Election Response

Early Christmas!

An early taste of Christmas.....I've been working on these ornaments for at least a month, they took longer than I thought, but they turned out better than I thought. They started out as a KIT from TenTwoStudios, but I personalized them...FUN..I must admit though I was ready to finish up and move on. I've cleaned off the MESS shown below, and contemplating my next project. I have taken off work tomorrow and Monday in honor of my birthday. Yes, I'm now 50 years young!! I've entered the 3rd quarter as Dad says! ;D Looking forward to it............

A Lovely Mess

Yes, I believe messes can be very very lovely, especially when artistic process is involved....This is a project I started quite a while ago, how long has it been since my last post? A month! Life has been that crazy!! But, that process sometimes takes a little time to brew. That's what I like about ART, you just can't rush it. And that's a pleasant good thing, when everything else in your life is hurry, hurry. Life is full all the time, but could be fuller if we take time to slow down......make sense??

Taking Classes from Suziblu!

View my page on Mixed Media With Suzi Blu

With One Stamp: ATCs

Through Hurricane Ike and no power for 5 days, I have been able to do some art!! These are ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). They are approximately 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and can be anything you want. This particular one was a swap through the yahoo group Stampers Anonymous, and the instructions were to use a stamp chosen by stamp artist, Tim Holz, and we were to create 5 ATCs for 4 back. This particular chosen stamp was pretty challenging, but once I got going.....And as you know, that's how it goes with art. You can think you are stuck for a while, but suddenly a revelation comes to you, after you've stared at them for a few days. I llllove the process, and I'm learning to trust it, and be a little more relaxed about it....!!

Inchies!

This is my first experience with making inchies! They are actually called "Magnetic Poetry Inchies" I made for a swap. I sent these in to the owner of the swap (which ends Aug. 31st) and I should be getting some in return from others participating in the swap! Fun!

I actually found this medium quite challenging at first (it's such a small canvas!) but once I got going, it was great. My next swap will be for ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). Stay tuned!

Play the Hand You're Dealt

We've been reviewing this nugget of wisdom this week ourselves as well as with our kids. Sometimes life's just doesn't seem fair! I know, I know, whoever said it would be! However, whatever life hands you, do it to the best of your ability .....'nuff said.

Have you read this!?

Broken by William Cope Moyers.
Wow! What a story! I almost stopped reading it four times. It was so painful to read. This is the story of Bill Moyers (the journalist who worked in the White House with Lyndon B. Johnson). The guy is about my age, born in 1959, had a very priviledged life, really gifted in writing, had a very supportive family. He ended up getting addicted to crack cocaine. It's the story of how he attempted treatment at Hazelden Center in Minneapolis, then relapsed over and over ending up in crack houses for days on end...his family never giving up on him, sometimes dragging him out of those places, half dead....But finally, he has come out of it, surrendering, giving it all to God. He said, "Ok God, I'm done." Amazing...I'm finding out, more and more, God is intervening in people's lives who are calling out to him. See actor Stephen Baldwin, heavy metal guitarist from Korn, Brian Welch, Josh Hamilton from the Texas Rangers....Above are my collages in response to this book called Broken (a journey from addiction to redemption).................................

Hat Tags!

These are tags I just finished for a "Swap" through the yahoo group: artezinecafe! I will send them off to the host of the swap tomorrow! I have been a part of this group and some others for a few months. Up to now, I have been just "lurking" meaning just reading and observing what others are posting. I guess you can also call it "learning!" I plan to start participating in more of the contests and swaps, this desire seems to be forthcoming now as I am gaining a little more confidence! And perhaps, a little more time! This one was a lot of fun. It was a little tough to let go of these creations that I poured myself into. I guess this is something artists have to get used to: letting go of a part of themselves in order to share it with someone else......

My Dad.

Robert Everett Williams Jr. This is my Dad. And I am lucky (blessed!) that he is with us here in such great health! I am so excited that he will be living here at Elkins with us soon! You mean so much Dad, I LOVE YOU!! Happy Father's Day!

Stacy

Digital Matthew!

