Raving Reviews?

Anyone in the art business knows they must face reviews - from teachers, newspapers, clients, etc. But the reviews start at home, and they are sometimes the most difficult to deal with. At least for me. I had finished a painting of some flowers, and my husband asked me, "why do you paint so much of the pot?" "Because I like the pot, and this is how the whole thing looks to me", I answered. I admit, that I do love to buy pots for plants and flowers. Shortly thereafter, he saw me taking pictures of the pot outside our front door. As he started down the driveway with his bike he called, "try not to get too much of the pot!" "I like this pot. That's why I bought it!" He smiled and waved as he rode into the sunset. (It was convenient that the sun happened to be setting at the time so I could say this.) We made a game of it. This painting is "A Little of Both" When I painted the white geraniums on our terrace, he said, "The thing that saves this painting is that there are two pots". I can't figure out why. "Two In One" *

As we walked into a concert hall one night, we saw a huge bouquet of flowers on stage. My husband said that THAT was what he was talking about. "And I don't have my camera" I said, properly sorrowful. "You have a pen, a program, and you're an artist. Where's the problem?" So while he took notes to review the concert, I sketched the flower arrangement and made notes.

"On Stage"

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When we went to the New Years Eve concert, I thought the bouquet was striking with silver, black and white.

"On Stage Too"

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This arrangement is adapted from a package of seeds. My husband really liked this one.

"What Seeds Do"

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In this painting, the flowers and pot are part of a scene. There were no comments about the relation of pot and flowers for this one.

"The Dresser"To be funny, I painted our little cactus, with hardly any of the pot showing. He loved it. "Got the Point?" I see his point, but the game's not over. I'm determined to paint a picture of some of my favorite pots without flowers. Maybe someone will like it.

TRANSFORMATION

The teacher in my German class announced that we would have a party with international food, and that we should each bring something to give away. The way it was explained to me, I thought it was like a white elephant. Just something around the house. I decided to take one of the small teddy bears I had.

After we ate wonderful food cooked by people from all over the world, everyone picked a number, then went to find the gift corresponding to the number. I watched a young boy go to claim his prize. He got the small teddy bear. He was very unhappy about it, and told his mother, and I don't know who else. I saw him later with another present. This one had a teddy bear also, but in addition there was a small lamp, maybe something else, and everything wrapped gloriously in cellophane wrap. He was thrilled. I felt about as small as the small teddy bear.

I don't know what happened to that particular bear, but I had 23 more at home. I hadn't yet figured out what I was going to do with them. Then one day I was knitting a sweater for my granddaughter's new Barbie. I wondered how it would fit the teddy bears. With some adjustments to the pattern, it worked.

My husband looked at them and said, "They need shoes." Shoes? This is why women have husbands. In another story, we know why husbands have wives. I happened to find a store that sold leather scraps, and made shoes. It took a few shoes to get the right pattern, but they got shoes.

I made the buttons on the sweaters from Fimo because I wasn't satisfied with any I could buy.

They aren't just teddy bears anymore.

This time I can't say "My daughter made me do it". She just did it. She gave me a blogspot.

There are certainly many stories and memories of time we all spent together. Like the time my young son wanted to help me make brownies. Somehow, the flour, eggs, etc. ended up on the floor. Yes, we had to clean it up. But we started over and enjoyed the brownies. Now when I visit my children in their own homes, they cook for me. Or I cook for them. Or we all cook together.

Sometimes the adventures of today transcend the homes. My daughter told me how she had decided to put the bouillon in a bottle. She didn't add a label, so her husband, thinking it was brown sugar, added bouillon to the peach cobbler he was making. I thought it was a good idea to put my brown sugar in a bottle, and I did. But the very next thing I did was give it a label.

Lady of the Arts

I have the honor of making the first post for my mother's blog. My mom has been painting since she was in High School. There was a time when she was raising "the kids" where she quit painting on canvas, but I think she held on to as much of the artist in her as possible while devoting most of her time to motherhood. I always say, however, that she raised me with a paint brush in my hand. I have many memories of painting ceramics, pieces of wood and doing craft projects on the kitchen table. It is because of the many messy and enjoyable hours that we spent together that I have grown up to enjoy all things with paint, sewing machines, and many, many more things. I am sure that at the end of the day, it was quite a chore to clean up from all of the crazy projects and adventures that she undertook with five children. Thank you mom for all of that work. Thank you for being the woman that you are, and for all of the adventures that you undertook with your little people right there at your side. Thank you for the adventures that you undertake with me, and my children right by our sides. You inspire me, you teach me, but most of all, you love me- and I love you! Love, Red