bad days call for good inspiration

it all started last year when we found out that my darling daughter had a wayward tooth that was going to require surgery! that's right oral surgery. the girl that hates needles more than anything, is going to have to go completely under!! no shot in the mouth...no laughing gas...the whole shabang!!! now mind you i'm sure that for some of you braver souls, that might seem like small thing. (well maybe medium-sized) but there's something about full anesthesia that totally had me. as austin and i sat in the waiting room tuesday morning i realized how scared i was. are they going to give her too much? is an ambulance going to come screaming down the road to rush her to the hospital? on the inside i was in total freak-out mode! (though,luckily i was holding it together on the outside) but it didn't help that the room was full of long-suffering patients wondering why in the world it was taking so long to get seen! (pipe down sweets,that's my girl in there making it take so long...and i'm very happy they're not in a hurry,thank you!)  this is how i was really feeling!
she's on her third day of recovery today, and she's even singing again, and that means things are getting back to normal. today we had to get out of the house and shake off the stress. (i still can't believe it got to me that badly!)   here's a little inspiration for you and me from anthropologie in pittsburgh.
lots of beautiful canisters and ceramics...vintage and bohemian prints were all around!
large-scale intensely colored textiles, sort of amy butler meets eastern europe...s.c.r.u.m.p.t.e.o.u.s.!!
speaking of vintage...these dreamy duvets are even softer than they look!!       marshmallow cloud goodness they are!
i'm lovin' this comfy-girly-summer-casual-outfit...perfect for this coolish northeastern summer!
ok, our little jaunt was soon over...but as we were leaving, my daughter's hand in mine, this sign caught my eye...as if tailer-made for the two of us this week.(and maybe you too...) back home to ice packs and ibuprofin, but with a smile in our hearts...she made it through, i didn't drive the anesthesiologist crazy (well,only a little)...life is good!

sign of the times

ok, so is this a sign of the times or what? i am forever amazed at how much our kids are attached to their gadgets! i took my daughter lia and some of her friends to the phipps conservatory for her birthday. needless to say, all had their cell phones out, snapping away. it just made me think...are our kids going to have a harder time really relating to each other? will they know how to engage each other in worthwhile conversation? not that there's anything wrong with kids having cell phones...this girl's feet are firmly planted in the 21st century! but it's  definitely worth some thought. and maybe some tech-free down time!! 

i was so happy that the girls all loved the exhibit! you always take a chance doing something "cultural" for a birthday party, but this must mean that along with not wanting your mom to ever sing or dance in front of your friends, being 12 means your ready for more grown-up endeavors! YEA!  

the orchids were out of this world...and with this being just about the grayest summer ever in the history of pittsburgh,(very sad face)i could just about camp out here everyday and be perfectly happy!
even the fish swam in an artful way
the glass work by dave chihuey and others was out of this world (literally...it was like the invasion of the tall glass introspective aliens!)
this photo turned out to be so beautiful that when my son accidentally made it my wallpaper, i kept it!
happy birthday lia! here's to that year before they all end in "teen" and when everything i do will make you die of embarrassment!  may your candle always burn brightly!!

summer light and time travel

the morning light was waxing poetic sunday morning as we saw our oldest off on a student volunteer trip to toronto. watching him walk down to the car, backpack bulging, big ol' grin on his face, ready for anything...i immediatly flashed forward to this time next year when he'll do the same right up to the halls of his college-of-choice, carrying his laptop, books, same skwooshie pillow, same big 'ol grin! i can't believe how fast time is flying. it's as if when your kids hit high school, you've without realizing it, hit the fast-forward button in the time machine...you know the one you get on when you have that first child. it's definitely on slow speed until they get out of the diapers and terrible twos, when time seems lusciously slow and languid, when you can just catch a whiff of that marvelous little-kidness and moments are like molasses. but now, time is on warp speed. today toronto...to sleep in an old church and tutor kids who've had a much rougher time on this road than he has. 
and tomorrow? who knows? it's coming fast! my hope is that each new journey will prepare him for the next, that he'll be confident as he charts his own course, and that he can realize how precious time is. me? this afternoon i'll drop my girl at camp for the rest of the week, and that'll mean 3 full days to myself to get a lot done! 
i did want to share a few small paintings i did last week. little oils, 8x10. i'm taking so many may pictures lately, it gave me the idea to get out the easel and put them on canvas. what do you think?
i hope you're having a creative week, even if is some small way, that time isn't racing by you too quickly, that you're able to really enjoy some moments...keep me posted

