The Art of Life

And here's Mina

2012-02-01T20:16:00.001-08:00

Yes, I reused the same picture I used in her baptism keepsake, but it's a great pic of her. She's just too cute.

Not on my to-do list

2012-01-31T17:29:00.000-08:00

Or my idea list, either. But I started doing these today because I found it relaxing. And I didn't have to worry about Roadshow practices or Girl Scout cookie booths or Young Women activities or the young women themselves. Or even my kids, for that matter. Nothing but me, Photoshop, and InDesign, playing with typefaces. I don't care if it's the fad nowadays. I don't care if everyone's doing it. It completely made me happy :) I will do more again tomorrow when I find the right quotes for each of them.

And another

2012-01-31T01:30:00.000-08:00

I am not sure how well this turned out, I haven't looked at it outside of InDesign yet, but as it's after 2 a.m. I'll worry more about that tomorrow. gnight.

baptism announcement

2012-01-30T00:04:00.000-08:00

made this today for Mina's baptism. To give props where props are due, I copied this layout, but I didn't like the capital I in Scriptina's typeface, and I wanted different typefaces for the names. Not sure I like those polka-dots, either... I just might change them...

--edit -- i'm totally having a guilt trip about copyright infringement here... so I just might have to rearrange the whole thing so my conscience feels better.

Window Fun!

2012-01-28T21:09:00.000-08:00

We painted the window to advertise our Girl Scout cookies. It turned out ok :) I will post pictures in a bit. I found my next window project for valentines day. And it's great, because I will just have to oversee, and all of my kids can help with it!

Check out this "tutorial" for the best window art ever.

Progress

2012-01-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

Things I have accomplished in the past two weeks:

* custom pedigree charts for my grandfather's side
* scanning in, labeling, and organizing pictures on my grandfather's side of the family and some of my grandmother's. Also labeling and posting all of the reunion pictures that were in my grandparent's reunion album.

* editing the road show, scheduling the building for roadshow meetings and auditions

* Helping the girls sell their cookies. low low sales this year...

feels like I've done more than that, but I can't really remember. I've worked on multiple different projects. I have many many many ideas for more. I want to do a Gemini picture of myself... half normal dressed up me, have kind of crazy me... I also want to do a mirror shot... dreams dreams dreams. I need to figure out how to do it.

Book Art!

2012-01-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

I'm still geeking out about the U of U traveling Book Arts program!!!! Soooo coool!!!

Geneology

2012-01-12T23:53:00.000-08:00

I know, I don't have enough to do already... ha!

I have started organizing all of the pictures that I scanned in from my grandparents books. Identifying who people are, putting them in folders, and sorting out families vs friends.

And, I'm making pedigree charts. I have PaF, which, you know, is handy dandy, but their reports are sooooo hard to read. They're just full of data and information, so the names kind of get lost amid all the type. So I'm making my own charts. Easy to read ones with little to no information other than names and two generations of siblings. And stars by the names that I have a life story for. I'd post an example here, but my grandparents are still alive and I don't want to put their full names up for the entire world to see.

I created a facebook group for my family, and I've been posting the life stories and pedigree charts and pictures there. It's actually quite time consuming, and in doing that, I completely forgot to prepare for my Young Women retreat this weekend. I'm supposed to teach and pass-off three different "Knowledge" value experiences. I'm not sure that's going to happen, but what the heck. I'll try. I just have no idea at all how I'm going to do it.

I have an idea ( I know, I know, I have TONS of ideas ) but I want to do a series of illustrated charts to go with each section of life stories and pictures so that the names and dates and places make sense to whoever reads the life stories. That has nothing to do with the Young Women thing, and everything to do with Geneology again. So many ideas, so little time!!!

I have not yet figured out how to divide my time up between Mom, Young Women, Girl Scouts, artist, and family historian... Oh and Road Show director. Crap. I need to call the committee members and get started with casting, props, music, etc.

quotes

2012-01-11T13:40:00.001-08:00

yeah, yeah... I'm jumping on the quote bandwagon. But I loved this quote, so I played for a bit in photoshop and InDesign with it.

Portfolio site

2012-01-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

Since I do not feel like learning how to program, I simply created another Blog for my portfolio. The great thing about this is that I can add to it whenever I want. Here, I can post sketches and thoughts, there I will post finished work that I feels reflects my best efforts. There is a whole series of posters I did for the youth that I wish I could post there, but I cannot. With that said, here is my portfolio site now :) It's simple, but it works.

http://vansoolenartworks.blogspot.com/

In other news, I have purchased the 3x3 wood sheets for paintings. I have borrowed the dremel bit kit that I need to texturize the board the way I want it. I've got the housework done to a point I'm ok with leaving it, and am now going to go play in my workshop in the basement with power tools! Off I go to sand, texturize, and stain before I get down to the nitty-gritty of painting.

Web Sites and Blogging

2012-01-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be a good idea to have a portfolio web site up again with all of my art work. Apparently Comcast doesn't think so. They advertise that you have 25mb of space for a web site per user account. They advertise that you can put blogs and gadgets and all kinds of fun things up there to personalize it. They even call it a Personal Web Page. You can find all of this information in the Help / FAQ area. What you cannot find, however, is a link to actually get there. I used their "ask me" robot help, and it directed me to comcast.net, to look for a "More+" link, to click on "comcast services" and from there to select "personal web page". ha. firstly there is no "More+" link anywhere on the right side of the page. Or the left. There IS a link called "Comcast Services" down at the very freakin bottom of the page that does NOT include anything web page related under it. So if you really want a working website using their free services, the easiest and least frustrating way to do it is to build it yourself and FTP upload it. Because they apparently don't want you using their templates or engines.

I think, however, that maybe I should just use my blog. Forget Comcast. There should be a creative way to turn this into a portfolio, right? If only I knew Flash better...

photo references

2011-12-30T16:41:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the references for the paintings I want to do. As canvas is too expensive, I need to go get some plywood. In fact, I really want to do the civil rights painting on wood. The phoenix one will look cool on whatever surface. ... I'm really tempted to paint that one digitally just so I can work on something while I wait for materials to do oil painting. At any rate, here's basic reference files just so I can show that I have been working.

I RESOLVE to paint a picture in January.

ideas in my head

2011-12-20T20:13:00.000-08:00

images in my head that I hope I will be able to paint this year. (well, if not paint, then do justice in some medium other than mind-drawing where only I can see it.) I am having issues actually performing the artistry. I have no problem dreaming it up. These ideas bounce around my head constantly. Yet I am afraid to paint them. My New Years Resolution is to try to do one a month so I have one for each holiday. Gotta get over that fear hurdle. Of course, that also requires canvas... 16x20 or 18x24.

