New Art Installation

We now have this pop art look going on in our living room. Just hung up this 6 foot x 6 foot canvas this morning. Where did I get such fabulous statement art? From a parade float!


Last week was the 110th annual Corder Picnic - a 3 day festival that includes a rodeo, a carnival, parade and local events (kids' bike race, burn out contest for those with too much testosterone, volley ball tournament, etc.) I was in charge of building a float for the Home and Community Club, of which I am a member. I came up with the theme, "Movies in the Park", to promote a free entertainment provided by the Corder Park Board (who do not meet often enough to create their own float).

I sketched Tom and Jerry on an industrial shower curtain (hotel surplus) and then my kids, Ashlyn and her boys did the painting. I did the final outlining. My father-in-law, bless him, built the frame for the "movie screen". The man is a saint for giving of his time to indulge me in my project.

Kids from the community rode the float and we won first place!

"Most Attractive Non Profit"

Yay!

And now we have totally awesome art in our living room.

My son especially loves it -it was his idea to bring it into the house.

Move over, Roy Lichtenstein!

A Stitch Just in Time...

... Saved my mind.

It's been another hectic week, but busy for good reasons.

The day after my shop was featured in a Storque article, I made it to the home page of etsy!

Sales were unreal (for me anyway, maybe it's normal for other etsy sellers!) and I could not keep up with relisting and packing items for sale quick enough.

I hope everyone's package contains what they bought!

That and kids and life and the Corder Picnic carnival meant that I went to bed late every night and was up early every morning.

I still have to bake two pies for the Corder Picnic pie stand.

And yet, when I picked up Patty's stitchery today to add my last few stitches to it, the stress of the week went away,

for a few minutes.

I hadn't drawn anything out, but just made up the design as I went, using stitches I hadn't tried since I was 13 or 14 when I did my first embroidery project (a kit).

I surprised even myself.

I think Patty will like it.

Today it mails to Linda.

15 Minutes of Fame

Thank you all who left me words of encouragement on my last post.

I had not intended to post a whine fest-

it's just how it turned out.

But now I have some good news~!

(that rainbow was a sign of positive things to come!)

My library pocket cards were featured in "Etsy Finds",

a regular feature on Etsy's blog, The Storque.

Amazing what a little exposure can do for one's shop!

I've had 7 orders so far and counting.

That's just today!

I just might sell out of a some items (a good problem to have!)

Meanwhile, I am cooking up new inventory.

Stay tuned.

Is It a Sign?

I just caught this today after a thunderstorm.

A huge double rainbow.

It has been a rough week.

A power outage Tuesday night

(due to a storm).

Air conditioning trouble Wednesday

(power outage related).

Kid-related stress on Thursday

(they expect me to drop everything to meet their needs).

Friday was okay, just tiring.

Today, the storm was a welcome event.

It seemed to wash away the junk of this past week.

And the rainbow was amazing.

Next week has got to be better!

Artsy Organizing

I found this totally cool muffin tin at the thrift store a few weeks ago for a pittance.

HAD to have it because I have seen so many other artists' studios with this kind of artsy organizing. I had put a few metal bits and bobs in it and set it on a precarious pile of something so of course it got knocked over and my bits and bobs went flying all over.
So much for organizing!

Tonight while Rebecca was whiling away time, waiting for "her turn" on my computer, she played with a pile of pre- wrapped rubber stamps I have ready for shipping. I have a few of these rotating date stamps for sale in my etsy.

It takes a 5 year old to organize me.

Prize Winning Photos

My daughter Victoria is 13 years old.

She took the photos in this post (including this self portrait, right).

This is Victoria's 3rd year doing photography as a 4H project and I think she has the basics mastered. These 3 photos all won blue ribbons at our local district level. Tomorrow we find out if one might have possibly won a purple ribbon to go to the Missouri State Fair for exhibiting. We both agree that the cone flower above has the best chance.

So you know how awful my non-garden is (see last post!). Where did we go for beautiful blooms and photo- worthy landscapes? To Confederate Park. Probably Higginsville's best kept secret. It is the most peaceful, gorgeous, immaculately kept park in Lafayette County.

And there is no cost to drive its smooth, asphalt paths (like gliding on water), visit the Confederate Cemetary or to tour the Chapel.

There are 3 different ponds where fishing is allowed, a playground for kids and picnic tables scattered about encourage el fresco meals.

I have never seen litter.

The grounds keepers take great pride in the park and visitors respect it.

We went to the cemetary on at least 3 different days (maybe 4!) to get the perfect shadows and lighting. Victoria retook photos of the same headstones at different horizons and angles to get the most compelling pictures.

It was all worth it.

The judge who interviewed her about her photos had to be impressed with her subject matter. It wasn't the usual pet photos or poorly lit or badly cropped images hurriedly chosen last minute from 50 or so casual photos on a digital camera. (We did those in the past!)

I am very proud of Victoria.

7-15-10

Poscript: Stopped by the middle school gym today where the 4H projects are displayed and was disappointed to find that Victoria did not win a further award. She said the judges weren't very good (she has to say that!), but I could see that the competition was much stiffer this year. The 5 photos that won purple rosettes (chosen from about 100 submissions!) were definitely deserving.

Never give up, never surrender!

Redneck Garden Faeries

I admire blog posts of beautiful garden vigniettes--

flowers growing with seemingly wild abandon, but obviously carefully tended.

There are artistically assembled found objects and rusted pieces that give the viewer the pleasant feeling that fantastical creatures dwell in that garden.

Now my garden is just wild and abandoned.

The mystical beings muck about in the weed beds driving monster trucks.

Large, heavy construction machinery is forgotten in the pursuit of fishing or lounging on the couch (watching NASCAR races) and drinking beer, I am guessing.

Every age and make of vehicle is kept, because someday it will be fixed and made to run again (good intentions).
Or the vehicles are kept "for parts".
The faeries in my garden are decidely not mystical,
although they are charming in their own, rough-around-the-edges, way.
heeheehee