Winter Days with my Gal

A chilly view of silhouettes from our bathroom window. When the sun comes up in the morning these are the shadows that reflect on our pebbled glass window. It's a striking sight when I walk in at the right time.

We have been busy making our decorations for the holidays. You can also see Toot's turkey made from construction paper, pine cone, feathers and eyes that move around in their plastic casings. The Christmas decorations are also great because we will recycle the paper and make new ones next year.

We also made it to the Huntington Gardens on the 3rd. We went with some friends in Toot's class. We had a fabulous time. So much to see and enjoy! I did get to take some photos of textures and nice shapes for inspiration. I'm anxious to paint again, but the days go so quickly and the sun is gone so early in the day. I need natural light to paint. I did have a great time photographing the desert gardens. So photography will have to be my creative outlet for now.

Potato printmaking this year for our Christmas cards.

We're making our Christmas cards this year. Well, I've been making them for several years now. It's become a Christmas tradition that I've started since my girl has been with us. It's possible that I did make our Christmas cards before she was born, but I don't remember anymore. This year she has added some details to a couple of cards. I did let her print a couple and I'll post the finished product in a few days. We're still working on them.

Clouds, Sand, Kite and the Sea

These kind of days are my favorite. The clouds are amazing and so is the feeling I get when I see what a lucky woman I am to have my family. Sometimes I need to get out to open spaces to shake off the grimy crowded city life feeling. This beach was nice and clean. I don't know much about the beaches here off our coast, but this one was clean and not full of sewage from the city. It hadn't rained yet so I wonder what it looks like after a shower. This day it's perfect!

Toot finally got to fly her kite. We've had it in our car for months and this was an ideal place to finally get to fly it.

Video: Wait behind the line.

Mini Hanging Art Series up on Etsy

I have put up six new pieces in my Etsy store. Click here to see the other four in my Mini Hanging Art Series.

"Tunas"

"Ladybug Feasting of Aphids"

Update: This piece Sold :) 

I'm so excited to have my Etsy store open again. I am still tweaking some things while it's open and I am open to any suggestions.

My girl has been so patient with me by letting me get all this done. It sure takes a lot of time to create, photograph and put up on the site - but I sure do get lot of pleasure in accomplishing my goals. All is good and now I must go hang our clothes to dry in our foldable clothes dryer. We are expecting some moisture this afternoon.

Please let me know what you think of the new items or my Etsy store. 

I would truly appreciate some feedback.

Thank You!

Drafting sketches and independence

I'm exhausted, but I wanted to post some quick sketches of some sculpy pieces that I've been working on and finally finished. I'm getting ready to post the finished pieces on Etsy in a day or two. It takes a lot of time to get everything ready for display.

"Bloomer"

These are some quick drawings that I had fun creating as part of my photo display in my Etsy store. 

There is something about measurements and drafting lines that fascinates me. When I finished these drawings I remembered when I took a drafting class in high school. I was the only "yound lady" in the class and it was a little unsettling at first, but that didn't stop me from doing well in the class. It's interesting how I was already forming my interests in details, measurements, and independence. 

"Canary Egg"

"Earthworm"

"Ladybug Feasting on Aphids"

"Tunas"

"Sunflower"

I am grateful that my parents never told me that I shouldn't be taking classes that didn't have other females enrolled. They let me blaze my own path. I'm still blazing my way through this amazing life I've been given.  

Update: Click on Titles to see the actual finished pieces.

Good Thought for the Day

DailyGood: Contagious Love Experiment

Dia de los Muertos Hollywood Forever Cemetery 2009

Found this on utube. Great photos of the event. Nice music too.

Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery 2009

It's that time of the year when we remember our relatives who have passed on to the other side. Dia de los muertos is becoming just as popular as Christmas. I prefer the Day of the Dead a lot more than Halloween. This year we went to celebrate at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where there were altars, music, vendors and grave sites. It was a an amazing visual experience. Here is my gal in her princess costume and her face painted like a calavera. She loved it as much as I did. It's nice to have a companion to enjoy these wonderful experiences. Click on this link: Hollywood Forever Cemetery: Dia de Los Muertos  to see the website.

Life size paper mache sculpture in the mausoleum. 

My sister with Toot watching a performance in the mausoleum. 

Toot was also drawn to these two women (men?). Their costumes and makeup were wild. I wish I had taken a better photo.

This was the stage background. It was enormous and beautiful. I was reminded of my childhood when we would go to Tijuana. In Tijuana I was mesmerized by all the amazing colors and smells that were so different from here at home. I want my girl to experience as many places and events like this while she is young so that she may also have the connection of my family's culture.  

Oh! and we got to see and hear Lila Downs perform on this stage. Great voice and performer! A first for all of us.

I will leave you with these photos of our experience. Celebrate! May you have a safe and fun Halloween or Dia de los Muertos and remember your family and friends who have gone on to the spirit world.

Earthworm and A Ladybug Feasting on Aphids.

Pleased to say that I've finished a couple of small pieces. Well, almost finished. I still need to add string or wire so they may be hung.