A painting for the wall across from my entry door. One for each holiday. I need one for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Human Rights Day, Valentines, St. Patties, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, 24th of July?, something for August..., Labor Day, oh, and Veteran's Day. (I have one for Halloween)

I'll start with Christmas:
Christmas: Closeup of Mary's face, not sure if I want a baby Jesus or silhouette of Joseph and a donkey in the background
Human Rights Day: Close-up of Martin Luther King, Jr. - backdrop sillhouettes of ...protesters? buses? or maybe a collage of all of the prominent figures from the 50's and 60's. Malcom X, Rosa Parks, etc?
Valentines: Kitties & Ribbon
St. Patties: an Irish castle with close-up of leprachaun winking
Easter: Mary kissing the hands of Jesus?
Mother's Day: heather's pic of mom & kids in crazy land.
Father's Day: little boy wearing dad's shoes trying to walk while holding onto dad's finger
4th of July: tattered revolutionary flag interposed over washington & lincoln memorials
24th of July: woman in bonnet looking forward, handcart train behind her
August: no idea. Maybe something summerish and hot, like a child eating a popsicle or icecream cone?
Labor Day: play with incons of labor movment from the early 1900's?
Veterans Day: wwII icons with close-up of a soldier in gear, dirty and gritty, plane flying over?
Thanksgiving: Pilgrim & Indian - she's dirty and haggard and grateful, he's handing her a basket full of maize and a line of rabbit

Also bouncing around waiting to be done:

Charity picture book:
Armor of God picture book: I can see the images of a young woman in various bits of Japanese Armor - very sketchy pencil drawings, I just don't know what the story is. She's definitely an american girl, blond pony-tail. But she's wearing the old armor and using a kitana.
Phoenix Rising - I have all my photo references done for this except for some extra fire pics. woman lying on the ground burned to a crispy char, whilst newborn from the flames she is flying up above her dead self, something new, born again.
Warrior Mountains - I have quite a few photo-refs done for this, just need to start. ink on paper I think. images of pain, sadness, battle, horror, death that confront me everytime I look at the mountains. Spaniards, indians, angry angry gods of battle.
Turtle - deep-sea turtle with images of wendy, lee, sydney, elizabeth, and max worked into the patterns on the shell
fam portraits: same idea as turtle, but different animals for each of Rob's sisters
Values: series of portraits of my kids at various ages. pencil, I think.

Cultural Arts Specialist!!!

2011-11-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

Our Stake is doing Road Shows this year!!!!! I am so excited! And I have been asked to Chair the Cultural Arts "committee" that our ward is putting together.

The theme is "Modern Twist on Old Testament Stories" and we *think* our ward is getting Elijah and the Priests of Baal. !!! How cool is that!! I get to write the script and delegate props/casting/directing/etc... (if we don't get Elijah, we will get Esther or ... darn I can't remember the third one now.

Have I mentioned that I'm excited? :)

HUGE smiles here!!!!

Priests of Technology:

Priest of WoW
Priest of Sitcoms
Priest of Televised Sports
Priest of Texting
Priest of Ipods
Priest of Facebook
Priest of Movies
Priest of YouTube
Priest of Video Games
Priest of Gossip
Priest of Drama
Priest of Contention

Sacrifice: who can get the most friends? Pray to your god to see who will send the most friends to their location?

Sick person - Priests of Technology try everything in their sphere of influence (in a stupid way) to cure the sick person. Gossip person leaves food they're allergic to, Sports fans come in and leave doors open letting in a snake who bites them, Movie person scares them so bad they have a heart attack. Elijah prays and God not only cures the sick kid completely but ... ??

I am a melting pot

2011-11-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

The sum of my parts is made up of more than just me.

I have never been a girly-girl, but here I am, 38 years old, and finally loving table-cloths, flower arrangements, centerpieces, fantabulous shoes from justfab.com or steampunk or zappos... oooh, my heart flip flops when I see them. I bought a flat iron and love what it does to my hair. I am drinking more water to attempt to get my skin in better condition so makeup looks better.

I kinda like being a woman and girly and cute and fun. I can still be me... but the women who have influenced me have done so without even trying. They've simply just been themselves and my subconscious has seemed to absorb their essence and distilled it into a manifestation in my head. "the house looks plain. decorate. It's too cluttered, throw half of this junk out. here's an idea: how about everything in this one room actually try to match?" that kind of stuff.

Instead of just being grateful for my things, I feel driven to have them coordinate, match, look good. I want to build custom shelves and re-paint. While it's all an expression of me, it's amazing as I see influences from various people I've met and hung out with over the years. I don't think I'm trying to be just like them, but I do think I am trying to emulate something that I liked.

idea

2011-11-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

I have an idea for the young women. What if I assign them a piece of music that's 2 or 3 minutes long and have them create a "movie/slide show" about something in the Book of Mormon? or well... you can't really "assign" things for personal progress. But what if I suggest it as an idea, and then we can have a movie night and watch each others movies?

Handling discouragement

2011-11-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

So, I've been working out for one whole week. 20-30 mins of running plus another exercise of some sort - P90X or my own step aerobics or something. I've been feeling the pain in my legs and it's a good pain.

Today when I stepped on the Wii Fit scale to take my weekly measurements, I found myself exceedingly discouraged because I've gained five pounds. I KNOW muscle weighs more than fat. I KNOW wearing the same thing every time you weigh and weighing at the same time of day makes a difference. But for some reason I feel like I've been punched.

I will NOT, however, give up. It's just the first week, and there are never immediate results in this type of thing. I will lose the weight and get back down to where I feel comfortable in my skin. It will happen, because I've been feeling better. And I know anything is possible. Therefore I CAN do this.

Wow are there hurdles, though. I never expected them to feel so high.

It's October!

2011-10-06T02:32:00.000-07:00

drama drama drama:

This is my living room window, it's cute and it'll lighten up any day.
1: Painted on glass, it was meant to be viewed from the other side. Tiny glitch I didn't realize when I'd pulled out the paints. It's a double pane window, but that middle pane that I painted on is the INSIDE pain (yes, Pain in the Rear pain because it doesn't move like the large pane in my old house did,) not the outside pane. So this painting is very difficult to see during the day.
2: When viewed from the outside, the brush strokes aren't nearly so obvious. And since I paint the layers backwards (thinking of the people viewing from the other side) you don't see a lot of the highlights from this side.

