Sunday, March 25, 2012

blog hopping with my pal, Pam, today!




Our Next Artist is Up for the Artful Gathering Blog Hop!





Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat,
Open for Registration!
Blog Hop your way for chance to win!




From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.





Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!


Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.





You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.



Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:

  1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
  2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the 25.00 e-card to Jerrys.


Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!


Please HOP over and visit the Amazing

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Road Trip!





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I've talked about it briefly, but in this post, I wanted to share my upcoming trip with you. On April 16th, I am driving from New Jersey to California, where I will land around May 2 to teach at Artistic Affaire in Manhattan Beach. For the last 15 years, I have been a caregiver for my son, Tucker. Although, we do what we have to out of love, there is no doubt that our lives (my husband and I) have left us with many worries and very little freedom. I'm taking advantage of this opportunity to teach in my home state and turning it into an adventure for myself. It is a chance to rediscover myself and be on my own. I am a very independent person and crave solitude.This is the perfect solution to fulfill this in a creative endeavor. It will be interesting to see just how fast I start to miss "home"!

Along the way, I am staying with art friends. I'm giving myself 2 weeks to dilly dally, drive leisurely and have a flexible schedule to do whatever comes up that I deem "fun and exciting". This is something I am always wanted to do and I am excited to make my way back to my home state.

After I am done teaching, I will then continue my trip by visiting with family (my mom, sister, niece, dad, etc.) and other friends. I have various places in California that I will be hitting (my favorite places such as Monterey,Pacific Grove, San Simeon). I'm looking forward to photographing the otters and elephant seals. I'm just excited to see my home state and I want to hit as many places as possible that I can before heading back home. I'll also deviate over to Nevada to visit my father in Fallon and teach 2 classes in Reno. It's been about 3 years since I have seen either of my parents, so visits are overdue.

I made some jewelry pieces that I am going to be selling online (here) to help raise a little road money (gas and hotels). So I guess you could consider this a little fundraiser. I've always have been very supportive of everyone and I figured, why not try and earn a few dollars to begin my adventure. I will be most grateful for your support and encouragement as I leave on this adventure.

To me, this journey is all about love. And by definition, I am defining "love" very openly. It is love for my children, for my family. It is love for a few special friends that are battling serious illnesses. It is love for my my art friends who constantly show me support and encouragement and teach me to really remember what is important. It is even love for strangers; other women who need my support; even if that support comes in the form of a simple smile.

When talking of this trip to many friends, I've been hearing the same thing over and over. "you are so lucky that you get to do this" or "i too have always wanted to make such a trip". It made me think of something that has always been important to me and that is to realize that even though we are all our own person, we are all the same as well. You = Me. My good friend, Jane, painted a picture of a woman with brown hair and wings tonight and I said, "if you make her hair longer, She is Me". and that brings me to my point. Although we are different people, essentially, we are all the same. we think similarly, we feel
similarly, we like the same art, the same books, the same stuff from the flea market, and on and on. it can't be coincidence, that all of us have so much in common. But I also think about other women as well. Women that I don't know. I saw a woman crying at the store recently and I remembered the time, when Tucker's illness was very new and raw and I was shopping for things he needed. I was in a store and I was crying because the pain was unbearable. No one noticed, or no one said anything. But since then I've seen women crying and I've acknowledged them. Because, you see, that stranger crying for whatever reason is no different from me. "She is Me".

It helps me empathize with others to identify my pain with hers. None of us are very different in that fact. We all have pain and we all have our story. It's just a matter of remembering that.

I've created 3 different pieces - all of the hearts to go with the theme of love. There are soldered hearts that are $30. resin hearts that are $30 and my voodoo love hearts that are $40 (limited amount of these). All pendants, handmade by me, come on a ball chain. Please know that I put a lot of LOVE into these. Prices include shipping. This will be first come, first serve. But even if your favorite word might not be available, I'm sure you can find another piece that will suffice just as well :)

keep in mind that you don't have to wear them as pendants. you can hang them in your car, put on key chain or even drape around your studio.

If you see something you like, please email me (keeshagirl4@aol.com) with a description of the piece, "resin heart, "sing", for example, and if it is still available, I will send you a paypal invoice (and please make sure i have your correct paypal address to invoice).

update: if you see a line through a word, then it is sold already.
----------------------------------------------------

Voodoo love hearts $40. choose from the following words:
love, kiss, cherish, amore, hug, xoxo, trust and j'taime.























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Resin hearts $30: choose from the following words:
cherish, love , sugar, kiss, bliss, sing, heart and xoxo













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Soldered hearts $30. Choose from the following words:
brave, laugh, hope, sing, kiss, cherish, smile, joy, fly, and heart













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So as I begin my journey, I will document it for you to enjoy. To participate virtually, because I know, as women, we long to find ourselves again. I am you and you are me. come along for the ride; I know we will have a grand time.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

blog hopping




Our Next Artist is Up for the Artful Gathering Blog Hop!






Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat,

Open for Registration!

Blog Hop your way for chance to win!


From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.


Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!





Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.







You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.




Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:


  1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!

  2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the 25.00 e-card to Jerrys.



Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!



Link
Please HOP over and visit the Amazing
Pick Up the Next Secret Word
Riki Schumacher
http://www.riki schumacher

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stop by on Monday for a new post on my upcoming cross country trip to California!



Sunday, March 11, 2012

spring forward on the blog hop!


Our Next Artist is Up for the Artful Gathering Blog Hop!



Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat,
Open for Registration!
Blog Hop your way for chance to win!



From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.



Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!



Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.





You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.


Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:


  1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!

  2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the 25.00 e-card to Jerrys.



Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!



Please HOP over and visit the Amazing
Cat Kerr
Http://inthelightofthemoon.blogspot.com
(Pick Up the Next Secret Word)





Friday, March 9, 2012

holding my breath




I've been silently holding my breath over the last few days waiting for the tests results to come in for my friend. (suspected Lymphoma). She called me tonight and the results are not good. "Malignant Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma ".

Scary words. That was the hardest phone call I ever sat through. What do you say? I'm very aware in these situations that she has all her own feelings to deal with, let alone everyone else's. I told her, I wanted her to know that she could always count on me to be real. she could crumble in front of me, not have to put on a brave face for me and that i would sit by her and hold her hand. I guess I've been down that road of pain, so I am a very good
driver.

Please pray for my sweet friend. Tucker's one good friend; out of the few he'll ever have.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Sunday, March 4, 2012

It's Sunday - blog hop continues!




Our Next Artist is Up for the Artful Gathering Blog Hop!





Celebrating Artful Gathering 2012 Online Art Retreat,
Open for Registration!

Blog Hop your way for chance to win!




From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.




Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!






Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.






You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!


Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.
Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:


  1. For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!

  2. Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the 25.00 e-card to Jerrys.




Week by week we'll go from one blog to the next!




Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!




Please HOP over and visit the Amazing
Pat Winter Gatherings
http://www.gatherings100.blogspot.com/

(Pick Up the Next Secret Word)


Saturday, March 3, 2012

little box of love




i received terrible news today that a friend is suspected of having lymphoma. she undergoes a biopsy next week, so we will know more next week. needless to say i am heartsick over this. she loves my art, so i made this little box of love for her to hang in her car (or wherever.....)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

on my worktable



continuing on with my picture of a day of things i've been creating:





just poured resin in this metal house - so now waiting for it to dry

slide show!