Olive and Friends  8" x 10"

Just in case you aren’t on my email updates list (which I only send once a month if that) I much prefer posting here to the blog...mostly because I just don’t want to bother you all with too many emails. Can you tell I feel like I get bothered with too many emails?! Honestly emails overwhelm me at times. Another reason that I love blogs so much, is that you can tune in when you’re inspired to, on your own time. But then again, I often wish that artists that I buy from would send an email from time to time about their updates, because my time is getting less and less to visit the blogs that I enjoy following.

I digress ~ so if you only follow this blog, you should know that yesterday, I released softcovers of my book! And you can purchase them at my website and on Etsy, whichever you prefer.

And I also released the remaining original paintings, including the one at the top of the post of Olive and her friends, that became the illustrations of my children’s book. You can find them all in one gallery right here at my website.

Ok then ~ here’s me wishing you a very happy holiday weekend. I actually feel inspired to do some straightening of my studio (does this mean that I might need to get a life?) and some surfing. Now that I’ve almost been in this house a year. Can you believe it already? I can actually see how some of my "systems" aren’t really too efficient after all, and I want to get them in place to be ready for exciting things to come later this year!!!! :)

On a side note... I know that I never say anything political on my blog ~ as I’m not a fan of politics. In fact that’s putting it mildly, I’ve hated politics my entire life, not to mention that I’ve never really watched a convention or fully listened to a political speech, as they mostly bore me to tears. But this time it’s different. And whatever the outcome of this election, last night brought tears to my eyes. Obama rocked it! I feel so inspired to finally be inspired by a leader in our country. I have renewed HOPE.

 Oh goodness. Where does one begin with this post? I just learned this week of a fellow blogger who along with her husband and flight instructor, Doug Kinnear were in a private plane crash on Saturday August 16. Stephanie (Nie) and her husband Christian survived but are badly burned and are in for months of recovery. They are also mother and father to 4 young children. You can learn more at her sister’s blog here.

I know I recognize Stephanie’s blog banner from my internet travels, but I did not "know" her before today ~ After visiting her blog now, there is no way I cannot move to help to this cause. Such a vibrant, beautiful woman, wife and mother with a love for life ~ Her blog is literally spilling over with beauty and joy. Just visit this recent post and you’ll see what I mean.

This is where the blogging world is like no other. There are  165  275 + of these auctions  going on all over the internet today. And I am now one of them. Inspired by another internet friend, fellow artist and blogger, Sarah Jane, who is also holding an auction at her blog and Gabrielle’s aka Design Mom. I too will donating $150 worth of creations from my Etsy store. This will be a gift certificate to use how you choose. Also Elizabeth from Twig has donated two of my prints that she carries over at another auction being held at this beautiful blog. Also should you feel inspired to donate directly, you may do so here.

So on this Creative Thursday, it’s also Nie Nie day.

gorgeous photos by Blue Lily Photography

You are bidding on $150 certificate to shop at my Etsy Store.

How this silent auction works:
1) Please place your bid by leaving a comment with your Bid Amount in the comments section of the item you are bidding on. Check the comments to see the most recent High Bid.

2) Following the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (make sure your comment bid includes an email address or link to your blog or some way to contact you). The winner will pay the amount of their winning bid to the Stephanie and Christian PayPal account. Once the auction is closed I will send the item(s).

3) Please bid in increments of whole dollars. The auction will end at 11:59 pm PST on Sunday, August 31, 2008.

6 x 6 in.

I like to think you can handle anything that comes your way if you have a great pair of red shoes...especially from Anthropologie ~ the 3rd painting in my continuing series .

(click here to buy original)

Is now back from the show and available for sale at my website right here. The irony is that the sweet design of this towel is what became "controversial". And I was recently having this never ending discussion with someone about "what makes art controversial"? And they pointed to little Olive on my children’s book and said "that". And we decided that since what used to be considered "controversial" is plastered everywhere, especially all over the internet, that it’s possible that the new "controversy" will exist in things that don’t "shock" you but remain innocent and hopeful in their simplicity.

8 x 8 in.

As promised, a painting today. The subtle leaves in this one are actually a gold paint that shimmers depending upon how the light hits it.  After a whole 10 days without painting, it felt so good to pick up the brushes again. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and really took my time with it. This original is a little larger than usual, which was fun for me, especially since I’ve been painting so tiny lately. I’m also feeling drawn to soft yellows ~ that’s right ~ it’s possible that orange is on a bit of a hiatus.

