Santa Fe

I took a trip to Santa Fe, NM last month with my high school art students, while there we took a tour of Canyon Road and all of the great galleries. I was wearing one of my necklaces when I went into Mesa House Contemporary Gallery,the owner of the gallery commented on it and before I knew it I had sold her the necklace right off my neck. We started talking and came to a consignment agreement. My jewelry is now selling in Santa Fe,, NM on Canyon Road.

My jewelry was also picked up at another shop here in town. I hope these two new ventures have a positive out come, God knows I've been working non-stop the last two weeks trying to meet orders and providing inventory for the shops where my jewelry already sells.
With all of this work I havn't given my book (I'm writing a family history book) much time. Hopefully once things get settled I will return to writing my book. I'm also interested in writing a book geared towards art teachers. That idea is still in the works.I was told by a friend of mine last week that she was looking through a jewelry magazine and noticed some necklaces that resembled mine. Hmmm, I will be looking for this magazine to make my own assessment. Time for a good book and a hot glass of tea before bed, good night all.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS! MMMMMMMMMMM, the tamales are ready!

Happy Holidays

Sorry I havn't posted lately, as you know, this is our busiest time of the year and I am busy filling orders and stocking up inventory in the five shops that carry my jewelry. I've had to deactivate my Etsy listings for now just to keep up with the shops here at home. Hopefully I will be able to stock up quickly after the holidays.
Happy Holidays to everyone!

TAEA Conference

I went to the TAEA (Texas Art Education Association) Conference this past weekend in Austin, TX. with several other art educators. It was an amazing conference with great workshops. I have posted two of the lessons in my other blog (the painted apple), I'd rather share a few more personal images here.

Aside from the great workshops the fact that I was in my element, surrounded by sooooo many other artists and educators made the trip so special. I roomed with three other friends in the hotel and we spent some evenings drawing in our sketchbooks and sharing lessons that we had learned at the workshops. It was a fun art packed weekend that will hopefully help push me through the rest of the year.

San Antonio

I took a two day trip to San Antonio to see my son perform in the Alamodome with his high school band. It was an amazing experience to see him perform, I had more than one tear in my eye.

The day before his performance we took a walk around the convention center and happened upon a performance honoring Dia de los Muertos. It was such a great performance with music, dancing and acting. I took a few pictures, but it was getting late and only a few turned out ok.

New Etsy Products

Finally, after having such a difficult summer and fall dealing with several surgeries in the family, with one more to go, I was finally able to post new pieces in my Etsy Shop. I am finally spending more time in my studio where I feel the most at home and in peace. My kids also made the comment that I must be feeling better now that I am back in my studio.

Well, I hope you like my new pieces.

Mannequin Heads

I was approached by a cancer foundation here in town about decorating mannequin heads for cancer patients that have lost their hair. My art club students are making this their community service project. I'm very excited about working on them and also on the impact the kids will be making in somebody's life.

The two mannequins I've posted are the ones I have painted, the mannequins the kids are painting will be posted in my teacher blog.

The red one features the Mexican game Loteria. I have a soft spot for Loteria because it is the game I played with my grandmother.

The other mannequin features a tree that represents rebirth. There are words written all around but are hard to see.

Hope you like them.

Frida on Mexican Currency

Have you seen this? A student of mine mentioned about a month ago that Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera were featured on the $500 pesos ($50) bill. I finally got my hands on one! I have to say that the Mexican Treasury Dept. did a good job in representing their images, although I wish that Frida's image was just as large as Diego's. The bill also features images of some of their best known pieces. I just might have to get my hands on a few more and keep them as keepsakes for my three kids. I'm not sure how long these will be in production so I better not wait too long.

New Blog for Art Teachers

I have started a new blog geared towards art educators. As an art teacher, I am always looking for new ideas and inspiration for myself and students. I also want to use my new blog as a way to keep a record of my lessons. I hope you will stop by and take a look at the painted apple.

This particular piece was created by my Art 2 student, John. It was the first assignment of the year. My students had to show foreground, background and lighting (shading) using a black pen for their medium. The pieces came out great but I especially like this one.

This was the procedure:

• Create a still life on their desk using 4-5 objects.


• The still life should show a foreground and background.


• Photograph the composition to be used only for placement reference but not to draw from.


• Review mark making techniques and shading techniques using a pen.


• Draw!