I'm still around............

So it's been a while and I have continued to deviate from the abstract paintings. This is a bit abstract.

I enjoyed how this came together and it was after a bit of contemplation and frustration about what's next for me. I am repurposing found art here in the same way that I am attempting to repurpose my life. I make something beautiful or something that is visually satisfying to me from discarded items .. not trash necessarily, but from items that would probably not be put to any good use. Putting myself back together from the shards of what was or what could't be or what I wanted or wished or grieved or cried or wasn't. Going back to reclaim those things I need or never knew or thought I ever had. Seems apropos to write that the title of this piece is called "Finding Her".

It's difficult at times and now I'm even experiencing the physical manifestations of my fears or frustrations surrounding it. Sciatica .. aaaaaaaacccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. Even the sound of that word sounds sinister and wrong or negative. Perhaps its the seat of all my worries, fears and frustrations. It's a big ball of pain. It can be a relentlessly torturous kind of pain that no position of laying, sitting, standing or walking seems to relieve. I am grateful for the times that can get into a position of no pain. I worry that I will have this as I grow much older and more feeble I'm not sure I could withstand the effort to continue. I feel like I'm in a race against time to be more fit so I won't have this later. I hope I'll be able to keep creating in spite of it. Maybe it will show up as it has in the past .... in my work.

Thanks for stopping over ....as always love to hear your comments even if you may have stopped looking. I haven't been as good lately in posting. I'm still here. Ciao

100 Faces in 100 days! I finally finished!

Well I didn't think it would feel as though the time flew by when I started this project. I am feeling a bit surprised by my own sadness at ending this project. I am exceedingly happy to have done it though and tonight I'll be at our local thrift store that raises money for animal shelters. They are having an art walk and I'll bring my faces with me. I do love talking about this project. I have some things in the works regarding this work. I haven't really had the time to focus on it but I will now. I may take a few days off from painting, to do some much needed organizing. I tend to focus solely on painting and nothing else. hahah ..

There was a person that said they were looking forward to my grand finale. .. and I wanted the paintings to be extra special but I'm a little spent on the thinking aspect of this project. I wanted my work to be extra special and so I painted the elephant to go with all the Africa stories that I wrote about and this little guy is just so cute and my mom loved her elephants and had several wood carved elephants in her home.

I am really just so happy to push myself to paint every single day and I want to paint more and bigger and different things besides faces and what not. I realized how much I love color too and how I can use it to make me feel really happy. Some of the paintings really gave me great satisfaction. Some I realized the frustration of not being able to get it just perfect and sometimes I just had to say enough!! It's enough... and then as the days went on I painted longer and more details.. sometimes I wanted to paint less.. I'm just really glad to have made this commitment and stuck with it.. WOO HOO .. . I want to celebrate so I am guessing it will be tonight at the art walk.. by my self and with anyone else that comes over. So .. about the second painting here. I realized that my love of painting faces is the eyes. It's hard to paint the eyes or a close up of an elephant because they are so big. I really wanted to paint eyes for the end and so I lamented a bit and decided to paint a cat face with big eyes. I like how it turned out. So it's kind of a celebration that I have two paintings instead of one. I started out day one with three faces and so i'm ending with two. I think i'll go jump for joy!!!! Thank you to all of you that came over and commented and wrote to me on facebook and purchased my art. I have really been awwed by the support. Maybe one day I'll have lots more commenters but i have appreciated those that have. I'm just happy ..Thank you .. for watching even if you never said a thing. :) Its good .. it's all good.

