What's Up?

"What's Up"

10x20, acrylic on canvas

The Tugboat & the Bird

Winter Park, FL

Greetings everyone!  It's a new day!  A new week and I've got lots to accomplish!  I hope to make my "every once in a while" trip to St. Pete on Friday to pick up a piece that sold at The Florida Craftman as well as deliver some fresh art at the same time!  Needless to say, I do have a lot of work to get done before now and Thursday at midnight!  It is going to be an extremely colorful week....just the way I like it!

"All you need is love"

15x30, acrylic on canvas

SOLD

This morning, I finished up a piece for the "Love Wall" that is going to be hung tomorrow at Artistree Co-op here in College Park.  The theme at the Co-op for Valentine's Day is "All you need is Love", so I decided to focus on the song sung by The Beatles...and included the lyrics, photos of John Lennon and the rest of the crew as well as bits and pieces that I found of the words used on various public places throughout the world. Needless to say, there is a ton of meaning behind those 5 little (or not so little) words!  Not to mention, I had never done a guitar before...laying on its side.

Well - I must get back to creating now.  Little Curran is not feeling so good either...her little nose is running...

Till next time...Be calm.  Be strong.  Be Grateful.

Live Artfully,

JM 

Oopsy Daisy!



Oopsy Daisy Fine Art for Kids Showroom

Atlanta Market, January 2011

They have such a fabulous collection of art...don't they!?!? 

The photo above displays two of my pieces in their showroom...

my elephant and my gorilla

Hi everyone!  I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!  Being productive, being creative, getting organized...and squeezing in some of your favorite things as well!  I am having a super productive week so far.  (so far...those are the key words!)  I slacked a little on my postings these last two weeks...out of the clear blue sky, I passed a kidney stone on my left side two weeks ago today and still have another one in my right kidney.  Needless to say, I was completely caught off guard and felt like my energy, motivation and creativity had been zapped from me for at least a week due to the whole ordeal...  But I am back, moving forward again...creating...as well as feeling like a soccer goalie in the afternoons dodging homework questions, snack requests and trying to figure out what to make for dinner!  Oh...and keeping baby Curran OUT OF TROUBLE is becoming more and more challenging everyday (see below!).  But I wanted to get in a post today (even though it is late in the day) to share some REALLY WONDERFUL news with everyone!  I have been wanting to spread the word since the end of the summer...but chose to wait until the "big debut" at Market in Atlanta...which was just over a week and a half ago!  Oopsy Daisy Fine Art for Kids has chosen to license three of my pieces as part of their 2011 collection!  They chose my Elephant, Giraffe and Gorilla!  I have included photos of the Oopsy Daisy showroom as well as two of my pieces on display in the showroom!  I am super excited about this opportunity because I am so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful selection of artists!  I admire and am inspired greatly by so many of them!  I feel so lucky!!!

I know that I have shared photos of my art table with you before...but I was not sure if you knew that I worked on several pieces at a time.  I usually work on 5-8 pieces at a time.  I was able to dive into a whole new batch (8) just yesterday and it felt wonderful!  I will be able to share those with you on Friday!  The canvases above were completed last week and they are now on display up at Artistree Co-op here in Orlando!  I will post some of the finished pieces tomorrow.

Chase your Dreams...fresh off the art table today!

I had been dreaming of a kite and this phrase for such a long time!

It feels great to finally see what I myself was chasing!

Ahhh...my 2 year-old...Curran...she LOVES to

get into lipstick!  Lipstick!?!?  Heck, she gets into ANYTHING

she can find!  I could not resist posting this photo of her!



That is all for today.  Tomorrow is a new day...bringing new hope, creativity, new opportunities and lots of color (hopefully!).  Till then, stay calm.  Stay strong.  Be grateful.

Live Artfully,

JM

This is usually what my art table looks like when I am in the middle of about 50 million things!  I know this is only a small section of it...but I thought you would like to see how the fabric items I make look before I sprinkle a little bit of my magic on them!  Above I have all of my painted fabric pieces laid out to dry...before they are then matched with coordinating store bought fabric, sewn, washed, dried and then written on.

Above is a basket of goodies I dropped off at

Artistree Co-op here in Orlando last Friday!

Almost all of my fabric creations start with a phrase on the front...

and then a single word (sometimes more than one word)

written on the back complete the message I am trying to spread.

