Day 51 and a Baboon

Today I am tired from so much running around. I have so many things I want and need to do but I just don't know if I'll be able to stay awake much longer. I had to forgo putting my day 51 face online this morning so I'm doing it now .. I love how this turned out, and I am excited to put new animal faces online.

This is a baboon. Yes today's story is about several of them. We were on a way to the port of Massawa on the coast of Africa. It was a place where many American's could go, that were living there, to have rest and relaxation. It was a three and a half hour drive and about 300 kilometers. I know it was 300 kilometers because we would count the markers that marked each one. The drive began with a series of switchbacks that lasted about an hour or more... it seemed way too long no matter how many times we'd been down that road. When ever there are children in the car there is bound to be stops that are needed for potty breaks. There was only one place on the way that you could stop and use a restroom facility and I think we were always expected or obligated to purchase the fabulous lemonade that they made fresh. It was exactly half way to the destination. There were many times it wasn't open. Any breaks before or after were a quick stop on the side of the road and out you plopped .. dropped your drawers and hurryup and back inside. One time, well many times it was me that had to do this. This particular time I did my quick squat and as I was pulling my britches up .. I looked up the side of the mountain above me and saw several baboons .. they were in a small group just staring at me. I quickly got in the car and as I sat on the seat by the window I looked again to see a few children sitting up there in a different spot with big smiles .. I think my face was about as red as the bottoms of the baboons. .. I am pretty sure I made a point of looking first after that. Never got too close to the baboons like in this painting but they sure are interesting creatures. This one has particularly beautiful eyes.

Now .. i can relax and settle into a restful evening. If you would like to own this interesting baboon email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. It's painted on a file divider, no extra charge for the tab.. it is about 101/2 x 12 if you include the tabs sticking out. It has an airmail posted envelope and a map glued to the front with clear acrylic medium and it is painted in acrylic. See you tomorrow.  

Day 50 and Half way there!!!!

Today is day fifty and I just had to mix it up a bit. I have to say .. I LOVE this giraffe.

He is so sweet .. how could you not love a giraffe with those big black eyes?

I am excited to be half way through and maybe do some different faces then what any one would expect. I may go back to other ones but I just had to do this...

Today I am off to visit someone that I love dearly. My godmother Anne. She has always been a wonderful loving woman and her daughter, who is my age, I have always called a god sister.. even though I don't know that there is such a thing. So her and her family are like my family. I haven't always stayed in touch. I have never been like my godmother and written back to her when she would write me countless letters. But I have always loved her attention and thoughtfulness. Sometimes we learn to be more thoughtful before it's too late. Perhaps like me she needed to be reminded that she was loved from time to time by me. Today I hope to convey that to her .. while there is still a chance to do it. I have to say that she took her job as my godmother very seriously. She never ever forgot me .. her charge to make sure that I knew about my beliefs and faith was well done. She always sent me sunday school lessons and letters and cards while we lived in Africa. She always proudly announced that I was her godchild whenever we went home for a visit. I did the same to her later .. when I was finally confirmed, grown and married with my own children. I had many opportunities to return the favor that she was my godmother. I got to be with her on her 80th birthday. So today I'll go and reminisce and love on her as best I can just because I can. I'm grateful for that.

IF you would love to have this adorably cute giraffe in your house .. just email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com and let me know. He's fifty dollars and a portion will go to the CHILDUG.org organization in Uganda. Thanks for following and write something to me .. is anybody out there? I know Mary Anne .. is .. faithful follower .. i know there are lurkers.. .. ok no worries .. thanks for looking. See you tomorrow.

Day 49 Childhood Escapades

Day forty nine and today's portrait is painted on a thick paper board that I have glued tissue paper and an airmail letter from friends to my parents. This is postmarked Australia. One place in the world that I would love to go but have never been.

