washington D.C. when the big Vermeer exhibit was there in 1996 because SHE knew what a big deal it was to have so many Vermeer paintings in the same exhibit, all in the United States (at that time, I didn't even know who Vermeer was). She got up and waited in a line that extended outside of the museum for a few hours to get a hold of the free tickets, got within 10 people of the exhibit before the said "sorry folks, we've already given out too many tickets today there will be no more..." Talk about heartbreak. We stood like little dogs with tales between our legs at the exit hoping to get a peek inside (they really limited the amount of people that they allowed in the exhibit at a time because most Vermeer paintings are very small, so they didn't want to over crowd the gallery). This sent me on a mission. When I studied abroad my jr. year of college I was DETERMINED to get to Amsterdam so that I could stand in front of a Vermeer, for the both of us. And I did.

I have been very fortunate to have had mentors during every creative stage of my life. I hope that whoever out there is reading this blog, that it will cause you to stop and think about the people who invested in you along the way and be greatful for them.

Caught off guard

2008-09-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hi. Last week I walked into our entry way and saw this image on our front door. I am well aware that we have two lizards that live outside of our front door, but it totally took me by surprise to find the silhouette of one of them on the door. I thought it looked pretty cool.....

Today I am thankful for a somewhat over cast day outside (of course,as I type the sun is peeking out) and some time to get caught up from the weekend. I was caught off guard this weekend when I got hit with a terrible stomach bug. Ugh. It totally took me for a ride and dehydrated me in a very short time. After an ambulance ride, two bags of iv fluids and some rest, I'm feeling much better. Thankfully it didn't last long.

I like these days, when I can just caught up on things. It's quiet around the house. I'm working on cleaning up my studio and finishing up some projects. I was all excited last week to get some creative energy back and got myself ready to do some encaustic work, only to then realize that it is debatable weather doing this type of work is safe during pregnancy. The wax that you use when doing encaustic work can be toxic if heated over a certain degree (which I don't do), but can also produce some fumes that I probably don't need to be smelling currently. So I'm packing it all up for awhile. I am working on this piece that I started last year (it's still in progress). It was a collage piece that I started in my encaustic class. I think I am just going to finish it up using some none toxic collage glues. I think I can still achieve what I want without the wax.

Thank you to everyone for their well wishes and expressions of excitement for us on my last post! This week we get to hear the baby's heart beat... :)

I hope you are having a quiet day wherever you are....

Labor Day

2008-09-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Out there. I've been keeping secrets from you....I'm pregnant....:) Officially 12 weeks this week. I've been waiting until I got to this point to share my news, although it has been painfully difficult to keep my big mouth shut.

I don't intend on turning this blog into a blog about my pregnancy. Its main purpose is to still track my creative experience through life. But how could something so HUGE not have it's effects on every area of my life, so I hope that you will enjoy some tidbits along the way of my experiences. I am hoping that now that I am through my first trimester that I will regain a little bit of my creative energy back. I even went out last night and finally got the supplies I need to do encaustic painting at home... I took a class on this last year at the University of Texas and have always wanted to continue to do it at home. Stay tuned for some exciting projects!

So I guess you can say somewhere around March 15, 2009 "Labor Day" will take on a whole new meaning for me...

Show and Tell: Circle Journaling

2008-08-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends. I hope that you are off to a great Labor Day weekend, with lots of bbq and other picnic foods. We don't have too much planned, which I am looking forward to.

I wanted to show you this journal that two of my best friends from college and I keep. Have you heard of circle journaling? It is when a group of people all take turns with the same journal, sending it back and forth to each other, as a way of keeping in touch. We decided three years ago to give it a try. One weekend while we were all together visiting we bought this simple journal and off we went. Our intention was that we would each have the book for about a month or two before sending it off to the next person. The last time I had the journal was almost two years ago when we moved to Texas... so as you can see, we aren't the best in keeping with our original time frame! Let's face it, life gets in the way sometimes - babies are born, big moves are made, career and life changes go on... But we have kept it going, which I think is an accomplishment in itself.

I feel like this book is a time capsule. I love it. Every time I get it, I read it from front to back. I pour over every inch that is written or sketched on. It's pages bind our thoughts, our creative journeys, our lives....it's a pretty powerful thing.

I was going to show you more pictures of it, but decided to keep them between my girls and I. I will show you my favorite page - it's the very first page. Even though it is by far the most simple, it speaks volumes. Enjoy.

