RedwoodMountainMusings

It's kinda funny....

2012-02-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I can hardly get into my little art studio! I've been furiously making mini albums, throwing scraps every which way, digging through papers and not putting them back... you know this hap-hazard style of creating, right?

So, I branched out onto my writing desk in the corner of my bedroom. I promised myself I would be tidy. What's up with this mess?? What's up with me?? Still messy. Laundry on chair needs to be folded.

It is kinda funny, don't you think?

A few pictures of this week's work....

2012-02-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

I'm hosting a baby shower for a first time mom this Saturday. This was fun to create....
All of the papers I created myself on Photoshop. I also used an abundance of stickers from my stash. I think it's cute. Do you?

Newly listed on Etsy: Turning It Over Chunky Prayer Book

2012-02-06T09:33:00.001-08:00

"TURNING IT OVER"

It's often hard to remember to do that!

Here is a sweet little chunk prayer book I recently made. It includes 8 pages, each with tucks and pockets filled with over 50 interactive Prayer Cards... lots of room for journaling your prayers. Each of the 50 Prayer Cards hold special affirmations. My favorite:

"Hello, This is God. I will be handling all your problems today.

I will not need your help, so have a good day."

Book is made from recycled toilet paper tubes! Spiral bound. A Neat and nifty way to pray. It measures about 3x5" with lots of tags and ribbons flowing over.

Felting Soap and MAIL ART!

2012-01-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

Okay... so I've been busy this week, mostly listing things to sell on eBay. But I've also been making felted soaps to sell in my shop (Boulder Creek Antiques & Art)...and! a tutorial to go with a "DYI Felted Soap Kit.

The fun part of the week has been getting lovely MAIL ART from my friends on Blissfully Art Journaling. Thankyou Shay (in Australia), Annelie (in Holland) and Stacy (in Warren Michigan)! See pics of all below.....

Mail Art....

2012-01-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

Well, we're home again, and as always, I hit the ground running. So here's the first chance I've had to post pictures of the mail art I did on our vacation. The idea came up in one of my Yahoo groups (love that group!) and poof... out of my mind was my Madonna/Goddess paintings! This was so much fun! I wrote a short Haiku for each card. Started with a piece of 300lb watercolor paper and did a number of acrylic color washes that felt like the ocean, greens and blues. Funny thing... the post office said they were too stiff and charged me double plus something. But it was worth it. Next time I'll use cardstock, or hey, maybe a real postcard!

A FUN week!

2012-01-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

This has been a really fun week. Usually I travel alone, and I love it. But this trip, hubby felt up to coming along and we've had so much fun.... doing almost nothing. Nothing by fooling around with a little art, or mostly, sitting on the deck over the ocean reading, drinking wine coolers, and eating local cheese and bread. That's the life!

Oh... then, there have been a few visits from old friends who live somewhat local to Depoe Bay, Oregon. My highschool girlfriend Karen drove 2 hours from Eugene to visit. What a hoot.... we didn't miss a beat since we saw each other last about 25 years ago. We both still wear our hair like we did in 1965. Oh... and she brought along her highschool boyfriend who she reunited with after 45 years! How sweet is that! Today they are in love and happy.... I'm so happy they found each other again.

And last night our friends Nina and Hugh arrived from northern Washington (six hour drive) to spend today with us. I'll post pics tomorrow.

So, no more art today.... just visiting and relaxing with dear friends.

Blissed out!

2012-01-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

Whoops.... I've been so blissed out that I forgot I have a blog! Hubby and I are up here in Depoe Bay, Oregon, right on the coast!

Loving every moment, every sound of the huge winter waves at high tide.

And here is the amazing MOON SETTING from Sunday morning.

Yesterday was cloudy and rainy.... but the mighty Ocean Muses kept me happy at my little art table. What a view! rain or shine!

On the right is one of my faces from Tam's class. I'm taking her LIfe Book class, but didn't take a picture of that first painting. The one on the left is from All Norah's Art, Sharon's Faces in Collage. I REALLY REALLY like the way she turned out. This is Hestia, the Greek Goddess of home and hearth, eyes turned heavenward offering the gift of fire to keep our hearts warm.

Today's going to be another FULL DAY of painting! Just loving it!

Namaste and Sweet Blessings.....

And the Birthday winners are....

2012-01-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

What a pleasant and beautiful day I had, mostly sitting on my porch swing chatting with my wonderful 19 year old granddaughter! Warms my heart!

So, with the last comment posted, here are my random counter chosen winners:
#1 spiral journal            3    Tammy Freiborg
#2 cupcake painting        10    1carmelitelover - Peggy
#3 composition journal        40    Jennifer Willis of Sweet Pea Stamps
#4 tag journal                70    Claudine of Claudine's Art Corner
#5 set of stamps            68    Mary Walker of Mary Walker Designs
#6 two pdfs                79    Lillian Mederak of Canadian Scrap Tramp

I was able to find emails to notify several of you, others, I couldn't find you. So please email me your addresses asap so I can get your birthday presents in the mail to you!
Sweetest of Blessings to you, and thanks for making this such fun!
xoxo Chris

The #1 song on the Day I was Born!

2012-01-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Birthday Eve - Give Aways

2012-01-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

Well, best of intentions... I had planned on giving away many more items to celebrate my 65th birthday tomorrow. Here are a few more gifts I'll be giving away....

A set of three new stamps.

A paste paper covered composition journal similar to this one.

A funky 'tag journal' as seen here in my Etsy shop.

Also, for gift number 6, I'm gifting two of my pdf files (your choice) currently in my Etsy Shop.

Simply leave a comment and you're name is in the drawing. Check back tomorrow afternoon to see who the winners are. You'll need to email me your mailing address so I can get them in the mail on Thursday.

Sweet blessings my friends.

This week's work....

2012-01-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, I started Tam's Life Book class and I'm not quite ready to post pictures yet. But, I'm loving the class!

Yesterday though, I got ambitious and created a SMASH BOOK journal to list on Etsy. I've been wanting to do one since taking Full Speed Boogey. I debated about putting on a traditional hand sewn binding, but I like the flexibility of the spiral bound. I'm curious what your thoughts are. I love the look and handle of the traditional, but the ease of folding over the pages in a spiral bound is great.

The front and back covers show off my paste papers (over heavy book board) and each has a sweet pocket on the inside to stash clippings or what ever. It totals 31 pages, with quite a few fold out pages, so there is at least 70+ pages for layouts. It measures just over 9x6".

Here are some pictures of the journal. Also, below is my latest covered composition book. Both listed on etsy.

Have you found your 2012 WORD?

2012-01-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

To Start the New Year....

2011-12-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

New Art Journal Plans....

2011-12-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

I've decided my next "body of work" will be a series of the Divine Feminine (Madonnas, Goddesses, etc.) So, for some odd reason, I was inspired by Pam Carriker (don't ya love her!) in this VIDEO.

So this is my first practice piece.

The next picture is the cover of the Journal I purchased and put into a spiral bound book to be my "Goddess Journal".

I blogged about this HERE.

Thanks for checking in.

Sweet Blessings on the PATH to discovering the Artist Within.....

More Birthday Give Aways! GOT CAKE?

2011-12-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

Whew, now that Christmas is over, the holiday still continues in my heart. I don't really feel relief, in fact, it's kinda sad that suddenly all the Christmas music stops. But I'm on a roll now, for my BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY.

