Making Madness

What have I been making lately?  A lot, actually!  My own deodorant (after a terrible breakout from the one I bought from Lush,) a new purse, a lot of artwork for my friend's movie, a corset for another friend, and food.  Lots of food!  Friend, memories, and plans to travel to NY.  So here's to marathons of crazy busy madness, because sometimes you need it.

New Projects!

I hate a good bit of my clothing at the moment.  I've decided to try to make as much of my clothing as possible, mostly so that it will fit properly.  I've been scouring BurdaStyle.com for pieces I think I could pull off, and would actually wear.  The first one I found is the short sleeved blouse.




I don't think I would have chosen it, except I found this fabric at Jo-Ann last night:




This is a beautiful sheer (unfortunately polyester) chiffon, with velvety pink dots.  I can't wait to sew it up!  But, it's going to have to wait for a couple of weeks.  We're going to Chicago next weekend, and Rachel has asked me to alter some T-shirts, so they're cuter.  I tried to find some black jersey last night, but that's impossible to find.  Why?  WHY?

I did stumble across some fabric which will be a PERFECT print accent for the family room.  Observe, a day in the garden:




The brown matches our couch, and the blue is the color we've chosen to tie the whole house together.  Hooray!  I picked up the last two yards, because I just knew it wouldn't be there if I didn't.

I think I'm going to have to do white for the main part of the curtains, just to brighten the room.  And then I'll line them with block-out, to keep out the light.  Haha.  Paradoxical.

"Working" Vacation

My little getaway trip went as well as I could have hoped. True, I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped - I always aim high - but I was productive, and I did have fun and relax!

Results:
Color palettes chosen for new body of work
Some sketches ready
Ugly blanket at 5/8 complete

To do:
complete more sketches
prep panels
keep truckin on the ugly blanket

I was putting together my sad little CV yesterday for this upcoming print show, and I realized that I've made a lot of stuff! I just need to get it posted on my etsy. There's a LOT of prints. I'll be interested to see the difference between what gets attention there vs. the gallery setting. So far, it's been pretty much the same stuff.

Off to create, create, create!

Hiding in the Hills

I'm taking advantage of a fresh two weeks of vacation, a holiday weekend, and a huge dose of motivation driven by recent events. It equates to the following:

- a full 5, count them: FIVE, days off in a row, using only 2 vacation days.
- a trip to the hilly homestead of my love for relaxation
- much sketching and planning while everyone is asleep!

Packing list:
- laptop full of reference images
- sketchbook
- colored pencils
- project bag with the ugly blanket
- book

Those moments where no one else is up yet are going to be precious to me. So sleep in to your heart's content, my friends! I shall join you in the evening fun!

Who needs sleep, anyway?

Friday Fun!

My wonderful friend Liz is coming in from out of town.  This probably ruins my project goals for the week, but I'm totally ok with that.  If I ever get back to painting, we're going to do a show together!

Yay!  See ya next week!

Vacation in a Nutshell

• Always take lots of caffeine, and when you find the energy shots you like, stock up!  They don't have them where you're going.  
• Avoid the Pennsylvania turnpike.  And Pennsylvania drivers.
• Avoid NY city at all costs.
• Don't depend on your GPS - it doesn't know that construction will force you off of your route and into the Newark NJ airport.  Eek!
• Try not to bother the people who live in the affluent, neighborhood-watched neighborhood where the things you're visiting are located.
• Touristy hiking trails with amazing views of mansions and the ocean are best experienced early in the morning.  And you can get sunburn in October.
• Graveyards are cool, but it helps to know what their hours are.
• Restaurants are great, but it helps to know what their hours are.  Evidently, some places don't serve food between 2 and 5.  Weird.
• It's best to stick to seafood and poultry when you're eating on the coast.  Burgers are better in the midwest.
• DON'T STAY IN A HILTON!
• Don't visit Salem in October.  It's a very cool place, but it's too busy during that time.
• Beauport/Sleeper House was friggin amazing.  Who says you can't build secret stair cases and build your rooms out of doors?  This guy did it in the 20s!
• The Marriott is a most excellent place to stay.  They CALLED ME to see if everything was to my liking!
• If you want to take pictures at night, have a good flash, or other light.
• It's impossible to take a picture of a white stone mausoleum in broad daylight of a woman with grey hair and have it turn out looking right.
• There are very few street signs in New England towns.
• Those streets will confuse the crap out of a GPS.
• Packing a case of water with us was the best idea we've ever had.

