From Chaos Comes Happiness

It's a crazy kind of world right now. Crazy. I last wrote in April. It is now May (just two days away from June). We are still doing social distancing due to the Covid19 pandemic that has taken over our world this year. But we slowly . . .   slowly . . . are moving back to some sort of normal living. Or, I guess I should say towards a new way of living. A new normal. And I think I am afraid. I mean, I am ready for it. Of course. Aren't we all? But there is a strange comfort that has taken over in the past two months. And the future is still this crazy land of unknowing. A land of unclear circumstances and a different world than it was 3 months ago. Boy oh boy - is it ever. Phil is still on reduced hours and salary. Working only two days a week and receiving 40% of his pay. It has been a really difficult time for him. Anxiety is high. Patience is low. Being unclear on the future of your career is a pretty scary scenario. He has found a few projects here or there aroun...

A friend of mine posted this quote on Facebook this week, and the moment I read it - it was as if a stadium of people stood up in my head and cheered, " YES !" and " THIS !" and " BRAVOOO !", each exclamation repeating over and over in my head as I read and re-read the quote all week long. Written by the  most brilliant and giftedly insightful Anne Lamott, it sort of became my instant mantra . . . so much so, that I immediately shared it with my Facebook friends.   I can imagine a large art piece with this very quote hanging on a wall in our home. . . not that I want to entertain visitors with thoughts of my jiggly thighs or comfortable tummy . . . but because the meaning behind it all is so damn near perfect. "Don't let that happen," she tells us. "Don't forget to live that big, juicy, creative life." YES!! I think it is so fitting for me right now, because at some point during the last year - I thin...

            There are not enough hours in the day.  No where near enough hours in the day.  And certainly not enough hours in my day . . . to make art .  Today, I felt it. This ache in the pit of my stomach. It happened around 6:10pm, after I arrived home from work and before I walked out the door to Ella's Brownie meeting. It was somewhere between stuffing Goldfish crackers in plastic sandwich baggies for their snack, or preparing for their Brownies art project by cutting plastic flowers off of stems. But somewhere around that time, I caught a glimpse of a mixed media piece hanging on my kitchen wall, and I felt this ache start inside of me.  I miss my art.  I've been in a creative black hole since the holidays. Once everything was done with the holiday fairs and vendor shows, I packed up one plastic bin of remaining art work and product, and closed the lid on the 2014 season. Since then, I have focused on the new job and home li...

       I'm doing it.  I am.  I. AM. DOING. IT.  I came to this realization last night, as I was packing up for my next art class at Bedford Park District (takes place Monday night, by the way, and I am really excited about it - because it is different from anything I have offered before.) But . . . I digress . . . as I stood in front of my plastic bin filling it with supplies and counting brushes & canvases - I realized, I am doing it.  I am having my cake . . . and eating it, too.  Over a year ago, Phil and I had a discussion about the idea of me returning to work. At the time, the thought upset me so much - that I think I cried for a number of days and totally shut down. It broke me. I don't know why. No, I take that back. I know exactly why.  I was scared. I was afraid I was going to have to give up this creative life that I have worked so hard to get to in the past three years. I was afraid I couldn't do it all. I was afraid I wo...

Last week, I told my dear friend, Peggy, how much I missed blogging. " I don't even know where to begin, " I told her. " It's been so long, I don't even know what to say. "  " Just write," she said. " Write about what you're  doing. Just do it. "  Wise words from a wise friend.  So . . . Me? What am I doing . . . . I guess, I am just up to my eye balls in LIFE.   2014 - it went out with a bang (a new job, four weeks of a horrible cold and cough, non-stop holiday activities, lots of family fun with even some not-so-fun, and everything that goes with it.)  Then, 2015. A new year, new focus, the rebirth of old ideas in brand new ways. A friend making her dream come true, and me being allowed to enjoy the benefits of it. And life. It IS THE life.  To avoid boring you with all if the little day in and day out happenings of the past 56 days - I'll take a few days this week to share two or three moments of th...

It's so strange how the universe works. Like, CRAZY strange. And I love it. Every stinking bit of it. Really. The good, and the bad parts of it. My friends . . . I got the job. The job I was telling you about earlier in the week. The for real 'wake up and go to an office' sort of job. The job that will deposit funds into my bank account every two weeks (insert cheer of ' yay !' here). The job that will help ignite some old skills, dust of some insurance knowledge, and allow me to exceed in a field that I know I can handle. Yes, I got the job. But back to the universe. I love it. A few years ago, for those of you who may not be familiar with my story, I worked in health care - in health insurance, specifically. I have actually held a job in health care, in one way or another, since I was 16. And since I am not one to hide my age . . . that was about 27 years ago. I did well in health care - working my way up from one position to another, and settli...

                        I love the colors of this art journal page that I did the other day . . . bright, vivid colors - they make me happy. We tend to react one way or another to a color that we come in contact with, don't we?   Soft shades of blues and greens often bring a sense of peace. Reds bring a feeling of passion and great enthusiasm. Yellows bring on happiness and joy like no other.  I absolutely love to take those Facebook quizzes that, after answering a variety of silly questions, tell you exactly the color you are. Some days I don't need a quiz to tell me what color I am feeling . . . but other days, I'm not so sure.  And these days,  I'm a variety of colors. Truly . . . every color of the rainbow. Each and every day.  Moments of calmness in my days are quickly taken over by feelings of overwhelm and great concern, then the joy peeks in, followed by worry and despair...