Today I am gifting one of my cupcake paintings. It measures about 4x5", painted on a studio canvas, no need to frame.

Keep leaving your comments. I'll pick random numbers on January 4th and will send the winners my/their birthday gifts!

Sweetest Blessings for continuous Holiday Joy

Chris

Free Calendar

2011-12-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hello dear friends... Hope you're having a happy holiday! Everything is done at my house, so I spent some time today creating a blank calendar for next year. Feel free to copy and paste (or drag) to your desktop, or what ever. I created it in photoshop then saved as a jpeg.

It's for my 3 ring 6x9 datebook. (Decided not to buy one this year.) It's ready to print at 8.5x11 landscape. If you cut right at 5.5 you'll have space to punch holes. I printed mine on cardstock and glued them onto last years (opps, it's still this year!) tab pages. Now I can clown around with my pens and colored pencils. If you can't nab it from here, send me your email and I'll send you a high resolution jpeg.

Sweet blessings!

Birthday Give Away!

2011-12-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Finally, I've finished my Christmas crafting and baking. Now I can turn my thoughts to the New Year and my.... SIXTY-FIFTH birthday! January 4th. And I'm celebrating this year with a few gift aways. I have several items in mind and will be listing them in the next few days.

Today, I'm starting by giving away one of my hand-made spiral journals.

This sweet journal is approximately 4.5 x 5 inches, the chipboard front and back are covered with paste papers I made last October in Oregon. (See old post.)

Heavy weight art paper inside will support light washes, pencils, and most drawing tools.

All you have to do to enter is

leave a comment and join my site.
I'll be choosing randomly on my birthday
(Jan 4th) and will mail packages that day. (Of course I'll include some random goodies too!)

Last Christmas Mini Book for the year....

2011-12-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

Tadaaa. I just finished my last mini album for this season. This one is for our family Pirate Gift Exchange. You know, everyone picks a number. 1st person picks a gift and unwraps it. Persons 2, 3, etc. can steal your gift or choose a new one. It's a rollicking good time! And always so funny! Secretly, I'm hoping my niece Lisa will end up with it.

So, my sweetie Molly agreed to be my prop this morning, holding up the book. I didn't get all the pages, but this gives you an idea.

Christmas Mini Album #2

2011-12-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the second album....

Holiday Mini Albums Book #1

2011-12-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

Finally, I'm back to posting! Here are the last two Christmas Mini Albums I made. I'm loving spending so much time in the studio. Enjoy!

This book is filled with lots of pockets, photo mats, and journaling spots. (Oh, and some BLING!)

I used my Big Shot embossing folder for this decorative envelope.

Tucked inside are two double sided tags.

I love this Martha Stewart frilly punch.

A couple of tuck pockets....

I did it!

2011-11-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh.... that's the sound of my exhalation. After an intense month of writing every day while at the same time prepping the shop for Black Friday, completing the cookbook, and throwing in a bit of art time, I COMPLETED 50,458 WORDS! My first ever NOVEL! I'm just so grateful for the support and encouragement of my sweetheart husband!

Now, for six months of rewrite, fleshing out, and juicy research!

All in a Day's Work

2011-11-19T08:24:00.000-08:00

NaNoWriMo during the month of November? Crazy-making. Also owning a shop, I'm smashed with getting ready for Black Friday, next week, six days from now. Bill is painting the 8' characters for on top of our shop. Have I mentioned our giant redwood tree is the new town HOLIDAY TREE!

So, this is what I did yesterday... photoshopped a Christmas card. The picture of all the people (our dealers) was very shadowy, taken around 5pm last month. I kept the line of people light, but turned the exposure down on the tree and sky. (Actually, found something Photoshop calls "curve" and it darkened the sky. Photoshopped in bunches of lights and tadaaaa! The real lights will be turned on at 6pm November 25th by Santa himself. All the dealers will be helping the elves to throw the switch.

Anyway, here's the card!

Sad Findings....

2011-11-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

What an amazing, beautiful day to drive up the coast to San Francisco! Deep into my NaNoWriMo novel, I decided I needed to sit and 'feel' the land I was writing about. Most of my story is set in today's world, but there are some flashbacks to earlier times, when the Muwekma Ohlone Indians lived in Noe (pronounce no-eee) Valley in San Francisco. Sadly, Fr Paulo enslaved these beautiful, peaceful and loving peoples to build Mission Delores. The Mission's website says over 5000 Ohlone Indians were buried there.
So! Why is it I found NO, NONE, NADA gravestones nor plaques honoring those 5000 people? The grave yard was beautiful, full of wonderful flowers and many ornate stones... none for the people who gave up their freedom to build the mission.
Here's a picture of the diorama depicting the mission's early days. You can see the simple cemetery on the left. (also the river that is now covered and gone.

Here is the cemetery today, with beautiful headstones for the Catholic families.

Ok, well, they did put up this one display of what the Ohlone family lived in. Again, though, it was all about the construction, nothing honoring the people whose land was stolen and who were put into slavery.

Here is the inside of the original Mission. It's actually the oldest building in San Francisco. Withstood the 1906 earthquake.

And here is a picture today from Twin Peaks, looking out over part of Noe Valley. This land was once just rolling hillsides of grasses, herbs and wildflowers.

Maybe I'm nuts.... but I hear their spirits, I feel their peacefulness and joy, to have lived for a thousand years or so, on this once, beautiful pieces of land. Here it is around 1890.

Please take a moment and tell me your feelings? Can you feel their energy, their spirit? I don't think they are embittered... they just want us to remember.

A question to pause over....

2011-11-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Recently, one of my Yahoo art groups considered that question. Gave me much to think about. Here is my reply....

Oh my, that's a huge question I think about often. (I'm also going to be 65 soon.) So, I give my stuff away or make it to sell. (and I sell my stuff cheap!) I just am sooo happy creating little books, collages, journals, to send out to the world. Then I think, someday I'll be gone but some of my "juice" (love, energy, joy?) will pleasure someone else.

Once in a while I hit an estate (or garage sale) and can feel the energy of the person who was into their art. I LOVE to purchase their art/tools/gadgets. It makes me feel like I'm part of a larger circle of life. And I know I want someone like me to find my stuff someday.

I have a few things I make and keep just for myself, because they give me so much pleasure to look at. Maybe it's silly, but I get some juice out of thinking that someone else will enjoy (or be blessed) by my art. I think, for me, that is the greater motivator, rather than self expression. I totally lost myself for more than a week creating the baby album for my god daughter, personalizing it just for her shower last week. My problem is, I don't think, in fact I know, that my family really doesn't appreciate handmade gifts.

Sadly, this reminds me of my godmother's art in the 1960's. Aunti Anne spent weeks creating a HUGE picture of the Last Supper, all in tiny rocks (colored gravel). She gave it to my cousin for Christmas... and it spent it's life hidden behind the couch. I felt sorry for my aunt, she put so much time and love into something that had meaning for her, but her daughter never really "got" it. My aunt also covered a streetcar hubcap in little 1/2 inch tiles and gave it to me as a wedding present 45 years ago. Guess where that is? Yep, front and center on my china cabinet. I love that bowl!

so for me... I make it and pass it on, out the door it goes. Thanks for posing this question. It's a good one to ponder, and I think I've gone on too far. You can see my goddaughter's baby book on my blog if your interested. (I made my first slideshow/movie!)

