Progress on the painting from the previous post.

Did I ever tell you I love patchwork? Crazy quilts, the quilts of Gee's Bend., Denise Schmidt quilts. I don't quilt. I hope to learn one day. For now I play with paper quilts.

Happy Memorial Day to all who celebrate. We are going strawberry picking and to a picnic. I am heading to a flea market. We are eating lots of watermelon, making fresh lemonade and wearing flip flops. I love this unofficial start to summer! 

My Creative Space

My space today. Feeling very out of sorts. So many thoughts rolling through my head.

Dreams

"Butterfly Dream"-20"x30" Acrylic on canvas

I have been thinking alot about dreams lately. It may be because Dream Boogie with Sark is about to end and all of the wonderful words of wisdom she has given are swirling around in my head. I don't know.

Dreams are always important. Especially on the days that they don't seem possible. 

Some of the little nuggets on dreams that Sark has passed along.....

- Delight yourself first and in doing so you will delight others.

-We are all in stages of being stuck and feeling resistance to our dreams. KEEP MOVING!

-Living your dream should allow you to live a great life as well. Our dreams are made to fit into our actual lives.

-If you live your dream who else will be able to live theirs?

-Support is key.

-What makes you feel real joy? 

Does your answer surprise you?

Are you making time for more of this in your life?

Dreams LOVE joy!  Make time for more!

I have really enjoyed all that Sark has taught. It has taught me alot about myself and my dreams. It has made some things feel uncomfortable and hard to face but it also made that o.k. The amount of information and support given is huge and I appreciate all she has done.

Inspiration

A vintage milk bottle graphic, number 2 on an old crock, my Paperchase notebook that I love, a vintage Stangl plate.

Sometimes inspiration is so elusive and other times it is all over the place. Sometimes things that are always with you can sometimes appear inspiring. I guess it just comes down to your frame of mind. If you are open to inspiration it will come. Here a few things that I have been feeling a bit inspired by.

-I love the old milk bottle and the orange is great. I put fresh flowers in it quite a bit.
-The number 2 is from an old stoneware crock that had belonged to my husband's grandfather. Looks similar to this one. I have no idea what to put in it but I love it!
-My small kraft paper sketchbook from Paperchase. I love the dots!
-My vintage plate from Stangl. Love the colors and graphics!

The weather here has suddenly turned very warm! We have been outside alot. It is hard to be in when the feeling of summer hits.

I have been playing (with paint and gesso) and stretching (canvases). I am getting very excited for Sunday when Flying Lessons start. And I signed up for this entirely free e-course. Creativity Boot Camp. It runs two weeks and you work in one medium. Starts June 8.

I wish you all a very happy week!

xo,
dana

Thank you all so much for the well wishes. I am SO THANKFUL  to be feeling well again. I never knew a sinus infection could leave you feeling so crummy. Fevers, chills, exhaustion. I feel I am so blessed to be healthy. There are people who wake up every day and struggle to get through their day with no relief in sight. You don't quite appreciate your health until you aren't feeling your best.

On Sunday I went with my sis and mom to Beacon. A little city along the Hudson river that has reinvented itself as a haven for art. It really has reinvented itself. Lots of cute restaurants, shops, and galleries. They participate in Art Along the Hudson; each month a participating town along the Hudson celebrates art with art shows, events and open studio tours.

We stopped in Hudson Beach Glass. Absolutely stunning glass collections!

 Stopped in at the Van Brunt Gallery.  As well at Riverwinds and Marion Royael Galleries.

We stopped into Morphicism. This store sold the art of Jay Palefsky. He paints on small rectangles of plexiglass and inserts them into his notched wood frames that allow them to slide around and make any combo of images you would like. These were very cool and the artist was very excited about his work which was nice to see.

We had a relaxing time and it was great to see some interesting art.

I hope you had a great start to your week.
xo,
dana

This week....

  sinus infection kicking my butt. never had one of these. not fun.
  piles of laundry + all of the other stuff that piled up.
  learning to make peace with the mess. 
  kindergarten open house. so cute and he is so excited!
  won a great print by artist Lisa Ferrante via Louise's First Friday giveaway :)
  excited to go here with my mom and sis for a late mother's day lunch on Sunday
  catching up with Dream Boogie. will share some of the highlights so far soon.
  embracing this.. you are enough, you do enough, you have enough... such a great mantra

I hope your week was great. Have a great weekend! 
 
 

Works in progress

 Sketchbook page, watercolor and pencil

Do you ever have so many ideas that you wish you could connect a printer to your brain? I do. It isn't always that way and I guess it occurs in a creative high. I watched this 20 minute video on fostering creativity from
Maegan Beishline she talks about managing your creative cycle. The highs and lows we all go through and ways to keep the lows from going so low. She is super sweet!

A painting I am working on based on the above sketchbook page. I am not sure where I am going to go with it.

Another painting in progress. Changing a bit.

Trying to take my 3D paper flower wreaths into a 2D collage. Also, some cut paper collages in progress.

The 2D flowers up close.

