Two years, too long

It's difficult for me to believe that I haven't posted in 2 years! With a change in leadership at my day-job, I have been very busy at work, but trust me when I say, I've been Very Busy at ArtWork, too!

I've had a group show of my work, I started a new little series, of course I've been sewing massive amounts of clothing for myself, my mom, and dear daughter!

Rather than go into alot, I'll just share pictures! More to come!

Christmas Kitty!

Snapple, who says she's invisible because she's hiding behind the tree!

The year comes to a close

It's rainy again (or is that still?) I'm busy at the museum (which is good) and I'm trying to get the house decorated for Christmas and the holidays. I've got the green tree up and decorated, the pink tree up without decorations. I've unpacked lots of other little trees, and stored some of the normal objects I surround myself with, to make room for glittering little cardboard houses and manger scenes.

I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, though, with lots of exciting things, and lots of worrisome things hitting me from all sides.

Exciting: gave a presentation to the Delaware Artist Guild about my Red Panty clothing, learned to use Powerpoint for said presentation, got paid and sold a piece at presentation, sold another item on Etsy, have many many MANY gifts to be sewn before Christmas, started using Pinterest which is a really fun site to collect things from around the web into 1 place, wrestling a teensy bit of responsibility for scheduling from my control-freak boss, preparing for a show of my work in Newark, anticipating a lovely Christmas break at home with beloved daughter, family, friends, etc.

Worrisome: losing Go Figure as a retail outlet for the Red Panty Clothing, worrying about Sherri from Go Figure who is closing due to some health concerns, have many many MANY gifts to be sewn before Christmas, responsibility for scheduling the Library gallery, preparing for a show of my work in Newark, a long Christmas break with no work and no paycheck, beloved daughter in her final week of projects and papers and exams as she struggles to keep it together. sigh!

I am trying to maintain an attitude of open, willing, and wide-eyed wonder through this month, and keep casting around for alternatives, opportunities and possibilities. The whole "closes a door, opens a window" type of viewpoint. I'm looking for outlets for my art, my clothing, my friendship, my energy. I know I will find them.

Sometimes we become so comfortable where we are, we stop looking ahead to the next great thing, and are taken by surprise when things change. As they always do. ALWAYS!

I flipped through my notebook last week, which serves as a sort of journal for me. I don't sketch, I don't do dairy entries, but I make lists. LOTS of them! I stumbled upon a list I made last January, of blessings to be thankful for in the new year. I can still count them all! Under my "plans" for 2011, I did cross a few off. The few I didn't cross off, I guess I'll just use first in my new list for next year.

So I continue to gather up images, ideas, contacts and entry forms, and make lists of all the possibilities. And I continue to be thankful for all my blessings, which includes every single friend!

Christmas trees everywhere!

Yes, I have begun putting up the multiple trees in the house, and I've gotten the biggest ones up.


There's the pretty pink one in the front room (do you see the kitty sleeping on the couch??) accompanied by the new wreath that dear daughter made me....that's a Godiva box decoration in the middle!





There's the green tree in the center room....we've perched it on the concrete and stone pad where the pellet stove was. We gave that to the guy who put in our air conditioning, but the pad is even heavier and will require a jack hammer to remove. So, for now, it makes a nice tree stand!



I still need to figure out new tree skirts, and all the little trees need to come out of their boxes, but it's a start! I think I like the green tree the best; daughter and I re-did the decorations last year when the house we were living in was on the holiday home tour. I'm sure there are older posts to show that.

Is your tree up yet?

BATS!!! in my belfry

Apparently things aren't crazy enough at our house, but that we must now entertain bats!

Last Thursday or Friday, the 2 cats woke Ron from his sleep on the couch in the middle of the night, running to and fro, knocking things over. When he got up to yell at them, he was startled by the thwop-thwop-thwop of little bat wings, flying from the kitchen to the front of the house and back again. He opened the front door and THOUGHT it flew out into the night, and that was the end of it.

THIS MORNING, however, as he was leaving the house, he noticed a little bat hanging in the dining room window, between the storm window and the screen. The only way it could have squeezed in there is from INSIDE the house! So maybe the bat didn't really fly out the other night. (I tell myself this, because I don't want to imagine TWO bats have been inside my house!!

So here is the little bat as it trembled, squeaking, while the cats circled it from inside, and here is my Great White Hunter after his successful expedition to trap flying rodents!

New House means lots of work!

In amongst the creative endeavors, I must make time to move! I do not like the physical moving, very difficult, but it must be done. This week I have dropped off 1 car load of things each day. Saturday, the parents came over and took 3 loads in the pickup, which sounds like a lot, but isn't a drip in the bucket.

I've got 2 more gallons of paint ready to use; Iced Lemonade (yellow for the kitchen) and Jericho (green for the dining room). The tan/gray color in the middle is Ashen, and I've already painted the living room that color.

I've decided not to paint the den; since it won't be my sewing room, it will take on a slightly more masculine air. I've got 3 white bookshelves in place to accept carloads of books. In our current home, we have a WALL of bookshelves, built-in on either side of the fireplace....I'm really going to miss them!

However, in consolation, I now have command of the Barn! YES!! The ART BARN! It is about 28 feet by 16 feet, I believe, and very tall. Heated and airconditioned, super great! Most of what we moved on Saturday was bins and more bins of yarn and fabric.

The walls are corrugated stuff, maybe fiberglass, I'm not sure. I'll need to figure out a way to surround myself with beauty, or it's going to look very garage-y! Someone asked me today if I'm planning a vacation this summer, and while I'm not going anywhere, I'll be busy!