Exactly what I had wished for.....

What a wonderful Christmas! It was exactly what I had hoped for! My house seemed exceptionally small yesterday as it filled up with people, kids, three dogs, Christmas gifts, and more food than we could possibly go through. It was wonderful. My dinner was overcooked, the kids dominated the family room with their Xbox exploits, candles were knocked over, drinks spilled, and everywhere you turned, a dog was underfoot. I couldn't have been happier!

I felt a real peace going into this week. I think this was partially due to the fact that for the first time ever, I felt totally prepared this year. It helped to have a broken foot and five weeks of mandated medical leave. Though I couldn't get around very well, the miracle of internet shopping allowed me to get my shopping done. In addition, the forced exile gave me lots of time to play with my art, make my own wrapping materials, create Christmas cards, make gifts, and even make some new decorations.

One of the outcomes of this creative explosion is pictured above. The piece is called "The Second Chance Evangelical Heavenly Choir". I love this grouping! They held center stage on my holiday table. Composed of well worn doll parts and a variety of ephemera, wire, and cheesecloth, they remind me of the type of angel I might be given the opportunity; a bit ragged around the edges, happy to be here, and dressed in comfortable worn clothing.

Sighhhh...what a wonderful day it was!! Merry Christmas everyone!

all that glitters

My work tends to lean towards vintage, neutral colors, sepia tones, and worn images. This is true for most of the year. Around the holidays, however, I'm all about the glitter! I love the vintage glass German glitter available through Stampington.com and the diamond dust I purchase through Michael's.

I use glitter on everything. Vintage ornaments, Christmas cards, holiday decorations all come to life with glitter. It becomes embedded in my carpet, my hair, and in the crevices of my desk. I don't dare look too closely at my Thanksgiving pie crusts as I fear there may be some glitter that found it's way in there too....... Glitter mimics the best part of snow, the pristine, sparkly, icy beauty of it early in the morning just before people muck it up with cars and salt and clunky boot prints.

Ellen DeGeneres has taken a public stand against glitter. She hates the way it gets into everything and has even asked Barack Obama to pass a law banning it! ( I think he may have one or two things to tend to before tackling the glitter initiative though.) I'm a big Ellen fan and may just sympathize with her from January through October. When it comes to November and December though, bring it on! I sincerely hope President Obama doesn't pursue Ellen's request. I would feel quite bereft without glitter at this time of year.

Come January, it's back to more subdued art work. For now though, let the glitter sparkle!

Finding your muse through your stomach........

Staying home has its advantages. I've become addicted to Food Network (www.foodnetwork.com). I love to watch other people cook! I'm not much of a cook myself, though I can throw a decent Thanksgiving meal together. It's not that I can't, I just don't enjoy it. But watching others cook, now that's fun!

I've noticed that there is a commonality between great chefs and artists. Both endeavors require creativity. Chefs creatively throw ingredients together, dream about combining flavors, and experiment with rare and exotic foods. Artists pull various elements together, dream about composition, and experiment with new and sometimes strange materials!

Beyond the obvious comparisons between cooking and artistry, I have found artistic inspiration for a Christmas project in the graphics for one of my favorite cooking shows. Jamie at Home is a favorite of ours. My husband and I watch it together whenever it's on. It's our "Food Network Date"! Not only is Jamie Oliver adorable, but we love his recipes and enjoy his sense of humor. The bonus, however, is that the graphics designer for his show does a wonderful job of portraying his recipes and funny little tips. The pieces are done a in journalistic, shabby, collage style that I just love. I've decided to capture the feeling of Jamie's graphics in a project I am pulling together for the holidays. More to come!

Necessity is the mother of....

Wow, it's been almost exactly one month since my last entry. A great deal has happened since then. Where to start? I have fallen down twice this month. The second fall was five days after the first! Results: Torn rotator cuff, bruised leg, and broken foot which required surgery.... I am now grounded until January though I plan to talk the doc into letting me go back to work sooner.

The up side is that I have had some unexpected creative time to work on some holiday projects. If it doesn't require standing, I can do it! I do tire easily though so some of the artful decisions I've made this season have been based on what I feel I can accomplish without exhausting myself. Not usually a "techy", I have had to depend upon technology a lot this past two weeks. All of the usual holiday running I do has been curtailed by my broken foot! I've done most of my Christmas shopping on the web. I've even ordered most of my art supplies for the gifts I'm making, on the web.

In addition, I decided to make three Christmas card prototypes and then print my cards from those images. This is a huge change for me! I always make each card by hand and then foolishly decorate the envelopes! My husband was a big help with printing the cards and they turned out pretty great. As always happens, once I used this medium for my art, I started to think about other things I could do utilizing the computer for more than scanning images or making copies.

Michael and I are also working hard on those calendars that I wrote about way back in October...BEFORE I BROKE MY FOOT!!