Tall & Skinny

Here is the piece I said I was working on. Style-wise, it's similar to the way I usually work, but it's much larger (probably about 3 1/2 feet tall) and more involved than my usual stuff. I'm into this sort of shape lately, so I thought I'd try a piece that really plays with it. I like the way it turned out, although I'm not sure if I like the fact that it doesn't have a definite focal point. But maybe that's what makes it interesting-it's just a collection of things... Maybe if I do another one, I'll do some journaling on it to break things up a bit.

Sorry, for the life of me, I couldn't seem to take a great photo of it, and Blogger doesn't seem to be able to show a larger full photo, but you get the idea.

Good News!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that your good thoughts and good vibes worked- my book idea was approved!! Hooray! Even though in the back of my mind I'm saying, "what have I gotten myself into?"- trying to write a book while taking care of a newly crawling baby while pregnant! But I'm excited. It will be nice to have something to focus on and keep busy with, when I'm not busy with Riley that is. So thank you all for your suggestions and ideas when I was still mulling over the possibility, and thank you for your well wishes while I've been waiting for it to go through!

I'm in the middle of working on a "different" piece of art right now. By different, I just mean that it's not exactly like the art I usually do. I'll post when it's finished...

Piece of Art

Yesterday I did a piece in my new pregnancy journal (click on this link to see better detail). Don't know if you can read the writing, but it talks about feeling trapped in my own body. I'm feeling so much better now, but during the worst of my nausea and fatigue and dizziness, I wanted nothing more than to just step away from my own body for a while and have a break. But as we all know, that's not possible... And although I feel better, I thought it was important to document that part of this pregnancy, since it really affected me mentally.

I really like the "unfinished" look of the piece. I rarely leave any of the paper substrate showing through when I work, but on this piece, it just felt right. I find it interesting that the page I worked on is page #41, since Riley was born at 41 weeks (much to my chagrin!), so I hope this baby doesn't follow suit!

Please send me your good vibes on Friday morning, as that is when my book idea is being proposed to the publisher. Wish me luck!

Coffee Anyone?

My younger sister is opening a coffee shop in FL within the next couple weeks (I'm so proud of her!), and she asked me to do a few paintings for decoration. So that's what I did today. It was a challenge, as this isn't my usual subject, nor my usual style, but I'm very pleased with the way they turned out!

I'm feeling so much better the past couple days- I think the morning sickness may be on its way out! The heat has been almost unbearable though, but luckily, that is also on its way out! As I was reminded when I read my dear friend Tonia's post today, even though things may seem miserable, I really am blessed... I cannot let myself forget that!

We bought a little pool to keep cool, so I'll leave you with a photo of Riley enjoying himself!

Slowly But Surely...I Hope!

Well, I'm slowly beginning to feel better. I battled a cold for about a week, on top of the morning sickness, but that is now better, which is already a vast improvement. And, although I've had some off days, I'm generally beginning to feel less exhausted and dizzy. I'll tell you though, if it had been this bad with Riley, I would have thought twice before getting pregnant again! And what's sick about that is that I know my "morning sickness" is nothing compared to what some women go through- I just have such a low tolerance for discomfort, I guess. I know- I'm weak!!

So anyway, I worked on a piece in Riley's book yesterday-that's how "up" I was feeling. And although it's not my favorite, I don't think it's going to be one that makes me nauseous every time I look at it- hooray! It took a while to get to this point though. I spent the majority of the time I worked on it absolutely HATING it. There must be 8 layers of paint on the thing, because I kept covering things up that I didn't like. But eventually I got to the place where what I did worked, and I now like it.

On a side note, I usually don't mind hating a piece at some point while I work on it. That's usually when I have a major breakthrough- I become much less inhibited about making changes, and I take risks that usually result in a much better piece. With this piece though, that went a little too far! But, as I said, I ended up "making it work" (as Tim Gunn would say) and I now like it. In case you can't read the words, it's about different milestones that Riley has hit during this last month- crawling, standing, growing 5 new teeth, and being INTO EVERYTHING!!!

Feeling Better? Maybe?

Well, I may be jumping the gun a bit, but I think I'm feeling a little better. I haven't taken one nap today (and until now, I've been taking 2-3 a day!). It's hard to tell though, because I've now caught a bit of a cold, but it does seem like behind the cold, I'm feeling less exhausted and nauseous. And honestly, I need the break. I seriously feel like I'm losing my mind lately with all this dizziness and fatigue. Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers!

I've been on top of things enough in the last couple days to actually complete a project! I have a niece (3) and nephew (1) who will be having birthdays soon, and their mom requested some stuffed toys like this cat I made Riley several months ago. Unfortunately, when I made the cat, I didn't use a pattern, so I had to "remake" a new pattern for the new ones, and the proportions came out a little differently. But they're still cute, in that handmade sort of a way!

A few of you have asked about my potential book project with the news of my pregnancy. As of right now, we are still going to go ahead with things. In fact, my proposal will be presented next Friday, so keep me in your thoughts for that!

And finally, I want to put in a plug for my great friend Tonia Davenport. She will be teaching a class at Art & Soul Portland in October, and she really needs some students! The class is on alternative framing for your artwork. She shows how to make some really unique frames that not only enhance your artwork, but become part of the piece itself. Her ideas will really open some doors for displaying your artwork. Even if you can't make her class, she has a book on the subject as well. In fact, this is where I got the idea for the photoframes that I make!

