All Right All Ready! I'm coming Sonia!! (out of my broom closet)

Some how or another- I missed an entire post by our dear, dear love her to death PAIN IN MY TUKAS- Sonia! I do not know how- but I did. I think I was distracted and intent on her post about her dad- that I didn't realize that she posted it twice! And well- enough with the excuses- I just missed it. SO. since she is just such a subtle woman (how many times are you going to out me about being a social introvert??? LOL) and left me hint after hint after hint (helllllllloooooo- If ya want me to see something ya need a flashlight with a laser pointer and couple of pink poodles pointing in that direction!) I decided to re-visit her blog - and not only did I find this SCREAM award - but also.. AHHH HAAA HAAA I won her give away!!!!! Seriously. What are the odds. I was having one of THOSE days, being my last in the corporate world- so. I went Internet surfing! And there was Sonia- SCREAMING at me from a far. Can anyone ignore this woman? I mean really? How FAB is she! Always there with a push, a kind word, a creative bounce, a hysterical, honest laugh- always reminding us to treat each other better- love more- create more and live fuller (that and a cattle prod cleverly disguised as a paintbrush, a blaring Pink CD and a smack on the head if ya' get out of line!) As such, I am going to make an attempt here. I didn't say I was going to abide by all of the rules, mind you - I said I was going to make an attempt. I owe her a total of fourteen "things about me" from this and previous awards she so graciously bestowed on me- So I am going to mix everything together. And so that no one gets too bored- I am going to mix in some photos of works in progress, my social "club" (non-human) in the studio and various other ditties. It should be noted first- that I bought a new camera this week - it is..... SO FREAKIN COOL- and yet will take me three years before i figure out all the damn buttons and what they do- so- your gonna have to suffer through a plethora of photographs for a while- cause i am taking pictures of EVERYTHING! muwah haa haa- ok- here goes:
(1.) I was born in Texas and have lived in Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (2.) I was put in ballet at the age of five to make me a girlie-girl (ya- how'd that work out for you mommy dearest) until it was very apparent I was going to be a TALL girl. (3.) I am 5 foot 11 inches tall. (4.) I have colored and shaved my hair so many times- I don't know what color the real color is. It has been: black, brown, red, purple, platinum (not a good look), raven (black/dark blue), auburn, blonde (again- not so good) and currently black/fuchsia. (5.) I have three tattoos. and am jones'ing for more. (6.) I am a complete history freak (7.) I love books. no, I mean I LOVE books- I have every book I have ever read, when I moved two years ago- I counted what I had then- 2,420. (8.) I ran "road-kill scavenge" for the local environmental agency when I was in college. (you guessed it- I picked through dead birds and animals for markings and tags- hmmm. yummy.) (9) In college, I majored in: Environmental Law, European History, American History (pre-industrial), Ornithology, Shakespearean English, Radio/TV pre- and post- production, Physics and Chemical Science. I minored in German and Art History. I love to learn new things. just call me freak. (10.) I think less fake-giggling and more honest laughter would do this world a great justice. (11.) I always obey the law but equally break the rules. (12.) I am dyslexic. It took me six months to figure out that the wall in the bathroom at Godfrey Daniels said " Dyslexics Untie" - I still think it is funny. (13.) I can ask directions, order a beer, find a hotel and ask where the bathroom is in seven languages and hold a conversation in four. (14.) I AM NOT anti-social. I enjoy observing people. Watching them get themselves in all kinds of trouble and awkward situations out of shear stupidity; enjoy themselves with shear delight and interact with one another as only humans can. There is a difference between anti-social and disengaged. I am "delightfully disengaged" LOL.
All righty then. Any of you want to know what the "rules" are to this award, can go on over to Sonia's blog and read them there. (this is the part that I break the rules...)


I myself, am not so much a screamer. well, not about, well. anyway... There are those blogs out there that I have to touch base with, check in on and just inspire the crap out of me. And as you can see, inspiration takes on many forms.

Before I commence with the list- it must be said that- truly believing in blogging without obligation- this in no way obligates anyone to accept, post, distribute or otherwise facilitate the usage of this award in any way. I am merely making my awesome, talented, seriously disturbed holding my birdie hostage, I mean- LOVE YOU SONIA friend happy and making an attempt to reassure her that I am not anti-social- they already caught the uni bomber - thanks for the support now lets get on with it... :o)

I know Renee has received this award before, along with countless others, but to me- she is the definition of inspiration- she makes me laugh, cry, scream, sit in awe and just overall inspires me to do everything better.

Heather is an amazing person, a spectacular artist and funny as hell. If you have never seen her work- you really must! Her attention to detail is mind boggling- just fabulous! And I am super excited to announce that she will be one of the first feature artists when I open the Noll for art retreats in the fall of 2010. (excitement, excitement, excitement!)

