It's That Yucky Time of Year Again....and I Like It

If  you  live  in  this  part  of  the  country--you  know  what  I'm  talking  about.   It's  bitter  cold  out  right  now  with  snow  on  the  ground,  and  the  next  2  to  3  months  will  pretty  much  be  the  same.   It's  yucky  out,  you  feel  yucky  (due  to  lack  of  sunshine  and  fresh  air)  and  you  look  yucky  (due  to  lack  of  sunshine  and  fresh  air).   And  I  don't  have  an  outside  job,  so  basically  I  become  a  recluse,  which  would  always  get  me  down,  but  not  anymore,  because  I  now  have  TIME  to  play  and  have  fun!

I've  been  cleaning  out  my  art  room,  and  actually  getting  rid  of  a  lot  of  stuff  that  I  know  that  I'll never  use  and  to  make  room  for  everything  else  that  I  will  use.   I  have  3  major  obsessions  when  it  comes  to  art.   First  I  cannot  help  but  get  every  art  publication  out  there,  I  cannot  stay  away  from  online  classes  ( I  signed  up  for  2  at  the  end  of  the  year,  and  just  signed  for  3  more--what  is  my  problem??),  and  my  biggest  obsession  is  art  supplies.   I  have  found  things  that  I  didn't  even  know  that  I  had.....but  now  I  have  TIME  for  them--just  a  fraction  of  what  I  have--

I've  actually  been  using  the  watercolors  for  my  class  Watercolor  Bliss  with  Alisa  Burke- definitely  a  bit  of  a  learning  curve.   And  I've  been  playing  with  the  chalk  pastels--no  idea  what  I'm  doing,  but  fun.    Look  at  the  Shiva  paintstiks- -haven't  even  opened  these  up  yet--but  I  will.    And  how  about  that  ribbon  tape (LOVE  ribbon  tape)--didn't  even  know  I  had  it,  but  it  goes  perfectly  with  the  painted  papers  from  my  last  post---which  I  used  in  my  latest  piece--

.....and  I  got  out  my  stash  of  scrabble  tiles  and  grunged  them  up--because  I  had  the  TIME  to  do  this--added  some  molding  paste  for  the  foam  (Latte's--one  of  my  favorite  drinks!).   The  one  thing  that  I've  learned  from  Every  online  class  that  I've  taken  is  to  enjoy  the  process  of  art  making  (which  I  know  is  no  surprise).   The  more  I  do  this,  the  more  I  can  accept  the  "ugly"  stage--not  freak  out,  and  keep  going  until  it's  not  "ugly"  anymore.

Yes,   I  enjoy  a  good  cup  of  freshly  ground  coffee  first  thing  in  the  morning!  

I  completely  enjoyed  making  these  2  pieces,  because  I  took  the  time  to  play  around  with  them--just  for  the  mere  fact  that  I  now  have  the  luxury  of  TIME!

See......I  even  had  time  for  this  rambling  post!



Back From Columbus

And on Friday, this was the first place I went to--the Blick art supply store.  This doesn't look like a lot, put it sure took a chunk of change out of my pocketbook. A couple of new products that I got were some copic markers (I've heard alot about these) and the Liquitex pouring medium. I found a video on where else, you tube, on the use of this  medium--really cool results--so we'll see.

And then today I went to the cash and carry wholesale show and picked up some goodies--

And I always get these frames when I go--

The one vendor there  sells  these barnwood framed prints--all different sizes--these were 12 x 16, and he always sells them to me without the prints.  He takes about $5.00 off the price, which makes them under $10.  I usually paint them and add my own painting, or I'll keep the glass in them and make a collage.  I really like them.

This one I bought with the print in it--

Can't you see this with vintage lace, and a vintage photo with some old jewelry and other embellishments?  I can.

The main reason I like to go to this show, however, is the furniture maker that's there.  He makes small tables and cabinets, but big pieces also, and his prices are extremely reasonable.  I like to paint furniture-I usually will find them at yard sales for under $10, but his are so well made and the price is too good to pass up.  Here's one piece that I just finished that's going with me next week--

This is an old magazine stand/table  that I'm sure I picked up for a couple of bucks--I have so much old furniture in our garage--forget about putting a car in there.  I love giving facelifts to these discarded pieces that would probably end up in the trash.

AND THEN...when we were finished--we were hungry, of course!! so we went here--

Schmidt's restaurant as featured on Travel Channel's -Man vs. Food, which is where we first found out about  it.  It's in the German District of Columbus.  What a quaint little neighborhood this is-- right down to the brick roads.

 

The Schmidt  family has been around making their own sausage since 1888. We had the buffet with all of their delicious sausage ( Bahama Mama--the favorite) and other side dishes including homemade sauerkraut. And also dessert--

One of their award- winning homemade creampuffs--very, very good!

So as you can see, I had a very fun last couple of days, and am now getting ready for my show.  Also happy Spring to everyone--it was great in Columbus--temperatures in the 60's and mostly sunny--I had short sleeves on and no jacket--wow!!