Christa's Baby Book

2011-11-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

This is my very first video! I've got a lot to learn, but I thought it would be the best way to show some of my work.

It's COMPLETE!

2011-11-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

It's a BIG SIGH here! After months of entering, formatting, formatting some more, proofreading, proofreading, reformatting, and reformatting.... our cookbook is COMPLETE and off to the printers. (Oh, but there is one more, FINAL proofreading next week.)

I'm so excited about the way the cover art turned out. I totally reworked it to include the full view of our shop's beautiful Redwood tree that looms behind us. And... more good news. Our tree is designated as our town's HOLIDAY TREE! Santa will be lighting her up on Friday, November 25th. (I'll post pictures!)

To compliment the tree lighting, I've designed a holiday scene that will be cut out of 8'plywood pieces. At the same time, I'm just finishing up a sweet BABY BOOK for my cousin's baby shower, today! Just have to add some bling. I'll post those pictures tomorrow.

So, here's my baby!

Time for Some FUN! with ROSIE THE WILD WOMAN!

2011-10-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I visited my new friend ROSIE THE WILD WOMAN at her amazing studio here in Depoe Bay. After our wonderful visit early in the day, I decided I just couldn't try anything new right now. I'm using the spaciousness of our timeshare to make more paste papers for the next few days.

But, Rosie's inspiration has a way of growing on you and I literally spent the entire afternoon attempting to FELT! (Yes, FELT is a verb.) I couldn't resist going back for her Creative Wednesday evening get-together. (I think there were about eight friendly and amazingly creative women there, all working with fibers, pearls, etc.)

I thought I was done, and maybe, just not very good at felting, given the samples from my afternoon's work. Rosie took me under her wing and now I've got it... the bug to FELT! My intention is to create some juicy, deeply pigmented, felted fabrics to dress my Crone dolls. I finished four pieces last night, which I'll post later.

It was such a FUN evening, and a welcome break to the solitude of the last week. (Although I've been VERY PRODUCTIVE!) I did finish my cookbook, and it's off the the proofreader now. Plus, I designed the front and back covers. Oh... and there has always been an art table where I've created more paste papers and covered a few journals.

I am so grateful for the joys of my life. And so blessed for my loving family.

ENJOY THE FELTED EYE CANDY!
This is my first piece.....

Here is Rosie arranging one of her MASTER PIECES!

You have to see this up close.....

An Inspiring Place to Create!

2011-10-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Wow... I have four full days here at Depoe Bay, Oregon. Our timeshare is right on the ocean! Yesterday, I spent eight hours working on the cookbook (Boulder Creek Antiques and Art COMMUNITY COOKBOOK) and another four hours cutting up my paste papers to cover journals and make little books. I'll post pictures of those, maybe later today. I have so much I want to accomplish, it's difficult to just sit still and soak in the beauty! Thank you God for this amazing opportunity!

Here is my ART TABLE, before I covered it with supplies! Nice view, eh?

Sun setting on Monday....

My computer space, where I'm working on the cookbook....

Taking a stretch, standing on my patio.

Again! THANK YOU GOD, for this amazing opportunity!

Saturday at Klamath

2011-10-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

So, I started my day with a few quick garage sales. This was the morning sun on Lakeshore Drive around 8am.

Found some block printing supplies at one sale. Had to pass up lots due to my car is already full of art supplies!

So here are a few more papers I made yesterday.

Art Retreat, Klamath Falls, Oregon

2011-10-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here in Klamath Falls for an art retreat and to finish the cookbook. The colors are amazing!

On the road to our resort, The Running Y Ranch.

Amazing color!

My condo is light and cheerful.

This is where I'm working.

All my new stencils!

Some of my finished papers, others, I'm still working on.

A Sacred Project

2011-10-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of the Relationship Book I just completed for a lovely and amazing couple, Samantha and Ryan, who are making their sacred vows this Saturday. May you both be filled with God's Grace, Love, Joy, and Happiness!

These are the basic pictures.... I'll post comments later. Right now, I have to get this baby in the mail!

Enjoy!

Where has she gone? Where did she go??

2011-10-11T21:12:00.001-07:00

I've been locked in my studio working on a huge project! full of love! I'll show you tomorrow!

This Week's Work...

2011-10-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

I came back from Art Is You and hit the ground running. Spent the entire week preparing for our town's Harvest Festival. My table was right in front of our store.

I love creating Chunky Prayer Books. This one is 5x7 with many fold out (and up) pages, over 50 prayer cards with journaling spots on the back.... and lots and lots of tuck spots on every spread. I made my own envelopes with heavy black cardstock, so each page has a nice heavy feel to it.

One of these days I'll learn how to use the movie thing on my camera so I can do a simple flip with commentary. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the eye candy!

Happy Fall and Sweetest of Blessings dear friends.....

Dolls for Big Girls!

2011-09-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today's doll class was a blast! Here are just a few shots of some works in progress....
These are my bits and pieces, not quite got their heads on yet.

Don't you love the crazy hair!

Serena (our teacher) is so engrossed creating her doll.

Here are my ladies (Crones) before paint and clothes...

Fabulous Paste Papers!

2011-09-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Albie Smith's fabulous pretty paste papers class. Oh my. I loved this class. Here are some pictures.

This first batch are mine. I still can't believe I made these designs!

We had some very talented artists in our class!

Paste Papers from Albie Smith's class

2011-09-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite papers I made yesterday. The pictures don't do them justice. They are much more vibrant/subtle in person. First... this is the book.

Art is You is Fabulous!

2011-09-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

This morning's breakfast panel. Recognize anyone?

My seat partner, Carol, making paste papers. I'll post pictures of the books we made tomorrow. Today was Albie Smith's Pretty Books class. We made fabulous paste papers then arranged them in a beautiful handmade book. Tomorrow I'm taking another of Albie's classes. She's a great teacher, and I've learned so much! Look for pictures tomorrow!

ART IS YOU - Petaluma!

2011-09-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm here. Classes start tomorrow. I'm volunteering to help out for the day, then my classes are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

We were asked to contribute to the prizes for the raffles, so these are my contributions.
I made another little prayer book, this time calling it "Thankful Thinking"... I really like that name. It seems to imply action. Here are the pictures of it. Includes over 40 little journal tags.

Also contributing one of my "Tattered Prayers" album/notebook.

And finally, a large art journal made from an old art book. Pages are 100lb cardstock, nice for drawing, light washes, journaling, etc.

Goodbye Pine Valley, Hello ART IS YOU Petaluma

2011-09-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've finally revealed my secret. I've been watching All My Children for 41 years! January 5, 1970 was my first day of maternity leave and the first airing of this soap. Sadly, this is their last week, and I have to miss the last three episodes. (Although I will be recording them.)

Why? because I'm going to ART IS YOU in Petaluma! Yaaaaaay! I'm taking two of Albie Smith's paste paper classes, plus a doll making class. I am so excited to be attending their first West Coast venue!

I'll be posting pictures of the classes (with permission). Stay tuned!

Trying something different

2011-09-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

I'm getting so excited about Art is You retreat in Petaluma! Just a few days now. Thought I'd make something "artsy" to wear.

Inspired by Ruth's recycled scarves (see here), and Rosie's (Wild Woman) fabulous scarves (see Rosie here), I got inspired!