A Tribute to Matthew....Jaron and Sierra' Father. Happy Father's Day!! You are truly a great Dad, the best! #1! What would we do without you?? You... find stuff....change the oil...mow the lawn...discipline....love...SO much more!! We are fortunate to have you.

LOVE today and always,
POoKie

Rising Moon

Has the month of May gone already!?? Where, please tell me, where did it go? I suppose, and people have always told me that time becomes so fleeting the longer we live on this earth. I believe it. Time was so plentiful when I was Jaron & Sierra's age. No feeling that the days slip away so fast. Don't get me wrong....I enjoy every one of my days and thank God for them! The days are poetic, like many different textures sewn together, over and around each other...they are truly the days of our lives-rich and often beautiful.

Here is another promised page, several weeks in coming but finished today...It was inspired during our drive back from College Station one night when the moon was large and orange on the horizon, so beautiful. I was actually feeling kind of blue at the time, upset about...something that I can't remember now...but upon seeing it, in contrast to our chaotic world, it was a vision we can count on, every month or so. The thought and site took my breath away and inspired me to praise God for His constancy in my life.....

She's So Beautiful.....

Well, I've had this finished for some time, but just no time to sit down and put it online! I'm really like this one a lot because it just took me on a journey...I read once in an artist's blog (I believe it was Anahata Katkin) that you have to just START...glueing or painting, whatever you're doing and the let the journey take you where it will.... It's sort of a scary concept, because I'm always (at first) afraid of "messing up." But, I am discovering there's really no such thing. Although-- I did start over on one of the previous pages because I just got the wrong color on the page. No, I'm serious, it looked like blood on a page talking about LOVE. Yes, I realize that love can turn into something rather bloody at times...BUT it wasn't what I was trying to portray at the time!!

I have several projects in mind for the next few weeks. I am waiting on some ink-jet transparencies that I will be experimenting with transferring images via an acrylic gel medium. I will, of course be continuing the art journal, with some suggested themes on some of the Yahoo groups I've been lurking on. That's what they call it, when you just read the messages, etc. and not really participate. .....Also, I want to do some things a la Nick Bantock. His art is so very cool and out there! I have some old (and new) foreign paper money I may use with stamps, and pictures from old books....Please, as always, stay tuned. And, thank you for doing that, I know I keep you waiting a lot........

Art Journal 3

And here is my latest Art Journal page!!

My First Mosaic....FINISHED!

I'm so excited to have this finished! I fretted and babied it, filled in the narrow spaces with little beads. It's been sitting here for about a week or so staring at me. I kept asking it, "Are you finished?" Sierra answered for me, "It's finished, Mom, it doesn't need anything else." I thought she was right. I know she is. I sat out in the sun this morning after spraying some archival acrylic spray on it. It seemed to dull the shiny stones and such somewhat, but does not seem to take anything away. I wanted to preserve it since it will be actually USED as a small tabletop. And not just hung on a wall. I do like that type of art form. Usable or useful ART! I am quite pleased with the outcome. And I really hope you all like it too!

GLUED!!

Enough testing different glues on different surfaces for different lengths of time....! Sometimes you gotta just dive in and DO it! It's a little difficult to see but I painted my board a iridescent copper using a heavy body Golden acrylic. Then, I used Weldbond adhesive to glue each of the iridescent blue and copper colored glass tiles on the border. The Weldbond instructions say the longer you wait, the stronger it holds, so I'm going to let it set for several days weighted down with some heavy 12 x 12 leftover floor tiles we have hanging around. Cross your fingers! If all goes well, I can begin gluing my homemade tiles. I borrowed some more stamps from my friend Sally T. You wouldn't believe her studio (was a garage!), she's got bins and bins of stamps, mounted and unmounted, and she says I can borrow whenever I want. Check out her blog (IMAGINE THIS), if you haven't already. She is a fabulous artist, and relatively undiscovered (not for long!)....Stay tuned!

Art Journal2

2nd Entry....In some ways school-girlish, other ways seeking to say SOMething about the good and painful side of LOVE. I like it. It's part of me. I'm learning to relax and let my art be. No perfectionism allowed! It's VERY freeing. It's very good for me. I tend to over-think everything, and beat myself over the head, if it's not what I originally had in mind, but isn't that what art is all about, FINDing your voice, not PLANning IT!

