Have you given up on me yet?

I'm here. I really am. I have been so sidetracked. I don't know what possessed me to start painting the inside of the house but I started and had a hard time quitting. I did quit before it's finished but will get back at it right after Christmas. Had some other house issues going on and before you know it, it's 10 days since my last post. I have lots of cool stuff I've received in the mail to share with you, but I'll save it for early next week. For now, thought I'd prove I AM, in fact, still making something!

Dream Some Wings


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/10/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download or use without my permission.
This is an approximate 5 x 7 original collage using a face from collagevisions.etsy.com, a body altered and made from a piece from cemerony.etsy.com, tape measure from keeperofthenest.etsy.com, crown from spiceitup.etsy.com, arms from collageanonymous.etsy.com, legs and boots from my own collection of images. The wings are from Itkupilli.etsy.com. These were all hand trimmed and hand colored with ink and pastel. The word wish and many of the border pieces are also from collageanonymous.etsy.com, again colored and altered. Other border pieces are from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com and my own collage sheets at tumblefishstudio.etsy.com and scrap paper. Letters for words were created from vintage music sheets from shabbychicpapirskatter.blogspot.com. Everything was attached by hand to a background from flickr's SkeletalMess that was further altered with ink and pastel.

This next piece is for a very special couple. I want to share the work (because it's always fun to show the last thing you made) but more importantly I want to share their story. I am not sure I will have the words to describe how important it was for me to find their story, but it has been one of those experiences that you remember all day every day. It has changed my life in that it confirmed what I suspected about how to live life but to date haven't fully committed to.

After doing some Etsy business, I was inexplicably compelled to google the name of the person I was working with. I am not usually so curious, but something was pulling me to them. After a full day of doing other stuff and it nagging in my brain, I googled and discovered a story that touched me down to my soul. It moved me. Maybe it touched me because it struck a chord, a deep ringing chord. If there's nothing else my husband has taught me over 20 some years of being together, it is that life is all about your attitude and you live the life you choose so there's no sense whining about what you yourself can fix or chose to live with - it's all up to you. Honestly, I am tired of those that lament over what is not going right in their lives when they fail to see it could all be so different with a little shift in good ol' gratitude and attitude for what they have or realizing their problems are just plain trivial. We can all be happy if we just choose to see the big picture. Ryan and Carrie are THE examples of that. Ryan was born with a birth defect that left him with very small arms, no hands, very small legs and feet. I want you to really think about how that would impact your life, in all areas of it. It didn't stop Ryan. He drives, he works, he has a beautiful wife, and beautiful family. He even jet skis and does so to inspire kids with disabilities! (look here at pictures) Some of you may know Carrie, his wife. She is the artist of Pinkadoo blog! Have you ever once seen a complaint from her about how hard her life is? Nope. She is inspired by her husband, motivated, and supportive. I am failing at what I want to say to you and how important they are to me, but I will leave that to another time when the words have surfaced to describe my utter admiration. Knowing their story has lead me to commit myself to permanently change my attitude about what constitutes a problem and what doesn't. And, with that commitment, maybe someday I can share Ryan's story with someone and hope it changes their life too. For now I leave you with the link to Ryan's story (Ryan also goes by Hudson Peralta) http://www.hudsonperalta.com/mystory.htm

Beautiful Souls


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/10/09. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image without my permission.
This is an approximate 5 x 7 collage using the faces of Ryan and Carrie Peralta. Their bodies were made from pieces from cemerony.etsy.com, their wings are from Itkupilli.etsy.com, and their crowns are made from keeperofthenest.etsy.com. The windows are from Studio Jen at Scrapbookgraphics.com and were used with a commercial license. The hearts are from designer Nicole Young and also used with a commercial license. Most of the border pieces are from my own ephemera or scrap paper but the piece at the top is from collageanonymous.etsy.com and the black and white portion is from Crowabout.etsy.com. The words were created from my own vintage ephemera and from music from shabbychicpapirskatter.blogspot.com. All pieces were reprinted and hand trimmed with scissors, most pieces were hand colored with ink and pastel to some degree. Everything was attached by hand to a background from flickr's SkeletalMess and further embellished with ink and pastel.