The elephant and the cat face are both about 10 3/4 x 13 1/2 the biggest I think so far. They are each for sale for $100. If you would like to purchase one of these please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Thank you again .. it's been a wild ride and amazing. Oh and I'm not going to stop blogging .. I may do another project like this in the future. I will be making an announcement soon about what will happen with the portraits that are still available. Please do come back to my blog and see what I'm up too .. remember artists are people too and we need to make art and we need to make a living while we do it so please support artists by buying their work. It's important and it is valuable. We make the world a bit more interesting. Please help us do what we are meant to do. :)

Day 97 and Jacques

Today is day 97 and while this isn't exactly Jacques it is painted in his memory. For a long time as we were growing up we always loved going to my grandma and grandpa's house. They were my mom's parents. We always had fun there and they were always loving on us. There was always good food and fun. There was also a little budgie named Jacques. And a gorgeous dog named Cookie. We loved both of them. If we were good my grandpa would let us go over to Jacques cage and open the door and put our finger out and he would hop right onto it. It was always fun to put him on our heads. He always seemed to like that and sometimes he would pull your hair. I think I remember he even would give kisses. He was never mean and always sweet. I don't know when he passed on and I don't know how old he was when he died but I always remember him being on my head and sitting on my finger. I'm glad to have thought of him and to paint this image of a bird just like him. It's good to finally get a painting done earlier than usual. Just three day's to go. :) If you would love to own this beautiful painting of this budgie, email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. See you tomorrow.

Day 90 and 91 Abu and Coconut

Today is day 91 and yesterday I got home late after finishing pricing everything in my mom's house. I went and bought some groceries and came home completely spent. Even writing this here I had to think if it was last night that I actually went to the grocery store because at this moment it feels like it was days ago. That's really how my brain feels. Yesterday seemed to be more difficult with just hearing the ladies talk about my mom's things. It has been a great learning experience and I'm even getting paid to help ha ! But if I do this again for another sale I'm glad it won't be with my own family's stuff. So last night when I got home I managed to fix some dinner and sit down to do the daily portrait. I actually got started on this painting here and was so exhausted I fell asleep .. I had no chance of doing it in the morning because I was gone early .. So i made a decision to finish it up today and so I did paint each face on each day. I don't know where or why I decided to do this portrait but I'm guessing that it's because tomorrow I am talking to a friend and my life coach Theresa Pizzuto who is part owner of IOP and her own coaching business. I don't ever really talk about this but I have been working with her for a while now. I really don't want to explain it but feel free to contact her if you would like to know more about it. I guess the best thing I could say about her work is that she helps me be me .. and the best me I can be. This is a good thing. She lost her cat Abu who is the gray cat in this painting. It was a tragic sort of loss for her. I am doing some other artwork for her but I wanted to give this to her just because I'm grateful for all she's done for me. The other cat in the photo is Coconut and they did seem to love each other very much. Abu looks a lot like my own cat that died a long time ago .. 34 years ago. I miss that cat. So here's to Theresa and all her fabulous work as a coach and a diversity consultant doing good work to spread love and a listening ear to all who are in her life! I'll mail this off to you in the next day or so.
oh and this was painted on a piece of scrap wood from my dad's house. :)
See you tomorrow!

Day 84 Muffy

Today is day 84 and i don't seem to be able to do them on time .. so maybe I am lagging. Just doing the best I can .. i keep falling asleep before I get them done.

Today was moving heavy stuff at my dads so .. I'm sore and still tired .. ha .. i am looking forward to not being tired.

Today's portrait is of a maltese dog and she is Muffy. Her official full name is Muffin Michelle. She was a sweet sweet girl that my mom originally bought from a breeder in Virginia when we first moved stateside. Her close friend wanted two of them and so she bought them and we had to take care of them for a while before they could be shipped overseas. I think something else happened too but I don't remember what it was. But what I am quite sure of is the fact that we had two maltese puppies and they were so adorable and so much fun to have that my mother was not going to do anything but keep them for us. We loved them .. Muffy lived for about 12 or 13 years. She was tiny .. about four or five pounds but she was fearless and she never was afraid of any animal no matter what the size. Most times other animals would run from the tiny fluff of white fur and barking this high pitched bark at them. I think that Muffy and Beau slept with my mom and dad most of the time but sometimes Muffy got to stay with me and my sister. I hadn't thought of it before but I have now .. i wonder if they are in heaven with my mom. I'm sure she would love to be with them and pet them and love them. Makes me think there should be a song called all the pets I've loved. Or maybe i'll just write a book .. All The Pets I've Loved. I love Muffin Michelle and Beau Brummel Bianco. Sweet dogs ..