Oh, and speaking of my photoframes, I need to put out a "LAST CALL" warning. In a couple weeks, all my existing frames will be going to a new coffeeshop that my sister is opening in FL. So they will no longer be available on my website. In the future I will be adding more, but if there's one you've been eyeing, go ahead and snatch it up, because it won't be available for long!

All Is Revealed...

So, I'm sure you've all been wondering what's up with me lately- hardly any posts, hardly any art, a mysterious "secret" project... Well, I've decided it's time to let you all in on the secret. Here it is... dum, dum, dum,... I'm pregnant!

Yep, that's right! I'm nine weeks pregnant, with a due date of Valentine's Day, 2007. We found out while we were in Yellowstone. Check out this photo of Jason's expression when I told him! And of course, here's also the obligatory photo of the first ultrasound.

Was it planned? Well, pretty much, although I totally didn't expect that it would happen so soon. If any of you have looked at my pregnancy journal from Riley's pregnancy, you'd know that he took close to a year to be conceived. So we sort of expected a similar wait for the next one. But oh no, apparently pregnancy really made me fertile, because the very first month we made a half attempt at trying, it worked! Sixteen months apart is what they'll be- what in the world am I in for!?!

So the reason for the lack of posts and artwork lately is that I feel like crap!! I'm lucky enough not to suffer from "real" morning sickness (which is a good thing, because I have an unnatural phobia of throwing up!), but I basically am just absolutely exhausted. And certain things make me feel totally nauseous- one is going on the computer. It was the same with Riley. For some reason, going on the computer and watching TV make me feel sick. And sometimes doing artwork also makes me feel sick, so I've been limiting that unfortunately. Even when I do art, if I'm not happy with the piece, it will make me feel nauseous every time I look at it. There are pieces I did when I was pregnant with Riley that still make me feel sick when I look at them- isn't pregnancy crazy?? And, as I've mentioned before, my arm problems have also been acting up, which is often a side effect of pregnancy, another reason for my limited posts.

Well, there you have it! So you may not see much of me for a little while, until I start feeling a little more back to myself. And forgive me if I don't respond to as many comments or emails for all the same reasons. I'll still post when I do art, such as the secret project I've been working on, which obviously is Pregnancy Journal #2. Here are the pieces I've completed in there. The third one, by the way, is one of those that's going to make me feel sick every time I see it, because I sort of hate it...

And now I'd better get off this computer before I toss my cookies for real! Ta ta for now!

Linda, Your Frame Is On Its Way!

Here is a frame I made for Linda for photos of her twin grandsons. I'm showing it here just to remind everyone that I can do "custom" photoframes if you have specific color requests, etc. For example, Linda liked this frame I showed a couple months ago, but wanted one with blue and yellow, and that had her grandsons' initials. Hope you like it, Linda!

More of My Secret Project...

I spoke a couple posts ago about a secret project I'm working on. I did some more today-this photo shows the top half of the piece I did today. Sorry again, but no more details at this point. I'll fill you in soon though!

The heat has let up around here, thank goodness, although the timing certainly was strange. Days and days of not a cloud in the sky, and when do the clouds come in? During the fourth of July get-together we had last evening! So we were treated not only to fireworks, but also to thunder, lightning, and rain! Oh well, I'm already feeling a little more energized without the exhaustive heat sucking the life out of me, and it also helps that Riley slept in until 8:30 this morning (he's usually up at about 6:00)! My arm is still really bothering me though, so I'll again keep it short.

Tomorrow I hope to make the frame I've promised to Linda, so I'll post photos if I succeed!

Corners of My Home

First, I want to sort of apologize for not posting much lately. Honestly, I've had a little lack of motivation for the past few weeks, partially from the heat and I'm sure as a result of a variety of other things as well. Then, as I've mentioned, I'm really having some issues with my wrist/arm. This is a long-standing problem I've had (it's not exactly carpal-tunnel, but it's close) that seems to have really intensified over the past few weeks. So forgive me if my posts are shorter and maybe a little few and far between for a little while, until things improve.

However, I haven't been on the computer at all today, so I thought my arm could handle a "corners of my home" post, even though it's not Thursday. These are two walls in our master bedroom where I have our wedding photos displayed. If I haven't mentioned it before, I used to be a custom framer, hence the fancy framing. But frames really do make a huge difference in a piece... don't get me started, because I could really get up on a soapbox about it! Anyway, even though I love the arrangement on the multiple grouping, I think that eventually I may have to do away with the smaller photos on the sides and replace them with baby photos. Our wedding days are done and gone now, and have been replaced with our little Riley, and I'm shortly going to run out of wall space for photos of him! But I had this in mind when I originally framed everything, which is why I used neutral colors and a variety of frames. This way it will be easy to replace the photos as needed. I'm not sure how well you can see the individual photos in these shots, but we really did come away with some beautiful images of our wedding. And I've hung them on either side of our bed, so it's nice to lay in bed sometimes and remember that day!

Quickly, in book news, my friend (the editor) thinks my proposal looks good, and she will present it to "the big guys" soon. Wish me luck!