Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Back on the job

I am reclaiming my title of sheriff of beauty, wonder and all things marvelous. Al, George and I have been spanning the globe. Only today it is words that I am in love with. Words written by my bloglandia friends near and far. Words about the wonder of correspondence. Words about the simple pleasures in life. Words sorting out what to do next and why blogging in important. Words celebrating a life well lived. Words about celebrating color, my favorite color, purple! Soulful words and the lack of words when the pictures are so precious. Words about nature and the love of it's surprises. Words about visiting home and some about welcoming a new puppy. Words in anticipation of a wedding. Everywhere I went today- the links are my side bar - were full of joyful experiences of every day life. Don't ya love it when that happens? Go, read, enjoy. Hope your day is full of simple pleasures.


Grace in small things:
1. tiny, tiny finches hoping about trying to take the last little scrap from each other
2. a hummingbird in my back yard
3. new blades for my stencil cutting pleasure
4. joyful anticipation
5.knowing my life is good

Saturday, April 25, 2009

The starving artist fund


The charming baby in the middle is my sister Helen. And yes, that is her happy face. She detested her first name, loved her children, was smart and funny, quick to correct your grammar or spelling and was the best shopper in the whole wide world. She prided herself on never spending more on something than what the tax would have been on the original price. Except shoes, she did buy shoes if even they weren't on sale. But most of all she was a gambler. She loved to gamble and made sure it was an option regardless of her circumstances. Not that she gambled to excess or lost big money, but she did think of it as a sorta kinda part time job. It gave her great pleasure. She gambled with intention, once winning just enough to buy my son a portable wheelchair when Medicaid wouldn't and many other similar '"causes". She really loved it, the sights, the sounds, the black coffee and Jr Mints to sustain her, winning a little or a lot. It was her thing.
Now I can hear you asking how does that fit with the title of this post? Well, I am going to tell you. When I moved to NM in the early 80s, she began what she called "the starving artist fund" and since I was the only starving artist she knew, it was all for me! In her shopping, she loved to use coupons, find the store honoring double or triple coupons and was a big rebate getter. She was willing to save receipts, cut up boxes and do what ever it took to get that rebate. Only, she never actually got the rebate, she had all of them sent to me! Sometimes a dollar, sometimes more but the money came with strict instructions to spend it on art supplies, regardless of my circumstances. She always supported my artistic endeavors, didn't always understand or appreciate them, but always supported them. When she would get a little extra from one of her "adventures up the hill" (Central City or Blackhawk, CO) that would become part of the fund as well. She did it for years.
Today would have been her birthday, so to honor her my son and I went to casino to hear those sounds and smell that smell and promptly lost the $16 I brought and the $20 he brought and talked about her. We were in and out in about an hour, including lunch, about my limit. But she would have liked that. I am grateful to have had someone like her to be my champion, still think about that starving artist fund of years past and miss her every day.

Grace in small things
1. a free Lone Ranger stencil
2. Art supplies
3. knowing that this grief will lessen but my memories of her never will
4. her old high school and college yearbooks to stencil on
5. anticipating a visit with a friend

Thursday, April 23, 2009

That time again...

http://leauaphillips.blogspot.com/2008/05/long-live-love.html

Monday, April 20, 2009

How do you get spray paint off your elbow?

Or more importantly how do you get spray paint on your elbow, you might ask. Well, I HAD to keep spraying tonight, even in the wind and then what I sprayed started to blow away (yes we only had one clear, calm day in a row) and so I put my elbow down to keep it from moving to Arizona and well, you know...
This is just too much fun. So my plan for tomorrow, if it is still blowing, is NOT to spray but to do backgrounds to spray on...we'll see how long that lasts. That and to wear long sleeves tomorrow. And did you know that Ace Hardware (and maybe lots of other places but that is what is down the street from my house...) has these great big sheets of color samples? Like the blue one with the bird on it. And boy oh boy do they take spray paint.
And this is just a cool picture of the Easter lily my son brought me last Sunday. A faded bloom, a current bloom and a brand new bloom to keep me company when I am not spraying... when is that again?

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Know what this is?

Know what this is? A clear, calm day...finally!
Know what this is? a spray station in my backyard...finally!
Know what this is? Pure heaven!!!


I sprayed and
I sprayed and
I sprayed and
I sprayed some more and then
I sprayed and
I sprayed and
I sprayed and when I got tired,
I took pictures of what I sprayed! This is sooooo much fun, even if I am a week behind. I love learning something new and watching someone who is fearless when it comes to art and shares in such a fun way. You too can have this much fun, in fact, come on over, we'll spray together! Join all 125 of us spraying all over the place. And she has tips for all kinds of other stuff too. Fun, fun, fun...that's what this is!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Tagging will not increase


But I do have a stash of spray paint and I'm ready to use it. Not from a distance, but up close and personal and in a group that spans the globe. Woo Hoo, I'm ready. Why? Because Mary Ann is going to TELL me how to do stuff. I am not good at reading and following directions. It's a processing problem. But problem solved...Mary Ann is going to SHOW me how to do all the cool stuff she does. And trust me I will be SHARING. I tried to call in sick, but my boss beat me to it so I'll dutifully sit at my desk and count the hours until I am home and spraying...and well, maybe tagging will increase...Mary Ann did say we should work BIG!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Didn't I tell you?






Fragrance is amazing...watch for them coming to a sky near you, winds are predicted again tomorrow through the weekend. Enjoy them as they pass by.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Need a Break?

Apparently I did, with out realizing it, I stayed out of Bloglandia for a whole week.
Maybe it was the mote in my sky,
or the fact that the sun was unplugged by accident.

Maybe it was the effort it took to stand upright when the wind was blowing 63 miles an hour. Anyway, here I am, excited for the class to start...
sorting my possibility clutter
and gathering more
and even more
and generally enjoying life.
I went to 3 galleries for First Friday.
Robert (I grabbed this from an email) was wonderful as always. You really need those 3-D glasses to appreciate all of these layers! Well, and they are just so cool to wear...
My new artist crush (one of my very favs from her web site) had some amazing new resin works as well as her wonderful, awe inspiring, over the top fabu encaustics and I got to see some great print work as well.
Life is good, just blowing by to fast...

Grace in small things
1. CBS Sunday morning's spotlight on graffiti in Paris
2. Calm breezes today...and periods of no wind at all
3. A bag full of spring colored ribbon
4. Punchanella..this stuff is seriously addicting!
5. Lilacs starting to bloom and fill the air with their fragrance