Creative Journey

"Creative Journey" 12x12

Someone else is going on a creative journey with me! A customer from UOR took the challenge when they bought one of my favorites, "Creative Journey". The words say "Special. Sentimental Significance. Choose to Create. One-of-a-kind Art. Dream Pieces. All Outstanding. Masterpiece. Your Turn." The postcard was found in an antique shop...1912....written with pen&ink....the subject about happenings in their new country of the USA. The leaf is real and has special meaning of a girl trip taken to my sister's.

Signed on the dotted line with a celebrity

"Seeking a Fresh Start" 12x12

And the decision is........we bought the house! A cute little patio home in a new neighborhood. I'm most excited about my studio! We will pull up the carpet and stain the concrete floor in one of the bedrooms.....perfect for a studio. It will be the end of July before we can move in but at least that huge step has been made. In the meantime, I'm enjoying hanging around with a celebrity......Rick was recognized twice today from the newspaper. The comments about how people already know who he is are so funny to us. I guess basketball gets you places.....

Decision Day

"The Money Tree" 10x10 sold! Under One Roof is so good to me. Make them a destination this summer....Wimberley, TX.

A great quote I ran across today...."Write (create) from the soul, not from some notion about what you think the marketplace wants. The market is fickle; the soul is eternal." - Jeffrey A. Carver

Decision Day.......buying one house we picked out or renting an apartment. Hmmmmm...lots to think about and weigh out. I am fine either way because we have a plan! I love a good plan but sometimes it takes a while to arrive. More on this later......

Bed & Breakfast

While house hunting our realtor suggested we stay in the Rudder-Jessup B&B. WOW! What an amazing place and an amazing couple. George and Hillary Jessup made us feel like old friends. You can visit them here and plan to stay......you will love love love it!

Buried

This is what my desk looks like.....maps, price sheets, interest rates, mortgage numbers, floor plans, notes on houses seen......art work is buried and the studio out of commission for awhile. Our plan is to decide on a house by Tuesday at the latest, buy it, pack, and move by the end of July then go straight to my daughter's house to help her for the month of August. What a fast but exciting summer. Maybe my online shop can still be open by September....that's the goal. But....good news....a painting sold at Under One Roof this week!! That gives me a boost of excitement and energy!

Note to Self

Let It Go

I find myself getting overwhelmed with all the new coming up. These are a few pages from my sketchbook.....

New things in our lives:

1. Rick new job---one he has dreamed about
2. Me new job--my creative business I have dreamed about
3. Us new town
4. Additions to our family

All at once seem like alot but I was just reminded today that they are all WONDERFUL things!! So what's to be worried about??!! Let it go! Have fun with it! Enjoy this time! It is not a valley.....it's mountain top time!! Yahoo! Okay....I just talked myself into being really excited! Tomorrow we travel to our new town and look for a new place to live. I won't stress out....I won't stress out.....I won't stress out..... Let it GO!!!!! WOO HOO!!

moving

"Guardian" (8x16) painted as a custom order for an Under One Roof customer.

Happy first day of Summer!! My printer and scanner has arrived!! Cory helped me set it up yesterday but a few glitches have made themselves known. First, my computer is bogged down with junk in it's trunk but my 'go to guy' (Cory) is so graciously working on it for me. Secondly, we are MOVING!! Rick took a basketball job on Friday and we will be looking for a place to move this next week. We are very excited and overwhelmed at the same time. So....the studio is anxiously looking for a new place to call home and create. There is much exploring to do and inspiration waiting.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Inspiration from the Dr. himself......

"Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you. And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too. OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!"

Have a terrific weekend......go and make something happen!

Empty Wallet & Happy Heart

I'm closer! I'm closer to opening my online shop!! I just bought a very cool printer and scanner to make high quality archival prints of my originals. Can it really be exciting to be waiting for 2 pieces of machinery to be delivered to my front door? YES! ABSOLUTELY!! I was wavering a little & Rick said 'You have to have the right tools to do your job'. What a great hubby!

This is a giant leap of faith and commitment for me. My fears are starting to creep back up and grab at my throat. I drew a line in the sand & crossed it----I'm in all the way. It's really energizing to push my boundaries farther than I thought I could. I don't feel like I'm in limbo anymore waiting to see where we will move...if I should go back to teaching...

I can work on a creative business from wherever I am! My new job/career has begun.......................YIKES!!

holding my hand

In Kelly Rae Robert's ecourse she has emphasized how important a blog is to build a community of fellow artists and friends to support you on this journey. I understood what she said but I didn't really think I would experience it so soon! Almost from the beginning complete but supportive strangers were leaving comments on my blog or sending me emails. Artists from all over the world are taking this class. One person I am particularly encouraged by is Cristina. She made a comment but also took the time to email me totally relating to where I am right now. She is close to my age and is just starting to take steps toward a creative business as well. We have emailed back and forth several times and it seems like she is already a good friend. What's even more spectacular about this technology is she lives in Verona, Italy!! So we have agreed to hold 'virtual' hands along this journey, hold each other accountable, and encourage one another with 'You can do it' messages. What a great way to connect to people who, otherwise, would have never crossed your path. Thanks, Cristina, for reaching out and holding my hand.

