wishing you good madness.....

"may your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. i hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful....and don't forget to make some art...write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. and i hope...somewhere in the next year...you surprise yourself."

~neil gaiman

wishing you a year of 

magic

dreams

and

good madness....

happy

new year!

the ancient law of life...

"trees are sanctuaries. whoever knows how to speak to them...whoever knows how to listen to them...can learn the truth. they do not preach learning and precepts...they preach undeterred by particulars...the ancient law of life."

~ herman hesse

angels among us.....

i just wanted to share a picture of the angel i made for my brother and his wife for Christmas. i'm always using found objects and pieces of nature in my art.... and after digging thru my stash i laid out these pieces and began assembling my angel. the rock i chose for the head was the last thing i added. as i was positioning it in different places to see where it best fit i flipped it over and noticed the 'face'......do you see the face in the rock? how cool is that?

Christmas 2011

I hope everyone has a very

Merry Christmas!

another kindred soul

 i'm reading richard merymans book on andrew wyeth.

i've always loved wyeths work.

after reading this i'm seeing his paintings thru new eyes.

and recognizing another kindred soul.....

this is his painting called winter corn 

an excerpt from this book reveals wyeths thoughts:

"i can think of nothing more exciting than just sitting in a

cornfield on a windy fall day and listening to the dry rustle.

when i walk through the rows of blowing corn, i am reminded

always of the way a king must have felt walking down a long

line of knights on horseback with banners blowing. i love to

study the many things that grow below the cornstalks, and bring

them back to the studio to study the color. if one could only catch

the true color of nature. the very thought drives me mad."

do you hear the rustling leaves?

i do....

ho ho ho......

i spent my afternoon making gift tags for my 'gran chillrens' christmas presents

 landon.....my little elf

 hailey....well...'nuff said'!

 cambria...one of my little artists

 nicholas....plays a mean saxaphone

 shelby.....my other artist

and another little elf.....preston

(i used kits from crowabout studiob-b and marta van eck designs) 

voice without a sound....

                                                   "voice without a sound"......
                                                  .....how i'm feeling lately
                                                              

owls.........

i've always had a special affinity for birds....

but owls.....

i want to live in their midst.......



dear universe.....

dear universe...

please bring this film to a town near me........

vivian maier

vivian maier....  street photographer
reclusive....eccentric

her work was shared with the world only after her death....

blessings.....

simple country treasures are counted among my

many blessings......

happy thanksgiving

yes.....please!

ready for a little visit to Rye?

yes....please!

wish big!

i've got my cell phone alarm set so i don't miss this!

WISH BIG!!!

(image from pinterest)

playing.........

i remember when my children were little and played

with colorforms. the digital kits available now are much

the same concept....how fun! i think most people use these

in scrapbooking. unfortunately most of the artist i purchase

my kits from don't allow you to use their kits on anything that

you will sell......sigh......they're sooooooooo cute!

(elements from crowabout studio, marta van eck, my own ephemera, texture by shadowhouse creations)

simply smitten.....

a murmuration of starlings....

absolutely AMAZING!

nature smites me with her beauty......

8337

"i shot the sheriff....but i swear it was in self defense...."


~bob marley





(graphics fairy, image courtesy of b. jackson, my own ephemera)

ahhhhhhhh.....my little chickadee!

i LOVE these smoke detectors by louise van der veld......

want! want! want!

unexpected gifts.......

unexpected gifts.....

i got this one while walking thru the parking lot to my car.

i never could figure out what was causing this reflection....

just the universe showing some love!

215

this is another piece in my "inmate series"

i decided to title each piece with an inmate number.

i think these images are fabulous and can't thank

mr. jackson enough for allowing me to have creative

license with them.

(textures by shadowhouse creations, brushes by inobscuro, image courtesy of b. jackson, my ephemera)

unsaid.....

"there's a difference between unspoken and unsaid...."

WOW.....

i picked this book up from the library last thursday...

without reading the summary....just looked like something i'd like...

and read it yesterday. it's about the power of human

and animal relationships. as is frequently the case with

me....it appears i was guided in this choice.

i lost my animal companion of fifteen years this past friday....

to paraphrase a line in the book...

you gave more than you got in return

i miss you little buddy.....

11785

i've been working with old photos of inmates from

arkansas state prison lately. this piece is titled "11785"...

is it just me....or does this fellow resemble

don "barney fife" knotts?

(textures by jinterwas, brushes by chain, inmate photo courtesy of b. jackson, my own ephemera)

Even Eagles Need a Push Movie

Even Eagles Need a Push Movie: We've all seen it, or felt it, at some point in our life; how just one moment of encouragement can change a life forever. It can be the greatest gift you'll ever give...or receive.

ready for halloween?

getting ready for halloween?......i am.....

i'll share my eyes with you......

this is catman.

he is 15 years old and has been with me since he was a kitten....

and he's been an outside cat all these years.

i've noticed in the last month that his vision seemed to be failing.

last week i came to realize he is completely blind...

although he managed to get around very well...

except for some missed steps and a few head bumps.

i can't bring him inside after living outside for his entire life.

i frequently let him on the screened porch with me so he is

familiar with the floor plan.....so....for now....

it's his new home.

he was always content to sit at the glass door

and watch me inside the house from the porch.

now i look out and more often than not

he's facing the corner wall instead of the door

listening for me i assume......

i can't tell you how much it breaks my heart

to see him like that....

oh.....and the litter box.....

a new experience for him...

he always gets in the box.....

but usually backs up too far...

and poops over the side onto the porch...

he does the best he can.

so i'll do the best i can...

to care for him.

catman.....

i'll share my eyes with you.......

beet cake

i can't wait to try this cake by tiger in a jar.....

i wish all my recipes were captured this way....

in need of wings.......

feeling the need for change.......

and wings.......

angel flight.............

this is how i imagine angels see the world.........

national coffee day

it's national coffee day.....

like i need an excuse to drink more coffee.......

hook me up....i'll take mine intravenously.......