(click here to buy original)

*Edit* Tuesday, August 26 ~ I decided to list a few new prints today over at Etsy, of which the new owl friends is one of them.

(...and you might take note that my kitchen aid mixer also happens to be orange, and you would be correct in that observation...oh, that orange!!)

Today was one of those days, an especially good one. Nothing crazy and exciting. Just a day at home where you can putter around and follow your bliss, moving from one activity to the next almost seamlessly, with little effort. One where time slows down a bit and you begin to take notice of everything around you. Simply put you feel a sense of peace and you make some cookies! Oatmeal chocolate chip to be exact...see recipe below.

We’ve officially returned from the beach and I’m more than certain that the few intended days of down time have carried on into this weekend. As I take a deep breath, I remember how nice it is when that happens and I’m inspired yet again to keep the feeling going on into my every days. :)

I hope you’re having a nice, relaxing weekend. It was great to hear all your thoughts over at Holly’s ~ And I’ll see you on Monday with a painting for sure, as my paint brushes are beginning to feel neglected...I think this may have been the longest they’ve been left untouched in quite a while.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies courtesy of Gabby (Sean’s brother’s wife and mother to Saoirse :))

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. rolled oats
3/4 c. chocolate chips
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves

There are no directions included with this one. Gabby actually created this recipe combining bits and pieces from a couple of cookie recipies. I had them when we visited her last weekend, and found them to be delicious ~ not too sweet, hearty, maybe even a little good for you (she even used wheat flour in her batch)?! and especially good with milk. So when you put it together, use your usual cookie making insights ~ mix the wet ingredients first, then mix the dry slowly adding the combined dry ingredients to the already mixed wet ingredients, spoon them onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375º ish for 10 ~ 12 minute~ish. And eat and ENJOY!

 
detail of "We all Flock to Ruby" available as a print over at Etsy

I know it has been way too long since my last podcast, and trust me when I say that writing and recording them is as meaningful for me as it is for you. My plan is to be back again with a new one soon, but in the meantime, Holly invited me to be a guest blogger while she is settling into her new, second, home in Germany. So for today, you can read what would be a podcast in article form over at Decor8 today. It’s called "letting go in the space between."
I hope you enjoy the article ~ and thanks again Holly for inviting me to share my thoughts over at your blog, that I love so much.

insert photo here photo taken!

We’ve taken off on a trip to the beach and the plan was to take surfing photos from the water and share them with you, but as we’ve just discovered our surfing photos from yesterday have gone missing ~ I’m here to say a quick hello anyway and let you know that I’ll be away from the computer for a few more days, so if I’m a little slow on the emailing it’s because I have sand in my toes and the beach is maybe the one place I don’t bring the computer.

Thank you for all your book LOVE ~ I’m incredibly touched that it is already meaning so much to you. 

As soon as I get a photo, I’ll be back!
I made it back with a few photos today :)

And here we have the surfing "hottie mchottersons" ~ phraseology courtesy of Sean.

The books are here!! My first children’s book is officially in print! It’s beginning to sink in as I’m just now re-emerging after signing, and packing up each and every book over the last two days. And aside from a few more return address labels, they are ready to go. So if you’ve ordered a book, they will be shipping out tomorrow!
What can I say, other than it’s pretty exciting to see this six month long project finally come together. And a bit nerve wracking to send it out for the very first time, accompanied by the hope that you and your little ones will enjoy this story featuring sweet Olive!
Many, many thanks again to all of you who pre-ordered your copy ~

6 x 6 in.

Remember my Anthropologie series I started a few of weeks ago? Here’s the second one in the series. When I was in interior design school, one of my favorite classes was interior rendering and perspective. If I could have just done those drawings all day, I would have been happy. (This should have been a sign.) Now whenever I draw furniture, it takes me back to the days when I all I wanted to do was design homes. I still love interior design, with a special fondness for chairs ~ and the chairs and the colors from the latest Anthro catalog, luscious.

(click here to buy original)

5 x 5 in.

