Art Show

I've been a blog-slacker. We had a very busy weekend--so busy, that I've been trying to catch up with all the stuff I should have done over the weekend but didn't have time for.

The art show that I had a piece in opened on Friday and we all went. I didn't win a prize or get a solo show--but I wasn't expecting to. This was an older painting that I entered last-minute but it gives me something to work towards! Maybe next year I'll have a spectacular piece that will win?!

I wish we had taken more pictures, but it was crowded and chaotic and we were trying to keep track of the kids. There was a really nice food spread and wine, etc. that I wish I had documented--but Don did take a few of me with my painting:


The other one next to me got a solo show!

I've been hard at work on getting some new paintings/drawings completed. I've got three that are getting close to completion, but it's a long process! As soon as I'm finished I'll show you some pics.

Oh--some exciting news! We had our school benefit over the weekend too (I told you it was busy) and one of the live auction items was a week in the Virgin Islands in a beachfront villa--we won it! It sounds SO beautiful and amazing and we'll probably be going sometime this summer. The kids are out of control excited.

Time to go get caught up on some blogs...

Happy Birthday To Me!

That's right--it's my birthday and I'm blatantly posting about it! I hope it's a good one--I have plans to have lunch with my sister which should be fun--but Pickle is showing signs of a cold and that always puts me in a worried mood. Hopefully it won't turn into anything.

I'm super excited about something though--over the weekend I entered one of my paintings in a local show. It's a juried show which means a panel of judges looks at all the work and choose who's right for the show.

I was doubtful when I got there to sign in because there was just a sea of paintings entered and I had no clue what kind of chance I had. Plus, I wasn't crazy about the piece I was submitting--it's alright but I have better--the problem is that it had to be framed and ready to hang and this was the only one that fit the bill.

So I dropped it off Saturday morning and got a call later that day telling me that it was accepted! I'm SO excited!

Also, turns out there were over 200 pieces submitted and they chose 45 to be in the show. That's not too shabby.

There will be an opening reception on Friday night and I'm looking forward to taking the kids to it. And the really extra-exciting thing is that they will be giving out awards and cash prizes plus offering some people solo shows!! I'm not holding my breath on that at all--but still!

This is the piece I entered--it's a watercolor called "Room Service":

I would say it looks better in person because it has zillions of layers and the colors kind of glow in a cool way.

So that's my big news (well that and my birthday!) Oh, and if you wondering how old I am--the answer is "old"!! That's all I'm sayin'.

I'll be sure to take lots of pics at the Friday opening!!

No T.V.

A no watching t.v. update: It's taking over my life!

Since I stopped watching t.v. it's amazing how much I've done--and the interesting thing is that the momentum of getting stuff done makes me want to do more and the result is that without t.v. I'm busier than ever!

It was so cute--today Gooser said to me "Wow Mommy, not watching tv. has really paid off for you." Then he said he wasn't going to watch t.v so he could get more artwork done. SO cute!

As I write this, it's super late at night and I've got these babies:
baking in the oven. They're part of a sculpture in progress that should be finished soon.

I also did this guy:
Keep in mind that is my first oil painting ever except for the still life that we started in class last week--so, not too bad for a first try! So far, he's only taught us to paint with one color, hence the monochromatic thing.

I started a pink one too, but Pickle put her own special touch on it:
Those are the pitfalls of trying to paint with a two year old around! I fixed it though.

I did take time over the weekend to catch the HBO version of Grey Gardens which I have been desperately waiting for. It was fun because I watched it with my two "Grey Gardens friends"--we're equally obsessed! My friend came to the door in full Little Edie regalia--it was HILARIOUS. I would share a pic but I think she would kill me.

Anyway, the movie was excellent, though I wonder how someone who wasn't familiar with the documentary would like it--I think they probably would. The acting was incredible--I would be surprised if Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange didn't get Emmys.

Better check on the bunnies in the oven--also the stomach flu seems to have arrived at my house tonight via Andy. Noooooooo! Let's hope it doesn't make the rounds!

I Told You I Was Freaky...

If you've been a-checkin' on my blog, you know that I've given up t.v.-watching for a month to devote myself to creative endeavors. I've been drawing, painting and sculpting.

Remember my squirrel feet?
They found a home today on a sculpture I'm working on. It's not finished yet--but I'll give you a glimpse of it thus far:
Basically it's a baby's head on a squirrel's body.

I know it's freaky but don't hate me because of!!

Happy Phreaky Phriday Phiesta!! Check out the phun at the phabulous Candid Carrie's!!

These Are My Little Friends...

...that sit in my kitchen window
Aren't they cute? I gave the two on the left flat-tops because their hair was getting unruly. Sometimes we put Pickle's hair clips in them to dress them up.

T.V. update: I'm still doing well! I did take a tiny break tonight to watch Real Housewives of New York--but I had already been painting for several hours so I figured it was okay. Pickle and I hit the art supply store today so I am well-stocked and ready to go. I LOVE art supply stores--I could spend hours in them. So many possibilities...Hopefully I will have something finished to show you soon!

Pickle, Gooser, T.V. Update and a Weird Waiter!

Here are a few pics I took today of Pickle and Gooser:

T.V. update: I am enjoying this! Once I got into the no t.v. mode it was actually pretty easy. I've done a whole bunch of drawing and tonight I started a new painting called "Beautiful Fungus." Hopefully I'll finish it soon so I can show it to you. I also plan on starting a sculpture tomorrow--we'll see how that goes!

One funny incident that happened today--we went out for a late lunch/early dinner with the kids and had the WEIRDEST waiter! He was downright creepy and I was trying to be extra nice because he seemed like the kind of guy that would just go off. Like he asked to take the order and I said "I'll have a turkey burger please." Then he just stood there staring at me.