Show and Tell

2008-08-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi out there. I can't believe it is Thursday night. What a whir wind week! I am happy to report that my girl Jenny finally made it to Austin safe and sound. Check out some of the awesome places we ate and shopped while she was here (because what else do you do when people come to visit you but eat and shop!) Here's where we got some tasty grub:

Hyde Park Bar and Grill
And for dessert we went to Mozarts
Then the next morning before hitting the shops on South Congress, we had some coffee at Jo's Coffee
then after shopping all morning we ate some tasty Mexican at Gueros's. (I introduced Jenny to queso - a reason in and of itself to live in Austin)
Then of course we couldn't leave SoCo without giving Jen a taste of Amy's.
For dinner we met up with Jenny's cousin for some more yummy Mexican at Chuy's.(my other favorite spot for queso, but I have a once a day limit, otherwise it's all I would eat!).

And here are some of my favorite places to shop (well, window shop is more like it)
Maya(love their jewelry and vases!!)
Parts and Labour (this Austin treasure has all local vendors inside it's funky shop - it is one of my favs!)
IF+D
Eliza Page(love love love their stuff!)
The list goes on and on as far as places we popped in and out of. The only place we really found any treasures that came home with us was Uncommon Objects (it's hard NOT to find treasures there).

Every time I go there I have been trying to spell our last name with old printing letters. Finally this time I was able to make something work. I love anything that has to do with old printing, it fascinates me.

Happy weekend. I'll be back soon!

Midwest Modern

2008-08-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'm up at the crack of dawn again, on a Saturday. One of my best friend's is supposed to be here right now visiting and she's having a heck of a time getting here (sigh). I feel bad, I've been in her shoes where you either just want to turn around and go home or finally get to your blessed destination. Hopefully this weekend will start looking up later in the day.

I have been reading this book called Midwest Modern by Amy Butler. Another one of my girls sent it to me for my 30th birthday. (I love it when your friends know you so well that they can send you something that you've never seen before in your life and know that you will love it.) I had never heard of Amy Butler. She leads one inspiring life and her book is BEAUTIFUL. I love some of her design/life philosophies. Here is a quote from the book about their studio:

We have a mantra: Work is CHAOS. And if you understand that, every ounce of forward momentum makes you feel like you're in complete control. Pace and balance. Moderation, in all things. Taking our work and our art seriously, but not ourselves. After all, we're still an art studio. If we fail in some way, nobody dies.

When I read this part originally I just had to close my eyes and smile. I think that most design studios need to have this mantra. I worked in the corporate creative world for 7 years and I can't tell you how many days, evenings and nights that I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get to the next thing. Like the world would fall out of balance if we didn't meet this deadline. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for organization and have a great understanding of the fact that things have to get done. But there has to be a balance. For the longest time I ran around with my scales tipped, completely unbalanced. I hope that you are feeling balanced today on whatever scale it is that you work or live. Check out Amy's book, you won't be disappointed.

This Old House

2008-08-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hello. Happy Monday. I hope it is happy where ever you are.

I wanted to share one more thing about my grandmother's house. It is a poem I wrote, almost 14 years ago - when I was in high school. The assignment was to write a poem that takes you through a passage of time. So mine was looking at the house through my eyes as a child, into becoming an adult.

This old house means hours of agonizing car rides and destinations filled with Grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins and newly found relatives.
This old house is full of family.

This old house is the home of loving hands that wake early on Sunday morn and begin to prepare.
Days of rest mean cooking at eight a.m. in order to fill long tables that extend out of the enormous dining room.
Tables which elongate all the way to the small square in the kitchen reserved just for us by the warm window.

This old house has never-ending staircases which extend up and up.
Look upward into all of the twists and turns which take us right into the heavens.
Count as we go up all the twirling, swirling steeples of steps.
Climb right to the top, right into the attic filled with rooms inside of rooms.
Rooms full of forgotten toys and haunting mysteries.
Watch as the history of another unfolds right before our eyes.

This old house is full of secret doors and passages into other worlds.
Doors, doors and more doors leading into warm welcoming places, as well as cold forbidden places.

Travel into the sunshine that leads to the comfort of being a child and tip toe through the darkness of what is yet to come.

This old house is just another place to travel to.
Car rides are no longer painful.
Car rides are no longer even remembered.

