Cute change purse I made!

Cute!!

Busy Week!

As the title of this blog suggest it has been a very busy week. Got new wheels last Wednesday and can't begin to tell you how glorious that feels! To be able to jump in and go and not fear making it there or not!! Can't wait to get to a few places we have been wanting to go for awhile now but the unreliability of the car we had would not permit that. Kori s graduating soon, and we spent the whole day yesterday despite cooler yucky kind of weather down at the Detroit Institute of Arts and in Greek-town doing senior pictures for her and her boyfriend Zachary. Had such a fun time and her photos came out so amazing...She refuses to let me post any just yet on facebook but she didn't mention my blog!! HA! Just no sneak peak its killing me...I have to share just one at least she is so beautiful and smart and talented and she makes me so proud. Here is my soon to be graduate Kori!

<3 <3 <3

More to come this evening or tomorrow. Itching to take more photos of things, itching to get my hands dirty with some art projects this weekend just did not permit that to happen!

Today

I am at the two week mark of my transformation.

I believe in myself.

I know I can. 

:)

The Heidelberg Project

Such a gloomy day outside today. Think it is making every one a bit sleepy. Had a little bit if time before my class this evening and wanted to share some color with you all and information about the Heidelberg Project right here in Detroit! So many great things happen in Detroit that NEVER get recognition due to the bad rap the city has but its all about what you choose to make of it. I am a Detroiter always have been grew up in Detroit most of my life and on the outskirts of Detroit and we LOVE the city. We love downtown, the architecture, the people for the most part, the history of this city is just amazing in itself and while the city has been in a bit of trouble with high crime and poverty..there is always hope...hope that one day this city is restored and seen for its potential around the world.
Last summer and the summer prior Don, Kori and myself, headed down to the Heidelberg project to take some photos...little did we know the artist Ty was outside working on some things for the following weekends festivities, a big art fair right in the streets...a celebration of culture if you will.. and my daughter Kori was just amazed that we got to hang out with him for the afternoon and help decorate the trees with polka dots...it was a BLAST! Here is a link to the official website for the project and if you can find a link to read about its history please do so!

http://www.heidelberg.org/

Here are a few photos of 100's I took. Unfortunately I take more photos than I ever get around to posting or editing so these are a year old come June but still...gotta love the color and intention!

The above photo is the home of of the artist and creator of the Heidelberg Project ~ Tyree Guyton, and yes, he still resides in that home to this day! VERY cool down to earth man with vision, a heart of gold and more HOPE than many people I have ever met! He was so friendly and welcoming to us and Ty if you ever see this..Thank you for being so inviting to my family and allowing us to help and be part of your process...it was one of the funnest days we have had and will not soon forget it!

Across the street from Ty lives Tim Burke another artist who plays a role in the neighborhood and very honestly, I am not sure if this is his home or just his studio but he is always there with his wife and adorable baby! :) 

 Slightly "darker" and "political" artist..

So colorful and so alive. I'd just like to note that...when you have never lived in a completely destitute and poverty stricken neighborhood, or have never had anything but some old junk you find in the streets, and are so poverty stricken that you are starving...it is easy to view this neighborhood as eye sore, a clutter of junk...the people in this neighborhood view this as HOPE, they see it as a rainbow on a cloudy day...I commend Ty and all of his efforts to utilize misfortune and destruction to create something amazing and wonderful...to give the children in his neighborhood something positive and  for stimulating their young imaginations and letting them be a part of his process. 

Hats of to you Mr. Tyree Guyton ! <3

You cannot stop something from happening, but you can choose how to deal with any situation.

Things I Love Today!

Today I love

My children biological and step

Don

My family

The feeling of meeting my daily goals

COFFEE

The smell of spring/ summer coming through my bedroom window...

Seeing that my plants and flowers are breaking ground

 and the anticipation of bloom...

Watering my flowers on Animal Crossing City Folk (wii)

The fact that it is Friday!

Today I hate

Feeling tired still

My car

( can't wait to hand the title over to someone else and have a reliable one soon!)

the art supple mess that I have to get to this weekend

Feeling like there is not enough time in a day

Fear of not meeting my daily goals

Bits from my day

Rare occasion that I get to stop by and post anything mid-week! Nice feeling hello everyone! I hope this finds you well and having a great night...Thought that since I had the day off today and it was such a great day I would share some of it with you all.

Been on a mission lately to get myself healthy, make better choices..and so this morning Don & I had breakfast..visited with my friend who stopped by for a bit over coffee and then we headed out to go for a walk..took a few photos along the way..the day was so nice perfect walking weather and this is my favorite time of year...everything is coming to life you will see many photos on the months to come of landscape and flowers. Flowers are possibly my favorite thing to photograph. I absolutely love flowers.