We traveled quite a lot when we lived in Africa because we would always go stateside every summer while living there. My parents were always taking us to a variety of destinations on the way there and on the way back. Over time they developed friendships with people that lived in some of those places. Today the story is about what happened one day when we went to visit friends in Italy. I think it was Rome. I don't know who it was that we were visiting but it was a second or third floor apartment. This was one of those times that we were all dressed up and visiting a family that had children. None of the required quiet and stillness was necessary for this visit. We were instructed to go play while my parents visited with the parents of our new friends. They spoke English well enough to tell us after a warming up period that we should play hide and seek. There were probably about five or six children scurrying around this unfamiliar place to find a place to hide. I didn't always like to play this and my sense of urgency to hide and need for bodily functions had me headed to the closest bathroom. I went inside and quickly turned the lock. The lock was not any ordinary lock, it was a dial that when turned slid a piece of metal from one side into a piece of bracketed metal. It was a tight fit. The entire mechanism was on the inside of the door. So i was able to see the metal move into the bracket and off I went to the use the facilities. I couldn't really tell who was still hiding or not .. so after washing my hands and having a look around an Italian home bathroom I decided to sneak out and see where everyone was. I went over to this interesting lock and yes .. I tried turning the dial the other way. My young hands and fingers just couldn't make that dial turn back not even with two little hands grasping it for dear life. I was beginning to feel just a bit worried that I might not be able to get out. I felt pretty silly and finally after trying for a several minutes I don't remember if I hollered out or if my parents came looking for me and discovered my plight. No matter, because I do recall my father trying to talk me through all the attempts that I tried to turn the dial again and again. This was embarrassing because no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't budge the heavy metal plate that was securing that door. So after much discussion on the other side by the adults. My father told me to get into the tub. I couldn't imagine why I should do such an odd thing. He told me to put my head down and told me that he was going to knock the door down. I was of course scared that I was going to be in big trouble. I had closed the shower curtain and laid in the tub while the wild knocking and busting down of the door commenced. It was pretty quick that the door was flung open and the pieces went flying about and everyone came over to the tub to see if I was ok. I felt horrible. It really wasn't something that you could scold me to badly over. I can't imagine they would tell me to "never lock the door when you go into a persons bathroom". "You should know better than to lock a door when you go to the bathroom." None of those scoldings would have fit. They just made heavy apologies to their friends and we left. It was scary and just one of many of my childhood escapades.

If you would like to own today's portrait which is day #49 and therefore $49. Please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Today I was up early and I am going to have some fun today. I will however most likely lock whatever restroom I enter. haha .. See you tomorrow.

Day 48 and still going

Day 48..

oh dear .. i may be getting a bit bored .. aaaacckkk!!! I'm not sure what it means .. but I do still love to paint faces. There is a thing I think with artists, that you paint something until you are done with it. I have over fifty days to go yet till I am done painting faces. I may have to mix it up a bit.

I have some ideas in the works, in fact that is often my downfall. I have too many ideas. I don't know if they are going to be successful or not but that doesn't really matter. The best part is that I just keep going on . ..I'm committed and the daily practice has proved beneficial to me in so many ways. I had a wonderfully validating experience with showing several of my completed faces to someone in person. That .. did a lot for my confidence. I think even stacking up the paintings and seeing them all there in a pile....it stands for many hours of creativity. Lots of writing even.

I have found that my contact with Josephine is really having a huge impact on me. So far away and yet we can email and have immediate communication. I find it amazing and she tells me her hopes for the children and I have asked her to send me photos of the children drawing faces. She said that she is amazed that they seem to want to do this. I LOVE THAT >>>> I love that they are now asking their friends to sit still so they can do a portrait. The thing about children that is amazingly wonderful is their way of seeing what they see. There eyes are fresh and unafraid .. there are no mistakes. There are no mistakes. Your hope and desire or passion about your attempts to draw are seen in the work. I believe that. So .. i hope to share some of the children's drawings with you in the days to come. This part of what I'm doing .. makes me feel truly inspired .. filled with gratitude. I want for the children to have what ever the children need. So I will urge you yet again to go to ChildUG.org and make a donation.
To the children .. i love your drawings .. keep drawing, keep going. You have my heart!!!

If you would like to purchase today's portrait a portion of the sale of this face will go to ChildUG.org. I am also committed to doing that here on out. Email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. This is painted on papers that my mother saved in a lifetime of collecting and i have put them together with a sewing machine and painted on them. This face is approximately 8 x 10.  See you tomorrow.!!!

Day 47 of 100 faces in 100 days

Day 47

And so it continues. Some day's I just get lost in the portrait. .. this is a dark face......the eyes are staring into space it seems ..

This is the only thing this makes me think of.

