Windows Into Time…

My husband’s mother has dementia and her memory is declining quickly.

It is difficult to visit her at the facility where she lives but she is always happy to see us.

I did this grid in my art journal using some of the blue-toned printed paper I showed you yesterday:

And as I was photographing the pieces of paper where I had punched out my squares, they reminded me of windows:

The book page I gelli-printed on and used in my grid was about flowering plants from an old botany book. My MIL loved planting flowers.

I wrote this haiku with her on my mind –

Windows into time…

Squares of golden moments shine,

Fading with memory.

Cheers! 🙂

Blushing Betty

With Thanksgiving here next week in the States, it is time to start planning the Turkey dinner!

I purchased this old Betty Crocker cookbook from a thrift store.  I use it for collage.  It is filled with stains and comments on the pages… it makes me wonder whose family enjoyed it. 😉

I have been drawing a lot of pears lately so it seems fitting that a pear-shaped weird bird would appear…

Blushing Betty is a variation of the photographed recipe above for Quick Brown Betty. 

I wonder is Betty blushing because she painted her toenails?

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Cheers! 🙂

The Feckenham Family…

The Feckenham family had similar features…

And could easily be found in a crowd!

Hope these funny faces give you a smile today!

Cheers! 🙂

Strange Fungi

When I was at the lake last weekend, my hubby discovered this strange fungi (wild mushroom) growing under the garbage can and pushing it up on one side:

My husband, who knows how much I enjoy taking photos of these strange natural sightings; told me about it…

I couldn’t resist a photo or two!

I looked it up on the internet yesterday and discovered it to be of the “Puffball” fungus family.  Seriously, the Puffball fungus family of Agaricaceae.

It is sometimes known as the Brain Puffball, I kid you not! 😉

It looked to me like it had a hidden message in it… kind of like “dad” since it was Father’s Day weekend… I guess all families have their strange fungi family members! Lol!

Cheers! 🙂

Dear Friend…

Have you ever written a letter to yourself?  In your own handwriting?

I have been updating my MIL’s address book on my computer.  (A great gift idea BTW for a family member!) And it got me thinking about writing a letter to myself.

Have YOU ever done this?

I wonder what my letters would say if I addressed myself as a friend?  Would I be more kind to myself?  Would I show the same kindness I do to others?

And then I wonder, what seems so important now… would it still be… a year from now?

I have decided to write a letter to myself today and treat myself as I would a friend.  In one year, I will mail it.

I encourage you to do the same!

Cheers Friends! 🙂

P.S. I used purchased stationary here but it might be fun to create a border with your own artwork for your letter.

A Christmas Bouquet

My husband wanted me to make a card for his sister whose Birthday is on Christmas Day!

So I created this Christmas bouquet:

Funny, I don’t feel like my art is very good today…maybe because I don’t feel like his family understands my art or my need to create it.

So thank you my blogging friends for your support in my art!  It means so much to me!

And as the inside of my card says, “May God bless you today and every day!”

Cheers!  🙂

Christmas Ornaments

I have been thinking about my handmade Christmas card for this year when this poem came to me:

And here are some of my favorite ornaments hanging on our Christmas tree…

A handmade heart my grandma made many years ago:

An ornament saved from my childhood that reminds me of the family tree:

And one an artist friend painted:

Each one holds a special place in my heart just for me!

Wishing you a Sunny Sunday!  Cheers!!  🙂

P.S.  Do you have a special ornament that you cherish?  I would love to hear about it!

A Doodle Day

I was thankful that I didn’t have to cook the Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.  We joined my hubby’s family with a household of LOTS of people!  I’m not used to being around this many people so I found it calming to create this doodle in my art journal:

It was fun to add pattern to the negative space.  Tomorrow I hope to add color to the positive shapes.

Wishing you a fabulous Friday!!  Cheers!  🙂

In Lieu of Flowers

My father-in-law recently passed away.

Although we were not close, I still wanted him to die peacefully.

I was thankful that his wishes were met and he is no longer suffering.

I started my mixed media collage by gluing my Gelli printed papers with Matte Medium onto 140 lb hot press paper.   I added gesso around the flowers and textured it while it was still wet with the end of my paint brush and syran wrap.

After the gesso was dry, I added watercolor:

Adding several more layers of watercolor, I buffed it with a damp cloth to bring out the texture.

I added watercolor pencil to define the flowers at the end.

In lieu of flowers, 🌹 – my father-in-law would love if you planted a tree.   🌲

I would love to know how YOU celebrated and remembered your family and friends that have died – thank you for sharing your stories with me.

Hugs!  ❤️

Modigliani Portraits

Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani created unique portraits that had elongated faces and figures.  If you have never heard of this artist, I would highly recommend that you google him.  His style is very interesting!

When I took Carla Sonheim’s FREE Kid’s Art Week online class, one of our assignments this summer was to create a portrait in Modigliani’s style.

I did not have time to complete the assignment until now.  (BTW – This is what is wonderful about online art classes!)

I decided to choose my niece and nephew for my subjects.

Here is my nephew who loves to play tennis!  So I had to add a tennis racket to his portrait.  🙂

And here is the reference photo I used.  He is 15 years old:

My niece loves her cat:

So I included a photo of her kitty with her portrait.

Here she is at 16 years of age:

I enjoyed creating these Modigliani Portraits with Tombow markers.

Happy Creating!  🙂