Car Camping

I believe it's time to tell you about our weekend mini adventure.

Saturday night (at apparently 11:04) we made the decision to drive on down to Rachel's homeland.  It has been a haven for us, in times when life gets too hectic.  Most would think it's crazy to leave for a long drive at such an hour, and it's certainly not in my nature to do such things.  However, I appreciate spontaneity, and so we set off.  We made a road trip music compilation, grabbed the few things we'd need (pajamas, dog food and leash, bedding, caffiene.)

While the ride is beautiful, there's not much to see but darkness driving at night.  That's part of the charm though.  There are few places where there isn't any light pollution, and to be able to see the stars whizzing by from the car is soothing.

When we got there, we parked out at one of our favorite spots on the lake.  There happens to be a big parking lot, so that's where we made our camp.  Now, we've learned a few things since the last (only other) time we tried to sleep in the car.  Our creation was fairly comfortable, although cramped.  Maybe that's why we only slept for about three hours.  Poor Hazel didn't sleep much either.  Either way, here it is:

We took the head rests off the front seats, and reclined them as far as they would go, while moving the seat part up as far as it would go.  We draped our legs over the front seat, and it was the best sleep in a car I've ever had! 

We left the windows open, and it was a perfect evening for such a thing.  And not a bug bite to speak of! 







We rose early, to this beautiful scene:

It's a large lake, but this is the first glimpse you get coming down the hill from the parking lot. 

We came down here at night once, and sitting on the dock, under the full moon, it was not hard to imagine there were strange creatures just under the surface of the water, waiting for the right moment to attack!

Did I mention I have an overactive imagination?

This is the view from the dock.  Serene doesn't begin to describe it.









After a quick stop at the local grocery for some world-class hot dog sauce (that makes it so even I can eat one), we headed back home.  Rachel spotted this guy on the road as we drove by, so I told her to turn around, and we'd help him out.  Thankfully there's not a lot of traffic at 6 am on Sunday morning on this stretch of road.

He might have been scared, but it was better than squished!  This was the first time I have ever seen an orange turtle!

We were confident that he was trying to get to the pond, so we set him down here. It's funny how good a simple thing like that can make you feel.






And so, though it was a brief visit, we got ourselves re-attuned to nature, and returned feeling much more centered, and recharged, and very, very sleepy.  Poor Hazel was so happy to be home that she started HOWLING when we pulled into the apartment complex.  I love my family, and our little adventures.

Miscellaneous Madness

Things have been a bit crazy since last we spoke, dear readers.  Saturday night involved a spontaneous trip to the little town of Grayson.  There, we parked at the lake, and slept in the car.  With about three hours of sleep, we drove back up.  Even a small visit like that has a way of recharging a person. 

Then Tuesday, I drove to UC for the annual senior art show, and they're continually raising the bar.  It was a great show, and I'm so very proud of everyone who participated this year.  I don't know very many students there anymore, but that's ok.  I still enjoy seeing all the work, and I know how difficult it is to get there. 

Yesterday, at the traditional First Watch breakfast with my friends, I learned that one of my painting teachers passed away last winter.  I can't say I'm surprised, as he was a ridiculous chain smoker and it was lung cancer that finally beat him.  Still, I hate to hear that he won't be sharing his knowledge anymore.  He was tough, opinionated, and never sugar coated anything, but he would push you.  When you got it right, he would let you know.  TC, we'll always remember your "color modulations" and strive never to "swim in a sea of mediocrity."  Every time someone says my work is "off the hook," we'll think of you. 

Slowly, oh so slowly, I'm finding art is seeping back in to my life, and that is fantastic.  Indescribably wonderful, in fact.  I've got some new pieces in the works and I will be posting progress pictures soon.  I'm hoping to open an Etsy account to sell some of my older stuff.  And once I have some solid pieces in the vein that I'd like to work in, I think I'll be joining Blue Canvas.  I found the magazine not long ago, and I simply love the variety of work you'll find in there.  Wish me luck!