Honda Fit Camper Conversion part 1

i've been spending a LOT of time researching this

car camping thingy. i've even started making some

basic purchases

i already have a two burner propane camp stove but

bought this one burner butane stove to save space. since

i don't have solar i got this fatmax that plugs into my

car so i can charge my phone and laptop while i'm

driving. 

 

 

i got three of these Luci lights. they are roughly about

the size of a softball and you just blow them up with

your breath. they are solar led lights and are hung in

the sun through the day to charge...with three

settings....low....bright....and blinking (whaaaaaaa...

i'm thinking disco!) they actually put out a lot of

light....enough to read by.

 

 

i spent the afternoon (YES...it took me all afternoon!)

making two screens for my car windows. those of you

who are long time readers of my blog know that the

sewing machine is not my friend. this material is tulle

which i found extremely hard to work with. it's slippery

and my old eyes had a hard time seeing if the edges

matched up. even though i pinned the tulle between

a strip of cloth to sew the edge it still slipped and i had

to resew lots (partly because the bobbin thread ran out...

took me three tries sewing one side before i figured

out why it wasn't working!) 

here's the screen on my car window. it allows you to

crack (or roll down) the window for a breeze without

letting in the bugs. the screen just slips over the top of

the open door and when you close the door you put a

magnetic strip across the bottom (the white thing) to

block entry. the peel off backing on this magnetic strip

keeps coming off so i'm going to try sticking some metal

heat duct tape on it to see if that will stay.

 

 

 

again....since i don't have solar...i'm planning on buying

this battery operated fan and getting some rechargeable

batteries. i know i won't be able to sleep in the car if it's

too hot so i'm hoping the screens and fan will do the 

trick. i'm also planning to get a uv tarp to set up over

the top of the car for shade and to be able to sit/cook

under. 

originally i had planned to purchase this REI 3.5 self inflating 

camp bed but it's pretty pricey and with all the other things

i need to get i've opted to use my couch pillows...they are an

exact fit for the space where i will be sleeping and really

comfortable. i plan to get a fitted twin cotton mattress cover

to put on the cushions under the sheets so hopefully they

won't get dirty. 

this is a pan that mechanics use to catch oil drips that

i bought for under my supplies when i use encaustic

wax. it's very light...about the weight of a cookie pan.

it's the same width and length as two of my couch

pillows and i plan to use it on top of the pillows/bed as

a work station with the back hatch up to prep food or

whatever.

soooo....that's where i am. my next project will be

curtains for the back of my car. i'm going junking

for a fleece blanket that i can cut up to make

 curtains....and trust me....they will NOT be

 anything that needs sewing!

Yep....I'm Cra Cra

this time every year i get all hepped up and want to 

plant flowers everywhere. i do dearly love me some

flowers! this area across my front porch always gets

too much sun during our hot southern summers for 

anything to do really well so this year i decided on

succulents and lemon balm.

another reason for the succulents...i'm hoping to take a

few road trips this summer. i really...really...really would

like to have a class b rv....like a pleasure-way:

truth is...i can't afford one...and if i had one

i couldn't afford to keep insurance on it plus my 

car. i have a honda fit:

 

the back seats lay down and make a nice cargo area

for hauling things around....which i'm wont to do...so

i thought...hmmmm...maybe i can use my car to camp

with. well...i immediately got lost in you tube land 

because....wow....there are bunches of folks doing this!

it appears to be some kind of new movement to do

"stealth camping" in modified conversion vans and 

cars.....who knew? it sure looks like something that

can be done on a shoestring budget.

here is an interesting video of a woman my age that 

travels across the country in her prius... which size wise

is pretty much like my car. i know the whole "bathroom"

thing will probably freak most of you out but as someone

who spent a lot of time hauling horses around and camping

in the boondocks...i've already done my share of this kind

of thing. i think i really need to give this a try...my honda

gets 40 miles to the gallon and i could do a lot of road

tripping with this set up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suiPFn3xa2E

Stay Weird

more "just for fun" silliness.....

i'm not weird...

i'm

a

limited

edition!

