Stretching...

Stand TALL

I have been stretching my creative muscles all week and I am having SO MUCH fun! With each new painting I am learning and growing and I cannot wait to paint more and more...


A whole new world is emerging and I am not quite sure what to do with it yet but it feels right so I`m just going with it. I am not analyzing it too much. I am just painting from a place deep within.

Shine

The ugly ducklings are starting to emerge into something beautiful... I wanted to share these with you. Part of me is terrified of going here, of revealing another layer of myself...imperfect and exposed. But another part of me knows this is the very reason why I need to share. Seek and stretch...there just might be something incredibly beautiful waiting to emerge...

Happy weekend my dear friends. Happy Halloween and Happy creating! Hugs to you! xo

Growing Pains...

During the last few weeks I have been going through some growing pains... You know the kind... When you feel the need to shake things up, to stretch your creative muscles and it's not really comfortable...at ALL!

I started a drawing class a few weeks ago at the local ART Gallery. We drew bottles for the last three weeks. I could understand the principles as I drew the bottles but I was starting to get bored... What I learned about myself is that I lack discipline when things aren't easy for me.

Stretching my creative muscles means working through the ugly ducklings... It means sitting with it and finding ways to work them out. The pay off for doing this is HUGE! It means feeling the butterflies in your stomach and a new passion for your work. I've also been dreaming at night in vivid color, texture and shapes. My dreams have become my canvases!

Preparing for my January SOLO Art show is pushing me forward-and FAST! It's taking me out of my comfort zone and into a whole new world. Growing is painful. But growing means I'm alive and I'm LOVING it!

Thanks for being part of this journey...ugly ducklings, swans and all!

Lessons in Artistry

For the longest time I couldn't stop thinking about something my Memere said.... that she's never colored in her life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was shocking to me that a mother of so many creative children and grandchildren never had the opportunity to get creative on paper.

So, I finally put together a little art kit with new markers, pencils and crayons. I also picked up a super cool coloring book for adults that I thought would inspire.

After our breakfast together (on Friday), I gave her the supplies and encouraged her to try it. It was magical! At first, she didn't know what to do with the markers...the caps...but eventually she began to choose her colors and started to fill it in. It was one of those moments that made me want to burst with happiness and sadness all at once!

It made me realize just how much I take for granted sometimes. It reminded me just how many women from generations past never had the opportunity to unearth their creativity the way so many of us do today. There could of been so many more Georgia Keefe's' and Emily Carr's' that never had the opportunity to nurture their creative wells. Don't get me wrong, this woman is one of the MOST creative people I know. She used to sew three jackets for every one of her nine children...one for school, one for church, and one to play outside. She has showed us her LOVE through all of the amazing meals she has made for us throughout the years....and ALL this without knowing how to read. My sweet Memere left school to take care of her dying Mother who she lost at only fifteen.

This blogpost is dedicated to my Memere who is now 82 years old. She will never be a famous artist but her life journey has taught me so much artistry in being a human being. She is the most selfless person I know and she has dedicated her life to others. I am so blessed to be spending these sweet moments of time with her. She says she's so proud of me... But I am the one, I am the one who is in awe of her.

"Your Dreams are Worth Pursuing"

My first SOLO ART Show!!!

I am so thrilled to announce that I have been offered my FIRST SOLO ART show at Artists on Elgin in my home town! This is HUGE! Mondo Beyondo kind of stuff and I am SO excited to create this NEW body of work. I am going to step it up a notch, stretch my creative muscles and share something different and meaningful!

I can't express how much this means to me only 9 months after putting paint to canvas. It is a testament of hard work, trust and courage. I am over the moon and brainstorming like crazy. I am SO excited to share the details with you as we get closer to the date. My ART exhibit will be shown from January 11th to February 11th!

Until then, I have been preparing like a mad woman for my first OPEN HOUSE (November 7th), where I am inviting, neighbors, friends and family to see my Studio, latest works and product line. I am also gearing up for the 20th Annual Christmas Fantasy Craft and Gift Show at Lo-Ellen (November 12-14th).

Thank-you all for your continued support and words of kindness. You help to carry me through the dark clouds and into the sunshine. My HeART is SO grateful! xox

Clearing the Air...

