My class at Paper Cowgirl http://papercowgirl.blogspot.com/ is Magic Lanterns! They are so fun to make and the possibilities are endless. Hope you can come!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
a gift...
This weekend was so nice. My dear friend, Judy, and her youngest son, Bret, came for a visit! They are our former neighbors and we miss them so much. Now they live in Tulsa, but they used to live across the street and we miss having them so close. Each family consists of 3 boys and 1 girl and in the same order and nearly the same ages, so our children grew up together.
Judy has had a rough year... breast cancer and seperation from her husband. She came down to look around and consider the possibility of moving back. I hope she will!
Bret is staying with us for the week and then Judy will be back to retrieve him and visit again next weekend. I imagine I will be hanging out at the pool with the boys a lot this week!
What a great weekend of laughter, heart-to-heart talks, many fond remebrances and hopes for the future. Friendship is indeed a precious gift.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
never forget your heart's dream
It is another beautiful summer day. I honestly should live where it never gets cold. The heat suits me, makes me happy!
I am working on my Paper Cowgirl class samples today. I am nearly done and ready to take photos.
My son Ian is at Ground Zero today. Their choir is singing at a nearby church this afternoon. Tonight (on a lighter note) they are seeing "Wicked". Last night he sent me a text at 11:50 that they were in the subway waiting to head back to Harlem, so I think he is getting a lot of real NYC experiences.
Will and I are headed out to the pool to enjoy this exquisite afternoon.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Jewels of the Sea Swap
Jewels of the Sea Swap, originally uploaded by Sea Dream Studio.
What a fun swap! I LOVE my unique and oceany pendants! Thanks girls!!!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Paper Cowgirl
Ok, I am getting really excited about Paper Cowgirl now that I know what I'm going to teach! LOL! I have so many ideas, but I think I have decided on something pretty cool. I am finishing my samples this weekend and will have a class description, supply list and PICTURES by early in the week.
My 15 (almost 16, he'd want me to say) yr. old son, Ian, is off to the Big Apple for a week. It is a choir trip. He gets to go to Shea Stadium, sing at Ground Zero, tour Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center and much more... but the thing that I am most jealous of... he is going to see "Wicked"! Now, teenage boys are not all that up on the coolest Broadway musicals, but I do hope he enjoys the show. I just spoke to him on the phone and he was at a Starbucks somewhere in Manhattan. Tough life that kid has, huh?
The husband and our youngest son are off to see "Batman"- a bit too dark for me, plus there's a "Deadliest Catch" mini-marathon on tonight, so I stayed home. My daughter Kate is working, so I am actually home alone. EEEK! That's pretty rare.
Well, I am off to work on my class examples. My glue gun is calling...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I beg to differ...
So, one hears the direst remarks about the internet... how we are all secluded in our homes, caught up in a virtual world, blah, blah, blah. Well, I beg to differ and I image you, gentle reader, do also. I LOVE the internet and I think it is a marvelous way to connect. It is a real boon to artists like moi, who find a nurturing, supportive community on the web. Here's a great example... sweet Jessi http://scrappyjessi.blogspot.com/ is a delightful artist and fun blogger. She has purchased some items from my shop and I like to throw in some extra goodies with my orders. As a thank you she made me the fabulous mermaid ATC pictured above!! I adore it and even more I treasure this friendship brought to me by the wonderful internet! Thanks and hugs Jessi!! You rock!
And on another related note... The upcoming Paper Cowgirl Retreat (where I am priviledged to be teaching) is also a spawn of web connections. Some Texas altered art bloggers are pulling this sure to be fun and inspiring event together.
I love the web!
pendants
I am listing these (and quite a few more) new pendants in my shop.
I still have a HEAP to solder. Hopefully I'll get to them later this week. It is another gorgeous day here in north Texas, nice and toasty just like I like it!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Paper Cowgirls Retreat
Now this should be a blast! I have been invited to teach and participate in Vendor Night!! What fun! Now I have to decide WHAT to teach! LOL! No worries... I have a hive full of ideas! Go here for more info... http://papercowgirl.blogspot.com/
self portrait
Yes, summer makes me happy... jubilant, actually! I finally found a nugget of time to make art this weekend. I worked on some collages, a crown and a Marie Antoinette mermaid piece. Yesterday afternoon I soldered nearly 40 pendants. Now I need to photograph them and get them uploaded to my shop.
