I'm Still Here

It has been way too long since my last post!  I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here, and to thank each and everyone of you who have emailed me and contacted me wanting to know how I am doing or just to let me know that you are thinking of me.  I really appreciate each and every one of you!

We finally got moved down here to Stephenville on the 4th of July.  It was soooooo hot - if I remember right, it got up to 105 the day we moved in.  What I didn't count on was the move taking such a toll on me physically.  I have been in and out of the hospital 3 different times since moving down here.  The last visit, I ended up being in the hospital for 3 days because I had gotten a sepsis infection in my intestines caused by another new diagnosis of Chron's disease and diverticulitis.  I am finally getting over it and trying to build myself back up strength wise as much as possible.

Because I have basically been sick since moving down here, I still haven't finished unpacking my studio yet.  I miss it terribly because it is always comforting to do artwork, but I am getting there.  I hope to have it all done soon.  I kept thinking I would get it done so that I could make new things to add to the blog, but I promise I will soon.

Besides all of that, we really do love it here. It is a totally different dynamic than living in the big city area.  Things are slower paced here, and I like it that way.  I was raised in a small town just an hour away from here, and it feels much more like home.  They girls absolutely love their school and are just thriving here. They have made so many new friends that it is like they never missed a beat.  I'm glad we did this move while they are still young, because it is so much easier on them.  Doug really loves working for the University, and is well underway with his Master's. He hopes to have it soon so that he can get his Doctorate started.  I love it as well, and am really happy here.  I am already making some wonderful friends here as well.

My girls are 7 and 8 now and I can't believe it!  Ashlyn's birthday was Sunday, and Megan's is today.  They are growing up way too fast!

I promise to get some pieces of art done soon and get them posted here.  I am having withdraws from not being able to create, so I have to do something soon!   Thank you again everyone for your prayers and concerns, and for checking in on me.  I will be replying to each and everyone of you over the next couple of days.

Finding Inspiration

I have been waiting to update my blog in hopes that inspiration would strike and I would have new artwork to share. Unfortunately, I have been stuck in an artist block, writer's block, and blogger block. I think this is one of the longest periods of time that I have gone since I can even remember without creating something. I kept thinking that if I just waited another couple of days, something would strike, but to no avail. I think the pressures of moving and selling our house and basically being a single Mom while my husband works so far away has just put a damper on my creativity lately.

Fortunately, things are now looking up - our house will be on the market this week, my parents are coming to help me with the final touches, the school year is almost over in which the girls and I will be able to move to Stephenville as well, and life will be much more like normal. Just the thought of all of those things I just listed leveling out seems to lift just about all of that dark stress cloud that has been looming over my head and preventing me from being my creative self.

I have started on a new painting, but have been slow on getting it finished. I am hoping to be able to finish it this week. Until then, I thought since I didn't have any of my artwork to share, I would share a couple more collage sheets for you to use in your artwork.

Ascension

The definition for ascension is "rise up", "move upward from a lower level." I thought this title and what I call "power words" that I use in my work was very fitting not only for what is going on in my life currently, but for the new Spring and the true reason for Easter. I have been all by my lonesome this week. It is Spring Break here, and my girls have been staying with my parents for the week so that I can work on packing up the house, and my Husband is in Stephenville (we moved him to a temporary apartment last weekend to live in during the week until we find a house for all of us to move there as well.

While I was packing this week I was thinking about how we are taking a huge risk with all of this. But, the more I thought about it the more I realized that sometimes life is about taking risks in order to rise up or move ahead. I have been working on this painting during my breaks and the word "ascension" came to me, and I thought it would be a perfect power word and title.

It is up in my Etsy shop. I will be adding a couple other things over the weekend.




Have a great weekend!

My Topsy Turvey World....

I am finding that this whole moving thing is turning my world upside down it seems like. Last Monday, my husband started his new job. He called me that morning and said that he forgot to bring his social security card, and since this is a federal job, he could not start or do anything without it. They couldn't even give him a computer. So, I frantically call my parents if they could come stay with the girls and pick them up from school so that I could make the 160 mile trip to Stephenville to take him his card. While there, I decided to stay an extra day and start looking for places for us to rent until our house sells. Next thing you know, I'm there the entire week, and still had not found anything by Friday. We finally decided to rent him a small apartment until we find something there rather than rushing into anything and ending up being stuck under a contract if we ended up not being happy with it.

In the meantime, the girls and I are staying here in Wylie getting the house ready to be put up on the market while my husband stays in Stephenville during the week and comes home on the weekends. Everything seems so surreal, and topsy turvey. I feel like a single Mom, and it is difficult at times because I also have a lot to do with the house. The girls have both been sick and home from school which has really thrown a wrench in my plans of getting things done. I already felt out of sorts after last week's unexpected "vacation." Even through all of this though, it is still really exciting because we get to start a whole new life closer to our families and in a town that we love. Just getting there is the hard part, but it can be done!

Now for some art work...first of all these two paintings will be up in my Etsy shop sometime tomorrow morning...hopefully.

This past weekend I made this painting for a friend of mine who once told me that she loved Celtic things, so I thought I would surprise her with this Celtic knot. I first printed off the design and then cut it out on a stencil sheet with my Xacto knife. Then I applied modeling paste over the stencil onto the canvas to create the raised effect of the knot itself. I'm not real pleased with how grainy the picture turned out because my camera is not wanting to cooperate with me lately.

Finally, here's a peak at some of the art journal pages I have been working on lately. I still haven't finished a few of them. I will be posting more of them later in the week.

Have a great week!

More Free Collage Sheets

Well, I thought I would add a couple more free collage sheets for your artwork. My paintings for the NY exhibit have made it there and ready for the show. I had to pick 5 out of the 6 that I made, and will posting a picture of the ones chosen and the one that didn't I will be adding to my Etsy shop over the weekend. I will post all of that over the next couple of days. For now, I have to get busy packing. My husband starts his new job on Monday, and the girls and I will be ready to go as soon as possible.

Have a great weekend!