"Dear Diary..."

resolve

as I said yesterday, I'm not one for making resolutions.

but one of the things I want to get back to this year is posting art on Illustration Friday.

and with this week's theme of "resolve," well, I just had to!

I may not post something every week, but I'm going to try to visit more often.
still "tweaking" the blog design, and running into problems trying to post, using this new, improved typepad system on Safari.
so I've switched to Firefox, at least for blog posting purposes.
it's a pain.
but I'm making do.
because, I am the Queen of Making Do.
which reminds me, I have some "mending" I have to do.
(does anyone do mending anymore??!?)
later,
Patty

homage

quick post, have to go "to town" today, lots of errands, and Patrick & I are sharing the one car that is running.
crap.
I was doing pretty well, planning my errands for his days off, but I had to ride into work with him this morning (at 5:15 am! crap!!), and will have to pick him up tonight.
hate to put on those extra miles, price of gas, blah, blah, blah...
anyway, the IL theme is "homage," and since I don't have time today to create something new, I will use a card design from this past year, entitled "together."
it's a quotation by/tribute to Helen Keller.

oh - I haven't pulled the winner of the "junk mail" postcard as yet, will do that when I get home tonight, so you still have time to post a pet peeve, and possibly get "junk mail" (not really!) from me.
later,
Patty

last call for "pet peeves"

last week's IL theme was pet peeves, and I posted a postcard I made from junk mail - one of my pet peeves.
and I asked anyone interested in receiving this postcard, actually mailed to them, as a little token, to post their pet peeves here.
today is the last day, tonight I'll select a name, and put my "junk mail" postcard in the mail for the winner tomorrow.
last call to vent your spleen - go on, you'll feel better...

later,
Patty

"pet peeves"

next to spam, junk mail is one of my biggest pet peeves.
such a waste of time, energy, paper, ETC.!
so for this week's IL theme, I decided to create some "real" mail from today's junk mail.
it's a postcard, made on a BINGO card, with bits and pieces cut out from what arrived in my mailbox this morning.
AND, I decided I would mail it to someone who leaves a comment here for me about their pet peeves.
next Thursday, before the next IL theme is announced, I'll draw a name from the hat, and mail this card to them!
so, let's hear it, what really ticks you off!

later,
Patty
p.s. Happy Easter!

here's the back:

"garden" thoughts

this week's IF topic is "garden."
what a pleasant thought right about now - digging in the warm dirt, rather than chipping ice off the porch steps!
although we've talked about it, we don't have a large garden, exactly.
there's a circular flower bed that surrounds the bird bath, and flowers along the front and side porch.
we've got peony bushes across a small portion of the back yard, and we put in an assortment of herbs in four large wash tubs just out the back door, close to the kitchen - love that!
but I've always thought of expanding, and putting in a "real" vegetable garden.
maybe this year will be the year.
anyway, my contribution to Illustration Friday this week is a card design entitled "grow."

I have just two of these cards left on Etsy.
that reminds me, I better go check the calendar.
I think we "spring forward" this weekend, daylight savings time.
I hate the idea of losing an hour, but considering it's leap year, I guess I'm still ahead by 23!
later,
Patty

"choose"

had to dig through some folders inside of folders for my IL entry this week, but found this image of a piece I did a while ago for a show in Milwaukee.
"you must be the change you wish to see in the world" is the complete quote that it's based upon, which indicates making a choice about the direction of your life.
I am choosing to be a bit more "pro-active" as they say, about my work, trying whatever I can to get it out into the world, and cutting or paring down those things which do not work.

I especially liked the pins...

much to do today, maybe I will post again later,
later,
Patty

"the glass slipper"

quick post, want to get my submission to IL posted early, as it is at the top of a very long "to do" list for today.
when I saw the theme of "Tales and Legends," I had to laugh.
hanging on the wall above my computer is a framed print of a piece I did four or five years ago for a "Shoe" show in Green Bay.
they used to do it every year, and there would be some wild versions of shoes.
it was fun.
my entry was "the glass slipper" - Cinderella, from the cover of an old coloring book, is thinking "Let me walk through life in a comfortable shoe" - the text from a 1940's magazine ad.
it's all pasted on half of a Scrabble board, with the letters SETTLE FOR MORE interlocking.
I was just thinking yesterday that I should put that print up for sale, so this gives me the perfect opportunity to do so!
it is matted and framed, 11" by 19" and signed on the back.
I'm going to make an auction out of it - just leave your bid as a comment here, and if you're the winner, we'll make payment and shipping arrangements.
bidding should begin at $35, and the auction will end next Tuesday at 8:00 am, Central Time.
e-mail me if you have questions.
stay warm,
later,
Patty

I've got mail!