Carrie inspires me with her strength through adversity, her wicked sharp sense of humor, and not only is she a phenominal beader (serious respect for this beading thing!), she has a natural gift when it comes to experimentation and trying new techniques. My hero.

Luz: What is there to say about Luz? She makes me scream! She freakin rocks! Talent out the wazooooo- and a fire and passion for life, her family and her friends. that is truly inspiring. She is the ever-so-proud wife of a military man who has spent way too much time deployed- and she faces every day with grace (ok- not everyday- but then, that is when it gets fun!) and conviction- She is honest, in your face, tell it like it is. Courage and faith- I am proud to call this woman friend. (all she has to do is get off her blasted bum and open that etsy shop! oh my. did I say that? lol)

Di: because she lives and breathes talent, grace, courage, wild passions for life and the desire to be. Di is simply an amazing woman.

So there you have it. my list. It's not "10"- but they are so very important to me.

So now that am done - I can stop with the pics, although since I was playing with my camera- there is one thing that I am going to miss about where I worked. That is the view from the parking lot. This is the cathedral across the road from the lot. It stands proudly among dilapidated buildings, drug houses and a very dirty looking post office. As you can see- the great Gothic point rises above the otherwise depressing city. I must have gazed upon this building a thousand times- and every time it transported me to another time. Another place. The stories this building must be able to tell. I love it when architecture has the ability to move you. Don't you?

Have a wonderful week. Be creative. Be happy. Be.

Catching up, Letting Go and Stepping Off

I can't get over, sometimes, exactly how fast time flies. Sure, everyone laughs about it now and again- but it's really not funny! I can't believe it's been this long since I have posted (I thought I just posted last week!) I can't believe that my son is getting his drivers permit (it WAS yesterday that I bought the bicycle with the training wheels- I know it was!) and I can't believe that I have been at the same heartless job for over twelve years! (but more on that later).

I figured I would simply start this post off with a stunning photo of the roses that bloomed last week. They are crawling up my chimney- the remarkable thing about these roses is that last year they were a stick. And of course I was determined to save them. I ate bananas for a week and buried the skins around the base of the poor little "charlie brown" bush- I have created a monster! It has grown over 10 feet tall and as of this writing, has approximately 25 flowers/buds on it... Now that is Awesome! So - something pretty to look at while I babble for a while.I am horribly behind in my award acceptance. These past weeks I have received some of the most touching tags and awards from the most amazing and supportive people here in Bloglandia. And I just want to give a shout out and a huge THANK YOU to Heather, Sonia :o) and Luz- You gals are amazing! I will be back to address each of these awards individually, as some of them are quite complicated- and I'm going to need to focus! :o)

So, to the catching up part: well, I could write a book on my experiences over the past two weeks- but I am not sure whether it would be considered a self-help, a how-to or a dramatic comedy. Everything comes in sets- both good and bad. it is that constant chaos that reminds us that we are alive, I suppose- and not to take things for granted. Stop taking everything so seriously- It really is too short. I am not going to go into detail- no one really needs to have that much heartache- let me just say that this week past- one of the most amazing women on the planet; gentle, devoted, generous, funny, loving, encouraging, inspiring, wild and courageous- and the mother of my best friend in the whole world- lost her war with cancer and left this world. And the world is not a better place for her passing, and she will be missed so severely. And to say that my heart aches for her family and those that remain is an understatement. And that is all I have to say about that.

Now I could tell you about the paintings that I have heading to Atlanta for a gallery showing, or the book I will be published in, in the fall- I could even go on about the shops in New York that will be carrying my art this summer. And I will, it just doesn't seem very important at this moment, in comparison to other goings on. I will come back to them in future posts- as they come due, and get closer- I am trying to get better with the whole "salesman" shoes I have to make fit some how - and I will be coming to all of you and seeing how you get past the whole scaredy-cat, hate talking about what I do art-wise - there it is - go buy something approach to promoting your goods. For now though, there is something bigger...

Sometimes, though it may be a bit cliche-ish, it takes the slap in the face fragality of life to wake you up- it takes something that huge, that earth shattering to put things back into perspective. Through the clouds of heartache and anger and tears break the rays of clarity. It can bring you back around full circle to a reality check that includes phrases such as... What the hell am I doing? This is not where I wanted to be. or perhaps- You can't be serious, you really think THAT is important? Sometimes- there may even be an occasional- What exactly is it that I am waiting for? What am I so afraid of? and if you are super lucky- and very courageous, a bit giddy and dare I say, a touch daring-(or daft- depending on who you are talking to) it is followed by a very loud, very confident