This old house is now the home of one pair of hands.
Days of rest are now spent cooking for a small table which does not meet the enchantment of the kitchen window.
The small square reserved for us is no more.

This old house has steps upon steps.
Steps that simply create longer distances to travel in order to reach upstairs.
Twirling and swirling as we exceed only justifies the height we must fall in order to come back down.

This old house has a cluttered, dusty attic.
What an impossible task to clean the rooms and rooms of everyone else’s “has beens” and “what if” projects.
Watch as we tumble over the toys which have been lurking for centuries.

This old house has doors in the most unusual places.
Doors, doors and more doors, which only lead into stuffy, little rooms filled with cold shadows.

Travel through the darkness of what is now to return to the sunshine of what has been.

This was where our square in the kitchen was....

More Pictures

2008-08-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Again. Sorry it has taken me a few days to post these additional pictures of my grandmother's house. I usually don't get home from my nanny job until 6:30 or 7 in the evening (most nights), by the time I get something to eat ect ect, the last thing I want to do is be on the computer. Sorry about my rambling - who doesn't have these things, right? :)

Anyway, here are some more photos that I took the last time I visited "the house".

Outside Shot

You won't be able to see it well on this image, but in the real photo you can just about make out all of the family names that lived in the house on each doorbell: Ferrara, Romano, Fulco

Another Outside Shot

This was the banister light at the bottom of the staircase. The staircase wound up from the bottom all the way into the attic. You could stand at the bottom (or the top) and look all the way up or down.

Here is one of the key holes I mentioned in my original post. This one was on a door that led into my Great Uncle Al's bedroom.

My grandmother's bathroom tub

This way the view from my grandmother's kitchen. You can't tell well from this photo, but from this window you could see the HUGE garden Uncle Al had - it was his pride and joy. This is also the kitchen where the hutch that I now have in my studio used to stand (you can see it if you go back in my archives to the second post I ever did where i showed some of my studio pics).

I have one more post that I'd like to share about the house...so stay tuned!

We are off to the Austin Ice Cream festival today with some friends. Eating ice cream is really the only way to be outside in this heat!!

Show and Tell

2008-08-06T04:01:00.001-07:00

Good Morning. Well, it's morning here, I'm not sure what time it is where you are. But it's very early here and I am painfully aware of the fact that on my day off I got out of bed at 5 am because I was tired of laying there awake. My hope is that if I get some of the things that were buzzing around my head out of the way that I will enjoy a long morning nap! :)

My friend Megan has started having Show and Tell Tuesdays on her blog (you should check out her new plates she showed yesterday, they are beautiful!). I think it's a great idea, so this week I'm attempting a Show and Tell Wednesday, so here goes....

The house pictured above is a photo I took of the house where my father grew up. It was torn down last year. Prior to that it had been in our family for a very long time. I'm not sure exactly what I want to tell you about this house - there is so much to tell.

I'm not sure if I should tell you first that all of my dad's family grew up in this house together....two of my grandmother's sisters and one of her brothers all lived there....

or maybe you'll find it more interesting to know that this house had rooms inside of rooms...as a child I used to think that I was the only one who knew there was a door inside my grandmother's closet that led into the hallway, or that there was a door in my great aunt's room that led into my cousin's closet and so on....

Maybe you'd laugh to know that in 30 years I can count on one hand the amount of times I went into the basement because it was just too scary....

On Sundays dinner was usually early in the afternoon... my grandmother and her sisters would get up at the crack of dawn and start cooking...always pasta of some sort. When we were all there visiting the dining room table extended into two rooms...the youngest would be in the kitchen at our own little table....

Perhaps you'd find it interesting to know that there were no showers in this house for the longest time, only claw foot bathtubs, which I hated taking baths in as a child...or that some of the doorknobs to the rooms where glass or crystal...or that there were key holes that had really interesting shapes to them...or fireplaces and grates that had the most ornate details....

For me this house was a collection of memories of my family, my grandparents, my aunts, uncles and cousins. There are details like the wallpaper in my grandmother's bathroom, the creak the steps made when you walked up them and the smells that were so familiar that will be forever ingrained my memory.

I'll be back soon with some additional photos of the house and some more fun tidbits about it's history!

