Got Tagged !

Dawn of Art of Humungous Proportions tagged me yesterday in a Game of Photo Tag.

Want to play along ?
Here's what you need to do.

1. Go to the photo folder in your computer.
2. Go to the seventh folder of photos.
3. Go to the seventh picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog along with a description of it.
5. Invite seven friends to join the challenge

Here's the 7th Photo in my 7th Photo Folder :

Chica's First Christmas with Us in 2004

Doesn't she look thrilled with her Santa's Hat ?

I think she is saying "What is with the Christmas reference ? Just because we got 4 inches of snow AGAIN yesterday doesn't mean that Spring isn't coming !" - Cheeky Chica !

Tee hee ! I like games ! Helps with the cabin fever !

I am going to tag 7 friends now :

carolyn at 8 Golden Paws

Melissa at A Magickal Melis

JeriAnn at Commuter's Journal

Serena at Dream With The Fishes

Lesley at Funky Art Queen

Hanna at iHanna's Creative Space

Paula at Little Scraps of Magic

Now go play some games ! They are good for what ails ya !

(BTW - so you don't feel too bad for us peeps in NH, the temp. did get up to 42 degrees and melted a lot of what we got yesterday ! Come on, Spring !!!)

Happy Blogaversary to ME !!!

So guess what ? Yesterday, March 8th, marked One Year of Blogging for the Queen of Arts !

Woo Hoo ! Happy Blog-aversary to me !

I knew this date was coming along and have been working diligently behind the scenes with my very special Computer Geek Extraordinaire, David, to change some things around here for my blog-aversary ! We were away for the weekend in Montreal for some family fun and I had to wait until today to do my blog-aversary post.

David has taught himself a whole bunch about blogs, blog templates and html and using my original art work and my background design, he created this whole brand new look for the Queen of Arts Blog ! We still have a few little tweaks left to do but thanks to the Man, we were able to launch the new look today. I love it so ! I am so grateful for David's remarkable talent and his tenacity to get things done just the way I wanted them ! Thank you, Sweet Man !

I am also grateful for my Blogland adventures everyday ! It never ceases to blow me away that there are so many supportive, creative, talented and generous people that I am fortunate enough to connect with everyday through our Blogland exchanges. Starting this blog one year ago was my way of reaching out and trying to find a community but I never imagined the love, the kindness and the genuine pleasure I would receive as a result ! Now I can hardly imagine my life without Blogland !

Here is a huge example of how wonderful blog-pals can be ! I know the sweet and lovely Carolyn from 8 Golden Paws through our Blogland connection. We comment back and forth on each other's blogs and found out that we both had a huge interest in going to the Squam Artist Workshops in September 2009. A few emails and a great phone call later, we are going both going to the retreat as room mates, classmates and friends anxious to share our art adventure ! How cool , Right ?!!!

And guess what ? We have never even met face to face ! And yet, my sweet Blog-pal Carolyn, sent me this by Priority Mail this morning :

And inside was this sweet pink note :

And wrapped in this lovely striped tissue paper was THIS :

Magnificient Queen Of Arts Blog Birthday Crown !!!! Gorgeous on the front

And on the back !

The Queen had to call the King to take some pictures of this wonderful treasure ASAP ! (Please ignore the bedhead hair !)

Happy Bedhead Queen !

Lovely Shot of the Crown !

The King's Arty Shot - notice how the eyes of the Queen are echoed in the crown ?

How lucky am I to have such a friend ? It made me feel so loved and cared for to get this thoughtful and beautiful gift from a person who has never met me face to face but already knows my heart ! So very, very sweet ! Thank you so much, carolyn !!!

(Attention - Give Away Coming - Attention - Giveaway Coming !!!)

So to complete my one year blog-aversary post, I am offering a little giveaway in honor of my love and appreciation for my Blogland friends. I will put together a little care package of Queen of Art treats, such as a note card or two with prints of my journal pages on them, a few Rock My World Rocks, some pretty painted papers to use in your own collages and some other little trinkets of love ! In order to enter the giveaway, please leave me a comment on this post sharing one special lesson that you have learned as a blogger. This Friday, March 13th, I will ask the King to draw a random comment and send the Blogland Love Package off to the winner !

Thank you so much to all my Blogland friends for making my world a kinder, better place and for all the wonderful, inspiring adventures each and everyday ! Sending out big love hugs !

When You Dream...

(Shabby Doodle Journal Pages - "Behind These Eyes")

(Distress ink, Sharpies, Circle Stencil, Lumiere Gold paint on a make-up sponge)

So The Creative Everyday Theme for the month of March is Dreams. Leah posted a really cool interview yesterday with Robert Moss, the author of Conscious Dreaming. I found the interview really fascinating and I plan on trying out some of the techniques Moss recommends for recording and even influencing what you dream.

I have always been a big dreamer and I often remember my dreams very vividly, though perhaps a little less so as I get older and have sleep patterns that are less regular. I have also always had nightmares and I remember those as well. When I do have a nightmare, there are times when I have a hard time shaking the fear or the icky feelings when I get up in the morning. I have to say that I prefer the vividness of non-nightmare-ish dreams !

