A Book for Me

Yesterday was a tough day. As much as I adore my kids, I sometimes just have days when it just becomes too much, you know what I mean? Before becoming a mother, I never realized how hard it would be to literally put your life at the mercy of someone else's schedule. It is so draining to me not to have control over my life, or at least the kind of control I was used to pre-kids. Want to watch a show on TV? Sit down, get 5 minutes into it, oops! the baby's crying! Want to eat lunch? Get halfway through making it, oops! Riley's dumping yogurt on the table, don't get back to finishing it until half an hour later. Sit down to eat the lunch that took half an hour to make, oops! baby's crying again! Try to do something on the computer, oops! Riley is climbing on the table....

Anyway, you get the picture. We all have those kinds of days, and any of you who are mothers yourselves know exactly what I'm talking about! But the purpose of this wasn't to turn into a self-pity-fest about the trials of motherhood. I just wanted to set the stage for what prompted this piece I did last night, at 11:00, after the kids were finally asleep! I've talked before about wanting to start a journal for myself. Lately, the only artwork I do is in the kids' books or for trades/sale/etc. Other than my birthday piece, I haven't done much "me-centered" art for a while. And while I don't think every piece I do needs to be about myself, the main reason I do art is to keep a "journal" and to document my life. This is therapeutic for me, and I think it will be a treasure for my family in the future.

So last night I decided to finally begin a "me" journal, and here's the first piece. It's sort of a visual of me bearing a lot of weight on my shoulders, the weight being comprised of "kid stuff", thus the images of the little animals piled atop of each other. It reads, "Sometimes it's just more than I can handle." It was freeing to do it, especially after a hard day. I know there will also be more positive pieces in the journal in the future, but this was reflective of my mood last night. If I were to do a piece today, it would be much different, since the kids are doing wonderfully today!

Thanks everyone for the continued well wishes about my grandmother, and also the concern for Riley's broken clavicle. We are all doing great, and we'll find out this week whether Riley's bone has grown back together or not!

A Journal Spread, a Fabulous Trade, and Lots of Photos!

To begin, thank you everyone for your warm thoughts and comments regarding my grandmother's death. It meant a lot to my family, especially my dad (who is her son). He even went to the effort to figure out how to leave a comment on the post (which is a feat for him!) thanking everyone. Her funeral is tomorrow in Minnesota, and although I'm not able to make it, my thoughts will be there.

And then, in art-related news, I received my trade from the talented Erika! We agreed to trade a few weeks ago, and I've been anxiously awaiting my piece. I requested that she make me something that represented my family, and here is what she did:

Isn't it gorgeous? I love, love, love it!! As she explains it, the trees are (left to right) Jason, Riley, Noah, and myself. Noah is still touching me since he's still so dependant on me. Then, I'm not sure if it's visible in the photos, but there are tiny raindrops throughout, signifying the ups and downs of family life. Both she and I lived in Seattle for long periods of time though, so we both feel that rain isn't always bad!

Right now, I've got it on a shelf in the kids' bathroom with another piece of hers which I got on Ebay. I purchased this piece last year after finding out I was pregnant with Noah, figuring that the two trees could represent the two kids. So my new piece fits perfectly with it!

Here is the piece that I sent to her. She didn't want any specific theme other than the shape to be tall and narrow, but I snuck some references to her family in there. She has three blonde little boys, so I included the image of a blond boy, and then also images of four red birds (her husband and three boys) and a brown bird (her). There is some text on the piece from a poem about a little girl who doesn't want to let the boys know about eggs in a nest, for fear that they'll steal them. I thought that with three boys running around, there's bound to be some mischief that Erika has to deal with!

And then, today, both my boys obliged me by taking simultaneous naps (amazing!), so I was able to do this spread in Noah's book. It is about how he is becoming so adept at using his hands and playing with his toys. I just can't believe that he is at this stage already! Aren't I the mother of a newborn??? Anyway, here is the spread. I couldn't get the best photos of it for some reason, so these will have to do!

In Loving Memory...

Blanche Heimke

July 5, 1924 - July 10, 2007

Sadly, my grandmother passed away this evening. It really is a blessing, as she has had a difficult couple of years after suffering a major stroke in 2005. According to relatives, she died with a smile on her face, which is what we all would have expected from her. She was a beautiful woman who was never without a smile and a laugh and a wonderful positive outlook on life.

I'm not posting this in order to receive comments, etc. I simply wanted to pay tribute to her, in my own way. We love you, Grandma!

A Commission

First let me say thank you for all the well wishes for Riley. He's a tough little guy, but he can use all the sympathy/empathy he can get!!