I cut two sweatshirts into long strips and braided them with some fibers, threw in some beads... kept braiding, kept braiding, until I had a long thing. It's kinda cute.

What do you think?

Now, I hope I'm brave enough to wear it to Art is You!

Wahoo! "Turning it Over" prayer book sold!

2011-09-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm thrilled that someone loved my little creation enough to purchase it... and at the same time I'm sad to say goodbye to the little book. It truly is a SWEET BLESSING to create art that blesses and brings people closer to God.

A little collage and acrylics.....

2011-09-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Changing gears a bit this week. I took out my acrylics and painted a few sunflowers. The second one is actually a mixed media collage, using vintage sheet music and a die-cut border trimming the side borders. Both measure 8x10", gallery wrapped canvases. On sale in my Etsy shop.

Creative Writing Software

2011-09-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Does anybody have a recommendation for creative writing software? I'm going to do it this year: participate and complete a novel during the month of November.

NANOWRIMO: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I'd love to have some writing companions! Want to join me?

Another Holiday Wrap up....

2011-09-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

I've had this on my art table for two weeks, and with the freedom of the holiday weekend, I finished it! It's a very sweet little prayer book I've titled "Tattered Prayers". The pages are all tattered, just like we often are, just before we remember to turn it over to God! This is a blank journal with tattered edges.... 80lb paper, 20 pages, 40 front and back. Please leave feedback. I'd love to hear what you think.
Sweet Blessings for a wonderful holiday weekend!!
NOW ON SALE IN MY ETSY SHOP!

Holiday Weekend Prayer Book Completions.....

2011-09-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems as though no one is looking at blogs... everyone is having a holiday weekend. Well, we are going to barbeque hamburgers, but Hubby and I are busy playing with our ART! I've just finished two things I'm really proud of. What follows is my "Chunky Prayer Book" I've titled "TURNING IT OVER". Please enjoy the pages. There are many, many pockets and tuck spots, and over 45 journaling tags! This was totally a work of love, prayer, and thanksgiving. (oh! and would you believe! This is called "Green Craft" because it is made out of recycled toilet paper rolls!!!)

Now on sale in my Etsy Shop!

I'd love to hear your feedback! Please leave a comment!
Sweet Blessings on this Holiday Weekend.

"What would you do with my stuff?" CHALLENGE!

2011-09-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

Trisha over at Easily Amused, Hard to Offend hosted an interesting challenge. She sent me an envelope full of stuff from her studio, just to see what I'd do with it. I think there was at least 10 of us that took up her challenge. What FUN! Here's what I made from her stuff:

I made a library pocket out of the piece of heavy cardstock she sent, First I embossed it, then cut a square picture frame. I used recycled plastic for the "glass" of the frame. You can see the little star filled with some of the bling she sent in a tiny envelope. The dragonfly is die cut from a piece of shiny stuff she sent. At first it wouldn't cut, but then it did, after putting a backing on it. More bling on the dragonfly.

Here is the back side, with several tags hanging. I'm big on journal tags, so you can write on the backs. (You'll see later.) This is the flower picture she sent. (almost forgot to include it!) Oh, and you can just see one of the tickets she sent, turned inside out and die cut to be a little tag pull. (Sorry, Trisha, the only item I just couldn't find a place for was the bright orange ticket!) Other wise, I think I used every thing!

So, here are the tags that fill the pocket. The picture of the girl was one that Trish sent, the papers, I designed, including Bible paper collaged to cardstock tag. The ribbons are mine, vintage silk.

The back side of the tag bundle...

So, there you have it Trisha! Thanks for a FUN FUN challenge!! Feel free to check out Trisha's blog. She's very talented and lots of fun!!!

TP roll Challenge!

2011-08-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Opps, I had these all packaged for mailing and forgot to take pictures! I know I'd always be wondering what those looked like? How did I do that? These are my six little pages made from toilet paper rolls. Yes! TP rolls. These six are going to the swap, and I'll get different ones back. Lots of fun! My next project with these will be a little TP Prayer book.

I love little pockets and tags, giving lots of room to write little messages (or prayers). Each one has at least three opportunities.

Wrapped and ready to send....

The Work of Angels!

2011-08-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago my friend Joice invited me to have a journey with some angels. They were at her house for five days, then, five days later, came to visit me. That was only last Wednesday. Wow... have they been doing some work!

First of all, appropriately, I was at our timeshare last Tuesday through Friday, at ANGEL'S CAMP(!), in a concentrated effort to work on our store's cookbook. I invited the angels in on Wednesday, and sure enough, by Friday I had my goal of 100 pages and 130 recipes typed and formatted! (Thank you, thank you!) Then, when I got home Friday afternoon, I see they've been working hard with my wonderful husband, putting in new (recycled) windows in my bedroom!

Wow... what a difference! I now have a wonderful writing alcove! This used to be the closet, and we took off the doors and kept my huge Armoire in there. Now, it's a lovely place, illuminated and full of light. My writing desk fits perfect. You can see my "Mother Mary" painting in the middle of the windows, but it's hard to make out the Bali woodcarving we found at a yard sale yesterday for just $15! There's lots of stuff still in piles, waiting for their new home/placement in my room.

Ok... here's a closeup, please don't notice the piles of stuff. But isn't the woodcarving perfect?

So, here's where Bill moved the Armoire. It closes off a window, but it allows the most room, and for my bed to be centered on the door, a perfect view of the morning light in the Redwoods. I'm toying with the idea of putting in another window, right there where you see blank wall. Then again, it's a wall I could be hanging some art on!

We hung wonderful sheers behind my bed, still lets in lots of light. Here's another blank piece of wall I could hang art on.

Aarg... here are piles of items needing to come back into the room.... or do they? You can see, I still haven't finished my Sacred Madonna painting. When she's finished, she might look cool on that piece of empty wall, where I'm thinking window. What do you think?

So, these wonderful angels have been creating much magic! And I am so grateful. Ok, so I know the room looks like a gypsy lives here.... but I LOVE all the color!

Another wonderful awareness came this week. (Thank you again, Angels.) A friend called to talk about relationship issues and I shared a lot about why Bill and I get along so great, almost 20 years now. Here are three JEWELS:
1. Give up being right.
2. Stop trying to figure out the "why?" of anything.
3. Don't try to fix things. ("Fixing" things often keeps you embroiled in the problem. Focus on what you do want, give that the "fixing" energy!)
We've been pretty happy these last few years, and I'm thinking these simple items are at the crux of living peacefully and joyfully! It's working for us!

So, I'm grateful for the angels and all their miracles. I hope you'll invite them into your life and home!
Namaste!

Can't resist showing you this! My "Baby" isn't a baby anymore!

Fun tags

2011-08-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Well... browsing Etsy yesterday, I found some lovely tags that would be perfect to sell in my store (Boulder Creek Antiques and Art). But why spend $4 when I could make them myself! So, SIX hours later.... here is what I came up with. It was fun, and I think worth the effort. I still have a lot to learn in Photoshop. Actually, I'm printing them on heavy card stock, backing them with cardstock lined paper, rounding the corners, inking the edges, and using a sweet ribbon to finish them off.

Chunky Prayer Book - SOLD!

2011-08-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday Update.....
HOORAY! I put this in my shop two days ago and a gentleman bought it as a surprise for his wife today! I LOVE when my artwork sells! Thank you God!

