catching my breath...

hello everyone!

How have you all been?

 I feel like i've been running a bit of a race lately,

so when i finally sat at the art table last night,
this is what i first painted.
I see a race theme... do you?

i've been busy with the new 9 to 5 job,

and much of my spare time seems to be spent

with driving my teenage son everywhere

(he's getting his license soon... YAY!),

with a father who is still adjusting to life without mom,

with family visits

and reading

and cleaning the house & making meals

and evening walks

and the occasional night out with friends.

...oh, and pondering life's big questions. 

i'm working at a job that i am grateful for,
but one that is making me realize
how much of an artist i really am
and how i will never fit in the 9 to 5 world.

At least not comfortably nor while keeping my sanity. :-)

I have a very low tolerance for bullshit
and there seems to be a lot of it in the business world today.

so i will continue to look at the stars,
thank you very much
and keep my focus on things that really matter to me.

i am reading a wonderful book called THE MEMORY PALACE
(by Mira Bartok)...

I love stories about people who have been through hell and back,
and still, choose to be good people,
and create good lives for themselves
and share their stories
so that others may not feel so alone.

There is a sentence in the book that jumped out at me:

"I know she's worried about me but i want her to understand

that William's and my creative projects mean more to me

than a pension plan or a brand-new car."

I could have spoken these words... :-)

So it felt very good to sit at the art table last night...

 acrylic paint on paper... with added pencil marks. 

 oh, and look! She added dots! Surprise! ;-)

 they sort of became abstract flowers eventually...

 but then i saw smiles and eyes... 

Yeah, i see smiles and eyes.  (do you?)

Maybe i need to get away from the 9 to 5 job
sooner than i think.
(giggle...)

Thank you to those who have sent me notes
to say hi and tell me you miss my art.
Made me feel all warm & fuzzy inside. :-)

Here's a little video that always makes me happy...
Wishing it does the same for you.

Thanks for being here.
xox

is that a bee i hear? Why yes George, it is a bee... i believe summer must be here!

Hello friends.
It's been too long...

I've made little time for art or blogging lately.
It's finally summer here.
Need i say more? :-)

Like most everyone,
I've been busy with so many other things,
like hanging out with my son,
working (who had the bright idea that working 5 days/week was reasonable?),
watching movies,
treasured time with friends,
graduation ceremonies,
reading,
spending time with dad,
doing summer stuff, like sitting on the front porch
with iced tea on warm evenings,
or walking on the beach with my toes in the sand...
and of course,
drinking wine and eating chocolate.

Not necessarily in that order...
giggle.

i am really itching to paint something - to make art,
but i seem to have little energy left by the time evening rolls around.

Must be a case of the cubicles. :-)

Being surrounded by grey walls for 8 hours
would zap the energy out of anyone.

So tonight, a few minutes ago, 
i did this quick pastel - 
just to get my hands & fingers dirty again.

Found this little deck of cards in mom's things...

it doesn't surprise me that she would have this.

Mom always knew exactly what she needed.

And earlier tonight, i was visited by my dear friend, Lucille...
who brought me this wonderful gift for my birthday earlier this week.
She could not have picked out a better gift.
It's filled with beautiful art
and thought provoking questions.
Two of my favorite things in life.

Now if only it somehow contained
little hidden pieces of chocolate...
(giggle)

Rainn Wilson is the guy who plays "Dwight Schrute" on the OFFICE

for all you tv buffs out there.

i can't wait to go through this book...

how can you not love such a book

when it's filled with both creativity and questions?

my little Einstein quote,
pushing me along... 

and a video of Lhasa de Sela, singing Fool's Gold,

a song that still grows on me to this day.

She died about a year later... at the tender age of 37.

Gone too soon.

Thanks for being here,

especially considering how little i've been here lately... 

xox

dark places and light hearts

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves

at the same time.

- Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

Sometimes, i get images in my head
of mom's last moments in the hospital...

I am overwhelmed with grief
until i sketch or paint the memory in my head
and it somehow eases the burden in my heart.

i believe that every day,
we are faced with the choice to move past difficult moments and live
- or stay stuck and die.

Making art is my way of moving on.

I like to think we all have our own way of moving on
from the dark days.

From divorce.

From death.

From tragedy.

From confusion.

From abuse.

From the loss of a job

the loss of a house

the loss of a limb...

some places are darker than others
and who am i to judge
those who are unable to find their way out?

We all have our crosses to bear.

I only know that art helps me

move through my own darkness.

This little video is of a song from a movie i saw a while ago
and fell in love with, called YOUNG AT HEART.

If you haven't seen it, you must.

This song is particularly touching,
because it was meant to be a duet,
but his partner died only one week before the performance.

And Fred Knittle had the courage
to go on without him and sing alone.

Here's the trailer for the movie...

it made me laugh and cry.

xox