.........................I QUIT!................
I can honestly say that I have done just about every job out there. I have trained horses for Olympians and have been a grocery clerk, I have worked a farm, run a dive shop, a record shop, an ice cream shop (yeah - that was yummy!) I have shoveled crap, cleaned toilets, scrubbed floors. I have worked as a pantry chef and a seafood chef, a waitress and a bartender, a movie theatre manager, been a mobile dj and a manager of a radio station. For the life of me - I can't figure out how the universe led me to a career in law, but for the past 12 years, I have worked in a law office; first as a temp, then a paralegal, then an office administrator. Somewhere along the line, I sold out. I admit it. I am not proud of it, but there it is. And what a loveless career. Well- it all ends. After twelve years of dreaming I have finally gone and stepped off that edge. Finally. I have the job I have always wanted, always dreamed about, yearned for and was fundamentally too scared to pursue. Imagine this. I am a self-employed artist. whew. Ain't that the shit! Scared? sure, a little- but the excitement of it all is intoxicating. So hang on- it's going to be an amazing, fabulous, exciting and creative ride from here on out! WHOOT!

Breaking rules- Acorns and Oaks

You can always count on those darn Ravens to break rules! And I have to say - I love it! why? could it be for the sole reason that I always seem to benefit somehow when the mischievous birds are up to no good? Nah! It is because they always manage to make me smile with "TOUGH". Do it anyway. it's what they want- screw everything else! now THAT is character and personality! "This is the way my mind is made up - and I'm doin' it anyway!" hee hee! love it.

Ok. so. I maybe, once in a while benefit from these mischievous activities.- But- So what. it's all good! lol!

The Renee Award:

The Renee award was created by Bella and Ces in honour of their friend Renee. In Bella's own words "this is a brand new award and I have the pleasure and honor of spreading the seed, watching it grow. I hope it finds it's way to those who are like Renee: the acorn, a small package becoming a tall and sturdy oak, giving more acorns, becoming tall and sturdy oaks, giving acorns..."

Thank you, Dark Raven!

And in the spirit of the award, I believe that no one should be excluded in the possibility of being the one to inspire another. Everyone who visits this site (over 287 per day!) is an inspiration. Everyone who shares their creativity with the world is an inspiration. Every man and woman who cares for another human being, whether it be a child, a parent or a stranger is an inspiration. Anyone that can make another smile (even if they don't know they are doing it) is an inspiration. Dark Raven is certainly an inspiration- but then she already has hers! - although I'm not sure those pups of hers do- and they make me laugh in a very inspiring way.

So- I expect everyone who visits this blog to accept this award. post it- don't post it - but know that you are an inspiration to me and to so many others. Congratulations everyone!

There is Always an Exception to every Rule

Those of you who know me, know that I am usually marked as a "no tag" zone. Not that I don't appreciate the sentiments- I do.. very much! I just have not mastered time yet - and never seem to have enough of it. But in this instance, I am going to make an exception. Mainly because of the person who has bestowed this honor on me.

She is an amazing person, an talented artist and a kindred spirit of sorts. She hails from my birth state, which automatically makes her a GREAT person (lol. Yeah Texas!) and our similarities are uncanny (even she doesn't know this one - but we actually look somewhat alike!) Beyond all of that, she is a wonder when it comes to supporting fellow artists. Always there to lend an encouraging comment and always with a great big smile! So many, many thanks to Sonia over at the Dark Ravens Nest!! Not just for the award Sonia, though it is lovely- but for all of your support through out the year and for just being you!

Of note: Sonia has started a new "ritual", as it were - Sonia will be showcasing "new" artists every Thursday on her blog. "New" meaning artists that she has sought out, tripped across or in someway have caught her eye in her travels in Bloglandia- all in the promotion and love of the arts and fellow artists. I have to say... Sonia Rocks!

If you haven't been to The Dark Ravens Nest make sure you check it out- http://darkravensnest.blogspot.com/

and with that: here we go::

Seven of my favorite things (in no particular order):

1) My little stone cottage beneath the tall trees;

2) My son- who makes me laugh every day;

3) Conversations with my Pop- who keeps me grounded and focused and supplies endless encouragement;

4) My studio- An "up cycled" delivery truck with a huge open porch, where I can hear the babbling of the stream below;

5) Possibilities and opportunities- and the amazement I have in the amount that are presented to me on a daily basis;

6) That moment the Seasons change; when you step outside and feel the sun on your face and smell the earth thawing, and you can't help but smile because you know what wonders are about to happen;

7) Unexpected encounters- with people, with things, with life.

Now - I am going to break protocol here (like you expected less? I have never met a rule I didn't feel the need to break! :o) )- And as such, I am refusing to list seven blogs and/or artists to pass this on to - instead - I hereby pass it to everyone that visits this blog! I could never make up my mind- you are all so creative and inspiring - So Please- Accept this award, check out Sonia's blog, smile as much as you can, pass it on and have a wonderfully creative life!