SURVIVING AUGUST

The first half of summer was just about as good as it gets here in central Texas, but now we've settled into an endless string of 100+ days, with no clouds or rain in sight. Man-oh-man, what I wouldn't give for a nice dreary day!

Since I don't get out unless I have to, once it gets like this, I'm all the more dependent upon A.C., art projects, and a pile of good books, to help me survive until fall. Books like this one...

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell -- yet another page-turner stumbled upon in the Young Adult section. Could. Not. Put. It. Down!

IT AIN'T EASY: PARENTING, AND BEING, ADULT CHILDREN

Knowing how to parent our adult children is tough, is it not? Knowing just when to offer help, and when we need to back off? And, just when you think you've got it figured out, you realize that what worked well with one kid isn't working at all with the next one! There's only one thing harder -- learning to BE an adult child.

There were four kids in my family, and since my parents weren't in the habit of handing out spending money, we started earning our own as soon as we were old enough to babysit, or in my brother's case, dig ditches for my dad. The day I turned sixteen, I was out beating the bushes, looking for a part-time job.  I opened my own checking and savings accounts when I got my first paycheck and, from that point on, I paid for all my own school stuff, made all of my own clothes, and saved up enough money to put myself through college. When I moved to Austin, to attend UT, my bank statements continued to be mailed to my parents' address. When I came home at Thanksgiving and discovered that my father had been opening them, to check and see that I was "spending my money wisely", I just about blew a gasket! He was quite shocked at my reaction. Apparently he had always done that with my older sister Kathy, and it hadn't bothered her in the least.

Within a few weeks of my graduation, I had married and moved to Indonesia. I never had to worry about them treating me like a child, or poking their nose into my business, again. My siblings, who all stayed close to home, were not so fortunate. There were, however, some tradeoffs for all of this freedom and independence.

My parents never offered to babysit for us, picked up my kids from school, or took care of a sick kid so I wouldn't have to miss work. They never offered to give my kids a ride, when I needed to be three places at once. They have never visited when we were sick or in the hospital. They have never done yard work, repairs, or remodeling for us. The have never lent us money or helped us to move. Even when we moved back to Dallas -- when the kids were about ten and thirteen, I was back in school but still working part-time, and my hubby was out of the country more than he was home -- they still never offered to lend a hand. I guess they just assumed I had it all figured out by then, and didn't need or want any help, and of course, I was too proud and stubborn to ask. But at least I didn't have to put up with unsolicited advice, right?

Ahhhhh, if only we could have our cake, and eat it too!

COLOR MAD CRAYONS

Color Mad Monday is dedicated to things that make my heart go pitter-patter.  Sometimes it's found in the garden. Sometimes it's a grouping of glassware or pottery. Sometimes it's textiles. Always, it's about color. Believe it or not, certain color combos can make me go weak in the knees. Like this one.

 I like my colors hot and spicy, bordering on lurid. I don't do timid and pastel.

Art supplies definitely make my heart go pitter-patter!

Are those gorgeous, or what? That's my collection of Caran D'Ache Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels (not to be confused with the Neocolor I, which is not water-soluble). These are what I used to "paint" the picture above, and they are perfect for the person who has always been afraid to try watercolors, because they are so much easier to control. They are kind of expensive, being Swiss made and all, so I started out with a simple set of ten.

 

When we were going to Houston every few months, to visit one of John's doctors, there was a great art supply store that carried these crayons individually, so I would add a few more colors each time I went. Too bad he doesn't go to that doctor anymore. The good news is that, when I was in Dallas last week, I made a quick stop at Asel Art Supply before heading out of town. Guess what they carry?

Yes, I know, it probably would have been much cheaper to just buy a larger set to start with. However, it would have hurt a whole lot more, and the pleasure wouldn't have lasted nearly as long, now would it?

UNPLUGGED EPIPHANIES

In this Wild Summer Art class that I've been yammering about for the last six weeks, instructor Junelle always ends the week with a challenge. A couple of weeks ago, it was a doozie. She actually dared us to unplug ourselves for a bit -- to turn off facebook and all other social media, at least for a day. Can you imagine? She claimed that the trick to her being a busy artist was to turn off the computer and get her head and her heart busy with her own art. She even went so far as to promise that if we would do this every now and then, we would:

• make more art
• focus on our own inspired ideas
• use our own palette of colors
• not find ourselves comparing all the time

Most importantly, she said, our art-heart would thank us for listening to her! Those are some pretty big promises, are they not? I knew that shutting off my computer here at home would be mighty tough, especially when I was in the middle of an online class, so I decided to try it while I was in Dallas. Normally, I would be going to my sister's computer three or four times a day to check email and facebook, but this time I ignored it completely for three whole days, and survived without a scratch. Granted, I was there to take an art class from someone else, so I wasn't exactly focused on my own art-heart that whole time. It did, however, get me to thinkin'.

Here's my great epiphany. Every teacher I've taken a class from has had their own unique style. Christy Tomlinson likes messy collage, with lots of layers and lots of paint globbed on, usually with her fingers!

Some Projects From My Intro Class With Christy

Joanne Sharpe was all about color and lettering and pens and markers.

A Project From Joanne's Color-Love Class

My third instructor, Junelle Jacobsen, was mostly about sweet sketches and appreciating all the small things in life, like precious little lambies.

 

Alyssa Burke is an outdoor woman who lives on the Oregon coast, and she has a more graphic design approach to art, inspired by nature. She got me to start a nature journal.

Donna Downy is a true mixed-media artist, who uses everything from drywall tape and tissue paper to acrylic paints, stamping, and pastels in her creations.

