Summer in January

80 degrees, sunny and nothing planned. A nice day for a boat ride and fishing on the lake!

Freak out!

On Saturday evening I was about to open the internet on my Ipad and post on the blog. Well, an official looking pop up for Safari-apple popped up and notified me that my safari was locked because my system was hacked and I needed to call the 1800-870-3001 immediately for technical support....... , it would not go away and I fell for it..... long story short, I allowed them to hack into my system and realized it when they asked too many questions and wanted to charge me over $350. to "fix" the hack. I unplugged, shut down the modem, and  then spent the rest of the evening clearing my browser history, changing all my passwords and locking down my bank accounts. That was such a fun Saturday night!!! DO NOT Call that NUMBER!!!! Monday wasn't that great either, spending my lunch hour at the bank changing everything....

On a positive note, Saturday afternoon was spent at the neighborhood park exploring the trails with the dogs.  I can actually walk to it from my house.  The dogs loved it and since the weather was beautiful we stayed out for several hours. Depending on the trail I take, it can to intertwine to other parks through other neighborhoods which is nice. Essentially this park doesn't have me walking in circles, which I love that!

contemplating

I never finished college..... I work full time at a pretty decent job, and I'm in my late forties. I went into the real estate field knowing that I could make money without a degree over time. However, throughout my life, in my journals I  repetitively wrote, (for DECADES), the one thing I want is a degree.

I have attended classes here and there over the last 20 years. Now I am faced with a reality that I can finish a degree at reputable university here in San Antonio, completely on line by the time I'm 50. Now that it is possible, I'm afraid and having second thoughts about it.  I feel that I am at a cross road.  Do I keep working and play with my art, or do I spend every free moment pursuing a degree and changing the course of my career. The degree I am looking at is organizational development. The work is in corporations, not in the arts. I have been accepted to the university, I just need to register for my classes......  I'm not sure....

Well, I guess I'm going to go cut some glass and create something for now.....  

"Peaceful Day"

Good morning world!!! I woke up, ran into into the garage, opened the kiln just to see how my piece turned out. I actually like it!

Here is my completed piece: "Peaceful Day"  for donation to the SaySi "small scale art for a larger cause" The silent auction is on March 25, 2016. Once all the artwork is in they will have it available online. If anyone is interested in purchasing art before the silent auction they pay the retail price, or more, if they feel generous.  I will post the link with all the artwork once is't available.

                                           

                                                     "Peaceful Day"    7"x 9"                $120.00
                            Powder fused glass drawing with painted background in shadow box
                                                             

Texas sunset

It's a windy, sunny, 65+ degrees,  barefoot, capri kind of day!!! Went out for a few minutes to wash my paint brushes off and play ball with my dogs.  Honestly, I would love it if the weather could be like this all the time!!! 

My kids have left the coop this weekend, getting settled back into their apartments to gear up for classes next week. I already miss them and the house feels empty without them. They don't know it yet, but I will be visiting them soon!

This afternoon I created the background for my shadow box, it a Texas sunset (acrylics).  The fused glass will sit a few inches in front of the painting in the shadow box to give it a nice affect.  I know what I want to draw out on the glass and fuse it, but I'm not going say what my my design will be, just in case it doesn't turn out and I have to completely change it. Now, I am going to go back outside and play before the sun does set. Enjoy your day!

Projects in the works

I have a few projects that I am working on.  1st off is a 40"x 32" painting of the beach. The picture was taken by a friend of mine that lives in Rockaway Beach, NY, and with her permission I have been referencing the photograph for the painting. It's still a work progress but I do like the way it's turning out. On to my glass art; I was excited to receive an e-mail invitation to donate a "small" piece of art to SaySi  for their annual silent auction that benefits their art programs.  I really do love their school and feel that art is very important, it opens up the children's creative mind. So I will be working on that piece soon ( I just have to get to my kiln in the garage).  Now, another project has taken over my mind. Since we have moved in to the new house I have been debating in my head what kind of stained glass art do I want to create for the large octagon window that is in my office/art studio???? Well, for a very long time I've wanted to make an astrology circle, and I think this window would be PERFECT for it!!!!!!  Now it's time to measure, draw out, pick some glass and get to work!

I took afternoon off from work today, it was too beautiful outside to stay inside. I also wanted to spend some time with my kids before they leave for school.  I ended up buying pansies today, and planted them at our mail box. I also opened up most of the windows in the house.  Once I get the off this computer, I will be venturing outside again before the sun goes down so I can enjoy the spring like weather! It's just too beautiful to be inside!

Rockport sunset

There is something calming about water, the smell of sea salt in the wind, and a great sunset.  This was my first time venturing down to Rockport, TX.  The main reason we all wanted to go was to see the pavilion my daughter participated in building with the architecture studio she was in this past semester. The pavilion won design excellence out of all the studios. It was built in Goose Island state park in the youth camping area.  As my daughter was telling us all about the details of how they built structure, and the tables, she also told us that the park will be planting native vines to grow up on the wire wall and native plants around it.  I think the boy scouts and girl scouts who camp there will really enjoy this!

The park also has one of the longest fishing piers I have ever seen.  We fished until the sun started to go down and a freezing wind started to pick up.  It was so calming to watch the water move and the sun go down.  I think I will go back and visit soon.

Just art

With a new year in motion it always makes me think about things that I want to do, change, or stop doing altogether.

I usually keep my art for the weekends or lunch hours, but last night I decided that instead of plopping myself in front of the tv after dinner, I would paint.  I turned on some music, picked up the paint brush and before I knew it three hours had gone by and it was time for bed. It felt really good.

I read an article the other day where this person took strange and unique postcards, wrote on the back of them and mailed them to random people from the white pages. He even wrote a small disclaimer that they need not worry about ever getting anything from him ever again. I thought it was a cute idea, and remembered the small little watercolors I was creating over the summer, and leaving them on the picnic tables with some positive notes on the back of them.

Sometimes I feel I have a tad of ADD, I have all these ideas in my head and go from one project to the next project with out fully completing things.  Don't get me wrong I have completed many projects in the past, but sometimes what seems like a great idea, takes too long or I just lose interest and it gets left behind.  My biggest problem is when I try to create a series of art, Say if I decide to do a series of flowers from 1 to 6 well, by 4 I've lost interest.  A series of daily watercolors, by 4 or 5, I've lost interest.  I realize my personality is not a patient one and I get bored easily,  I like to do one project, finish it, and move on to a completely new and different type of project. I guess in my own personal way I like change, or I have ADD, it's one or the other.

I look at successful artists and can recognize their artwork simply by their repetitive style, and wonder if I could ever be like that.

Here is some artwork from Zios Shutties' apartment in the Bronx.  Every inch of his apartment is filled with his own artwork (except for the bathroom, that would be disrespectful to his art)
I love his artwork!

 

Happy New Year!

My husband and I brought the new year in sitting outside in front of a warm cozy fire, talking about the past year and our thoughts about the new year ahead. It was really nice. 

Not much else is going on but a lazy, relaxing weekend and enjoying my kids before they leave to go back to school.......