world-wide community

The internet is a wonderful community of people who share ideas, inspiration, sympathy, and real assistance when called for... even if you may not have ever met the person in "real" life!

Right now, there is a great example of that on Michelle Ward's blog, How Cool Is That. Michelle runs Green Pepper Press, a rubber stamp company. Michelle has just designed and issued a new half-sheet of stamps to raise money for a fellow blogger in Illinois (Paula) whose family lost their house in a fire. (go here for more details about that.) That's just one example of the fellowship that connects us all here on the world-wide web... it is worldwide, but it's also a pretty close-knit community.

Another example is blog awards... quite out of the blue (a couple weeks ago, now... I'm slow at blogging lately), I was awarded the "Friendly Blogger" award by a very nice British mixed-media artist, Kathryn, of The Kathryn Wheel. She calls herself "The Queen of Messing About" and posts quite wonderful ATCs, journal pages, and other projects. It is quite amazing to think that I can connect regularly with people who live in Australia, South Africa, England, and all parts of the US... thanks, Kathryn!

These are the guidelines that came with the badge: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers.” (I totally just lifted that word for word from Shelly, who copied it from Kathryn)

So, in keeping with the guidelines, I nominate the following bloggers:

Laurie at the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee (she is a true friend to orphaned kittens).

Felicia at Fluffy Flowers (she documents life, and sewing, in Georgia)

Sandy at Sandy' s Spot on the Web (she documents her family and life in Louisiana)

Mare at Moon & Stars Studio (she documents life and art in upstate New York)

Monday again, already??

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm the New York Public Library Digital image collection... I could spend quite a while browsing thru here!

(found via a wonderful new-to-me blog, Bricolage, Inspiration at Hand , which is also full of gorgeous photos for your browsing pleasure!)

the weekend went by very quickly.. work on Saturday, then napping/resting/sleeping Saturday afternoon and evening- apparently I needed to catch up on some rest! Sunday was spent with a couple friends, Jan and Lynn, at Lynn's house in Mesa, AZ. (aside: I drove thru neighborhoods full of lusciously fragrant orange trees in full bloom... the aroma was so strong it almost gave me a headache, but it's wonderful- there is nothing else like it in the world!) We watched the DVD 1000 Journals, talked, and sat on the patio while we paged thru Lynn's library of art books for inspiration. Lynn's husband was nice enough to grill us hamburgers, and there were a few snacks in there, too!) Now I am ready to get out my brushes, stamps, stencils, paint, and markers, and go to town creating! (of course, this means we can't eat at the kitchen table, but oh well... that's what the coffee table is for, right??)

I have decided that the Universe wants me to learn patience, and it's not fair! Why can't the Universe want me to learn something fun, like... like... well, I can't think of anything right now, because I am so impatient. I'm trying to take things in my life as they come, but it's hard!! (read that in a whiny tone of voice, and you'll get the idea of how I feel right now: I feel like the 9-year old me who wants what she wants NOW, instead of the almost-40 year old me, who is usually rational and understanding about delays and changes in plans.)

I'm glad it's almost the weekend-I'll be working overtime tomorrow, starting at 5 am (I hate getting up early, but I like the money!), and I have an art date on Sunday with friends, where we will be watching the 1000 Journals DVD and working on projects.

to everyone reading: here's hoping you exactly get what you want, when you want it!

to the Universe: do I get points for trying??

Bisbee - glamour shot

Bisbee glamour shot
Originally uploaded by crimsoncat05

a birthday glamour shot done with a little soft focus (only a few weeks late). Bisbee turned one year old on Feb 22nd. She is definitely a fiesty girl, but she keeps Sedona (and us!) on our toes!!

our new boarder

our new boarder Originally uploaded by crimsoncat05

we're landlords! "Spacious, lots of light, and plenty of fresh air- great room with cathedral ceiling". Sound good?? She thinks so! This dove has taken up residence on our tile roof... not the first place I thought a bird would pick, but it seems to suit her.

random photo catchup

a few random photos from a few weeks ago... the planned studio clean-up and painting-fest was interrupted today by some technical difficulties- did you know that an underwire from a brassiere can get into the water pump in your washer and cause all sorts of havoc, not to mention some horrible, God-awful noises?!? Neither did I, till today! (they're uncomfortable to wear, and turns out they're dangerous, too!) Luckily (after cleaning up the water left in the washer, that is) Tom managed to remove the wire, and the washer seems to be working correctly for the moment. In the meantime, take a look at these! Sedona and Bisbee, taking in the sun in the backyard. (Bisbee is on the left- she's not quite as big as Sedona, but will have a much fuller coat, I think.) It's been in the upper 80s here recently, but now is back down into the low-mid 70s, where it's supposed to be for this time of year; they do enjoy relaxing in the sun, but very soon want to come back into the house where we are.

Butters and I, doing some internet surfing. She's turned out to be somewhat of a lap cat, now that she's a little older and settling down. It's kind of difficult to operate the mouse when she's laying on my arm. though!

This is the inside of a barbecue restaurant in Albequerque, New Mexico. Tom flew into/out of here last month when he visited a customer site in Sante Fe, and stopped here for brisket and all the fixin's on the way back to the airport. We found this place on our very first trip together, and have always wanted to go back. (I tried to talk him into bringing some home for me, but he didn't think he could get it onto the plane). By the way, our very first trip together was flying out here to Phoenix and driving back to Illinois in a U-Haul truck with some of his belongings, when he was moving back to Illinois- as my friend Karen said, "you will certainly get to know someone when you're in a truck together for two days straight; it's a good way to find out if you caqn get along together." She was right, and it seemed to work out okay, since we just celebrated our 5-year anniversary last week!

here's a look at the outdoor sign at Rudy's, just off of I-40 in Albequerque, NM- I love the retro look of the sign, and highly recommend their barbeque to anyone who's traveling that way! (of course, I'm going to have to wait a while till I can eat there again... but, hopefully we can head to New Mexico this fall for the hot air balloon festival.)

Saturday links

this morning I turned on our local PBS channel (it's pledge time, here), and watched most of a fabulous show on Art Quilts... wonderful inspiration!! Art quilts made from fabric, beads, buttons, handkerchiefs, hand-dyed fabric, orange construction fence, candy bar wrappers, paper, bread ties, and all manner of things for artistic expression. I managed to catch a few names, and need to find out more about them- here are links to a few of them. Please check them out! (I didn' want to use anyone's photos without permission, so you need to click on the links to check out the artwork.)

Pam RuBert, a quilter who makes large cartoon-like art quilts with the main character PaMdora

http://pamrubert.com/artquilts/mysterious.shtml

http://pamrubert.com/about.shtml

Bob Adams, a former art teacher turned art-quilter

http://www.bobadamsart.com/images/Lunar_8_Detail.JPG

http://www.bobadamsart.com/images/Lunar_Series_Night_Study_2.jpg

http://www.bobadamsart.com/about.html

The Chicago School of Fusing- fabric artists who use fusible webbing, not piecing, to make their art quilts

http://www.artfabrik.com/csof.html

http://www.artfabrik.com/gallery.html

Jan Burch Cochran- an art quilter who makes highly embellished art quilts using beads, buttons, rickrack, embroidery, and lots of detail in her work

http://www.janeburchcochran.com/

http://www.janeburchcochran.com/Pages/Gallery2.html

I hope you find something interesting in these links, and that everyone has a good weekend ahead of them! now, I need to go clean up my studio, so I can capitalize on this wonderful inspiration (with paper and glue... and maybe a little fabric or rickrack, added in!)