Running Down a Dream

I try to make use of my everyday experience and incorporate it into my art, virtually anything and everything can become an artistic feast if you will only allow yourself to really truly, fully experience it!

A formula to exercise your creativity: Experience. Experiment. Indulge. Document. Report.
This is one of those fully experienced banquets I would like to share with you...

Do you have them? Have you seen one? When were you last there? Here...take my hand, hold on tightly now! Come along and follow me...step up to the ride, hand the gentleman your ticket and off we go into a wonderful world of colorful dreams!

Each and every night that comes creeping is yet another opportunity to begin a new adventure. As I have not one ounce of control over my imaginations, I enter sometimes unwillingly. You see, I would really rather sleep but generally am almost always very glad I did.

Go, I mean! Oh, there have been those rare occasions when Mr. Sandman met the Candyman (my secondary muse, btw) and all went awry, terribly, delightfully, frightfully, deliciously awry!

Why, it was just a few nights ago that I found myself squinting my eyes as I walked into a room so bright white I could barely see!

As my strained little peepers struggled to pull themselves open, to my amazement there were giant red and white peppermint type swirls all over the walls!

And let me tell you, it was tearfully, beautifully beautiful! As I'm sure you can imagine!

I slowly approached the largest one, which was on the wall farthest from me,

I stood directly in front of it, eye to swirl, then what do you suppose happened next?!

Well, I will tell you!

The swirl began to rotate and spin and twirl...

Around and around and around it went,

faster and faster, reeling and spinning so swiftly it was making me dizzy!

It revolved so fast that the red stripes and the white stripes spun into PINK!

PINK, I tell you! I rubbed my eyes with tight fisted knuckles, three times and ever so cautiously, slowly, slowly reached out with my right hand to touch it.

Do I dare? I pulled back! I just must! I reached out, yes I will and here goes!

As the tips of my fingers met the surface, suddenly I felt a warm and then sticky, but not icky, sensation and such a strange sensation it was. I automatically recolied and drew back my hand, attached to my finger tips was a long clinging ooey, gooey rope stretching

right back to the center of the swirl, just like taffy!

Was this really happ...but before I could finish my sentence,

the big glop of ooey, gooey pinkness fell from my fingers in a slow motion way and dropped with a plop to the floor! Where it immediately whirled itself back together and proceeded to flow right out of the room, around the corner and down the stairs!

Can you believe it? I know! Me too! What else could I do but run down the stairs after it...I wasn't about to let this sneaky little sucker get away! Running just a few steps ahead, I ducked into the pantry, grabbed the first empty jar I could find and waited.

When I heard it coming, I held out my arm, stuck the open jar under the very last step and swoop, quickly and quietly it flowed right in! Ha, Gotcha!

And just as I was closing the lid, I heard someone say in a low, far away voice,

Sandra...Honey...Are you awake?

Do you know where my socks with the RED stripes are?! What?! You have got to be kidding me!!

Now, I might have mislead you a bit in the beginning, as I told you it was all just a dream, but go as it goes and heaven only knows, least my fingers were crossed in the back! I just made it up, so don't think me silly! But wasn't it fun, aren't you happy you went? Come again anytime, my table is set and YOU are always WELCOME!

Visuals Details:
A variety of mixed media including, watercolors, acrylic paint, cardboard, decoupage medium, and two porcelain dolls I hand painted, one with a red cap and gloves, the other in a black polka dot cap and gloves, their bodies are made from black and white pipe cleaners twisted together and I dressed them both in vintage millinery flowers, with pink tulle ruffles.
This piece is published in the current issue of Stampington & Companies ARTFUL BLOGGING, May/Jun/July 2009. Be sure to pick up a copy to experience for yourself some of the most fabulous places to visit on the internet!

Through the Looking Glass

Isn't it funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same?

I recently came across some photos from my childhood, I hadn't seen them in a very long while so they looked new to me.

When I look at the happy little girl in those pictures, I think, yeah, I remember her...I remember that day, the sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky to be found.

The things that made me happy then are still the things that make me happiest today.

Pretty dresses and fancy shoes, even though I wear sneakers most of the time and did then too when I could get away with it,

but a girl still likes a great pair of shoes!