Art Journal I

While I wait on some more stamps to arrive in the mail finish out the mosaic, I am starting an ART JOurnAL. I realize you've seen these before, but I wanted to find a place to display them, and I think this is a good place to start. I will be using this journal to express my thoughts and emotions, day to day happenings, artistic leanings, etc. I'm very excited about it! I'll share as soon as I finish a page. This is sort of expressing what was going on in February....ie not much time for hands on, so digital art was a good alternative, all of these I worked on sitting up in the stands at th A&M Rec center during the kids' swim practice! A good time for it....

Mosaic II

The colors and vividness never come out as well over the web, but you get the idea. A few more tiles added. I am also waiting for some additional ornate rubber stamps to arrive this week to fill in the gaps....

Mosaic...coming along.....

I thought I would start putting together the tiles I had into some sort of order...I suppose I still have a lot of work to do, but it's coming along(!) don't you think?? I plan on visiting my friend, Sally Turlington this weekend. She lives right here in Huntsville, and she's a brilliant artist! She's invited me to come visit her studio in her garage! I'm so excited! She's fabulous....I need to learn from her and others of this caliber......Stay tuned!!

Here's Another One!

These are really fun to make!!

More LOVE!

There's always a need for more of that! And not just on Valentine's Day!

Digital Valentines

Been doin' some digital stuff cuz there's been no time for hands-on....but this weekend...there's no swim meet... basketball... work duties...or women's retreat (went off fabulously) pressing so my hands will be dirty! Count on it! Happy Valentine's Day! (Early)

New Projects

I received some truly exciting and wonderful art technique books for Christmas, and have been working on some new projects. Well, actually I have been kind of in-between because I wanted to begin work on a mosaic table top, but needed to collect some supplies first. One of the books I got for Christmas from Matt's brother Paul and wife Cindy is Laurie Mika's Mixed Media Mosaics: See Mika Arts

So, I've been ordering and collecting materials such as Sculpey Premo! and iridescent and smalti tiles, Pearl Ex pigment powders, acrylic metallic paints, ornate rubber stamps, tile nippers, etc. so I can assemble a beautiful mosaic table with a combination of bought and handmade tiles! The first photo above shows what I accomplished yesterday with the Sculpey polymer clay (rolled, out, stamped, then baked in the oven to harden) and painted with acrylic paints and pigment powders. I am so proud of my first tiles...they look so cool, don't they?

The second photo is the finished tiles, some yet unpainted tiles and some of the bought iridescent and smalti tiles. I think they are just beautiful. After I've completed quite a few, I will start assembling on the board Matt prepared for me, I have some other things like charms, jewels, and gold leaf on the way, and I've got some seed beads to fill in the cracks!

The third photo is utilizing a few of the techniques featured in a book Eunice gave me for Christmas called Mixed Emulsions by Angela Cartwright (remember Lost In Space?). It's a book to combine different art techniques with your own photos, something I've wanted to experiment with for a while. Stay tuned...there will be more!

Breath of Heaven

Christmas time is upon us! Our church choir is preparing our Christmas music to be presented Sunday morning, December 16th at 10:20 am at Elkins Lake Baptist Church. I will be singing this beautiful song as a solo! Please come if you are in the area!

Here We Go!! TOBYMAC!!

All Right! The big concert is upon us. We saw TobyMac for the first time about 3 years ago at the Woodlands Pavilion. At the time, he was the 2nd or 3rd opening act, not really that well-known. We came to see Third Day who I love. But we had no idea about Toby. WOW! Did he put on a fantastic show. It was awesome, high energy crazy (guys doing back flips off the stage, etc) music that the kids (and I) loved! All in the name of the Father!! We were jumpin' up and down with our hands in the air!! He's an awesome example of what God can do in young people's hearts--speaking their language. He's incredibly talented..although, I guess some people wouldn't like the rap, all I have to say is just listen to the message!! Tomorrow night at the Berry Center at 7pm, I'll have Jaron, Sierra, and 2 of their friends. I went on line the first day the tickets went on sale, and the server got jammed, there were so many people trying to get tickets. This concert is SOLD OUT! and they are filming a DVD. We are so excited!! I'll probably have photos to share.....stay tuned!

