Join me for a Workshop

Leave a comment
There are spots open for my Find Your Creative Joy Mixed Media Workshop, this Sunday, February 24th. It is being held at the North Adams Arts Council Building, 521 North 3rd Street, Decatur, IN.

My workshops are very easy going, laid back. You don’t have to have any art background, and you don’t have to know how to draw. I will work with you step by step and you take home a small, completely finished painting to show what fun you had.

The focus of this painting workshop is preparing your canvas, making a background and COLOR! I love color! It will have much texture and flowers, along with some wallpaper, gold leaf and acrylic ink.

If you have a stressful job, maybe using a lot of technology this would be a nice change to bring out your creative. It would be a nice friends out time, or parent-child outing also.

This workshop is four hours long, 1 pm to 5 pm and is $55.00. Here is the direct link to get signed up.

Book Review-Moonlight on Linoleum by Terry Helwig

Leave a comment
This author is good friends with another well know author, Sue Monk Kidd writer of The Secret Life of Bees. She encouraged Terry to write this memoir, she told her that “the world needs your story”.

The authors mother, Carola Jean was given permission to marry at age 14, by 15 she had her first baby, Terry, then two years later another Vicki. By age 18 she decided to leave her husband and the girls father.

She moved her two girls and went to live with her sister Eunice and her daughter Nancy. The two sisters tried to be there for each other but Eunice would take off for a few days on drinking binges. She would come back and shower her daughter Nancy with gifts making up for her absence. In the meantime Carola Jean offered her daughter, Terry….the author to a great Aunt by marriage, she was turned down.

Carola Jean was working at a drug store and met Davy, a doodlebugger who is a seismic driller for oil. Shortly thereafter they got married in East Texas. He was a good man, a hard worker and loved Carola Jean greatly. Seventeen months later another child name Patricia came into the world. Davy had to be away for his work which is the time Carola Jean went to the bars and danced with other men and brought them home. Soon after Patricia was born Carola Jean moved Terry and Vicki back to Iowa to live with their biological father whom they didn’t really remember because they were so young.

So I am sure that you get the picture by now. This is the story of how a woman had to grow up so fast to keep her family together against the odds of her mentally unstable mother. From going to twelve schools, the many marriages of her mother and five siblings, suicide attempts and drug abuse by her mother and so many other roadblocks.

Carola Jean passed away at the age of 40. The book starts out at her funeral and ends with the author in her 50’s, finding her grave again to sit at it and read this memoir to her because she really was the subject of it. She was 25 when her mother died.

2019 Art Shows

Leave a comment
This was my tent at Talbot Street Art Fair in Indianapolis last year in June. Attaching my list of shows I hope to participate in this year (2019).

Most of them I have applied to but the juries have to meet and go through the entry’s, sometimes 100’s of them. The process is that the artists submits three to five good images of their work and a booth shot. Most of the time this is done via the computer, once in a great while they have to be copied to a CD and sent via postal mail with the the paper application. We also have to submit either a 100 character or word description of our work process, the two are a very different size. A jury fee of $25.00 to $40.00 has to be submitted also.

To make an interesting art show there has to be many various kinds of art, so when the jury score the artist, the show takes so many of the top scoring artists in each of the categories. Mine is 2D Mixed Media. The juries see each artist for possibly 30 seconds to one minute, and someone reads the description. This is done on a computer projector.

Then the show also makes a wait list, where if the accepted artist cannot make it they have others to fill the spot. If you get the call that you have been accepted the artist then has to submit the booth fee which varies from $100.00 to $600.00 or more. I am renting that 10 X 10 real estate for two days to share, meet, talk about and hopefully sell my art to collectors that visit me in my booth.

Along with these expenses I also have gas, food and lodging if I am away from home. At this time I have been accepted into a few, ones that I participated in last year and they had early applications.

My show schedule is on this website on the home page. As I hear from shows, I add to the list. I really love traveling around and setting up my mini galleries. It is a lot of work, especially in the heat, but it’s fun. I do have two new fans this year, so that will make four in the tent and that will help.

Why am I telling you this information? I felt the need to make aware that bringing our art to you is not done lightly and is not inexpensive but worth it. Please support artists that put their imagination, ingenuity, heart and soul into one of a kind art work.

