Busy December Coming- Wonderful Opportunities Abound!

WOW is it December already? All things considered the last 3 years have been quite a journey of "letting go". God has shown me just how much I cling to what I think is mine in every aspect of my life. I have become a professed Lay Carmelite in a community in my church and am so blessed by this community of men and women dedicated to deeper daily prayer!  For a while I have been wandering a desert trying to find the path that I should be on... looking for water... seems like everything I touched or tried didn't quite work out as expected... so I came to a place where so many people come.... to nothingness without God "The Dark Night of the Soul".


For a couple of  months I have been working for the COPD Foundation helping to clean up  their call center database. I have enjoyed this immensely but the hours turned out to not be as much as I would have liked. As the economy gets worse for some and better for others... I prayed to God as to what I was supposed to be doing with my time. A few computer fix jobs came and went. I had applied for a job to a few other places but being 51 years old may not be a plus in this tight job market at least not for me.


My self confidence plummeted... mean while I was getting more and more offers, emails, opportunities offered to me back in my "old love"... ART. So one night after a particularly distressing bit of news. I finally gave up and cried and prayed to God.. "What is it that you want me to do? I am hard headed and semi-deaf in the right ear... Show me Lord-- drop it on my head for Pete's sake! I can't do this by myself anymore...etc" .....LOL!


 The next morning in my email was a e- newsletter from Linda Blondheim- a longtime friend and mentor to me (whether she knew it or not!).  She was looking for an artist to mentor! I took this as my answer from God.  I responded and just found out that I have been accepted along with Claudia Ballard-St Augustine, Harold Barrand-Gainesville, and Lynn Biddlecomb-Gainesville. I am sure that I will learn so much and I have given Linda  permission to kick my butte in gear this coming year-- I don't want to let her down! So you all will be seeing a lot more of me online in the art world and maybe out and about as well. The mentor-ship is once a month, on a Saturday, starting in January 2012.
I am continuing to work for the COPD Foundation part time. I love to be busy! Merry Christmas!

October All Ready!!

I cant believe it! It's October! 
This is a large sculpture piece found in downtown Orlando, Florida, out front of the Cinema Plaza. I was down there for a pleasant art walk which ended at dinner at the Dessert Lady restaurant- can you say divine!!! I always have to marvel at this art piece and others scattered around the area...so beautiful! Try to get out and see the wonderful art all over Orlando if you live here or are just visiting.

Are you getting ready for Christmas yet? I have a new Zazzle store where you can purchase my Christmas painting image called "Escaping Christmas Trees" on  cups, postcards, Christmas cards and even postage! http://www.zazzle.com/terriwest

I have been training for new part time job and also dabbling in art journal book classes at http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/. I am afraid my journal pages are not as pretty as some online LOL! They are for me right now... perhaps later on I will share them here!

 I have decided to revisit an old favorite Charles Sovek as a way to reconnect with painting again from the ground up I know that a lot of my art buddies know about this website and maybe some newer ones don't - so enjoy!

 Is anyone participating in  the Oprah Life Classes?  I don't have time to watch them in the evening but I do record them and see them the next morning. So far I think they are  thought provoking. By the time I do the questions the wall is down so it wont record my responses to questions. I thought about saving them in my own journal on my computer but they are so personal I decided not to... as a way of moving on like Oprah says ;)

I am after 3 years, going to be professed as a Lay Carmelite- taking what they call Temporary Promises in November. It has been a long journey to this point. I have had many dark nights as in The Dark Night of the Soul as well as periods of wonderful mountain top clarity. It all culminates in me wanting to go deeper into the prayer life as a Lay Carmelite following Jesus with the contemplative heart of Mary.

God Bless and enjoy the beautiful fall weather! Terri

2012 Sketchbook Project, Gardening, and Fall Season Art Exhibits

Sketchbook Project

I just received my blank Sketchbook for the 2012 Sketchbook Project- I am so excited. When I have it finished I will photograph the pages and post here before sending it off for display and archiving in the 2012 show! To my artist friends: are you participating in this? Let me know! I would love to see your books as well!