Some New Stuff

Well, obviously I haven't mastered the best way to photograph my art work. If anyone has any suggestions....When I use a flash, the light bleeds out detail, and when I don't use a flash, I get camera shake. Of course, when I get my new lens, (someday) it will be a different story, hopefully. I have found that natural light is the best all the way around digitally, whether I'm shooting my kids swimming or still-life art work.

I'm Still Here!

I wanted to submit this scrapbook page of Sierra to let everyone know....I am still here...I'm still functioning. And I will go ahead and say it, even though it's so boring...I am really busy! It's a trend in my life. I do not deny OR regret it, though! I hereby commit to post more this week. I have some art projects I have completed, so I promise to share..... I'm having a great weekend, aren't you! The weather is perfect!! Stay tuned, I have some time these next few days. I'm off on Monday....my birthday!

Philadelphia

I'm in Phillie for the American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo! In order to keep up my registration as a dietitian, we are required to have 75 credit hours of continuing education in 5 years. Well.....I'm behind. They are due this year in May, and I only have about 36 credits going into this conference. Soooo...I need to get a lot in a hurry. Some of the students were going, so I got the bug. I said, what the heck, I'm going to submit it, and see what they say. They could only say NO, right? Well, they (the hospital) approved it! So, I'm here staying at the Hyatt on the Delaware River with a fantastic view just like this one out my 21st floor windows! I didn't bring my camera, I wish I had, but it seemed a little too bulky to keep up with. I probably need to get one of those smaller digital cameras for times such as these. I missed some good photo ops. There's beautiful architecture in some of the downtown buildings, but I was also told not to walk around downtown or in the tourist areas alone. Several dietitians told me stories of pick-pockets and muggings. The cab driver on the way over said that this city is one of the most violent!! I didn't know that. I'm enjoying myself, though, and learning a lot! I'll be back late Tuesday, back at work on Wednesday....

Activity Central

Tell me you haven't given up on me! We are deep into it...it's fun, though! Jaron's having fun with soccer. He scored the only goal in their first game. The guys are getting better everytime they play together....Sierra is the libero, which is a defensive specialist on the "A" team in volleyball..you should see her dive for those balls, and she usually makes the save! Stay tuned, I'm going to be better at posting! I promise.

1st Day of 7th Grade!

New shoes, new uniforms (size), new watch, skirts 2 inches max above the knee.....lots to get straight before the first day of school, but we made it through. Alpha Omega started Wed., the 22nd. The public school will start Monday. Sierra had her first volleyball game(s), she played on both the A & B teams, and played hard. Jaron began soccer practice this week....he's very sore! It's going to be a busy year with two other sports, in addition to swimming, piano, and Oh yes, that's right....schoolwork! This is the first year they change classes...only 5 minutes between--demerits if you're tardy....Stay tuned, I'll try to be better about posting, but the first week was rough!

Take your mark.....GO!

I posted another photo on JPG. This was taken last year of Jaron "& friends" at TAGS when he got his T-16 time in the 100 Back. It looks like I'm in the running for this one, I'm getting a lot of "Yeah" votes, and encouraging comments. I need your vote too!!

The Volley Girl

Volleyball practice has started this week....here are some practice shots in the backyard!

Listen to the Music

Okay, with all other things aside, and with a little more time on my hands in the evenings and for a few more weekends, I felt it was time to get back to creating! And I am really having fun with the smaller canvases. I have been really just playing around, experimenting with the different mediums, finding my voice, so to speak....stay tuned, I've got more coming! The above creation says: Listen....the music is everywhere... The background is acrylic painted, the blue strips are scrapbook papers from Erica Hite's Nessa collection, and the gold on black is a french text stamp with acrylic paints....The vintage image is from Enchanted Mercantile.

A Few Submissions...

I uploaded these photos and another one to the JPG photo magazine....another cool online site. I will be submitting more, stay tuned and please vote!

TAGS Photos #2

TAGS Photos #1