Then, I wanted to show off a commission I finished recently. The client wanted a piece to commemorate her parents' anniversary, and supplied me with 3 photos to use. She also requested that I include the verse at the bottom. I'm very pleased with the way it came out-I hope her parents are as well!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I can do commissions. Give me a photo, a theme, a phrase, etc., and I will create a piece around it. And I "specialize" in baby photos- I've had a lot of practice there- haha! There are more details on my website if you're interested.

As I said last post, my mom's here this week, so I haven't had much art time, much less computer time. Hopefully next week I'll get back on a schedule, and may even be able to do a piece to sell, as well as some baby journal work. Until then, have a nice week!

Poor Riley!

Two weeks ago, Riley was standing atop the kitchen table, as he does probably 40 times a day, despite the 40 times a day that I take him down and tell him "no!" (welcome to the terrible two's, right?). Well, this time, before I could get over to him and take him down, he fell off, onto our tile floor. Ouch! Many tears later, I tried to assess whether anything was wrong, and saw that he was limping slightly. Well, to make a long story short, a few days and a few doctors visits later, it was determined that this little boy has a broken clavicle! Poor kid!

Strangely enough though, other than the initial first couple days of whining, you wouldn't even be able to tell that he's hurt! He is running and jumping and playing, and yes, still climbing up on that dang kitchen table! And according to the doctors, there's really no treatment for a broken clavicle. You just need to let it grow back together and keep him from falling on it again. Wow! It's just amazing to me when I look at the X-ray that someone could have a broken bone like that and be able to run around like a two-year-old, showing no pain! I guess that for his first major injury, this was a good one to get!

Anyway, of course I had to do a spread in his book about it. I used that paper that develops in the sun to try and duplicate the X-ray. It didn't come out quite as clearly as I'd hoped, but I think it still works. And I tried to place the words "broke collar bone" underneath the image of the break, to mimic the shape of the broken bone- I know, sort of morbid, but also sort of cool, right?

Hope you all have a great weekend! My mom's coming for a week, so I'm not sure what I'll be up to, but it's always nice to have her here!

Edited to add: Oops! Almost forgot! I wanted to let you all know that Tonia is offering some really cool plexi necklaces for trade over on her blog- check them out!

New Book for Noah

I had to send Riley's and Noah's books off to California because they are going to appear in one of Somerset's publications (not sure which one yet). Luckily, I was just finishing both books, meaning that I had run out of pages. So that means new books for both of them!

This will be Riley's fourth book, and Noah's second. There's something exciting, but also somewhat scary, about starting a new book for me. It's exciting because the book is fresh and clean and open to possibilities. But at the same time, that also scares me a bit. Do I want to take a new direction with this book? Make new "rules" for myself for this book? Try a different size or shape? I'm pretty anal-retentive, so I sort of want the whole book to be pretty consistent from one page to the next. So that first page is pretty important to me!

Well, this spread I did in Noah's book couldn't have gone any better for a first page. I chose the same size for both of their books (a little larger than Riley's previous book and a little smaller than Noah's previous book), and it seems the perfect size for me. It felt very comfortable to work in, and I'm extremely pleased with the results!

The spread is about how quickly Noah seems to be growing, and how I'm sad to already be putting clothes in the "too small" box! Having another child to take care of certainly makes the time seem to go more quickly than it did when I just had one...

And I'm not trying to add more fuel to the fire, or reopen the issue, but I just had to link to these wise words written by my friend, Tonia. She makes some excellent points!

Thank You, Everyone!

I just want to send out a sincere thank you to all of you who responded to my last post so supportively, both in the comments and through personal email. Boy, if I didn't have a big head before, I've certainly got one now, after reading all your emails! Ha ha! Anyway, I guess that even if some people feel the way that one commenter did, there are enough of you out there who don't agree, and that makes me feel very loved- thank you! Really, you guys have given me such a boost in confidence and energy, just knowing you're out there, whether you comment or not! And so, enough about that-I don't want to expend any more energy on the issue, as it just isn't worth it!!

The photo above is of a little shelf in my studio, which I've been busy putting together and decorating since our move. It's almost done, and once it is, I'll share photos. It's really coming together to become an inspiring, lovely, happy place that I know I'll love to be in.

That's all for today. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Hi Everyone, I feel the need to address a comment I received this morning. The author brought up some things that I feel really bad about, and I sincerely hope that others aren't feeling the same way that she does. The comment was in response to my question about the decrease in comments recently. I went back and forth about whether I should even address it, but the author left the comment anonymously, so I cannot contact her personally. And I'm terribly worried that some of the things she brought up may be things that others are feeling as well, so this way, I hopefully can address the issues to everyone.