And so here are a few of the images I took on our walk.

Nice Spring day huh? Then we headed to the fruit and vegetable market after a good long walk and bought some great food. We have really been educating ourselves these past few weeks on healthy food and making good choices and I was a bit fearful usually shop at Kroger and found out what a huge mistake that is for things like vegetables and fruit..we have a place here near our home called Randazzo's and for $25.00 we came home with a trunk full of fresh goodies! 

This is only a bit of what we got..apples and oranges and kiwi and tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and romaine lettuce, fresh spinach, lemon, lime, cucumbers, garlic, bean sprouts, extra virgin olive oil, mushrooms, pea pods, green beans, zucchini, grapefruits..and the list goes on...its amazing how cheap this stuff is at the market! That in itself is drive to eat healthier right?! :)

We even went out on a limb and tried something neither of us has ever had before. Dragon Fruit. This odd looking thing is so cool looking inside and out. I thought it looked so cool I did not even want to cut it open not that I even knew how to eat one I had to youtube.com it to find out! Come to find out it is a super food, which means it holds amazing nutritional benefits..I have a link to an article about this fruit and I strongly suggest you check it out. It was the most expensive thing we bought there it was like 3.50 for one of them but the health benefits make it worth every red cent and it was delicious! Taste a bit like kiwi and a pear had a baby lol

Check this thing out for those of you who are not in the know!

The last image is after Don and I had our half and I heard in a video which I will try to find and post a link to in case anyone is interested is that because the skin or shell of the Dragon Fruit is so thick, it makes for a nice serving bowl if you scoop out the inside and cut into chunks...very cute and colorful I think! I almost wanted to just keep it lol I'm strange that way...and so without further ado here is the link to some facts about this beauty:

http://www.naturalnews.com/034163_dragon_fruit_health_benefits.html

And here is a link to a youtube.com video about Dragon Fruit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PORPHLMyizc&feature=related

After we got back and shared our Dragon Fruit and both agreed it is so awesome we will replace it with our love for cheese cake while we are trying to make better choices, we did some work around here and then cooked dinner together. I made a great healthy stir fry! Cooked bean sprouts, broccoli, pea pods, zucchini, fresh garlic, whole fresh green beans, whole cut mushrooms, pepper and parsley with 4 small white chicken tenderloins...boiled a few red potatoes and dinner was absolutely amazing. Have to teach myself to cook all over again so this should be fun! Will share any recipes with you all that I find to be worthy of sharing! 

YUM right? You bet...

And so...it has been a great day overall...and as the night comes to a close I just want to say thanks for stopping by here. Thanks for leaving feedback as time permits it is nice to know I am not all alone here! Looking forward to Friday night when I am done teaching, going to get to some art projects this weekend...if it kills me or someone else lol Time always has a way with taking from me it seems and I do not get to half of what I had hoped for by the time Sunday rolls around! I am sure many of you can relate! Have a great night everyone and see you again real soon!

Peace & Love 

Pretty

Summer breeze...makes me feel fine....

Sunday night

Closing this Sunday night with the Spring issue of Apprentice...love my Somerset magazines!

Have a nice night everyone and see you next week! :)

New!

Some people doodle when their on the phone, some when their in meetings at work...I pretty much doodle everywhere, on everything it is without a doubt something that is uncontrollable for me. When I am bored I just open up Photoshop and doodle there and that is where this came from. Had really no idea where it would go or if anywhere for that matter. I titled it the Sound of Summer because that is what it reminds me of...the whistling of trees, birds, air...

Hope you all enjoy it..I am pretty happy with it for starting out as a blank canvas and doodles, brushes and brush strokes! I love Spring and Summer...all of its colors all of the life it brings to everything!

Have I told You Lately?

All of my blogging friends...blogs I follow..how much you inspire me and how much I have grown to love this place and all that you all share with me about your lives and creative processes? I adore you all...:) Have a good day friends!

My lover boys Birthday!

Hey pals..Hope the day finds you well, alive and kickin! Today IS April 12th 2012...a special day cause it is my honey's birthday! Already baked him the double fudge chocolate cake he asked for, have had a great morning thus far and thought, I share so much of my life here and have not shared much about my guy! He turns 46 today...I keep teasing him that he is knocking on 50's door! Still a hottie though :)
Happy birthday to you honey, I hope the day continues to be as good as its beginning! I hope you have a fabulous year to follow. I love you baby...more than fish love to swim, and yes more than birds love to fly! xo All my lovin...<3

A new week!

