Pencil Shavings

Like The Wind...

I've decided to shut down my Cafe Press shop in it's current incarnation.  The last day for shopping is November 30 after that all the stuff that is in there will be "gone with the wind"!

When the shop re-opens in the new year it will be in a whole different format.  It will feature one piece of artwork only (and I sincerely doubt that any of the old art will re-appear there).  The one piece will be something that I have made just for that month and it will only be up for sale for that month, then it will be gone.  If you don't like it, that's ok, wait for the next month and see if that strikes your fancy, but remember that each item will only be available for a month on what ever items it seems appropriate to print on.  (and no, I'm still not printing ANYTHING on a thong.)

So if you really have been coveting that t-shirt with the robot on it, go get it now. 

I'm looking forward to this new enterprise.  I think you may be surprised by what turns up in the new shop (I might be too!)

It Sounds Better Than It Is

So, I've spent the majority of the last few days in bed.  I have books piled up on the bedside table, I have my laptop, my cat at my feet and some drawing materials.  (note to self: pastels don't make a good bed companion... to dusty!)

The trouble is, of course that I have the demon cold from hell and, and am constantly coughing violently and tipping over my tea and scattering my pencils everywhere.

I thought I could update the 365 Days of Art while I was here with my pillows, but technical difficulties either with my camera, or my photo software is making all my pictures turn out stretched and weird looking.  And if I was to get up the energy to go downstairs to the office to scan the drawings and paintings I would have to take a cot so I could have a nap once I was down there.  Frankly the whole thing just seems a little too daunting.

However, the good news is that after seeing my doctor I don't have pneumonia again (whew) and I have an inhaler for the inflammation in my lungs, and some super strength cough syrup that let me get a whole 7 hours of sleep last night. So I'm on the mend, and hoping to sort out the technical difficulties soon.  Maybe after my nap.

Taking the Long View

I want to say that I'm really excited this week, but the word isn't quite the right one.  I'm energized, inspired, and nearly vibrating with all the exciting possibilities that seem to be blooming all around me. 

Times are tough right now.  Our family is suffering from the economic downturn like so many others.  The school year is ending and all the chaos that goes with the last few weeks of school is swirling around us too.  I'm feeling the stress of trying to be two places at the same time so I can do all my kids need me to do.

And still I'm smiling nearly constantly.  I'm happy.  I'm eager wake up in the morning and get to work, and I'm reluctant to go to bed at night because I'm so entranced with the work I'm doing.   Traffic is up to all my web places, and I'm beta testing the new version of TypePad.  I'm updating my information, and trying to get some work up for sale, between baking cookies, and going on school field trips.  I have some ideas for fresh pieces that I'm working on, and I have some demos that I need to put together.

In the middle of all this frantic activity I found myself standing at the kitchen window watching the sparrows and chickadees at the bird feeder.  And my joy just bubbled away in my chest.  I'm very happy and so content in my life right now.

There isn't enough money right now, there isn't enough time, there is stress, there is anxiety, there are places to go and things to do.  And there is this smile on my face that just won't go away.  I have a feeling, that even though there is the potential for so many things to go wrong, I am actually at a great point in my life right now.   I feel like things are really just getting started.

*Image "Celebration" copyright 2009 Kathleen Ralph, do not reproduce without permission from the artist.

Chaos, Panic, Disorder.... You Know, The Usual!

I know it sounds so elitist to say it, but I love my laptop and the fact that I can write my blog while lying in bed!

Why am I in bed on a beautiful sunny day?  Well this is the last few hours I'll have to myself for many days, and it's also some of the few hours that I have had for myself in weeks!  And I'm worn clean through.

I haven't updated this blog in a long time, mostly because I either have nothing to offer, or because I'm so tired at the end of the day that I can't string words together in any meaningful way.  Although a lot of interesting (and weird) things have happened recently, I really can't write about them without exposing my family.  I'm OK with exposing myself to critique, but my family and friends don't need that in their lives.