A Project Done In Her Pan Pastel Class

An then of course there is Dyan Reaveley, whom I played with this week.

A Project I Made Using One Of Dyan's Couture Stamps

So here's the thing. Dyan had several of her completed journals there for us to thumb through, and at first they made me green with envy. Her's were all so gorgeous, and so, well, Dyan, while mine are all such ugly mishmashes of stuff. "Why can't mine be more like hers?", I wondered. But then, as I said, I got to thinking, and I realized that the main thing all of my teachers' art journals have, that mine don't, is just, well, consistency!

None of them had style or talent that was superior to anyone else. What set their journals apart is that they had each found their own groove and settled into it. They found a lettering style they were comfortable with and stuck with it. They figured out whether they preferred sketching or collage or whatever, and whether they preferred acrylics and watercolors over inks and sprays, and they stuck with those.  They even discovered their own personal palette. As a result of all this, their journals took on a cohesive style that was a reflection of them, and which became recognizable. Their journals stopped being a hodgepodge mash-up of everyone else's style, and began to have a sense of unity, and that unity is what made them gorgeous!

So there. That's my epiphany.

COMING BACK DOWN TO EARTH

Well, I meant to do a blog post the minute I got back from Dallas yesterday afternoon, but if you've ever gone off for a creative girl's getaway, you know it's sometimes difficult to come down off that cloud, and settle back into your groove. Here's the speed version of what I did while I was away:

The main event was our art journaling class with Dyan Reaveley, where we received this fabulous goody bag, and one of her super dooper pristine art journals. First thing she made us do was to wreck that gorgeous journal, both inside and out, with lots of smudges and splotches. If there's one thing she can't abide, it's women who waste our valuable class time trying to keep everything neat and perfect, so she figures it's best to get that out of the way right off the bat.

Our Crazy Fun Instructor, Dyan Reaveley

 

 

 

None of the pages above are completed projects. The are mostly just samples of techniques we learned for making backgrounds, and still need lots of journaling and doodling to finish them off and make them pop.

Sister Gus Gets Down and Dirty!

Dyan demonstrates a technique for tricking your brain into thinking it's happy.

We were at it from 9:30 am until almost 7:00 pm, with one 30 minute lunch break. Believe it or not, by the end of the day we were too tired to do any shopping there at Stamp Asylum before we left, and so hungry that we actually stopped for dinner with our hands and arms covered in paint! (I'm still not completely paint-free.) Fortunately, the owner said we could come back the next day and still get our class discount, so we dragged sister Poodie and niece Steph back there with us on Thursday, but compensated by having lunch with them at a place called The Chocolate Angel, and seeing the movie Red 2. Yesterday morning Gus and I breakfasted out together and were standing at the door of Asel Art Supply by the time they opened at 9:00, so we could do a final bit of shopping before I had to hit the road.

Guess you can see why I was a wee bit pooped last night. Now, however, it's definitely time to get down to business, for I need to finish up the projects above, get back to my Wild Summer Art class, which I am way behind in now, and on top of all that, I must get started on my double-page spread in the first round of Circle Journal swapping, since a gorgeous one showed up in our mailbox while I was gone. Could life get any better?

TA TA FOR NOW!

If I can get my act together and get myself packed, I should be heading off to Dallas before long. Well, Plano actually, which is just north of Dallas. My sister Kathy (Gus) and I are all a'twitter, for tomorrow we will be spending the entire day, from 9:30 until 6:00, learning all kinds of artsy goodness from the infamous Dyan Reaveley -- British blogger, shop owner, Senior Educator for Ranger craft products, and color-mad creator of all the products in their Dylusions line, such as these marvelous ink sprays and stamp sets... 

 

which I use to do fun stuff like this.

Dyan lives in England, but travels the world teaching classes, and as far as I know, she only ever makes two stops in all of Texas -- one in Waxahachie, and one at a great little shop called Stamp Asylum, which just happens to be about five minutes from my sister's house. How lucky is that! Best of all? I won't have to bring an extra suitcase filled with art supplies this time. Not only are they supplying everything we need for this class (all we have to bring is an apron), they've even promised us a bag full of goodies to take home with us. Woohoo!

On Thursday we will meet up with big sister Carolyn (Poodie) and hang out with her all day, then I should be home by Friday afternoon, with lots of new artsy stuff and plenty of pictures to share. I have every confidence that my hubby will do just fine without me for a few days. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. As for him, well, I'm pretty sure he's doing his free-at-last-happy-dance every time I turn my back!

BLESSINGS THAT BITE

Know what I hate? I hate it when it's so freakin' hot out that you can't even stand to open a window in the wee hours of the morn, before the sun comes up. That's what I hate! And that's what Texas is usually like, at least four months out of the year. Crikey!

We've been really blessed this year, with the coolest early summer in years, and much more rain than usual, as well. Just got another inch, in fact, along with that lightening storm that jolted us out of bed the other night. Can't believe we're heading into August with a full rain tank! Imagine my surprise, then, when I read in the paper this week that all of this rain has only IN-creased our chances of wildfires later this summer and fall!

Unfortunately, this rain hasn't nearly made up for years of drought and overdevelopment, so our lakes and aquifers are still way low. What it did do is give all of the native grasses an extra growth spurt late in the season, making them much taller and more lush than usual. Now that real summer has finally set in, it won't be long before most of Texas will be under serious water restrictions, and once all those lush grasses become dry and parched? Well, that leaves all the more combustible tender to help a wildfire spread quickly.

Who would a' thunk?