3: here's a pic taken from the outside... but it's... well... not so hot: What I need to do is find my tripod for my camera and take a night shot... I didn't quite get the skin tones this time, but i'm out of practice. Next time they'll be better.

It's Midnight

2011-10-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

I am feeling quite verbose, and don't have anyone to talk to. William is running around the house like it's noon and time to go to the park. Rob is grumpy that I'm not "setting an example" by going to bed at a decent time. Ah well. The time for toddlers will pass soon enough, and I will miss them being small. I don't think I'll miss the temper tantrums, but I'll miss the cuteness. Quinn: "Moooooommmmmm!!!!" Me: "No, Quinn. You're supposed to be asleep." Quinn: "I AM ASLEEEP!!!" hahahaha

I am feeling the urge to DO something. I have spent the last hour or so looking at all of the photo reference pictures I have taken over the past few years. I have references for fairy houses, battered & beaten warriors and indians, portraits, and practice sketches of all kinds of things from flowers to airplanes to flying. Every time I get on to blog, I feel that I should post a picture or a drawing. I am wishing I had something productive to show.

I am also a little worried that by not sketching more often, I'm losing my skill. I want to be successful at this, not merely a dabbler. I KNOW that I have the capability of being great. But by not doing anything, that sort of gets sidelined. What was the point of getting a degree in Illustration if I'm never going to use it??? So I have been mulling over my references to try to figure out where to start. Honestly, I feel just as confounded as I did when I started. I don't know where to start. And don't ask me "what do you feel like drawing" because there are about a thousand answers to that.

I want to do a photoshopped piece of a girl looking into the mirror and seeing her possibilities, or seeing her beautiful self. I remember as a teen, whenever I'd look into the car window at night (usually while someone else was driving home from wherever we'd been), I always thought my eyes and lips looked like I was a model in a magazine. I don't know if it was the lighting or the way the windows were tinted, but I always liked my reflection at night. I couldn't ever recreate it in the bathroom mirror at home or in my bedroom window. But I was remembering that while looking at my daughters, and wondering if that could be a fun project to do with mirrors and photoshop. That doesn't so much involve a lot of sketching... just some thumbs and roughs so I can figure out an angle that will work.

I also really want to do a series of my kids. They love looking at pictures of our family. I very much wish to do a painting with all 5 of my girls in costume. Daria - Faith, Isabeau - Hope, Jada - Charity, Mina - Love, Quinn - Virtue. I can see it... I just need to get the reference pictures taken so I can get out my paints and work on it.

And maybe some postcards. or another fold-out-book or something. And maybe illustrate a book about pixies. Or tell the story about the tree in my back yard. it's got a great big door to fairy land in it. I have about a thousand ideas for Wheel of Time stuff... Fan Art... I went through and re-read the books thinking I'd illustrate them just for me. And then felt overwhelmed by the idea and gave up on it. Which was stupid. I still have all of my notes. I think I also became somewhat intimidated by the quality of the fan art that is out there. And while there is some very very good stuff out there, I have a voice also. I'm just not sure if that's where I want to spend the bulk of my artistic time at this point. Of course, the idea of illustrating some of my previous Amber campaigns is very intriguing as well. I'm just not sure where to start...

Oh look. My son has fallen asleep. I will get up tomorrow, unpack the last box of dishes, put some art on these oh so very bare walls (thus unpacking another one or two boxes) and sketch something. I WILL have something to post tomorrow.

unexpected visitors

2011-10-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

I was cleaning my china hutch today while listening to General Conference. I "inherited" the china hutch from a woman I have never met in this life. Rob's Aunt Gloria was her Visiting Teacher, and the woman left her everything when she died. I don't even know her name. However, I had always wanted a china hutch to put the china from my Grandmother Owings in, as well as the china from Rob's Oma. These china pieces are not anything super expensive, but they're important to us. So when Aunt Gloria asked us if we would like the hutch, I of course jumped at the chance to have it. I've been slowly getting organized, rearranged, and moved in to our new house. Today while I was using all of my elbow grease to clean the front pane glass to make them look nice, this woman was at my right side, smiling. She expressed her thanks for appreciating the gift and taking care of it. Rob and Jada were sitting not far away, completely oblivious to the experience, but it meant a lot to me that she knew this seemingly insignificant item was important and cherished. So I encourage everyone else to express their gratitude for things, because even those who you don't think can hear you really can. :)

Feeling Down?

2011-09-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

The tricks I know for getting out of the negative bubble and developing and nurturing a positive bubble:

Find something to be grateful about, and express that gratitude at least twice a day
Believe - really and truly believe - that you can be successful at whatever it is you're trying to be successful at.
It's hard to feel good if you body doesn't feel good. Feed it good food and take care of it.
Go for a walk - at least an hour - and look into the far distance
Make a dream album. What do I want? Find pictures or take pictures and look at it often to keep focused on goals
Follow your feelings. If you feel good about doing something, do it. If you don't feel good about something, don't do it.

So, I know these tricks. They are awesome. "If you know something but don't do it, you don't know it." Not quite sure why I can't get out of whatever funk this is that I'm in. I'm aware that I set the rules, I'm aware that I can choose how I feel... So, I guess I just need to figure out what I want. What do I really really want more than anything?

I don't know. There are lots of things I want:
* to publish and illustrate a book. Several, actually. I have ideas and visions of sketches and paintings for books on Charity, Service, Putting on the Armor of God.
* to be a successful and in-demand portrait artist
* to own my house, not rent
* to own a studio that has a place in the community - local art shows, local art classes, maybe a cafe or diner, gallery, etc...
* to have a line of personalized inspiring posters for youth
* to get my BFA, Bachelors in Art Ed, Illustration, and Graphic Design, and maybe even an MFA - emphasis in Illustration. I love college, I love to learn, I love the practice and focus that I put into my work when I have a goal like a grade to strive for.
* to start and finish the series of Warrior Mountains... they keep talking to me and telling me their horrific stories. I should do them now just because it's Halloween...

art is therapy

2011-09-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

well, that's the theory, anyway.

I know I can't control my children's choices. It's kind of hard sometimes. I keep thinking "I should have been a better example, i should have been a better mother, I should have, should have should have..."