I Have Not Failed

don't you just love happy accidents? i like using my

scrap/blot papers in my journals. i thought the one on

the right looked like houses. 

journal spread of the day: i have not failed

The Seer

i played in my "just for fun" journal today.

as usual...it walked off on it's own path and

and left me with whisperings in my head.

"the sight"....my grandmother 

had it...my mother also. it scared the bejesus out

of me as a child but as an adult i recognize it

for the gift that it is. 

 

 

She Talks To Angels

i do......

Infinite

in·fi·nite

ˈinfənət/

adjective

adjective: infinite

limitless or endless in space, extent, or size;

IMPOSSIBLE TO MEASURE or calculate.

                                              

                                                      

Done

done

this PEELING away

of my UNTRUTHS

here is a flip through

of my journal/journey:

Ashes

ashes

plural noun

the powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.

the REMAINS of something destroyed; RUINS

the remains of the human body after cremation or burning

Disappointments

still PEELING layers

 

this:

 

disappointments

 

RELEASING.....

 

Unhurt

it is NOT about

the MATERIAL things

it was

NEVER

about the

material 

things....

UNSEE

the ATROCITIES i've seen

one human inflicting upon

another

HUMANS.....

man

woman

child

i worked in this

TOO many years

now i want to

UNSEE 

Shedding

i worked at a job for years

where i could show no FEAR

it became my persona

hardened

how i really felt....

weak

VULNERABLE

afraid

i CARRY that fear still

and a need to peel it

AWAY

shedding....

Peeling

fears....

hurts......

disappointments.....

over the years the

PROTECTIVE layers have

built up

lead paint on a window seal...

chipped

multicolored

hard work 

this PEELING away

the not me

slow...

meditative...

peeling....

Unbecoming........

so....maybe you thought i was GONE

i thought that too

i've spent the last few months RAGING

against the ruins of this shell i call me

and unbecoming that ONE

peeling OFF layer

after layer

of my

UNTRUTH

journaling

releasing

UNBECOMING

Bath Redo

 

when you don't have any luck finding a soap 

dispenser for your bath redo....

paint your own!

She Who Is Blessed

she who is blessed....that's ME!

it's time for a little redecorating around here.

i've decided i need a more artful home.

my starting point is my main bath. i've ordered

this shower curtain from one of my favorite

artists...Linda Vachon:

and this rug...

and i painted the she who is blessed picture over

a 24" x 36" canvas that was already hanging

in there. i was trying to make it in her style to keep

with the theme. i'm not sure what i'll put on the

counter and other walls.

oh...and i also ordered a duvet for my bed:

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

this is going to be sooooooo

much fun!

I Stand Alone

some days it just feels like this...

Still the Mind....

i did a little porch sitting yesterday with

a praying mantis. i'm fascinated by these

little creatures....though some aren't so

little. i've got several around my porch

that are larger than my hand!

i took this picture of my porch sitting buddy

and turned it into a brush to use in my

art journaling:

there are several lessons praying mantis brings...

one of which is to still your outer mind and go

within.

i need that reminder every so often....

thanks little 

buddy.

Making Stencils with Contact Paper

when you live on a wing and a prayer you have

to get creative with your art supplies. i like using

stencils in my journaling but don't have the budget

for them. today i tried making my own using regular

shelving contact paper and some scrapbook paper.
they worked great! i blotted on the paint with a

makeup sponge and then wiped the stencil clean

with a baby wipe. these should hold up well with
 repeated use.

i made a quick little video on this….something that

is waaaaaay out of my comfort zone but maybe

i'll get better!

