leaping

and the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

anais nin

as the taking flight class wraps up this week i am feeling very, very grateful for all the information kelly has so abundantly given us. i can't even begin to say enough good things about this course. but because there's just so much material covered each week, at times i find myself not being able to take it all in as it seems a bit daunting. so, for now, i am just letting it simmer in the back of my mind. then as i need certain pieces of information i can refer back to it as i really jump full force now into this creative art journey!! i am just soooo excited, motivated and determined, more than ever before!

almost there!

i always have a cat on my chair and josie under my feet when at my drafting table

see...this commission is almost done...in the home stretch now! pretty good huh?!

evolving

plunging into my commissions

"To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan … believe … act!"

Alfred A. Montapert

maggie and sassy are now underway. establishing their features, proportion to each other, tones, etc. i have to work fast now in order to get them done in less than a week and then on to my next commission of toy poodles and of course the oak tree painting that i've been working on like forever it seems.

hot fun in the summer time

thought i'd kick off the first day of summer with this very old photo of me when i was 9! on that birthday i received a totally awesome cardboard lemonade stand...along with that really cool hat and shades ( don't worry, the beer can was actually a bank)! that was my first taste of being an entrepreneur...and i was quite successful at it, i'll have you know!! hope i'm as successful with my photographs when i launch my new etsy shop next month!!!

joy

every minute of joy makes you gain ten more days of life.

~paulo coelho~

what an awesome morning i had hiking in the mountains near my sister's home. i had to drop my daughter off for her ACT test really early at the community college so i thought i'd take josie and go hike a different trail, and i'm so glad i did...the marine layer just added so much to the beauty all around me! and i met a very nice woman on the trail who was a bit mixed up on how to get back down, so we walked down together and chatted the whole way. we enjoyed each others company so much we're meeting up for another hike in a few weeks! funny how the universe sets these meetings up...especially after kelly rae just talked about this very thing in her e-course...building a supportive community of creatives both on-line and in person! life is so fun and intriguing!!

interestingly too, just out of the blue the commissions have been flowing in with no effort at all on my part...i love that! so, i will be sharing the process with you as i work hard to get them done in a timely manner for my clients!

hope your weekend is going along as well as mine!

make each day a masterpiece

success is peace of mind

which is a direct result of self satisfaction

in knowing you made the effort

to do the best of which you are capable

john wooden

yucca in bloom

what a treat this morning to finally see the yucca in bloom. when i see them they always make me hungry for asparagus!

there's nothing to do with a life but live it

almost anything you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it

Gandhi

i took an 8 hour quickbooks class today through the community college and boy is my brain mush! it really wasn't as hard as i thought it would be but i know once i buy the software next week and am on my own my opinion may change very quickly!! lucky for me that i know a few poor souls who will be totally bombarded with a plethora of questions! should i warn them in advance? nah! i'll just make them a batch of my famous chocolate chip cookies in exchange for picking their brains!

the first week of my e-class with kelly rae just wrapped up and i tell you, i am just loving that class! i really am! not only am i learning a lot but it is so evident that kelly has put her heart and soul into it...what a huge inspiration she is, giving so much of herself and her knowledge, i feel so blessed to be a participant. PLUS...this wonderful community of artists taking her class along side me is just as giving and lovely as well. i've had a lot of artist's stop by my blog or email me, leaving me such terrific messages...i am beyond appreciative to connect with them!

i feel so proud and happy to be in this circle of creatives!

ps...did you see my new blog buttons...there, over to the left. i learned that from a fellow artist in the class..thanks noel!

some kitty love

i rarely give our cats exposure on my blog...instead Josie hogs all the glory! so sunday evening i spent a wonderful time outside with the cats! they just crack me up watching them play with each other, the water from the hose and various bugs. such a joy!

started my flying lessons class with kelly rae on sunday evening as well. one of her posts was on fear and how she deals with it as it comes up for her. i was so smug thinking i don't have any fears...in fact i'm plunging right in, no problems...yeah right! this morning i wrote out a full page of all my fears, altho not all had to do with my art. but now at least i can deal with them one at a time, instead of pushing them down inside of me.

one thing kelly talked about was the fear of finally being able to call herself an artist, which at first i couldn't relate to as i have always been pretty confident about my abilities, knowing a lot of it is a skill you just keep practicing over and over. but i realized that it was near impossible for me to call myself a photographer and the same sorta garbage went thru my head as well...who do you think you are calling yourself a photographer, you don't even have an expensive camera with changeable lens...anyone who's a photographer has that...geeshhh!! and on and on. you know the chatter!

so this morning i am in gratitude for kelly's class! and to think, it's just begun...can hardly wait to see where this takes me!

wishing you a beautiful day!