If you would love to own this portrait please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. This is about 8 x 10, sewn cards.  See you tomorrow.

Day 79 and Feeling Transparent

Today is day 79 and I have been feeling rather transparent.. to tired to explain . .. just suffice it to say I am here . you can see me and sometimes i feel like you see right through me ..  ..                                                                                                                 If you would love to own this portrait just email me at www.iwilldream4ever@ao.com/See you tomorrow..

Day 78 and the Shisa Dog

Day seventy eight and this is one of two ceramic dogs that I was given from my mother's home. They are terricotta ... not sure this is my favorite portrait but there is something about these dogs that is appealing. They are part of Okinawan mythology. They put pairs of these on the entrance or gates to their homes to ward off evil spirits. From reading some believe variations of this same thing. They give gender's to the dogs with mouth's open and mouth's closed. I liked where I read that the mouth open was female spreading goodness.  While other's say the female is the one with the mouth closed to keep in the goodness. I guess it is each to his own in how they interpret or were told were their previous loved ones beliefs regarding a Shisa dog. My mother had several of these around her house. I think she really just loved the looks on their faces and that they depicted the culture of a place she lived and loved. Yes my parents lived in Okinawa for a few years after their nest was empty. Yesterday was a long strenuous day and today I will be back at it again and then someone else will step in and sell the contents that is left. There is still so much left.. many items may not have sentimental connections it's just still letting go .. and then there are still the clothes that I am insisting on keeping. I have no idea where I will put them...so ........i'll sigh and go get my boots on and get busy dealing with all that will happen today .. if you happen to take a minute to read this .. send me a thought of strength and love and compassion for myself and my loved ones that are going through this process with me.. we are all impacted by this good bye to stuff and a house .. a beautiful house with a beautiful garden and beautiful plants and a fabulous view..

As for my portraits .. this one is definitely diffferent and I don't really care how realistic it does or doesn't look .. it's where I'm at today.. if you would like to own a shisa dog email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. see you tomorrow..

Day 75 Mending my heart with Stitches and Tears.

Today is day 75 and woohoooo .. it's not midnight and I'm still tired but .. it's not a torturous attempt to get the portrait done before the clock strikes twelve and I turn into a pumpkin again....

I have done stitching on faces before but I really want to try to combine two things here .. actually three. This is rusted denim that I have painted a portrait on and then I have stitched threads in sashiko style stitching. I really love how this looks .. and so this marks my three fourths of the way through. I have only twenty five days left to paint portraits. It's amazing really that I have gone so far .. and I have learned so much.

A note to my self..... I see you.... .. I hear your heart and I know that you are having a hard time saying goodbye to things.. that held the happiness and love of a mother .. the things that she surrounded herself with to make her happy.

What I notice is that my dad has built a new house with no sign of my mother. His words are there is nothing feminine. He misses my mother, he feels strange in the new house, there is something missing... no longer the touch of his wife. No longer the things surrounding them that she loved. Her energy is not there.. he misses the familiarity of his old home. The sunshine on the river water .. even though he didn't sit and gaze at it.. it was always out the window. I notice that it is never expected all these feelings that he struggles with. He didn't think this would happen. He thought it would make it easier..but he doesn't feel her presence in the new place .. not that things embodied her but that you saw her in the color of the pillows.. you saw her in the arrangement of the art. You saw her in the flower's that sat in every corner,  on tables and over doors and windows.. all of that is gone. I don't think we think about that.. I really don't know for sure what causes these attachments to things that I struggle with my self. We are selling a lot of things .. and I have a looming sense of fear that something will go away that I should have taken .. or that I should not sell.? Where does this come from? I don't know .. it's holding on .. .it's pain. All I can do is cry .. they are just things. They are just things ... I know she is in my heart.. Perhaps that's the mending in this portrait.. Mending my heart with stitches and tears.

