If You Wish

If You Wish, 8x8

The Pressure is on

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. Despite the wedding in Manhattan, I sure got a lot accomplished in just a few uninterrupted days. At this point, I have about 95 pieces to take to the Prairie Village Art Show this weekend. It really has been amazing to see how much I could get done when the pressure is on.


I'll continue to update the blog with new pieces that I will bring to the show this weekend.

Double Stars, 8x8

My Cup Runneth Over, 8x8

When it rains, it pours

No, I don't mean those massive thunderstorms that woke me up at 5 this morning. It's good news...again. I've been accepted into the Prairie Village Art Show. I was on the wait list and a spot opened up for me on Thursday night. I had to do some serious thinking about it as I have the River Festival in mid-June, just two weeks after the Prairie Village Show.

I surveyed my inventory and I have more than 85 pieces. I think I can swing it. Chris was good enough to give me the "out" and skip out on a rehearsal dinner in Manhattan tonight, giving me an extra day to work. I am joining him for the wedding tomorrow, but the extra day will be great. (By the way, I sure am tired of sleeping in hotels. This will be the third weekend in a row.)
I'll have a weekend in between PV and River Festival where I really hope to crank out a few more pieces. Ah stress. Gotta love it.

Good news

My inbox brought me good news a few days ago...I was accepted into the Hidden Glen Arts Festival at Cedar Creek here in Kansas City. It's September 13 & 14. Looking forward to a fun fall show.

Dog The Bounty Hunter

We just returned from another weekend away. This weekend we were in Oklahoma City for my cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and Em and I were on the "B Team" as readers. We did pretty well and I didn't flub up any of the words, but I did miss my cue to walk to the podium and the minister had to summon me up there. Oops.

I'm too tired to write or post much, so I thought I would post this old picture of Chris as Dog the Bounty Hunter from Halloween a few years ago. I was going through old photos on my laptop and came across this one and chuckled to myself. That night, Dog's "bear spray" weapon consisted of Captain Morgan.

He did it!

Nick graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman. Don't get me wrong, he's a great student. As a matter of fact, I'm 99% sure he has a better GPA than I ever did. However, we were not at all surprised that Nick invited the entire family to Bozeman, only to find out that he might not actually graduate due to a final he was to take on Friday morning in a class in which his grade was already borderline. My mom was not at all happy and had already threatened to not attend a "second" graduation.

He took the essay test while we dined on free bagels and microwave Jimmy Dean sausage sandwiches at the Fairfield Inn. After he finished, we decided to head to Yellowstone. It was snowing. Yes, in the middle of May. The temperature was 31. The drive to Yellowstone was beautiful, but I can only imagine it on a sunny day!

The highlight could have been the fact that we saw tons and tons of buffalo (including two babies), but I think the entire family would agree that when we pulled over to the side of the road to see some elk and Nick rolled down the window in the car in front of us and smiled his big huge smile and said that he passed. He would graduate.

At two separate ceremonies, I learned so much about my brother and became more proud of him than I could have ever thought possible. Nick was commissioned as a ROTC cadet and is now an officer in the Army as a second lieutenant. Major General Jackman, a two star General, spoke at a dinner on Friday as well as the commissioning ceremony on Saturday afternoon. He was so inspirational. We watched what I thought was an Army recruitment video that I swear nearly motivated me to enlist. There were slide shows that recounted all that the cadets had accomplished over the last few years as well as pictures of them as little kids. When did that little blond boy grow up to be a real, live MAN? As he sat in the front of the room in his new Army uniform, it affirmed to me that Nick is in the right place and I couldn't think of anyone better to represent our country.

This is the first picture I took once we arrived at the Billings airport. This life-sized horse made out of beans greets all visitors at the baggage claim.

Ellie enjoys Nick's bachelor pad including the bean bag chair made for two.

Dad got his first taste of Guitar Hero. I think he's going to try out for Salina's favorite band, The Blades. Seriously, he played this by himself while everyone else went outside and tossed the football around.
I protected Ellie from the football and took lots of pictures of her.

