A gift for myself.......

It is not often that I make something just for me , so over the holidays I made this collage just for me. It has the image of my two little guys walking to a home. I think it represents the journey they are making in their life .

I love it and smile everytime I see it.

Talk to you soon!

Hello again!!!

I have been very busy these past few weeks. My kids had a great holiday . I was just as excited as they were Christmas morning. I have put together so many lego sets that I am seeing double!! I hope you enjoyed your holiday as well.

My mother past away the week before Christmas and although it has been 2 years now, I still have a hard time ....... Christmas will always be bitter sweet for me . I always get a little teary when I hear Judy Garland sing " Have yourself a merry little Christmas.... let your heart be light".

On to the new year.......I have not really thought about what resolutions I want to make. In this past year I have started my etsy shop, had a successful gallery show at my favorite store here in Frederick " The Muse " ( thanks Whitney! ), taught a few workshops and had some pieces selected for a few magazines !!!!! A very , very good year !!!!! I guess I want to continue expanding my artwork...... I would love to do a show and I want to try my hand at wood block printmaking. Thanks for all the support everyone and the best to you all in the new year!!!

These are my new bookmarks that I have in my etsy shop. I love making them ..... partly because they are quick and fun .

These are also my kids gift projects for Christmas this year. They are making a bookmark for everyone they need to give a gift to . I usually pick one project and have them do it for everyone. I purchased a laminater(?) over the summer and was dying to use it somehow.

I also need to get back to doing more mixed media and assemblage pieces ( my love ). I love using found materials , they speak volumes in a piece and have such energy.

Although we still have a few more weeks until Christmas, do not stress over gift giving. I love the homemade bread my neighbor gives me and warm wishes for the holiday always lifts me up.

Take Care!

Little Treasures!!!

I was in a used book store ( which I could spend hours in!!) and came across this little treasure! It is so perfectly aged and the illustrations are wonderful. So much care and detail were given to books , it has become a lost art. The best is that it was under $5 . It made my day. I also found old sheet music on sale for .50 cents!!!! I am so inspired , and can not wait to get to work using my new finds. I always make copies and have learned the hard way when using originals.

Things with age have such beauty. The fading, the ware , the stories each crease of a page could tell. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder , however truth is in the heart of the soul..... and that is beauty.

Where have I gone????

So sorry, I have been so distracted with the holidays ..... I also hate to admit this but,

I write all my passwords down on scrap paper. Imagine if you will the amount of scrap paper a collage artist ( like myself) might have sitting around! I could not find my access for my blog. An embarrassing admission. I am back , and will have more interesting things to blog about.

More coming soon. Thanks , CourtneyP.

A Thankful Time

It is the time of Thankfulness. Thanksgiving always get so overlooked with the early start for Christmas...... what a shame. My last holiday spent with my Mother was Thanksgiving. She died shortly after.

It is a time of reflection and insight to what is truly important. My kids and I go into the woods and find a broken branch and claim it as our Thanksgiving tree. We put tags on it with everything we our thankful for. This year, our tree was very odd. We needed to weigh it down with a rock or it would topple over. The perfect Thanksgiving tree.

Enjoy the season and the time with the one you care about.

Where has the time gone????

I have been so busy lately that I have not noticed that Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks and I do not want to think about how close we are to Christmas. Time seems to be escaping me and I can not possible be the only one. Imagine yourself standing on a train platform ..... the train is rushing by ..... the wind blows your hair and for a moment your balance is off..... the train is whizzing by and everyone in the world is on it ..... and you , you are standing on a platform .For a brief moment there seems to be a moment of peace. I am enjoying the moment because I know I will soon be on the train.

Enjoy the day and your peacful moments.

Looking at things in a different way...

Sometimes things can get a bit foggy in life. We see things the same way and often do things without even thinking . It makes me tired. It makes me feel a bit out of touch . I love being able to look at something and get excited , like my kids when they do things for the first time. It energizes and refreshes my spirit. Take a chance . Order a new latte at the coffee shop , try a new sandwich at your favorite lunch spot. Wear that color that just does not seem like you ...... you might be surprised. It is hard to be a bit crazy in this crazy world we live..... but take a chance and see things differently. What do we have to lose?

Little miracles

Are the grand gestures in life really as important as the little miracles?? Often when searching for an answer or help , we ask " please give me a sign that this is the right thing" ...... and then we wait. Are we waiting for the heavens to open and lightning to crash? Will a big billboard say " Yes , you are right! " . Often and I venture to say never ,does this happen.

However, are there tiny moments when a feeling comes over us to say... you will be o.k. . Look outside the window and suddenly notice the most beautiful little bird perched just for you to enjoy. A butterfly flutters around you and you feel like giggling. You look down and there is a shiny penny, heads up ,just for you. Need the correct change and in your pocket.... it is exact. These seem so minor yet somehow uplifting..... could these be the grand gestures that we are looking for? Hope ....... it is a funny thing and when you are looking
you find it in the smallest of places.

Finding Home

These are some pictures of a piece I just submitted to a magazine challenge ( Somerset Studios ). I often use the image of a house in both a literal and symbolic reason. I believe that we are all on the journey to finding home. That said , what does that really mean? Every person is searching for a place to just be ...... no judgement , no pretending ..... a place that we can be who we were intended to become. It is a hard road and at times a long one. But along the way we find such amazing things ..... and surprisingly we may find our home in the most unexpected of places. Home........ it may not have a door or windows , but boy does it have a heart. Enjoy the journey.

Courtneyp

Little masterpieces

I just have to brag about my son's little portrait. He did this in pre-school and I just think it is fabulous. Apparently it is of a monkey in a tree. I call both my boys " monkey face" and I mean it in the most wonderful endearing way. I try not to save every little thing that comes home , and it is getting hard. This one is a keeper. Treasure all of your little " monkey faces " and realize the masterpiece beyond the picture.