I may not part with this portrait either .. but if you would love to own this one send me an email at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Thanks for stopping over and I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 72 and Heidi

Well I guess there is a first for everything.. this is about 27 minutes after midnight .. whaaaaa .. But today I went over to help get things ready at my dads house for a sale to empty some of the contents of their home since moving to a new house. So i didn't start first thing this morning and then I was distracted with all the things that I WANTED to do before leaving my house to participate in an art walk in the town where I live. I went to that and after my friend met me there and asked if I wanted to go out after .. i should have said no but I really wanted to go .. So we went to a pizza place and I actually started this painting at the restuarant. I asked Heidi if she would mind being my pizza friend. I decided to leave the previous sentence because this is what happens when you are very tired.. I didn't ask Heidi if she would be my pizza friend I asked her if she would be my model and she said yes and so I started this on a pizza box first. and then  came home and tried to finish it.IT's not my betst work but it iwill be oke fot the  first real miss .. whaaaa .. if you want to own her, email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com I'm going to bed now .. I hope she likes how I portrayed her.
Ok have a great day!!!

I am back this morning to see what travesty of writing occurred here .. I really can't focus or write worth a beans when I am tired. I said I wouldn't do this anymore but look I did it .. sheesh.  I was talking to my friend Heidi about the daily portrait and said .. hmmm I could start this here and I could maybe ask the waitress if they would mind donating a pizza box to my daily painting effort. So this is the largest portrait of all of them. On the outside of a decorated pizza box. Hopefully my friend Heidi who is very thoughtful and supportive of me an my work will love my interpretation of her .. she is a beautiful soul and a beautiful woman. “I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories... water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.” Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Now I had put this quote on a previous post but it somehow got here when I cut and pasted this edited part of my post.. so I'll just leave it. Because last night there was laughter when life happened in the pizza shop with Heidi and another friend and me. Life is good.

Day 70 and just where I'm at today

Today is day seventy and everything is not always about the past. I am concurrently doing two projects at the moment. My daily painting of which now I am more than two thirds done and I am doing a two week project with Slow Fashion Style with Katrina Rodabaugh and we have a group for this class on facebook that is closed but she is talking about it on her blog. This is a huge amount of fun and I find that I want to chat with everyone only that's probably not possible. I feel like i'm immersed in like minded people, most are women. Then this morning in my usual touring of the web and bloggersphere I found this..by Amy Meissner. She warned people about her story so of course I was more intrigued but then I read the whole post and even watched the video at the end and that just tipped it over the edge for me. What an incredible video and such a smart woman that Amy is. To write so eloquently about a subject that we just don't really ever talk about is brave and fantastic really. One thing that she touched on that resonated with me regarding another project that I have talked about but that is more behind the scenes then I would like it too be and that is Josephine's work at Child in Uganda. She had mentioned that some of the girls will not go to school for the same reasons in Amy's post and also due to no female bathrooms and also not having the funds to go to school. I wish that I could snap my fingers and give her all that she needs for her work there and to help the children grow up and have an opportunity to live a long and happy life. And Amy's post made me realize how I missed out on my own daughter's coming imto womanhood and I hope she won't be embarrassed that I posted about this .. i really just wanted to publicly acknowledge that I missed out on a big big wonderful part of who she is .. a wonderfully beautiful and talented woman. And while this portrait isn't her it is like her in so many ways .. those big beautiful dark eyes and thick eyebrows only her hair is not dark but a beautiful curly auburn red. I wanted to also say that I love her my daughter so much and wish hope and happiness for her with all my heart .. there is a heart on this portrait. She is on my heart. The words love and mercy are written there on a calligraphy practice page by my own mother .. it is part of a bible verse she wrote .. I have your back my beautiful daughter even when I can't do all that you need.. I root for you.. I am hoping for you and .. i pray for you. I want to go to the ends of the earth for you. ..

