Unusual Girl Studios

This is a page from my new favorite book-Wise Women byJoyce Tenneson. I wanted to publish a page with the original post but my computer would not co-operate that day. The whole book is beautiful.

Am I crazy? I just think this "angel" my daughter brought home is the very coolest thing! She's in first grade. She told me she didn't want to make the arms at the top so she just made presents. Well, I think I just may have to steal this idea from her art teacher! I am, maybe, if everything goes well, going to be teaching some art classes at a local gallery. Now I could just teach paper mache ' and call it good but.... ya know.... there's just something else I think I want to do as well. A little something near and dear to my heart. I don't think I have made it a secret that I am on this creative journey to let loose my inner artist. But did you get the part where I yearn to answer that age old question- "what is the meaning of life, but more specifically what is the meaning of my life?" "Why have all these 'things' - some horribly difficult- happened and how did they not destroy me? Sure, I may be crazy- in that cut...

This is my new book. It is filled with gorgeous photographs of beautiful women. I think it may just be my new source for artful inspiration. I have been creating (mostly in my mind and then as concept sketches- oh why do I have to work?) mixed media clay and paper mache sculptures of ladies for about a year now. Maybe my next one will have grey hair and some wrinkles. What do you think? What is it with me and old ladies? It is that I hope to be one one day? Is it that I am torn between my old soul and my inner tantrum throwing inner child? Right now I am hero-worshiping Sharon Tomlinson from the blog "all Nora's art". I want to be her- creating art in her studio almost every day..... ahhh ... fabulous.....and her talent for creating these intriguing women....go see her at h ttp://www.allnorahsart.blogspot.com/ I will continue on my struggle with my alter egos!

I vow to wear nothing but pig-tails and pajamas- Always ! I am not quite sure who to site for the following material but I take my best guess as Daniel Goleman who authored the book Emotional Intelligence . I found it as part of another compilation of material. There are two words which the emotionally intelligent should excise from their vocabulary because they are dangerous, destructive lies. They are "never" and "always". No one is " always" or " never" anything. People have irritating habits, destructive vices, bad traits which surface from time to time, prejudices founded on ignorance, but they are people, not monsters, for all that. "Always" and "never" turn criticisms: "That is a thoughtless act" into insults - "You are always thoughtless"; and insults , because they cannot be answered with reason, are nothing short of violence, which breeds violence in its turn. "Always" and "nev...

Get a load of these two! You know how sometimes- well maybe you don't- you have an idea in your head that won't leave you alone??? I've had projects like this before... the end result not at all like that germ of an idea in your head, many the times you thought "eh, I should scrap this and start over! " But you can't stop and before long things are so far along that all you can do is try to find a point when you can call it done and walk away. Sounds like a love story gone wrong. Or a relationship with Tiger Woods. Sorry. Talk 'bout mucking things up! Oh wait, I would never have a relationship with Tiger Woods because he's married! And so am I! Is it really that hard people? Right and wrong, they are simple concepts- if you can keep them from getting mucked up! Man, these guys remind me of of the baby nursery fiasco that I had to be talked down from. Chinamommy knows, she was there that long 3 or 4 months that I walked around our carpet store pretendi...

Why is it that when someone says to me "Do you want to....?" I say yes. Have since I was just a wee thing. Unfortunately I had a tendency to say yes to all the naughty things as well as the not so naughty things. But why is it that when some says to me "You should......" My first response is "Really? I should?....with a raised eyebrow and absolutely no intention of doing "that" unless I already was doing "that" because, of course I was smart enough to know that already, Thank you very much. And if someone wants my full and immediate attention all they have to say is "Have you ever...?" Everything else stops in my world until I check my internal log of all the things I have ever done and then the sublist of all the things there are actually witnesses to and if no witnesses exist whether or not I want to admit to having done the "thing". Also, if the answer is no, I will need a moment to process whether or not I want t...

