OOOPS!!!!!!

Tool 1 -  Sharon 5 (stitches that is)

Framing can be dangerous!

I was taking the staples out of the back of a frame,

not rushing, thinking about what I was doing,

my hand slipped

and then,

the slice.

 

I wrapped my hand in paper towels and headed upstairs

poured a half bottle of peroxide on it

and once I got a look at it I knew there were stitches in my future.

 

Doc said I did it up real good, but the good news is 

I didn't need a hand surgeon to repair it.

 

I do, however, still need some framing done.

Oh hubby,

busy today?

Art in the Garden, Augusta, KY

Art in the Garden

Augusta, KY

Saturday June 1 from 9-5

This is a really fun one-day art show in Augusta, KY.,

a beautiful small town on the Ohio River.

This is my third year participating in this show

and I hope my friends in and around the 

Bracken County area of Kentucky

will stop by and visit.

I'll be in booth #26 on Riverside Dr.

I've been up in the garden in the past,  but this year I'm on Riverside Dr.

You'll want to stop and see some of my new garden slates

that are made using slate shingles from an old church.

 Hydrangeas, iris, geraniums, daisies and echinaceas are some

 of the flowers featured on these slates.  

They can be hung on small garden flag type shepherds hooks.

They are all different because of the individuality of the slates.

They do have the nail holes in them still.

This is a really unique item.

Stop by and check them out.

See You There!

The Iris Project

The Iris Project

began because I am a former florist and love flowers

and we grow lots of iris I wanted to be able to paint.

That's when the struggle began.

I could not get it right.

But I would not give up!

I'll show you some of the iris I am surrounded by in my yard

 Don't ya love this pink one?

I do!!

This is next to my house and these are the very common blue iris.

They grow really thick together and the good news, they don't let weeks come up in there.

This color does not show up well here, but they have a beautiful iridescent color near the center.

 

This is a little better look at the above iris, but it still doesn't show its true beauty.

     This is almost a marbled one of deep blue and white.

I have another blue and white one that hasn't opened up yet.

It's no wonder I'm so fascinated with them.

I have also been working on improving my drawing abilities so I did this drawing of an iris hoping to get a better handle on painting them.

I was not unhappy with my effort to draw an iris with some realistic qualities.

On to painting one.

In my next exercise I gave myself 10 minutes to get something on a damaged panel.

I wasn't concerned about the background either.

Just get something on this panel that looks more like an iris and less like a kindergarten project

.

Again, I was not unhappy with this effort, especially since I got it on there in the allotted 10 minutes.

So on to my roof slates, which is where I was going with all this effort.

I wanted to paint irises on some of these slates that I would want to have.

I'm happy!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Introducing Cathy Engberg

You Don't Always Know Who You Know?

I know I've said this before, but here goes again.

I love the internet!

I have met so many wonderful artists on facebook and blogs

that I would never have met any other way.

Cathy Engberg is one of those people.

She does beautiful art about everyday life.   

Click here to read an article on Daily Paintworks and see Cathy's beautiful work.

In Leslie Saeta's challenges, I've met some wonderful artists and been adopted into a group of artists as a collaborative group recently.

I've been following at least one of them for a while and did not realize we were closer than I thought until this group was formed to help us talk about creating and marketing art.

This past week one of this group of talented Paintsters

was featured on Daily Paintworks, a website for people who paint almost every day,

and a place to buy and sell art.

If you haven't visited it yet, your should!

Cathy has been a very giving member of our group and I believe my own art will improve with the association of her and other artists like her.

Click here to visit Cathy's blog 

Click here to visit Cathy's website

Click here to follow Cathy on facebook

Morning Joe
byCathy Engberg

It's Not the Powerball but. . .

The Envelope Please!

I had TWO different contests going on at the same time.  Aren't I generous?  I asked you to leave a comment on my blog to get your name in the hat for three free note cards and I also asked people on my facebook page to vote for me in an intuit drawing for $5,000 for my small business.  

Well, I drew the names from each pool early this morning, but was not able to get on the computer to write a post.  So . . . . . . . .Can you feel the tension building??????    Drum roll pleezzzzzzzzzeeee!

The Note cards go to Susan of Art Stable Gallery,

 

 

 

and Kim Hoagland of Madison, IN wins the painting.

 

So Kim, now you have a choice to make,

I'm giving you the choice of one of the three following paintings.

You can have 

 

The Community

 

 7" x 5" acrylic on a canvas panel.

Morning in the Garden

 a 6" X 6" water mixable oil on a canvas panel,

or you can select

Blue Heron

 

 

7" x 5" acrylic on a canvas panel.

 

they are all unframed, but will look great sitting on a little easel on a shelf or table

or you can frame it.

 

So, girl, the ball is in your court and you can let me know which one you'd like.  

 

Thanks to everyone for entering or voting for me and I hope you enjoy your painting or note cards.

 

 

Need A Roof?

No need to check with your insurance company for this roof.

I love taking one thing and turning it into something else. 

Turning a a headboard into a bench. . .

