mornings

i woke up this morning at four. it's a farmer's market day and i know i'm gonna fade around noon, but i don't want to go back to bed, 'cause i'll not want to get up when my alarm goes off, so here i am, checking out my list of blogs that i keep up with. artists and jewelers. i just love blogs.

since it's self-portrait day, i'm a little sad i posted my self-portrait yesterday. ah, well.

this is another self-portrait, done in pencil. kinda faint.

the thing about my drawing that i hate the most is that i make everybody prettier than they are. it's most noticable to me in my self-portraits 'cause i know i'm just not this pretty. grumble.

indigo

i'm really pleased with this one. it's kind of faint. sorry. but i love the negative spaces! and indigo is my favorite color.

we went to farmer's market yesterday to sell our jewelry (my sister and i make jewelry and sell at farmer's market and a couple shops in town). i did well! yay! it always feels good when people like your stuff. i sold more than becca, which was astonishing, cause she *always* does better than me. maybe i'll go buy a cd in celebration. love new music.

colors

another shoulder! love those things...

i'm not in love with this one, but i *do* love the colors. blue and orange! yay! i did this one with pastels instead of the usual crayons. i love the way you can move the color around with pastels. once a crayon mark is down, it's *down*. kind of nice to play with a more forgiving medium.

again, i do like shoulders. neck's too long but other than that i like it.

i'm thinking about going back to college. get a degree. so i've applied for student aid and admission. i'll know in a couple weeks if i'm accepted and whether or not i qualify for federal student aid. it really all depends if i get the financial aid. i'll study art, maybe get a BFA instead of a BA. kind of looking forward to it, so i'll be disappointed if i don't get the money.

i was playing with assymetry at this point in my drawing; eyes different sizes. i like how this one turned out, 'cause that's where you look first; those dark, irregular eyes.

it's deborah's birthday today. she's six! i'm so proud of her. looking forward to yummy cake and watching her open her presents.

becca and her little family are still talking about moving out, so i've been trying to come up with some positive benefits. 1)i'll be able to bead and craft whenever i want! 2)i'm going to move upstairs into my old room and make the basement my studio. 3)i'll have a real closet again! 4)i'll have a door! 5)mom can have the girl's room as a sewing room--maybe she'll be able to get to some of the projects she's been wanting to do. 6)no more temper tantrums from the girls.

the biggest detraction is missing the girls. i can see me going, "damn, i even miss those temper tantrums." but they're not going far, so we'll still have lots of visits. but no more late night beading sessions with becca. no more impromptue late night talks.

so even though there are several things to look forward to, i'm still bummed.

spring

spring is my favorite season. it feels so full of promise. i love watching the pussy willows unfurl and the flowers grow tall and proud. i need to get out in the dirt and dig the soil.

am working on cut-up t-shirts to sell. loving how each one turns out, it's own little personality. hope they sell so i can make more!

men

i don't draw men. i don't know why. i just don't. that being said, here's a guy. it just doesn't please me. it looks forced and awkward.

i've been reading a lot lately. new authors!

the summoning by kelley armstrong:
a troubled group of supernaturally gifted teens get locked away in a group home that is more than it looks. the main charecter can see and communicate with the dead, there is a werewolf, a witch, a half-demon... it's a fun read.

evermore by alyson noel:
a girl survives a horrible accident that takes the lives of the rest of her family. she goes to live with her aunt in sunny california. soon she meets a new guy that has more secrets than she does, and she has some whoppers; she can see the dead, see auras and read minds, all of which she got when she almost died in the accident. i really liked this one. undying love, mysterious powers, ghosts... just my cup of tea. and soon there will be another! if i remember correctly it'll come out in august of this year. yay!

where women create by somerset studios:
i absolutely love somerset studios publications. if only they came out more often! i enjoyed this one immensely. it's the studios of artists and some of their favorite tips and quotes.

vision in white by nora roberts:
yes, i know this is considered romance. i blush to admit i read her. but this is the only romance i read. and it's really good! yes, they end up together in the end, but other than that it's really not like other romances. it's all about the characters, and roberts is fabulous at creating believable, likable, interesting characters. i really liked this book. i loved the main characters and the set-up was engaging. not all of her books are fantastic, but this one was.

bruce coville:
i love bruce coville! i've just started reading him. he writes children's novels, but they are totally worth the time. i've read the first two installments of the unicorn chronicles and *loved* them. i've read almost all the magic shop books. my favorite was juliet dove, queen of love. good stuff.

there's been more, but i'll write about them next time.

i like this one because of her pensive look. and the colors together draw you to her eyes.

donna

these are my dear friend donna's feet. donna is a missionary. she is living in papua new guinea, which is an island just above australia. since it's summer here, it's winter there. i miss her so much! she teaches the children of missionaries who are translating the bible into indigenous languages. she teaches history and spanish. she loves her job and delights in her kids. we have similiar tastes in books and movies. we met at college when she joined my drama group, so i've known her for about fifteen years. so long!

girl

i really like this one. not sure why. i like the eyes being different sizes. it was done on purpose.

tiger

i had a dream about tiger the other night. tiger was becca's first cat. we put her to sleep after a long illness--kidney failure. she refused to die, so i had to make the decision to let her go. the toughest decision i had had to make, up to that point.

anyway.

the dream. she was young and svelte and full of energy. she had come back to us. we all knew that she was dead. but she wanted to be with us, so she came back. it was wonderful.

i'm one of those strange people that think our pets will be in heaven with us. when midnight died (my first cat and tiger's sister--she died of feline leukimia when she was just three) i was in fifth grade. so i asked God to please let midnight be in heaven with me. God said that would be okay. at that time i just assumed that God would let the animals that we asked Him about would be in heaven. but recently i read 'heaven' by randy alcorn and i had an epiphany. animals have spirits! when i say 'spirit', i mean that there is a part of them that is eternal. all animals will be in heaven with us silly two leggers.

this is a touchy subject for some people. all i have to say is that i asked God what was true and this is what he told me: animals have spirits and will be in heaven. yay!!!!!!

i love shoulders. they're probably my favorite body part. along with hands and clavicles. hard to hate that sexy clavicle.

dreaming

i had a dream that i was on a road trip with my family. i was in the back seat sleeping and every once and awhile i'd open my eyes to see the most beautiful scenery flying by.

good dream