Here they are! So far! And may I say I have so much to learn about painting faces? It shouldn't take soooo many tries- right? I should be able to get it done in one attempt? right? Not the case here! Anyhow I can live with these faces although they are nothing like I intended. I have to live with them- my room is not quite ready at the insane asylum yet- I requested a lighter shade of pink on the padded walls to contrast better with the lovely aquamarine I designated for the floor. Can you see the writing? I have to make the image resolution smaller to get these to post- darn dial up internet ! They are quotes from my writings or random thoughts I have had in regards to those little girls of mine. Nick-names have been included for posterity- sorry girls! The blond doll has a charm in her hair that says "angel" and the brunette will have one as well. My intention was to include several charms and some very old beads that lived in my mother's attic for ...

This was a great idea I had one morning on the way to work. Some of my clearest moments are in the morning which surprises me to no end as typically I am such a rotten human being in the early hours of the day. But if I can be alone- sometimes- I have very clear thoughts about life and my place in it. I sometimes write in the morning. Sometimes its just a passing thought that I reach for and try to hold onto long enough to record it for later development. This sometime I was driving to work and a little idea wiggled into my head. A doll for little girls given to them by their mom- or someone who loved them with all the love a mother could have. A doll with all the messages that Mom's want to pass along recorded on its very body for imprinting on those little girl's psyche. A way to imprint the wisdom that adult women have gained unto the small females they are entrusted to care for. Maybe it was a vision of a solemn, tired little Brooke, reading one last message fr...

So this is what I have been up to artistically. Now, I have to add that I won't finish any of these (except for the drawing) until after Christmas. Obligations such as teaching have to take the forefront now. The bottom picture is of a sculpture I call (for now) broken vessel. The lady is from a sketch that has been nagging at me to make 3-d for some time now. Recently, we recieved an order of accessories into the shop and one clay pot arrived broken to smithereens. I reached in grabbed this piece out and knew it was time to get to work on her. I figured I'd get her to this point and then put her up for awhile. She won't let me rest for long. The next is a sculpture I call bug parade. I made a wall hanging for a boy's nursery and wanted to do something that would work for a girls or boys room. Or grown ups room- if you like bugs! This one should be fun and rule- breaking. Lastly, I started this drawing last Christmas, I think. It can be hard to capture a p...

My friend Misschell (Chinamommy on Etsty) gave me this awesome necklace for my birthday. Of course every interior designer needs to wear a chair! I love boxes and things that open. Really- anything that opens, closes, latches, hooks, unfolds etc. intrigues me. So this pendant is really fun for me. Love how one side of the necklace is "coffee stained" lace. Anything that breaks with convention is cool with me. Who'd of guessed that one? So Thank You, Chinamommy, you're the cat's pajamas!

Today, barely able to stop bouncing, my daughter shot me a grin. " That's it!" I said, "You are too cute, I am getting the camera!"

Yep, said I wouldn't but who can resist the temptation to peel back those tiny, shiny pieces of laminated paper? Who can resist daydreaming for just a short while of what bills could be anhilated and what could be done with what's left over? How would I outfit my art studio? First with lots and lots of windows, lots and lots of supplies, and lots and lots of me. Maybe even a mini studio with in the studio for the girls. Maybe boarding school for the girls? Who knows, after all, I have to think of what is in their best interests! I'm keeping this post short. I know the last one was wayyyy too long. But, I had to get there, you know? And, it was a long and winding road getting there. Sorry!!! But if I can't digress in my own blog than what's the point of having one? Have a great and Happy Halloween!

Don't mess with me- I have skills. Striving for balance I have to say that if ever I had a goal towards a healthy (thinking brain, here, not body) life, that goal is to achieve balance. I do work towards it. I yearn for it as the answer to all that is wrong in my life. I know that balance is an essential ingredient in any person's makeup but for me- I need it. Now, working towards it doesn't mean I have it. Needing it doesn't mean I am guaranteed it. Problems almost always involve fear - When I have a fear I force myself to ask the question- is that a reasonable fear? What is the worst thing that can happen in this situation? Sometimes the worst part of the situation is that yucky feeling I get from being afraid. So if I can solve that part of the problem with a little tough love directed at myself then I'm on my way. Being someone who trained themselves to think "worst case scenario" (a device I created as a way to predict any and all possible outcomes...

