Bloom

Bloom where you are planted.  I created this piece while proctoring an ap exam (shhhhh, don't tell anyone).  I was paying attention, I promise.  I only had some sharpies to work with, but I do like the end results.  The only mistake I made was laying down some silver sharpie down, then trying to write.  The writing keeps fading away.  I will probably collage the words later.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I created three of the flowers by tracing a pair of scissors, can you see them?
Well, as for my sketchbook prompt, I have been trying to bloom where I am planted, but there are times when I want to pick up my roots and look for greener pastures.  For now though, I will continue to bloom and grow right where I am.

Happy Mommy's Day

I was up late last night finishing up some last minute orders for Mother's Day.  I took these pictures minutes before I climbed into bed.  I'm glad I did because my customer showed up bright and early for the pieces. 
It gives me great pleasure to know that something I created will be given as a gift on such a special day.  I hope the lucky moms that receive these gifts will like them.  Custom orders always make me so nervous.  The pressure to please and to do well is so high.  Well, all I could do now is hope they become treasured gifts.
Now I am sitting here in my kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee, while the rest of the family is slowly coming to life.  We will be heading off to visit my mom and enjoying the afternoon with my family.  We usually have a cookout or feast on some traditional Mexican food, but not this year.  My mom insisted on a turkey dinner.  That's right...turkey.  Anything to please my mom, and well, I do love turkey.
Happy Mommy's Day to all of the mothers in the world, to all women that want to be moms, but can't and to all the moms that have lost a child. 

quote

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry"-T Fuller.  So true and of course this quote is a metaphore about life.    This challenge was inspired by nature (can you see my whales?) a quote and gesso.  I used all three, although not much gesso.  This piece is a collage and I painted only a little bit.  I enjoyed the process, but I was left wanting to add more of my own work.  I will make it a point to draw more on the next one.
Enjoy.

I've been in a slump lately.  You wouldn't know it by looking at the pictures above, but it took so much of my will power to make those pendants.  Many of those pendants are still sitting idly by, waiting to be turned into necklaces. 
Is it just me?  Do you ever go through "blue periods", for lack of a better description.  I go through my "rose periods" and then without warning there goes my energy.  It might be that the school year is almost over (5 1/2 weeks left) and I am beginning to count the days.  I keep thinking that once I am done with this school year I can dedicate my summer vacations to what I enjoy doing. 
Another reason I feel so blue is that my second born is graduating from high school.  I am beginning to worry about college tuition now that I will have two kids in college and it is time to buy another vehicle.  I keep telling myself to put it in God's hands, I will find a way. 
I'm going to tuck myself into bed, turn off the lights and go blog hopping.  Hopefully this will inspire me and get me out of the creative blues.
Goodnight.

entry

This sketchbook entry is inspired by details.  A year in the life of an art journal

http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/  came up with this great prompt.  I have to admit that mine is not completely done, there are more images that I hope to add to my piece.  I decided to post it already or I run the risk of forgetting all about it. 
The empty circles you see there will hold images soon, I just need to find images that inspire me.  Not an easy task, I can be pretty "picky".

I'm taking a workshop given by Deryn Mentock at Something Sublime.  The workshop is on creating unique closures.  I just completed the first phase of the workshop and decided to incorporate it into my latest piece.  What you see there are two s-links and a wrapped eye.  I have to admit that it took two different attempts to decided which closure to use.  I hope to become an old pro as time goes by. 
I am also interested in trying new designs and using new techniques, so this year I decided to take as many workshops as possible to increase my knowledge and expand my repertoire. 
Davinci's Angel is on polymer clay, I have also used some small wooden beads and colorful red and purple beads.  I'm going to take it to the Artist's Market tomorrow, hopefully it will get some attention.

Journal Entry

For this month's sketchbook prompt from A Year In the Life...  I am suppose to journal about "Everyday".  I decided to journal about my Sunday in particular. 
My student and I were featured in our Sunday newspaper (well, mostly my student) which was a great way to start the day.  My student's art work will be displayed in our nation's Capitol in the summer and he and I will spend a week there.  We will  dine with our Congressman one evening. 
My husband then decided to treat me to some coffee at the Corner Bakery, where he and I had a delightful breakfast.  He then took me shoe shopping.  You know a man loves you when he walks around a store carrying your purse while you try on shoe after shoe :)
We then returned home to find my parents waiting for our return, it made me so happy to see them (hence the heart in the corner).  Later in the afternoon, my daughter invited me to get a leg massage and pedicure.  Can you see my foot towards the bottom?
After spending some time in my studio creating some jewelry, I sat down and had some delicious homemade soup with my husband.
I had such a great day that it felt newsworthy (well, at least to me) and therefore I created my entry to look like the front page of a newspaper.

Sometimes, when my students are busily at work, I find that I have to quench my creative thirst.  Since my students have been working on printmaking, I decided to create a few pieces for myself.  I was inspired to create these prints based on the pan dulce that was waiting for me at home.  I love pan dulce, it is the best, especially with a hot cup of coffee on a lazy Sunday morning, mmmmmm, is it Sunday yet?

The first print is done on a white sheet of paper, the second on a piece of fabric.  I am going to be participating in an exhibit and I do believe I will show one of these. 

Hope your week is going well.

New Piece

I spent the afternoon with my fractured foot propped up, in front of my work bench and came up with this beauty.  How did I fracture my foot?  Well...I dropped a weight right on it:(  The fracture is not that bad, all it got me was one day off of work, I'll be back to work tomorrow.  It felt good to sleep in and get some much needed rest, though.  After I had lunch, I decided to make my way to my downstairs studio. 
I made the pendant and beads out of polymer clay.  I really like the colors I used, they remind me of spring.  I just need to place the crimp covers on and it is all done. 
I felt inspired to create a few more, but the pain killers were slowly leaving my system and I thought it wiser to climb back into bed.
On another note, I am going to take an online course in a few weeks.  I'm soooo excited about it and looking forward to learning something new.  Deryn Mentock from Something Sublime is offering this class.  You can register for her class at http://somethingsublime.typepad.com/jewelry_works/the-art-of-closure.html

Stop by her blog to see some beautiful jewelry pieces. 
-Until next time.

This is my entry for today's sketchbook prompt "Childhood Memory".  Part of the prompt stipulated that it should be done in silhouette.  I actually used a page out of my sketchbook that I had worked on previously, but never finished. 
Let me explain how a donkey plays into my childhood memories.  My abuelitos were from Mexico and I would travel every summer to spend time with my abuelitos.  My abuelitos lived up in the mountains and had to retrieve water for the house from nearby rivers.  My abuelito would put some tin cans on his donkey, Chabelo's back and they would go retrieve the water.  Chabelo would go straight to the river without any direction from my abuelito, he knew where to go and which river to go to on specific days. 
I have several pictures of my abuelito and Chabelo, so whenever I see an image of a donkey, I can't help but remember my abuelitos and my summers in beautiful Mexico.  These memories are bitter sweet.  I haven't returned to my abuelitos home in over 20 years, but if I close my eyes I can still hear the sounds and see the sights.