You will make them jump for joy! For my followers, I treasure you and thank you.

  • Great Lakes Art Fair April 13,14 Novi MI
  • Bloomfest May 18 Leo,IN
  • Round the Fountain May 25 Lafayette, IN
  • Winona Art Fair June 1 & 2 Winona, IN
  • Talbot Street June 15,16 Indianapolis, IN
  • Devils Lake (2nd) June 15 Manitou Beach, MI
  • Three Rivers Festival July 13,14 Fort Wayne, IN
  • Chesterton Art Fair Aug 3,4 Chesterton, IN
  • Satek Winery Aug. 17 Fremont, IN
  • Fourth St. Art Fair Aug 31,Sept. 1 Bloomington, IN
  • Vincolet Winery Sept. 7 Cincinnati, OH
  • Art at the Riverside Sept. 28 Leo, IN
  • Hyde Park October 6 Cincinnati, OH
  • Historic Shaw Neighborhood Oct. 5,6 St. Louis, MO
  • Renaissance at Roanoke October 12 Roanoke, IN
  • Arts and Greens Market TBA White Lake,MI

I Needed Flowers

Leave a comment
This painting was made during the coldest, cold snap that I can remember and that was on record for our area. One day I needed to paint some flowers and started grabbing some colors. They turned out to be the primarys and those make such bright happy pictures. Something that would surely brighten your wall. The original is just a 6 X 6 canvas with 1 1/2 sides. I paint flowers on all four of the sides and it is so fun. I will be uploading the prints to my shop. When they are available the prints can be purchased in three sizes. a 4 X 6 blank note card, a 10.5 X 10.5 print and 7.5 X 7.5 print.

A Little Bunny Love

Leave a comment
The second little 5 X 5 that I completed today. This also is a repurposed canvas from 2016 and the title is “A little bunny Love”. Once I get it uploaded into my store, it can be purchased in a notecard, 7.5 X 7.5 print and a 10.5 X 10.5 print. Here is the link if you would like to look around.

Surviving the Cold

Leave a comment
Throughout the day I am going to share my paintings that I have been working on since our cold, cold snap. Our temps are going up today and even though it was way too cold, it was so sunny. That was deceiving. Yesterday one of my cats was putting up a fuss at the window and there was a little bird all huddled against the house with the feathers ruffling in the wind. I was afraid it was dead but luckily it was close to my dryer vent. I turned on the dryer to see if it would get warmed up. Eventually it started moving his head, then standing up and then it flew off, hopefully finding a little warmer spot. Sunday it is supposed to be 50 degrees! Crazy but welcome. This little painting, I am repurposing. I used this canvas in 2015 and decided that it could be better. It had a little birds nest so I turned it into a fox burrow and I had planned to do a curled up fox so here it is, “Fox Burrow”. I love that background green, it is from Target and called Seaweed. I have been building my inventory for the art fair shows. My season starts in April and I have lots of ideas.

Book Review-The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Leave a comment
Kristin Hannah is one of my very favorite authors. I haven’t found a book that she has written that I didn’t like. I can get lost inside the story and that is my goal for a good book.

The primary setting of this book is Alaska. The father, Ernt was in the Vietnam War and was captured for 6 years. He has a wife, Cora and a daughter Leni. They lived in Oregon, and since Ernt came home from the war he was not the same person. He was angry all the time, couldn’t hold down a job, they were always moving and always fighting.

He received a letter one day from the father of his buddy that died in the war. It stated that the buddy had left him the land and cabin that he owned in Alaska.

Ernt decided that this was the new start that they needed and prepared to move to Alaska. Cora did not have a good relationship with her parents who lived fairly close but she went to visit them before they left to see if she could get some money from them, which came in very handy since there were not a lot of jobs where they were going.

This book gave a vivid view of Alaska and the people who live there and why. It was a journey through Ernts deteriorating mental health. It took us through the domestic violence that he bestowed upon Cora and then Leni. Cora could not give up on Ernt until he had turned his violence onto Leni. The people of the town where they lived banded together and helped, first as newbies who were totally unprepared for the Alaska winters and then to help Cora and Leni get away. I could feel the coldness of the winter and how hard it was to cope, along with the long nights. Very enjoyable book!

Workshops!

