400 followers ?!?!?!

as anyone who has read my blogs know I have a love/hate relationship with all things social media!!!  

I understand it's perks but I am very suspicious of the black hole of time is can be and how social media fans the flames of comparison and create even more internal strive.

'studio light . . . ' vlf©2015

However, that said, I love my Instagram!! (the place where #fromthelandofdragons began) ! 

and I am totally addicted to Pinterest (I swear it is my crack cocaine)!!! 

just a fraction of my boards . . .  click here to see them all

I have always LOVED blogging, this blog was my first foray into the 'social' cyber-world!!  

And now I see that my Art & Inspiration page on FaceBook has almost 400 followers!!! 

'guppy . . . ' #fromthelandofdragons ©2014

That is cool!!! 

So thank you all for the 'likes'!! That is one of the perks of social media, these venues bring like minded people together.  The people who like my FB page are interested in the going-ons of my studio and my work. That is a wonderful, wonderful gift to an artist!!! 

thank you and peace . . . .

xxx 

Happy Snow Day!!!

bring on the SNOW!!!!

If you follow my blog you will know that I love snow days.  The entire concept ~ the need to hunker down with friends and family, the proverbial ' get out of jail free card' for your day.  

I have a very fond memory of a snow day freshman year, where a bunch of us camped out in a friend's dorm room and friends would stop by with food and settle down into the group. There was just such a lovely sense of calm and kinship - no where to go, nothing to do.

it is amazing to me that these
small, gentle crystals can cause so much stress and chaos

So here is Boston we have been granted basically a city wide snow day.  School was cancelled last night!! which I loved because then we could all sleep in and not be anxiously waiting for the phone to ring at 5:30AM!!! Only problem for me was that my dog didn't get the memo!!!  So for today we have been given this gift of time and togetherness. 

Now I know how blessed I am to know that my girls are safe (still sleeping in their warm beds) and that I have a warm, dry house, and that my kitchen is basically well stocked (coffee ~ check, milk ~ check).  We have electricity at this point and I live in a wonderful neighbor of helpful and kind folks - so the pending storm is not rocking my world too much. 

The only nuisance it caused me was how and when I can fly out to see my father and mother, since my dad had an unplanned and major surgery this week.  But after 60 minutes on hold with Jet Blue, the plan is that I fly out on Sunday, apres le storm, and words from the hospital is that my dad is doing OK.

my dad pulling my brother and me thru
the snowy streets of Chicago
 
It is with my dear recuperating dad in mind that I added this second illustration: another one of my favorite snow day memories - being pulled by my dad through the shut-down city streets of Chicago during a blizzard.  Click here for the blog with the full story.

So as we watch the snow pile up, and the girls and I are given this gift of time, two of us thought that this is a good day to BLOG!!  Yes,  I am proud to announce that my daughter, Harriet, is following in my blogging footsteps - she and a friend have set up a blog for their writing!!! (so proud, so proud!!)

my sweet blogger

So if you have a moment and want something good and quick to read, check out her blog!! And if you feel so inclined - leave a comment!!! As we all do - she LOVES the comments!! The address is (if you are curious): www.hkatewriting.blogspot.com.

And if you are affected by the snow or not - 

wishing you have a super, fun, cozy and safe day/weekend!!

dresstag placed yesterday with the message 'may this dress bring you safe travels'
peace

inspiration and trust

Besides the weekly creative challenge that Illustration Friday offers me, I love visiting the sites of the multitude of creative souls that also participate. Besides seeing how they have interpreted the topic, I am privy to their words of wisdom, their successes and their struggles. This is so nice because the world of the artist has its solitary moments~ many times we are out there slaying demons all by ourselves. But blogs, facebook and other electronic outlets has given us ways of creating communities and places of support. I mention this because last night I came across a post from a fellow illustrator that rang so true that i needed to share.

The site is Dream & Vision by Susan Sorrell Hill, an artist and illustrator living in Northern California. I have enjoyed her illustrations and her posts many times but yesterday she wrote about her "conscience .... that ubiquitous back-seat driver who is rarely content, and when she is, it’s only for the brief moment before something else is unsatisfactory" ~ WOW, I know that voice! I refer it it as my monkey and moments before reading Susan's post I had been talking with a good friend about how I am SOOOO tired of this voice ~ the guilt, the self doubt, BLAH!! For whatever reason this voice has increased in volume and intensity, seeping into all aspects of my life!! I feel like i am constantly engaged in a sumo wrestling match in my head ~ between what i feel in my heart and what my monkey says I 'should' do. I have been told it is part of the creative process, but I feel this struggle uses so much energy and strength that i would rather be putting into my art and my family.


So I was heartened to read Susan's post (I am not alone) and to hear about her approach to quiet the voices. I haven't tried flower essence therapy but want to. I am working on being more positive and trusting myself through mediation and in my studio work. Just this week I started a series of artist trading cards and my first one was a 'trust' dress!! Also, in my studio, I have been working on a series what I refer to as 'intuitive painting' ~ the same approach that I took with the walls of my installation, 'this comes from within' ~ just paint and don't think, listen to my heart and not my head. I am painting on canvases and on shaped pieces of wood ~ and I am very excited about this work!! But I have been so surprised on how mentally hard this has been?!?!? I am painting away & my monkey is basically screaming at me that I am wasting my time, this is just doodling, playing it safe... but if i try and do other work I soon find myself back at my canvas....go figure. So I recognize that the need to create this work & I want to honor that need, so I will try to quiet the monkey.

So if any one has any suggestions about how to quiet those annoying voices ...PLEASE share!! I would be love to hear them. I am feeling that itis time to shake this monkey (or at least quiet him). I was watching Ella Enchanted with my daughter this week and in this movie the main character, Ella, needs to overcome her 'gift' of obedience. I have watched this movie a bunch of times but this time I watched it with new eyes ~ I need overcome my 'gift' of self doubt, overwhelming sense of guilt and lack of confidence. wish me luck!!!

Hope all have a good weekend. & my illustration friday piece will be coming later!!! peace!!