Letting the light shine through.

Vision Board

1. Susy Pilgrim Waters,

2. bring.your.baby.to.work.day.is.everyday,

3. studio.,

4. printmaking*table,

 5. Mati Rose Studio

6. Mati Rose


I have been grabbing images of some great studios for my vision board. I LOVE seeing other artists work spaces. Don't you?

P.S. The dinner out alone was truly wonderful! We hadn't been out to dinner alone in 5 YEARS!!

10 Years

Today we celebrate 10 years of marriage. Here we are on that really HOT day in early May. Younger, thinner, more well rested, completely in love and ready to take on anything life would bring us. Different in so many ways, alike in all of the important ways.

In those 10 years we have had 4 homes. 2 kids. 1 pet. 7 different cars and trucks. We have yelled, we have laughed, we have cried. We have faced health scares, financial difficulties, college loans, and car accidents. We have given each other our best and our worst. Through it all we are here, completely in love and ready to take on anything life will bring us.

And tonight we get to go out alone (sans kids) for dinner!! I am happy to say the weather isn't so hot this year. Thank you Mom!
__________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you so much for all of the kind words you left in response to my previous post. It means so much. I am happy to report we are all healthy again and saying good bye to someone is never easy but we celebrated the life he lived and the man that he was to so many.

I heard it on Monday afternoon when my little girl woke from her nap, "Mommy, HOT!". Her brother had just had a fever two days before so I knew what she meant right away. 3 days later she was fever free. Very exhausted and still so sick. It spread to me and my husband. It has been wearing us down but now I believe we are on the down slope of the cold. My little girl is still so sick but is getting better every day. So we have been sort of laying low. As much as you can with two little ones. :)

Last evening we lost a family member. My husbands grandfather. It was expected. He was 98 and up until just very recently he led a truly wonderful life in good health. We should all be so lucky. Still there is sadness of course.

So the services will begin in a few days and end on the evening before of our 10th wedding anniversary. So many ups and downs. Which is what life always is right?

So I did want to leave on a positive note by announcing the winners of my little giveaway.

The ABC collage goes to Kolleen
The Coneflower collage goes to Beverly
And the Strawberry and Butterfly collage goes to Amy.
Congratulations!

Thank you all who left me a kind word. It is appreciated! Winners can you please contact me with your addresses and I will get your art out to you shortly.

xo,
dana

Am I crazy or what? I logged onto Kelly Rae's blog this a.m. and there it was. A post about her new e-course. I was so excited to see this so I signed up right away. Anyone else?  It doesn't start until the end of May when my Dream Boogie class will be just about ending. I am excited! Here is the link. Flying Lessons.
Maybe we will see each other there!

Tracy Porter. She not only is a wonderful designer of everything from fashion to home furnishings she is also super gorgeous and so inspiring! She has a ton of short videos about all sorts of things... passion, cooking, being positive, believing in yourself. She is full of life and energy. I have been enjoying her immensely!

A great video and art for you

In case you haven't seen this video. I caught it on Kelly Rae's blog. Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place and Lift. She talks about women and dreams. Such a great video as this one was too!

One of my creative dreams, and probably where most of all the other ones come from is to spread joy with my art. I have these four collages packed away. I made them awhile ago and art isn't meant to be packed away. I want to give them to YOU.  So if any of these pieces of art bring YOU any bit of joy (and please, please, please don't say yes if they don't. It really is o.k.) leave me a comment on which 1 is your favorite. Next Saturday, May 1 (can you believe it?) I will come back and let you know who the 4 winners are.

I just want to say thank you to all of you who come by and say hi. It really means alot and many days keeps me going. So thank you!

xo,
dana

Hello All-
Here is an iris from last summer for you.

Dream Boogie is going great. There is alot of "ownwork", Sark's version of homework.  It is bringing SO many things to light for myself. There is a supportive community of fellow dreamers, videos, interviews, and worksheets. There are many challenges and so many lessons I am learning.

I wanted to mention this book. Expressive Drawing :Freeing the Artist Within by Steven Aimone. I borrowed it from the library and I really recommend it if you want to be a little more free with your art. There are lots of exercises to try. Here is the synopsis:

The many people who long to draw—but feel too intimidated to try—will rejoice at the wonderful first entry in this brand-new creative series. Written by arts educator Steven Aimone, it’s packed with solid, friendly, hands-on instruction, as well as inspiring images, and backed by the trusted AARP name. Aimone teaches an accessible style called expressive drawing that emphasizes line and mark, rather than rendering a specific object, which for many people, can create barriers to self-expression. Exercises start off simple and quick, encouraging readers to work on instinct and feeling, while the later ones focus on detail and refinement. The book features hundreds of
images of work by well-known artists from Debuffet to Jim Dine—and each chapter includes a profile of someone who came to drawing late in life and achieved recognition.

I am only at the beginning and haven't tried any of the exercises yet but plan to over the weekend!
I hope you have a great one!
xo,
dana

Free Hugs

>

Isn't this great?