1. Thou shall not punish myself for things that are out of my control.

2. Thou shall ALWAYS trust my intuition and believe the red flags masked behind the waves of flattery.

3. Thou shall be kinder and gentler with my self-imposed expectations and deadlines.

4. Thou shall keep my heart open-again-still-even though it has been pierced one. more. time. I will not be hardened.

5. Thou shall keep putting my ART (heART) and words (soul) into the world, one day at a time, until.

INTRODUCING a NEW Collaboration...

Introducing a TOTALLY cool collaboration with Polarity!

This adorable, industrial little locket is created from a recycled steel auto part which has a silver soldered little eyehook.

The locket has 3 magnetic interchangeable lids - Besties, Addie Blue and the word Friendship!

Put a picture inside or a special note for YOUR Bestie! This makes for a heartfelt and upcycled gift... LOVE your Bestie and the planet all at the same time!

SO EXCITED about this you guys!!! Check out my ETSY shop for these little beauties!
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Other house keeping issues...

1. I finally have a follow bar at the top of my blog! Thank-you for your patience...

2. My blog button has been fixed! All those who wish to post it, you can now post it without the extra squigglies... Thank-you to all those who have...xoxo

3. Check out my letter to the editor that was published yesterday! It's time we make some noise in our communities!!!!
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Thank-you all for your heartfelt words about Molly... you have helped me more than you know! xoxo

Letting Her Go...

Dearest Molly...it's time I let you go...

This weekend we finally said good-bye and buried your ashes in the ground on Manitoulin Island...your favorite place on the planet... It has been a year since you left us and I have to tell you that my heart still aches thinking of you...

I just want to tell you that I could not have asked for a better companion during the nine years we spent together. You were the best protector with your fierce bark all the many months Daddy was away overseas... You were my shoulder to cry on when my heart could no longer bear the loneliness and sadness... Sometimes you were the only hug a girl could get for more days than I care to remember...you were always there for me Molly...completely selfless and giving and always so loving.

You have been through it all with us. You were our baby before Owen arrived and became his security guard and guardian angel all at once. You were there when our world crumbled and you became even more fierce when Daddy became wheelchair bound... You loved us unconditionally and gave us all of your heart everyday.

Sometimes I think I feel you in the studio with me as I paint throughout the day. Sometimes I think I see you turning a corner into the kitchen. Sometimes I think I hear you breathing at night at the side of our bed...

It's time I let you go my sweet girl. Mama will always LOVE you and I want you to know that you will never be replaced. You will forever be my sweet pea and I will never forget you. I will never forget the kind of LOVE you gave so freely... You taught me what is possible...

Run free my sweet pea, Mama loves you... xo

My grateful HEART...

Hello there! I have missed you! I have been taking some time to recuperate after the ART shows and being sick... Things around the house were starting to pile up and it was time to dive into my domestic world again.

It's Thanksgiving this weekend in Canada, so I wanted to take part by sharing some things I am grateful for:

1. seeing the sun five days in a row after a month of rain...

2. seeing my son enjoy the game of basketball in his new league (it's my favorite sport!)

3. having friends that embrace my intensity and love me for all that I am... imperfections and all...

4. being shown yet again that everything always works out in the end...

5. being at the book reading by Sarah Selecky to hear snippets of her book of short stories, "This Cake is For The Party". Her book has now been SHORT-listed for the Giller Prize! One of the five best books in Canada this year! Motivating and inspiring....Mondo Beyondo kind of stuff...

6. SKYPE- so I can see my baby brother who lives in Montreal and my Soul-sister Kelly in South Korea... I LOVE my SKYPE DATES!

7. Having my family ALL together this Thanksgiving...It's been a LONG time...

8. Living in a neighbourhood where the kids start to cheer when Owen gets back from a day at his Grandparents... so blessed to live in this court.

9. Autumn...How I ADORE you!!! It's a feast for my eyes and it feeds my heart and soul with SO much beauty.

10. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest woman in the world... today is one of those days.

PS. My ART Calendars will be in the ETSY shop today! SO SO SO excited to share these. (Limited prints... so if you heart it please don't wait!)

Twelve favorite images!

Here is the cover page for the calendar!



Here is the layout!

Hair Therapy!

What a difference a haircut makes! SO happy with my new hair!

As promised, here is the pic...Thank God I'm not crying!
Have a great weekend everyone! I'm going to a book reading with friends tonight...Hopefully it will inpsire the big push for the ending of my book!

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. Fall is my absolute favorite season!!!!