Be careful of what you ask for......

Wouldn't you love to find this as you walk outside your basement door !! I stopped in my tracks and had a ridiculous " Oh my god !" moment. My kids and I watched from the window calling daddy to see when he would get home and what to do. My husband just so happens to have a friend who is very well versed in the snake world ( can you imagine !) , so he is stopping by after work. My littlest says" Mommy we were having such a great day and now this ...." . Hopefully my fear stricken reaction will not permanently effect him ( I hate snakes.... I just do ). My older son had a very Indiana Jones reaction and said " Get a sword or a big Knife!!" , neither available to his dismay. I know that snakes are good , and we should not fear them.... I just do not like them ( have I mentioned how much I do not like them!).

So my other thought....... my chipmunks that I complained about in early posts..... gone . I have not seen a one in days. I fear that the answer to the chipmunk problem is a big snake!!! How do I rid my snake problem???? Any thoughts? I leave you with this, Be careful of what you ask for. You may get what you want , but not in the way you would like!!!

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

A work in progress....

This is my latest piece that I hope to have posted in my shop by tomorrow ( Tues.) afternoon. It seems that my summer has been nothing short of running in circles. I purposely did not plan much organized time for the kids, however everyday seems to be filled to the brim . I have less than a second to myself . I long for the lazy days of summer! I hope to have more new pieces in the next weeks, perhaps I can find the time in between Lego star wars camp , play dates, doctors apt. etc!!

I do have a question to pose.... I live very close to the local regional library. It is rather big and has a gallery space . They switch out the artist about every month. My kids always ask " Mommy, when will we see your work here?". I wondered this very thought as well. After some investigating , I was told that they accept only the work of " professional artists". This sounds very intimidating. What does this mean?? What qualifies you a " professional" ? Would I really want to be a professional anything?

I will have to let you know how this turns out...... could I actually have the courage to try this??

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

What the day might hold.....

I finished this piece late last night. My scanner cuts off about an inch on either side. I love the 10x10 size , however my scanner is 8x10...... oh well. I have been thinking alot about the fall and feeling uneasy knowing both my little birds will be in school. I guess I am so used to the Mommy role that I feel abit odd in my own skin. It all goes back to how we define ourselves. My little birds ....... as crazy as they make me , they are my greatest work.

The collage reads " and as they go.... I hold dear the day they arrived. I wait for the return of my birds , as they carry my heart into the wind. "

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

Lesson learned...

We are having an average day..... my two boys age 5.5 and 8 were playing star wars. They start off quite good and then suddenly things turn and someone is in tears. It is always my youngest. My older son had said he was "stupid" ( a big no no in my house!). I split them up ... one in timeout and one to calm down. I started talking to my youngest " Reesie what do we know about you??" he looked away trying to scan his brain for the words . " I like star wars " " Well , yes you do, but lets think..... we know that you are very smart." He got bright eyed, " Well yes I am actually." ( they both love to say actually after any statement, how cute). " So when someone says your stupid we know this is not true, right?", " If we choose to believe them, then this makes us very upset. However if we choose to believe our truth, what they say does not matter.". I ended with " Only you have the power to change the way you feel ". I started thinking, hmmm so often I find myself believing the truth of others rather than my own. I think we all can get trapped in defining ourselves by what we are right now rather than who or what we strive to be. Challenge today: Find your truth...... choose to believe it. For those that find their truth to be difficult..... choose to change.

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

ABC......

I started working on little collage alphabet letters. Of course I only have A finished.... I hope to do at least one a day. Once it is complete , I am going to put them in my etsy shop as prints. Maybe I will make them into flashcards for the kids.... who knows.

Today is my mothers birthday. She has been gone now for 2.5 years, and it still does not get easier. I feel her all around me and I know she is watching and guiding me. When you loose someone close to you, it changes who you become. It is the last gift that they leave for you.... the understanding of just how temporary all of this on earth really is . We must embrace the moments and align are lives with what really is important. It gives you a chance to see and to change ...... it gives you the chance to really live. Miss you Mom!

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

New Work.....

This is a new piece I just posted. I needed a break from the light blue hues..... I am drawn to blue for some reason although the greens are my favorite color..... hmmmm.

I really like the way this turned out. I like the shape of the tree, although I did struggle with it for sometime. The background turned out well . I wanted a dark shade but I still wanted a lightness to be apparent. Hopefully you like it. Enjoy the weekend.

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

My class was super!!

My class tonight was so great. To all those who came.... Thank you! Everyone was very enthusiastic and my fear of being Charlie Brown's teacher did not come true ( There is always that fear when talking in front of people!!). There was a good mix of people .... I love that many had never tried collage and I hope they continue.

