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Monday, October 31, 2005

Resistance is Futile....

I did my first Artist's Date today...went to the Dollar Store and had a blast..Amoungst other things, I got a gourd, some fall leaves, some wooden beads and a small vine wreath to make a "turkey" with...He's actually pretty cute - a bit bizzare, but cute..(I would post a picture, but the camera is not here right now)...He needs a hat, so I have to hunt up something for a hat...I know I have some small straw hats somewhere in my project boxes!

I also got a spiral notebook for my 'morning pages' , some shelf paper with cheerful sunflowers and little bees on it to decorate the cover with, and new pencils...I love having new pencils...reminds me of the first day of school...So, I covered the notebook, covered a can for a pencil holder, put the pencils in the can, sat down and actually did my 'morning' pages! OWWIE!!! I have not done much longhand for years and I have a bum thumb joint on my right hand...Mr Arthur and Mr Itis come to visit it way too frequently...it does not bother me when I am drawing - I hold the pencil differently...but writing...golly gosh - thats a different story!

I guess I have resigned myself to actually trying to do the morning pages during the 12 weeks...at least my notebook is cute!

Sunday, October 30, 2005

The Artist's Way Check In - Intro

Well...here it is Sunday...time to do the first check in...

Morning pages I think is going to be an issue with me...not sure I like the statement that the author makes "Morning pages are nonnegotiable"...in fact make that that I know I don't like it...seems arrogant...I thought Picasso's statement (quote from the margin on page 17) makes more sense - "Painting is just another way of keeping a diary"...I may end up sketching my 'morning' pages on the days I actually have time to do them...most days, they probably aren't going to be 'morning' pages at all - afternoon or evening pages is probably the best I can handle... Also, I work in what I consider to be an artistic field...I frequently do the shift to right brain mode to create solutions, so I don't feel like I have a violently active Censor telling me I can't that I have to slay...

Artist Date - gonna go off to the Dollar Store and find something that can be repurposed or embellished...and then go home and play...

Filling the Well - I love this time of year (well, except for the fools who go overboard decorating for Halloween...a pet peeve)...There are a couple of spots on my drive to work that are really interesting and inspiring. My favorite is a gap between two hills..when you get to the bottom, you can see a lake, some grazing cows, green grass (its green again, we had rain last week!) and if I am really lucky, the sky is blue with puffy little white clouds - makes me feel good just to be able to see it... Occasionally, when I am driving into LA with DH and it happens to be clear of smog, we can see the Downtown buildings far off in the distance - looks like a castle on a hill with the buildings being the crenilated towers..of course the whole illusion is shattered once you GET to Downtown though (LOL)...

By the by...I must remind myself: do not read The Artist's Way right before going to sleep! It was like my brain was revved up and working overtime!

Saturday, October 29, 2005

20 Things...

1. I live in a mostly rural area of Southern California, though the 'burbs are creeping closer every year...soon you won't find a cow or a horse anywere close...Used to have several thousand head of cows out our back wall...they are gone..soon to be replaced by townhouses!
2. I have two grown children...neither of them are married...and no grandkids yet.
3. I was born in Newfoundland, Canada while my Dad was in the Navy.
4. I write web pages for a living.
5. I come from an artistic family. My great-grandfather was a jeweler for Tiffany's...my grandfather created several large sculptures that grace the St. Augustine city gates...my great-uncle has a statue of Mary in the St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and is also has works in the Met in Chicago.
6. I have three cats and one dog.
7. My DH is an actor...he took up acting about the time I took up quilting, three years ago.
8. My favorite color is green.
9. Almost all of my life I have had long hair. ..Except the time in 7th grade we went on a field trip to a hairdressing college...they asked for volunteers...Twiggy was really popular that year...Guess what I ended up looking like?
10. I love chocolate...
11. I like quilting. My best friend got me into quilting after years of me saying " I don't see the point of cutting up perfectly good fabric into little pieces just to sew it back together again".
12. I like to read... I almost always have at least 3 or four books going at once.
13. I like to cook.. but hate cleaning up!
14. I love to draw. Favorite medium is pencil.
15. I hate driving on freeways.
16. I love traveling - I have been to most of the states except the very top eastern states, Alaska and curiously Hawaii..Have been to Europe twice.
17. I play the flute...
18. When I was a baby, my parents left me sleeping on a quilt in the center of the living room. They left for a few minutes...came back and no baby!..I had learned to roll over and rolled under the couch.
19. I have one sister...she has 5 kids and 4 grand kids.
20. My grandmother made hundreds of charity quilts before she died.

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