Inspired today by vintage tea cups at the thrift store.

One man's garbage is another mans treasure. I LOVE old China ware and tea cups.

:)

From ours to yours +

Happy Easter! 

+

Inspiration Matters!

Hey friends and strangers who stop by from time to time! How are you all? Hope this finds you doing well. Myself? A bit tired from the work week and several other of life's daily grinds but alive and kickin! Wanted to stop by tonight and post something since its so hard for me to post during the week usually I do not get out of work until late in the evening and if I have any desire at that point to work on art I try to consume that little bit of time before its time to go to bed, get up and do it all over again for some creating time!
I want to share with you all any of you not in the know already, about a current artist who is such a great inspiration for me...her name is Mindy Lacefield and I just simply adore her work! I have come to really appreciate this blogger site because there are so many inspirational people, creative minds, fantastic writers and artist that are so beyond the word talented to network with, share things with and it just puts me in my element. Facebook is fun and I really do love keeping in touch with friends and family and some of my art friends but there really is something to be said for being in an environment where creativity runs rapid and people are like minded...even if their medium is different. You may find that from time to time I pay homage to a particular friend or blogger / fellow artisan and it may be for various reasons. Maybe they have something I need to share with you, or I just want to tell the world check this person out which is in part the purpose for this blog and speaking of Mindy Lacefield...I believe that I found Mindy's facebook page by seeing a post she made or a post one of my artistic friends made on her page, either way the very first work of art I saw by Mindy, honest to God took my breath away. It hit a mark for me that is hard to describe in words. Mindy's work is very whisy, very childlike in nature and technique though, her technique is so rare and unique. I've had the pleasure of seeing one maybe two videos of Mindy doing a painting and I honestly can't tell you how many times I've watched the same one over and over and over again because it was that good!!
As an artist myself, I have a deep seeded love and respect for people who find their very own nitch in the world of art. That THING that means, when someone sees your work, they know instantly it is your work or someone trying to do your technique or is inspired by you. One of the reasons I have a great deal of respect for several of my current favorite artists...including Mindy, is that they are not selfish with their styles, they teach it to others and encourage others through their workshops and videos and blogs, to create from that same place and to find their own. I'm still getting there myself.
Over the past weekend I had to give it a go. I had to try to step outside of my own artistic comfort zone and believe me it is a very tight, ocd kinda comfort zone and give it a go. Inspired by some of Mindy's works, here are a few pieces that I created.

Now, as you can see I clearly missed the mark lol I really love the first one here which was actually the second attempt, the middle is my favorite one of the three and the bunny, well let's just say I am sort of embarrassed to even post it but will for the sake of the point I want to get to. 

Mindy's work reminds me as an artist, that there is always a need to reach perfection in all of us but that it isn't necessary to create something pleasing to the eye and soul. She reminded me of that 7 year old that I believe all artists alike behold, and even some of those who have never tried their hand at anything artistic, who loved a new box of crayons! She reminds me that it is okay to use my imagination and to color outside of the lines, which was something I needed so badly. While none of these works even compare to the coolness of Mindy's work, she was kind enough to make me feel good about them...that speaks in volumes about her as an individual and about her as an artist. I have to say, this was the most FUN I had after I finally let go and in some places even closed my eyes while applying paint to force myself to not try to be so accurate and color inside the lines and not worry about lines being jumpy or edgy...once I got there I had so much fun with this and that 7 year old within me came to the surface to play. I feel this style of art is very self rewarding and therapeutic.

Mindy could have very well have said what the heck is this girl doing? She is biting my thunder trying to steal my vibe. Which I'd just like to point out I'd never do, but instead, she with grace encouraged me and even extended a kind hand to say hey that's cute and i like it! ( OK so she used the word "love" troll face gloating lmao) It was nice to hear that from the person who inspired me and someone who's work I'd cover my own walls with gladly! :) Thank you Mindy for that! Thanks for sharing your beautiful creative mind with us all and for opening the doors to your creative process to allow others to seek out the child within and have fun with paint! 

Anyone interested in Mindy's blog or her work can find her here on blogger at:

http://www.timssally.com/

Please check it out! She runs workshops and classes and I'm willing to bet loves the feedback!

And so...as the week comes to an end, a great deal of things in the works, going to be out of town for the holiday weekend so I may or may not get around to posting, I will return. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter, however it is you celebrate and HEY...don't eat too many jellybeans! :)

Pe@ce & Love