encaustic, mirror image

back in the grove

my friend kirsten  took an amazing photo of this tree

i love trees in my art

so i asked it i could use it in one of my painting

 a bit of tweeking in photoshop so i could use it as a transfer

below, i added some shellac and then blow torched it

i decided to make 2 paintings and gave one to kirsten for her birthday

encaustic

it's a new day , it's a new dawn , it's a new life!

"sunrise", 12x24 encaustic on wood panel

a special painting for a special friend who is battling cancer

i know how difficult this is 

and my hope is to inspire her to brave each new day

no matter what it brings because tomorrow will get a little bit easier

last year she purchased below

"eclipse" , 12x24 encaustic on wood panel

i think they make a great pair

encaustic

"our boy"

12x12 on wood panel

 

this is the last painting of the year

a special portrait of Sydney

the best dog ever

above, just a few months old

a cute little fur ball

 

below, just a few of the moments of joy

 

I miss you everyday!



back from the CHA show in Anaheim

 what a whirlwind!!

it was an amazing time at the craft and hobby show in California

 (more than 3,000 buyers and 400 exhibitors from 55 plus countries 

 for 5 days of education, networking and trade)

it was a mix of business, demoing soutache at the John Bead booth

and pleasure, taking classes and seminars plus meeting tons of people

 a visit from wendy russell and carmi cimicata

above my demo table and

below a sneak peek at some of the elements from

my showcase necklace

using dazzle-it soutache cord , metal complex fish leather

and a mix of new and vintage beads

all supplied by John Bead

i'm still trying to process it all

as soon as i can i will post more on the show and my necklace

this is the swag bag the delegates attending the CHA Canada Chapter meeting received

a special thank you to

CHA Canada Chapter Members Who Contributed

Amazenwords

BeadFX

Brother International Corporation (Canada)

Coats and Clark

Easy Peasy Patchs

H.A.Kidd

John Bead Corp

Eucalan

Northcott Fabrics

Westcott & C-Thru brands | Acme United Limited

Westminster Fabric

Designer Members:

Carmi Cimicata

Emma Ivemey

    Elizabeth Weait Glenday

extra thanks to Northcott for the fabric bag used to haul all the goodies home!

country crafting

away for a country crafting weekend with my friend ludgera

the best way to celebrate our birthdays is to make art, drive the country roads

take photos, go to the local market, maybe find a barn sale

(above , part of ludgera's quilt, hopefully she will have it all finished before we leave

I'm working on some jewelry)



black and white magic

recently i signed up for marie otero's on-line class

black and white magic

it's been a wonderful opportunity for me to get back

to photography and photoshop

marie is a great teacher and always gives 150%

 

 

creating for carmi

i  am so happy to be challenged by my friend carmi

she sits me at a table in her studio with some amazing products and says

"what can you do with this"

sometimes i can only feature one element and other times i can mix and match

featuring

 aluminum  wire

flat leather

faux suede tassels

suede lace cord

neo chain

plus all kinds of findings

she displays my work on several of her wonderful blogs

john bead

metal complex

dazzle-it

resin crafts

 

i am truly blessed to have such a great friend and a wonderful opportunity

to create every day!!

 

guardian angel

"guardian angel"

encaustic on wood panel

what a difference a year makes

and I couldn't have made it without the help of so many friends

to say thank you I made several paintings

the above was for my friend catherine {cat}

she was my guardian angel

every weeknite for nineteen weeks while in hospital

she visited me

taking care of me, bringing me food, clothing, treats

whatever I needed even if I didn't know it!!

helped me with the "bumps" in the road

listened, laugh and cried

my cheerleader, advocate and germ nazi

I am truly grateful

 

a few details showing all the wonderful texture

it is a statue in a local cemetery