A Month in the Life… Back on Track

An enhanced ability to visualize and empathize, and hyper-sensitivity are the blessings and the bane of the artistic personality.

I have never had children of my own, so I really can’t imagine the hell that the families in Newtown are going through, but when Mark called and told me what had happened Friday, I felt as though I had been punched in the solar plexus, and knocked further off my tracks than anytime since 9/11.

I was quite literally speechless, and when I have nothing meaningful to say, I just stay in silence.

You may have been as surprised as I was to learn that this is the 40th school shooting since Columbine.

That is not tolerable, and we need to fix it. I am not a gun person and I think some things have to happen there, but I think the other important element here is to focus on our mental health systems so these boys can be helped before it comes to this. You have probably read the post written by the mother of another young boy who could easily take this path. If you have not, you should . . .

I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother

She is not Adam’s mother, of course, but she can see that possibility in her future, and the help she needs is not available.

I am never quite sure what we, as individuals, can do. I feel so powerless at times like these. But at least there is conversation now and perhaps we can make that lead to some lasting change. I hope so.

Blue Birdies of Happiness . . .

I had to do something that felt positive during my mostly  silent and reflective time this weekend. So, I created some earrings using little bird charms that remind me of my signature bird.

They are made of sterling silver ear wires and beads, Swarovski crystals, and bright, shiny plated birdie charms. They come in a choice of six crystal colors.

I put them in my Gift Gallery here and in the real gallery too.

I got carried away and made some very cool packaging for them too . . .

Lesson Learned:

If you want to stamp images on gift boxes, you will probably find that the middle of the image does not stamp, because there is no support benaeth the middle of the cover.

I cut rectangles of cardboard that fit inside the cover and stacked them up until they were taller than the depth of the cover. I taped them together into a block and set the cover on top. The image stamped perfectly.

You stampers probably knew all that already, but I didn’t.

I think this stamp came from Hero Arts.

The Birdies are Here

Yes I can Priority Mail by tomorrow.

An Exciting New Workshop for 2013 . . .

Inktense – From Soup to Nuts

Inktense are the wonderful dye based water soluble pencils by Derwent.

I started using them in my art journal in 2006 when they first came out. I am a color junkie, so I fell in love right off the bat with their brilliant hues.

And lots of other things about them pleased me – like the fact that they became waterproof after being wet and dried.

And we found out they worked great with Sheer Heaven transfers.

It was a lot to love, but I kept experimenting.

For almost 40 years I have been in search of a way to get my high color watercolor paintings onto canvas, with no success. Last Summer, while fooling around, I found how Inktense could be that vehicle. It sent my love affair over the top.

And I haven’t even talked about fabric and wood . . . and then they came out with color blocks!

So, when deciding on an exciting real world (non-digital) workshop to offer next year, I decided on Inktense – I could share the love.

This will be a long and light workshop. That means the lessons will be easier to digest, but there will be more of them – 12 Lessons/12 Weeks.

The first session will be live in an online classroom, so I can perfect the workshop with your feedback, and we can all share. It will run from:

January 15 – April 5, 2013

I have also lowered the tuition by $10 through the rest of 2012 – an early bird special for you.

The description page is here:

Inktense – From Soup to Nuts

If you do not have any Inktense Pencils or Blocks, Dick Blick has a new Selective Set at 45% off. 22 Pencils, 10 Blocks, and some accessories.

Here’s the link to give to Santa:

Inktense Selective Set

I have lots to do and I better go do it!