Cucumbers in the garden!



Poblamo Peppers
















I have a small garden that is winding down somewhat.... this is a lonely cucumber that managed to hang itself off of an empty planter stand in my garden. There are a few more flowers so we shall see if I get to have any more cucumber salad! And on the right is a pot of Poblamo chili peppers- so yummy on top of pizzas and in salsas!

Last night my husband Bruce and I went downtown to the Gallery at Avalon's beautiful "Dresses" Exhibit and The City Art Factory's opening season show and then ended up at The Dessert Lady Restaurant for a PMS Martini and a bite to eat! SOOOO yummy! We are going to go back for sure!

Glass Painting

Lamp shade color before

Baking after painting!

Finished chandelier lamp shade

I had a project on my "To Do List" and I finally am 99% finished with it!

The light fixtures that came with this house when we bought it, as you can see from the sconce example on the left - they are all your normal big box variety and the shades themselves are BORING and cool white. I definitely am not a fan!

 So I got myself up to the craft store and bought 4 colors of  FolkArt craft acrylic enamels specifically for painting on glass.

 I first washed and cleaned the shade and then cleaned it again with rubbing alcohol and a cloth.

After it was dry I went to town dripping and painting. I made the clear swirls with the paint brush dipped in alcohol so that the light would shine through in areas-- this paint is opaque.

The I let the shade dry for one hour and then slipped it into a cold oven on top of a large sheet of aluminium foil. I turned the heat on to 350 degrees and as soon as the temp got up to 350 degrees I set the timer for 30 minutes. Then I turned the oven off and left the shade in the oven over night to cool down. The result is a nice hard as a rock permanent design on my lampshade. From the finished third picture you can see that I still need to paint the finial piece to complete it.

In this case I wanted to paint the outside of the shade for more of a textured effect  but you can paint the inside instead. I believe that the acrylics can be watered down slightly as well if you are looking for a more stained glass effect.  I have some more lamp shades to do and I am considering the large chandelier over the dining room table too :) So much fun and now its one of a kind!

I Won!

 I won a bulking dummy book in a raffle on the website Craftside --a wonderful site I found while surfing one day.

 What is a bulking dummy book?

A dummy book is a small model of a book. It has no content except for page numbers and optional hand written information.  Here is Craftside's explanation of what it is: "Let me explain what bulking dummies are. When a book is in development, a sample is made with the paper in the size, finish type (matte or shiny) and hard or soft cover before it's printed so the designers can get a feel for the book. They are all different and could, as you can see, contain writing or be an actual printed cover with the inside blank. ..."  So what am I gonna do with mine? -- Make an artist journal of course!! Stay tuned!

 

Trees

My favorite tree

With Hurricane Irene - there was a great loss of trees up north. I wonder how many of those were "favorite trees"? I have just a little tree as my favorite. It sits on the bank of the the pond at the 10th hole of the Rolling Hills Golf Club.  I see it everyday, sometimes more than once. I follow it through the seasons and even though this tree isn't a magnificent tree... it is just fine for me. The hawks land in it up top. The ducks lie underneath it and the Sandhill cranes peruse the soil for worms and bugs around it. It does look different every season - although there is no dramatic reds or golds in the fall or flowers in the spring-- the changes take place with subtleness-- almost not able to be noticed until... it is changed. You have to be a patient observer or you will miss the wonder and the gift of this little tree. I am starting a private  art diary/ journal. This tree is what I will put in first thing -- and as the seasons come and go I will comeback to it and draw and paint its looks from year to year, along with the spiritual thoughts that cross my mind, when I am contemplating this little tree. Do you have a favorite tree ...may be one from your childhood? What kind is it? Why is it your favorite?

Organizing, Cleaning Studio and Office

Before cleanup



After Organizing clean up

I recently started Alyson Stanfield's  "Go Get Organized" online class at ArtBizCoach.com and I must say my studio is far more organized than it has ever been. I also have my calendar and task lists set up to be accessed  from my computer, laptop or my smart phone! All I have to do tomorrow is a thorough cleaning and label my cabinets as to what is inside, then on to the next project!