School is winding up and I've been busy helping out at the school, and winding up all the paper work that will set the kids up for next year.  I've been finding books, and socks, and papers.  I've been sorting and fussing about things, and going on a lot of “end of the year” field trips with my girls' classes.  I did get confirmation that the teachers do give me the more difficult kids on the trips “because we know you can handle it”.  Which makes it mighty tempting to “misplace” someone occasionally.  But of course I would not do that (as tempting as it might be).

So here are the highlights:

My buddy, who I paint with once a week, hasn't seen me for nearly a month.  At least she is understanding and is giving me 21 days to get my act together and get back to work with her!  Which is good, because I need the deadline right now.

I am working on a project, but I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, so you will just have to wait and see (I'm such a tease).

I discovered that two-bite brownies spread with peanut butter is an excellent treat (and may have saved my husbands life last week when I was feeling particularly stressed).

And finally, for those of you in the art world, I will be starting up a product review section of the blog over the summer, and let you know the results of some of the new things I've tried recently and how they worked for me. ( I'll even put in pictures, how's that for a deal)

But today.  Well today I'm going to put on some fresh coffee, lounge about, read a magazine and maybe work on a poem or two.  Tomorrow the chaos begins again!

I Hate It When That Happens!

I was painting all afternoon, and the good news is that the dragonfly is nearly done!  The bad news is that the witty, insightful, award winning blog entry I was contemplating while I was painting got swept away by the hurricanes that are my children returning home from school!

I think it had something to do with materials.  Or maybe it was something to do with forgetfulness...  or parenting, making snowmen, eating popcorn, or Indiana Jones.

Perhaps it was about crazy cats who attack their food dish for now reason (that I know of) or forgetting your lunch, or drinking too much coffee, or iMix playlists. 

Wait I think it's coming back to me, it was about stuborness.  No, that's not it, hang on I know it will come to me if I try harder.

Gratitude? Chocolate? Shopping online? My Mom?

Dammit.  Maybe it was about fingerprints, or aliens, or bad hair days, or weird weather.  The importance of taking time off, or macaroni and cheese.  Maybe it was serendipity?

It had to be one of those things.  I'm sure.  I wish I could remember.

Oh well.  The good news is that I think I have the shipping for the paintings to New York under control, and I only need 15 more trading cards made up for the class on Friday.  I am very, very close to finishing my fourth painting, and then it's putting the final touch on the fifth for the show and I'm set.

The other news is that I'm bone tired, and going to bed.  Goodnight internets!

Look At Me!

I ran into some friends at the grocery store today and hesitated to tell them about the New York show, but eventually I did. I don't know why I find talking about my art, my successes, is so hard.  It's easier to talk about my failures!  Some people have a real gift for promoting themselves.  I guess I'm very Canadian when it comes to that kind of stuff.  I work under the belief that if you are quiet, and work hard, that people will notice.

It doesn't work that way.  Especially in this age of electronic communities.  I spend a lot of time online chatting with folks, looking up stuff and running my business, but no one will see my stuff if I don't tell them about it.

So here is another plug for me (she says with more than a hint of embarrassment)

Store not available

Starting Over

My new computer arrived on Tuesday, I've been spending time re-immerisng myself in the Macintosh world and playing with all the toys and bells and whistles that this sweet little computer has. The biggest hassle with switching computers (not to mention completely changing platforms) is going back through all the miscellaneous crap on the old computer trying to figure out what is worth keeping and what isn't.

I have moved all my art scans and photo's over to the new system, and all my music, so I'm ready to work. Now the question is what, out of all that stuff that is on my old computer, is still worth keeping?

There have been a few touchy moments. Like when iTunes deleted all my playlists off my iPod, so I could sync it up with the new laptop, and then threatened me over the lack of cover art I had to go with the songs I moved over. (I guess a lack of cover art means that I ripped off all music that I took off my personal CD collection... despite the fact that most of my CDs are so geriatric that I had to write in all the info about them myself when I transferred them years ago)

sigh....

Some of the great moments have been learning about the iLife software which is so cool... but its hard to switch my brain back around to Mac. I'm so busy looking for the difficult, twenty step, way to do something that I don't see the single button click option that I was used to years ago.

