dancing queen

auntie lynne [circa 1954...ish]

today is big BIG BIG day in the nation. i am

so disappointed after visiting many blogs, that

not one, that's right no one mentioned the

30th birthday of abba's [dancing queen].

so happy birthday girlie....you brought this little

girl many happy days listening to the old am/fm.

my mind swirls with disco lites and dizziness from

the constant circles of the old skate corral...all skate.

yes, yes - i know i am once again dating myslelf. but

i don't care! you are the dancing queen, young and sweet,

only seventeen...uh yeah!

today 30 years later, i still turn it up loud when it comes

on the radio. its on my mp3 players. if i am in the studio

i get up and dance, cmon - you know you do too.

if your you diggin the dancing queen...dance this way

[You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life

See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen]

bless my soul *[boots]

boots

mixed media
acrylics, graphite
silver leaf, and
found papers
24x24x.25 inch deep
wood block

...where have your boots taken you.

why

as the tragedy at virginia tech unfolds, please remember them in your prayers, thoughts,
daily meditation. please remember those who are lost, suffering and in need of human
kindness. and as you do this - don't forget to say thank you for all of your blessings that
have been sent your way.

on a daily basis, i become agited - stressed, etc....and sometimes i forget that i have to
accept those that i love for who they are, not for who i want them to be.
and if you have any extra room in your day, here are some that i would like to be
remembered.

caroline the divine princess and her family - new healthy cells for her body
henry, baby george and the tucker family - go away bad cells, we are tired of seeing you.
rachel and linda and uncle wilber- successful cancer treatments
a healthier heart for my dad [ he loves his food and beer]
and again, for the victims at virginia tech, their families and the community.

blessings to each and everyone of you and yours

illustration friday *[fortune]

blessed [part of the girl series]

mixed media
acrylics graphite
silver leaf
and found papers
10x11x2 inches deep
wood block

{my fortune lies within the simple tokens life has
blessed me with...healthy kids, bryce, my creative
soul and our funky house.}

bless my soul *[shaun]

dreamboat shaun cassidy

someone recently asked me who shaun cassidy was.

what?! are you kidding me. da doo ron ron, #1 hit
of 1977. hello. i felt like a knife had pieced my tender heart.
1976 was a great year, every stitch of clothing i had was
the red white and blue motif, but then the best year ever....
1977 how could anyone not know who my beloved shaun is?
but then again, you weren't even born yet.
shaun cassidy first stole my heart when i was a 6th grader.
not an easy age. i spent my meesly savings on tigerbeat
and teenbeat magazine. i then meticulously extracted every
image of shaun i could find and taped them to the wall directly
behind my bed. wallah...instant headboard. and oh so convenient
when i need a kiss goodnite. shaun never talked back. never
made fun of my hair, and he could of, considering he had better
farrah hair than i.

my mother flipped when i used six of my hard earned babysitting
dollars on his album. $5.99. it was worth the 3 nites of babysitting
it took just to make the $6. she just didn't understand that our love
was a true love....hmmmmmm.

so there you go tom, young as you may be. if you want to read
more interesting facts on shaun. you can find them here...
[you always know how to make me feel old!]

have you...

happy

have you ever wanted to smack
someone's face when they ask....
"whose shaun cassidy?" bite
you tongue child.

have you ever ran into your first
love and barely be able to hold a
conversation, because after 25 years
you still want to lick their face.
[ie, "lick their face" is my
little expression i use when i think
someone is attractive]

have you ever laid in bed at nite re-hashing
a job that isn't coming together, only to realize
why. for instance, javascript not working, maybe
because you have neglected writing the backcode?
....there's your sign.

ever sit in your house, and feel blessed that
you aren't listening to your two teenagers screaming
at one another, slamming doors, begging for
whatever it is they want. i call that a mini
vacation and i got one last week and loved
every damn minute of it!

have you ever laughed so hard you peed your
pants?! okay - i haven't, but close. i do laugh
so hard that my belly cramps up and my
cheeks hurt from the huge smile on my face

have you dreamt that you have missed a college
class for a full semester only to remember the
week of finals

have you ever had a wave of euphoria when
you realize how blessed you are

ever smoked off a hookah

ever had a green river

well have you?!

lites of broadway

remember the bees gees song
[lights of broadway] . well
here are the lights of the camp!

if you want to see your name in lights...go here
sorry, but the animation was driving me nuts each time i opend my
blog. but it is fun to see it so go visit!

i found this at something to say....i dig her. she
always has the best stuff. thanks kim!