Last night before I went to sleep, I did some deep breathing and as I was doing that, I made up a little mantra in my head - "I want to remember my dreams in the morning." I repeated it like a spell (too much listening to Harry Potter audio books before I go to sleep ! - Jim Dale is my hero !). Lo and behold, this morning when I woke up about 20 minutes before David's alarm, the first thought I had was "What were my dreams ?". And I remembered them ! What I remember sounds very weird and a little scary when I say it out loud but I do remember the feelings attached to the dream as well. I dreamed that I was looking for something that my "parent" (not one of my real parents) wanted and when I was distressed about it, my "parent" hugged me and told me it was okay. As the parent stroked my head, long strands of my hair were coming out on his/her hand. The 'parent" wasn't worried about that. It was almost like a dog shedding or something. But I remember thinking in the dream "Why is that happening ?"....

Told you - weird and a little scary, right ?

So what does this all mean ? Who knows ????

My mom/guru told me that she believes that all the aspects of your dreams, and all the characters in them, are different parts of you. I can apply this to my dreams a lot of the time and see things I can relate to.

So part of me may be searching for stuff to please others (This sounds like me !). Part of me may be the "parent" figure that knows that this is all okay. Losing hair ? Letting go of the unneeded stuff ? Or fears of health issues ? Again all kind of sounds like what I am going through right now.

So why do we dream ? To handle things we don't completely handle in our conscious time ? Maybe...It sure gives you stuff to build art and thoughts from, though, that is for sure.

Why do you think we dream ? Share thoughts if you feel like it.

If you need a sweet lullaby to send you or someone you love off into dreamland, try listening to this great song by a great Canadian band !

When You Dream - Barenaked Ladies

Thank you for the rainbows, Daddy.

So today is the 13th anniversary of my Dad's death. It is strange how when you lose someone, some years the anniversaries are harder or more poignant than others. This year, there is a real bittersweetness to how I am feeling. In our time together on this Earth, our father/daughter relationship definitely had its ups and downs. But this year as I remember him, I feel the need to make a bit of a tribute to my Dad...to light the usual candle, to mark the day and to say a few things about him through this, my farthest reaching forum.

Daddy - Circa 1994

While blog visiting this morning, I can across Sherry's (Everyday Possibilities) post, where she was pondering the differences between living your life and experiencing your life. As I read the post, it came to me that that is the greatest gift that my father gave to me and to my two younger sisters. He taught us to experience life, not just live it.

Daddy and me - Circa 1969

Daddy and me - My High School Graduation - 1983

He taught us to smell the moss and lichen on the wooden paths we walked on. He made us watch the wide and beautiful wingspan of a hawk as it flew over our heads. He showed us the wonders of night skies filled with shooting stars, as glorious as any fireworks show. He would awaken us early on Sunday mornings to the sounds of Vivaldi's Spring, full blast ! Or encourage us to dance like mayday nymphs to the Stones' "She's Like A Rainbow" on the front lawn at the cottage.

(Magritte inspired Stained Glass by my Dad - hanging in my studio)

He reminded us to stop and enjoy the sweet touches of a warm summer breeze on your face or the cold tingly refresher that lake water gives your skin when you go night swimming . He taught us what food tastes like when it is made with love and with care for how it will feel in your mouth. He taught us to appreciate art and architecture and the splendors of nature's many landscapes. He taught us through his own love of all of these things. He taught us by example.

(My Dad's House - marker and ink drawing by my Dad 1978)

My Father taught us how to experience life through all of our senses and to acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of things all around us. What better lesson could any parent wish to teach their children ? He was far from perfect as a parent. What hope does any parent have of being perfect in this imperfect world ? But he taught us this one lesson so very perfectly. Experience life, my girls, experience life.

Here are a few of the hundreds Daddy Memory Tunes to experience, if you feel like it. Here's to you, beautiful Daddy, "Thank You, Father !"

Shes like a rainbow - Rolling Stones

Not Too Shabby Doodles - They Are Good For You !

So did you see the article floating around this weekend (I found it in the Newsweek Health section) about how doodling actually helps you concentrate and retain information better ? I could have told you that ! The margins of the pages of loose leaf in my binders in high school were filled with doodles. And I was a really good student ! The pad of paper I keep beside me when I make business-type phone calls inevitably gets filled with flowers, spirals, points, faces and dots as well. I guess I was aware that doodles help me concentrate but really I just love making them ! I find it soothing, I think. This Queen is a Mistress of Doodles as well !

So when my blogpal Arlene at ArtdeMe gave me a new fabric-covered doodle journal (Gorgeous and custom made just for me ! She calls them Shabby Doodles) as part of our recent Canadian Artist Valentine's Swap, I was of course thrilled ! The paper in the journal is not appropriate for paint but perfect for ink, markers and glued down papers ! Perfect for DOODLES !

I have been kind of taking of an unintentional break from paint in the studio right now. Necessity in a way. I am working on some stuff for the Etsy shop (in bad need of an update!!!) and to sell in Montreal, all in the hopes of raising my tuition for Squam. That stuff involves the sewing machine and my jewelry making stuff which means that there is no room for spreading out the paint on the old cluttered work table !!!