I drove through the golden arches to grab a cup of coffee this morning and the ever-freindly recorded voice asked me- Would you like to order a such and such to get a monopoly game piece? HA!!!! NO thanks McDonalds! You might have sucked me into Monopoly last year but not again! Nope, not stringing me along this time. Not collecting tiny squares of vinyl coated paper. Not allowing myself to imagine myself on the billboard jumping with joy at having won a million dollars. Not collecting saturated fat pounds on my hips, nope, and this year....I spare my gallbladder the vicious onslaught of grease. I will remain poor but victorious in my restraint. Take that to the fat farm, McDonalds!

So busy, tired, old, barely the strength to type this note... yep, overbooked again. Between the two classes I teach and the two young ones with their homework, the other job, the house, the laundry.....I'm too tired for sex, oops, thought you were the hubby, I mean, I am too tired to be creative! I don't have time to have a thought in my head let alone have a thought do that thing...that thing where it wiggles and jiggles, takes tiny nibbles of my grey matter until it becomes bigger than the other thoughts on the roster, so big and loud that it just has to be let out before the top of my skull pops off. Or itchy, somethimes they are itchy thoughts that have to be scratched open so the questions, opinions, conclusions ooze out. Nope, none of that going on right now. 'cept for that one thing. The comment made by a student of mine....it may need adressing, not so much the comment itself, but more the reaction it stirred in my black little heart and injured, wobbly ego. ...

I recently made mention in an e-mail of our deceased puppy named Bailey. I was quoting my very prolific husband who always feels the need to sum up Bailey's personality by saying "dogs like that don't come along every day, she was a good dog!" Usually I take the time to point out that for the first two years of her life I seriously wondered if she was insane. I used to call her jaws on a stick, thinking of those wind up dinosaur heads on a stick that you could buy for 50 cents a couple of decades ago. Which, in turn, always makes me think of those creepy- claw hand- back scratchers you could also buy but never would because they made you think of your Grandpa, not the nice one, but the mean one who yelled at you and your brother so badly when you busted in on him in the bathroom that one time. Everybody has one of those Grandpa's don't they? Yep, Mark always says that about Bailey, (our second dog) who loved him faithfully but came to me when she wa...

To my co-worker: I know, I know, don't think I don't!!!! I know when I have behaved badly- freaking out like some wack job but I'd like to point out a few things in my defense. Hellllooooo ! I'm havin a visit from Auntie Flo, Ok ? Yesterday I thought my head was going to fall off my neck at 5:00 fffing am. I thought perhaps Mark had finally buried an axe in my brain but I couldn't see it cuz , well, things don't work the same way when there's an axe in your brain. Somehow, I dragged myself off the bed and made scrambled eggs because I know there's protein and relatively little flavor. Literally I sat on the sofa for 20 minutes and manged three bites. That was at 7:00 a.m. Amazingly - by only ten after 9:00 I had conquered nausea and was able to walk through the door at Gallery - amazingly - by merely putting one foot after the other. Let me just say, though, driving skills are compromised when you have an axe in your brain. I managed to draft most...

Dear Children: Due to the present economic and socio-economic situation I have been forced to re-evaluate my present position. Rising costs and time demand necessitate the need for an immediate restructuring of our family dynamic. Starting immediately my rates as "mother" have gone up to 100,000.00 per day with a ten dollar surcharge for every ten minutes served after 9:00 pm or before 7:00 am. This charge will be drafted directly from your allowance. If you do not currently receive an allowance a record of all charges will be archived until such time as you earn a wage. Also, be aware the following services have been deleted- 1. Deciphering words from whine. (Please note the spelling as wine is still included in my daily routine.) 2. Repacking lunches to include a source of protein, fiber and something, just one damn thing that is green. 3. All Social Secretary functions have been suspended until further notice. Thank you for your attention, Mommy I SAID THANK YOU FOR YOUR A...

