Gifts

My mom is turning 89 this week.  I would be remiss if I didn’t include her in my blog of inspirations because she was my first, and continues to be my strongest, source of inspiration.  I love her dearly, and would like to thank her for being my muse throughout my artistic life.

I have an incredibly gifted life.  True, I may not have a lot of money, fame or luck, but I have many gifts in my life for which I am eternally grateful.

 I grew up in a great family.  Yes, we have had our issues, as all families do, but I have wonderful memories, strong values and faith in God.  These gifts were all given to me by my mom and dad.  The things I remember most about our family of 6 ( mom, dad, 3 kids, and a grandma), are things like helping my grandmother prepare and serve snacks for my parents’ card parties when it was their turn to host the monthly neighborhood get together.  I remember my mom teaching me how to sew on the sewing machine, my grandmother teaching me how to crochet and my dad playing his music on the record player in our finished basement.

Mom has always been the rock in our family.  The quieter, calmer of the two parents, Mom was the one who held our secrets, gave us advice and had the patience to teach us things like driving a car.  When I had to commute to our state college because of the housing shortage first semester freshman year, Mom worked and I didn’t have a car, so she drove me a half hour each way, every day to school.  That’s dedication.  I remember lots of shopping trips on Saturdays with Mom and Gram which always ended with lunch at the diner.  I attribute my love of sewing, and crafts to my mom who loved to do both. Mom was always making something, sewing up stuffed animals, making Christmas tree decorations or making clothes for herself, my sister, or me.   My gram was a great cook and baker and Mom inherited those talents as well.

She is a true supporter of the arts (or at least my art).  She and Dad encouraged me throughout my creative life.  Mom wore every creation I crocheted or knitted, good, or bad.   She hung every picture I ever drew, and displayed every Christmas door decoration and ornament I ever made.  Looking back on all of that, she deserves a medal for bearing with me as I struggled to become the experienced artist and crafter I am today.  Thanks, Mom.

Mom is a modern woman.  She is a handy-“woman”.  There is seemingly no tool she hasn’t touched, no part of her house she hasn’t painted, and no toilet she hasn’t fixed.  She is always searching (and I mean searching because her house is spotless) for things to repair or clean in her house.  She has a computer ( did I mention she is turning 89?).  Mom was a secretary, so she is no stranger to the keyboard.  She picked up the tricks of surfing the net, reads her email every day, views photos sent to her by her kids and grandkids, checks the news, visits my online shop and reads my blog (thanks, Mom),checks the news and the weather, and changes her backgrounds to match the seasons.  She shops online, prints out recipes and plays games.  Did I mention she was turning 89?  Mom is a marvel and she is the most treasured, beloved and most unique of all of my gifts.  I thank God each day for all my gifts, especially for her.  Happy 89^th Birthday, Mom!

Kid's Room Painting Inspiration

I am an art teacher, but I am also a crafter and I love to try out just about any craft idea that comes my way.  I have to do it, and I have to do it now, which also means I don't always have the right materials for the project, but since I have been doing this for a very long time, I welcome any opportunity to improvise.  I have taught painting and drawing for many years and love to incorporate both into my craftwork as well.  There are lots of crafters who are not artists, but I consider myself lucky to be able to do both.

 I found a site that got my wheels turning, and although I got inspiration from this project, I turned it around to be my own.  I handpaint stools mostly with my favorite theme, teddy bears, and personalize them, so this project was not a far cry from what I usually do, only on a different surface.  My daughter, although a few years away from starting a family, had mentioned she liked the name Ava, so I chose that name as the departure point for this first personalized painting.  I formulated a theme as I was painting a background, made a bear fairy template using a member of my bear collection as a model, and began working.  I am always amazed at how my original idea undergoes a metamorphosis along the way.  It's added to, subtracted from,and tweaked until I reach the desired result.

I was very happy with personalized painting #1, but during another of my nights of waking up at least 4 times, a thought came to me and I began a second child's room painting, this time using the word imagine.
I wrote the word out using various fonts for each letter, turned the i into a tree, added some fanciful creatures interacting with the word, some glitter paint and finished painting #2.  I forgot how much I love painting, since I often go back and forth between mediums.  I don't teach painting this year.  With the advent of graphic design, I have been busily teaching several classes of graphic art and don't get much of a chance to paint anymore.  So when the opportunity presents itself, I fall in love all over again. 

This weekend is supposed to be a snowy one, so I have already resigned myself to the fact that I will be staying in, doing laundry, vacuuming, shoveling the driveway, but, best of all, planning out my next project.  Today I will make a quick stop at the craft store to pick up a few things I might need, then to the grocery store to join the "stock up  before the storm" crowd and I will be all set to begin my next adventure!