Hot Wire, Break In, & Thinking Outside the Box

Is it the tropics? This is my husband, Rick and me. No, we aren't in the tropics. Beautiful sunsets are breathtaking in the Texas Panhandle. Our vacation at the ranch is always full of adventure. The four wheelers and Polaris RZR are the main forms of entertainment taking us to "must go" places like the Signature Wall and The Grove. So.....


when the keys to the Polaris were left in a town three hours away, it was a scramble to figure out how to solve the dilemma. While the keys were being overnighted, my son, Cory, surprised us all with his new found knowledge (thanks to the never ceasing wonders of the IPhone) of hot wiring the Polaris! I never realized the versatility of two paper clips. That's thinking outside the box!

Signature Wall --look closely for the names carved into the dirt.

After a great afternoon of exploring, riding, and evening of fishing, we were all pretty well covered with that good ol' country smell. You wouldn't think that showering is a big deal but it is when staying in a ranch house that is 99 years old. The ranch house is a treasure to our family and has been kept up and treated as such but one little bathroom, 9 people, and temperamental pipes sometimes make an interesting combination. The pipes decided to back up so the Ranch House closed its bathroom. What to do??? What else but break in to the house down the road! We already had permission to use the key and definitely would have taken that route but the key was not in the "hiding place". We looked with a flashlight in all the obvious and not so obvious places but it was soooo dark. When it gets dark in the country it's a "can't-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face" kind of dark but if you look up, you will be filled with wonder and awe at the beauty of the stars in the sky. Nothing you can capture with a camera......His unfathomable artwork!

We knew things could get pretty desperate so once again, Cory (our own MacGuyver), with his 'out of the box' mentality, went to the house armed with a bobby pin and broke in. Okay......I'm getting a little concerned. Nonetheless, super happy to have a bathroom and a shower!

I'm coming back from vacation inspired and ready to stretch my boundaries and think outside the box.

Road Trip!

So looking forward to the coming days:

• visiting my daughter and son-in-law in their new home (painting, etc.....all the relaxing stuff)
• hanging out at "the ranch"
• Flying Lessons -soaking in all I have learned so far
• seeing my family
• playing cards, laughing
• relaxing in general

Assignment to myself

Assignment to myself: Create an abstract collage from an 'abstract' photo. This collage was inspired by the photo taken on a previous post, 'calm after the storm'. ( By the way.....Thanks Mother and Daddy for allowing us to use the lakehouse!! The broken dock boards are being repaired as this posts...love you!) I have no idea how I got the result from the inspiration picture. It just took on a mind of it's own. The words say 'appreciate gifts.......and fix them when they break'. Just as soon as you borrow something of someone else's and you are the one totally responsible, there is an accident, or it breaks, or something happens! That's what happened to us during the storm at the lake....under our watch!

Exposed

Kelly Rae Roberts's class has caught me off guard! There could be a whole other life waiting for me out there! The overwhelming emotion of that possibility is washing over me in a big way today.

10 things (just to name a few) I have learned so far:

1. The whisper is really your life's inspiration calling you. Push through the fear and follow your true inspiration.


2. Inspiration + Passion + Commitment = Wildest Dreams Come True


3. Be ready to commit and work hard - be mentally tough like an athlete


4. Set goals that are bigger than I think I can achieve


5. Say "I am an artist" out loud when someone asks what I do


6. Create an online presence (blog) that paints a picture of who I am


7. Reach out to others and participate in their blog posts/challenges


8. Just be myself


9. Create what is meaningful to me, not what I think will sell


10. Search and observe treasures in the ordinary sights of my everyday life

"As I let my own light shine, I unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." - Marianne Williamson

Painting sideways

"Viva Venice!" (36 x 36) One year ago we were in beautiful Venice, Italy. It was a dream trip....starting in Paris, ending in Rome! I looked at a photograph to paint this picture but couldn't get it right so I turned it upside down. The reflections were so bright that didn't help so I turned the photo sideways and my canvas sideways and tricked my mind into seeing only shapes instead of objects. The result was an abstract but recognizable place on the water over one of the many bridges of Venice.

Never too late

"Embrace Change" (12 x 12) Change doesn't always have to be painful.....I'm lovin' it!!

I am no where near ready to sell my artwork yet on ETSY or at a 'trunk show' or at an art festival because I still have to figure out how to take great digital pictures and print them to look like the originals. (Although these are some of my goals.) But....I am having a great time painting up a storm!

"No matter where you are in life right now, no matter who you are, no matter how old you are -- it is never too late to be who you are meant to be." - Esther & Jerry Hicks

Be Bold!

" Bold Blossom" (20 x 20) represents a blossom opening up to a whole new world of opportunities.....fearlessness, assurance, boldness!

I just started my e-course. Amazing already! What I've already learned:

• Step 1 - Overcoming my fear of going to Step 2


• Step 2 - Learn HOW to do my creative business

If I don't overcome Step 1 it won't matter if I know Step 2 or not!!

My vow - do not let fear get the best of me! Don't wait until the "time is right"....I'll be waiting forever.

The opposite of fear is Courage, Boldness, Confidence. I am choosing to realize that fear is there but so what....I choose to function in spite of it...BE BOLD!!!