Well, this is what I've been working on all week. I love the way it turned out. I'm posting lots of pictures and will try to describe each.

This is the cover. I love the saying: Good Morning, this is God..... I made bunches of little 1x1" stamps... thought these looked good here.

I had to make another "Holy Rose" for the cover since the regular ones are too big. This one uses only a few Bible die cuts, the regular one uses 10, and it's really full and pretty. ALSO.... haven't got ribbons in every color you'd like? I just slipped this organza cream colored ribbon over my blue ink pad.

Page 2...I made a place to tuck a little journal card... used vintage Bible paper that I glued together to make a more study card-stock paper. Note the vintage gimp trim at the bottom. I have rolls and rolls of this, in lots of colors. Probably should sell it on Etsy.

The backs of some of the tags tucked in, perfect for little prayers or thankfulness notes.

Can you guess what I made this card holder out of? Yet... coffee sleeve.Ran it through the embosser. (Sorry for blurry pictures... morning coffee jitters!)

I kinda like the circular journal cards. A little whimsey.

I found some new fonts on http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/ I LOVE this one! Made up pages of phrases in fabulous fonts to use where ever.

I made a collage sheet of these bird cages with different birds, and cages. Still have a few to go before I'll list the collage sheet on Etsy. So much fun! and they are perfect for tags.

I like designing my own papers... here you see one of the rulers from my ruler sheet, plus the black Deco roses.

I spent most of yesterday morning making tags with positive affirmations on them... including a few Unity prayers and the Serenity prayer. The back side of these little tags are free for journaling.

More positive messages....

Here's the back of one of the affirmation prayer cards. These are two cardstock weight papers, glued together... makes a nice, sturdy little card. Oh... and the little strings are vintage (really old!) embroidery threads!

I love the swirl papers.... made them using a free Photoshop brush from Brusheezy. http://www.brusheezy.com/Patterns/1403-Different-Pattern. When I design my papers, I make several layers underneath, all in coordinating colors. This is a vintage button. The layout is on more of the Bible pages made strong.

Just a fun little layout... plus cute little easy-peesy flowers.

I'm so happy with these tags! Want to make lots more. Maybe 31? one for each day of the month? A great inspiration... or maybe make into a 31 page mini journal? Oh man, I get more ideas than I can keep up with!

Another style of my "Holy Roses"... made with the heavy Bible pages.

This multi-layered band goes all the way around the page.... great for tucking. The Holy Rose stops it from sliding off the page.

And here is the back side where I can slide a larger tag easy-peezy.

Mystele (http://www.mystele.com/) taught me to USE EVERYTHING! Now I have a bin full of packaging materials... this tag is a shiny piece of cardstock (from something I've forgotten). I embossed it, stained it, and glued journal lines on the back. It really has a nice feel to it. I highly recommend starting a bin and tossing in all kinds of packaging materials.

This blue-striped paper is actually vintage wallpaper that I fooled around with on Photoshop... I have it now in several colors.

There are over 30 tags for journaling in this book.

The roses on this paper were from a stained glass window. I isolated my favorite rose, then copied and arranged it to make a little pocket. I made a polka-dot paper in several colors.

Love is a great answer!

And finally, the back cover... nice and sturdy... no pockets or stuff to get roughed up. Oh, and I even signed it. People keep telling me it's important to sign my work.

Top view....

Lastly, as I finished taking these pictures this morning I happened to look out my window.....
Good Morning God!

Another Mini.... FRIENDSHIP

2011-08-10T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is what I've been working on all week. It's a steep learning curve, but a lot of fun along the way. I've designed all my own papers in Photoshop and printed them on 80lb art paper. Almost every page provides space for journaling. Lots of little pockets, lots of cute tags.

Any comments, suggestions, etc. would be so appreciated. I work alone here in the woods. I'd love to get some feedback!
Thanks for looking!

I've been BIZZZZZY!

2011-07-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

I've been a BIZZY BEE these past few weeks. Bought a Sizzix embossing/die cutting thing and have been totally involved creating fun die cuts. I invented "Holy Roses".... cute flowers made from an antique Bible. I'll post a few pictures here but you can't really see through my packaging. I used them on some greeting cards and already sold one in my shop. I'll post some close ups next post.

Have a wonderful summer day!

Here are the flowers all packaged for merchandising.... You can kinda see them.

Here's one of the cards. Also used vintage lace, images, button and ribbon.

And another card....

Here's the little table I covered with a quilt, to show off my cupcakes, journals, cards, etc.

Here's the wall. I've sold so much, it's almost bare! Hafta switch gears and squeeze out those acrylics. I've got a great idea for a teapot painting. Plus! I still have to bring in my "Pup-Cake" paintings (with Molly, my Saint Bernard, and a cupcake.) Barbara suggested I make a stack of cupcake paintings on a raised cake plate. Looks cute I think.

First Mini Album

2011-07-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

So... here is my very first mini-album I made just yesterday for my 8 year old niece. Lots of fun. I left much undone, and slipped in extra die cut papers, flowers, ribbons, etc. for Hailey to work on herself. I started it, she gets to finish it. All in all, it was a fabulous training! Oh... and I designed all the papers myself in Photoshop.

A TAG Book

2011-07-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

I've been decorating tags this week and suddenly came up with this idea. I love making journals. I love making tags. Put them together.... tada! a TAG JOURNAL, blank and ready for to embellish. I've even left the strings in the tags. (They are real shipping tags.)Listed today on ETSY.

Bingo Art Journal

2011-07-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Whoot Whoot! I just finished this sweet BINGO CARD art journal! It's a fun piece with over 50 sheets of heavy 100lb art paper. I designed a fun collage for the back page which I laminated for extra strength. Now for sale in my ever expanding ETSY SHOP! Stop by and take a look!

a Freebee from Me to YOu

2011-07-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

I found this delightful little book "A Calendar of Friendship", dated 1922, at a wonderful garage sale today. I scanned all the images and have produced an 8 page jpeg digital download on Etsy.There are seven pages of four images, and one page of the cover. That's 28 fabulous graphics!

But I'm giving away this page. Simple cut and paste it, or drag it to your desktop or document.Then, you can cut and paste any part of the pages... just the graphics, the sayings, or the whole thing. These will make fabulous tags!
Sending Peace, Love, and Joy
Sweet Blessings,

Getting Active with ETSY!!

2011-07-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

OK...I'm hopping on board the Etsy train! I listed several things yesterday. Gotta clean out my overflowing stash of art supplies! Check out my listings HERE.

Here is a preview:
SOLD - Thank You!

A sweet little journal to jot down your dreams, hopes, art ideas, etc.

Another little journal made from original seed packets.

A fabulous wooden cigar box!
SOLD - Thank You!

I won over 100 of these Copic markers on eBay last month, not realizing how many were duplicates. So, I've listed those as well!
SOLD - Thank You!

PLUS! There's lots more. I'll be cleaning out my stash(s) and listing every day!

Greeting Card Art

2011-07-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

I've been having so much fun since school let out this summer. No more classes on my schedule. No more writing assignments or watercolor portfolios. Don't get me wrong! I love school! I'm excited to be learning (at my age)! I'm just loving the unstructured time.