So, in reality, I did my best with my kids. I still do my best with my kids. Today my best was pretty darn grumpy with some trips to the pool for girl scouts and to Standards Night for the young women. Standards night left me with the image of type in my head for an Individual Worth poster. So I came home and found a picture and made a poster.

Therapy? maybe. I do feel a bit more relaxed. Sort of. Well, I was until I discovered Quinn had taken Jada's headphones off the desk and broken them just because she could. More should have, should have, should have... If there were a contest for self-boxing, I would totally win.

Figured I'd post the other YW posters I've done.

ups and downs

2011-09-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

So, with all those goals - I know, wow, there were only three - I have my ups and downs. Some days I remember to do them. Other days I completely forget. And you know, it's totally obvious when I've forgotten. The grumpies just don't stay away when I forget to pray or read a scripture. If you're not a religious person, liken it to ... I dunno... meditating, or calming the inner self. However you see it, it somehow brings peace into my very non-peaceful home.

So if this is the game of life, and I set the rules, why do I feel like I'm losing today?

It's not the end of the world to forget something. It's not the end of the world to not want to do something. Like me not wanting to clean out Quinn & Wil's room. I've said I'm going to do it over and over and over again. I imagine myself doing it, I see myself doing it, I even know where I'd throw everything to sort it and clean it. I just don't want to DO it. So I don't. I sit here thinking about doing it. According to the "Your Wish Is Your Command" stuff, thinking about stuff is 90% of getting stuff done. I'm not so sure my kids would agree with that. Me thinking about cleaning their room hasn't really motivated me to do it yet. Even though I know the cleaner room would make me happier in the end. A non-smelly part of the house IS always a good thing.

Perhaps part of the non-willingness to clean out the toddler's room is due to the fact that I feel like I have to do everything around the house. I feel overwhelmed by it. It's not just the toddler's room that needs attention. My room is a disaster. The front room still has lots of boxes and furniture lined up against a wall. The basement and storage areas are their own form of nightmare. I still can't find anything and that is starting to sound like such a lame excuse. In reality, taking it all one box at a time, one room at a time, IS how I approach it when I'm actually working on unpacking or cleaning. But when I *think* about it, I think about the whole thing. How can I not? It's my house. It's my job to make my house a home. I would like to feel comfortable here. Who wouldn't want to feel comfortable where they reside? Apparently me for some strange reason.I have some need to be miserable. Which is stupid.

Assuming I believe in God, which I do, why do I prefer to be miserable, when the whole point of everything is to find joy, be joyful, and ENJOY this cool world!?! Misery is not fun. I was doing really well for a while, until Rob - thinking he was teasing me -- told me I was weaksauce and that I was only getting weaker. Because I don't like being poked or punched -- IT HURTS!!! I am female, I have more sensitive nerve endings, whatever. I do bruise easily, thank you very much. But I am not weak. I am freaking strong. In terms of spirit, I could kick his ass two times from Sunday. I have borne six children to term and another four partially. I am still here. I am NOT weak. And I can't even begin to say how much that hurt my feelings for him to say that. Not just say it once, but to keep saying it, laughing, thinking he was funny. Even when I told him he wasn't. It's not a joke. But on some level, did I believe him? I've been asking myself that for a few days, because I can't seem to come out of this funk.

Yeah, my husband's a right jerk sometimes. So am I. It's not his fault if I'm STILL in the dumps about it, or if I took what he said and got all offended by it. I shouldn't be so sensitive that he's not allowed to tease me for not being able to handle physical pain well. It's true. I just don't do pain. I don't do pain-killers, either, so it's a rock and hard place at my house sometimes. But when he said it, I felt like he was attacking my spirit. Trying to make himself seem bigger and better. And... damn, but I really wanted to break out of this mortal shell I'm wearing and show him exactly how NOT weak I am. Wonder Woman I am not... but Exploding Volcano-Girl might be an upcoming attraction at a theater near you in the future.

I am... well, maybe that says it all. I am. I think I am every emotion right now. I love my kids. I am annoyed by my kids. I love my husband, but he pisses me off. I love that we have a roomy place to live, but I am afraid to unpack and enjoy it. Afraid. yes, there's the rub.

Which is probably why I'm yearning to read the book I've been wishing would be written for years. I want to escape into another world because I don't want to have to face this one. And it's a great story. I just need someone to write it.

When I was a teenager, I read all of the "Han Solo" novels. There were three that I could find, and I read them over and over and over. I loved that universe and made up all kinds of stories to go along with it. Of course, now that I'm convinced that George Lucas is a disappointing sell-out, I don't think I'd read a new story set there now, anyway. But here's the plot outline:

planet-wide disaster leaves small group of teens stranded in space on a junkified ship hurtling toward whatever galaxy at whatever speed. It's not like they know how to drive the ship, but they're on it. Almost like Red Dwarf, kind of... Anyway, I always envisioned the main character as the rebellious snotty female. Their ship gets found, they get pressed into service on a military ship and the main character ends up attending the military academy.

Something happens, time flies, I'm not sure, I never knew what plot device happened next, only that she had this training, a lost world and lost family, and ended up being her own star-smuggler. Yeah, yeah, female Han Solo, I know this is a used up idea, but I love it anyway. I always pictured her as his contemporary or competitor. Or love interest, or not, maybe she shot him in the butt or beat him at cards. I never could decide. Maybe all of the above. A good author could make it all work, I'm sure. And she goes about having rip-roaring adventures, forming alliances, breaking them, saving the world, and crying. laughing, and experiencing everything. So sending her off of her home planet to begin with turned out to be this great cool idea.

I'm not sure why I'm obsessing about this story tonight. This... vague idea with bits and pieces of movies and tv shows tied together with bits and pieces of my own dreams. And as funny as it is that it's a story I came up with and used to role-play scenes from when I was 14 and 15, it's still a story that brings me an impish smile and happiness. Even though it's a teenage dream. It's no different than sitting here saying "I have this great idea for a painting of Faith, Hope, Charity, Love, and Virtue. Or I want to illustrate a book about Charity. Or Hey, I have this great image of a turtle in my head that I need to paint for my brother-in-law Lee for Christmas. NEED to paint it for him. I can see exactly how the knobs on the shells are supposed to look, which paints to use to get the colors right, and what technique to use to get the swirls. Oh, and have I mentioned that the mountains are STILL talking to me and telling me horrific stories of torture and battle? I have yet to get those drawn and illustrated, too.