Long walks with my dad in the snow, back when a day seemed to last an eternity. I would bombard him with the silliest of questions, "Is it possible for cotton candy to grow on trees? Could there be a cotton candy forrest some where we don't

know about? Can we go there? How do butterflies wings work? Do you think it is scary or wonderful for them the first time they fly?

I picked fresh daisies to wear in my hair and usually had Bandaids on both knees. I spent hours talking to my pets, making up games with my pal Bitsy, our chihuahua. He really liked playing dress up, he was a sweetheart and a patient little soul!

The yesterme was slightly on the shy side, I was very much the outdoors type, a girlie girl but a tomboy too, always curious and filled with wonder.

I have the tiniest flashes of recollection that still hold true today, my little Julliette is certainly proof of that!

Nothing was ordinary, all is extraordinary!

And everything and anything is possible! I used to tell everyone I met how I once rode a bucking bronco bunny!

And I did too!

At about age 12 I got Lobo, he was my best friend and confidant, he knew all my secrets, hopes and dreams, not to mention he was a very good dancer too!

I try to absorb life in a very whole hearted and passionate way

and do my best to squeeze out every last juicy moment!

Like sands through an hour glass, I exist as a slow steady fire,

fueled by burning creative curiosity,

sometimes waxing nostalgic,

yet anxious for what tomorrow will bring...

Living and loving...

as the years drift by like clouds full of memories,

just waiting...to shower you with gifts!

Take a moment to remember your yesteryou and always have Joie de Vive!

I've been Thinking...

There are many moments in life.

Moments in our own lives, in those of others and in our collective lives together.

Spectacular moments when the waters part, the sun shines down and a star is born. That one perfect time when everything aligns and a unique creature is brought forth, Mozart, Picasso, Shakespeare, Da Vinci...

and I think to myself, you know, there are people who focus on the box, then there are the more adventurous types who focus on thinking outside the box, and then there are those exceptional masterminds

who never thought there was a box to begin with!

Still thinking...maybe creating is all relative, like creating art or prose is much akin to composing music, the melody of the piece must ebb and flow in perfect harmony.

When it's there, it is there and there's no denying it! Full force, head on like a locomotive traveling nonstop into oblivion.
Abundant, excessive emotions well up...

I mean can you just imagine the feelings of joy that must swell in a fish to cause it to leap from the water?! I have thought and thought on this particular thing for many years and I have finally figured it out...

well, for me at least. If I could have any wish I wanted granted to me by a magic genie, the wish I would wish for

would be to have full and vivid total recollection,

of the very first moment, of the very first time

I opened my eyes to see!

It's Wabbit Season...

Here comes

Peter Cottontail,

Hopping down

the bunny trail,

hippity hoppity

Easter's on it's way!

Here comes Puppy Cottontail...

hopping down the puppy trail...

hippity hoppity Easter's on it's way!

Look at him... stop and say,

Try to do the things you should,

Maybe if you're extra good,

he'll roll lots of

Easter eggs your way!

Me and mine, wish you and yours... a wonderfully colorful Spring Season and Happy Easter too!
Details: Little Julliette sits in a giant german paper egg, she wears a handmade felt bunny costume, hand dyed and speckled hard boiled eggs and one yummy white chocolate bunny, which btw is long gone!

Where Do Women Create?

Where do women create? Women can and do create just about anywhere!

Each and every one of you is proof of that! The second issue of Where Women Create is on news stands now and trust me, you don't want to miss it! I tell you when I get my copy I read the whole thing from cover to cover absorbing every detail!
Click here to order yours now!

If you are an artist, you are an artist from the time you are born. You see the world through artist's eyes.

Everything you see is art. Art surrounds you. You taste colors and express thoughts and emotions with them.
Your hands are those of an artist, you touch paper and paints and clays, which are then transformed as if by magic into portraits and landscapes and statues.

You hear sounds through artist's ears that become words and music, poems and books, plays and speeches that ring throughout the ages.

And while others may not always share your vision, most often they can appreciate it.

Art is constant, reliable, enduring, confident, noble, strong and most of all, art is honest, inescapably honest!

Ok, Whew! I feel better! That was just bubbling to come out! And now on with the show!

Besides all of the amazing artist's involved in every possible field you will see and read about,

there are fantastic extras!

Beautiful free goodies provided by the contributing artist's to the magazine just waiting to be downloaded and incorporated into your own works of art! Just go here to download them!