Today one of my very best friends announced she had won a prestigious award. An award highly coveted by many of the people who follow the blog- byebyepie. I have been to this blog. It is addictive. The mind behind this genius- a somewhat zany, kinda scary woman who I took to right away. "She's crazy!" I thought. "I like her!" Well, she was introduced to me by my friend Chinamommy who also has her own blog which is very funny as well. Yes, Chinamommy won the award of "cleverest comment of the week" for her comment she posted to byebyepie's blog regarding the lovely scent of lilacs and her associated memories. Yep. HMMM. Well....Yeah. Nice. Guess what award I should win!?! For my recent adventures as mom ...... yeah, you get it...where am I going with this? Of course my story involves Kayla. Now if you have ever doubted Karma- don't. Kayla is my consequence for that summer I spent sneaking out at night to run the town with my friends. Kayla is my...

Ingredients for a blissful morning I was right to refuse a 9:00 appointment with Margie Fuller. Here are my recommended ingredients for soothing start to the day. Just when you thought I could never be calm or balanced again...you see, it really isn't me- it's my life! Oh, oops, sorry, no more whining. Ingredients; Several cups of coffee consumed on your deck on a warm sunny morning. Close all windows and doors to the house that let out the sound of your children or Spongebob. Listen to the sound of the breeze and the various birds. Read a little, write a little. Here's what I wrote- With first an explanation; I have been trying to concentrate on "boys" a little. My artwork and writing is always girls. I don't really like boys. They are loud and clumsy and destroy things for fun, then they turn into men. But I am trying to "like" them better. For so long I have concentrated on the things I don't like about my husband. Now I am trying to appreciat...

My husband has a cold. He doesn't know it but I do because it's the same ornery cold I had last week that involves a killer headache and over the top- orneriness. I didn't tell him because apparently it's a bad thing if you catch a cold and pass along the virus- after all, one should be able to control these things. If I hear, one more time in my life, "I've caught YOUR cold " in an accusatory tone- well, it will just be one time, too many. If nothing else, my husband has mastered the fine art of blame, passed on from generations of polish people before him. So I didn't tell him that he may be just a little extra ornery for the next five days. That he should take a tylenol and shut himself away in a room away from innocent bystanders. Nope. Didn't tell him. So I suppose this really is my fault? Probably. Don't care. After he decided to insult me in five different ways within the first hour of our joyous daily reunion, I removed myself from his ...

Hey! I have been way too busy communing with my inner artist to notice all the wackiness the world has to offer lately. Ok, that's a lie, but I have been too busy to write it down. And, then there is the issue with my computer at home. The modem in my computer claims to be in use by another device. What device??? The blender? I don't know and used up all the minutes on my cell phone speaking with "kevin" trying to fix it at 1.95 a minute. Was it rude of me to tell him to quit with the social niceties and get down to business? He's asking how I am- I'm answering that I'm fine and so is my little dog and the meter is clicking away... shut up, Habib and fix my computer! But we ran out of time so here I sit at work typing away. And, with a memory like mine, well let's just say if it doesn't get written down while the thought is rolling around in my head- picture a funnel attached to the end of a slide- the thought rolls right out my ear, or ...

Last weekend I attended an opening for an art gallery. My daughter Brooke insisted she come along. It was my intention to stay only as long as needed to meet the owner, see what her gallery was about and check out (evaluate) the work on display. She and I have been communicating back and forth about potentially putting a couple of my pieces in her gallery. As of right now, I am almost finished with two paper mache' sculptures but also have no less than six loads of laundry waiting to be put away and no one in the house has undies in their drawers. Choices, it's all about choices! So we found the gallery in an odd part of town, on an unlikely street for a gallery both of which piqued my interest immediately. What's the story? Why here? Does she own the building already? Is this part of town one of those funky destination spots that cool urbanites just already know about? The interior is the typical for an old 1900's business. Really high ceilings covered in tin panels....