That said, it has been great having a little place to do some journaling with a little less spreading out and clean up than my usual style.

Page 1 - Thanks to Arlene

The pages in my new journal seemed dauntingly blank at first so I decided to prep some pages for myself. This was fun ! I quickly grabbed a magazine and clipped a pile of words, images or whatever else grabbed my interest. I also took some scraps from my pile of painted papers.

Then I randomly glued down the stuff on whatever page felt right, here and there throughout the journal.

I also got out some of my favorite stamps and some black ink (should have used Staz-On though - a lot of black ink smudges going on but oh well ! I used my heat gun to set some of them.) and stamped away anywhere and everywhere I felt like it.

Now I have a lot of places to choose from when I sit down to doodle - blank pages or something with a little inspiration involved !

Here are a couple of recent doodle pages :

Magazine Paper collage - "Buds Bloom"

The background was done with a old worn green ink pad, a sponge and a stencil .

"Dance, Little Sister, Dance"

The dancer is a vintage image printed on acetate. Letters cut "ransom note" style from magazines.

"Om is Where the Heart Is" - two page spread

Color comes from colored pencils, markers and gel pens.

I know I won't be without my paints for very long ! They are definitely my medium of choice for their vibrancy and versatility. I am missing them already in spite of the fun I am having with doodling ! It has been fun scaling things down a bit though, making play time easy and very accessible. And it has the added plus of being good for my brain !!!

Now go doodle somewhere...it's good for ya !

Happy Monday !

Shelving Another One - "The Heart of Life" is DONE !

(early page - The Heart of Life)

So I just marked my art journal titled "The Heart Of Life" as "DONE!"

I actually saved one blank page in it...I think I will write about what I have learned from this one on that last blank page. Like that this journal was a lot "darker" than my first completed one. Or that there are some re-occurring themes throughout it, like the search for self-love, getting to know the inner you, the heart, pain as a catalyst for change, etc...that very much reflect what was going on in my life during the eight months or so it took to fill it up.

(recent page - "What do you ant to teach your daughters ? All the Best Cowgirls have Chinese Eyes.")

This is the second Strathmore Field Watercolor Pad (bought at Michaels with 50% off coupons) that I have filled up. I like the size I think (7x9") - not too big, not too small. I also like the combo of watercolor and sketch paper in each pad. I do some pages in larger sketchbooks with gessoed pages sometimes when I need more room. But there is something so very satisfying about having these completed journals in the same format both now sitting on the shelf in my studio.

(recent page : "Caution - Falling"

I created this slide show for this journal finale which was fun ! A little time consuming but fun! If you have a chance to look through my pages, maybe you could leave me a comment about which pages struck you the most or were your favorites. I love having this document of parts of me, and I know which pages mean the most to me as their creator. It would be kind of cool to know how my "audience" has felt when I have shared these "friends of mine.".

Happy Wednesday !

Blog-Pal Blogaversaries & Blog-a-long Finale

So the talented Canadian Artist and Blog-Pal extraordinaire, Dawn Supina at Art Of Humungous Proportions will be celebrating her 4th Blogaversary soon !!! Congratulations, Dawn !

I am heading towards 1 Year next month so I can only imagine the changes and permutations Dawn has witnessed over the past 4 years in Blogland ! I have gotten to "know" Dawn as part of the Canadian Artist Valentine's Swap I just participated in for the first time, where Dawn served as our wonderful hostess. I think Dawn's specialty is bringing people together ! As part of her Blogaversary celebration, she is interviewing some of her current favorite Bloggers and allowing her readers to get to know them better. Dawn has honored me by including me in her list of favs and you can see the interview here . It was fun doing the interview and choosing some pictures for Dawn to include that showcase my blog a little ! Thanks so much, Dawn, for making me a part of your fun celebration !

Today is the final day of the week-long Blog-a-long started by LK at the Poetic Eye. For our last day, LK suggested we link to either our favorite "maxin' and relaxin'" music or choose anything we wanted to share.

What I decided to include is dedicated to my man, David.

A lot of the time I write about Montreal and how wonderful it feels to go home to visit my family and friends there. I even call them my "Love Therapy" experts. All of that is so true ! But there is another place that I can go each and every day, where I can really be myself and really, really feel loved. And that place is anywhere where my David is.

Art journal page from 2008 - My love & Me

I know, I know you are all gagging from the sweetness, right ? Well, guess what ? From Day 1, David and I have loved to make people gag !!! Ha, ha, ha !

Seriously though, I know I am a very lucky woman. I have found a person who loves me at my best and at my worst. You know the nicest thing this man has ever said to me ? Besides saying "I love you" and meaning it so deeply, that is ? He told me at one of my very weakest moments :

"You are stronger than you think you are."

Those words ring in my head whenever I am down or scared or weakened since that day. He sees me that way, which is more than I could ever have asked for. He knows my heart, you see, this beautiful man. This man, my David, well.... he just feels like home to me...

David and Me at my birthday beach time - 2008

I love you, sweet man.

Happy Saturday ! Now, go kiss someone you love !