Again with that 90% thought and missing 10% action... I doubt I'm the person to write a novel. haha, yes, I know, I like to ramble, but that's because this is how I think and work things out. This is certainly not novel material. This is... well... a journal entry, really. Just written for everyone, not just my posterity :) "Discouragement always accompanies Laziness" That feels like the more true statement today. I have been exceptionally lazy. Well, not really. There were some minor victories today: I got the dishes done, the counters cleaned, the floors swept, my bedding washed (not put back on the bed, but washed and dried), the towels folded and put away, and the kids all fed. So I did have some wins.

Yay for roller-coasters :) Whenever you're feeling down, there's always another hill coming up and a tow-line to take you back up to the top.

The Game of Life

2011-09-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

My good friend Tim reminded me the other day that we fought a war before we came here. We fought a war over the right to choose. WE get to choose. Whether we are happy, whether we are sad, if we let our feelings get hurt, if we stay bitter, or find the joy in life. It is our choice. Some things in life are beyond our control, but our feelings and attitudes and choices are always within our control.

SO! Since this is the game of life, and I make the rules by having utter and complete control over my choices, WHY AM I NOT WINNING??? Ok then! I'm gonna win from now on! You watch me!

Here are some of our family's small victories that we threw mini-parades for at home:

The dishes got done! Yay!!!
We got to church on time! Whooo!!! AND the whole family was there!! Double-WHOOOOO!!!
William slept in his own bed last night! Yippee!!
I made a weekly thought for the YW Facebook group page! Go ME!
We said family prayer and read a scripture before the kids took off for school today!! Oh yeah!

Now, as Young Women's 1st Counselor, I have decided to start working on my Personal Progress award along with the girls. So I am starting at the beginning with Faith. I'll log the scriptures in my scripture journal blog, but I have some goals that go along with the 1st activity:

1: read scriptures daily
2: pray morning and night

two goals for that first check box, for three weeks. Today is Sep 6, so in 21 days, Sep 27, I should be able to check that one off. And maybe I'll have a good habit started! Currently it's pray (formally) when I remember to, and read when I remember to. Alright, at least I remember to at least once or twice a week. And that's certainly not terrible! However, I really really want to pass off this achievement. So, I'm going to go for daily.

In addition to that, I FEEL energized, so I'm gonna exercise! So I have goal 3 to add to my list:

3: Exercise daily. Yes, daily. Even on Sunday. (Stretches or walking to visit a neighbor or walking to church is certainly not breaking the sabbath, and I'm sure it counts as exercise even if I don't break into a heart-pounding sweat.) Why? because it invigorates the mind, and it helps me feel like I'm more in tune with myself and my surroundings.

Somewhere in there I think I want to get my house more organized and put together. This is very overwhelming for me. I'm hesitant to unpack because we only signed a one-year lease, and while I would certainly not mind staying, I just don't know if we will. I hope we will. I don't know what's going to happen with Rob not being approved for medical coverage and how long the UofU will help with his meds. There are quite a few uncertainties in the future. It makes things difficult to plan for. That being said, I should probably try to make the house feel like a home instead of a large storage unit. If I end up needing to re-pack, is that really so bad? Besides, if I end up needing to repack, at least I'll have the control and ability to pack things so I can find them!!!

seriously?

2011-07-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, I refuse to ever ever ever have surgery again. ever. I would rather die than deal with the recovery. Specifically: husband who resents that I am recuperating and can't function. Children who resent having to help more and don't believe or don't understand that I can't function, and don't care about helping each other out, and don't care that they are living in a pig-sty. Oh, and Relief Society Presidents who drop by to say, "Here, be a visiting teacher. And if you need anything, call."

I am sitting here, surrounded by boxes I cannot move or unpack, with a list of "to-do" things on my white board, and everyone who walks into my house says "Are you feeling any better?"

Couple this with the fact that I am not taking pain meds, because the doctor and his nurse won't listen to me when I say that narcotics make me sick, and will you please give me the drug that starts with a T that they gave me in the hospital that is a form of Motrin? Because that worked enough to make moving bearable. But no, they call in a prescription for yet another narcotic. Thanks. Thanks for nothing. Plus that wasn't covered by my insurance, so my husband bought it anyway, KNOWING I wouldn't take it because it is a narcotic.

Call me crazy, but I'd rather feel like someone just cut my bellybutton open rather than dry-heaving or puking and ripping the stitches out with stomach muscle contractions.

And, since the doctor didn't explain to me what a herniated belly-button was, nor what he did to fix it (I had to google it, and I have no idea if he fixed the hernia with stitches or a mesh based on the information on the internet) AND since I can only assume that the pain in my belly button is from the hernia, not from the appendectomy? I have no idea... All I know is that the wound there is worse than the other two on my belly.

The incision on my leg where he fixed my "owie" - a cyst I have had since teenager-hood that reformed every month - that one hurts like all Hell, too.

So, I am pissed. I am pissed that my family is less than helpful, doesn't care about anything, they just let the kids run wild and expect me to be able to chase and fix everything. Well, I am not. I am in enough pain that I can't do anything except sit here. And get up and walk around the house once in a while when my ankles start swelling.

But I have decided that since all family meals are still my responsibility, as well as all family chores, and making sure things get done... it's just not going to get done. If they all want to live in a mad-house surrounded by garbage, then fine. They can and will. I erased the to-do list on my whiteboard and just put up a "do nothing" checkbox.

They will learn nothing but anger and resentment from this. go me, I'm such an inspiring example. Right now I don't care. I should have just stayed home and let my appendix explode.

Working on Grandpa

2011-01-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

every time I try to work on this, the kids try to help me. I have gotten so frustrated, I've just let it sit. I am hoping to do more work on it while homeschooling Jada, but we'll see.

pics!!

2010-07-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

some examples of what my students are doing:

teaching!!

2010-07-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ah the joys of teaching!! This is the best job I have ever had, and I do mean EVER!

I like what I do, I love the kids - even the apathetic ones - and I love getting to help these guys explore new things.

It's too bad this is just temporary. I will miss this when it's over. Although I'm sure my kids will be glad to have their mom back.

Last week we did designs (personal logo's and random designs) using basic shapes and concsious awareness of positive/negative space.

This week we've explored textures and made some modern art / torn paper art of the national monuments the kids saw on their field trip, as well as playing with Tessellations and patterns.

i'll upload pics when I get them web-ready. It's been lots of fun!!!!

whine

2010-04-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am feeling quite stressed and frustrated over the fact that my computer no longer works. I don't really know quite how to handle it. It's as if a piece of me has been severed. I am using Rob's computer, but... well... it's Rob's computer. It doesn't have the memory or the hard drive space that my computer had. Nor is it capable of running all of my design programs.