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

All Wound Up

2008-08-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hello All. Just thought I'd share some shots of this plant that I have in our entrance way. I love watching winding plants attach themselves to things. It fascinates me and reminds me that they are really living things. I love how it twists and twirls up the trellis and then starts to grab the rock of our house. I love this plant, it is a Mandevilla. So far, it had done really well in the Texas heat, I think it likes it. I am hoping by next year this little guy will fill the trellis I have it on. We'll see.... It is the only area of my landscaping that I actually like. Our house has some really large bushes and cedar trees in front that I can't wait to get rid of. However,that wasn't exactly in the budget this year. So I managed to rip a bush out in this little section leading up to the front door and planted some lilies and the Mandevilla. I love to garden and have potted plants all around our yard. However, I have learned this summer that potted plants and Texas summers are a tough thing to maintain. So I have given up on that and am going to try having potted flowers through fall and winter down here. Hopefully that will be a little more successful.

Away for awhile

2008-07-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hello out there. Sorry that I have been away for awhile. I wish I could tell you I was on vacation or had another really good excuse. But I don't. Sometimes the computer just drains me. Do you ever feel like that? I'm not sure why, during those times it's all I can do to check my emails, let alone surf around and be productive in the blog world.

On another subject, I thought I'd share something I've been working on here. Remember that tree I cut out awhile back when I got carried away? Well, here is what I ended up doing with it. Please excuse the lack of depth in the photograph, I had a hard time getting a good shot of it.

I don't think it's done yet. It's kind of chaotic, there are no resting places for your eyes. However, there is something I like about that. So I think that I may just live with it on the wall of my studio for awhile until something else hits me about it. Behind the tree are some words taken from a song I really like by Phil Wickham called I will wait for you there. You really can't tell what they say, but I like knowing that they are there. It's how I was feeling while I was working on putting this piece together. My friend Melissa turned me onto Phil Whickham. He is a contemporary Christian artist, there is just something really different about his music. There is a certain depth to his music that I can get lost in. Here's what the verse says:

....and with outstretched arms I will sing out melodies
and my beating heart will pour out a symphony
Hallelujahs in the morning, Hallelujahs in the night
I will wait for you, as long as I have life.

Happy Monday everyone - hope it's a great week!

Summer

2008-07-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

mmmm, summer..... hope yours is wonderfully warm and refreshing. i am in love with blueberries lately, they have been so sweet the last two times i bought them. i hope you are finding things you love this july. here are a few things that I have been loving...

austin evenings...the days have been blazing hot, but the evenings have been the perfect temperature with a slight breeze - perfect for sitting outside.

ice pops...when was the last time you ate one? we had some on the 4th of july and it was like taking a step back to childhood. i bought some the next time i went to the grocery store...

going swimming...i rarely went swimming when we lived in pennsylvania. mainly because i worked a normal job during the day and didn't have or know anyone who had a pool. i am loving the fact that now there is one right next door and the fact that we have very gracious neighbors who allow us to enjoy their pool with them.

that first moment when you walk outside and the heat hits you...and it warms you up because you've been freezing in the air conditioning all day.

that first moment when you walk back inside from outside and the cool air conditioning welcomes you back....

things like green, green grass and blue, blue skies...

anything that smells or tastes like coconut....

avocados....i can't eat enough of them since we moved here...

even though it's way too early, i love the fact that the school supplies are already out because it gives me the notion that september, october, november and december are only a short time away....they are my favorite months, even if it's not the same experience in texas as it was in the northeast.....

Carried Away

2008-07-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

I always get carried away. My husband will agree with that statement for many areas of my life (i.e.- my ability to shop, worry and talk on the phone). Sometimes I get carried away when I'm working on a project - I hate to plan. A lot of times I run full steam ahead without really taking a look at what it is I'm doing.

I have had this background for awhile. I made it a few months ago and have been looking at it to try and figure out what exactly I want to do with it. Today, I jumped in with an idea that I had been mulling around in my head - full steam ahead. The background kind of reminded me of trees so I wanted branches and a bird..... notice I said branches....take a look at what I started out doing....

I got carried away. About half way through cutting this tree out I realized it was WAY too complicated and WAY too small for what I was doing. It's not like it will go to waste - I've already got it laid out on another canvas and am pretty excited about it. But it just made me laugh - a little planning may have been helpful....but then again, i wouldn't have gotten a pretty cool looking tree out of it if I had actually planned ahead :)

So here's what I ended up with...some slightly larger, slightly less complicated branches and a bird. This collage feels quiet to me. The bird almost blends into the background. Which I kind of like - almost as if it it doesn't know someone is watching it.