from where i sit

as i sit here, on this glorious pittsburgh summer afternoon,(listening to susan tuttle's fantastic playlist), i feel amazed at the difference i see in myself after just a short time of blogging. when i was little, keeping a journal was effortless, just an extension of my chatty little self, always eager to think out loud(even if just on paper)or go on and on about life,love and the drama of being 12-going-on-15. as i got older, and life got oh-so-much-busier, it really does feel like i began to squeeze out the times of day that were just meant for being still... for contemplating. for taking it all in!
that's one of the greatest gifts of a creative life i think. getting down to more of a soul level. drinking it all in. pouring life in a cup until it spills over the sides. i'm so enjoying visiting other people's blogs, living with some of my friend's art on my studio walls, and hearing from so many of you who are on this same crazy-wonderful journey!(thank you, sweeties)
(sorry this image is so blurry, i accidentally uploaded the wrong one!)(i know..bad blogger)...speaking of studio walls,i wanted to give you a peak into my studio. i'm currently working on a companion piece to hometown (thanks for all the wonderful comments btw!)and you can see a 1/2 finished piece with the same theme as traveling mercies behind it. can you tell i tend to work on bunches of stuff at once? all fueled by coffee and dark chocolate i'm tellin' you!
i just have to introduce you to a great friend of mine(all-around phenomenal artist and beautiful person) britt hermann, who did this amazing collage of a girl in kelly rae's art nest class. i love how she inspires me to be brave and different,(and the fact that she matches the wallpaper doesn't go unappreciated either!)check her blog and shop, she'll definitely make you think and laugh!  

putting it out there

have you ever done a painting or written something that you absolutely love, only to have a hard time showing it to somebody?

('cause maybe they won't get it...or worse not LIKE it-and maybe think you should get a REAL job...while the look on their face says,"bless your little heart")? well, that's how it is with me and this painting traveling mercies. all it took for me to put this painting in hiding, was some well meaning soul saying "what were you inspired by, spongebob?" my head was saying-you moron! but being a product of my good southern(ish) upbringing, i just smiled and graciously started with "no actually, it's about..."(at which point his eyes glazed over). why did i let him get to me? 

because the painting was personal. autobiographical even. even painting it for me took a lot of guts. but just that one little comment made me realize how much i hold myself back because of that little evil gremlin, fear! what's the worst that can happen? 

(well, the worst is that he'd break out a pocket knife and rip it to shreds before my very eyes...all the while yelling i hate spongebob!!) highly unlikely. so, i'm putting it out there. see it here. the others like it, that were put on the back burner, unfinished, are soon to follow! i'll write more about the personal aspect of this series later...but for now, i'm becoming braver. 

fearless, even.

i would absolutely, positively love your comments!!

art imitates life and other serendipidies

today, while waiting for my son to finish his music lesson, i pulled out my laptop and was going through some photos i've taken in the past few months. and there it was! the quirky 3 story i took a picture of as we were practically running down the street in nyc a few weeks ago. i could not believe the similarity to  
this painting i did a few months ago called "hometown". i just stared at the photos.. and laughed at the uncanniness of it!! i remember as we were walking by this place, my son austin saying to me, "think of all the stairs",and "wouldn't it be funny if the bathroom was the top floor?" i just knew i liked it. a little house kind of held up by the shoulders of the bigger places around it. snuggled in. an ode to city living. when i was in the middle of painting this one, i really was trying to evoke that feeling of a close community...little did i know it actually has an address on the upper east side!! 

some days life really does have a great sense of humor!! 

living in full color

lately, i've been paying more and better attention to the world around me. really taking the time to enjoy how beautiful the sky is right after a rainfall, how colors play off each other in a painting, or how emotionally resonating a room full of symphony music can be. it started during my trip to new york, just being immersed in so much art, from so many different perspectives, so many periods throughout history.  
i began to think about how differently artists see the world. really see it. that different way of seeing is part of their genius. they take the time to focus on the beauty and mystery of life. the things i'm often too busy to allow myself to see or feel, let alone respond to! it makes me want to pare things down a bit. get down to what's really essential. i see now that i use to try to make art as part of a to-do list, rather than letting the process happen from the inside out. i have to rely more on intuition and vision, and trust that it will take me where i need to be! here lately, the more time i carve out to really experience something, in full color, the more ideas and energy i have...and the more the magic starts to happen! 

last night i was reading julia cameron's book the artist's way, and came across a quote that really resonates with me right now...

one does not discover new lands 

without consenting to lose sight

of the shore for a very long time

andre' gide