I’ve been watching the Olympics and this piece is inspired by them. I’m inspired by what I’m learning about China. I’m inspired by the athletes. I’m inspired by the colors. I’m inspired by moments like these when the world appears to come together. And during the opening ceremony one of the announcers mentioned a quote from a Chinese philosopher.

"True virtue to great life is to live like water ~ flowing easily, moving away from resistance and collision, always delicate, graceful and calm."

If I have one goal right now, it would be to know this way of living. I thought you might enjoy it too, so I wanted to share it here with you, (and I wanted to keep it in my blog so I could always reference it should I forget where I’m wanting to go :) )

Thanks for all the new blog love ~ I am so happy here.

(original is sold)

Here I am again!

Thanks so much for following me to my NEW BLOG HOME one more time!  And for now this is where I’m planning to stay.

I’m sorry if I’ve seemed slightly "absent" from my blog. Not only have I been more reflective, and silent in the last two weeks, but I have been deep in the throws of transferring my blog to this new platform. I wanted to let you know what was happening, but wasn’t sure if this new platform was going to work out, as...let’s just say that this change has not been easy. I highly recommend that if you start a new blog, do your best to research the platform you will choose, because to move between platforms can be quite involved, certainly more work than I expected. And you don’t realize just how attached you might be to your blog once you start one. I discovered that I am incredibly attached to this blog of mine from the last two years, and the thought of leaving it behind on another platform didn’t sit well either.

So from Wordpress.org, to Wordpress.com to Typepad and back again between all 3 locations is where I’ve been. And with the assistance of tech support, I think I’ve finally managed to get my entire blog all in one location. And I’m still working out the kinks and adjusting my archives, podcasts, links etc, so please bear with me as I continue to refine it. But I thought it best to make the transfer now, so I don’t have to keep moving posts  and comments manually as I have over the last two weeks.

When I originally moved to the new Wordpress.com, two weeks ago. I thought I had more blog capabilities but as it turned out I had far less, and truthfully I have always admired the designs of many of the Typepad blogs I’ve come across. Not to mention, I’ve been wanting to re-design my blog for at least a year, but didn’t have the time or energy to figure it out on Wordpress. I’m not about to make this a post about which blog platform is better, but for me, even a somewhat technically savvy individual, Typepad is sooooo much more intuitive and easier to maneuver in. And it is soooo much more fun to use because of this. In fact I can’t believe how great it is. Now that I’m here, I feel like I’ve been living in a blog fog for the last two years.  Wordpress is good too and improving all the time, but some of their technical restrictions. due to what I understand is for overall heightened "internet security", were very limiting for a creative blogger, and an artist based business, especially an Etsy seller. Let’s just say that one of the biggest problems was that I could no longer use the Etsy Mini Widget on my blog sidebar, and I’m simply not going without my Etsy Mini. :)

Alrighty then, enough about all of that. If any of you out there are contemplating a change between wordpress and typepad, please feel free to email me as I might be able to save you some time in the transfer process.

For now I LOVE it here at Typepad!!! And, it is yet another chance for me to  get a fresh start, which personally and professionally seems like perfect timing, again...as I’m ready for a new beginning, again.

Welcome once more, and I hope you like it here at my new blog home.

(Throughout the years of me getting this little venture called Creative Thursday off the ground, I would often paint paintings with "new" in the title. The one above is one of my favorite ones titled "new beginning", painted about 7 months before I started this blog, so it has never been featured here. It signified a very profound shift in my life and art at the time. One of the recent emails I received asked me how I made it through the times when I didn’t know how I would make it. This was the way. When I didn’t know how I would make it, I painted a painting that would symbolize a "new beginning" and then I’d take it one day at a time from there.)

4 x 4 in.

I imagine if lions feel joy that it might be soft and quiet, and mixed with paper flowers.

(click here to buy original)

5 x 7 in.

Sometimes when I look out the windows of my studio this is what I see. The squirrels and the birds having a grand old time (especially now that we have figs on our fig tree. It’s all I can do to get a ripe one for me!) ~ although in this piece the squirrel and the bird are appearing to be more thoughtful which is how I’m feeling today.

It’s a beautiful summer day here. Hope it’s nice where you are too.

(original is sold)

inhabited by a little bird, for you over at the Etsy shop! hand sculpted in clay and adorned with fabrics inspired by those delightful "sweet treats".

happy Monday to you~