I am in LOVE with this lace paper that I used for the background. I love to use it as is and also to paint it to blend it in with whatever i am working on.

Be back soon - have a happy Tuesday!

Tagged!

2008-06-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is what I see every morning when I open my eyes.....

Yesterday I was tagged by my good friend from college, Megan. This is a first for me. For those of you who have never experienced this before either, it's basically an info session where the blogger is asked to provide a bunch of little known facts about themselves. Except in this version, the questions are already provided. So here goes......

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was home from college for the summer, working as an art teacher and working at a children's camp that helped to integrate kids with special needs and typical kids.

Five items on my to-do list:
1. Clean off dining room table
2. pull weeds
3. order clear bags
4. make some new cards
5. pay the bills

Snacks I enjoy:
I love popcorn (and have been known to eat it for dinner sometimes). Chips and salsa, sometimes fruit, sometimes veggies, granola bars, or an afternoon snack will usually include some sort of treat (ie - chocolate). I could go on and on.....

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Oy. This question is endless..... first off I'd get us out of debt. I'd make sure our families were taken care of, make sure we had money in the bank for savings, probably spend some, travel some and worry a whole lot less!

Places I would live:
I'm pretty happy here in Austin, TX
I'd go back to Cleveland, OH
I will always love Lancaster, PA
I think it would be neat to live in NYC for a short period of time
the same goes for Boston

Jobs I have had:
My very first job was a babysitter. This is what I did pretty much all through high school.
Then I worked at a private art studio as a teaching assistant.
In college during the summers I worked at the same studio as an art instructor for all ages and also at a kids day camp.

My first job out of college was for a wallpaper company, where I was a Colorist
Then I moved to another wallpaper company where my positions were as follows: Designer, Assistant Stylist, and Jr. Stylist

And now, I'm a nanny :) and creator of hand cut notecards ...

Bloggers I am tagging who you will enjoy getting to know better:
Kristy (Momental Designs)
Alison (Daily Treats)
Jenna (The Simeks)
Amy (The Amazing Adventures of Anna Banana)

{The rules of the game: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.}

Oh Baby!

2008-06-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hi All! Just wanted to share some shots of these baby gift cards I did recently. I am trying to get everything together and enough stock built up to start an etsy site soon. If you have never been to etsy - you should seriously check it out. It's pretty cool and it's all small time people like myself.

Shut Out

2008-06-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

I had a planned to write a whole other post today, but I was going through my photos and came across these and just had to share them. They make me laugh. We have two dogs - Winston, a hyper 6 year old mini schnauzer and Henry, a small but mighty 6 year old scottie. In a nutshell, they drive me nuts sometimes but I don't know what I would do without them.
Winston has never gotten out of the puppy habit of stealing anything that he can and chewing it up - paper, tissues, whatever he can to get your attention when you are not giving it to him 100% of the day. When you come to stay at our house these are my instructions every time...
" My recommendation to you is that you either keep your suitcase closed (meaning zipped all the way) or the door to the guest room shut at all times. Otherwise you may find yourself chasing Winston around the dining room table to get a pair of socks or underwear back. And he's fast...." I can't tell you how many socks I have lost to him because I have just given up. (that in and of itself is probably the problem)
Anyway, a few weeks ago I was working in my studio and both of "the boys" were with me. Winston just couldn't keep his nose out of the trash so I finally got fed up and shut him out of the room. A few minutes later I looked up and this is what I saw...it made me laugh and melted my heart in a way only my animals can.

Hope you have a great weekend! Our neighbors just got done putting in a pool, so we are about to help them enjoy it! I'll be back tomorrow to post some new cards I've been working on.

IF+D

2008-06-21T14:35:00.001-07:00

Hi There - Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I'm really happy to announce that IF+D in downtown Austin now has a small selection of my cards and artwork for sale! I've never had anything in a retail environment, so I'm pretty excited. Here are a couple of my paintings that can be found there. They are all mixed media (mostly combinations of torn paper and watercolor). I have been a fan of IF+D for awhile now. They have really cool furniture and a lot of other really great gadgets. They also support local Austin artists, so there is always something interesting hanging on the walls. If you are an Austinite and have never been, you should check them out - they are in the very cool 2nd Street District, on Colorado (near the Children's Museum). If you aren't around town, check out their website here.