Some flowers for you

Inspired by lovely Regina I am sharing some blooms from my crabapple tree with you! I cut some to bring inside. They are just gorgeous!

The universe was in my favor and I was able to sign up for the Dream Boogie class with SARK after all! So I may be a bit quiet here. There is alot of work to do as I am a bit behind.
xo,
dana

Slices of Life

Walking, enjoying the flowers and trees, working in my sketch book

Butterflies

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." ~ Rabindranath Tagore
1. Butterfly On Red Flower, 2. Blue butterfly, 3. Orange Sulphur or Alfalfa Butterfly..., 4. Blue Glassy Tiger Butterfly, 5. Queen Butterfly, 6. Butterfly, 7. ~ Butterfly ~ " What Wingspan " ? ~, 8. inachis io / dagpauwoog, 9. the wings-become-windows butterfly., 10. Transparent Butterfly

These beautiful photos were taken by some wonderful photographers. Links above to them.

Don't you just love the colors and patterns of these butterflies? And aren't those glass wing butterflies just the best?

I really relate to these bits below. A couple of years back I myself had a butterfly dream. At the time I was rediscovering my spirituality and after having a very vivid dream I began noticing butterflies everywhere. On billboards, in magazines, movies, etc. I looked up the symbolic meaning of butterflies and was delighted to read similar information as below. 
From around the web:

BUTTERFLY  -  is about transformation. Butterfly fearlessly leaves the safety of its cocoon to meet a new world in a new form, trusting its untried wings to allow it to fly. It is a powerful symbol for anyone who's contemplating or in the midst of a major change.  It is about bringing color and joy to our lives, learning to dance with joy as we make those changes in our lives transforming us and our lives.

This blog entry was found here
"The butterfly most commonly is a symbol of transformation. It begins as an egg laid by a butterfly. It hatches from the egg as a caterpillar. It feeds, and feeds, and feeds until it wraps itself snug and secure into a cocoon. In the cocoon it undergoes a transformation, a change, into it’s existence as a beautiful butterfly. Taking all of this into consideration it is easy to see that dreaming of a butterfly may mark the beginning of a transformation in your waking life. You may be ready to hatch from your cocoon and spread your wings, flying above the material cares of the world into a higher and more meaningful existence.
To see a butterfly flying around carefree in a dream may represent your own ability to fly free. If you have recently dreamed of butterflies it may represent that you are now free from an oppressing situation, problem, or relationship.Butterflies are also a symbol of spirituality. Many times when a dreamer dreams of butterflies around them, or of observing them, it means that in their waking life they are on the verge of a deep spiritual journey, full of new awareness and possibilities. This truly is a wonderful thing.In the book “Secrets of Dreams”, written by Caro Ness, the meaning of a butterfly dream is close to my own personal analysis…It mentions that butterflies can be seen as “symbols of transformation”, or, as “accurate, and startling affirmations of rebirth into a newer, brighter, and more illuminating existence…”

SARK's Complimentary Dream Boogie Class

Just stopping in to tell  you I did not end up signing up for this class (too pricey for me right now), however I am going to be on this free call on Wednesday. The info is below which came to me via my affiliate link.

 SARK (aka Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) has just announced that she is inviting anyone to attend the first class of Dream Boogie with SARK for free, just so you can experience "Dream Boogie" first-hand and see what it's all about, without any cost or obligation.  It looks like space is pretty limited for the complimentary call, so I encourage you to reserve your spot to attend the class on Wednesday, or to request a complimentary recording of the class.

This is the scene around here. Super sunny day. Laundry fresh from the line waiting to be folded and put away. Fresh cut forsythia.

I watched the movie last night. It has brought up SO much for me. I would really love to talk more about it but I am still mulling it over. I do highly recommend you see it though.

Thank you so much for all of the good wishes about being published.  Now that I have sent off the article info I am happy to tell you that my wreaths will be appearing in Somerset HOME this August! Stampington and Co. has such a beautiful line of magazines. I had a full page in Somerset Studio back in Nov./Dec. 2008 and I am so excited to be included in this beautiful magazine with great art to create for your home.

I hope your weekend was fun and creative.
xo,
dana

Excited

Remember this movie? http://www.whodoesshethinksheis.net/  
I first heard about it while in the fishbowl. 
I remember crying while watching this trailer. It struck me so. It is now available as a party pack on amazon for $26.99!! I had to order it today. It is arriving on Friday! Here is the link. http://www.amazon.com/Who-Does-Think-House-Party/dp/B00375C24C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1270659049&sr=8-1 I am so excited. Did you see this already? If you don't know about it please watch the trailer and consider purchasing the dvd and sharing it with others. If you have seen it I would love to hear your opinion on it.

I received some super exciting news on Friday. I am going to be published!! I will let you know where soon once it is all final. I am so thankful for this opportunity!

 Today feels like summer with the thermostat approach 90 degrees F. I hope you had a great Easter. We had a really fun one. We were all on chocolate overload.

And don't forget... Just one week to go.
 Dream Boogie with SARK: Dancing from DREAMing to DOing!