So there I was at Starbucks, counting out change to pay for my coffee.....

This is a new category for my blog. Most every day something I observe strikes me as odd, intriguing or as a sign somehow. So just to educate you on how I view the world I am sharing these "collectible" odd moments of my day. Today, I found treasure in my tub. Serioulsy. No, this isn't some pornographic bit where I explore previously unexplored facets of my persona or person. There I was, soaping up the ole' noggin when a glint of something caught my eye. I should explain I am blind. Almost, not quite, but let's just say the one day when I couldn't wear my contacts and realized I had left my glasses at work and drove myself and my mother 15 miles to Fremont to get them before we continued on another hour in our journey, let's just say I won't ever be driving without corrective lenses again. It was that day I realized that "faster than the speed of sound" can be segwayed over into "faster than the sight of a very nearsighted girl ...

Even though her phone message says that Wednesdays are a paperwork only day and that messages will not be returned until Thursday I recieved another message later on that same day, rescheduling my appointment from 9:00 to 2:00PM. One may think that I am jumping up and down with joy at this victory but, you see, the battle is not over. (the worst part begins- trudging through all that paper, filing- bleh! finding records of all our assets to prove we are poor enough to recieve benefits except that we automatically are qualified to recieve them because we care for someone else's child and even if we were millionaire's we would be eligable to recieve these funds but go ahead, waste the precious hours of my life because why not? It's not like I have other stuff that I am behind on as well- I hate you- State of Michigan for making it soooo very difficult to do the right thing!!!!) But now here is the part of the battle where I go to the meeting and make Margie Fuller my minio...

Earlier this week I had experienced an alarming moment when picking up my girls at daycare. They were playing outside as usual. I like to observe them from outside the fence as it's chance to get a little synapses of how they interact with other children. I was, however, a little surprised to see my daughter, Brooke, being approached by two boys, taken by both arms and led into a closed in area of some playground equipment. I thought perhaps I should alert some government agency or maybe even Margie Fuller, that human trafficking was occurring at my daycare. Quick to respond, I jumped the fence and ran over to Emily, the playground attendant. Always careful not to expose my paranoia I casually said "Hey, my daughter was kidnapped by two boys- they're over there, in there with two other boys making it a total of four boys and one girl." "Yes," she said, "we've had a lot of kidnappings lately but luckily a lot of escapes have occurred as well." ...

I came to work this A.M. to find the only message on our machine was Margie Fuller telling me she had scheduled an appointment for me next Monday at 9:00. OH No, Mrs. Fuller, I actually have a 9;00 appointment (with my coffee) in Muskegon, an hour away- but am available from 12:00 to 3:00. You see, Mrs. Fuller, during the winter I work two jobs to help make ends meet as we have two girls to feed and these days jobs don't pay enough to make it on one. So, you see, Mrs. Fuller, I am a little backed up on things like- Drs. appointments, paying bills, dentist appointments, hair appointments, filing paper work, cleaning my house, cleaning my car...You see Mrs. Fuller, I am not actually available at your whim even if you are with a government agency. Not that I don't respect the very difficult job you have, not that I don't understand that at least once a day you have to deal with someone who is trying to cheat the system- I get that. But it's not me, I am not cheating. and ...

First- a couple of things to go over- 1) I have an appointment to (don't know if I will keep it or not) take Kayla to be evaluated for placement in a karate class. She needs something to harness her powers for good not evil. Do you question the decision to give her the ability to beat me up? I do. 2) I hate my job. It's like having a boyfriend that cheats on you, lives off of ya, wrecks your car and makes you feel bad, but- you are afraid of hurting his feelings because that, too, would make you feel bad so you stick with him. I am probably NOT going to be laid off. Why? because then my boss would actually have to come to- and stay at- work! I am so sorry for all my friends who have to listen to me bitch all the time while choosing not to actually do something about the problem. I think it's why I bought not one but two astrology books. So I can hide my head in things that are not real to make up for not doing anything about the things that are. OK accurate ...