Feb 17, 2010
I have a plan, sort of
Well, I started looking at art and blogs a bit tonight. Have some ideas floating around in my noggin' and have some swaps I had already committed to before my ordeal. I actually even started laying out a background tonight. The next few days require a little more rest and odds and ends to be attended to, but next week, you should see some art here and my swaps will get finished. Tomorrow, I'm going to get myself a new pair of sneakers because that always makes me happy, a hair cut (long overdue), and go to my daughter's play off game. I'm visiting some friends this weekend and the first part of next week I need to answer messages and emails and mail out a few letters to let some of my dad's long time, long distance friends know what has happened. I have a plan . . . life is coming back to me.
Feb 16, 2010
I'm home
I got home Sunday afternoon. I need a few more days to get reacquainted with routine but I am working in that direction. Thank you for all of your support and good wishes. I am doing much better, just tired and need to find my footing again. Love you all and I'll be back at work soon!
Feb 10, 2010
Moving toward normalcy . . .
Neva, my dad's wife, has been so gracious to let us clean out dad's stuff now so we don't have to make another trip back soon. So that's what we've been doing. Have everything just about taken care of - few more loose ends to tie up. My brother is taking the boat and everything else we want to keep (pictures, etc.). He drove so I could fly home. The estate is near settled and that is amazing to me. I thought it would take months. Anyway, I have felt somewhat normal despite what we've been doing. We've had lots of giggles through the tears. Most of the family has left now except for my brother and our spouses. My brother will leave Friday. We're flying home Sunday afternoon and I cannot wait to get back to my version of everyday life.
Thank you all for your kind comments and all of your prayers and wishes. I used them all very well, I promise. You have meant so much to me.
Thank you all for your kind comments and all of your prayers and wishes. I used them all very well, I promise. You have meant so much to me.
Feb 8, 2010
Further along . . . .
Yesterday was the family and then the public visitation for dad. It was very difficult. Today was the funeral at the church followed by the graveside service. It too was incredibly hard and I couldn't control my sobs. I am usually very composed but not today. Man, it was so hard. I buried myself into Kent's shoulder and so appreciated his strength today.
It was snowing a big heavy beautiful snow this morning and it was such a peaceful quiet poignant atmosphere. Whenever I have seen someone in an open casket service I am somewhat comforted by how empty they look. Dad looked empty and I realized he was not there, that we just form an attachment to someone's body and face and the way the spirit animates it as the preacher spoke about today. But the body is just a shell that is cast away when the spirit soars to the next life and it helped to see with my own eyes that that is true. He has left us and I am sad and joyful about that at the same time. As we were leaving the graveside this morning a formation of geese flew over and that was very meaningful - my dad spent his career protecting and researching the migration of geese and ducks and many places we have lived were habitats for Canada geese like the ones that flew by today. It made us smile and know that it was a special wink from dad.
It was snowing a big heavy beautiful snow this morning and it was such a peaceful quiet poignant atmosphere. Whenever I have seen someone in an open casket service I am somewhat comforted by how empty they look. Dad looked empty and I realized he was not there, that we just form an attachment to someone's body and face and the way the spirit animates it as the preacher spoke about today. But the body is just a shell that is cast away when the spirit soars to the next life and it helped to see with my own eyes that that is true. He has left us and I am sad and joyful about that at the same time. As we were leaving the graveside this morning a formation of geese flew over and that was very meaningful - my dad spent his career protecting and researching the migration of geese and ducks and many places we have lived were habitats for Canada geese like the ones that flew by today. It made us smile and know that it was a special wink from dad.
Feb 5, 2010
Dad passed away
First, I tried to post Wednesday, but it wouldn't let me sign in without a google account. The login page said blogspot had switched from yahoo to google. I was going to sign up for the google account tonight and finally get this done, but tonight I didn't need to. If anyone knows anything about that google account thing, I'd be curious to know.
