Polka dots are in!

Have you noticed!  Polka dots are back!  I've always loved them.  Here's why:  they add punch but keep it simple.  Here are two examples from this day of mine.

Autumn Brings Changes in Schedule

When it's nice outside, I fight the urge to sit down at my sewing machine and have some fun with fabric.  We've already had our first frost, and are in a rainy, gray (read gloomy) patch of weather, so now I can go  upstairs to my sewing room with knowledge that I am not missing a thing in the outside world.  I like to take an occasional sewing class too, to learn something new, be exposed to new projects and ideas. 
Here's my latest creation, a neck purse, which I made featuring cat fabric.  The one I made for myself uses oriental fabrics.  I know I will use the purse when I travel.  It is an attractive, handy spot for passport, credit card, some folding bills.  I also think I'll use it for the occasional outdoor art show or festival that I like to attend.  What is extra special about this neck purse is that I made the cording too, on my handy-dandy little serger.  It matches the fabric exactly and feels soft and gentle on the skin.

Orange and Blue neck purse featuring cat fabric

Artful Living

Being an artist means living a beautiful life.  Art making is not all about paintings, sculpture, or photos.  Sometimes art making is jelly from the yard's plum trees and grape vines.  The color alone is enough to send me off into heaven.  The taste, well the taste is brimming with fat sweet Concord grapes and plump red plums waiting to burst out of their skin.  Put them together and apply them to home made buttermilk pancakes, and we are living a life fit for royalty.

What is different about the first picture from the second? Can you spot my changes?

After

www.swallownest.etsy.com

Before

The answer:  I wasn't happy with the contrast between the flowers and the background.  I went in with a diluted Titan Buff and softened the background so that the flowers stand out.  I also added dimensional elements to a few of the flowers.

Do you think I improved this piece of mixed media artwork? 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/79130213/pink-posies-mixed-media-tissue-paper

Back to my roots in mixed media!

Like Cats?

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTIwNjkxMzV8NDMwMDc2MTg4/kitty-sings-the-blues

Staying Balanced

I can't remember the exact day, but one day late last summer I realized something:  I was over-committed and not only had I signed up for more than I could handle, I was not enjoying running from "hurry-up-and-get-this-done" so I could do "the-next-thing", but my whole life felt out of whack.  Call me obsessive compulsive if you like, but I like it best when my house is somewhat orderly and clean.  I like to sit down to eat my own cooking and not have to leap up and go on to the next task at hand. I also like to open closets and not be overwhelmed by what I see.  If I want to bake some cracked wheat berry bread, I want my schedule to allow me to do so. 

What I decided on that day in late summer was that I would fulfill my commitments, but learn from my zeal to be fully engaged as an artist.  I vowed to be mindful of what I signed up for in the future, and as time permitted, dig myself out of my hole. 

I made my To-Do List in January.  Yesterday I crossed off the last item. 

Some of the items on my list were not simple.  Reformatting two books so I could publish them on various book sites as ebooks took months of work.  I finished a quilt I gave as a gift.  Some were one day projects, like wash and wax my living room and dining room floor.  In the meantime, life kept flowing by, and I kept working on getting caught up. 

Voila!  The list is done; my life is manageable once again, and I am one happy woman.  Until I forget the lesson learned, I am going to continue living a life in balance:  work a little, play a little, do nothing a little, socialize a little, cook a little, and enjoy every second of this precious life.  I don't have to do it all, nor do I have to do it right now.  I'm going to do what I can, what I love, and live in the moment.

Nothing better than a finished To-Do List