Little boxes

I love little boxes. Something about them just makes me feel ...... what is the word, content. I am working on a few of these little boxes and I am not really sure what they will hold or what someone else will put in them. Just knowing there is a place for your things leaves me with a good feeling. Don't we all just want that...... a place for our things be it material or otherwise.

I think I have passed this obsession on to my two little boys. They have little boxes of their own to hold their treasures...... and when I say treasures , I mean old screws, buttons , smooth rocks , scrap paper ....... even a lamp fennel my son thinks is solid gold! I hope they keep their little boxes forever, I know I will .


Coming soon , a tutorial in photo transfer projects and how to make your kids art home accessories. What fun!!!

If you had a secret would you tell??

There is a new book called " Postscript" by a local author here in Maryland. He had asked people to send him anonymous post cards with their deepest secret written on them. He published these postcards in a book, and it was truly fascinating. Some were very creative and had really silly things like ...... eating food off the floor in a bathroom . Most were quite deep, sharing truly painful experiences and insight.

This really made me wonder about how powerful it is to put something out there, even if it is buried in the back yard. Taking something that is weighing on your spirit and just put it somewhere else. It does not make it go away, it just makes it easier to breathe.

Everyone of us has a story , some not so happy and some misunderstood. In the end , I believe that our experiences do not define us......... how we chose to use them in our life, does.

Put it out there........ in a bottle , buried in the yard or stuck in the pages of a book....... take a deep breath and keep walking forward.

Courtney P.

Little Houses......

I seem to be obsessed with little houses. I can not recall when this all started. Houses are like little people. Look around , they all seem to have their own personality. How comforting it is to see a little house well loved. I guess it shows how much love is on the inside. The stories it sees..... the tears , the laughter, the yelling , the sometimes not so happy days and most of all the love.

Little houses , the keeper of dreams.

Favorite things

Oil pastels are among my favorite things. I use them in every piece of art ...... I love paper, but use oil pastels with them and magic happens.

I am not very easy on them either so I go through quite alot of them.

Paper, oil pastels and a cup of fresh coffee and I am set.

Finding Inspiration

I have this box of old letters. They were my mothers from college. I found them a year ago . She had just passed away from a short but difficult time with Cancer. I was packing up her house , and I stumbled across them. At first ,I could not believe that she could keep these after so many years. Then I realized that these were a gift.

These letters give me such inspiration. The life they represent, the history they speak of...... you do not find this , it finds you. I treasure these and love just looking at them. They are a marker of time , something we all hope we can leave behind.

I copy most of them to use , I could not bear to part with them. There are a few that I have passed on in some pieces. I think it adds a bit of magic .

Words on paper........ does it represent a person? I believe it represents a life.

This is a tree that I drive by quite frequently. It is by itself in the middle of a field. I always wonder about these trees. They carry such weight with there position and although small compared to the field , they seem so powerful.

I use this image and this tree in my work quite frequently . They are like people, all of them different yet the same. Some are clustered in groups and some stand alone in a field.

Which would I rather be????? How about you?

Pay it forward.........

We hear the saying all the time, and can even watch a movie dedicated to this very thing. How many of us do this on a daily basis??? I am not talking about the grand gestures you might do once a year , or perhaps during the holidays. I am not talking about donations or monetary offerings....... how many of us on a daily basis think about doing a good deed for another.

Instead of thinking about those in obvious need, think about the person next to you in line at the store. A simple gesture can change the course of anyone's day. It offers a bit of hope when we can connect on a personal level in what is becoming such an impersonal place.

Do it for selfish reasons..... it will make you feel good and could make the day of someone else a bit brighter..... what power we have if we would only use it.

If you are in a bad mood or the world is just not spinning right..... try PIF and see how it effects you.

Look the cashier in the eye and say " Hello " , let someone go ahead of you in line, tell someone they left their car lights on........ look around and notice that the world is here and it is not just for you alone.


Have a great day!!!!! Courtney P

Perfect Moments

These are moments that are few and far between. I treasure each one and hang onto it until the next.

I woke this morning to the crisp air of the new fall day. The windows had been left open, it was chilly but not cold. A good chilly, the kind that gives you energy. My two boys soon followed me ( age 7 and 4 ). I never no quite what side of the fence they will be on and if they will be there together!!!! They quickly started playing cars...... no requests or demands. A perfect time for fresh coffee. I watched like a fly on the wall as I sipped my coffee. The breeze was so fresh. It is the smell of hope I believe. I tried to talk to the boys , but I was invisible. A good kind of invisible mom..... the kind that lets you treasure the moment of little boys and matchbox cars.

My perfect moment lasted for 60 min., and then life kind of took over. It was enough for the day..... and maybe enough for tomorrow too.

Enjoy your perfect moments!

CourtneyP

why are we all in a hurry????

Did you ever notice that everyone is in such a hurry??? I am guilty as well, I just wish I knew sometimes why. We drive fast, we need info fast, we need to be the first everywhere.... and don't you just love the commercials where someones tries to buy with cash, slowing the world down and is looked at harshly!!!!!


I do wish everyday for more minutes in the hour but I want them for selfish reasons. I want them so that time does not slip away...... I want more time with my kids and more time to just sit and breathe. I do not mind being second in line or driving under the speed limit . I just want to stand still and not fear that the world will keep spinning.

I wish I may , I wish I might ...... have this wish , I wish tonight.

Have a great weekend!

CourtneyP

The first day

Well, it is done. My first impression is now made. It is amazing how things get easier once that first step is completed. We have the thoughts ..... it is just hard to initiate action.

My wonder is where will this road take me.........