Making Stencils with Contact Paper:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxEbZ8df4kM

ps….
nothing says Starving Artist like using a paint stick
and binder clip to hold your phone while making
a video…..lol

There's No Lie in Her Fire

todays journal page inspired by the
following poem:

An Almost Made Up Poem

I see you drinking at a fountain with tiny

blue hands, no, your hands are not tiny

they are small, and the fountain is in France

where you wrote me that last letter and

I answered and never heard from you again.

you used to write insane poems about

ANGELS AND GOD, all in upper case, and you

knew famous artists and most of them

were your lovers, and I wrote back, it’s all right,

go ahead, enter their lives, I’m not jealous

because we never met. we got close once in

New Orleans, one half block, but never met, never

touched. so you went with the famous and wrote

about the famous, and, of course, what you found out

is that the famous are worried about

their fame –– not the beautiful young girl in bed

with them, who gives them that, and then awakens

in the morning to write upper case poems about

ANGELS AND GOD. we know God is dead, they told

us, but listening to you I wasn’t sure. maybe

it was the upper case. you were one of the

best female poets and I told the publishers,

editors, “ her, print her, she’s mad but she’s

magic. there’s no lie in her fire.” I loved you

like a man loves a woman he never touches, only

writes to, keeps little photographs of. I would have

loved you more if I had sat in a small room rolling a

cigarette and listened to you piss in the bathroom,

but that didn’t happen. your letters got sadder.

your lovers betrayed you. kid, I wrote back, all

lovers betray. it didn’t help. you said

you had a crying bench and it was by a bridge and

the bridge was over a river and you sat on the crying

bench every night and wept for the lovers who had

hurt and forgotten you. I wrote back but never

heard again. a friend wrote me of your suicide

3 or 4 months after it happened. if I had met you

I would probably have been unfair to you or you

to me. it was best like this.  ~charles bukowski

Reading My Scars

scars…..

we all have them.

physical…

mental…

imagined…

they're like bread crumbs
dropped along the path of life
...giving you a map back to the
beginning like written memories.

with the passing of another birthday
i sit in quiet contemplation…
...reading my scars
...like words on a
page.

Pocket Journal

i made myself a little pocket journal out of a playing card
box after watching Tracy Moore (Teesha Moore's husband)
construct his in a video through The Artstronaut's Club.

i have to say i'm pleased at how it turned out. the link below
is a video flip through. i'm not set up to video in my studio
so it's just my phone camera and a one handed flip through
but you'll get a glimpse anyway.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glcJ8IORQas

More Random Acts of Kindness

it's been a while since i've abandoned any art.

i'm having lunch with a friend today and plan to

leave the cork for the waiter….the rock will be

left at the book store.

everyone likes an occasional gift.

do you practice random acts of kindness?

Queen of the Land of Bad Hair

can you tell what kind of 'hair day' i've had today?

Offer Yourself....

 

it's all i have to give...

Happy Camper!

 

I've been published in Somerset Digital Studio.....

 

hApPy cAmPeR....!

The Sisters

 

i tried to do some clay mono printing that resulted in

a major fail. i could have kept trying but when it dawned

on me that i was limited to the material i could print on

i decided to try something different. i purchased a Gelli

Plate last year and had never even opened the package

so i dug that out and started experimenting. i'll have to

say...my first few prints were failures also. the majority

of my paints are not heavy bodied and trust me when i

say...it makes a BIG difference. i'm going to have to

"rob peter to pay paul" and go on a paint buying spree.

(i say that like it breaks my heart...snerk!)

 

that's my mother in the lower right corner and the

middle of the three girls. the others are her sisters.

i've got a box of old family photos that i don't think 

either of my children will be interested in saving

after i'm gone. i decided to put them all in an art

journal in hopes that maybe that will entice one

of them into continuing my position as the

family history keeper. i plan to include an index

in the journal with the names and a little history

of who is in each piece.

 

Once Upon a Time.....

today's journal spread with a quote from Terry

Tempest Williams book...When Women Were Birds.

i love this book...i've had it for years and frequently

reimmerse myself in her world.

i'm a singer....

i sing all the time...

people would appreciate it

more if i could carry a tune....

doesn't stop me....

i am NOT my Mother

i did a little journaling with Procreate today. 

i really like digital journaling. the cost of apps

is way less expensive than art supplies. i usually

print the page and glue it in one of my journals

adding a little paint or ephemera to finish the piece.

by the way….every time i pass a mirror i have 

to remind myself that i am NOT my Mother...