So, as he was bringing the food, Teddy was sort of goofing off and hanging on Patrick's sleeve and I said "Teddy--stop it." And the waiter, who was standing behind me with a bowl of macaroni and cheese, shouts (and I mean shouts) "Just STOP IT!!" to Teddy.

We all sort of froze for a second and then the waiter started laughing nervously and said something like he was just kidding. I kind of laughed because, like I said, he seemed crazy and I was sort of scared of him. Teddy looked terrified. Then the waiter kept kind of harping on it and was like "I mean, I was just trying to help you out." It was SO bizarre!!! I think he temporarily lost it and blurted it out and then started back pedaling.

Then, to make matters worse, he served me a raw turkey burger and didn't even offer to take it off the bill. I think I'm permanently off turkey burgers...

So for the rest of the night, the kids and I have been joking around shouting Just STOP IT!!!! at each other and I told Teddy--You got served by that waiter!! What a freak!

Is This Possible?

I sort of don't even want to write this, because if I do, that means I'll have to stick to it...

I'm thinking of trying to NOT watch t.v. for a month and, instead of that, just work on drawing and painting. I figure that if I devote that much time to it I will make a huge improvement.

There are a couple of problems with this plan--

A). I LOVE t.v. and I will definitely miss it.
B). I am usually exhausted at night and basically just crash in front of the t.v.--so I'll need to get a major second wind in the evening.
3). I get very easily discouraged--so if I'm working on a drawing/painting I don't like, I will be very tempted to throw in the towel and give up on the whole business.

So, as you can see, this is going to be a challenge!! Also, I haven't exactly been doing that great on my New Year's resolutions--so I don't have a very good track record.

In order to make myself stick to this, I will mention what I have worked on that day instead of watching t.v. on my blog.

Do you think I can do it? I hope so--because I'm frustrated with my lack of progress and I know the ONLY way to get good is to practice.

Laundry and Art

Since have been doing nothing but laundry and more laundry today (except for a quick run to the store) I have absolutely nothing interesting going on. The highlight of my day was when some stuff I had framed was delivered--so I thought I'd share that brief highlight with you...

These first two are "found objects" that were so cool I decided to frame them. This one I call "Dental Damn." It's a collection of weird old fake teeth lodged into some weird black goo. I had it mounted on red velvet and I think it looks just right!


The next dental-related item I call "The Wheel of Misfortune." It's some kind of antique tooth shading chart. This one I mounted on black velvet.
Then I had my poster of Little Edie framed. It's an original poster from her nightclub act at the Reno Sweeney in NYC in the 70s and it's signed by the photographer. I chose a frame that accentuated the leaves in her hair.

And this last one is a LARGE photograph by the photographer Chris Anthony that I told you about on our L.A. trip. It's called "Breathe" and is the image of a woman emerging from the water wearing clown makeup. It's so up my alley! I just went with a simple black frame on this one.
Hmmmm...it's not showing up too well--let me see if I can find a close-up of the woman. Sorry--can't do it right now. Anyway, she has clown makeup on!

So that was my big thrill of the day! Tomorrow: More laundry!!

McBlogging: Art and Ice Cream

I'm speed-McBlogging tonight because I want to get back in time for Project Runway. For those of you that are watching--who are you liking/disliking? I was happy to see that guy in the shorts go and I'm loving Stella purely for entertainment value--not so sure about her clothes yet. I love how much she loves "leathah"!

We are having so much fun on this vacation! Today was a great day. As usual--lots of swimming and eating. I won't tell you about lunch yet because I'm saving it for Restaurant Adventure Saturday--though it was hardly an adventure--but the best I could do.

Today we went to a fantastic art gallery. Don and I love to collect art--we don't have the biggest collection, but I adore the stuff we have. This gallery was very cool and is showing an amazing artist--we bought two of his sculptures. We can't take them home yet since they're part of the exhibit--but we're going back on Friday and I'll try to get some pics. One piece is a group of figures made out of heavy wire and the other is an crazy sculpure made out of rolled-up book pages. The basement of the gallery had a lot of "found objects" as art which I am very interested in. We got these:

They're antique (made in Germany) scientific drawings of a frog and a fly. OMG I love them! they're very large and I'm not sure where we're going to put them--but I'll make room!

We also got this:

It's a "potato basket" and I think it makes a beautiful art object. I'm going to put it on my dining room table! Maybe I'll find something kooky to put under it?

Pickle dropped her doll and doll bottle on the floor and Don and I thought if we put a price tag next to it, it could have passed as sculpture!

The gallery also has a separate little house across the street filled with vintage quilts--it was closed today but I looked in the window and they've got some beautiful things. When we go back on Friday, I'll be sure to get some pics (and maybe buy a quilt!?). I took these pics of Gooser outside the house. I can't wait to get in there!After that we took the kids to a "Fun Park" which they could not have been more excited about. They could play there all day. It has...

Go-carts! Let me just say that there is nothing in this world a boy loves more than a go-cart!

Even Gooser got to ride a "junior" go-cart. He crashed a couple of times--but he was still into it!
I think this was a little more his speed though:

They also have bumper boats:

and bumper cars:
and basketball in one of those inflatable things:

Meanwhile, Pickle had a Push-Up...

Even though Pickle just had ice cream, we headed off to our favorite pig-themed ice cream place next.The whole place is covered in pigs!
Even the parking lot!

And they have amazing ice cream:

McDonald's is very chaotic tonight! They're having a major leak in the ceiling and water is just pouring out. The employees are running around with buckets and those yellow slippery floor signs. Never a dull moment at McD's!

I'm going to race back now for Project Runway--let's dish about it!