I think that my adjustment to the new computer won't take too long, and that is good - because I have a lot of work to do.

I am finally feeling better after what feels like a month of being sick. I do have some symptoms that are hanging on, a sore neck, a lingering headache, and sudden urges to have a nap. But in general I am feeling better. And feeling better has allowed me to get back to work on my art. I doubt that I will have a painting of the week this week, but I might be able to pull out some small paintings to list by the end of the week. Painting has made me feel better too. Creating is part of what keeps me balanced (and helps me get out of the feeling that I'm "just" a Mom). The art business needs my hand back in it too. There are corporate taxes that will need to be filed and I need to go back over my records and track my sales and expenses. Right now my art business owes a lot to my silent partner, but I am hoping that soon it will be more than self sustaining.

Well that is it for the update, it's time for me to put the artist, writer, business woman aside and go meet the school bus.

Seeing My Life Flash Before My Eyes

I'm a little late posting the painting of the week this week. And my excuse is much better than “the dog ate my homework.”

Yesterday, which was the day after my daughters' birthday party, (both girls invited friends to join us at the Science Centre to celebrate their birthdays) my girls were playing with their new loot and after having filled their spaces at the dining room table with toys and toy accessories, started to encroach on my space. On little bump of a book and my full coffee cup was spilled into my laptop computer.

I was more than a little excited trying to clean it up. I know it was an accident and I didn't yell – but I did have a short discussion about respecting other people's space.

The computer was left to dry out for the rest of the day and night, and I spent a restless night worrying about all the scans and photographs I had of my artwork that were only on my laptop, and nowhere else.

This morning, before I even got coffee (wanting not to tempt to the technology gods to making more mayhem) I pushed the lovely blue button and was rewarded with the opening chords of my start up screen.

All is well (so far) and I spent the day organizing and backing up all my files – especially my photographs, reference photos and art scans.

This is an untitled pastel drawing that I finished mid-week and I am really quite happy with the softness of it. I toned the paper first, and then I used a darker colour for the darks and lifted the colour from the page for the lights with an eraser. It almost feels candle-lit. And I am really happy with how this new exploration of pastel work is turning out for me.

I exchanged notes with one of my mentors this week, and I said that it seems that the more I kick myself out of my comfort zone the happier I am with the work I am producing. She encouraged me to stay out of the places where I am too comfortable, because I am growing. It was wonderful to have her comments on my new work, and it feels good to be stretching my skills.

In my creative life so much of what I do that isn't actually putting pencil, paint, or charcoal to paper, centres on my ability to have access to a computer and the internet. I worried about what I could accomplish today without my computer. Of course the reality is that I could probably accomplish quite a bit, but it just wouldn't be the same. And despite my abilities to stretch myself out my comfort zone... I really don't like change.

Oh... My.... God.... I've missed you!

Finally, after a month of phone calls and extremely polite Canadian complaining I have my doorstop computer back.

My beautiful blue Toshiba laptop is back over my lap... on a table I admit (this sucker is heavy) but back where it belongs, with me. As much as I am incredibly frustrated with owning a lemon (and conversely being grateful for the extended warranty) and the crap service that I have received from the Future Shop, I love this computer and what it can do. I love how quick it is, how I can run the software I want to run, and how easily it allows me to do what I love, write. And how easily it allows me to update this blog, which is insanely frustrating on my old iBook. Don't misunderstand, I loved my iBook too, when it was still upgradable and before my Sony handicam decided it wouldn't talk to it! As a back-up computer it is great, for a few days. But for a month... it is not quite up to the task.

I also have missed viewing pictures and video, checking my Gmail account (which seems to take an unhealthy delight in locking up the ol' Mac), and editing my scans of my art work to post online. It's been a long month, and I am itching to transfer my files and get back to some serious work. I have a feeling that I am going to be happier too.

I may hate Toshiba for not replacing this lemon after the first two motherboards blew, along with the hard drives, but I am so glad to have my computer back.