Looking forward

I've been tagged! My assignment is to share 6 weird things about myself. Then I have to tag 6 others, they have to do the same, and it goes from there.

1. I have an English degree and I'm not a good waitress. (even funnier, I went to college to get out of the food industry! Yeah, I'm laughing all the way to the loan repayment office.)

2. Little corn, like the kind you get in Chinese food, creeps me out. I don't think I'm scared of it, but there is something really strange about it, I mean where is the little cob? To this day I've never eaten one. Don't plan on it.

3. I met my current husband in a chicken coop that was refitted to be a band's rehearsal space. I was auditioning as the singer.

4. I have naturally curly hair. I think the devil sneaks in each night while I'm sleeping and tightens the springs.

5. My three children were born in three different states. I was aiming for all 50, but I got tired.

6. All the dirty jokes I ever learned worth telling, I learned from my mother. And I'm still telling them.

Now half of the reason this took me so long (I was tagged just ages ago) is that I really went surfing for other sites I like. Some of these gals just seem really personable and the blog feels like a friendly visit, others are just starting to blog and deserve some traffic, some make unusual stuff, all worth seeing. So in no particular order here they are.
http://goodgirlsstudio.blogspot.com/
http://www.curlymonkeyandco2.blogspot.com/
http://eyepopart.blogspot.com/
http://www.beingcrafty.net/
http://vinylmonster.blogspot.com/
http://knitsteel.blogspot.com/

Now if you're really looking to kill some time you can check out each of their sites, see their 6 weird things and who they tag until you get dizzy.

Okay, so I can't say how much I'm looking forward to not being overwhelmed. September is coming, it's just around the corner. They can't go and move it on me can they? Where would they hide it with their little jam hands that I couldn't find it? September is coming.

Would you believe the gallery owner was actually really nice and receptive to my comments and she's going to give me the means to get in touch with all the people that participated in the show, so this art group may really take off, we'll see. Deb Morbeto whipped up some invites to the information meeting we're having where I can lay out the whole idea to people and they can sign up if they're game. Deb used to be a graphic designer, she's got a great palette, stong composition and her paintings have this incredible texture to them. Check out her work here http://www.thedebweb.com/. I'm also going to put an ad in the paper, so we'll see how much of a turn out we get. I'll keep you posted. Also, the piece that got into the show, sold. Yeah me. Boo my modest pricing. Ah well, it all spends the same.

And in other, other news. My neighbors moved! It's so strange to have the big house empty. I hadn't realized how much I'd come to depend on the kids almost always having playmates at the ready. I guess you never realize what you've got until you don't. Hoping a new family moves in there with nice kids. We'll see. The good news is that the neighbors didn't move far so we can all visit each other often. It's funny to think how much they feel like family now.

A summer full of busy

So much to catch up on! Eric worked straight through for almost three weeks, so I didn't get any breaks, then I went to New Hampshire for a wee bit all by myself to visit some old friends. Like this painting that I gave to Kristi as a wedding present.

Kristi was looking pretty good too, but not feeling up to photos on the web. And I was lucky enough to see not just my friend Sandy but also her son Gregg and his girlfriend Amy and the whole family! It was a really great trip and a nice breath of fresh air to be an adult without small people hanging on me. To see Sandy with her grown children and how well they're all doing is a nice reminder of what I'm headed towards as well. Though I guess it's too much to hope for that once kids are grown they'll have grown out of all their bad habits.

While I was there I learned about something called Non-Violent Communication created by Marshall Rosenberg. It's hard to describe but worth checking out if you want to get along better with people, resolve conflicts, teach children ect. There are books, CDs, ect. and they have this website http://www.cnvc.org/


Once I got back Eric went down to visit his dad in GA for 6 days and now we're here. While Eric was gone I submitted some artwork into the annual juried show they do at a local gallery here. The theme is the same every year, Something Hot. It's a tad ambiguous. It's interesting to see what people come up with to fit in the theme and the different styles people present. The judging system is pretty arbitrary and dependent on the one judge's taste. After the judging they provide an open critique at the gallery. In the past I really enjoyed the critique process because I learned a lot and was able to see all that was submitted but this year the woman judging was really horrible, negative and condescending. I don't know if there is anything she would like if she didn't make it (she made quite a point to flaunt her credentials). Listening to this woman took all the thrill out of being accepted into the show. I even toyed with the idea of taking my piece out, but instead chose to write a letter to the gallery director. I described how it all went from the perspective of a participant and offered to let her give me her mailing list so I can form a support group for emerging/learning artists to have our own group critiques. Nothing ventured - nothing gained.

Anyway, here is the piece that got into the show. It'll be up for a month at Gallery 222 in Leesburg Va.

Meanwhile, I have to get some new stuff up into the shop, and thanks to all of you for being patient. Now that I've got a camera again I'm hoping to get back into the pace of a new piece every one or two weeks. I'm also planning on posting more originals and different options for prints so stay tuned. I'm also finally getting to work on the portraits I've been commissioned to do and the process is really exciting, but sometimes a little intimidating. I'm lucky that the woman I'm doing them for is really good at collaborating with me about what she wants and what I can do. Hoping you're all having a happy full of fun times summer, in the mean time try and stay cool.