Leave a comment
I am happy to announce that I am collaborating with the North Adams Arts Council in Decatur, IN to host Find Your Creative Joy Workshops. These are mixed media workshops that will build on elements as each month progresses. You are looking at the pattern for the workshop that is open for January 27th. Small 5 X 7 gallery wrapped canvas. Ages 10 to Adult, 1 pm to 5 pm. Four hours long for $55.00. All supplies are included along with water and snacks. The student will make the painting their own, as in choosing the colors. It is a very laid back, small group, no more than 11. Hopefully this will make you want to continue. It is a very forgiving medium where it doesn’t have to be precise and the more layers, the more interesting the painting is. Here is a link to a gallery of past workshops. The address for the North Adams Art Council Building is 521 N. 3rd Street, Decatur, IN.
This snowman will be for the kids workshop ages 6 to 10, for two hours. February 17th and it is $20.00
This is the March 24th workshop for kids. Two hours for $20.00.

There are also other workshops scheduled for Adults. The dates for these are February 24, March 31 and April 28th. .
To register for these workshops follow this link, sign up and use credit card or PayPal. If you have any questions my email is xoxobb@hotmail.com.

Book Review-Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa M.D.

Leave a comment
This book was written nine years ago and the setting is the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The author is the doctor in this facility.

This facility has three floors, and on each floor there are two resident cats. The third floor is the unit that cares for residents with Alzheimers. This is where Oscar lives. Oscar has the run of the third floor, his food and water is at the nurses station and he goes about his business visiting. But there are many rooms and he doesn’t stay long…..only when the patient is about to die. Then he will come into the room and sniff the air, jump up on the bed and curl up beside the patient. He will stay there until they pass on and the funeral home comes and takes the body away. Then he is off duty again. It wears him out and he sleeps the next day away, more so than what cats normally do.

The doctor was not a cat person, and really was skeptical about this. The nurses and aids would try to tell him about Oscar and how he could do this but he took it upon himself to visit families who had Oscar be with them. He wanted their take on this phenomenon. He received views on Oscar but he also became a much more empathetic person from speaking with these people. He understood better what people were going through when their loved one was dying from this disease. Since he also had a disease that may someday render his arms and legs useless it help him to not focus on himself but to live life well. This also gives the reader food for thought, that we don’t know what is ahead of us, what will it be like when after all the years we are married and then to lose your spouse, and not have them beside you anymore.

Every chapter in this book started with a cat quote, two of my favorites:

1.One cat just leads to another-Earnest Hemingway
2. A cat is always on the wrong side of the door-Anonymous
All in all this was a delightful book. I loved that they had cats at this facility, it made it seem very homelike and the reason why people chose to stay there.

Did You Know

Leave a comment
What archival actually means? I like to find actual definitions especially when I am blogging to make sure that I am using the right word.


ar·chi·val
/ˌärˈkīvl/
adjective
adjective: archival
relating to or constituting archives.
“the club maintains an archival research library”
(of a material such as paper) of suitable quality to be used in archives.

“the illustrations are printed with archival inks that will last about 70 years”
    The second definition pertains to the reproductions that I print here in my studio.
    I use Epson archival inks that are lightfast and they claim should last 200 years without much degradation. The Epson Photo Paper Luster that I use, is substantial. I like a sharp and bright print and my paintings are very colorful I have found that the Photo Paper Luster works the best. This information I found about it:

    Luster finish is most easily thought of as being somewhere in between gloss and matte. Luster prints are slightly glossy, which helps enhance the image’s color and details, but also feature a very fine “texture” to help reduce problems associated with glare and fingerprints.

    I like to be able to make my reproductions to easily fit ready made mattes for my customers convenience.

    I use an Epson Stylus Photo R3000 printer. It is wireless and can print many sizes, or canvas, which I have not tried, plus various other items.

    Of course having the print completely in the sun would not prevent it from degrading, care does have to be taken with them.

    You may not care if it will last 200 years or even 70 but be assured that you will be getting a quality and unique item.

    I also want to let you know that when one shops online at Here’s My hART your credit card is secure. When setting up this shop I had to purchase the right to this security. You can see the lock up in the search bar. I use Square to accept the payments but Global Secure keeps the information secure through my web provider Green Geeks.

    For Special Art that will reach your hart click here.