Today's post is trying to be brave like Amy .. and speak truth from my heart. If you would like to have this portrait, please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. It is painted on a reclaimed file divider with a page of calligraphy text written on my my mother and some pattern tissues. I am using all these items that my mother saved for a long long time and instead of discarding everything I am using them as a canvas to paint portraits of people and animals and tell stories about Africa and everything else.  Thanks for stopping over and I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 67 and The Lazy Brown Fox

The day is number sixty seven and the title of the piece is The Lazy Brown Fox. I had to give it that title because I painted this on a piece of practice calligraphy paper that my mom had saved. I have gradually been going through all the paper ephemera that my mother saved. I think that the interesting thing is that I have learned more about my mother after her passing by going through her saved collection of papers then I did talking to her. She loved calligraphy and I think when she was living in Japan she took some classes. I do know that she loved the whole art of sumi painting and the creation of textural characters. She often wanted to recreate words or poetry in calligraphy to share with friends or just to put on her own wall. She has a whole book of hand lettered practice pages. This page gave me a clue what my next animal to paint would be. I have no idea where the thought that a fox was lazy but maybe it has something to do with how little they will work for food. I really don't know. I have only had a few sightings of foxes in my life time and one night I was driving my boys home and there was a driving rain and I hit a fox that was running across the road. I tried in vain to keep from hitting the fox but it just couldn't be avoided. I must say I was quite distressed over this event. I never ever want to have any part in killing an animal for any reason unless perhaps for self defense but even that would be difficult for me. I appreciate the Native American Indians respect of animals. Sacrificing an animal only for the survival of the man. I love this fox .. i love the undone parts. I was going to say I am not tired anymore but I just about fell asleep and it's morning!!!  I must need a nap haha ..

Ok if you would love to own this lazy brown fox just email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Now only 33 days left .. so grateful to be practicing a painting a day .. see you tomorrow..

Day 66 My Misty Girl

Today is day 66 and I definitely work better when it's the morning and I am NOT TIRED!!!.. So morning painting is going to stay as much as humanly possible. At night when I wait to do the painting when I am tired .. it's like torture haha.. so no more torture. Only morning painting no matter what .. ha.

This is a portrait of my dog Misty when she was a puppy. She was such a beautiful dog. And I have to say .. i cried while I painted this this morning. I loved this Misty girl so so much. She had my heart completely. She was so much my dog and she was so faithful. She passed away just nearly two years ago in March. I feel bad saying but I examine my heart and see that I loved her more then some humans I have loved. Her love and forgiving nature was so unconditional. I want to believe that I will see her again in my next life. She was so smart and when I gave her a plastic frog toy when she was just a puppy she never injured it.. she loved to play and I would throw it to her and she would always bring it back to me but she never chewed it up .. always played with it gingerly really .. so careful not to hurt it. She played that way with Molly .. Misty was a big girl when she grew up and so so smart. She always wanted to be right beside me and her favorite spot was outside on the porch. She would always opt to stay there if I offered her to come inside, I always felt like she enjoyed surveying her land and I couldn't blame her, where I lived was such a beautiful spot in the world. With beautiful trees and long view, beauty and nature all around. I miss it. I buried her under a tree on the edge of the yard. I miss that I can't be in that spot where she is now. I honestly cry so much when I think of her still. I don't know that I will ever get over losing her. I do feel that she was my most trusted and faithful confidant. I love my Misty girl.

I'm not sure I can part with this portrait but if you really want it please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. I also will do dog portraits on commission if you'd want one. Have a fabulous day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 62 and the Blue Heron

Day 62 and it seems that life is just happening left and right here and so it's been a challenge to continue in the midst of all of it. I'm grateful always to those that stop and leave me a note. Encouragement is always a great thing when your tempted to stop .. i mean some days ... I knew that at some point there would be the days that I just didn't want to paint.. and there are some days when I just get to it and the process just seems to take over and I don't even think about what I'm doing .. i just get in the flow of things and it works out .. I like this one today of the blue heron. I tried to think of something that my mom would like .. because today is the day she was born. Yep .. she died six days before her 78th birthday and so today she would have been 79. I just don't still know where a year has gone. I don't know how it's possible. But it has and a lot has been going on this week ..