This is an earthworm. Worm compost inspired.

I do love this piece! Nice flowing lines on the worms outline. My favorite green and I do like the contrasting pink. The black lines are grass. Earth and grass meeting at the bottom.

Ladybug feasting on aphids.

Today we worked on a leaf painting project that kept us busy for a while. The leaves we collected were from our front and backyard. Finger painting the leaves was a lot easier than using the brushes I first had her use. It's refreshing to watch Toot dive into the paints and not be afraid to get her fingers full of paint. The paints are non-toxic.

We glued the leaves beside their print and I put them in a clear sleeve to keep them for memories.

As you can see Tootie is also learning how to write. She can write her name without my spelling it out for her. All other words she asks me to spell out and she'll meticulously write each letter with great care. She likes making lists for when we go to the farmer's market. The last list she made had a single word, "Strawberries".

Home Improvement: The Bench

Here are a couple of before and after photos of a cute little bench that I've given a makeover.

The weather has been ideal for painting outdoors and I found the weekends the best time to work on it. This shade of green is a favorite of mine and I find myself using it in my paintings quite a bit. Now, it's the bench's turn to wear it for a while. There is an old picnic bench that is next on my list. I hope to get it done before the cool weather comes.

This is what she looked like before I fixed her up.

Cute design on the metal frame. I lightly sanded the frame with some sandpaper and steal wool before I spray painted with a lightly textured paint that required no primer.

It was very easy to take apart and I did label each slat with tape and a number so I could put each one back in its original place.

The slats were individually sanded with a sanding pad and 80 grit sanding paper. Great exercise!

Ta Da!!

Now, I should mention that The Gorilla thinks I should be cleaning the house (vacuum, bathroom, mopping....) on weekends. I have a hard time picking up the broom and mop on weekends when I would much rather be sanding and painting on projects like this.

I can never please The Gorilla.

Peace.

"Red Leaves"

"Red Leaves"

Opaque watercolors and ink

I've finished this piece, finally. It's part of my Dream Landscape Series. Landscapes have become a personal discovery which I will continue to express with small paintings and drawings. I've always got one in the background. They patiently wait for me to add some more. Lately, I've got about four projects that I am working on, and each one is different from the other. I do well with variety. In the end I feel they all have a bit of me which is apparently mine. Like the Toot.

Here's a little something I made as a birthday gift for my second cousin,Citlali. It was a lot of fun to make and I know now what direction I'll be going with my Etsy store.

Saturday I went to buy more art supplies to make more pieces like this. The art supply store is always a great place for me to visit. Especially when I've got a $100 dollar gift certificate. On trips like this I always bring along plenty of meter money for parking so I can take my time. This is a methodical task which I take much pleasure in executing. When I step inside the store I feel the creative energy like a strong wind and I'm On!

An hour later I'm walking out with a bag full of 6 bottles of liquid acrylic paints, Matt finish spray, 2 nice detail brushes, 7 basic brushes for loose work, 2 sketchbooks for my Toot, 1 tube of titanium white acrylic, 20 tiny viles with airtight seals, and 1 box of Sculpy. This is all I need to keep me happy. I must get to bed so I can get an early start.

Good Night!

Gardening - Sanding - Reading - Bird Watching : Our Lists

Several projects going on here at home. This is the reason for my lack of posting. There's so much to do and I get so involved in what I'm doing that I forget to bring out the camera to take photos. It's good that I'm staying busy, but I do miss posting here on my blog.

I'm trying to grow some herbs, again. This time I'm researching and watching several How To videos and I'm inspired to see the many great people who make videos on how to do anything. Here are a couple that I found very helpful, and will be visiting often.

• MonkeySee: Green Gardening
• GardenGirlTV


I'd recently purchased some basil and cilantro at the farmers market and two days ago the basil was looking pretty bad. I hadn't transplanted them into larger pots right away. I quickly read up on how to take care of both of these herbs. Toot and I went to a local nursery and purchased organic soil. Watered very well and left them outside overnight.

The next morning I woke up to find my basil looking alive again.

So glad I didn't kill the poor plant.

What is marvelous about gardening is that Tootie is enjoying the process as well. She helped me transplant the herbs into bigger pots and watered them. It was an enlightening experience for her to get to see the transformation overnight. She's learning so much and every morning I look forward to our next adventures and discoveries.

A list of what I'm working on:

1. Three paintings. One is a landscape and it's almost finished. I will be posting soon.

2. A new compost heap. This time I'm using greens that my father is saving for me from his garden. He doesn't use any chemicals.

3. I'm sanding and painting our backyard benches. Yes, Kermit Green. Isn't it yummy!

4. Worm compost bin.

5. Reading three new books: The Food You Crave, The Garden Primer, and How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Children.

My Girl's List:

Learning to tell time.
Spelling and writing her name.
Math puzzles.
Creating stories and songs off the top of our heads.
Identifying our backyard wildlife.
Bird watching and paying attention to the different bird calls.
Hula dancing
Made and erupted a volcano out of paper mache.

book cover photos: Google Images (Amazon)