Dreaming of Chickens

The Stansbury Art and Literary Society challenged us to come up with a poem and then a painting or some way to illustrate our poem. So I've been dreaming of crocus and chickens and dragonflies, trying to decide my topic. Here she is, what I've settle on. Not sure I'm completely finished, but she's pretty much there. Now to find a frame and get her ready for her debut tomorrow night.

Monday Madness- Work in Progress

I made a mad dash into the studio to put the first part of a new painting on canvas. It's only about 3 above here so I don't have time to stay and chat, but I had to share, and I wonder if you can guess what this painting will be of? It will be fun to see the guesses. I hope you have a marvelous Monday!

Works in Progress- dough bowls and a painting

A couple of wooden bowls that just screamed for color, and a canvas ready to add the details to paint are part of what's happening in my studio right now. Ignore the chaos in the background, it's just creative genius right? Actually, I do need to get re-organized so these projects are part of that on going effort. The dough bowls will be going in my Simply Sheryl's etsy shop soon. What's on your work table, or as in my case, ironing board these days?

Victorian Hair Art

Today I was supposed to go to DUP with my mother-in-law where they were sharing information about human hair art. We missed it because I can't drive right now due to medication induced fog to help me with pain. Thank goodness this is temporary as I don't like being foggy, but the meds are sure helping until I can get PT. I'm such a lightweight, but I digress.
DUP or Daughters of Utah Pioneers meet once a month to share history and information on all sorts of things related to their ancestors. Years ago my husband took his daughter and me to the Pioneer Museum where I was first exposed to hair art. It's amazing what folks will do to be creative or come up with ways to remember those who have gone before them. I was fascinated by this art form, as it, at least to me, was unique. Some of the flowers and such were quite intricate. Many were preserved under frames and glass. My husband shared with me that his dad's mom showed him some little vase like vessels made from family members hair, and she was able to tell him whose hair it was. No one knows where they went to after she passed away, but wouldn't that be an intriguing bit of family history and a unique memento to pass along?
At "The Constant Gatherer" blog by Katie Runnels, you can see some amazing images of this art, as well as glean more information. Have fun, and let me know what you think!

An Interview on Artistically Speaking with Rebecca Parsons!

Artistically Speaking Talk Show with Rebecca Parsons

Although I'm draggin' tail right now I am excited to share some good news! Recently Rebecca Parsons of Artistically Speaking contacted me for an interview. Of course I said yes!  It will be fun to be on the other side of the mike as I am accustomed to being the interviewer as a former radio talk show host and producer. If you would like to join us, please tune in on Sunday at 6:30 PM EST Sunday March 11th. I've linked the banner so stop by and let's get together and chat!

Why Not Wednesday...Friend Give Away Share

How Darling is this?! Why not share? Well I would like to be the only one in the hat for a chance to win this, but I know I won't be so I will share and hope for the best. I discovered Michelle's blog through Diane Knotts, another talented artist who's work I love. Some day I hope to be as talented and proficient as these two ladies, but for now, I will work hard to get there. Michelle has an etsy shop where she sells her work so there's more delightful pieces to see. Thank you Michelle, and here's hoping you will all take the opportunity to go see Michelle Palmer and her fabulous art. http://michellepalmerart.blogspot.com/2010/03/giveaway-to-celebrate.html

A New Venture.....

When you have an Aha! moment, and figure something out that has been haunting you for awhile its the best feeling in the world, well okay next to a hug from your grandchild or your husband tells someone on the phone how beautiful he thinks you are... 

Okay, so I talked my husband into letting me have a macbook for my birthday last year. I struggled at first having used a PC all my computer life, so I asked my dear friend and co leader of AHA what to do and she told me to start googling for all the things I needed to figure out. Wow! I never dreamed it would open up so many doors to creativity! But it has, and I'm addicted to designing on my computer now. So to feed my addiction I'm offering my services, for a fee of course, to help design banners, blog pages, auction templates and so on. So, if you like what you see for my back round and banner, contact me and let's get creative! I will still be working on my sculpts, paintings, ornaments, and dolls, but this is so much fun that I want to share it with you. I will be creating pages with links here on my blog and hopefully my website, with samples of my work that you can choose from, or we can do a custom design. 

Oh, and the photo above? My mom, grandma and great grandma. Aren't they beautiful? Mom was only not quite 2 there. She is my inspiration.....

The 6th reason I have to be thankful is friends....

Friends are what keep us from being too weird! If we only focus on family we lose sight of the outside world around us. We forget that service to others keeps us from being too selfish, and that receiving service from others, keeps us humble. Here are three examples, the kids helping paint our house in Oregon. Without them we would have another summer of painting to look forward to. They had fun, and got so much done that I will have little to worry about next year. The next photo shows friends supporting Annie in our celebrating her completion in her Young Women Personal Progress. We have a program at church that encourages our young ladies to develop their talents in many areas of their lives. Annie completed her goals and that day was awarded with a beautiful gold medallion she can wear as a reminder that she can do what she sets out to do, as she stays faithful to her beliefs.
The next photo is of a friend and her grand daughters. I had a class this summer to teach friends how to create the little Santa ornaments I make from gourds. This was so much fun, and gave me such satisfaction that I could share what I know with friends. They went on to create Christmas gifts for family and that is wonderful! I don't have photos of my online friends, but in my ebay group AHA I have met some wonderful creative folks that have shared their talents with all of us so we can learn and grow in our own creativity. I've made new friends, and am enjoying the time I get to spend with them. Friends are so important!

BWAAA-HAAA-HAAAA........

Go on..... stick your hand in the bowl for some candy.....I dare you........

He he....... Angus is ready, along with his little friend, to surprise you on Halloween night.....so stop on by and grab a hand full of candy..... if you dare..... happy trick or treating...... you can find Angus on ebay right now by clicking on the title to this post. A big thanks goes out to  Linda of Gourdqueen originals who got me into sculpting on gourds. She has been a big influence in what I create and invited me to be a part of AHQU. AHQU is a group of Halloween artists on ebay and they are quite a talented gathering of folks. 

Well....off to Facebook to see who's lurking around....