My Daddy — a gentle soul

I'll never forget you, Daddy.

My daddy had the gentlest soul. He made friends with the insects that invaded his garage.

“Bumble Boy” was a truly unintelligent bumble bee who kept flying into the garage whenever the door was open; my daddy would shoo him out, worrying that Bumble Boy would be trapped in the garage overnight.

“Arachne” was the spider who skillfully wove a beautiful web -- inside the garage, where she was likely to starve. I remember my daddy scuffing through the long grass at sunset to stir up the moths and other insects hiding there. He would catch them, carry them to the garage, and throw them, like sacrifices, into Arachne’s web.

One time, two of our housecats caught a bunny; my daddy rescued the bunny, drove far out into the countryside, and let the bunny go where he would not be worried by cats.

Surprisingly, my daddy was not much of a “pet” person. When my sister and I pleaded to be allowed to keep the orange kitty who arrived in a shoebox on our doorstep, he said no til it was pointed out it was late and the kitty would be left outside overnight. Not surprisingly, this kitty cleverly attached himself to my daddy and became “his” special kitty, walking up his body each morning to peek into his eyes to see if he was awake.

I cannot imagine ever forgetting these details about my daddy — but I am young, and memories get lost. I will journal about my recollections, hoping that while something is lost, much is gained just in remembering.

My daddy died

Dear all,
My daddy died on 09/18/07. I hurt.

Used LoriZ's hand-decorated papers in my tip-ins!

I had saved a whole weekend for making my tip-ins for the arttechniques swap. I had formed the basic plan each piece would take, and had figured out the paper-engineering well in advance. Now it was Time to Play!

For one piece I needed lots of interesting foliage. The green LoriZ papers were perfect for this. I pulled out my Sizzix and two different leaf dies and, wow!



I really liked how the leaves worked together!



For another piece I needed an outdoor view -- this LoriZ altered music sheet with a beautiful palm had just the feeling I was going for!



More about my tip-ins next post!

Oh Vickie, we miss you!

Fare thee well, Vickie! You touched the lives of many people all over the globe, through your art, your art stamps, and your groups. Your generosity, and your encouragement of and genuine pleasure in all of our accomplishments means so very much to so many -- we are saddened by your going, but confident that you are in the creative zone, now and always. Thanks for everything you did for us!

Check out these gorgeous hand-decorated papers!

My art-friend Lori makes the most beautiful hand-decorated papers. Thin, slick, lively and colourful, they are painted, stamped, written, drawn, and embellished. Lori's sense of rich colour and designerly treatment make these superb for collage, backgrounds, or just adding a touch of colour.

Drooling yet? She sells these from her blog: http://lorizartmaniac.blogspot.com/ and her etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6679951

I know you will love these!

I am currently using three of her gorgeous papers in my tip-ins for an arttechniques swap. I'll post pix once the recipients have them!

New Art Space

Woohoo! I've gone from this:


To this:
My “new” art room.


The decuttered sitting room.


I have managed to clear my sitting room of art materials and projects; my “designated art space” still needs some organising and a LOT of culling! Still, I feel it's going to work.

My heartfelt thanks to all who have been supportive of my decluttering and shift, most especially Vickie Enkoff of OrganisedStudio and all the group members. Vickie is the Patron Saint of the Decluttered Studio!

Still more transformation!

Freeing myself from the need to “improve” myself had interesting results. I felt less stressed, and much happier with who I am at present. But I also realised how very unhappy I am in my present work.

I have a seven-minute commute, walking. What could be better? I work in a library, housing ten stories of books. What could be better? I have no autonomy, my special abilities are ignored, and I push-pull-lug-sort-shelve-retrieve books all day. Ugh!

Clearly it’s Time for Transformation!

Meanwhile, on the homefront, I realised that expanding from my office/art room into the sitting room was not a clever idea. My art supplies were now all over the house, and I couldn't find anything I needed or wanted. Furthermore, hubby complained that he couldn't sit in front of the fire to toast his toes!

A trip to OrganizedStudio yahoo group, and joining FlyLady, had me working in 15 min increments to declutter my home. Assigning specific roles to each part of my tiny house made it possible to remove everything in those zones which does not support that zone’s activities. Suddenly my sink was shined and my bathroom was decluttered! Now my sitting room is clear for toes-toasting, my dining table is clear for dining, and my art supplies are stored in new, wheeled, storage shelving. My Art Room is beginning to get organised, I’m identifying items to sell, donate, or trash, and my Spirit, so much less encumbered, is lighter.

Now this is Transformation!