And, as usual, I'm all over the map. Haven't touched my Sacred Madonna painting this week. Instead, I've been working on some watercolor pages to make into greeting cards. And, in the middle of that, I got an idea about creating a collage including Molly and cupcakes. My hubby thinks I should call them "Pup-Cakes".

I'll play with these prints in Photoshop, and will include phrases, quotes, etc.

What do you think?

Ta DA! Yummy Yummy paper play!

2011-07-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well, today I finished a beautiful piece of work, if I do say so myself. I was commissioned to create a beautiful, thick journal for an art presentation. Well, Beth and I have had fun, emailing back and forth, sometimes over-the-top with ideas. Finally, it's done!

Beth created the front and back covers using a yummy thick book board. She decorated it with a beautiful border and a sweet bird looking in.

Inside, is 20 luxurious, yummy, tantalizing, thick, 300 pound watercolor paper pages, measuring 12 by 12 inches. (Enough to drool over! True watercolor eye-candy!) She also asked that I mount a blank sheet to the inside front and back covers. Her plan is to use this journal as her portfolio for her own art work. I can't wait to see how it looks chock full of her beautiful designs.

I love working with the deckle edged paper. Even tearing the pages was a treat! And I love how no two pages are exactly the same. The deckle edges peek out around the edges.

The binding is huge! 1 1/2 inch clear coil, so the book will open and lay flat.

Like I said, a beautiful job! Thanks Beth for letting me create this for you!

Oh... and here are the pics!

Oh... just for desert... here's little Molly taking a nap on my bed.... (I don't know which I like better, the 300lb watercolor paper, or Molly's tummy. Nope, no contest. Molly wins!

Hooray! My Favorite Writing Teacher's BOOK got PUBLISHED!!

2011-06-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hooray! Marcy Allencraig, my favorite Creative Writing teacher, just got her book published!

A WOMAN OF HEART
(click on the title)

You can find it on Amazon. I just downloaded mine to read on my Droid! Looks like a wonderful summer read!

Sacred Madona - Developing stages

2011-06-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Got back to painting her yesterday afternoon.....

I'm not content with her dress yet.... any ideas?

Here you can see my aviary (still no birds), my Black Madonna from last year, and Holy Mother Mary

Pictures of my Yosemite Sketch Book

2011-06-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of the Sketchbook I created for my Yosemite trips.
The cover is a collage, using some beautiful papers as the background for a print of an acrylic painting I did of Yosemite, Tunnel View, last year. I love photoshop... I added a pic of me peering over the valley. Added a few collaged rocks and flowers. A coat of varnish makes it sturdy. The front and back covers start with a heavy cardboard/matboard with the paper collaged on.

Here's the inside and a few sketches....

And here is the back cover with more of my original art collaged on.

2011-06-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hooray.... Blogger is working again. Here are the pictures from my blocking in stage. This is only the foundation. It will look very different!

My Madonna... Early Stages

2011-06-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Good morning and happy Solstice. It's hot. Hooray, summer finally arrived! I've been working on my Black Madonna this week. Shilo's class HERE is fabulous! I'm taking this nice and slow, sacred step at a time. My canvas is huge: 30x40", the biggest I've ever worked on. I started by writing a prayer on the blank canvas, then covered that up with black gesso, then several drippy glazes of aqua blue, deep blue, and red, spraying water constantly to get a drippy, melded look. I love how the light aqua showed through.

Then I meditated again and, while I did have several sketches of what I wanted.... something about the shadow on the canvas revealed the Sacred Madonna. I usually paint when the sun is behind the three huge Redwoods, these pictures were taken afterwards.

Wow... for what ever reason, the pictures wont load today. Bummer. I'll try again later.

Sweet Blessings, Chris

Day 13 A Lovely Easy Monday

2011-06-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Ah... no big commitments this week. No classes. No homework. No writing or painting assignments. I can do what I want. What a luxury!

So, today I painted Color Drop Flowers and made 16 greeting cards. I think they turned out cute. They are mounted on really cool green paper from Napal.

A Lazy Sunday, Day 12

2011-06-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

Wow... greatest of intentions. I was going to paint all day. WAS. Instead we moved some front porch furniture, mainly my porch swing, and created a planting bench. I was going to say it was a do-nothing day... but playing in my garden was something!

Originally, I bought this metal rack to display quilts at quilt shows... now it's 're-purposed' and works great as a garden bench.

Some of the succulents I potted....

A "Chinese Bell" potted today...

Does our porch look too gaudy? It's my favorite room of the house!

I love the moss growing on our bricks..

My cottage garden has grown wild.... I love it!

We had to put a little fence around my Quan Yin garden.... Molly and Lulu loved to wrestle there! Everything will come back though, just not the pups!

I don't remember ever planting this. I think it's called a Dollar Plant?

So, it really has been a relaxing, art-filled day! Nature's art.
Sweet Blessings

Saturday June 11 Yosemite Watercolor Sketchbook

2011-06-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

I just love using up the pages in this sketchbook.
I put on some finishing touches to this valley view that we did on site with Geri on Tuesday.

Then today I played around with sketching some rocks. Still have some to learn, Practice makes perfect... well maybe not perfect, but practice brings improvement! So here are some of today's rocks and a tree, just to fill up the page.

A great blog to check out!

2011-06-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

PLUS! she's giving away a beautiful journal. Leave a comment, and you might win it!

SPARKLE BLUE FAERY

Have a great, art-inspired, Saturday!

Friday, June 10

2011-06-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have one of those "do-nothing" days? I was so excited about having nothing scheduled for today... giving me so much time to explore and paint those rocks.

But, nothing. No motivation. Pure procrastination.

So I visited some cousins for coffee. Called my niece and nephew, sons and granddaughter.

Family connections. That's something.

Thursday, June 8th Always Glad to be Home Again

2011-06-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

I actually thought it would be easy to sleep in my car! Thought that I could take my little Honda CRV and just zoom up to Yosemite, saving on the cost of gas. Brother! Wrong. It just wasn't worth the misery of tossing and turning on the lumpy car seats. Next time, I'm taking my comfy van!

It's always good to be home again. In just two days little Molly has grown! Here she is with her first bone....

No art today, just catching up around the house and got to have coffee with a friend I hadn't seen in a few years.

Wait! I didn't actually do any painting or crafting.... BUT I did start Shilo Sophia's BLACK MADONNA SACRED PAINTING class! This looks to be an amazing on-line class, just four weeks. Check it out HERE. I collaged just a few of her images to show you. It's not too late to get in on the class! Last nights phone call has been recorded so you can catch up fast!

Wednesday, June 8th, Stayed an extra day & I'm SO GLAD I did!

2011-06-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh... I told Geri how much I like her rock paintings, so she took us to a small creek right in front of the medical center... a new place I had not discovered before. Nicely shaded, a few benches to sit on, and a creek overflowing with the melting snow run-off.

At first she demonstrated an ambitious view of the cascading water rushing over the granite rocks....
it was fabulous to watch her develop this... but we all felt overwhelmed, there was sooo much to translate to paper.

So, she moved downstream a few yards and focused on just a few rocks, with minimal water flow in the background. I took so many pictures in progress, here is one well into it. She used a toothbrush to splatter color on the larger rocks. Later she covers the rocks with layers and layers of translucent washes.

As you can see here, while the painting is not done, she has magically translated the life, light, magnificence of these simple boulders!

