Joyful Purpose

Goody Goody Gumdrops

Goodies!  After my little excursion to Michael's today I thought I would share my indulgences - The latest issue of Somerset Studios - must have
Ribbons!! I got a whole stack of lovelies. New shades of acrylic paint  - 50cents each! Score.  Cute little red buckets - um thinking Valentine day project gifties. Little Mary Engelbreit boxes - don't give me any guff I can't help it I do love Mary and her cute colors and graphics - so there!  Besides they were only a $1 each!

Ah, the love of books - art books that is!

I love getting new art books that I find inspiring as well as great eye candy. These are my latest - Collage Unleashed by Traci Bautista - great techniques even if your style is different you can learn a ton of tricks and tips for adding depth to your work, Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin - once again great techniques that can be applied to any media and if such a sweet caring soul like Ms. Berlin has her name on it I definitely want to support it and my friend Maija has some cards in there as well - no brainer for me!, Altered Objects - really unique work that is wonderful by the likes of the O'Brien's, M. DeMeng to name a few.  They are certainly worth a look.

Artist Survival

The artist's survival kit! Keri Smith created the idea cards that i used as the inspiration for this book and inside of it.  You can download them from her website.  I created this 5x7 book for a friend of mine as a giftie.   

My new love and daily survival is Numi Rooibos Red Bush African Tea.  It rocks!  Tastes like black tea but is naturally caffeine free and very high in antioxidants.  Not to often you find something that tastes great and is really good for you too!  I add a teaspoon of honey and some milk - yummo!  My friends gave me a new tea pot and this great honey selection from Marshall Farms that produces high quality natural honey from Northern California.  We got a collection of 20 different little jars.  It is great to try a new one every day.

Exploration Journal Class

I am going to be teaching a new class "Self Portrait Exploration Journal" at the Paper Post in Agoura, Ca on Feb. 25th. You can click on the book to see all the contents.  But here are a few shots of the book.  I worked on it in Mammoth while we were skiing and am really happy with the way it turned out.  It is filled with lots of stuff.  It is using photos of yourself to explore that inner knowing.