body art

i have been drawing lately...really i have, just haven't taken photos lately with all the gloomy overcast skies we've had here in southern cal. this drawing of lilly is far from complete but wanted to prove that i was hard at work!! i am entering her and hopefully megan, if i finish her in time for a competition thru the OCCCA called revisiting beauty. i chose to draw friends of my daughters who had multiple piercings on their face because it challenges me and my feelings of facial piercings.


throughout history, in other cultures piercings and tattoos have been a rite of passage. but now it's becoming extremely prevalent in our culture as another way for people to express themselves and to me, a way to challenge societies ability for acceptance and tolerance.

these things i believe are true: right or wrong people will always have snap judgments/opinions about appearances. and depending on their values/morals, decide whether piercings are acceptable to them or not.

i have to admit that I am a mother who constantly is restricting (to a degree) these sorts of things for my oldest daughter. why? it's not that i care in the least what people/society thinks about it, yet i know multiple facial piercings can change the way people treat you, and if an employer hires you or not. but beyond that, i am very challenged to see the beauty and creativity in it. maybe with time i will come around and be fascinated with piercings like i have with tattoos.

so how do you feel about body art?

all is well...

All is well, and you will never get it done. ~ Abraham-Hicks

this quote by abraham has been going thru my mind the past few weeks as i haven't gotten much drawing in. to be honest, i really haven't even felt like drawing much lately. i think i just over extended (exhausted) myself with too many other non-art related classes and workshops this month.

but i am back at my drafting table and getting inspired again!!

and ohhhhhhing and ahhhhhhing and drooling over these absolutely
incredible graphite artists: dirk dzimirsky, david jon kassan, and armin mersmann.

i am soooo inspired to start drawing bigger...way bigger and perfect my art even more. i am grateful to these men for influencing and motivating me to work harder and dream bigger!!

the postcards are in!

you hold the key to your heart!

let your heart guide you. it whispers, so listen closely. ~the land before time~

this watercolor was created by my great-uncle dave in the 1920's. unfortunately his father thought being an artist was a waste of time, so after a stint in the army my great-uncle went to work in the watch factory in elgin illinois like everyone else. such a waste of talent. dave was a very big part of my life growing up and i always felt my artistic abilities came from that (my mom's) side of the family. he's been gone a very long time now but i some how lucked out and received almost all of his artwork. i really cherish it and all the wonderful memories i have of dave and the rest of my relatives in that family (14 children in all...phew!) and i feel very, very blessed to have had them in my life! hope you find the true meaning of what today is really all about (not hallmarks version) and let all the people in your life know just how important and loved they are by you! happy valentine's day!

a wise choice

You should be so excited about sharing your art with the world that you can’t wait to get out of bed! ~Alyson Stanfield

with my show looming closer my emotions are vacillating between fears (of both failure and success) and of huge excitement. i was scribbling away in my journal last night about my fears but kept getting more and more exhausted as i went along, so i stopped and thought...hmmm... this isn't working! what should i do now? so i extracted the book 12 secrets of highly creative women from my bookshelf and promptly turned to the section with shakti gawain. she said, in writing her book creative visualization, that she was struck by the power of her sense of responsibility to others. just then i had a flashback of an abraham-hicks cd i had listened to years ago where an artist was asking how she could attract more people to buy her art. abraham replied the same way alyson stanfield did in a recent post..."instead of worrying about selling, get excited about sharing your art."

so i am

in fact that thought so resonated with me that i even purchased some small pinback buttons with images of my art to give away to anyone who wants one at the show.

so now i'm getting really, really jazzed and my fears, for now, are lying low!

beauty...balance

wanted to balance out my last post with photos i took over the weekend of the mountains we're nestled in. isn't it just spectacular? nature is just soooo amazing...and powerful!

submerged in mud...

(Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times )

i woke up at 4:30 am saturday morning to a torrent of rain...by 6:30 am i knew some thing bad had happened as sirens blared up the street next to us and helicopters flew overhead. my small little community of la canada flintridge is devastated with 43 homes either damaged or totally destroyed. at least no one got seriously hurt.

(Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times )

this is one of my daughters 6th grade teachers when they went to mountain ave elementary school.

(Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times)

(Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times)

jos and i walk through this neighborhood all the time.

fire and rescue trucks gather at the big lots parking lot next to us.

our main boulevard

my heart and prayers go out to all our friends and neighbors who are suffering thru this mess.

you can!

over the weekend...

took photos of my daughter allie down at venice beach wearing a t-shirt i designed

would love any input, feed back or experiences you've had having t-shirts printed. i'm a newbie at this!!

and....

was accepted (YEAH!!) into the march show (4th-7th) at the gallery at the end of the world in altadena, california. i have just a small space for my work, but am very excited about it!!

allie and i went to their 4 day show on a chilly friday night this past december and had a really great time! after perusing the gallery we sat at a graffiti covered picnic table, added our own doodles while listening to a bluegrass band and watched some very unique people dance, drink and checking out the art work...fun times!

so mark your calendars right now...it's ok, i'll wait! because you don't want to be the only one that missed out on all the fun times and great art...do you?!