My mom loved the herons because at her home in Florida there was always a blue Heron sitting on the back deck overlooking the river. She loved the water and loved to sit and look at the river and the birds and sometimes a manatee or dolphin would come near the house. I guess I got some of my love of nature from her.

This is painted on some anniversary cards that she and my dad got for their 50th wedding anniversary. Sewn together and painted on with acrylic paint. If you would like to own this heron please send me an email to iwilldream4ever@aol.com. See you tomorrow.

Turtles

Today is day 61.. I'm still kind of tired but glad to have my art to keep me going and focused on something good and fullfilling.

I painted the turtle because it always reminds me that it is ok to slow down and take care of my self. To retreat into the shell for a just a time until the danger or whatever is lurking has passed. There was a post on my blog a few years ago .. I think called It's been a turtle week.. I had seen a series of turtles about three in a row. I like to think about the messages that nature can bring me. I love how the Native American Indians interpret the symbols of nature. I know for me when the turtles showed up in my life I realized how much I loved nature and it caused me to go outside and really look at the nature that was around me there where I lived. I loved doing that. I even saw a tiny turtle.. things I have never EVER seen there. This really gave me so much happiness. I enjoyed looking at them and letting them be themselves and just feeling so honored to be able to witness their magnificence. I know that I will always love nature.

If you would like to own this turtle painting. Email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Today's painting is $61. See you tomorrow.

Something different and I'm with my Godmother

Today is day fifty nine and I am sitting in the Hospice of the Comforter with my Godmother as she makes her way to be with her Lord and her dear sweet husband and other family. I left to come here this morning. I drove for a little over an hour and I have stayed this late and didn't get this posted .. I did actually do this portrait before midnight and so it count's as that days even if it is taking me longer to post it. Today's face is done with a makeup pencil on the back of a checkbook. ..

This is just life happening. There will be more posts in the days ahead.

Today I will just say that I had the best Godmother in the world I think. When I lived in Africa she would send me letters and sunday school lessons. She taught sunday school for 30 years. She was and is an amazing woman. She always sent me cards for my birthday and for Christmas. When I was little and came home from Africa with my parents she would walk me down the isle and tell everyone that I was her Godchild and now I do the same .. I tell everyone that I know that she is my godmother. I have always been loved by her and I love her just the same .. I always will. I have told her to say hello to my mom when she gets there. .. So forgive me for the lack of a highly realistic face..

If you would love to own a tiny make up face email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. haha .. see you tomorrow hopefully ... for now I am having a slumber party with my godsister sitting with my godmother in the Hospice of the Comforter.

Day 58 and Gremlins

Day fifty eight and if you follow me you may have wondered if I may have missed today's portrait .. I am actually so tired it's the first day that I was worried that I might not make it. I even made a pot of coffee to help me stay awake. Something I would never do.

I'll have to be more careful in the future. This little guy is my version of a jungle gremlin. I'll have to write this quickly cause I have already fallen asleep once while typing this . Lol .. i't seriously difficult.


I picked this little guy just because when I was a little girl and we would go to the base theater to watch a movie and my dad would walk up to the girl behind the window and say two adults and three gremlins. I always thought of myself as daddies little girl. I am not a little girl anymore. I am sure my dad loves me because I am his daughter, but I think that's all i know for sure. I always thought it was funny that he thought we were gremlins. What's a gremlin? Then a movie about them made them be something that people loved to watch. That's about all I can utter . .. just about falling asleep.

If you would like to own this beautiful eyed creature, email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. It's a file divider with a pattern and a small card glued to this surface. it's about 8 x 12 $58. thank you and good night .. see you tomorrow..