I had to boogie home before the class was finished for the day. Sadly, I haven't seen the finished painting. She's still in Yosemite, teaching through the end of the week. Hopefully she will post this picture on her website in the future! I just FELL IN LOVE with her technique! I spent the whole class time just focusing on her step by step development and didn't paint myself. But I fully intend to get one started asap!

Tuesday, June 7th, Yosemite Valley Art Center

2011-06-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

This last minute trip was so worth it. Geri Medway is a fabulous artist, very detailed oriented.

I LOVE the way she does rocks! But today she has us out on the edge of a meadow painting the wonderful light on Half Dome, bouncing off the new green meadow grass.

I like to take many photos as her demo develops...

Here's a closeup......

Then, the light changes, as it does so quickly in the valley.... and I had to catch this amazing cloud formation!

Even in this light, you can see the multitude of hues in the meadow grasses.

Monday June 6 A quick trip to YOSEMITE!

2011-06-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

She always calls me
The Holy Mother
Yosemite Valley Her Wonderful Womb
"Come and be still
Find the beat of my heart
Still your monkey mind
Deeply listening
You find me here"

Plus, an amazing watercolor teacher GERI MEDWAY will be on hand! Yosemite Art Center offers amazing art classes, 30 weeks of the year. Find their listings HERE, or look back to last month's posts where I linked their whole season's offerings.

Not bad for a Senior Citizen!

2011-06-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Grade Point Average by Term

Term
Spring 2011

Total Earned Credits	Total Grade Points	Term GPA
12.00	48.00	4.000

Course/Section and Title	Grade	Credits
DM-4 70163 Digital Graphics Photoshop	A	3.00
ENGL-14A 70318 Adv.Fiction Workshp	A	3.00
ART-37B 69803 Watercolor	A	3.00
ENGL-14E 73919 Autobiography Workshop	A	3.00

Ahhh... no more classes - a day at the beach!

2011-06-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm finally calming down. School, classes, assignments, portfolios... a thing of the past. Today I headed to my favorite beach spots, just to sit, meditate, and do some simple art journaling.

This is the mighty view from my comfortable seat in my van... surprise! I get good internet reception here! (Not that I use it!)

Then, I got rousted! You now need a permit to park in this area on a weekend day. A year's pass is only $30, but you only need the permit on the weekend. Crazy! So I relocated to my favorite, BEST EVER parking spot on the Wharf.... What a view! Feels just like I'm on a cruise ship! (This is in Santa Cruz, by the way)

So, I ordered the clam chowder, and fiddled around with these two Art Journal pages:

Day 4 - Watercolor Class Pictures

2011-06-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

As promised... here are pictures of our final projects. I wish my pictures could capture the extreme beauty and talent exhibited. I'm going to miss these wonderful fellow artists!
Enjoy their works....

Day 3 - Last day of classes

2011-06-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today was my watercolor class critique.... wow! I am so impressed by the caliber of art that everyone presented. Too late tonight to post the pictures... I'll show you tomorrow.

For tonight though, here are some of my colordrop paintings I did yesterday.

Day 2 of 30 Last series for my watercolor class

2011-06-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it was chilly outside, and Molly was a sleepy puppy, so I had lots of time to work on finishing my portfolio for my watercolor class tomorrow. It's our last day, and it's been a fabulous class. WONDERFUL women, and a few men, have made this an amazing class. I will post pictures from our grand finale critique tomorrow.

Here's what I accomplished today....

I actually went back in and changed this a bit. I like the color on the third painting, so I darkened this up, plus finished the sign. (I'll try to remember to post the finish one tomorrow.) (Oh, this is my antique shop in Boulder Creek.)

Then I did a closeup of just our door....

I like the richness of the color in this one, plus, the trees look better too. But I like the angle of the first one, rather than the straight on view.

June 1 - 30 Day Blogging Committment

2011-06-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ok! I'm going to commit to blogging every day this month. School is almost over, two more presentations: one today, a reading from my memoir class portfolio, then Friday I have to submit my special projects portfolio for my watercolor class.

Here's a look at all three from just one of my Yosemite studies. Here, I'm doing Half Dome in several styles. I decided I liked the path leading into the painting. Still not happy with either one though.

I'd really appreciate any comments. Which do you like best? why?

Here is one view where I tried to break up the path more, plus use color-drop technique for most of it. I'm not happy with the way the blue sky hugs the horizon. I painted this from a picture of a really amazing setting sun. This is looking east, where the sun shines on Half Dome right at sunset. I lightened up the foreground too much though.

This one, I actually did first, making the foreground darker.

Then, since I need three versions for each study... I painted this yesterday, using a "tree-scape" I painted before. The light here also shows the reflection of the setting sun.

More tomorrow!
Namaste and Sweet Blessings

Mornings with Molly

2011-05-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ok... I'm officially over the top. I created Molly's own BLOG. After all, this is my blog, supposedly full of my writings, art work and general musings. Maybe I'm obsessing too much on her... but she's so darn adorable!

Here's only one more picture (on this blog), you can check her DAILY POSTINGS HERE.

Here she is a few minutes ago, morning play time on my bed....

And, here she is now, napping sweet dreams, while I write in my journal and catch up on my blogging. I am so grateful for such a rich life and simple pleasures!

Do you think I'm crazy for creating her own blog?
Also, I'm creating a new look for this blog. Haven't got it all figured out yet. What do you think?

Miss Molly

2011-05-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Have to post these pictures.... maybe I should be working on my final watercolor project for class... but she is too much fun to watch! (lol)

Helping sweep up....

Makes a perfect outdoor bed!

MEET MOLLY!

2011-05-25T17:12:00.000-07:00

We just brought her home today. Eight weeks old, 20 pounds, beautiful Saint Bernard puppy, has captured my heart!

COLOR DROP FLOWERS

2011-05-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

I just took the online class COLOR DROP FLOWERS, taught by Martha Lever, and I love the way these have turned out. They are just fun, light, airy, and colorful. I'm thinking of doing some stamping on them, mounting them to greeting cards to sell.

This last one is my favorite.

Goodbye dear DAISY

2011-05-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Sad to say, I had to say goodbye to my dear soul mate, DAISY. I had 9 1/5 fabulous years with her sleeping at the side of my bed, her resting her huge English Mastiff head on my knee, and her sweet prancing greeting me every time I returned home.

Rest in PEACE my darling Daisy.

My Original ART JOURNALS now on Etsy!

2011-05-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hooray.... I finally did it. I've been making my own art journals for a while now... and I've wanted to create some to sell on Etsy... (you can see them with descriptions here) I used really great quality 140lb watercolor and 100lb sketching papers.
This what they look like.

This next one is really neat! I took apart a vintage art history book to make a larger journal.

Inside the front cover is a pocket with five prints, but anything could be put in there.

And I spiral bound the contents because it's still great information and could be used also for altered journal pages.

And who doesn't remember the Bobbsey Twins! I love this little art journal... perfect for field work or visual journals.

My Aviary Mural

2011-05-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

We scored a beautiful aviary off Craig's List, FREE!! Painted a dull grey, I'm excited to liven it up a bit.
Here's what I've got so far.....

Art Classes at Yosemite

2011-05-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

So... here is a listing of the art classes for the rest of the year. They only ask $5 donation and, as you can see, there are some fabulous artists scheduled. I try to get up for four or five a year. Enjoy.See you there!

