"uh-oh"..Don't miss this heartwarming blog link.....

Dear Friends and Visitors:

Today I woke up feeling like I got beat up from head to toe last nite. Well, that did not happen. YOu see, I suffer from both arthritis and bouts of chronic fatigue. I never know when it's going to hit. sometimes it's the barometric pressure, sometimes it's from being run down and on the go, sometimes it's from stress about a situation that manifests in my body. I'm currently quite sad about a personal situation in my family so that doesn't help it. My husband is out of town and returns today. I sit here this morning, with my coffee, checking on email, making my list, and trying to pin down which things to tend to for my daughters upcoming grad. events. As always, I thought I'd go check my "flickr" account "real quick" (I'm a bit addicted to flickr lately) before getting on with the day. I saw a picture of Nancy's "uh oh" doll, with a reference to read about it on her blog. I had to go see what Nancy said about this little hand made "uh oh" doll (I know nancy for often having funny names for things, but also for her positive attitude). Well, Nancy's Post left me in puddles. Again, she had another great message to share. I was shocked to see that she suffers from chronic pain. You would never know with her attitude! Her positive attitude helped me so much in the past, so I wanted to share this cute story of her's with you. So if you don't have a lot of time today, or if you are feeling kind of "uh 0h" about anything, go read the story of Nancy's Uh Oh doll, I'm sure it will put a smile to your face, it did mine. I'm ready to seize the day. pain and all. thank you, Nancy!!!!!!!! Love,Lia

"land of dreams" by artjunkgrl

"land of dreams" by artjunkgrl, originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

from a background I painted this weekend.

Today is my wedding anniversary and it coincides with my oldest daughters last day of High school.

"welcome to the real world"....John Mayer.

I am sad and happy too.

I've thrown myself into a good clean up of my home.

prom is tomorrow.

want to make the house look pretty for the joy that lies in the days ahead.

--Lia

"just imagine.." by artjunkgrl

"just imagine.." by artjunkgrl, originally uploaded by artjunkgrl.

more collage on painted paper...this is fun! I love the freestyle thing! :)Lia

journaljunk entry: Art Brain Overload!

I love art and feel blessed to see life in a creative way, but the bad part of it is that I often lack focus. There are SO many fun things to learn through art sites, memes, etc., not to mention great inspiration on flickr, but sometimes my brain goes on overload! I need to slow down and focus a bit. It's hard to do b/c it all looks so fun! Do you ever feel like this? If so, how do you focus your artwork?
I also want to say thankyou to those artists who responded before on how they approach their artwork: plan vs. no plan. It was SO helpful and VERY interesting to read/hear your responses. I also gathered that it is a common thing for artists to keep an "idea"/inspiration book. I will start to do so, I think this will really help! thank you SO much! --Lia

This is your mind on art....any questions?

here's what I made this weekend during our home, "painting fest". I love doing this a few times a month! My daughter JJ made a few beautiful pieces as well, check my flickr pics by clicking on photo above so you can see all my notes...I highly recommend just letting go and getting free with art, this is all the fun to me! :) Lia

Inspire Me Thursday~Abstract Art Challenge

I spent some time this weekend getting out the paints and randomly painting some backgrounds for collaging as well as making a few abstract pieces for the current Inspire Me Thursday challenge: Abstract Art. I was so excited to see this as this week's topic because it's the type of art I like to look at and dabble in most! I think it's because it often includes LOTs of color and it's just really the way my brain sees things. As a child I was very drawn to Picasso paintings when learning about him at school. This type of art comes most easiest to me. The Inspire Me Thursday site has some awesome links on abstract art. I learned so much. One of the things I've learned since participating in these meme's is my art style. I feel this is so important because it shows me where I need to grow. One of the things that currently bothers me is that I normally don't have a plan. I sounded very similar to the beginner person described in the "how to paint abstract art" on the IMT link. I often don't sketch first. I'm often quite random. I have gotten better about walking away and not finishing the piece, but I do often lack a plan. I don't paint often, and when I do, I just go with the flow. That is probably why I love abstract art so much...anything goes and that is right up my alley!! One of my goals, however, in growing as an artist would be to have a somewhat of a plan or theme before I start. I really think this would help me get out what I want to when I'm making a piece. Anyway, the above little "abstract painting", painted on the back of a piece of a magazine advertisment (lol) is one that I painted, then outlined. I also painted lots of backgrounds to collage on, which hopefully I will get to this week! I would love to hear how others create and if they have a plan or not. (aside from the original idea). Also, if you do one type of art, do you get bored with it? Drop me an email or comment and let me know. I really want to learn and learning from other artists helps me most! Hope to 'catch' you this week on the blog! :) :) Lia