She listed three reasons why she thinks my comments have dropped:
1) you don't post regular like others do.
Yes, I can't argue with this at all. And I have no problem if people choose to stop reading because I don't post frequently enough. There are so many great blogs out there that post more frequently than me, so I wouldn't blame you at all. As much as I'd like to post more frequently, I simply don't have time (or, frankly, the things to talk about!). In addition, I suffer from pretty bad carpal tunnel, which makes it difficult to type very much. So anyway, no argument here!

2) Latley you've had a "Big Head" when you do post. You're making your readers feel you are so, so sucessfull and busy, that posting on your blog is a real pain. Do you not realize that we are all equally talented and we are taking time from our families and commitments to share?
This really worries me! I hate the thought that I'm coming across as having a "big head". I've looked back through my posts and found a couple phrases like "another piece of art for your buying pleasure" and stuff like that, but I was just joking! And for my birthday piece, I spoke of how proud I am of myself and what I've accomplished this year. And I am! I don't feel bad about that at all!
In reality though, I am an incredibly insecure person who is amazed that people even want to read my blog. And I'm also constantly struggling with my artwork- do I like it? do I hate it? I know that I post about "loving this piece" or that sort of thing, but I also post about how much I struggle with pieces, and how I don't like lots of pieces.
I give so much credit to others who have families and commitments and are also able to take the time to post so frequently to their blogs. I wish that I was able to do that, but I'm just not. So I try to at least post when I do a piece of art, which is every few days or so. I'm sorry if it seems like I think it's "a pain" to post, but I just usually am trying to fit posting between two screaming kids, so it's sometimes a difficult task.

3) A post you made a few months ago was very hurtful to many...You didn't mind spending time on your babies books... but that your OTHER artwork for sell was much less time spent and not as heartfelt.Why in the world then would I want to buy something you had rushed through?
This is the comment that I am most concerned about. I honestly can't figure out which post is being referred to, unless it is one where I spoke of enjoying doing the art for sale because it's less stressful. I really worry that I must have given the wrong impression about my pieces for sale. The point I have been trying to make is that I am having a great time doing these pieces. Lately, I prefer these to the baby books. Every other piece I do these days has some "personal story" that needs to be told- like Noah rolling over, etc. These personal pieces are HARD for me to do- they use modern photos (which I find difficult to work with) and they need to tell a story (which is hard because I can't just "go with the flow" and let what happens happen- I need to tell the story).
The pieces I've been making to sell are so nice and freeing for me. I'm able to let my muse take over and I don't feel pressured to convey a personal story. I'm not trying to imply that I'm rushing through them or that they aren't heartfelt. In fact, I often feel like these sorts of pieces are more heartfelt because their stories unfold as I'm creating them, whereas the others are "forced" to tell the story. Frankly, I like the way these pieces are coming out a lot better than my baby books, too.

Well, so, that's all I guess. I hope there aren't many out there who feel the way this commentor did, but if so, I really hope that maybe this answers some questions for people, or changes some wrong impressions. I'm sorry if I've somehow been hurtful to people without knowing it.

Art for Sale (SOLD!) and Other Miscellaneous Stuff...

I've done another piece for sale- sorry! SOLD! Here are the particulars: It's 11x14, done on an artist's canvas, with fabric wrapped around the edges to "frame" it. I've used paint, papers (mostly vintage, some new), pencil, pen, and watercolor crayons. The price is $75 + $7 for shipping. If you're interested, leave me a comment! And, by the way, the piece from a couple weeks ago is still available, too, as well as some more vintage flashcards!

I mentioned a few posts ago how much I'm enjoying these pieces I've been doing to sell. There's something very freeing about working on a piece without the pressure of trying to "document" something, as I do in the baby journals I keep. I'm sort of stuck in a quandry right now. I feel pressure (mostly from myself) to do the baby journals, since I really do want to document my kids' lives, but I'm having more fun doing the less-specific pieces. I know, I know, why don't I just do both? But I'm so limited on time! So much is going on in the kids' lives that I'm already falling behind trying to capture it all in their books. If I add "fun" art into the mix, I'll fall even farther behind...

Oh, the tortured life of an artist mom, right?? Instead of complaining, I really should be talking about how thankful I am to be able to be home with my kids and have the opportunity to document their lives with the gift I've been given (my artistic abilities). I guess it all is a matter of perspective, isn't it?