Enjoy the Moment

2008-06-15T16:37:00.001-07:00

Did you ever get a bit of wisdom in an unexpected place? I was eating some chocolate and I looked at the inside of the wrapper and it said "Close your eyes and enjoy the moment." The thought made me smile.

I had one of those moments yesterday while I was listening to our church worship team practice. Jon plays guitar with them every week, so we are always there early on Sunday mornings. I've been around musicians for awhile. It's what Jon went to school for, hence alot of his closest friends are also musically inclined. Music is part of who my husband is as a person and who we are as a couple. Jon has this great understanding about music technically, but also emotionally. He's opened my eyes to things that I would have never understood beyond a surface level. One of these things is the value of what it means to "play well" with other musicians. I am probably biased about this because I have seen the pure joy that comes out of my husband when he's playing music with people that he enjoys. I sat there amazed yesterday as I listened to this talented group stop a song mid verse, talk and then start playing again, all on time, in key, sounding like they never missed a beat. Something inside me soared just sitting there listening to them.

They blew us all away in the actual service yesterday. There were several moments when I did just stop and close my eyes, enjoying what was going on around me. Listening to a great group of musicians play, listening to a body of people sing together, for a common purpose - it was one of those moments that you want to freeze frame and hold on to. It was one of those moments that stays with you long after the service has ended.
I hope everyone has a great start to their week! I still have two more days of vacation left - woo hoo! I'll post again soon with some of the creative stuff that I've been working on.

The Happy Dance

2008-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Last night around 7 o'clock I was doing the happy dance. All by myself, with no one but my two dogs watching me. If they were human, I am sure they would have just shook their heads and laughed at me, just like my husband would have and most of my friends. Why was I so happy that I was doing a jig? I got paper.....yup, you read it correctly - two boxes full of nothing but beautiful new colors of paper to make cards with - all the way from Cleveland, Ohio. Why Cleveland? There is a magical (well, magical in my eyes - in reality, it's a dingy warehouse type store), hole in the wall there called Hollo's Papercraft. I was almost out of paper and NOTHING beats this places prices. Although it is one of those random stores where you never know exactly what you'll find, there is ALWAYS something you need there. So my dear, dear friend Amy trekked there for me with her one and a half year old daughter and got me some new goods. Anyone who is willing to drag their toddler shopping all for the sake of a good deal, is my type of girl!! Thanks bunches Amy!!

There are a few situations in life where I feel like I revert back to being like a kid and getting new supplies is one of them. I remember when I was in elementary school - there was nothing like going out and getting all of your new notebooks and pencils and then coming home and just looking at them. The same still holds true today, all night I just kept examining them. There are a variety of beautiful colors and textures. The possibilities are endless. I think that is what it all boils down to - the possibilities. I hope that in life, I never loose that child like excitement, when paper just becomes paper and pencils just become pencils. I hope I always feel like I want to pee my pants with excitement and do a little jig.....

Happy Friday to everyone! Hope you all have a great weekend!! I know what I'll be doing....

Colors of Tea

2008-06-11T05:30:00.001-07:00

Hello out there! I just had to share one of my new favorite things in my kitchen... I bought this print of a photo called "The Colors of Tea" last weekend at the Happiness market. The photographer, Kristin Farwell, had a table right in front of mine. I really enjoyed chatting with her throughout the day and she had some amazing photos.

I am a tea person, so this one jumped out at me. I LOVE the colors in it. It makes me happy and I find myself turning around to take a sneak peak at it when I'm washing dishes or cooking. My goal is to fill our home with things that are personal to us. I always find that I don't get tired of looking at things as easily if I know their story or they are personal to Jon and I in some way.

Well, I'm off to get ready to start my day, with my cup of lemon tea in hand....of course. Enjoy!

The Art of the Undone

2008-06-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

I took a 2.5 hour nap on Sunday afternoon and it was one of the sweetest things about my weekend last weekend. Lately I find myself really thinking about rest. Wanting it, needing it, not getting it. I've been thinking about the ways that I rest or the results I deal with when I don't rest. I usually find myself rundown, cranky (Jon can vouch for that) and seriously lacking joy. I've got too many things in my life to be thankful for to be going around not having a greatful spirit, yet when I don't take some time to be quiet and decompress, that's exactly what I do.