(image from pinterest)

sunray kelley

Want! Want! Want! one of these houses by Sunray Kelley..............

simple pleasures

"i lived in the wood until i was slain by the relentless axe. in life

i was silent....but in death my melody is exquisite."

~motto carved on a violin by luthier gasper duiffoprugcar

i watched a group of talented artisans make these at an 'old time' fiddlers convention

...held in a cow pasture by a creek... up in the north carolina mountains.

there was music...toe tapping...food...and fellowship aplenty.

simple pleasures....

my way..........

yep.......that's me!

found on pinterest

starlight freckles......

starlight freckles in a moonlit mountain sky.......

always someones puppet.....

"i've been a puppet...a pauper...a pirate...

a poet...a pawn and a 'queen'...

i've been up and down

and over and out....

and i know one thing...

each time i find myself flat on my face...

i pick myself up...

and get back in the race."

....do you ever feel like you're always someones puppet?

(graphics: the body farm, puppets, abandoned and rusty at deviantscrap)

what big eyes you have.....

Daniel Egneus has illustrated a retelling of Grimm's Red

Riding Hood. His art is magical.....

"her mind lives in a quiet room...

a narrow room...and tall...

with pretty lamps to quench the gloom

and mottoes on the wall.

there all the things are waxen neat

and set in decorous lines...

and there are posies...round and sweet...

and little straightened vines.

her mind lives tidily...apart

from cold and noise and pain...

and bolts the door against her heart...

out wailing in the rain."

~a retelling of Grimm's Red Riding Hood

these words speak of my world.....

thanks to schools.......

"if there were no schools to take children

away from home part of the time...

the insane asylums

would be filled with mothers."

~edgar w. howe

(graphics from finecraftedDesign)

Tim Walker Photography

Tim Walker Photography........WOW!

September 11

My sister in laws birthday is September 11.....yep....THAT day.

I took this picture of her house for her birthday card.

Her last name is Little.....

She has a boss who is rather hard to deal with at times so

I made her a "dammit doll" with her boss's face on it.

The instructions with the doll read:

When you want to kick the desk

or throw the phone and shout.

Here's a little dammit doll

you cannot do without.

Just grasp it firmly by the legs

and find a place to slam it.

And as you whack its stuffing out

yell....

dammit! dammit! dammit!

I know her boss...

I don't really expect it to last too long.......

I See the Moon

I took this week off for a little down time....

studio time.....

trip to Asheville....

but as we all know the best laid plans will crumble...

my brother had a mishap and landed in the hospital...

the check engine light in my NEW car came on....

and have I been in the studio..not 'til today.

but I sure have enjoyed being home

especially having my morning coffee on the porch

with these 60 degree mornings...

throwing rocks at the moon......

sometimes....

after a long day at work

all i want to do is sit on the roof

and throw rocks at the moon.....

what a grand old girl

we have so many wonderful old homes around our town.
i've always wanted to see inside this one but i don't know
who owns it. maybe one day it will be on our annual
tour of homes.......

waiting for love.......

I finally broke down and got a Mac computer.

I've been wanting one FOREVER but have always used PCs and was

more than a little leery of the learning curve.

To make matters worse I upgraded from Photoshop Elements 9 to CS5.

I spent my weekend stumbling around in a new operating system AND program....

NOT recommended!

but......I really love them both!

Now I can do all the cool manipulations I've been drooling over....

This is my first attempt in CS5.....my friends derelict home...

he actually lives here in the summer...broken windows....leaks...and all.

I've talked to him about getting a grant to fix this ole girl up but

he can't get enough without some matching funds....

such a shame.....

in the meantime....

she's waiting for love.....

Fly Away Home

This piece was created for Digitalmania's Suzanne Sbarge challenge.

(Credits: the graphics fairy, deviantscrap, lastdoordownthehall, joesistah, flickr stock)

hmmmmmmmmmm......

damned if they don't!

(found on pinterest)

double trouble.........

"we came into the world like brother and brother...

and now let's go hand in hand...

not one before the other."

~william shakespeare

(kirsten frank texture, the graphics fairy, redheadstock and inobscuro brushes)

yes, yes, and yes.........

Absolutely!

a matter of perspective....

i guess it's all a matter of perspective........

(seen on Pinterest)

the gift that keeps on giving.....

I see there are others that feel the same as I do about glitter.........

found this on pinterest.....

Booze Cakes

Booze Cakes

be still my heart......

thoughts of her....

here's a piece i made with the newest freebie from LandofNod.
he seemed lost in thought to me...
hmmmm....
wonder what he's thinking of....

(thanks to LandofNod, Kim Klassen, Le Rain, Digea, and Inobscuro for the graphics and brushes)

what a way to start the day......

happy sunday morning....

have an EGGcellent day!

say cheese.......

"i always thought good photos were like good jokes...

if you have to explain it....it just isn't that good."

~anonymous