Will (my youngest) is at music and art daycamp this week and I am enjoying this lovely, quiet morning.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
magic of the sea
Oh, summer is going too fast! I can't believe all the school supplies out at the stores. UGH! I want summer to last forever!
I have gotten little art work done this week, but hopefully tomorrow I can spend some time in my studio. Today was a day of running kids all over the place. It is so beautiful here this summer. We are not in our usual horrible drought, so everything is green. When I am out I really savor the beautiful clear blue skies and delicious sunshine.
Ahhh... delight!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
a teeny little brag
Interboard Poetry Community
POEM OF THE YEAR
May 2007-April 2008
Judged byKelly Cherry
Bad Weather by Dale McLain
Submitted byWild Poetry Forum
Judges Comments
Poem of the Year
Bad Weather
It is the music first of all that tells me this is a poem to pay attention to. The poet varies short and long sentences, carrying the cadence of them straight through to the slant-rhyme couplet that brings the poem to completion. The diction holds steady thoughout; nothing strays beyond the tessitura of the poem. This very American poem ("Sheetrock," "twister" "prairie boat") adheres to a classical sense of proportion that is equally evident in the speaker's statements. The same is true of the emotions it contains: we hear the speaker's fear and exhilaration but also a carefully calculated self-mockery that derives from years of experience with the phenomena. ("You can grow accustomed to storms," we were told in the very first line, and the poem demonstrates that you can. Accustomed, but by no means passive.) Because the self-mockery is handled lightly enough, it charms and does not depress. The poet's gentle acceptance of the emotions stirred by the storm gives to the poem a good-naturedness that the reader feels must be inclusive: reader and poet can experience--let's say weather--the storm together. --Kelly Cherry
Bad Weather
You can grow accustomed to storms.
Every night they shake our sheetrock,
set the bricks trembling. Mortar remembers
it is only sand. Our jaunty roof begs
to be doffed. And I huddle within my frame
with dread and an awful wish that the past proves
its redundancies, that miles away the twister
will drop- not here, not now when I have just
remembered my own name.
When the windows bow like Galileo's glass
I begin to pray to deities yet unnamed,
beseech the clever stars that hide
behind the churning ceiling. I confess
that peace is not my plea. Instead I ask
for more colors and a measure of strength
to face the wind. The red oak fusses
at my window, whines and scratches to come in.
But it holds, this vine-covered house,
stands on its wide flat bottom, a prairie boat
anchored fast in hard white clay and history.
Within I slip off my shoes. Tonight is not the night
that I will walk on broken glass and wear the unmistakable
face of disbelief. The thunder's growl begins to lose
step with the lightning. In the attic rafters sigh
and creak like scrawny old men. I lay my head
on the last damp cloud where dreams of whirlwinds
and flying shingles wait. I sleep
like a town wiped off the map.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
4th of July
Tomorrow we are heading down to Corsicana to the in-laws for some boating, burgers & fireworks. We are staying Friday night.
Wishing all of my American friends a fun and safe 4th!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
treasure!
I am in the process of adding all of htese new pendants to my shop. It takes sooo long to resize the pics, but I am hoping to finish adding them all tomorrow.
Among them you will find Captain Jack Sparrow, Marie Antoinette, Frida Kahlo, cowgirls, owls, mermaids, Lotteria cards, Buddha, birds, nests and lots more.
Find them here... http://seadreamstudio.net/
Jewels of the Sea
As I've said before, I really don't participate in many swaps. I think they are wonderful, but I am always so busy that they make me a little nuts. That being said, if I am invited to one with a theme as marvelous as "Jewels of the Sea", how can I resist? Heather from Speckled Egg hosted this fabulous swap. I really enjoyed making my pendants and even soldered some for my shop, which I will be listing later today.
It is crazy hot here. No surprise, though. It is July in Texas. I LOVE summer and as far as the heat goes... BRING IT! It beats grey, cold weather any day!
All is well. I am working in my studio and enjoying the long, sunny summer days... bliss...
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