A GIGANTIC crow that puts the Newton house crows to utter shame. This one actually hopped and I almost mistook it for a black kangaroo.

One of the baby buffaloes.
And another.
This one almost ran into the side of Nick's car.

Dad and Nick at Plonk, a very cool little wine bar on Main Street that my dad kept talking about.
We joined him at Plonk, but Em kept to the High Life.

That's R.J. Cain in the plaid shirt. My dad met him as a flyfishing guide years and years ago. Every time he went back to Bozeman, he would look R.J. up for a guide. Nick lost touch with him and they didn't speak during all of the time Nick was in Bozeman. Strangely, he was at the last bar we went to on Friday night. Too bad that his poor date couldn't stand the fishing stories and took off.
Nick and Ellie.
Dad and Ellie looking at ducks on campus.

Big Sky Country

We are heading to Bozeman, Montana at the crack of dawn to witness my brother, Nick, graduate from Montana State University. There are plans for fly-fishing and a float trip, but the weather is looking a little bit chilly. THat's fine with me though because I'm really looking forward to a little get away. It should be fun to have the family together and to see Nick one more time before he heads to Fort Lewis in Washington.

Check next week for lots of pictures (maybe this time I will actually photograph people).

I hate to disappoint...

I did not end up making it to Sparks for the annual flea market afterall. I got ditched...well one friend was sick and one friend had to work on a school project, so they had legit excuses. Chris, being the saint that he is, offered to go with me late Friday ight when he could sense my disappointment. It wasn't the junk I was really excited about as much as it was the sickeningly sweet lemonade that was calling my name. There's another market in September! Anyone?

RePop on Design*Sponge

My buddies, Carl and Russell, of RePop in Brooklyn are featured on one of my daily reads. Check out Design*Sponge. You go, boys!

A corn dog and a pickle on a stick, please

It's the annual trip to Sparks, KS on Saturday for corn dogs, funnel cake, fresh squeezed lemonade, a hell of a lot of junk. These are a few pictures from last year's trip, but I promise to take some better ones this year.

I hope to pick up some cool papery stuff to use in my work, but if nothing else I think Sparks might be the best place ever to people watch. If you don't believe me, check out their web site and click on the photo album. Hilarious.

New Pieces

Here are a few more pieces that I completed last week. I've developed a new process where I work on four pieces at once. This allows me to be a little more loose in the direction I decide to go with each piece. For a while I was siting at my desk in my "studio" and wringing my hands trying to figure out what to do with the blank canvas that was staring me in the face.

This new approach allows me to complete 2-4 pieces every other day and not feel overwhelmed with the task of completing numerous pieces for the upcoming River Festival. The pieces end up looking pretty similar, but that's not all bad.

Just Us, another mini collage

Sunset Sparrow, 6x6

Introducing...

The Baldys! After much coercion, Lisa got herself a blog. Finally! I must say that there have been pretty regular posts, but we'll see if she can keep that up or if she will join the lowly ranks of those of us with weekly posts or less.

Swingin'

Em and I took Ellie to the park for a little ride on the swings. She absolutely loved it. Get a load of that chunky little leg. Love it!

Here she is looking a little perplexed. Perhaps the older boys that were playing basketball nearby had her a little curious.

Ellie and her BFF Annie again. I actually think she is getting a little tired of Em and shoving Annie in her face because we just aren't getting the reaction from Ellie that we did the first time they were officially introduced.

Ellie got baptized on Sunday, so family was in town for a majority of the weekend. Other than that, Chris and I went to Lidia's, I got a pedicure and got to see my parents. Hey, life is good.

I have completed eight pieces in the last week, so there is progress being made in that area. I also sold a piece on Etsy. I tried my hand at staging a piece and maybe that is what did the trick. That or the free shipping.

Mini Me Collages

I just put a new teeny tiny mini me collage on Etsy. Click on the image at the right. It's only $10! That's $10, people! Free shipping if you aren't local. You can't beat that!

The itty bitty collage is the first of many as I just placed an order with Dick Blick for several more 2.75" x 2.75" canvases. They are just too cute, plus I'm donating several to the children's First Treasures tent at the River Festival. Stay tuned.

