Nuff Said

Oh Happy Day

http://blo64rt.blogspot.com/ I was able to find this blogspot while perusing and it is so simple to use I immediately added beautiful backgrounds to my blogs. I am so happy to share with you.

Giggle

New Day Monday

I am gradually getting over the downs. I won't be able to see results from the new contract till June and still no job on the horizon. But it is spring. Officially. And that is a new day. For some reason I never want to start anything of substance except on a Monday. That is the first day of my week. Sat and Sunday are the last 2 days of the week. This week I will finish the little wall placque for my granddaughter and start some switchplates. I am trying all sorts of new techniques I read about on the blogs and making them into things I can use around the house. Already did a switch plate for the craft room. If I can't make something real I have trouble making myself work. And I want to do some brooches. And wear them. What fun to have little odd things on my shirt.

Saw some super signs of Spring today. Forsythia, pear trees, and all sorts of other blooms and birds out. What a good thing!!!!!

Blessed

I have been blessed with a likely solution to the bad news I received on Tuesday. Sometimes I wonder if good intentions and a half full glass can mediate problems. The support from bloggers, family, and friends has been super. So Friday,(a record short time), I got another offer on the property I am trying to sell. A good offer. Gleefully I met with the realtor and signed papers. As my honey and I are both out of work right now, the situation of having no income is very worrisome. No one wants to lose their home, etc. Anyway, it will be a few months till closing but it is a light at the end of the tunnel. Glory be. I feel so much better I will be crafting today. (It is also raining hard. Good day to stay inside.) I couldn't be more grateful for the gift of friendship and support I have received and for the new contract. Crafting will be my celebration today.

There will be more.

I really appreciate the kind words from Linda Lomax and Jodi Creager. What a terrific world we live in. These women are artists in the greatest sense of the word.

Spring Confusion

Under normal circumstances I would be jumping for joy about now. That is, as much as I can jump. I have almost finished a polymer piece for my granddaughter. I will be taking photos and will try to make it visible. Photography is not one of my long suits. However, got to start somewhere. And with Spring almost here, there is more to be happy about. However, still in the wings is the worry over money. I would love to be a well known artist who can make money from art. I am planning to be a little known artist whose art gives pleasure to those who see it or receive it. I have 3 children and their families to give the art to. Just think what I can do to them by the time I am 80. They will be looking for houses with very large attics.

The whole reason I went back to art is to have a feeling of accomplishment. The loss of a job and the income from it causes a lot of fear and feelings of failure. But if I can create art to satisfy myself, feelings of failure are somewhat assuaged. I am hopeful for that. Thanks to the follower who read my last entry and commented. I am grateful. In fact, I am grateful for anyone who reads my blog. Adios y buenos dias.

things

I just received a phone call which literally rocked my world. I had been looking forward to a cessation of money worried by liquidating a piece of property. But after the loan was approved and the paperwork was in the final stages, the buyer backed out and I am back to square 1 with no income and no buyer for the property. I believe devastated is the word. Please pray for me.

Spring dreams and nightmares

Spring Coming

I am singing Spring. Actually I am not singing. Thank goodness. But if you are able to see the glorious colors of the wonderful Betsey Johnson creation pictured, you will see my idea of Spring coming. What a wonderful way to welcome warm and sunny.

Recession

Is it just me or have the fashion designers as a whole responded to the poor economy with boring clothes? I often check Style.com to see beautiful fabrics and accessories and drool over the things I can't afford. But this time, when I started looking at fall 2009, I saw very little color, stick thin and not very attractive models, hair that looks slept in, make up that is over the top or nonexistent. I saw rivets, chains, zippers, safety pins, and lots of other embellishments which I consider ugly. I saw some few well cut dresses but mostly really tight pants and really short skirts. I saw shoes which a normal woman might wear for special occasions but if worn, weeks of practice would be needed.

I realize that the fashion designers are not designing for me. I am definitely not stick thin, definitely not rich, and I definitely don't go anywhere to wear the designs from the runway. There have been times when I would have given anything to touch the glorious fabrics used in the couture houses. There have been times when looking at a designer's work would have been eye candy. The work I saw on the runways this season reminded me of dirty sandpaper in strips hanging from a nail on the wall. Except for Diane Von Furstenburg, who dresses women, not coathangers, I consider the couture season for fall a washout.

Why does this matter to me? For one thing, I have lost my eye candy. I can't count on getting inspiration for art from black, brown, and dark gray when my soul longs for color. Soaring color. Dazzling color. And for another thing, there seems to be a trickle down effect from the fashion designers to mid America and finally to the South where I live. This shows up usually within 1 to 1 1/2 years after the designers send out their shows. So I am looking forward to dark dreary fabrics next year. How depressing. I can't help but think that some designers have taken the wrong message from the world financial problem. Instead of trying to make the world better by using their skills with art, they are trying to hide the insanely overpriced garments they produce by making them in a color that virtually blends in with asphalt. I am actually bemoaning the next year if that is all there is.

Thank God for artists who can still see color in the world. They continue to produce new visions of color and design which more than make up for the fashion faux pas of late. Those artists who make wonderful jewelry and accessories from clay and other media, and those artists who create wall art, paper art, and other useful things are my go to people at this point. I don't have a job any more and am really glad about it but the current financial situation is a depressing one. But I am able to get onto the computer and see ideas for journaling, miniature hats and Harry P figures, jewelry that I wish I could make, and the uplifting words of those artists. Thank God for Artists!

I love me some fish.

Rainy Saturday

I spent a lot of time yesterday on the computer. I wandered about the blogs and websites featuring the clay artists and artists in general. I have noticed a lot of new and wonderful techniques for working with polymer clay. I have also noticed the attitude that many artists have not only about their work but about life in general. I find artists to be excited! About the world around them, other artists, their work, their families, their friends, learning new things, and just about everything else. The passion and excitement is palpable on the blogs and the websites I visit. I go to a few sites from other countries and they are just as wonderful. I can pick up some of the Spanish and French on the sites and they translate to the same excitement.

Sometimes I think the politicos should check some of the websites I visit. Then naysayers and idiots like Rush Limbaugh would not have any influence. The glass is not even half full in the Limbaugh house and he and his attitude seem to corrupt anyone who is even slightly conservative. I wish the people like him would forget to be self-centered for a while and really take a good look at the world outside their doors. It is simply beautiful. And unless we get off our duffs and do some good work with some passion, our children's children won't be able to say that. There are so many things that individuals can do to correct problems in the world. Like using only reusable water bottles and buying filter pitchers if they don't like tap water. We could recycle everything we can get our hands on. I intend to try to recycle some of the clothing I have into new outfits or purses or art works. I already recycle aluminum, plastic, and glass. I have purchased energy efficient light bulbs. I recycle uneaten food. I combine errands so as to use less fuel. I keep the house temp low in the winter. I am willing to bet that Rush Limbaugh is not doing these things.

While I am on the soapbox, I will mention and hope not to offend those extremely large families that are getting so much airtime from TLC. I think that having extremely large families is bad for the future of the earth. We are already using up more than our share of global resources and these families get so much publicity that they are encouraging others who want publicity to do the same thing. Witness Octomom. If anyone thinks she didn't want the spotlight with this pregnancy they are not noticing. Look at the blurb about the clothing store that has volunteered to give a year's clothing to all 14 kids. And this is a Mom who has obviously not paid attention to what would be best for her children.

I will end this diatribe by going back to the beginning. I want to thank all of the wonderful artists who have blogs and are willing to share the beauty of the world with me. I can always go to a blog and drift away on a sea of color. I can always look at the world through another artists eyes and see a whole new place. What a relief............