Illustration Friday *[green]

greener pastures

mixed media
acrylics, graphic, silver leaf
and found papers
10x11 in, wood block

i posted this before, but it was appropriate
for illustration friday . now go check them out!

happy weekend!

warm butts and easter

easter egg hunt circa 1967

do you have heated car seats? have you

ever had the pleasure of riding with a warm

butt. i was in my pal becky's car today and

had the pleasure of warmed seats. ahhhhhh.

now back to easter...as you can see by the

vintage photo - an era gone by.....we hunted

only for hardboiled eggs. with a rare peep

jelly beans and a foiled wrapped chocolate egg.

no frilly hats or lace dresses. above i model

my ma and pa kettle farm look - black boots,

leggins, gingham check nightie and my brothers

hand me down winter coat. and the cherry on

top! the hoodie.

happy easter! now i am off to cvs to get some

peeps.

blessings ya'll

bless my soul *[happy]

....seeing old friends at campbells
....sitting with a group of older democrat women
....riding on the back of denny's harley [WEE!]
....delilah and the gentleleader
....g making the golf team
....margarita at little mexico
....slowly catching up
....kim's phone message and hearing her voice, it was just as i thought
....christine's new chickies
....new jobs coming in
....homemade meals
....blue sunny skies
....mati sharing her "eat pray love" but, straight from san francisco

happy friday ya'll

have you....

have you ever bought a pile of
paper at a craft store, get it home
and realized what you thought would
be full of funky vintage style paper, is
only full of ugly crappy paper...ugh.
$4 wasted.


have you ever rented videos, forgotten
to take them back then found out that
you owe a hefty late fee....so late that
you make you kids swear not to tell you
husband.

have you ever stopped traffic on the way
to a concert, to run across to the nearest
corn field to pee, because the 4 beers you
have drank on the hour ride to the pavilion
have finally caught up with you

have you kissed a shaun cassidy poster

have you ever not answered the phone all
day, just because you didn't want to talk to
anyone and that's okay

have you ever thought about packing up
all your belongings and just moving in
the middle of the nite

have you ever wondered why i write this
silly stuff...

well have you?

sick and tired

sick and tired,
sick and tired....something has
latched onto my lungs and won't
let go.

i am so wiped and with that comes
rushing to get jobs finished, a shear
panic has surfaced from my weary
soul.

ugh...please lord, send me some health.

but even in the dark - comes some light.
c was home for spring break last
week and made sure i had warm tea, fuzzy
socks and best of all she left me alone to
rest. she is the best. she is also preparing
to sail the seas to london and rightfully so -
so excited.

i have an opportunity to do several designs
for a greeting card submission. make note
to kelly - find some damn time! right now
i am working on several logos, two websites,
and quite a few itty bitty jobs that always
seem to bring a bit of change.

i took my pops to lunch today and watching
his face beam when discussing c's trip was
almost too much.

if anyone out there has some extra time
or energy, please send it my way. this
tired chickadee says thanks ahead of time

happy wednesday ya'll

the girl in the middle

in the middle of a painting......

wow...two weeks of not posting. i have been
a busy busy girl. i am thankful for the numerous
jobs that have been sent my way. but with that
comes less time for painting. the above image
is a painting i have been working on for about
3weeks. hoping to finish soon. it is a bit different
from the girl series, yet it should be familiar. its
a large piece 24x24 and i can't wait to finish her.
today, marisa haedike was kind enough to give
me a little shot out on her podcast....can i get
an amen! i dig her podcast. it was one of the
few reasons i made myself dig in and paint. todays
topic is time management. so slip over here
for a little peace and listen.