Day 56 and it's a donkey

Today's painting is day fifty six. I guess I am sad some today but love today's painting. One year ago today my mother died. She took her last breath sometime in the morning around 10:30. I didn't get to be with her, I was with my son and I was sick with a cold. It was a bad day all around. I think the only thing I was grateful for was the end of her suffering. She had Alzheimer's and it was really bad at the end. I was also grateful that I had spent those few months with her comforting her and giving her backrubs and retelling stories of Africa and other silly funny things that we did as children and as mother and daughter. I wanted to give her joy as much as I was able. No doubt in a my life I had already given her enough grief.

I thought a while about what I wanted to paint and decided to do a donkey or burro she loved them. She has always had a fondness for them and so I painted this just because she loved them. I couldn't really think of a story about a donkey that went with it any more then just knowing that she loved them. That's all for today and I think I'll go outside and enjoy the sunshine ..

If you would like to own this sweet donkey email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. It's painted on an old file divider, nothing extra today with this one.. i just didn't have it in me. See you tomorrow.

Day 54 and Elephants

Today is day fifty four and I am painting an elephant and oddly enough the only time I was close to an elephant or yes even rode on an elephant was at the zoo. Now this is an African elephant but where we lived was north of Kenya and Nairobi where you would likely see elephants in the wild. But I do recall going with my mom and I think my grandparents to the zoo in Topeka, Kansas and of all places. I think that's where I rode the elephant. It was big and slow and I remember thinking how awful it was to see this animal tied up and not roaming in the African jungle. I guess it is hard when man and animal intersect and one population grows and the other seems to stay the same or dies off. I don't really enjoy the zoo just because I feel the animals are not in their natural habitat. It's about the same as opening a prison so we can go and gawk at the inmates.

As for the artistic process this one is a hard animal to paint. Elephants are full of folds and creases, crevices and they have mud on them and they have these tiny eyes in the recesses of their big blackness. Time prevents me from being able to render every line but that's definitely an animal with no lack of character and content to draw. They seem like gentle giants. I think that the best part for me is that the articles of paper that I am using have sometimes a lot packed into them. This is painted on a card that was hand written by someone that is no longer in my knowing. Someone that has some heartache attached to it .. but with paint those words disappear and all that is left is one legible word on the tusk .. you'll have to look closely. It's Love.. and that is what this whole project is about for me. Reclaiming the past and choosing to focus on the love parts. The goodness. So .. that makes me glad and filled with gratitude.

If you would like to own this gentle giant .. email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Slightly larger than the others to be able to see the long snout. Done in acrylic. I hope you have a fantastic day. See you tomorrow. :)

Day 52 Emu

I had to laugh when I titled this Day 52 Emu... just cause it rhymes a bit. I mu Emu we all mu.

I have no story about an Emu. I really just loved this face. They do look a bit like an Ostrich. The Emu is from another country that I have unfortunately never been too.

I know they were in Africa but I don't recall ever having any chance to see any up close. We did however have an Ostrich egg lamp. I am suspecting that my mother bought it at the market where she really wasn't supposed to go shopping. My mother had a very adventurous spirit. She was either very fearless or naive to the dangers she could encounter. I don't think that she ever felt that any person was unapproachable if she just had the right words or a big enough smile. Her favorite thing to do was take us down a road we'd never been. Often we were traveling by car to some destination. I think I inherited my mothers sense of time which means we both didn't have a very good one. If we were on a vacation driving and she was the driver it didn't really matter to her how we got there or how long it would take. She always wanted to veer off the highways and onto back roads. The scary sentence we dreaded was, "lets just see where this goes." Off we would go and sometimes we could end up on a road that wasn't really even a road, but someones driveway. All her passengers/children were usually URGING her to stop or turn around because we were sure we were going to be shot by the property owners. Well that never happened but we did often come upon some interesting places. It was this spirit that we objected too that also took us to many wonderful and incredible places. I am approaching the first anniversary of my mother's passing, so I'm grateful really to be doing this processing, this remembering. This REmemoring of my life with her.

If you would love to own this cute face of an EMU .. email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow. :) Oh and this face is sewn wrapping paper and a map and a calendar. The size is about 8 1/2 x 9 and painted with acrylic paint. The map was from South Dakota. That place is another story on another day. haha.

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.