I cannot rationalize getting a new computer. I feel like I need one, but I think in reality I just want one. Mr.S. from the High School has asked me to come up with some Album designs for T Minus 5's christmas album. I have a bunch of sketches now, but it is very hard for me to make some nice composite roughs to show him using this old clunky computer. Not to mention the fact that all of my photo references are on my hard drive, which is incompatible with this old computer's motherboard.

I also am working on making posters of the Young Women in my ward. I can't finish that, either, since I can't pull the information and stuff from my computer. And all of my scout information... Ok, y es, I have a lot of that backed up on a disk. But what I don't have is the means to re-create a lot of it or finish it. I suppose I could try to pull out my memory chips and put them in Rob's computer. Assuming the motherboards use the same type of RAM...

Honestly it just feels like the world is conspiring against me. I don't have enough money to buy a new computer, and in reality that would be folly, considering that with Rob losing his income and just now starting a new job (but it's only part time) any money we make should be going toward the house payment and/or utilities. Yet I feel like I could do so much more if I had a working computer. For now, though, I suppose Rob's computer will work. It just means that all of my other projects are put on hold. Or that I will have to make do with using ONLY photoshop 7 to put together a rough for the album cover ideas. (I prefer InDesign or Illustrator when I'm dealing with Type... I'm spoiled now, and I don't even know what to do about it.)

How stupid is this. Moaning and groaning because I don't have access to pictures or programs. It's really ridiculous. I know I should make the best of what I have. I know it. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." yeah. that's me. I'm making Rob's computer do. I paid $200 for this computer so he could play WoW without using my computer. And this computer really barely ran the game. It's very slow, and it's very clunky. I must admit that I'm grateful it's here. At least I have access to the internet and I do have something that allows me to finish my commissioned work. So there are small silver linings. Here's hoping my printer will install ok so I can scan in the drawings and color them.

In all reality, though, I just really want to cry, cry, cry.

roughs

2010-03-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

Not my pictures, these are just roughs used to give the teacher an idea of what I had in mind. I will take photo's of the band members themselves when the teacher knows for sure what he's after.

speaking of posters...

2010-03-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

Mr. S. from the High School has also asked that I create some recruiting posters for Marching Band for the summer. I took my sketchbook along to Isabeau's basketball practice today and came up with quite a few different slogans. I'm still brainstorming images to go with them so Mr. S. has some options to pick from, so here are my notes:

Let the music move you! - stick figures playing various instruments and marching

Got the beat? Want the beat? Move to the beat! - all I can think of for this are lines and colors, maybe an upside down treble clef or something.

Follow the leader? I AM the leader! - close-up of a drummer - specifically one of the snare drums. mostly black and white. Edgy typeface, like Times New Yorker or !84

Feelin' It / Groovin' It / Movin' It - close-up perspective of a trumpet or trombone so there is big-time lens distortion and the bell looks HUGE, and posterize the colors. Or, mess with the stickfigures some more and see if I can make them funkin'groovin'movin'.

Band Poster

2010-03-10T20:33:00.000-08:00

Got an email today from Mr. S. about making flyers for the band concert next week. His words were "classical theme since we are in festival mode", so I made this for him. Don't mind the crappy text. It wouldn't translate from InDesign to Photoshop without trashing the type, so you'll just have to trust me that it really is readable in print.

Earnest Final

2010-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

After many changes and requests from the director of the play, this is the final version of the program cover / poster.

some roughs for The Importance of Being Earnest

2010-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

RJ & TY

2010-01-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Portrait done for the week ending 1/2

Mixed Nuts

2010-01-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

the book I made for the parents and grandparents for christmas:

Book of poems... don't know if they're readable, but here it is.

2009-11-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

doodlings

2009-11-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

so... I sort of wrote a book of poems. I did everything in InDesign, and now I can't figure out how to post a .pdf to the blog :(

Children of Eden

2009-11-03T11:11:00.003-08:00

rearranged text

2009-10-01T10:25:00.001-07:00

new working file

2009-10-01T08:22:00.001-07:00

copy of the current working file... Changes to typeface have been per client request. After comparing them, I think they're right. The first one really didn't work as well.

Now it's the layout of the basic text that is giving me fits... I can't seem to make it flow with the poster....

with a border even...

2009-09-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Fall Project

2009-09-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am helping Northridge High School make their posters, banners, and program for the play Children of Eden. Here's what I have done so far... And here's a typeface I'm playing with for the word "children". Am still not sure what to do with the word Eden, but I think I want a snake somewhere in there.

sketches of the day

2009-09-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

ok. I've been trying to do 1 hour sketches... and I am having some serious issues with Mr. Schematic. (and keeping my attention span there to spend an entire hour... some of these are 30 mins)

So, here are the sketches I've done since August, trying to get back into the art swing of things. Would I do better if I spent a dedicated 3 hours on a portrait? or just remeasured and remeasured? Or maybe I should just go back to line drawings until I can get the basics down? I don't know, but I'm open to suggestions.

Nightmares

2009-07-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

I dreamt and then had a continuing daydream when I got out of bed... that Rob had an aneurism, and I had to prepare for his funeral, etc, etc. I was supposed to be to church early today and couldn't function for the heaviness and insistence that I get ready for this. Two portraits I need to get done: one of goofy Rob, one of him with the kids. I need to have a list of his online passwords for banking and bills. I need to finish the house projects so we can be prepared for whatever, whenever this happens.

I doubt he's going to die tomorrow, but... I need to be prepared, I guess.

Lance

2009-07-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Sarah had a Husky named Lancelot. He died last week, and I felt very strongly to do a quick sketch for her. He turned out looking more wolf than husky, but... ah well, aren't all dogs a wolf on the inside?

I can tell I'm out of practice with sketching. This looks more like something I'd have done in High School. However, Sarah loved it, so the thought behind it counted for something. I definitely need to renew my "one piece of art a week" goal, though, so that I can my fingers back into practice.

the poem reads:

O freedom from Pain!
The joy of the chase
o'er moonlit glade!
To run unfettered
by mortal imperfections
while patiently waiting
for anticipated reunion
with loved ones left behind.

2009-06-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

After talking with the kids, they want this to just be a family project.