Years and years ago (waaaaay back in 2011, if you can believe it), I attended an awesomely inspiring and soul filling weekend in Minnesota called " The Creative Connection Event ". It was the most thrilling experience - "a national conference and market celebrating creative women and entrepreneurs", and it changed my life. Truly. It was there, in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I met my very first blog friend, Kiki. Oh, how I adore her!! (And miss her terribly! Haven't seen her since that weekend - my dear friend, we MUST get ourselves in the same state again!)    It was also there where I got to meet mixed media artist Kelly Rae Roberts, who was my first introduction into the world of mixed media art and this whole movement of creative women. I also took a class with THE Brave Girls  Melody Ross and Kathy Wilkins. At the time, I had no idea how amazing these ladies were - but I quickly learned.  I took a big leap and jumped at the chance to stand...

A day late, and slightly more than a dollar short . . . but here, nonetheless! I'm so very grateful to be here with you today, my friends . . . not only because it has been too long since I've been away, but because this week I was asked to participate in a lovely little "Blog Tour" by my beloved friend, Kelly Warren, over at Happy Shack Designs ! Kelly is one awesome lady, with two absolutely adorable twin daughters, and such a creative soul . . . she brings happiness and inspiration to me so very often that even though we have only met through blogland (and never face to face), she is a lifelong friend whose very presence makes me smile! Truly.  As part of the Blog Tour, Kelly sent along a list of question for me to answer. I am so excited about these coming up right about now in life, since I have found myself S.U.P.E.R. motivated in my art, as of late. Because of that, I am really eager to think about it and write about it and share it. So, without furth...

I've been stuck in an artless state for a few months now. Feeling unmotivated. Uncertain. Questioning what direction to go next, without so much as an ounce of creative passion in me. There is a huge amount of pressure and expectation that I put on the artist in me. Creating art is sort of a must, if you want to make money in your art. And I wasn't creating a thing, nor did I have a desire to do so. I was hopeless. It was icky. I thought,  "Maybe that was it. It was a nice run. . . maybe you're done."  Seriously. I meditated. I walked. I looked at the birds. I listened to music. I traveled. I drank wine. I laughed. I watched people. I read blogs. I read books. I sat in my mess of a studio without a bit of inspiration, and looked at the piles and piles of supplies I had . . . not knowing where to even begin. I sketched . . . a little. But nothing moved me. Not a single thing. Then, it was my birthday. I don't usually make much out of m...

What!?!?! I haven't written since February 14th? Shame on me!! SHAME!! I have written about 100 times in my head . . . but my deepest apologies for not getting it here - to the blog! I have so much to share . . . stories and photos and little updates on life. So let's not waste any more time, shall we? Today, I'm starting with one that I've been meaning to write for weeks. I want to share a little story with you about a recent piece of art I was commissioned to make for someone, and a few photos of my journey along the way. It's a little story about love , really. Love & Art. And what a wonderful combination it can be. It started with an email and turned into one of the best experiences I had in making art for someone. Truly. The email came from Meghan, the dearest girl friend to my life-long friend Scott. Scott and I met some (eh-hem) 25 years ago, in high school. We were theater nerds together (yes, most of us in theater were nerds). Our love for th...

Oh, dear . . . look at the time!!! I'm so sorry for being so late. It's been such a crazy busy day. I could go on and on and tell you about my wonderful shopping adventure at both Ikea and Costco today, or show you a picture of the new coffee mugs I bought. I could tell you about the traffic I was stuck in earlier this evening, or talk about how nasty rainy the weather was tonight. I have just about a million things I could write about... Oh, but let's get to the real reason we are here today, shall we?  It's Time to Announce the Winner of my  "Happy Day Give-Away!"  Yes, I've plugged in the names of those who left a comment on the give-away post in that handy dandy little Random.org site . . . hit the button to put them in random order . . . and here she is . . .   Congratulations Jen!!!   Here is what Jen said in her comment . . .  Oh, I think she sounds just lovely, don't you?  Jen, I am so excited that you wi...

Oh, what a Happy Day, my friends!!! The weather is crazy here in Chicago . . . we're talking CRAZY. I've been stuck in the house for about three days now. (Did I mention, WITH MY CHILDREN?) And right now, they are driving me about as crazy as the weather is. PG is on a business trip, and I'm starving for some adult conversation and creative time. I did manage to do some major organizing of my art studio today, hence the give-away (which I'll get to in a minute). But before that, I have to tell you about something absolutely fantabulous! Today IS a happy day . . . because a dear friend of mine wrote a book!! Did I tell you? Of course I didn't. Not yet. Because I didn't have it in my hot little hands yet. But I do now, my friends. I have the book. The very book that my dear friend wrote. MY friend. It just arrived late last night, and I just opened it. I can tell, already, that it is going to be fantabulous (which is sort of a joint "fantastic" and...