And speaking of complaining, I really do feel like a bit of a complainer after my last post. It only makes sense that once the kids are out of school, the less time people will spend leaving comments on peoples' blogs. And I'm certainly not the best at commenting either, so who am I to whine about it? Thank you to all of you who wrote and reassured me that you're still reading- that really did help ease my worries that nobody likes me anymore!

Hmmm, What's Up?

Boy, the comments on my blog have really dropped off lately! I don't know if people aren't reading anymore, or if I'm not posting frequently enough, or if everyone's just busy because of summer, or what! Have any of you experienced this on your own blogs? I'm so encouraged when I get comments- it provides me with the motivation to go do more art even when I'm not quite "feeling it", you know what I mean? That's why I love blogs so much- they really inspire us as artists to continue creating...

But, enough of that. Here is some art I did yesterday about Riley's first haircut. Do you like the Burger King hat in the first photo? I can't believe they still make those! I chose that for a "before" photo because it shows the little curl at the back of his head- I was sad to see that go! I'm just sad in general at how quickly he's becoming "not a baby" anymore-for some reason, the first haircut seems such official "proof" of that!

Next project I'm working on is for a trade with the talented Erika Tysse. I can't wait to see what she makes for me! I'll show the piece I make for her after she receives it!

Random Things That Have Made Me Happy Lately

Here are a few things I've acquired recently which make me very happy! It's funny- when I tell my husband that I bought something because it made me happy, he doesn't get it...that's men for you, isn't it?

First are these vintage flashcards. You've seen some in photos of my kids' rooms- I use them as decoration frequently. I just love little bits of text scattered around the house. But I have so many of them! So I have put the ones I'm not keeping together in groups and put them up on Etsy for sale. I'm just putting a few groups up at a time- I'll add more in the future.

Then, there is this funny painting that I found at Goodwill. I think it falls into the questionable category of "cool or weird?" What do you guys think? When I first saw it, I walked by, but then I kept thinking about it, so knew I had to go back for it! And the more I look at it, the more I like it! Check out the sandals and socks combo!

And here is my new favorite fabric, ordered from Superbuzzy. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I LOOOOOVE it!!

For my birthday, I got a wonderful gift from my dear friend, Tonia. She made a necklace for me with drawings of maple and poplar leaves, which are representative of my two boys in the Celtic zodiac. I love the plexiglass box she made for the drawings! By the way, she's writing a book about using plexiglass right now- it should be a good one!

And, also for my birthday, the sweet Jamie sent me this cutie as a birthday gift! It's the back of a vintage highchair. She saw my post about loving old-fashioned decals, and figured I'd appreciate it. She was right! I'm thinking of somehow making shelf from it. Any other suggestions out there?

Speaking of vintage decals and highchairs and such, take a look at these Ebay finds! An old doll's highchair and two doll's chairs. I love, love, love them all! Just can't get enough of those old decals.

And finally, here's a photo of what I found in Riley's room after his nap the other day. How could I not resonate with it, considering the shapes that have been appearing in my artwork lately? Perhaps we are on the same wavelength...

That's all for now. I haven't had the chance to do any art lately because of various things going on, but hope to get to some later this week. I'll show you when I do!

Another Piece for Sale!

Another morning with Riley at Auntie's house, and that means another piece to sell! I really love how this one came out. The colors in real life are just wonderful- I'm afraid they aren't translating quite as well in the photo as I'd like them to. But just trust me, it's a really pretty color combination.

Here are the particulars: It's 11x14, done on an artist's canvas, with fabric wrapped around the edges to "frame" it. I've used paint, papers (mostly vintage, some new), pencil, and watercolor crayons. The price is $75 + $7 for shipping. If you're interested, leave me a comment!

And, by the way, the one from last week is still available as well. I've opened an Etsy shop, which is where it now resides. If this one doesn't sell in a few days here, then I'll put it up there, too.

I've been having some issues lately with Blogger. I just realized that there are comments on posts that never made it to my inbox, so I never saw them- I'm not sure why... So I'm not sure if the comment function is working properly right now. If you want to get in touch with me and your comment is not working, my email address is on my website!

Noah's Baptism

Little Noah was baptized a couple weeks ago, and I finally got around to "journaling" about it in his book. Actually, this is the first spread in a while in one of the kids' books where I didn't actually journal. There's a little bit of text from a card he received that says "tiny child of God" and I wrote the names of his godparents as well, but that's it. Once I was finished with the artwork of the piece, it just didn't seem to need anything extra to tell the story. Here's the spread- doesn't he look cute in his little "bonnet"? It was his Daddy's when he was baptized!