Oh! And by all means, don't forget to visit Where Women Shop, click here

for wonderfully unique gifts!

And while we're at it...

I'd like to present to you my new line of rubber stamps!

S7347 Blythe
They are called Fairytale Couture!

S7340 Papillion
Have you ever given any serious thought to what a butterflies wings look like when she's not wearing them?!

S7342 Apron
Like say, when she takes them off to go to bed at night?!

S7346 Pantaloon
Well, here you have it, she ever so delicately hangs them on a very special valet

S7348 Candelabrum
created especially just for that purpose!

S7343 Ballgown
Check out the entire line here

S7341 Fauna
P.S. Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its way.....

Carpe Diem!

Sometimes the magical secret you carry with you when you are an artist is a bit hard to contain...

Somewhat reminiscent of the cat that swallowed the proverbial canary!

A precious little secret that is all your own, unless you decide to share it with others.

Like take for instance, someone asking you to tell them the story of your life,

I tell them, well, umm, you know, I always read the last page of a new book first!

So lets take it from there...

I find that I seem to work at things in a backwards kind of way.

By this I mean, I create the end first, then the middle, then the beginning.

It can all be a smidge confusing at times, one thing I can say for certain is I am always surprised by how it turns out,

though it does seem like I am constantly scrambling to keep up,

as though something, somewhere else is calling all the shots,

like maybe a creative gremlin of sorts and I, well, I am merely that clever little imp's servant,

whose duty it is to assemble each piece as quickly and efficiently as possible!

It never fails and almost always follows the same general pattern.

I toil away into the wee hours of the morning, till I can finally find a stopping place,

then arise the next day to be absolutely bewildered and astounded to see it all finished!

Art is like that for me, good clean fun and totally momentous!

Like Newton's apple,

a book falls from it's shelf,

hits the floor with a bang,

pops open, and

the light bulb goes off!

Of course!

I get it!

Yes, I see what you mean!

those characters just wanted,

to come out and play!

Shakespeare and sea ships, like sweet songs on two lips or tulips on true lips they dare!

Discoveries abound in silent no sound,

across vast waterless oceans come long lasting whispers past chattering teeth,

time is but fleeting and meeting us there!

Prepare for the magic that is close at hand, pull up a chair and sit for a bit,

perched stage front and center, next to the band.

Give a wink and a smile, an acknowledging glance,

today we are joyous, tomorrow's pure chance!

Carpe Diem!
For the complete article and more info on Moliere's Theatre visit Stampington & Company to pick up a copy of Somerset Studio ~ Jan/Feb 2009.

A Valentine to You...and a Winner!

...and now lets lower our voice and be a bit wary,

for we want to enter the realm of creativity,

the space in which the hidden form and

the seeking form circle one another,

intertwine and wait in the twilight of their dream,

for the light to come,

in order to give them color and contours,

and to illuminate what has turned into an image!

Whoever would be brash enough to enter here

with the blazing torch of curiosity

would find little more than a mistily drifting cluster of images.

For this space does not permit a direct approach,

and it does not respond to concrete demands!

I'd forgotten how much I love watercolors, it's been a while since I last picked up my brush, and now I remember my little liquid

love affair, the soft, thick texture of the paper, the way it pulls the paint right into it, colors gently flowing together, sometimes tender, sometimes bold,

just heavenly....and after I spent the afternoon painting this little Valentine, I decided to create something I've had in my head for a long time now, I have collected music boxes since I was a kid. I have always just adored the tinny tones and their enchanting but clumsy movements. I am expanding my creative horizons, this is a whole new medium for me, and
so, here is the first of many...Now playing for your enjoyment "A Midwinter Nights Dream" peer into the portal...

Visuals Details: I created these music boxes out of various antique odds and ends, cleaned and rebuilt the moving parts. Redressed the petite ballerinas, as they were nude when I found them. The wings I attached to her once belonged to a dashing dragonfly, he was dropped on my doorstep last summer by a busy mother swallow. I sealed them to protect their delicate beauty. I painted the porcelain butterfly girl bust in soft shades of lavender and blue to match the small remnant of 1920s crushed velvet, that I used to cover the music box. Lastly a few gems were added for just a bit of sparkle.
And now for the OWOH winner of Cinderella's paper slippers **Rebecca Ramsey** thank you to one and all it was such fun!