Family

I realized that I had never posted this plaster/encaustic piece, which is one of my favorites, and it seemed appropriate with it's themes of travel and family. I adore the torn out piece of music from an old hymnal (and I mean old, this book is so fabulous, the woman I bought it from said she pictured Jesus carrying it around, and if you saw it you'd understand). The name of the hymn is "The Absent, Unforgotten", and I just love that, especially at a time like now as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, as we gather with family and think of loved ones who have passed, or are perhaps away serving in the military.  I have to travel just a little at Thanksgiving, but it's so worth it to be immersed in the comforts of my family and the home where I grew up - I am very thankful that I still have that (and that my significant other is equally as happy to go there, where he is very loved).  I wish all of you the comforts of family and lots of love this Thanksgiving...

Christmas Cards

It's that time of year, when I put away my normal projects and get out my Christmas supplies. I've learned to start early if I plan any Christmas projects, and since I've now set a precedent of homemade Christmas cards I try to get those done first. Maybe not quite as many homemade ones this year, I'm going to try to limit it to people who I know truly appreciate them, so I still have some other kinds of Christmas projects left in me. This is a sampling of ones I've made this year - people have suggested that I just design one and make them all the same, but I just can't get myself to.  I'm sure it would be faster, but it would take the fun out of it I think.

I make very few cards these days, but they take me back a few years to where this whole art journey began - happening to see a copy of Stamper's Sampler (a Somerset magazine) in a Barnes & Noble, and looking through it and realizing what could be done with stamps. Then a few weeks later I decided to walk into a store I'd been curious about called The Paper Garden, and it turned out to be a wonderful store full of paper and every kind of stamp imaginable. I decided it was meant to be, bought my first stamp and went home and played with it and made my first card. Now, many many stamps later, I don't use them as often, less as a focal point and more as background for larger projects, but I still love them...

Art Under Duress

My friend Val asked me to make her something with her dog's name on it, many many months ago. Someone else had made her something with her other dog's name on it, and she wanted to have one of each. (She's pretty Dachschund crazy....)  I was immediately unenthusiastic about this assignment, as lettering is not a strong area of mine, and I didn't have a lot of confidence in what I'd make. I put it off, and put it off, but finally decided I absolutely needed to get it done for her for Christmas, so I grudgingly sat down to work on it. This is the result, it's on a 6"x9" canvas (it got kind of cut off because I scanned it), but I actually do like it, and most importantly, I think she'll love it.  It's made me realize that I need to work out of my comfort zone more, push myself to work on things that I don't necessarily have a lot of confidence about. How else do we grow, right?