I think sometimes people ( including myself) can be intimidated by the entire umbrella of Art. There is a stigma attached to what we think we as artists should be , do and say. I think that anyone with a vision of their " Truth" ( whatever it may be ) has the potential to achieve greatness in their artist self. It is the process, the journey , the work that lead us to the creation. There is an artist in all of us...... we just have to find it.

Talk to you soon!

Courtney

Vintage Paper Collage

Sorry the , I can not get my pictures to display.... I will try later!!!!

These is an example of what my class will be about this evening. I am always a bit nervous when I teach...... do I know enough ...... will people think it will be worth the money they paid to take the class..... will I remember how to talk!!!

It is always so much easier to teach kids. I really had fun working on this. I wanted to really focus on the vintage paper and I actually might do a series like this ...... just for a break from my other work. I will let you know how it went tomorrow . Wish me luck!

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

Prints are here...

I just put some prints in my shop..... go check them out!

New work....

I just posted this piece called "Diversity" in my etsy shop. I did this on wood and used some wood pieces for some of the cityscape. I really love how this turned out. I just got my photo prints back and I am so happy how they turned out. I wanted to offer something beside the giclee prints ....... in these economic times not everyone has the extra money , also some might want to have a small piece of your work but just are not sure. I think these will offer a happy medium. They are printed using endura inks and are archival. Once you frame theme you can not tell they are photo prints. I will work on posting them today and tomorrow ( I have 19 of them!!!!).

I hope everyone enjoys today..... I am a busy girl so I might not be able to post again until Thursday. I am teaching a class and my son is turning 8 !!!! Where has the time gone??

Talk to you soon!

Courtney

I need inspiration.....

I read once that Tennessee Williams would write everyday no matter what. I guess eventually the inspiration will come. I work everynight and usually I feel very productive. For the last week or so it just has not come to me. Everything I have been trying has just been yuck!! So often I feel caught between the artist I am and the artist I "think" I should be....... I need to take the "think " out of the equation and just be . I need the " who cares what people think " attitude, however I need to apply that to myself. We will See what today might bring.

I am off to take the boys to the library for a " buggy adventure" and then Clifford ( the big red dog) is coming. My eight yr.old is just thrilled that he must tag along for his brother! We will put down the light sabers and try for a bit to enjoy the innocence of life instead of defeating Darth Vader!

Talk to you soon!

Courtney

It's back!!!!

So, I wake up and make my coffee. I start planning my day, thinking there will be time to work on some new pieces ( I spent last night prepping canvas .... not my favorite thing in the world! ). Then my littlest gets up and I see ..... it is back! His eye is pink as can be and now it clicks. He has been congested and said his ear hurt , however no fever and he has not complained otherwise. He hates the doctor ! I have drops from before but will still have to take him in. My day is up in the air and I have yet to see how it will fall. Wish my luck!

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

The crash of the waves...

I love this photo. It is my oldest at the shore. He is my cautious one ..... my thinker. He observes and absorbs life. I watched as he stood at the edge ..... not too close , but close enough to feel the ocean and wait for the waves. It reminds me of everyone in their journey..... observing , watching . We are all just waiting for the wave. We are waiting to see what it will bring us. Some can jump right in with no caution and risk what the unpredictable sea might bring . Others never make it to the waters edge..... the stay back on the sand . But most ....... we wait at the waters edge ....... waiting to see what the sea might bring. May your ocean be kind today!!!

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

New work coming soon!!!!

Here are some sneak peeks at some new things coming soon to my etsy shop. I focused a bit on whimsical little items. The cupcakes are lids to little boxes and the sailboat is one of two I will have in my shop........ today or tomorrow. I think I have the sea on the brain! I miss the ocean.

I hope everyone had a great 4th. It rained here, so the fireworks were best seen on T.V. . My boys do not like the sound anyway, so it worked out for the best.

Talk to you soon,

Courtney

Mmmmmm Ice cream!!

Here is one of my simple vintage paper watercolors. I think I will post all 6 that I have completed tomorrow ( Wed.). I was not sure what I would do with them . They are a departure from my work, but I like the simplicity of them.

I really hope to have a ton to post next week..... I am working on a few things that are a bit more of my mix media assemblages . We will see how they turn out.

I really thought that this summer was going to be relaxing and things would slow down a bit.... boy I was wrong. There is so much activity in my home I can not complete a task before I am forced to start another. Oh well !

Talk to you soon!

Courtney