I must say...I am enjoying the variety of options that I have to choose from when it comes to mixed media creations.  I think what I am enjoying the most is the fact that I am able to actually use my sewing machine!  Although my fabric creations are not the source of my art purpose, I did make quite a bit of one-of-a-kinds for Christmas this year for family and friends.  I have had my Kenmore since my late teens and am just now feeling confident in using it.  However, I did make Rylee a wizard gown over the weekend...she was driving me nuts to make her one from a book that she had.  And I used one of her nightgowns as a "base" for the pattern and boy was I WAY off!  It took me three tries to get the pattern the right size to fit her!  Needless to say, I was able to sew SOMETHING together for her...but the sleeves look at little weird!  She likes to flex her arms in it and she looks like she has huge muscles in the upper arm area!  Ha ha... So I over estimated in the shoulder area and did some funky sew job under the arm area...like her arms are coming out below her armpits!  Are you imagining this?!?!?  Anyway, what do you expect for my first wizard gown???  I mean...come on?!?!?  No seriously...I do not think I am going to attempt anymore clothes or gowns...she wants pointed wizard shoes next....oh boy!

How is everyone doing on the decluttering so far?  I am still getting small tasks completed day by day...mainly for art/work.  But I do need to tackle my closet before the end of the week!  I'll let you know how that goes!  My husband decided to make our armoire his closet about two weekends ago...so now I have the entire closet.  Keep in mind, we live in a small, older home so our closets are not that large anyway.  But I do need my make-up and stuff in there now too...so I need to reconfigure some...and yes...go through my clothes...AGAIN and see what I need to get rid of! Wish me luck!

I am off to get my girls from school now!  I hope everyone is having a COLORFUL week so far...with some organizing in the mix too!  I will leave you today with the following:

Be calm. Be strong.  Be grateful. 

Live Artfully,
JM





The First Step...



I have been reading several books lately regarding how to simplify my life.  Several of the books I am reading are by the same author, Elaine St. James.  I am reading her books titled: "Simplify Your Life", "Inner Simplicity" and last, "How to Simplify Your Life with Kids".

In her book, "Simplify Your Life", the first step is to declutter your life.  I am doing this task right now in my household.  A new year means new stuff too....Christmas presents/toys that my girls got, new clothes, new pots or pans, etc.  So...out with the old and in with the new!  I can't keep it all right!?!?  The good thing is that I am not a pack rat.  And neither is my husband, so we both happily throw stuff away.  And trust me...it can be such a wonderful feeling!  Have you tried it???  If not, please do!  It can alleviate stress and help keep your household easier to manage on a daily basis.  So don't be afraid to go through those closets, those drawers, those cabinets, bookshelves, etc. and get rid of the clothes, books, glasses, sets of sheets, you name it...that you have not used in years!  You know we all have our favorite items we like to use....so JUST use those!!!  Why keep all of that extra stuff???

Have fun decluttering!

Live Artfully,
JM

A Fresh Start...

Happy New Year everyone!  Just like a fresh cup of coffee in the morning...a fresh start is what almost everyone is hopeful for in 2011.  A chance to improve, a chance to be more creative, a chance to expand our horizons with all this new year has to offer.  Time to get rid of the old....and in with the new!  And of course, this does not have to be new "stuff" - but new attitudes, new adventures, new ways of thinking, new ways of sharing, new ways of giving, new ways of being kind and last but never least, new ways to simplify. 

Besides trying to expand my line of mixed media creations in 2011, one of my main goals is to learn how to simplify more.  Learn how to not live such a chaotic lifestyle 24/7.  Since my four girls already provide the chaos for me...as well as my own artistic personality, it is important that I focus on making the rest of our lifestyle as simple as possible.  "Keep it simple".  Three simple words that are not easy to break down when applying them.  I hope to inspire all of those around me and afar to simplify their life this year.  Relax more.  Be better organized.  Give more.  Love more.  Do more...in general.  I wish to do more outside...I live in Florida and now is the PERFECT time of year to be outside...in the summer months...I am so wishing we lived in Colorado!  But...I guess I will have to find a way to hop, skip and jump over those dreadful, hot summer months with more of an upbeat stride this year...making the best of the climate that I live in.  

We are now 3 days into the new year...three of my girls are back to school and the other is lying under my feet while I type.  I am setting goals today.  Writing them down.  Figuring out what my steps are in order to head in the direction of accomplishing them.  I am going to look at them as being "simple" goals.  As long as I break up the steps regarding how to achieve them, and complete each step successfully, then I should do alright!  That is the plan anyway!

Regardless, looking at life as a "fresh start" everyday should be helpful.  As stated, just like a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, we have the ability to start fresh everyday - literally.  We have the power to do whatever we put our minds to.  To complete what we wish to complete, little by little each day.  And as we do, we will feel much more connected.  Much more in tune with our passion, our purpose and find our self along the way.

I only hope the best for everyone this year.  But remember, goals do not have to be complicated....a little bit of love, kindness and gratitude goes a long way and can make accomplishing our goals and desires even easier.

Task for the day: Simply think about what YOU want.  And if you are certain, then write it down and keep it in front of you where you can see it everyday.

Live Artfully,

JM