"Must Be The Season of the Witch"

Every year I do a set of Halloween greeting cards to sell in my booth. They are usually pretty popular because I'm the only vendor at The Market Place who does cards for this season.

This is my Halloween artwork for this year. I have so much fun trying to see how many ideas I can come up with using the traditional images that I grew up with and making them my own.
Pumpkins, black cats, ghosts and witches, just wanted to share them with you and help you get into the spirit of the coming season.
So happy to be back online. I missed you guys.

Celebrate!!!!

I feel like celebrating, throwing a party or running a marathon or releasing a thousand balloons. Good news and great news. The good news is that my computer will be ready to pick up tomorrow. Hopefully, all the problems have been resolved. The great news is that I subscribed to a wireless service that I connected to my old dinosaur PC that I've had for over 12 years. My son has always been in control of our Internet service and for someone who is passionately independent, that has always been a sore point for me.

I have held on to my dinosaur all of these years because it was my first computer and although it is clunky and cumbersome compared to today's sleeker streamlined versions, it still works and I have always used it to do my desktop publishing.

I am so glad to be online again, it's been so long, I don't know what to do first.

Still Waiting, No Computer Yet, But I'm Still Here

A Finished Project: Weeds Need Love Too

Still without a computer. I took it to a place called Tech 2 U, they have a pretty big ad campaign on both television and radio. I thought that they would be reputable because they have such a public presence in the media. It's been 2 weeks and they promised it to me in three days. They said that they had to order a new power cord because they couldn't turn my computer on even though I've been using the same power cable that it came with for years. I only found this out on the 5th day after I called them because they never called me. I let them know that it was bad business not to call customers to let them know what was going on.

The last update I got from them was yesterday. Now they are saying because of the bad weather back east, the delivery of the power cord has been delayed. With all of the computer and electronic stores here in Sacramento they or I could have bought a replacement cord and walked it into the shop. I'm trying to be patient but I'm really annoyed with their service or lack there of.


Anyway, trying to make lemonade out of lemons, I've been using my computer 'down time' to be more creative. My last group of paintings were kind of 'other worldly', 'outer limits' inspired. This group is very 'earthly'. I think we all look at weeds in our lawns and gardens and just want to get rid of them. Lately, I started paying closer attention to the details of some of the weeds I see on my walks and the ones growing by the freeways when I'm driving.

Weeds are kind of interesting to look at when you focus in on them. They are kind of like people. Some of us are cultivated flowers and some of us are weeds but all of us have our own unique beauty.

When you have time, take a closer look at some weeds, you might be surprised.

Weeds need love too.

R.I.P. My Poor Computer

My computer finally kicked the bucket. It got to the point where it wouldn't let me in at all. So I really have been off-line. I took it to the "computer hospital" this morning. I know I am planning to buy a new one but I was advised to make sure that all my problems are cleared up on my existing computer, I'm hoping to pass it on to my grand kids to help them with homework when they are visiting. Anyway, the "computer doctor" said that he could definitely cure my "baby" and he won't charge me an arm and a leg. Hopefully, I will have a healthy computer again by Wednesday.

Finished Project

I'm still enjoying painting my "other world" paintings. I've painted lots of different subjects in my lifetime but this is becoming a fun creative project. They start out so simple and then take on this out of this world feel to them.




It's a little fantasy and a little science fiction. I've been doing a lot of thumbnail drawings using basic shapes while waiting in waiting rooms at the DMV, auto repair shops, the doctor's office and other places that eat up your time and your day. Then I come home and turn the thumbnails into paintings.

TGIT Thank God It's Tuesday

I'm a little late with my TGIT post. Today was a 'get out and enjoy the day'. Not too hot for a change in Sacramento.

I'm not able to take a vacation yet so I'm still doing some local site seeing. I love my camera and I love taking photographs. So, here are photos of my day in the sun in Old Sacramento.

California State Fair

I had a chance to visit the California State Fair this week.

Just wanted to share some of the beautiful colors that I experienced.

I only wish I could have stayed longer but it was so hot it really wiped me out in just a few hours.

Hope the colors and images give you some creative inspiration too.

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

Tomorrow I will be stepping out of my comfort zone and for the first time I will be participating in an open studio. A very nice fellow artist invited me last month but I wasn't able to go. She extended the invitation again to me this month and I said yes.

I am now feeling a little nervous, my art is pretty much all over the place. I paint, I draw, I sew, I create quilts and dolls but I do it for myself and what pleases me. My training has been a little fashion design, interior design, a few art classes here and there, but I'm mostly self taught and I always work alone. I kind of go into my own world. I'm hoping I will fit in with a community of other artists.

The materials I've chosen to work with are my textiles and fabric paints on plain white cotton broadcloth. Next to watercolor painting it's my favorite portable medium to work with. We will be working on a collaborative project to be put together and shown in October. I am equally excited and anxious at the same time.

TGIT Thank God It's Tuesday--A Finished Project

Again I've discovered that when I'm without my computer I tend to be so much more productive. During my computer down time I've found time to not only get some sewing done but to get some painting done too.

I've been wanting to create something using the same colors that are in my quilt. My quilt has an old fashioned kind of elegance but when I started to paint I wanted to keep it simple so I went back to basics. I remembered some of the thumbnail drawings we had to do in my last art class. We had to come up with a number of compositions using different sized spheres and show how light and shadow affected them.

The three paintings all have a look of planets in outer space and I am very happy with the way they turned out.

Happy Birthday To Maya

This month was my granddaughter Maya's 5th birthday. Birthday parties today are very different than when I was growing up and from when I was raising my sons. I experienced my first little girl's makeover party at a place in Los Gatos, California called Razzberry Lips. Maya's 13 little guests were given the choice to become princesses or rock stars. Surprisingly, the most popular choice was rock star.

I watched a team of the most creative, patient young women apply nail polish, glitter, eye shadow, lip gloss, hair extensions, tiaras or microphones to 13 excited kids. When everyone was finished, the team led them in a variety of games including a dance party, a pretend rock concert and a fashion show.

This is Maya's rock star look. She really got into character

This is my other beautiful granddaughter Relena who
who just turned 9 this month too.

I love both of my little rock stars. I am so blessed to have them in my life.

A Finished Project

The beginning of a beautiful quilt. My favorite colors, lots of satiny red ribbon and an exotic cotton print.

I am still nursing a sick computer. Hopefully, this month I will resolve my computer problems one way or another. Anyway, I have used my time wisely and have been able to finish a lot of my art and craft projects and have explored some new ones. I've also had the time to get out and followed my second love, taking photographs. I will try to get some posting done over the next few weeks by begging, borrowing and camping onto whatever computer I can get to.

Above is one of my ribbon quilts that I had time to finish. I have been in a decidedly "red mood" this month as you will see in some of the other finished projects I will be posting.

TGIW??? Thank God It's Wednesday???

I am having computer problems again, so I am once again cut off from the world. I'm using someone else's computer today to catch up on some work I needed to get done. I don't have access to my files and photos so this is a very boring post.

I have put it off long enough. It's time to get another computer. I could take mine in and get it serviced again but it would be the third time. I've been saving money so that I could take a small vacation in September but now I'm thinking, I'd rather have a new computer. I've been dreaming of getting away from Sacramento and getting somewhere close to the ocean or taking a train trip across country to take photos. But I use my computer everyday for so many things. It's like my key to the outside world. Big decision, big decision.

For now, I will be on limited access to my sites and other computer stuff for awhile until I get mine fixed or replaced. Will miss you all.

Happy 4th Of July!!!

Happy 4th Of July To Us All!!