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.