Try it Tuesdays, finished piece for my BOD

I finally got around to some coveted time with my Book of Dreams! I worked on the transparency I had decided on: a personal wedding photo printed on fabric paper. Well, I put in in the collage and worked with it over and over and it just didn't look right to me. I didn't like it at all! So, off it went and I went to plan "B" and put these cute little girls in and painted over the ripped out piece, then stamped the word "Dream" on that part. Now I'm happy with it. I just have a hard time trying to make something work. I have really learned what type of art person I am from working on these memes! I am totally random. I like to just throw a bunch of stuff together until I'm happy with it. I get lost in the process of it all. I love LOTs of color. I have also learned that I have a hard time putting my own personal pics in my collages. I don't know why. I love when I see artists using photos of their kids and wish I could do the same. Maybe I have trouble with it because I am experimenting alot and I rip stuff out, or perhaps because I want to be detached from the pieces I'm creating with and get lost in "making up a story" of it's own. I just love old photos, especially "rescuing" them as ArtsyMama mentioned in her tutorial in week 3. Anyway, I am going on and on and I need to go to bed! I have another big day ahead tomorrow in mommy-land. Things are going to be really crazy for a few weeks til my daughter graduates. I can't wait til summer! It will be awesome to have a break from our crazy schedules and do lots and lots of ART! Last summer, my younger daughters and I worked on altered books. They still have them tucked away and I'm bringing them out again! Well, have a great weekend everyone, and I hope to be posting some more stuff soon. I'm trying to get back into the "groove" again! :) Lia
p.s. for more info on making your own "Book of Dreams", visit ArtsyMama's Blog.

For Andrea E.~"Give them wings...."

I was inspired to make this today after reading andrea e.'s blog. I'm going through a similar experience in mommy "growing pains". ~Lia

Self Portrait Challenge-Introductions

This is a challenge as I don't like talking alot about me and I don't like to show pics of myself often. I'm sure "O" would say that I don't "love myself" but that's not true. Maybe I'm a bit shy, maybe I'm a bit protective, or maybe it's just that there is not alot to tell! If you want to know more more about who I am and what I like, then take a look at my art. I think this should be able to tell what I can't tell you with words. I think that art is a way that I can verbalize what I feel inside, the person I really am deep down. Things I'm "working out" or things that get pushed to the back of my mind when I'm too busy to think straight.
I am also,(pardon the overused expression), like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get! I am just really a mixed bag of stuff. I like alot of things. I like to change stuff around. I guess there are some things about me that stay the same, but I haven't really thought about it and perhaps I will share some in my next may into "installment". I pretty much conform with those around me, but if you look really close, I'm rather different. I don't do the "nail, hair, clothes" thing alot. I always look neat, but I'm often donning a ponytail, jeans and plain top (which I love to wear-comfort is key). I like simple things (materially speaking). I like older stuff because they are to the point and uncomplicated. It doesn't take alot to make me happy. I'm probably a bit on the naive side. I can be ditzy too. I don't keep score. I love a good cup of coffee in the morning a good cup of herbal tea in the afternoon. I don't make fancy meals. I like the basics. So does my family. When I find something I like, I stick with it. I guess I'm a bit of a "cleanie" but a bit of a "messy" at the same time. I love order. I thrive on order, but my many interests sometimes take over space and then I have to pair things back and corral my stuff. I am obsessed with magazines. Mostly home decor, some art, some beauty (in style) is my fave. An occassional peek at People mag. during vacations. Ok, that is enough for now, hope I have not bored you silly...yawn....off I go. Have a great day all!!!!!! -Lia

p.s. the pic above is from my Mixed Media Memoirs journal page. I'm combining some of my challenges!

Book of Dreams~Week 2 {layers}

I was not crazy about how this turned out, but I learned alot. This past week we worked on layering in our book of dreams with the help of our leader extraordinare,ArtsyMama.
I am not very patient when it comes to this (I learned), I wanna just slap that image down before putting anything under it and building up to the top image. I also tried a new coppery color paint I bought b/c I liked the look, but I don't know, kind of dark for me...I'm trying to get away from doing everything green! but I have to have some green in it. Not sure if this will stay in my book, but I am going to try again and work on this technique.

p.s. ArtsyMama posts a new technique each Wednesday. Today she has posted for Week 3. For more info on starting your book of dreams, visit her blog! See y'all later! Lia