I was pleasantly surprised this morning, opening up my e-mail, and finding a note from an old friend, Gwen Bindas.
long story short (is that actually "in my skill set" to make any story short??), Gwen and I went through grade school, junior and senior high school together, lost track of each other along the way, and I found her again a couple of years ago, on the internet, of course.
she's a writer, a poet, a teacher.
and she e-mailed me to tell me about a writing project she completed, writing poems for 15 paintings done by a friend of hers, Brad Hankey.
they are very cool, the paintings and the poems, and I'm so glad she shared them with me.
when you click on the individual paintings, you'll get a description from the artist, and at the end, Gwen's poem.
I have talked about colaborating with someone on a project like this, but just haven't found exactly the right thing, the right time...
I would really like to do "illustrations" for a book of poetry, or perhaps for a children's book.
need to do some research on that...
oh, the "skill set" thing is the latest thing to come down from corporate at the mill, Patrick just hates it!
I think it's very funny.
there are lots of things that are not in my skill set!

also had mail from several people, in response to my Zazzle gallery stuff - I'm very pleased!
oh, there has been one little glitch.
in the Zazzle panel-widget-thing I posted here in the righthand column, the mug keeps showing up as blank.
but if you click on it, you are taken to the finished product, the "Art is not..." mug.
it's the same design as my blog's banner.
I'm not feeling as if I want to tackle a technical difficulty this morning, maybe tonight, Patrick is working, the weather sucks, etc.
yesterday when I told my husband that my zazzle widget was on the fritz, he stared at me for a moment, then smiled and said, "I have no response for that."
guess it's just not in his skill set.

this morning's e-mail also brought today's IL theme of "plain."
I made this little piece, with scraps and tissue paper, more as an exercise, I guess.
I liked the fact that the dictionary scraps had the words "explore" and "expose" on them.
think it will probably evolve into something else, but for now, it's rather plain, so that is that.

hope your day is anything but plain,
later,
Patty

in stitches

I haven't posted to IL for awhile, and will try to get back into the swing of it.
this week's theme is "stitch" - and I'm having a hard time deciding which piece to feature.
I first thought of this little one, entitled "stitch."

then there's the "pin, cut, baste mandala," with some fun old buttons.

and there's always my banner piece, kind of a quilt of many colors.
maybe I'll put that one on IL today.

there's something about sewing, stitching something together, that is very satisfying and relaxing for me.
and it always makes me think of my mother, who taught me to sew, and made all of my clothes (beautiful clothes!) until I went to high school, and decided that homemade just wasn't cool enough, and had to buy and wear the same stuff that everyone else was buying and wearing.
what a dope!
maybe this year I should sew myself something, assert my individuality a wee bit.

birthday celebration update:
last night we went to see "National Treasures, Book of Secrets."
had decided that it would be best seen on the big screen, and some of the other good movies out now could be rented later.
had seen the first one, and although I am often disappointed with sequels, we enjoyed it.
when I was a kid, I loved the idea of treasure hunting, and would draw imaginery treasure maps that would lead to great riches.
or I would hide something in the yard, draw an elaborate map, and force my poor mother to check it's accuracy.
she was such a good sport.
even now, I've thought about getting a metal detector, and hunting for stuff around here.
when we put in the bird bath and little flower garden that surrounds it, we found some pieces of broken dishes, and a very old license plate.
well, I was ready to dig up the entire acre, but a cooler head (Patrick's) prevailed.
anyway, the movie left a few loose ends, so we're thinking a third one is in the works.
and I will have to rent it and watch it again - I think there's a clue that I missed along the way, something didn't quite make sense to me when Patrick and I compared notes on the drive home.

Patrick is working this weekend, so I think I will begin the gather-all-the-crap-for-taxes process, and make something comforting to eat, maybe a tuna casserole.
any other suggestions?
later,
Patty

"trick or treat"

well, it's almost too late for this IF, but thought I'd get it in there, anyway.
"The Story of Jack and the turnip" is a card design I did for Halloween, based on the legend of the jack o' lantern from Irish mythology.
as the story goes, Jack was an evil man, and when he died, neither Heaven nor Hell would take him.
his spirit was doomed to roam the earth, with nothing but a carved out turnip and a burning ember (the Devil had thrown it at him when he kicked him out of Hell) to light his way.
people began carving out lanterns of their own, to keep the evil spirit away from their homes.
when the Irish came to America, they brought the tradition with them.
but turnips were not as plentiful as they had been back home, so pumpkins were substituted.

we, again, did not have a single trick-or-treater last night, so I'm staring at a big bowl of candy that I don't need.
oh, well, I can put some treats in Patrick's lunch for next few days...
weeks, maybe...
later,
Patty