the Creative Thursday blog

new product shot for the nightlights?

 

It's been fun having a little dog in the house again.

 

spring forth

4 x 4 in.

Creative doorways are open and ideas are springing forth {literally}

And I for one, am going to run with it on this beautiful Tuesday....back to creating...

{click here to buy original}

ever seen a white and red polka dot elephant?

 

3 x 3 in.

Well you should. You just should.

Am absolutely, 100% completely enamored with this fellow. I'm even imagining this as a super large painting?

{click here to buy original}

happy Valentine's day

Today is the day for flowers {told you I'm sucker for flowers, especially given to me by my man} 

Today is also the day for cheese and chocolate fondue!

and LOVE, love, love, LOVE

I'm sending some to you {the "LOVE" and the virtual flowers that is, not the fondue ~ I don't think it would travel well via the internets}

blog it forward: what inspires me?

 

There's this really fun blogging, what do we call this? "event" mashup going on that I believe may have been born out of tweeting? All I know is that I was on twitter when I saw Victoria begin to put this blog it forward together and speaking of inspired ~ I wanted to play! I said "I'm in"! Yesterday Hiriji {I didn't realize our art was side by side in the Love book, we participated in last year ~ that's a lovely coincidence} from the beautiful blog heartfish, kicked off our group and now today, I'm up ~  it's my day to share with you "What inspires me".

As any artist knows this is a question you get asked often. In all the interviews I've done where I've had this question to answer "What inspires you?" my answer is almost always some form of  ~ what is around me every day. 

Inspiration is one of those "things" and by "things" I mean it's conceptual. You can't pin it down. You don't know when and where it will strike but if you stay open, you'll begin to see it everywhere. 

Since I work from home, and am well let's just say~{aside from the recent onslaught of cultural adventures I've been sharing on twitter} I'm  home a lot ~and that's where inspiration finds me. I will say that living in such a dynamic city such as Los Angeles with a wonderful creative circle of friends in driving distance {depending upon traffic ;)} also provides endless sources of inspiration should my immediate environment ever be tapped out. 

In all my blogging over the last few years, I don't think I've ever written a post dedicated entirely to what inspires me. So here goes ~ a pictorial, a slice of my life and what's inspiring me today, brought to you courtesy of you guessed it, something else that inspires me daily right now ~CameraBag on the Iphone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

1. my "Inspiration" file box

2. my sunburst yellow J.Crew cords accompanied brightly colored knee socks

3. the color yellow and my chest of drawers

4. black and white fabric on my newly re-upholstered vintage chair that I'm sitting in right now :)

5. I'm a sucker for fresh flowers

6. and gorgeous L.A. skies, especially at dusk

7. Sean and our morning chats over coffee 

8. the amazing, thoughtful {& I mean above and beyond thoughtful} creative people in my life, near and far like  like Maya

9. like Swirly, and her collection of chickens that I covet every time I visit her

10. like Lisa

11. cats who nap & cat naps

12. art supplies just waiting to be used

13. our garden

14. Anything Anthropologie and anything LOVE

15. Inspiring books especially about people who've broken through and realized their dreams

16. Art and creations, my own and those I collect from more wonderful friends like Heather, Outi and Amber

17. I'm also a sucker for all things "twinkly lights"

18. and well, if you follow this blog, then you already know how I feel about my Iphone

Tomorrow Sarah at Cursive Design will be taking it from here~ who I wish I could make a grand introduction too but I've only just "met" her  through this mashup ~ one of the best parts of "blog it forward" ~ the chance to meet new and inspiring bloggers!!!

sending some inspiration your way on this Creative Thursday! 

& a return to creativity too! "tiny valentines"

 

I painted today! Exploring with new characters and new color schemes. There are just a few tiny valentines left as I type this, and you can find them over at the shop.

an early happy Valentine wish to you!

Let's try this again ~ a return to JOY & a Galliano cake recipe

 

What better way to return to JOY than with one of my all time, stands the test of time, favorite childhood cake recipes?

More thanks to you, for all the love you've shown me, not only on the previous post, but especially over the last month. Somewhere between loss and birthdays it is time again to jump into life and savor every minute of it, and that includes savoring cake! I'm writing to you on a beautiful Wednesday morning, especially excited because as soon as I hit the "publish" button on this post I am off to paint. So I will keep it brief and leave you with a recipe today? How's that sound. I love to cook, actually, and have been meaning to start sharing some favorite recipes with you. I know I have found some great ones recently by searching online, and I'm ready to add mine into the mix. 

 

Without further adieu ~ Galliano cake. Also known as a Harvey Wallbanger Cake. Also known as my most requested birthday cake that I had just last week. These photos below are of my recipe card I have had since I was a child. I probably wrote this recipe down when I was about 7 or 8, and just learning cursive. Not a fan of too much sweet, I usually don't make the glaze with this cake anymore. I find that sprinkling just a touch of powdered sugar directly on the cake after it has been baked, is PERFECT! And yes, this cake does have booze in it, as all good birthday cakes should.

 

 

Enjoy!!!

 

 
Also, also, also I'm very excited to play in the "blog it forward" blog mash-up that Victoria's got going. I'm next in the line up and will be back tomorrow with my post about "What Inspires Me"{besides, cake that is} ~ see you then!

saying goodbye to Jackson and the end of an era

 

I've had the photo above sitting out on my desk over the last month, remembering Lulu and now I am also looking at it to remember Jackson. On the heels of a celebratory week, more tears. "Hands Up" I've had enough loss for one month.