Here are the final decisions on attributes:

Daria: Faith
Isabeau: Hope
Jada: Charity
Mina: Gratitude
Quinn: Virtue
William: Valiant
Rob: Steadfast
Chris: Patient

I have some thumbnails drawn out, but my scanner isn't working right now, so I'll put them in later. However, I think I'm going to start picking out pictures to use as photo-reference.

While deciding this, I had yet another brainstorm. What if I did a series of portraits of the kids at various life stages...

Baby, Gradeschool, Teenager ... and then a picture of Christ - kind of illustrating how we are all trying to become like him.

So, obviously my babies wouldn't be complete. BUT...

I'd have 8 panels, looking something like:

Quinn baby blank blank Christ
VIRTUE HUMBLE GRACE scripture

Will baby blank blank Christ
JOY HONOR VALIANT scripture

Mina baby mina kinder blank Christ
Gratitude Obedience Courageous

Jada baby 3rd grade blank Christ
Prayerful Charity Knowledge

Isabeau 4th Grade Teen Christ
Peacemaker Forgiving Hope

Daria 4th Grade Teen Christ
Loving Testimony Faith

Robbaby Teen Now Christ
Integrity Endurance Steadfast

Chrisbaby Teen Now
Example Vigilant Patient

new ideas...

2009-06-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in the combined Relief Society/Priesthood meeting Sunday, and the lesson was on hope. She referenced the article in the Ensign that talked about Faith, the forgotten sister. (of the three sisters Faith, Hope, and Charity)

And it sprang into my head that I should do a family portrait based on this idea of personifying these characteristics. Isabeau is working on a "Faith Wall" for her Young Women's theme. And I kept having more and more thoughts... we could have a family home evening photo shoot where the girls picked and chose who got to be what, and then I could start the drawings, and we could put them all on the wall under or surrounding a picture of Christ with D&C 6:36: "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not" quoted underneith it.

There are 8 of us in the family... so I would need 8 Christ-like qualities from scripture. No, actually 10. There is a widower in the ward and his son that I would like to include in this if they are willing.

obviously, I already have three... But I also thought that part of the family home evening would be us deciding as a family which ones to be. However, I want to write down the ones that came to me as I was sitting in church thinking about this.

Faith
Hope
Charity
Humility
Virtue
Valiance/Steadfast ? (both of these words come to me pretty insistently, but I haven't decided if they are the same thing or different enough to be different)
Testimony
Prayerful

I know there are countless others, but my mind has gone blank. At any rate, I have got the idea written down now, and can refer to it as needed.

PTA service projects

2009-05-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Am I glutton for punishment? I think so. All in all, after all was said and done, I did a total of 39 drawings. I am certain that my technique could use a little refining, as this was my first time ever doing caricatures. I did have a lot of fun with it, though.

A sample of some inking

2009-05-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have 36 Caricatures drawn, and have 12 of them inked. I'm going to try to make a slide-show and put that in... if not, I'll just post a couple of them.

Caricatures!

2009-04-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

I have 36 caricatures to do as a service project for the PTA...

and I have a week to do them!! 36/7 = 5.--something. 5.5 per day. easysauce.

now... here's hoping I can do a decent caricature!

These are some of my sketches. I'm thinking maybe I'm not making the heads big enough?

tatoos are art, too

2009-04-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

So a wife of a friend of mine asked me to design a tatoo for her. kind of cool, I thought...

She was very specific about what she wanted, here are some of the sketches I've done for her so far:

Starting Again.

2009-04-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Ok. Last week was not so good. I didn't even feel like setting a goal. Everyone here has been sick, but despite that we went to my sister-in-law's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, and my husband's family did a phenomenal job on the catering/decorating/etc. My husband made friends with the DJ, who gave him his wife's graphic art information and told me she's looking for a freelance illustrator.

Now that I'm starting to feel better, I'm hoping to get back out walking. I can make it once around the track at the local park. That's half a mile. whoooooooo impressive, I know, but I know it will get better the more I do it. And maybe --- JUST MAAAAYBEEEEE -- I'll start to lose some of this baby weight.

I also read some of the art related email sent from Kerry Gonzales. I need to try to dedicate two or three hours a day to art, I think, if I really want to be successful. In addition to this, I saw an entry-level artist position at Blizzard Entertainment, and they want to see a portfolio that shows the ability to go from concept to finished painting as well as a body of work that shows understanding of lighting, figure drawing, and understanding of perspective.

I also reaally, reeaaaallly, reeeeeaaaaaaallllyyyy wish I could come up with the funding to attend the full week of the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference at BYU this summer. I'ts $470. So I'm thinking I'll miss it this year. Am very sad, as last year I had such a great time there, and I learned a ton just from the half-session. This year I was hoping to do the full-session and actually get some one-on-one time with the artist during the morning. Oh well. Life happens, no?

So, I need to figure out what I want.

I want to finish this mural.
I want to finish the Nedelkov family portrait.
I want to finish the illustrations for the "If I Were A Pixie" book the girls and I started.
I want to start illustrations for the "Armor of God" book that my daughter Daria wants to do.
I want to get greeting cards made for Christmas.
I want to get my garden growing so I have some greenery to use as reference if/when I need it.

I want, I want, I want...

Now, two years ago, it would have taken me two or three weeks maximum to finish this mural. I think if I can dedicate two or three hours a day to it, I should be able to get it done....?? I don't know... in a month?

blah.

Really, it comes down to fear. I am afraid of failing. I am terrified that the barn animals are going to look stupid, that all the intricate things I have planned for that fantasy panel are not going to work, that I'm going to run out of paint and not be able to get more, that I'm going to disappoint my kids by making it look dumb, etc, etc etc. the really sad thing about this paralysis, is that it is a failure of it's own. a half-finished mural is just as much of a failure as not starting it in the first place.

So, I just need to get in there and do it.

that's what it boils down to.

Perhaps, if I do some more drawings of that fantasy panel before I start painting, I'll feel more confident in what I'm doing... I did some practice drawings of goats and horses last week, maybe if I do the drawings of the 7 dwarves and the unicorns and little red riding hood and all the other stuff that will be in/out of that panel, I'd feel better. That or I should just start painting in the animals on the Farm panel, since I feel confident about that.

I'm just babbling now... But at least I've made some sense out of what's going on in my brain.

ONWARD!!!!!

The Sun! The Sun!

