Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well, it's been so long, I almost forgot my password for this blog! This has been a crazy and productive month! So, I think what I'll do is just highlight it with photos and small captions. You fill in the blanks:

Opening of the new NC Art Museum!

(Totally awesome - you HAVE to put this on your list of things to do...you'll be blown away!)

Robert and Lisa at the Art Auction for Haiti. Thanks to the hard work of Heather and Carissa, we were able to raise over $30,000.00!

Great job girls!

NC State's Art to Wear Winning Collection!

One of my students in my Linoleum Carving START Class.

Joe doing a demo in his "Developing Abstract Acrylics on Paper" Workshop

Celebrating Joe's Birthday!

My donation piece, "Females are Silent" for the Tuxedo Ball.

Springfest in Southern Pines

One of my new encaustics at Artsource Gallery in Raleigh.

So, as you can see, we've been pretty busy AND having lots of fun!

Thanks for stopping by...

Happy creating!

Enjoying a long Easter weekend!

Finally: A weekend and a LONG one...
Thursday night, Paul McCormack was in town shooting some Free Art Lessons with Jerry's Artarama, so afterwards, he came out to the house and studio for a little R&R, food and play time in the studio. It was great to be able to hang out and not have to work the next day. Paul painted me in oils, I painted on some papers and Joe finished up his painting for Spectrum.

Here is Joe's finished piece that we brought down to Wilmington and it was purchased within ten minutes of bringing it in to the gallery!

Way to go JOE!

Next we headed on over to Zach's house for a nice relaxing time. Well, lots of straightening up the "bachelor pad" and just doing a bit of Spring cleaning. And oh, did I say relaxing???

Zach and Larry

Here's a shot of Zach on his front porch:

Now off to the beach...

More people than I've ever seen at Carolina Beach. But it was Easter weekend and absolutely GORGEOUS!

Zach and me at the beach...

All three of us...So white!

Well, the good news is I sold 15 bags at a great little boutique on the Boardwalk here! I'm very happy they found a great home at No Problem Islandware. Owner, Toni Lyons was very happy to add them to her wonderful selection! Thanks Toni! I hope this is the beginning of a new and profitable relationship!

When Joe and I came home, we hung out in the backyard enjoying the fabulous weather:

Chillin by the hot tub...

Now today (Monday) the last day of "vacation", I am replenishing my bag inventory:

I have about twenty underway and these three completed.

Nice long weekend!

Oh, the woodpecker was back this morning and I found out something new: This is from my book, Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Nature, Symbols, Stories and Ceremonies...

"Woodpeckers are symbols of wealth, good luck, happiness, and healing. If you hear or see a woodpecker pecking in a tree near your house (or in our case, "drumming" on the gutter to make a really loud noise), clap your hands three times, make a wish, and thank him for his message. He is a sign that money or a gift is coming your way. If someone is sick, the woodpecker is a sign that that person will get well."

Thank you for visiting our house, woodpecker! Life is Good!

April Fools! (a little late!)

We have been busy as usual, which is great! I have discovered over the years, that the busier I am, the more I can accomplish. I don't quite understand that, but try and go with it. Seems I love the "deadline" feeling. You know, when I look back on some of the positions I've held over the years, most of them involved meeting a deadline. Newspapers, magazines, package design, offset printing, screen printing, customer service, even waiting tables - they all involve deadlines. Hmmm, maybe that's just what makes me tick...

So, we've been to two weddings:

Tom and Heather

Trevor and Raven

Congratulations to both couples!

I did a demo at North Raleigh Christian Academy on collage techniques and painting and decorating papers and fabric. We had our opening at Artist Alley for the CMMAG M4T Challenge. Here are some photos of my piece in progress:

Lots of fun and definitely a challenge!

Here's the finished piece hanging in the show...

If you're in Southern Pines, please check it out at Artist Alley. It will be up through April.

Last Saturday, I had a workshop at Jerry's. More fun with collage - Creative Collage Techniques. The students did some great work and we had lots of fun!  Well, I searched for the images on my work computer and this one in my home office...maybe they're on the studio computer??? I'll post them once I find them...
Next we judged the Duck Stamp Competition. This is my third year doing that. It is always a treat to see the work of young artists! The competion was for Kindergarten through 12th grades. Here are some photos:

Judging the Elementary School participants

The judges (excluding me, the photographer!)

One of the finalists (high school)

The winner going to Nationals.

The original is much more vibrant than this photo!

Congratulations to all participants! Jerry's Artarama will be providing tons of prizes for this talented group! Thanks Jerry's! All participants are from all over North Carolina. Great Job!

Christina came over the other night and we are making a belly dancing outfit for her! Yikes! This is quite the challenge working with new fabrics and lots of embellishments and such, but I think it will turn out pretty fantastic! Here are a few shots of the beginning stages of our creation:

Here's Christina inserting elastic...

And here's me starting on the belt...

Lastly, for this post anyway, Joe and I are heading out this morning to judge the Young Artist Exhibit at VAE. This is another of my favorites. I just LOVE seeing young artists' creations! They are always such a delight to view and experience. I won't tell you what the results are, but that these are some of the finalists of the middle school competition and others are the winners of the Jerry's Artarama Awards for high school. The show at VAE is a MUST! Check it out...