the Mabel Series and Kickstarter!!

okay....it has been five months since my last confession...i mean blog. i am not a blogger, i am not a journaler, there i said it! hmmmm....but....i am creative.

i have launched a project on 'Kickstarter' and i have been trying to decide whether to blog about it or not. this morning i decided i would. check out the website....i even made a video!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lorrimarie/unblocking-my-arteries

i am creating 30 pieces in 30 days, which has grown to about 90 in 90 now. i am posting a few of the first pieces. this is the only post i will do with the images of the pieces i am making because, i want the project supporters to be surprised by the piece they are getting. this is so much fun i can barely stand it!

what this project has done for me is to allow me to create freely....no worries as to whether the art is worthy of making...will it sell??? i am giving my art away....i am creating the ideas that have been left abandoned over time....being replaced by creations that i thought would sell. it has been like turning on a creative faucet...i LOVE it....

any way....i apologize for not staying on top of this blog....but i have got to go play now!

Listening

this is my latest mixed media piece....'Listening'...i love her...i have been teaching mixed media for several months now and the class has pushed me to limits that i would never have reached left to my own devices....i love teaching but i challenge myself way more than i challenge the students...it has been great for my own development....i have some down time today so i am using it to play on my computer....enjoy your day!!

Let It Go!!

letting go of things that we worry about is so hard to do...yet we know that worrying about them solves nothing and we make ourselves a wreck in the process....sooo...i created a 'let it go! box', or book really. i love altering books...they just feel so great...lots of energy locked up inside from so many people that have read it, or owned it, or even just leafed through its pages.

this 'let it go! box' has a slit in the top so that you can write your worries on a piece of paper and slip it inside the box. the box does not open so you cannot 'take it back' either! sometimes i have to write the same thing down several times....trying to let it go each time!

a commission job from a four year old!

a few weeks ago i was invited to a co-worker's daughter's birthday party....i was specifically invited by the darling 'to-be-four' year old...well....i am not so into store bought gifts so i told the mom that i was going to make her daughter something....'well', i was informed, 'she is into unicorns and that is about all'...hmmmm....never having made a unicorn....i was ready for the challenge....i used my usual 'patch style' and created a unicorn full of personality....(unfortunately i gave it away before i took a picture)...she LOVED it and has ordered a black horse to keep the unicorn company....she sleeps with unicorn every night....i am soooo honored....anyway....here is the black horse...the mane and tail are a fun purple but show up blue in the photo....i cannot wait to deliver the horse to the four year girl....

on line silliness class

so this is the 'test' work sheet...which i promptly renamed as a 'play' sheet! the class starts may 4th and i am totally looking forward to it...so....this sheet came with one bird...one critter and some blank lines...i had fun...for more information on the class or to even sign up...http://carlasonheim.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/silly-4-registration-is-open/

i am ready to be a SQueen...Silly Queen!!

altered book

I love altering books!!! i have just started this one but it is coming along quite nicely...the end project? oh no you don't get to ruin the surprise....besides....i am just winging it....as usual!!!!

an online class...yahoo!

i have signed up for an online class with Carla Sonheim...she inspired my doodling while i was in greece...i even got to share that doodling with my sister in greece...what a gift....anyway...i love her style and i am so looking forward to taking the class....'the art of silliness'...sounds right up my alley! thanks to all the artists out there that encourage silliness and daily mistake making!!! it is so nice to know that i am NOT alone!

gotta love commission work!

i have a friend who is healing from a broken heart...she found this image and asked me if i could paint it....usually commission work is hard for me...but this piece was really fun....i took 'mixed media' literally and started out with water colors, added a patch of polka dot paper, stitched it on, added a real bandage, and finished the piece with stabilo crayons....low lighting with stabilo pencil and water....very fun....sorry for the broken heart...but what a fun project!

Thank You

Thank you to all my loved ones for the birthday wishes....i received so many greetings from Facebook, phone calls and snail mail cards....you have enhanced my life more than you know!!! Thank you for the boots, the flowers, the living plant, the colorful tote bag, the money and the wonderful celebration filled with many gifts (my favorite being my coffee mug!)....you know who you are...i love you all!!!

57 never felt so good!!!

oh yes....i am a mere 57 today and it never felt so good!!! i have heard from many loved ones all over the world...thank you for being in my life...i woke up this morning at three and ofcourse my darling husband had the tables decorated for m birthday....thank you darling! i received cards and gifts from many....i got a new coffee mug that holds 21 ounces of fresh hot coffee....LOVE it! and my sister has made sure my feet are toasty with some new KEEN boots, i broke those in wearing them in greece...how perfect!

so thank you for all the love....i am humbled by your comments on my Facebook and i appreciate my friendships with you more than you could ever know...

my heart is very full today! happy 57th to me!!!

Greece

ahhhh....vacation! my husband and i just returned from a glorious week in Greece...what? A dream come true! we met my sister, brother-in-law and my dad in Thira, Greece. on the island of Santarini. unbelievable! we have over five hundred photos to go through and pick out the 'best' ones. we arrived before the tourist season began, so we nearly had the shops, eateries, and beaches to ourselves! what a delight.

my favorite part? exploring the little fishing village, Amoudi.

it is true, there is no place like home, but now a bit of Greece is living here in California with me!!!

it's raining, it's pouring

i am doing my first fair of the year today....and yuck....it is still pouring!

this is the newest generation of monsters....they are 'Dashboard Demons'...yes..they sit on your dash...so much fun!

anyway....everybody is packed and ready to go...the hostess of SWAN (support women artists now) has found a warehouse for us to show our wares in today, out of the rain...ahhhh!

so if you are out and about..333 Ferry Street in Martinez, California....come see me and my Monsters!!!

keeping me on my toes!

the mixed media class that i am teaching is keeping me on my toes! they are devouring every project i set in front of them,,,i love it...

so this morning i decided to go back to grade school and use a paper bag as my canvas..what a treat! i used acrylic, a poem, 'the hat lover's lament', some burlap and my sewing machine....vioala...too much fun!!! (and too cool to use for a bag!)

Greencraft Magazine Ta Da!!

so i went to barnes and noble yesterday and finally bought the current 'greencraft magazine' and ta da! there are my pants and my article! they did a great job with the photography and the model looks way better in the pants than i do....hmmmmm...the magazine has some amazing things in it and i have devoured every page. i did learn that it is okay to get flowery and toot your horn loudly when you are submitting your artwork....they ask you to write about yourself...once again i had little to say about myself in comparison to the other creators in the magazine....next time i will blow my horn my loudly....don't misunderstand me...the article is adorable....but i could have done a bit better in describing my juicy passions around my creating....next time!

looking for the right words

i got to play a bit yesterday after a full day of work, coffee with a delicious friend, the dentist, and having my #4 son over for grilled ahi! a great day! the piece is done except for some fun words...i just have not been able to take the time to hunt for the words yet. i have my class tonight and i will be teaching them another layering technique....they are sooooo wonderful! we are more than halfway through the class and they have asked me to teach another class...i love it....it has kept me on my toes, creating, creating, creating!

so....here are the girls that i gather with every six weeks. starting from the left...meet

Lorrie, Lauren, Kris-ten, Myself, and Mika....they are truly precious to me!!!