Gone but not forgotten

Hi all. I haven't forgotten about you or my big goals. I'm setting everything aside for a few days to work on a special project.

You see, my Grandma passed away on Tuesday night. My very, very special Grandma. So what do we do when someone really special has to leave us? Besides get really sad, I think we try to think of a way to make or do something that will help. Well, that's what my sisters and I are doing anyway.

My Grandma was an amazing woman, and one of the special things about her was that she baked... and when I say baked... she baked A LOT. And she did it very, very well. We all have memories of her baked goodies, and I'd wager that we all have a favorite of the cookies she made (mine is date pinwheel followed up by a close second, molasses sugar cookies). So my sister decided to make lots of different kinds of Grandma's cookies for all the family that's coming into town, and my other sister and I will help when we get there. And my special little project for now will be to make a small booklet of Grandma's cookie recipes for everyone to take with them.

I'm going to miss Grandma. In fact, I miss her already. She won't be forgotten though... and we'll keep making her cookies to prove it. :)

Edited to add: You can find Grandma's recipes on our family blog here: http://shellypaints.blogspot.com/2010/05/grandmas-cookies.html

Goals

So I'm not usually one to set goals. Generally not my style. But this art thing... this I WANT TO BE A FULL TIME ARTIST thing has me scrambling in every free minute I can grab to plan, create, think, and DO. I'll keep adding to this art journal page with my goals, but it's full steam ahead around here!

P.S. To my coworkers... I am not quitting tomorrow, so no worries. Maybe the day after. :)

My Goals Journal Page - Work In Progress

Discovering Magic

So I had to take a lunch break just now. HAD to... because the mailman brought me this: Michael deMeng's book. And it is MAGIC. Heart racing (yep, again) and mind blowing MAGIC. I only let myself read a couple of pages because I would have been lost for the rest of the day. Saying I highly recommend this book would be an understatement.

P.S. He's teaching a two day class in Cleveland in June, and I think I'm going to get to go!!!! Please don't let it fill up before I sign up. Claiming it now: I WILL TAKE MICHAEL DEMENG'S CLASS in June!

Inspired 2 Fly

A Memo.

A brief memo to my racing heart:

I've been listening to you more. You've been louder lately about what you want. You've been beating faster.

This is probably going to be the way things are for a while. Perhaps even forever. All of this new-ness is overwhelming, but my plan is for this whirlwind of new ideas and new opportunities to continue. They are what you have been hoping for.

Love,
Shelly

P.S. I'll keep listening.

Just Because...

... she's so supportive!
... she's so creative and INSPIRING!
... she's just so darn adorable!
... she eats all her peas and hopefully would eat all mine too!
Now take your behinds on over to visit my sweet blog friend Miss Cindy so you can share in the sweetness!

Sneak Peek

A little part of my workshop proposal for Artfest 2011. :)

Great Goody Giveaway!

The super talented Michelle Allen is giving away one of her adorable banks! Head over to her website for details and to enter to win!

Link: http://allendesigns.typepad.com/blog/2010/04/goody-giveaway.html

Funny Birds

Continuing to work on my art journal through all the craziness. Here's one I started the other night.

I got the Artfest 2011 workshop application from Teesha. YAY! Overwhelmed, but so very excited. OH, and the good news is that it's not due until June 1. I have a little more time, but I'm keeping the pressure on to be finished really early. I also want to come up with a second workshop to submit. Last night Doug and I talked through some of the project logistics of the first workshop (it's gonna be good!), and I got the supplies I wanted from Dick Blick today. This weekend should be productive!

Makin' Messes

My upstairs art space is too messy (for me anyway), because I tore it apart grabbing last minute Artfest supplies. Instead of cleaning it up, I abandoned it in favor of... My downstairs space. Working on messing that up too. Oh, and making messes pseudo-Jesse Reno style. Oh wait, I used a brush, so maybe not. :) Ok, I already know where I'm going with this painting, and it won't be anything Jesse-like when I'm done. Different plans for this which I'll hopefully actually get to do.

So here's the crazy thing... knowing that I want to put together a workshop for Artfest has my brain buzzing (I found out that the workshop app might be due as early as early next month?!), but instead of directing all of that energy towards the workshop, I find myself distracted to other things. The workshop stuff is in progress too, but my mind is just absolutely overflowing with stuff. Oh, and then there's that work and toddler deal too... I have to find a balance.

Anyone find a way to put more hours in the day yet?

Rambling, I know... but my brain is headed off in eighty-two directions all at once.

Find Your Happy Place

I've been struggling to find the right words to write about my third day at Artfest. At the time, I had too many words for it which I wish I could take back. But I can't. So I'm just going to have to deal with that. I don't feel very differently about it, I just wish that I could keep some things inside my head instead of announcing them to the world before I can think about how to phrase it.

With that said, I decided to put my mantra of that day "Find your happy place" into action. The little piece above is the result.

My new mantra is...

There is always a bright side.

ALWAYS.

Thank you to Layla for turning my third Artfest day around. One of the things you can count on at Artfest is that there is always someone there to listen and help you find the bright side.

Artfest 2010 Fatbook & Trades

Kristi LaRose organized the amazing 2010 fatbook trade... so many adorable pages!

Tyler Larsen's pin flower trade - a favorite of mine and such a big hit with the Artfesters!
Ginny Ballou's sweet muse trade Sunny Carvalho's pins, stickers, and porcelain pendant

Lisa Brians-Miles' (my house sister!) handmade paper, ATC, and paper goodies

Amazingly detailed key trade by the equally adorable and humble Linda Abbott.

Colorful and fun bottlecap necklace by my mentor and house sister Michelle DeAngelis.

Precious woodburned and painted mini-gourd by Susan Sawatzky

Fabulous Love Truly heart ornament by the very talented Tammy McGee

Oh, and there are just so many more lovely trades... I'm planning some kind of display so I can look at them all the time. Such inspiration!!!

Artfest 2010 Links

There are just so many links, that I thought I'd put them all in one place...

Teesha Moore

Tracy Moore

Artfest Blog

Tyler Larsen

Michelle Allen

Karen Michel

Erin Leigh

Lori Hudson

Janne Robberstad

Pamela Holderman

Angel Chiasson

Sunny Carvalho

Lynn Davis

Merrilee

Rachel Bowen

Brenda Beene Shackleford

Barbara Judy

Anita Webster

Inez Gray

Shonna Bucaroff

Beth Hammett

Elizabeth Johnson

Christine Hardaker-Merritt

Colleen Bryan Rodgers

Tristan

A Wish.

So I've been trying to hold off on blogging about something stuck in my head that I left Artfest with.

An idea. A goal. A WISH.

But it just can't wait. Patience may be a virtue, but it's not something I was born with much of.

OK, so here it is...

I want to teach a class at Artfest.

OR... better stated for Michelle DeAngelis - my mentor of claiming what I want...

I WILL teach a class at Artfest.

There. I've said it. Now I will figure out how to make that happen. It could be a long road, but it just seems like the right goal. The right idea. Very much the right wish.