Record rack into a night stand. . .

Old shirt into pajamas. . .

Old sweater into hat, mittens, and gloves . . .

I can't stand for good things to go to waste.

That's how this next project got started.

I made some garden stones out of recycled porch tiles.

Click here to view a post about them.

A fellow artist at Gallery 104 had access to some old roof slates

and had seen my garden stones, so she thought of me.

 

These are old roof slates, you can see the nail holes in the top third,

They have been sealed, painted, and varnished with at least 3 coats of an outdoor varnish.

I thought they could be attached to a type of shepherd's hook for flags.

They would look so good near a front door or in a flower garden.

I will be taking them to Art in the Garden in Augusta, KY. June 1.

You can see  all the mineral deposit colors each slate.

None are exactly the same size, thickness or color.

They are true one of a kinds.

 

Echinaceas.

Love these, although the colors of two of these photos is not very good.

I only took about 30 pics and couldn't get these guys happy.

 The one below and the geraniums give an accurate look of all the stones.

Hydrangeas

Love hydrangeas with all their many shades of blue and pink and cream.

There will be more.

Be on the lookout.

$30 each

not available for shipping.

Might see them at the Farmer's Market or First Friday this year.

Gettin Lucky in Kentucky

Made Ya Look!

If you're feelin lucky and I'm in Kentucky

we must both be on the same page.  hehe

I'm giving away three of my most popular notecards

to someone who comments on my blog today.  

Yes folks, they're absolutely free, except,

here comes the but. . .

you have to comment on my blog,

say: Hey,

howdy,

love the cards,

get a life,

or anything of your choosing.

Comment by midnight and you'll be entered to win these free notecards

and I'm even throwing in the envelopes.

I know, I know.

Generous to a fault!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Here's Shelley

 

Isn't she just the cutest!!!

Shelley is another very talented friend of mine who has a fabulous voice as well as plays the piano.

She has a wonderful spirit and I love to hear her sing.

At the end of the post is a link to her singing the National Anthem.

It's fab and you need to give her a listen.

I have always loved music. I remember when I was still in elementary school listening to the AM radio station in my dark basement bedroom. I remember my first solo, sung from the choir loft of the United Methodist Church in Chillicothe Missouri when I was 10 or 11 (and seeing as I can barely remember what I did yesterday, that is quite an accomplishment!). At one point in my life I wanted to be a famous singer. That would still be really cool, but I’m afraid that ship has sailed! I sang in my high school choir, but more often than not, they would need me to be the accompanist, which I also loved to do. I also played alto sax in the band, and I made both the all-state band and choir. I taught myself to play the guitar so I could accompany myself when I sang. However, it wasn’t until I went to college at BYU and decided to take private voice lessons that things really fell into place for me. I was randomly assigned a teacher who, over the 3 ½ years I was there, would become my mentor and friend, and saw the potential in me. I ended up minoring in music and even giving a senior vocal recital. So yes, music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

I appreciate all kinds of music (sorry, but I don’t consider rap to be music), with my tastes running from David Garret (rock violin) to TranSiberian Orchestra to Journey, but I mostly listen to country. I am not totally a fan of current country music, at least I can understand the lyrics to most of it! I love anything with lots of harmony, so my favorite groups are Blackhawk and Diamond Rio – I have every one of their CD’s! I also LOVE The Band Perry. They have a very original sound and are a lot of fun to listen to! I have recently acquired a love of religious music, especially from the groups Mercy River and Jericho Road. Again, that beautiful harmony gets me every time! I listen closely to song lyrics, and nothing moves me like an amazing message sung in tight harmony. I love the peace and comfort I get from listening to this music, and more often than not I am brought to tears by the beautiful messages.

As for my singing, I have sung in a semi-professional group in Las Vegas, in a barbershop group, and various choirs here and there, but I mainly prefer to sing and accompany myself. I love to sing at churches, because even though I still get very nervous, I love to share my spirit and my testimony through song. I am sort of famous in Trimble County (if that is even possible!) for singing the National Anthem at ball games. The greatest complement I ever received on my singing was from a veteran who said he had never heard the Anthem sung better. I am very patriotic, as well as a purist when it comes to the National Anthem (none of that warbling stuff for me!), and every time I sing it I try to make it the very best I can to honor our great country.

I do not sing in the shower, oddly enough, but my favorite place to sing is in my car, where I can put in a CD, crank it up, and belt out whatever I am in the mood for. I almost hate to admit this, but when I take road trips with my kids, my favorite group to jam to is the Backstreet Boys! I also love to sing to Styx and The Beach Boys and the groups I already mentioned. I wear my IPod when I clean or when I exercise, and always have music on at the house.

I am so very grateful for the talent I have been given, and even though it makes me more nervous than I care to admit, I love to share my talent with anyone who will listen. I do not know what I would do if I didn’t have music in my life, and I hope I never have to find out. It truly does move me like nothing else can – it is the song of my heart – and I thank God for the influence it has had in my life!