May 10^th-May14th	Fealing Lin	Watercolor: Fresh and Loose
May 17^th-May 21rst	Sonja Hamilton	Watercolor: Waterfalls and Dogwoods
May24th- May 28^th	Janice Powell Shedd	Watercolor Workshop
May 31rst-June 4th	Roger Folk	Watercolor
June 7^th- June 11^th	Geri Medway NWS	Experiencing Yosemite in Watercolor
June 14^th- June 18^th	Tom Fong	Watercolor: Bold and Free
June 21rst-June 25^th	Robert Dvorak	Watercolor
June 28^th- July 2^nd	Margaret Mohr	Capture the Beauty: Watercolor
July5th-July 9^th	Ann Raglan Bowns	Silk Painting
July 12^th- July 16^th	Byron Spicer	Abstract Fun With Landscape: Acrylic
July 19^th- July 23^rd	Linda Mitchell	Enjoying Watercolor
July 26^th- July 30^th	Dana Childs	The Many Faces of Half Dome: Watercolor
August2nd- August 6^th	Mariko Lofink	Watercolor Views of Yosemite
August 9^th-August 13^th	David Deyell	Watercolor
August16^th-August 20^th	Carol Earle	Pastel
August 23^rd- August 27^th	Kirah VanSickle	Dynamic Acrylic, Color and Composition
August 30^th-September 3rd	Osamu Saito	Experience Yosemite with Watercolor
September 6^th-Sept, 10^th	Doug Castleman	Watercolor
Sept 13^th-Sept 17^th	James Weil/	Painting Yosemite in Color, Acrylic
Sept. 20^th- September 24^th	Linda Nadel	Watercolor Basics
Sept. 27t- October 1rst	B. Beaudreau PSWA	Yosemite in Pastel
October 4^th- October 8^th	Robert Duvall	Yosemite using opaque watercolor, gouache
October 11^th- Octobe15^th	Marcy Wheeler	Impressive, Expressive Yosemite: acrylic
October 18^th-October 22nd	John Hewitt	Watercolor Landscape
October 24^th- October 29th	Pam Pederson	Pen and Ink sketching with Watercolor

Yosemite in May

2011-05-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

Spend another amazing five days in the Valley.... Lower Pines Campsite #39, right on the river. Here are some shots of my "studio", and several of the paintings I did last week.

I had to wait until the shadows covered my table about three in the afternoon. So inspirational having the river right there!

This is Fern Springs... gallons and gallons of water coming up from the ground to create Yosemite's smallest waterfall!

Here, I tried something different... used Copic pens. I think the Yosemite part of the picture gets lost in her too bright colors.

Here is where I painted in the morning and early afternoon.

I'd get lost in thought... or maybe not even thinking, just breathing and staring at the roots of this amazing tree... clinging to the washed out bank, it's top roots are searching for soil. The Merced River is quite high because the warm weather is melting the snow. I watched it rise almost 12" during one early evening. Yes, I sat there for over two hours, just mediating on the flow of water and the amazing light show on the North Face granite wall.

So, I had to paint it.

Tried a new style (Obata) of the falls.

And another abstract of the valley. Mixing the colors, wet into wet, right on the paper was fun.

New Water Color Journal I'm Designing

2011-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Oh my.... I love, love, love creating Water Color Journals! Been working on a project using antique Art History Books, removing the pages and using the covers for the front and backs of some really big Water Color Journals. I want to use the best, so I'm using 140 pound professional paper.... really, really nice. I'm not going to show those here, yet. Not wanting to waste a pinch of paper, so I'm using the 3" and 4" scraps,by also creating some really small journals to carry in a purse or art bag. These will be about 3x6 inches or so. Landscape style, perfect for Visual Journals. Of course, the 140lb paper is a delight to draw, paint, or collage on.

So, here are the covers I just created digitally in Photoshop. I'm loving the vintage card. Any comments would be so greatly appreciated!

Sweet Blessings, Chris

My Watercolor Sketch Visual Journal for Yosemite

2011-04-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

Just felt like sharing a bit this morning. Actually, I'm making a sketch journal for a dear friend based on the one I created for myself. So here are a few pics from my watercolor sketch journal designed primarily for Yosemite....

I love the look and feel of the pages of watercolor paper. I included both 140 and 300 pound papers. Makes for a thick, luxurious journal to paint in.

This better shows the cover... I did a collage of an acrylic painting I did last year. Photoshop is great... can you see me peeking over the top?

Just some sketches. First I did a more realistic watercolor sketch, then tried to do something abstract.

I'm including birds, flowers (not shown) and rocks of Yosemite. It's so amazing, with all the magnificent granite beauty, to just focus down on the small stuff. It pauses time for a moment.

This is the back cover showing more collaged elements. Note the pinecone... that was from a class last year, again, focusing down on the little elements.

Home again, working in bed, beautiful Redwoods just before the sun comes up. Trixie is taking a stretch.

Great Reading

2011-04-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

For my occasional reader: I want to share this fabulous site with you.

http://www.pixelofink.com/

I've been enjoying reading Kindle editions on my little Droid phone. It's amazing to be able to pull it out, especially when I'm caught unexpectedly having to wait for something, too early for an appointment, dining alone, etc. I've read a number of great books lately: Unbroken: A WWII Story of Survival, The Woman Warrior (Maxine Hong Kingston); The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls); The Florist's Daughter, (Patricia Hampl), and Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese) REALLY EXCELLENT, and my favorite read of these past few months. I'm also reading Dicken's Great Expectations.

Another thing I love about my Droid/Kindle is that I can change the size of type for easy reading with tired eyes, and I don't need any light since the little screen is lit up. And it's so easy to turn the pages with just touching the right side of the screen.

Anyway... I'm excited to have come upon this site recommending free and cheap Kindle books!

Enjoy! and Sweet Blessings for a Beautiful Spring Sunday!

Namaste.

More Yosemite.....

2011-04-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Finally! the snow stopped falling. It's still quite cold, but at least I can find some sun to warm up in! I'm in the dense Pines campground, so I drive to a sunny meadow first thing in the morning, to watch the sun rise on the granite! It's about 7:30am here.

On Sunday, I settle in for a few hours in an amazing spot overlooking the Sentinel Bridge meadow, right onto both the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. I was here for about three hours, all the time cars would stop, people would pause and snap a picture or two, then move on, maybe spending five minutes at the most. What they missed, was the changing shadows on the ridges, the sight and the SOUND of the ice breaking away and falling into the cascades below. Many didn't even notice the perfect mirror reflection of the falls in the melting snow waters below (right in front of me). I've painted from this spot during the summer and it's all green grass and wildflowers. Here, the snow has just begun to melt.

Here's a closeup of the chunks of ice that break free to loudly crash below.

This is a tiny field sketch of the falls. I actually took an artist liberty and moved the lower falls a little closer center to the upper falls, all to fit into a linear painting that I'll do in my studio at home. (Where it's warm!) A field sketch is a tiny vision of a proposed painting, where you try to catch the shadows, colors, etc. I love having that personal, close relationship with every rock, as I individual paint it. It seems much more intimate than snapping a pic and moving on. (Maybe I'm weird.)

Later that day, I moved to the meadow across from Camp Curry and I try to capture the late afternoon light on North Dome.

Here is what I was actually looking at. Again, this is a small field study, only about 4x5 inches.