2009-03-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

There really is a sun! The Lord finally let the sun shine for a few days! And I got off of my lazy butt and went walking at the park in the sunshine, and wow did it feel goooooooooooooddddd!!! I forgot to take my camera with me each time, though. Which sucks, because the trees around here look awesome. I like the value contrast of the white branches and the dark bark some of these trees have. As well as the funky curly branches. They're just soooooo interesting.

I did do some sketching last week, and was NOT pleased with any of them. So I am not going to post them.

My goals for this week:
Get out and walk every day - even if it's one lap around the track (1/2 mile) and bring my camera with me.
Do a sketch worthy of being posted - OR - paint in the trees and unicorn in the Fantasy panel of the mural.

which reminds me... I need to find some good photo-references of goats. I thought it would be kind of fun to throw our family's Chinese Astrological Signs into the mural. And since my 5 yr old and 8 yr old are constantly fighting, I wanted to have the goat trying to eat the dragon's tail. You guys can't see the sketches of the goat in that picture, but it's there as well as a dog, a cow, a pig, and a rooster. The dog will be chasing the rooster and pig. Since I'm the cow, I should give it multi-colored spots and have it painting the barn...ha ha. The rat - my son - not sure if I should stick him in the farm scene or somewhere else. The Monkey will be in the jungle panel on the other wall. If you're interested, it will be a squirrel monkey, since that's Rob's favorite kind. Those three panels will be: jungle, underwater, and desert - egyptish kind of stuff... I have the sketches for it somewhere, but I can't find them.

right now I'm lucky to find my glasses.

Career Fairs - What do YOU do for a living?

2009-03-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today I spent 4 hours at the Jr. High at a Career fair. I took my portfolio, some children's books, some printing plates and package examples I'd gotten from Huish Detergents, and set up ready to tell young minds what it is that Illustrators and Graphic Designers really do for a living.

I gave a 5-8 minute spiel every ten minutes. Some kids had lots of questions, others just stared at me in such a way that I wondered if there was a brain inside.

I found it funny that more adults asked me "Oh, do you illustrate books?" more than the kids did. But what was really amusing was them exclaiming, "Oh! YOU drew that??" When I'd point to my charcoal drawing as an example of head-studies done in figure drawing classes, and how expressions can illustrate an emotion more than words sometimes.

Granted, I didn't take the original photo, but yes, I did do that charcoal rendition right there.

Some kids were very interested, and we'd talk about value contrast in drawings, or how good design means the reader or buyer doesn't have to work to understand the product. I.E. Good book designs flow with the illustrations so readers don't think about it, they just enjoy it.

Other kids couldn't wait to be done so they could run over and see the Music D.J.'s presentation. And to think I actually want to teach Jr. High art someday. Maybe I'd rather teach High School?

I tried to use as much as I could from our local market so that kids knew there were opportunities right here. I named off ad agencies and graphic design studios, as well as working Illustrators. I used some picture books by Guy Francis as my examples of Illustration and Graphic Design working hand in hand. And I let them know some good schools with good programs, always giving props to SLCC cuz they have an awesome program.

I ended up having to rush home from the Career Fair to finish the program design for "Into The Woods" so it could be printed today. Turns out they couldn't print it earlier because I'd misspelled my own name. Go me. But, all my hard work on that 20 page program (I saw the page count when I saved it in booklet form. 20 pages, no kidding) earned me free tickets to the show. So next week we'll be heading Into The Woods as a family if I can find a sitter for the two littlest kids.

After all that, I just want a nap. But, alas, I have to go deliver Girl Scout Cookies in a few minutes. So maybe after that.

Meeting Death

2009-03-11T00:50:00.000-07:00

I met Death in a dream the other night. He didn't speak to me, but he communicated to me anyway. He wasn't looking for me, he was looking for my father. But our spirits were so similar he found me first. I don't remember his face, it was a blur, and yet I remember the piercing feel of his gaze. He did not look like a grim reaper; he was dressed in white. Tall, dark, I would assume handsome. And yet... other. He left me with what felt like a warning. He wasn't pleased.

At one point in the dream we were heading down to the funeral, and I was crying. We stopped at my husband's grandparents, and I don't recall exactly what was said, but I ended up having to explain to his grandmother that my father had just died. And her response was "It's too bad you didn't get a chance to tell him what a failure you were."

Upon waking, my husband's response was "You have some really weird dreams." My response is to wonder what I'm supposed to learn from the dream. It didn't feel dreamish. What do I need to change? I do know that some of it is in part to the depression. And maybe some of it is to get me to draw a response. So I will. My personal goal is to have a drawn response/reaction to the dream done and posted here by Saturday night. Even if no one but me reads the blog, at least my goal is recorded.

Besides, I figure baby-steps. That is how to get back into doing the full-scale art projects. Today is Tuesday. No reason to not have at least a sketch done by Saturday.

keeping busy

2009-03-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

With some Photoshop help from my dear friend Bradon, I was able to make this cover for the Northridge High School's production of "Into the Woods." I drew everything out, and then when I went to trace it with my Wacom tablet, I was seriously irked to find that my tablet pen no longer worked. So the lines don't have the lovely thicks/thins I wanted because I drew it in with a mouse instead. My first attempt at leather and gold embossing was very scary. I cannot even convey how grateful I am for friends willing to share their skills! - And for Peggy and her internet search engine that found more resources than mine!!

The full program is at least 16 pages, black and white interior, full-color cover. It was good to have some work to do that stimulated my brain, but wow did I feel overwhelmed. I was hoping the school would ask me to paint backdrops. But no... they needed help with the program design. It was fun, I just hope they are pleased with it. And I can't even say how glad I am that I haven't forgotten how to use InDesign! Hooray for style guides!!!!!

Motivation

2009-03-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

I am in some serious need of motivation. I haven't wanted to even think about painting for a while. The girls would like their walls done, but every time I go in to paint, the 2 and 5 yr olds want to help so much that I can't get anything done. It's not that I want to discourage them from learning to paint. But when I find my palette dumped over onto the carpet, it seems more trouble than it's worth to try to continue.

I am hoping that with spring, sunshine, and fresh air, I can send them outside for a few hours at a time and get some work done.

Latest Creations

2009-03-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

My son is 5 months old now. Yesterday he rolled from his tummy to his back three times in a row! I feel like maybe he is a little slow in learning to roll over, as I remember my girls all rolling around between two and three months. Perhaps he's so spoiled with the girls bringing the world to him that he hasn't felt the need to go off exploring on his own yet?

I personally feel like my kids are works of art constantly in progress. They are each so different, and yet so similar.