Turn up you speakers and join in! Playing For Change: Song Around the World “Stand By Me”

(playingforchange.com) From the award-winning documentary, “Playing For Change: Peace Through Music”, comes the first of many “songs around the world” being released independently.

You just have to start the New Year out with this one. Turn up your speakers. It just keeps getting better!

New Year’s Resolutions?

I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions. I try to create a better me daily. It doesn’t always work, but at least it follows a path of improvement rather than demanding some year long high ideal that may add pressure and cause me to fail.
I just ran into a wonderful blog with something that made a lot of sense to me. Pick a word for the year. Repeat that word to yourself on and off throughout the year. Let it begin to take hold. Although the author of the blog is not the originator of the idea, I am including a link here because I not only enjoyed her blog but liked the way she explained the idea. She chose the word “Journey.”

“Herland Story”

I have chosen the word “Healing” and am already beginning to feel the strength created by just letting that word wash through me.

Choose your own word and may you have a Happy, Healthy, and Peaceful New Year.

Gift Journal

We are doing a “Secret Santa” at work. You pull a name out of a bowl and give a holiday gift to that person. The girl that I chose loves to write stories and poetry. She also loves to draw.

Here’s a pic of one of the things she’ll be receiving tonight. I decided to introduce her to art journaling / altered book art.

Although there is a lot of work started by me in the book, the majority is blank. She can write in it, paint in it, collage in it, drive her car over it, rip it up, go over my artwork,…anything she wants. 

It is her place to explore.  Hope she likes it!

Journal Front Cover

Journal Front Spread

Spread

Spread

Spread

Spread

Spread

Journal Back Cover

Charlotte Myrtle

As recorded in a previous post, the homeless shelter where I work has an annual fundraiser called “Every Doll Needs a Home.”  Dollmakers from all over the world create and donate dolls to be auctioned off at our annual doll art benefit.  All proceeds go to help the home.

A friend of mine is a superb dollmaker and creates something for us every year.  This year, she has created two dolls for the auction.  One of them is a mother troll with her baby. To make an otherwise long story short…she actually created two of the mother/baby trolls, donated one to the auction and gave the other one to me as a GIFT!  I even got to choose between the two.  WOW!

She created these using a pattern from doll artist Ute Vasina. As usual, Kippy added her own twist. :)

Both mother and baby have tails and mom also has silk underwear.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to Kippy Brezner of Albany, NY!

Sorry that the pics don’t do her justice.  If the weather would improve, I’d take pics outdoors.

Another Digital Experiment – Final Piece

Commemorating a visit from my son. Due to the large distance,

we rarely get to spend time together.

I love you and I miss you, Colin!

Another Digital Experiment – Original Scan

I decided to throw a bunch of paper scraps and photos on the

scanner as a backdrop for a new digital piece.

The post above this shows the final result.

Spiral@Earth Dance

To open up your creative spirit, you need to become one with your media. Spiral certainly has accomplished that. This is not only a beautiful video but an inspiration to remind us that we need to connect our “inner selves” with the paint brush, canvas, papers, metal, etc. It reminds us that our art needs to become an extension of our spirit.

Magnolia

Walking home from work today, I came across a couple of magnolias on a stem. Inspiration comes from all sources. After scanning, creating a new digital piece was inevitable.  Hope you enjoy it.

“Every Doll Needs a Home”

Weekdays you will find me working at a homeless shelter for women and children. Every year we have a super fun doll art benefit, “Every Doll Needs a Home”. This is the time of year that I send out a call for dolls. Doll makers/artists from all over donate their creations and we auction them off – all proceeds going to the home.

The doll pictured is :

“Maude the Artist” – Designed and Created by Nancy Laverick

I realize this is not a doll site but many of you who create dolls or know someone else who does may want to jump in and help. Just in case, here is the url for the “Every Doll Needs a Home” website containing all the information you should need and also full contact info:

http://home.nycap.rr.com/tsmall/2006/indax.html

Thanks!

Affirmation Collage Two

Here is number two. Which would be your favorite?

Mixed media collage. I dropped the black frames and decided to edge them with black paint.