I woke up this morning feeling optimistic that this week I am finally getting myself back on track in all areas of my life. I've got a few days off coming up and I'm really looking forward to getting some stuff done, but also doing nothing. For the first time ever, I can't blame my job for running me down (quite the opposite - being with the boys helps alot of times to remember what's important). I've only got myself to blame for the spiritual funk I've been in lately.

SO, it's time to put cranky, negative thoughts away and allow myself to be quiet, rest and refresh. Here are a few of my favorite quotes on this subject matter:

How Beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterward - Spanish Proverb

A joyful spirit is evidence of a greatful heart. - Maya Angelou

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. -Lin Yutang

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

To Market, To Market We Go!

2008-06-05T05:12:00.001-07:00

Hope to see you there!! (i will only be there on Saturday)

Joining the Club

2008-06-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I joined the "Club". The club of all good girls who wear sparkling crowns and carry wands you ask? No, although I could be a poster child for that club. Nope, I celebrated my BIG 30th birthday yesterday. We had a great time and celebrated all....weekend....long. Jon had many wonderful surprises planned for me. I am kind of excited to be in this club, as I am the last of most of our friends to get on board. So now I feel like a grown up. :) Here are a couple shots from our fantastic weekend.

We actually started out the weekend on Thursday night when Jon couldn't wait any longer to give me one of my gifts. I am just going to be honest, I love gifts. I love buying and receiving them. This is usually a trait that my husband likes to hang over my head and tease me with - normally he would have set out any gifts early and made me wait until the very last minute to open them. So the fact that three days before my birthday he was itching to give me something was a clue that it must be pretty great. Well....great doesn't even cover it. I had become a fan of a local artist named Judy Paul after seeing her work at a really cool store downtown called IF+D. She has this wonderful collage style that kind of knocked my socks off the first time I laid eyes on it. So much detail, so much emotion, so much thought put into her work. Really original. Well, to make a long, (wonderful) story short, Jon purchase one of her paintings for me. Speechless is not something that I am very often. On top of that, Saturday I was able to meet Judy myself at an event that IF+D was having. The photo above shows us helping her paint. What an awesome way to spend my last day being 29!
We celebrated the rest of the day on Saturday with our friends here, enjoying some sweet treats and playing some pretty fun games. We rang in my actual birthday with a bang.
Many thanks to all of our sweet, sweet friends and family who made me truly feel special this weekend. I am blessed to be surrounded by such supportive and loving people!

Show and Lots to Tell

2008-06-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hello out there! Sorry I have been m.i.a. the past week, there has been a lot going on around here. So much, that I have a few posts to post! This one will be short and sweet - here are some more samples I have been working on for the happiness artist market coming up this Saturday and Sunday (6/7 - 6/8). If you are local to Austin, stop by and check out this really great spot! (All others are allowed to be envious that they aren't here to check it out....) Enjoy!

All of these images are card designs.

Cuttin' It Up

2008-05-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope everyone has great, relaxing plans for the next few days. Jon had to go to Mexico today until tomorrow, so I'll be on my own for half of the weekend. But that's ok, I have some work to get done. In a few weeks I'm going to have a table at an artist's market that I friend of mine hosts. You can check out more information on it at here. It will be the first time in a LONG time that I attempt to sell, or even show for that matter, anything I have done. I have some small pieces of artwork that I am going to put out and also some hand cut paper cards and maybe some hand painted ones too. So this weekend until Jon gets home I am going to be working away on getting a good selection of these done. Here's a sneak peak at a couple of them ( i have a thing for tall, skinny trees - i'm not sure where it comes from....)
Well, I'm off to the drawing table, have a great weekend!

Secret Garden

2008-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hello All! I hope you are having a good weekend. We are enjoying some hot, humid weather down here in the BIG T. Today, I visited one of my favorite Austin treasures, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. You can look at their official website on the right hand side of my page, in the "check these out" area. Charles Umlauf was a professor at the University of Texas, one of the founding teachers of the school of art. He was brought here from Indiana to teach life drawing and also ended up forming the sculpture department at the school as well.

When Jon and I moved here a year and a half ago I was out of work for about 8 months. I took some time to kind of look around the area and figure out what was next for me. Of course, during that time I nearly lost my mind on several occasions, as one looking for a job normally does. This is how I came to know the Umlauf. I was determined to make our new home work, to adapt to my new surroundings. Austin makes that pretty easy, there are so many things to love about this city. During my quest for sanity I decided I was going to start volunteering some place - a museum. I have a "thing" for giving tours to people. I would give tours to people at the studio I worked in previously and I really enjoyed it. There is something about helping to open people's eyes and look at things different that really does excite me. Especially in the world of art and design.