My ex-husband, my friend,  Art said goodbye to Jackson today. 

When I was in college, I took a trip to New York with the University Art Department. Every year, two of the college art professors would take a group of art students on an in depth, personally guided tour of New York City and it's art world. It was an amazing trip. It was also on that tour that I first became introduced to and fell in love with a Weimaraner. William Wegman was having a photography show at the Whitney featuring his Weimaraners. Little did I know, that I would soon share my life with one of these beautiful dogs.

 

Jackson was my first baby. Art and I met him for the first time at 6 weeks old. He was so tiny, so sweet and so, so soft. If you've ever had the pleasure of knowing a Weimaraner, especially a puppy then you know  how soft they are,  literally like velvet.

 
 

Fourteen years Jackson spent with us. The first eight with Art and I together and the last six with Art, his wife Chi, and their two children. 

As with my recent post on our Lulu girl, how does one even begin to explain fourteen years with Jackson. 

Jackson saw Art and I, especially Art through so, so much. He came into my life as a bright, shiny light when my mom was sick with breast cancer. He would sit in the front passenger seat on my car rides down to visit with her on the weekend, his sweet puppy face staring back at me, letting me know everything was going to be alright. He brought smiles and laughter  to my mom and I, at a time when we needed it most.

The laughter was brought on by just a few things like, oh, he ate "articles of clothing" {and that's all I'm going to say about that}, shredded down feathered pillows all over our living room, created garbage "art" repeatedly in our kitchen ~ oh yes he did. If you have had the pleasure of spending time with a Weimaraner, than you also know about their high spirit and boundless energy that translates into years of unforgettable shenanigans.

 

He saw us through a move a cross the country first to Colorado, then on to Los Angeles ~ never happier than on the days he could hike off-leash through the hills of Boulder.  An independent spirit, he was also happiest I think as the only dog in the family, but was gracious and sweet with Lulu when she joined us ~ even on the days when she tried to take his bed when he wasn't looking, which was pretty much every day. After all she had been through in her early life, Jackson became Lulu's guardian, her security blanket. She always felt safest when Jackson was there. And in a way, I have now come to realize that Lulu and Jackson were Art and I my security blankets.

 

They saw us through our divorce, Lulu coming with me and Jackson going with Art. Over the last six years, we have remained in each other's lives, through the dogs, the last connection of our life spent together. And now that era has come to a close. We presently are and I hope will always be in each other's lives but it will be going forward from the beginning of a new era.

 We find it interesting that they left within weeks of one another. It's almost as if all the times we thought we were there for them, they were really there for us. And now, for whatever reason, after years of being by our sides, they had completed their mission, and it was ok for them both to go. 

 

I contemplated closing the comments on this post. I know many of you come here for joy ~ and it feels like lately my posts have been lopsided towards sadness ~ yet this is an art blog that also follows along in the journey of my life, and my life influences my art.  So closing the comments, would be like saying ~ nope not ok to feel all of this again ~ yet that is going against the very thing that Lulu's passing taught me ~ that is that it's ok to feel all of it, that in fact, feeling and embracing ALL of life is the fullest way to live. 

I also realized, especially in Lulu's passing, how much grace and beauty there is in all the cycles of life. And sharing on this this blog of late has been especially helpful in allowing me to move through these cycles with more ease, and with more awareness to notice this gentle harmony in each and every moment of my life. 

And you know I find it fitting to remember Jackson in just this very way. He was a dog of little worry. He lived a life of ease. A happy go lucky little fellow, who lived for a good bowl{s} of food, he always seemed to go with the flow {unless you, and by you I mean Lulu crowded his space} In the times that he would come and sit by your side, his back leaning up against your leg, he seemed to always be saying that "everything is going to be alright".

So in honoring his spirit I will continue to stand by my belief that in life "everything is always going to be alright" As I close out this post, I realize that instead of closing out a celebratory week, I instead continue it. I will celebrate the lives of two beautiful dogs, and the wonderful era that they shared with me.

 

a Creative Thursday birthday!

 

Oh my goodness!

Now I know why everyone loves that crazy facebook. After a morning of celebrating with Seanie, a phone call with my Mama ~ I just now logged into the online world to find my email and twitter spilling over with birthday wishes. I am feeling the love and all I want to say is THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A great day so far, I've put together a little collection of Iphone photos courtesy of the CameraBag which is still enthralling me every day.

And hey, it's a Creative Thursday birthday, the very best kind!!!!!! 

have a beautiful day and thank you again for all the LOVE you are sending my way. I'm feeling very, very blessed and the more of these birthdays I have, the more I realize that feeling a profound appreciation for your life and the people {and cats ;)} in it is the best gift you can have. xoxoxo

 

 

1. flowers from Seanie

2. gifties! 

3. favorite eggs & fried potato breakfast made by Seanie

4. Galliano cake batter, my absolute favorite since I was little {it's baking right now!} 

5. Garbo's at the party. She always rolls around like this when she's feeling happy, and watching her do this always makes me feel happy ~ a regular old HAPPY FEST!

mini shop update today @ 3 pm PST

 I'm adding some new vases, and clay characters  to the shop today @ 3pm PST.  Also, if you like the cover to the "I believe in Love" book, I decided to turn it into a 5 x 7 in size print, available through Valentine's Day. You can find this little bunny in a body suit, right here. See you later at the shop this afternoon!