Click Here to listen to Shelley

All Art is Local

Local Artists

There's a saying that all politics are local

and that can also be said of artists.

All artists have a home town somewhere,

and while Carrollton, KY is not where I grew up,

it is where my children grew up and so it is my hometown now.

This Friday, May 10 from 6-8 p.m. is the reception for

the Mary Ann Gentry Annual Art Show.

Mary Ann was a local artist who brought beauty and knowledge to a small rural Kentucky town.

She painted and she taught painting classes to many local residents.

Every year in May the Carroll County Public Library presents an art show in her honor.

I have two paintings entered in the show this year.

 The library is adding a new wrinkle, 

where the public can select a favorite among those paintings that are for sale

and the library will negotiate a price for the painting and purchase it for permanent display there.

If you are in the area, please come and enjoy what is always a great show with lots of different types of art from all age groups and skill levels.

It is always a fun festive night.

 These two paintings were completed during an online challenge from the Paint My Photo site,

where photographers post photographs of many places, animals and people

and artists use them for reference to paint from.

I loved Nigel the Nuthatch photo because of the personality that shone through of Nigel.

    

 I painted this scene because it is something we see here every spring and fall.

Hopefully I'll see you at the show.

I'll be there until 7p.m. when I have to leave to go to Nashville to visit my daughter.

She's fixing a Mother's Day brunch on Saturday,

and she's a chef so I don't wanna miss it.

Thanks for stopping by today 

and create the best day possible. 

  

Snow White, Grimm Style

Snow White

Grandchildren are so fun!

This past weekend we traveled to Bellefontaine, OH to see our granddaughter, Kelsie in the

Center Stage Production of 

Snow White.

Center Stage is an incredible home school theatre club and it is all volunteer!

They put their productions on at the amazing Holland Theatre.

The inside of the theatre is like nothing I've ever seen before. 

The man who built the Holland actually was from Holland and he made the inside of the theatre look like his homeland.

As you sit in the seats, these gigantic store fronts line each side of the theatre.

It's in full restoration mode and is incredible.

Now this is art!

 

They are the same on each side.  

It's hard to get the full effect here, but click here to see more info about the theatre. 

And Now for the main attraction.

Here's a few photos from the play.

Kelsie as the Queen, Mother of Snow White as she looks into her magic mirror
in her secret chamber.

Check out the dress.
She made it herself.
 

 She's ready for her close up

She's got the apple

 

 Now she has to trick Snow White into taking the apple.

Snow White in her glass casket

 

Snow White and the Prince

This was a great show and it will go on again this coming weekend.

If you're in the Bellefontaine, OH area you should give it a look.

If you're into restoration of historic buildings you should check this one out sometime.

Thanks for checking in and looking at some pretty incredible art,

in my humble estimation.

 

Mother's Day Flowers

Mother's Day is Coming!

Lots of people give flowers for Mother's Day

and have I got an idea for you!

(Bet you can't tell where this is going)

10 Reasons to Give Art for Mother's Day

1.  They don't wilt.

2.  They don't have to be planted.

3.  They don't have to be watered.

4.  They don't have to be weeded.

5.  They don't have to be fertilized.

6.  You can pick on to match your sofa.

7.  They won't give her allergy sneezes.

8.  I can ship today.

9.  They will look as good 20 years from now as the day you gave the painting.

10.  She's gonna love you for it.

Need I say more?

Click here to go to my website and you can choose. 

Eatin and Jammin

A Jam Session

A friend of mine from Carrollton, KY is working hard to promote some local musicians and businesses.

Just the kind of thing I love!

Cathy Gilbert of Carrollton is interested in promoting local businesses and musicians on social media to see how far it can go.

We're going to help.

She is not a business owner or a musician and will make no money on this venture, it is really just to promote these fun nights at Welch's Riverside Restaurant.

They are going to be featuring some local talent once a month 

the first Thursday of June and July!

Every small town has their own version of Welch's Restaurant 

where the locals go every morning for their cup of joe, biscuits and gravy, (you're in the south)

and other great things!

Now they're going to have a breakfast buffet on the first Thursday of June and July and you're all invited.

OK, I know some of you are no where near Carrollton, but you can dream and share this!

We missed the first one already, it was May 2 and my neighbor Clayton Dermon was the headliner.

Hope you had a great day Clayton.

JUNE 6: THE ARNEY FAMILY BAND w L.B, Kim and Travis Arney and Chuck Webster~Bluegrass

JULY 11: DENNIS WHEELER ~ Country Rock and Roll

Other dates may be added. 

Welch’s Riverside Restaurant, at 505 Main Street, will serve a special “Breakfast for Supper Buffet” starting at 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. that includes bacon, sausage, eggs, home fries, pancakes, grits and biscuits and gravy; and their regular menu will also be available.

 (Now doesn't that sound good)!

   

    What is the name of your towns version of Welches?

Years ago when I lived in Mason, OH it was the Dinner Bell.

Leave a comment telling us the name of your fav local restaurant and a local band. 

We need a map to put little pin flags on where everyone's favorite local restaurant is.