so with that, here are where my happiness is today....
cheri's acceptance to the study abroad program, look out london!
a quick trip to arvey paper
my new exciting logo design job
the many primed boards sitting behind me
my three healthy spirited kiddos
blonder hair
our new spunky car
and of course, the many creative souls who bless my world
each day

...and since today is a day of shout outs. i would love to give
a shout out to sir henry tucker. for those of you who don't
know henry. he is a young chap right here in middle indiana.
he is working really hard to fight cancer and just went through
bone marrow transplant. so stop by and visit his blog. i told
him you were all really nice. say some prayers, send zen and
many happy thoughts. he is one of my heroes.
happy thursday, ya'll!

studio friday *[quoted]

camp indigo...happy messy studio


{ as long as habit and routine
dictate the patterns of living, new
dimensions of the soul will
not emerge. } ~ henry van dyke

quoted?!
journey here....

bless my soul *[fins]

g's on his way to the state meet as an alternate
this weekend. i am so proud of his accomplishments
many seconds of dropped times, a new place
to exist. watching him walk out to the car with
bryce this am, big fat smile on his face....proud
of himself, of his teammates. and momma couldn't
be prouder too...not because he is going to state,
but for the hours he put in when he was sore
and tired. all the 5am mornings, the long weekends,
and the smile on his face when he spotted the
his time on the board, when he passed those who
have been passing him for 3 seasons and because
he always looks for me in the crowd.

swim boys swim.....

[look closely. the beautiful may be small] ~ emmanuel kant

studio friday *[drawing a blank]

happy 2nd birthday - studio friday!

7 blocks, ready to finish! seven!....8 months

ago, one canvas sat on my table, begging for

a bit of love. talk about drawing a blank. i finally

made myself finish her. there is something about

a canvas ready to finish. it exudes the possiblity.

for me - i rarely know how i will finish it. what

lies ahead. today - i am happy in orange, pink

and a bit of sunshine. sunshine, that is of a bit

of yellow peaking through. no sun outside today...

we are under a fresh blanket of snow.

to see who else is drawing a blank...walk this way!

oh and tell tine bravo, while you are at it.

blessing ya'll

bless my soul *[hands on]

lower 9th ward [nola]

today cbs - guidinglight shared footage of the

shows actors trip, to the gulf coast. 18 months

after katrina and those south, STILL looks like

the above image. common! we live in america

and this is all we've got?

november 2006, i traveled with a group from

st. bernards to st. gabriel of the archangel,

in new orleans. the devastation is wide, the

pain and suffering is deep.

as i watched the guiding light special, tears

ran down my face. i cry for the ones i had

to leave behind, still trying to gain control

of their lives, i cry for the new friends i met,

for the children who attended st. benedict

of the moor, on st. gabriels campus and i cry

because i yearn to go back.

if you are looking for something to do, something

that will forever change your life....please go

here. the hands on network is a great place to

start! they partnered with guiding light.

the girl series *[the girl bloomed]

the girl series one - the girl bloomed

mixed media 5.5x12 inches
acrylics, oil crayons,ink, silver leaf and papers
1 inch deep wrapped canvas
black finished sides
signed and ready to hang

the snow if falling rapidly here today in middle indiana.
i have spent the day downloaded files for a new
design job, cleaned our very dusty downstairs,
ate a warm bowl of chili, lots of candy and viewed
all of the warm and happy photos from the girly

show.

bryce and the kids are home today. central indiana
is basically shut down. i grew up here and i am
very used to this. but as always i am wrapped in
a new fleece blanket, sitting infront of the monitor
loving life.

more boards sit behind me, gessoed and ready for
new life. i can't tell you the happy buzz that fills
me as i paint. amen for nudges!

blessings ya'll!!!!

messy happy studio

happy messy unorganized creative space

don't forget this saturday....one night only

the girly show!

if you are in the LA area go say hello to these

creative chickadees.....

christine mason miller

penelope dullaghan

mati rose
kelly rae roberts
marisa haedike
outi harma

the girl series *[green pastures]

the girl series one - green pastures

mixed media 10x11 inches
acrylics, oil crayons,charcoal,
silver leaf and papers
1.5 inch deep woodblock
black finished sides

signed and ready to hang