March Gladness

"Love Is The Beauty Of The Soul"

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is a beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is life, fight for it!" -- Mother Teresa
Thanks for these inspirational words I found from a sister artist that is overcoming some of the same physical challenges I am.  
Her words lifted me up on a dark night.  Love, xoxoxoxo


I love looking at vintage photos, old family pics, and beautiful children from
around the world.  I've put a collection of some of my favorites together in the 
filmclip below.  I dedicate it to the memory of father whose birthday would have
been February 7th. 

The month of January flew by!!!!!!  Trying to remember what I accomplished
is a bit of a blur.  I have stayed consistent going to the gym, realized I can't
count out fourteen chips and only eat that amount as a daily portion, and went on a splurge buying things to design a scrapbook for my granddaughter.


I decided to get back into photoshop to design some more greeting cards
before I forget everything I have learned and forgotten from the last ten tutorials my son has given me. 

"Smile Sweetness"

"To The World"

"Magic Garden"

"Beautiful Dreamer"

Although I said I would spend January and February experimenting

with some new ideas, I feel a little discombobulated working on so many different projects at the same time. I am back to working in a ten inch space on my table in my studio, so I've expanded into the family room and other little corners of the house.

"New Project"

messy table

I haven't lost my marbles

Still playing around with round masks.

When I was a little girl, we would take buttercups and put them under each other's chin and ask, "Do you like butter?"  If your chin reflected the yellow of the flower, which it inevitably did, we would be so excited that we all liked butter as if we all belonged to some elite club.   The doll below is called "Buttercup" which was inspired from that memory.

"Buttercup"

Noah, my son, and I won't have anything on exhibit at The Torpedo Factory this month because the exhibition this month will only be for Art League Students.  I am, however 
excited to have accepted a position at one the local high schools as an art consultant,
believe it or not I love writing and discovering new lesson plans in art.

January Gems

     

December Recap:

December definitely had it’s highs, one low and then high again. I started off the month selling my work at the Art League Holiday Show, which was very successful.  The month continued to stay busy as I completed special orders and had a steady stream of visitors coming to the house to buy gifts.  The low was when I was told two weeks before Christmas I would need back surgery, I was devastated.  One week before Christmas, I had to go to John Hopkins to meet the surgeon and get his evaluation, and that’s when I had my Christmas miracle.  The doctor  told me I didn’t need the surgery, my devastation turned to complete joy.  Although that still left me with questions of how to deal with chronic pain and discomfort, my attitude of gratitude gave me a whole new positive perspective of life.  I appreciate my health, the love of my family, friends, and a passion for my art.

I’m now waking up to rainbows and a healing mantra to start my day.

I live in my studio!  So I began the year taking several days  to do a bit of deep cleaning and organizing.

I decided not to take  a class this semester and just focus on my own 

discovering new ceramic techniques and playing with some creative visions.  

I’ve always enjoyed making dolls, so my latest challenge has been to create

ceramic doll sculptures that give the illusion of softness and movement like fabric.

"Handful of Posies" - Received Honorable Mention

I've also been experimenting with texture and design, so I've been making 

some simple round shapes as masks and bugs as wall pieces to practice on.

One of the other ideas I've been playing around with is learning how to add decals to my work.

Even though I'm still in the basic stages, I've had fun adding them to my art.  I've been making ring bowls with the angels, and have learned how to make my own decals and have been applying those to the soap and whatnot  dishes I've been making.

                                                     

Finally, the photos below are the two pieces on exhibit at the Art League Gallery in the Torpedo Factory this month.

"Joyous"

"Bathing Beauty"

January Gems

December Recap:

December definitely had it’s highs, one low and then high again. I started off the month selling my work at the Art League Holiday Show, which was very successful.  The month continued to stay busy as I completed special orders and had a steady stream of visitors coming to the house to buy gifts. One of my ceramic dolls was accepted in the monthly exhibit and received an "Honorable Mention".  The low was when I was told two weeks before Christmas I would need back surgery, I was devastated.  One week before Christmas, I had to go to John Hopkins to meet the surgeon and get his evaluation, and that’s when I had my Christmas miracle.  The doctor  told me I didn’t need the surgery, my devastation turned to complete joy.  Although that still left me with questions of how to deal with chronic pain and discomfort, my attitude of gratitude gave me a whole new positive perspective of life.  My appreciation and love for my health, the love of my family, friends, and a passion for my art has elevated to a new high, LOVE...

the greatest gift of all.

I’m now waking up to rainbows and a healing mantra to start my day.

I live in my studio!  So I began the year taking several days  to do a bit of deep cleaning and organizing. 

I decided not to take  a class this semester and just focus on my own discovering new ceramic techniques and playing with some creative visions.  

I’ve always enjoyed making dolls, so my latest challenge has been to create ceramic doll sculptures that give the illusion of softness and movement like fabric.

"Handful of Posies"- Received Honorable Mention

January Gems December Recap:December definitely had it’s highs, one low and then high again. I started off the month selling my work at the Art League Holiday Show, which was very successful.  The month continued to stay busy as I completed special orders and had a steady stream of visitors coming to the house to buy gifts.  The low was when I was told two weeks before Christmas I would need back surgery, I was devastated.  One week before Christmas, I had to go to John Hopkins to meet the surgeon and get his evaluation, and that’s when I had my Christmas miracle.  The doctor  told me I didn’t need the surgery, my devastation turned to complete joy.  Although that still left me with questions of how to deal with chronic pain and discomfort, my attitude of gratitude gave me a whole new positive perspective of life.  I appreciate my health, the love for my family, friends, and a passion for my art. I’m now waking up to rainbows and a healing mantra to start my day off in living color.[Image] I live in my studio!  So I began the year taking several days  to do a bit of deep cleaning and organizing.  Welcome In!!!

January Gems

December Recap:

December definitely had it’s highs, one low and then high again. I started off the month selling my work at the Art League Holiday Show, which was very successful.  The month continued to stay busy as I completed special orders and had a steady stream of visitors coming to the house to buy gifts.  The low was when I was told two weeks before Christmas I would need back surgery, I was devastated.  One week before Christmas, I had to go to John Hopkins to meet the surgeon and get his evaluation, and that’s when I had my Christmas miracle.  The doctor  told me I didn’t need the surgery, my devastation turned to complete joy.  Although that still left me with questions of how to deal with chronic pain and discomfort, my attitude of gratitude gave me a whole new positive perspective of life.  I appreciate my health, the love for my family, friends, and a passion for my art.

I’m now waking up to rainbows and a healing mantra to start my day off in living color.

I live in my studio!  So I began the year taking several days  to do a bit of deep cleaning and organizing.  Welcome In!!!

I love making dolls, so trying to transform the soft figures that I used to make in fabric into ceramic figures that still embody the appearance of soft, flowing movement is a challenge I will continue to work on this year.

January