whirlwind

For some reason, this is what my life has been feeling like lately . . . like there is a tornado above and it may or may not touch ground. The dark clouds have been swirling and whirling around, and it has been a bit difficult to remember that the sun is always shining above the clouds. I have a day or two to do some deep reflection, gratitude listing, and energy cleansing. If you have any ideas of what has worked for you in times like these, leave a comment.

Meanwhile, I am going to hang in there and try to get some sunshine to break through those clouds.

Snowy Minnesota

I had a wonderful night at the Visual Journal Collective Meeting at Open Book. Ken Avidor gave a great presentation on forensic sketching IN THE COURT ROOM. Check out Ken's sketches documenting the Tom Petter's Trial here.

Here's a link to some inspirational snow sketches by Ken and Roberta Avidor on the Urban Sketchers blog-go here.

That's all I have for you tonight. When was the last time you did a portrait sketch? Try it, you'll like it!

Write a comment and let us know where to find your latest portrait sketch!

Happy Valentine's Day to YOU!

Rachel is one of my new favorite artists/bloggers. She put the above image on her blog today. I had to share it with you. You can find more of her wonderful artwork on her blog here.

And here is MY message for you today:

LOVE DOES MAKE THE WORLD GO 'ROUND. HOPE YOU ARE GETTING PLENTY OF LOVE TODAY, ESPECIALLY SELF-LOVE, AS THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT KIND TO HAVE!

Last Minute Valentine's Day Ideas

1. A magazine . . . like Discover Magazine

2. A romantic/funny dvd . . . like Couples Retreat (warning: preview is not really suitable for children in my opinion)

3. Candy and a card

4. A cool tool . . . like a Leatherman

5. A car emergency/survival kit (shown above). You can find more kits here.

6. A new stress reducing dvd like this one.

What are your last minute ideas? OR, what's the best Valentine's Day gift you've ever received?

Great Mail Day

I had a great mail day today. I was anxiously waiting for a package of ephemera that I ordered on Etsy from Daniel Benayun. I had a feeling it was all going to be pretty awesome, and it was. Even the envelope was artistic. If you know me at all, you know that I really like mail art. Then I opened the envelope and the packet inside was amazing, too! Here is a direct link: Daniel's Etsy shop. I had to take pictures to record my fun mail day. Hope you get a rush, too. If you really want to experience what I did, order one of Daniel's Archaeology Kits here. They are totally worth the money.

By the way, I have a few new things in my OrangeSpiral Etsy shop here.

Monday Night Photos

My husband and I went for a nice night walk in the snow. I took some photos, then came home and altered a few. Here are the results.

Lake Harriet Winter Walk

I went for a walk around Lake Harriet yesterday. It was pretty windy and cold. It was lightly snowing as well, and I almost turned around 1/16th of the way around, but then I pushed through and made it all the way around. I took a couple of pictures on my walk that I thought I'd share with you.

My Foot is in the Door!!!!

Well, I made it to the Minneapolis Institute of Art yesterday to submit my painting for the Foot in the Door 4. I almost didn't make myself do it, but I am SO glad that I did. I even ended up in line with someone I knew, which made the 45 minute wait go by pretty quickly. These are a few photos I took from the line. Also, you can read an article about the exhibit here.

More Music for Your Saturday

Falconbridge Family Film from Michel Sandy on Vimeo.

Pomplamoose

I am really falling for this band. I don't usually like covers or remakes of songs very much, but the two person band of Pomplamoose has won me over. You've got to check them out for yourself. I heard that they will have their own album out on iTunes in a few weeks. Leave a comment with your thoughts about cover bands and remakes.

Painted Paper Journal

I am working on making a journal out of my painted paper I made for LK Ludwig's class. The covers I am using are the paper-cloth I showed on my blog recently. I am not sure if I am going to use the strap binding method or the seed pearl stitch binding method (both taught by LK in her Painted Printed Patterned Paper Class). Both binding methods are totally awesome because the journal will open flat, which is what I strive for when making an art journal. Here are a couple of sneak peeks of what I have completed so far. Mostly, I just have the pages and the covers cut to size. Next I will make a template out of a piece of scrap paper so I can pierce the paper signatures. If you don't know much about book binding but are curious, Keith Smith has some great books.

Foot in the Door 4

I created a painting this weekend. It is on a 12x12 canvas. I intend to submit it to the Foot in the Door 4 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art this weekend. You can get more details about this exhibit here.

Monday News

Hello and a happy Monday to you. I have been a busy bee over the weekend, and it is time to share some new things with you! First of all, I have a few new things for sale in my OrangeSpiral Etsy Shop. You'll find some stitched journals, as well as a photo pack of my handpainted/printed papers! I had the photos printed this weekend, and I am in love with them! There are so many things one could do with them. I hope you take a little look.

I will create a new post for my next news. (I still haven't figured out how to get my photos to go with my text. Any hints for me???)