Back from Maine

worked on a stack of paintings tonight

Tried to go to sleep around midnight but ended up fiddling around with paint and glazes until all canvases in progress were so wet they just had to be left alone for the night. A few hours later I walked by them again and still thought they were pretty good. That's promising. Let's see if they pass the next day test. Not that there will be a next day as i can't seem to sleep. I tried a little klonopin (cause I can't take too many, it'll leave Glen short and his anxiety trumps my insomnia) and had to take allergy pills a few hours later for super fuzzy head/sinus pain. Still no sleep. As of now my knee is unbearable so I am giving in and taking a pain pill. If I don't fall asleep there's not much else I can do. Can't mix/add any more meds.

Went to my Dad's earlier today. Picked up some money and then went searching for decanting supplies at the local dollar stores. The first store had NOTHING and the second one had some generic pain killers we take, eyeshadow palette and a little basket of shells INCLUDING A STARFISH!! I've needed a small starfish for an assemblage I started a month ago. So glad i found him for $1. Finally headed home. My knee was bothering me, the traffic was INSANE and I just felt wiped. Glen ended up finishing up my errands (the bank and pick up my new sandals) while I caught a nap. The fuzzy headed feeling just leaves me good for nothing and it makes me postpone my allergy shots which just snowballs. Grrr...

Even though we considered going to the lakehouse, when it got dark and I was home cuddling with Willow I was grateful to be home. We'll get there as soon as we can. Glen was awesome and unpacked the suitcase I'd already packed.

This week I went for a second opinion on my knee. I've finally had all the necessary tests and was prepared for surgery. Torn ACL, torn meniscus, Bakers cyst, horrible arthritis, etc. The surgeon we met with sent me for an xray, looked at it and said that I needed a knee replacement but was too young. I asked about possibly fixing the other problems and he just repeated I was too young. Didn;t look at my ultrasound or MRI. I started bawling as soon as we walked out of the office. How does a Harvard educated surgeon sentence someone to a life of pain? It has taken me a few days to be able to talk about it. I'm going to try to get more opinions. It just doesn't seem right.

Glen found a new job, allregies are sucky and I still haven't shot the pix I need to

Yesterday Glen had an interview that lasted HOURS and by the time he was done it really felt too late to head to Maine. I was driving home on the highway around 1pm and traffic was sloooowwww.... I doubt going north was any better. ANYWAY, it seems that Glen DOES have the job (woot!) so we may take a quick vacation before he starts. Now if I only knew what I'm going to do. Working 40 hr weeks just doesn't seem in the cards right now. Maybe the knee operation will help my back pain. Just have to wait and see.

I've been going through a stack of paintings that either aren't done or they aren't as good as they should be. Gradually I'm working over them and trying to come to something more unique. Glen mentioned that he really liked my skull painting after I started to glaze over it. Hmm.. I really didn't like the placement of the skull or the negative space. Maybe I should do another. I want the variations of white and ivory to look like a landscape and not be immediately recognizable as a skull. BTW, its a beaver found in the woods. Nothing nefarious or gruesome.

Glen is starting to sell articles and I'm thinking I should also give it a go. What I wonder is what subject isn't already saturated. Art, mixed media, altered art, leprechauns?

I'm all about the deals lately

if you have a Taco Bell near you you may want to print out this coupon for a free Limeaid:
http://www.tacobell.com/promo/limeade-coupon

bag full o' smelly stuff and having enough

Things have been complicated here these last few days. Appointments to go to, decisions to be made. Occasionally I remember to escape into the paint. Scribble, scrub and glaze for interesting textures and to camouflage bits I'm unhappy with. There are finished pieces and NEARLY finished pieces (what is it they're missing?) and pieces being taken apart and reassembled in a Frankenstein-like manner. Usually I would've hit up the local craft stores or made a trip to Boston for Utrecht and Pearl Paint by now. However, I just keep pulling colors and papers and ephemera from drawers and boxes and they always seem ENOUGH. When in the world have I ever felt there was ENOUGH? This is a phenomena I am not aquainted with.



The last 2 days have been kinda rough so when Glen suggested we go down to my fave mall I acquiesced. He has giftcards to spend from his birthday but I'm trying to be good. ANYWAY, 75% off at Bath & Body Works was too tempting. The roll on scents I like were only $1.87!!! I got my fave and tried a few new ones too. Also picked up a great citrus scented candle. All in all I got a stuffed bag and spent very little. I even got some great travel sizes for Maine, Nj, the Cape. You know, all the fun places we plan to go to this summer.



Now I'm painting my nails this great Revlon color, "Minted", which looks exactly like Tiffany blue. Weird. I still haven't found the Lilac Pastelle gloss from the collection. Now, I need another gloss like I need a hole in the head, but the swatches of this lilac are GORGEOUS and I think it may be wearable on my cool skin. My toes are currently Pool Blue and even my gynecologist commented on them when my feet were up in the stirrups. LOL! Maybe I'll go get a pedicure this week. Shallow, but I feel like I need to do some things to keep my mood up, ya know?


I've been spray painting on the deck a bit. I know I need to do it outside, but I'm also worried about harming the birds that come to visit. If the odor were too strong they'd just wait til later, right? I love feeding the birds as it makes the cats so happy to watch their comings and goings but at the same time I don't want to poison them with the paint. I think there's a drop cloth around here I could use...

busy framing and photgraphing multi media pieces

Black glossy paint and white washed shadow boxes

I tried to go to sleep earlier but couldn't relax so I got up and started doing some mindless prep work. White washed some shadow boxes intended for beachy tableaux and painted this wooden stand glossy black to go with our wrought iron bed. It'll be a great place to leave my large traincase. Try as i might not all my makeup will fit in my vanity.

Earlier in the day Glen went out to see Splice with his Dad. Just as well, my allergies were making me cranky so it was best that I was alone (except for the cats and they understand). When he came home I had to gather myself and force myself out the door. We did the usual: iced tea, library, dollar store. During the day it had occured to me that i needed more frames for some mixed media work. I wasn't sure they'd have what I needed, but if they did i figured  I would be able to offer some lower priced pieces. Fortunately, there were  few frames I thought might work so I got them.

When we got home I immediately set about cropping pieces and putting the finishing touches on them. It was so simple: I thought these pieces weren't done and I didn't know what they needed. Well, they WERE done I was just over thinking it. With a bit here and there I have a pretty cohesive collection and I look forward to offering them at reduced prices. I think it's really important to be able to afford art. Something unique. Maybe small piece above the kitchen counter or in a corner of your livingroom. Something to make you smile everyday.

Well... there would've been pictures but I let ALL my batteries go dead so they are currently charging. No worries, later today will be just fine. I also want to work on some notebook/sketchbook/scrapbooks but the binding machine I bought arrived broken. Will try to borrow one from my friend while I have the urge. In the meantime I think I'll get the papers and size worked out.