Mad Cooking Skills

Feels like I've been away forever. I returned from Scottsdale late Friday night and I was exhausted. On Saturday, we had plans to have the in-laws over for dinner, but it was all on Chris. He had just attended our monthly cooking class in my absence and was raving about what he had learned. So, he put his money where his mouth was...literally. He made Grand Street pork chops (which are brined overnight and then breaded...think country fried pork chop), creamy mashed potatoes (we used our new potato ricer...well, not new since we got it as a wedding gift, but new to us and it is a must for mashed potato lovers...Moe?), fresh green beans with brown sugar and toasted pecans, orange and cranberry salad with a homemade orange vinaigrette and...you will not believe this...phyllo wrapped brownies topped with chocolate ganache, drizzled with white chocolate Gran Marnier sauce and fresh raspberry puree. WHAT!? It was so great. It puts my mad cooking skills to shame. That boy can cook AND bake AND he helped clean the house in advance of the party. Jump back.

Since all of Saturday was spent preparing for the party, I was finally able to get some work done for the River Festival coming up in June. May is booked, so I must get a few things done prior to the show. Here are a few pieces I completed on Sunday. Agh! Yes...those are sparrows. More birds.

BFFs

Ellie and Annie discovered each other last week and now they are BFFs. Annie licks Ellie's hands and Ellie giggles uncontrollably. It's so sweet!

It's been a cloudy, cold spring so far with SNOW on Saturday. Give me a break. There are a few hints of spring, but I'm ready for warm weather.

I'm off to Phoenix on Tuesday morning, so until next time...

New Commissions

Amy asked me to produce two commission pieces...one for Madison on her first birthday and one for her mom. Together the two pieces represent five generations of women from her family beginning with her great grandmother Marie. Each of them have been given the middle name Marie. It's a pretty neat gift for family or something just to commemorate your family.

Mario's Miracle? How about Gayle's Miracle?

Forget Mario for a moment! We still love him, but more importantly is the fact that Gayle made the Sports Illustrated cover with her miraculous seats right behind the basket. Sweet!

I'm still on cloud nine, but maybe not as much as GT.

March Madness, Baby!

Really nothing is better in this world than March Madness. Nope, not even Christmas. I go through withdrawals after I hear One Shining Moment at the end of the tournament and come to to the realization that basketball is over until Late Night in the Phog rolls around in the fall.

What a year for Kansas Athletics! We were lucky enough to witness an Orange Bowl win and then to go on to win the NCAA tournament in the manner that we did was simply amazing. I'm still in disbelief! I have to admit that I thought the game was over with 2 minutes to go, but we hung on and the stars aligned. Everything went our way for once. Mario Chalmers hit the biggest shot in Kansas basketball history, possibly in the history of the NCAA tournament. This is the game that will be talked about for decades. Truly a miracle!

My brother was crazy enough to drive 18 hours from Bozeman, Montana to be in Lawrence for the championship game. Towards the end of the game, I was beginning to imagine his drive back on Tuesday following a heartbreaking loss. Turns out it was the craziest, but most rewarding, trip for a Jayhawk fan who isn't lucky enough to be surrounded by fans that share his love for KU basketball without traveling halfway across the country.

Chris and I left for Lawrence following the game and headed to Mass St. to meet Nick. He had clearly been having a great time along with the other 40,000 people that had flocked to the heart of Lawrence. There were babies in strollers and toddlers, who will clearly not remember the miracle game. There were couches burning in front of the Beta house. Fist fights over stolen beer. Intoxicated, INTOXICATED students. But it was all worth it. Chris loved having a beer at The Wheel. We stayed until last call and made it back to KC by 3 a.m. Still too jazzed to sleep, we watched the last 20 minutes of the game and One Shining Moment one more time before bed.

Did any of you see the "Stay Classy, Lawrence" ads all over the Internet? Apparently, this fan didn't.

OK...so I tried to upload a video of the celebration, but after 30 minutes it appears to be way to large to upload. Sorry.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

Mario's Miracle

More on this later...