I had a teacher once .. probably one of the only really hard stories I recall while living in Africa. But she was my first grade teacher. First grade where your supposed to love school. Love learning. I was a busy talkative girl. Probably loved painting and drawing even then.. I had to stand in line to go out of the room we were in. I guess I was talking too much. I'm quite certain I was happy to be there and most likely chatting with a girl nearby but I don't recall. What I do however remember is out of nowhere I felt this burning sting on the back of my right calf.  My leg was bare under the dress I was wearing and I screamed out at this sting and quickly I looked at this spot on my leg to see a long red mark on the back of my leg. Standing over me was my first grade teacher, Mrs. H .. i'll refrain from saying her real name. She was looking at me with a face of disdain and told me I should remember to be quite when I was standing in line. The tears welled up in my eyes and I tried to look straight ahead and quite my desire to start sobbing. The only other thing I can remember about this woman was that when it was time for us to paint fingernail polish on empty plastic bleach containers I spilled my polish and got into trouble again. I don't remember second and third grade at all. I have no recollection of who the teachers were or what I did. Always interesting to note I find .. So .. this face is a comtemplation. And a reminder that old stings linger still .... best to use less harshness with children I'm thinking. Best to show kindness and love rather then harsh words and violent use of punishment to make a point. So .. i realize no one may want to own the back story on this painting but .. it is what it is. You probably don't read these anyway. I guess it just helps me get through the process some days. It's all good .

If you want to own this portrait email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. This portrait is $47. It is painted on a file folder with a piece of tissue paper from the wrapping paper bin and an old letter I wrote to my parents when they were away. See you tomorrow..

Day 46 and just an impression

Guess it's just one of those days.

It's day 46 and if only I could stay out of my head. Some day's I feel invisible and some day's it's just good to be invisible. I wonder if anyone would even notice. I wonder how many people feel that way? I never know who reads except for those that tell me.

I have been writing to Josephine of the Childug.org in Uganda. She tells me that she reads the blog stories to the children there. She tells me that the children have decided to start painting each other's faces. I don't think I could express the feeling that I get just knowing that.

I feel somehow that I get so caught up in my thoughts that I forget that the children are hearing my words as Josephine reads them out loud.

So to the children ..I see you. I think about you and I hope good things for your lives. Keep painting, I hope that you get many supplies so that you can paint and paint to find some joy in your life so far away. I pray for your happiness and I hope that you will all be able to go to school. I wish these same good things for my own children and my six grandchildren. I am working on a way to bring attention to your needs there. There are so many people in the world that need help. So .. I will make a donation to your organization there .. to Josephine to do as she wishes for the children for any painting that I sell from here on out. I hope that it will help you. That means that some portion of each painting sold will go to you and some will go to me so that I can keep painting.

Please know that I do care for you .. and I see you.

Day forty six and if you would like to own this face and help to provide something good for the children of Childug.org email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. This is a face painted on sewn papers that my mother saved through out her life and now I am using them as a canvas. Today's portrait is $46. Check out the the organization and see the children. Have a great day! See you tomorrow.

Day 45 and rainy day Sundays..

Today is day fourty five, I'm tired. I've been house and dog sitting all week and last night I stayed up to see my sister and her husband arrive home in the wee hours. I love my sister. Consequently, today I need a nap and so when I'm tired.. things just sort of creep into my head .. it's raining so my thoughts are dripping with stories from long ago.. and i feel sadness. Today I miss my mother.

I remember that when I was younger I didn't seem to know to keep my hair brushed. I liked it long and still have it long today. I got tangles a lot. I think we had a terrible bout of the Hong Kong flu and my bed head equaled nappy tangled hair. On this day I'm thinking of the weather was nice and the sun was out. My mother got a brush and some combs and decided to tackle the task of untangling the jungle on top my head. She told us to come with her outside and we sat on the steps off the kitchen outside in the sun. I know that there were times when the comb hurt my head or she pulled just a little too hard but I don't remember that so much, but I do remember the sun shining on my shoulders and feeling the warmth of the sun. It felt good kind of like a bath of light. The sun just seemed to kill any bad sickness that was left from the flu. I remember how good the comb felt on my scalp. I think the tangle removal took hours and the massage from the combing and even just the feeling of having my hair touched was soothing and loving.  It's a pleasant sleepy time, rainy day, memory and I think I fell asleep a few times just typing this out ..haha so I got a nap and I am grateful for the memory...

If you would like this portrait today that is painted on pages from a book of my mom's and two airline tickets that she kept and I sewed together, just email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com and you can have her for just $45. This is about 8 x 10 inches. I should call this luscious lips .. lol .. i do love the lips lol. Have a sleepy time love feeling day ... see you tomorrow.