The first time I visited the garden I felt like I walked into a different world. It was seriously my sanctuary during that time of my life. It is such a beautiful, peaceful environment. I would walk through the front entrance, and the stress would just kind of melt away. During last spring I was a Docent (fancy word for tour guide) frequently to the school groups that came through the museum. Spring and summer is their busiest time for school and camp tours and it just so happened that I had a lot of time on my hands!Some of Umlauf's favorite subject matters where children (he came from a large family and also had one of his own), woman, mothers & babies, animals (hence Lotus at the top of this page) and religious figures. He was part of a movement back in the 70s that tried to get churches and other places of worship to purchase their statues from local artists rather than from a catalog. Because of this, today Mr. Umlauf has the most pieces of artwork in public places in the state of Texas.
The garden was actually Mr. Umlauf's personal garden. His residence, where his wife still lives, sits right above the garden. When he was alive, it was his showroom for his work. When he passed away he left it to the City of Austin as a way of giving back. I really believe it is one of the sweetest treasures in this city - so enjoy a look around a bit!

Bacon and Eggs

2008-05-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

"Ok Miss Rose, you lay down on your back, close your eyes and hold your knees. And we'll crack ya...."

So, I am a nanny 35-40 hours a week. Slight departure from my former job which was a wallpaper designer. How I got from this point to that point is a whole other post that I'll probably venture into at some point. But not now.

Today I remembered why I think at this point in time this is what I am meant to be doing. Because it's fun. Period. End of post. Just kidding. I take care of a 3 year old and a 7 month old, both boys, both who I love dearly and feel completely blessed that I ended up with. We had a play date today with another good friend and I ended up on a trampoline with Corbin (the 3 year old) and his friend Kate (who is 4). They taught me how to play "bacon and eggs". It's a highly complicated game where one person (the egg) lays down on the trampoline and holds their knees, while the others (the bacon) bounce around them trying to get them to loose their grip. Good stuff. It was the most fun I've had in awhile. It's been a LONG time since I've been on a trampoline. It was kind of freeing, I think I could have stayed on there for hours. Listening the the kids giggle as they ran around me just made me want to giggle too. It was such a good reminder to let go, lighten up and just have some fun.

I found this quote in a magazine the other day that I thought was great:
"Maturity is knowing when to be immature".

Let me show you around a bit....

2008-04-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my favorite room in our house - my studio. It's the first time that my space hasn't had to double as anything else and it wonderful. It is in the very front of our house, so it has this awesome window that gets great natural light. I just feel happy being in here (not that I don't love the rest of my house too). I can make a mess and not have to worry about cleaning it up, I can be organized, i can be whatever I want and that is what I like about it. Right after Christmas I got it all set up and those first few days afterwards I would come in here and just look around and smile. Like it was all new to me or something. Things are a bit of a mess in these pictures, but I was eager to share them with everyone. Enjoy!

You can kind of see what I've been working on lately - I've been doing alot of mixed media/collage. I can't seem to stop sticking paper to everything!

This hutch where I keep most of my supplies was in my grandmother's kitchen for as long as I can remember - it always sat right in between two windows. And it actually has a piece of the flooring that was in that kitchen stuck to the back of it. It wasn't until after I acquire it as my own that I found out that my grandfather had actually made this for her shortly after they were married. Which of course made me love it more.

Here are some of my memory boards, which sit over my desk. I use them for inspiration - I have a lot of letters, magazine clippings and photos on them. Lots of cards too. Some days I just sit and look at them. The photo to the far left holds mostly cool business cards of places I've been to in Austin. Also some really fun gallery cards and show invites.

Why Not Today....

2008-04-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hi There, Welcome to my world and my very first blog, ever. It's taken me awhile to get into this blogging thing. Actually, it's taken me awhile to get up the nerve to post. But my motto for this year was supposed to be "why not today", so finally today, I'm starting a blog.

I'm mostly doing this for myself (please excuse my selfishness :). My hopes are that this blog ends up being like a digital sketch book and will be a means for me to continue to grow and share my experiences as an artist and designer. It's also a way to share a little bit of our lives in the good old lonestar state with our family and friends scattered all over the country.

Thanks for stopping by - stay tuned for more good thoughts to come!