Well, I have no words to say this eloquently but I was alone with my dad Wednesday morning when he drew his last breath. It had been a horrible couple of days prior to that and yet I still feel no relief, or very little. We brought dad home from the hospital last Thursday and we moved him into the spare room where I could sleep in the twin bed next to his hospital bed. The first couple of days went pretty well. In fact, dad had an unusually good day on Saturday, very clear, very talkative and comfortable. But when I went to bed and gave dad his night time pills Sunday night, I realized he was slipping out of his right mind into a world I could not see or hear. I did not sleep at all Sunday night nor did he. He was very active and delusional but somewhat gentle and dreamy about it until Monday morning. As Monday went on he became belligerent and never was able to sleep more than a few minutes. He would be frustrated when we couldn't hand him the things he saw that weren't really there. He begged me to take him home and couldn't believe that that is where he was. After nearly 20 hours of that, I asked Hospice if he could be sedated so that he could sleep. We began that process Monday night and continued to give him medicine for that every 90 minutes right up until he passed away. Monday night and Tuesday, his breathing continued to worsen and he developed the "rattle" that is often associated with one's last few days or hours. Throughout the early morning hours of Wednesday, I thought his breathing was weaker and his chest congestion worse. Still, I had no idea we were that close. I had been up with him from 2 a.m. Wednesday to 8:30 or so and took a break and went back in to be with him around 11 a.m. It was not long until his breathing just gradually slowed down and stopped and his heart stopped a few minutes later. I did not speak to him or touch him as I did not want to keep a hold of him in this world or disrupt the process. I just wanted him to slip away without interfering.
As soon as one can catch their breath a minute after such an incredible experience (incredible but not in the good sense) the next phase of this experience begins and immediately you are thrust into making arrangements and making phone calls and moving out medical equipment and supplies and getting ready for visitors and there just doesn't seem to be any rest yet. My family will be here tomorrow. Most of my dad's wife's family will be here by then too. Neva, dad's wife, and I made the funeral arrangements ourselves yesterday and I ordered all of the flowers. Food and visitors are showing up at the door throughout the day and final touches are always needing to be made for the visitation Sunday afternoon and the service on Monday morning.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers and good wishes. They saw me through this. I will be here about another week to settle things before returning home.
Well, I have no words to say this eloquently but I was alone with my dad Wednesday morning when he drew his last breath. It had been a horrible couple of days prior to that and yet I still feel no relief, or very little. We brought dad home from the hospital last Thursday and we moved him into the spare room where I could sleep in the twin bed next to his hospital bed. The first couple of days went pretty well. In fact, dad had an unusually good day on Saturday, very clear, very talkative and comfortable. But when I went to bed and gave dad his night time pills Sunday night, I realized he was slipping out of his right mind into a world I could not see or hear. I did not sleep at all Sunday night nor did he. He was very active and delusional but somewhat gentle and dreamy about it until Monday morning. As Monday went on he became belligerent and never was able to sleep more than a few minutes. He would be frustrated when we couldn't hand him the things he saw that weren't really there. He begged me to take him home and couldn't believe that that is where he was. After nearly 20 hours of that, I asked Hospice if he could be sedated so that he could sleep. We began that process Monday night and continued to give him medicine for that every 90 minutes right up until he passed away. Monday night and Tuesday, his breathing continued to worsen and he developed the "rattle" that is often associated with one's last few days or hours. Throughout the early morning hours of Wednesday, I thought his breathing was weaker and his chest congestion worse. Still, I had no idea we were that close. I had been up with him from 2 a.m. Wednesday to 8:30 or so and took a break and went back in to be with him around 11 a.m. It was not long until his breathing just gradually slowed down and stopped and his heart stopped a few minutes later. I did not speak to him or touch him as I did not want to keep a hold of him in this world or disrupt the process. I just wanted him to slip away without interfering.
As soon as one can catch their breath a minute after such an incredible experience (incredible but not in the good sense) the next phase of this experience begins and immediately you are thrust into making arrangements and making phone calls and moving out medical equipment and supplies and getting ready for visitors and there just doesn't seem to be any rest yet. My family will be here tomorrow. Most of my dad's wife's family will be here by then too. Neva, dad's wife, and I made the funeral arrangements ourselves yesterday and I ordered all of the flowers. Food and visitors are showing up at the door throughout the day and final touches are always needing to be made for the visitation Sunday afternoon and the service on Monday morning.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers and good wishes. They saw me through this. I will be here about another week to settle things before returning home.
Feb 1, 2010
And harder still . . .
Starting last night around 10 my dad seemed to slip into a world all of his own. I have not slept since yesterday afternoon when I took a nap near him. He is no longer in his right mind and is belligerent and very difficult and saying mean things. He tries to get out of bed and obviously we don't want that. He hasn't been on his feet in nearly 3 weeks. As I write this, two nurses are trying to bathe him and change sheets and he is being so mean to them. They are trying an anti-psychotic med today to see if it will help - we'll know later today. If it doesn't, we may try one other thing and then we are going to insist on sedation if that doesn't work. Sedation is usually a last resort as some people believe it speeds up the process of dying but he is suffering beyond any possible pain he could have. He can't seem to fall asleep (he hasn't slept more than 20 minutes or so in the last 14 hours) and has lost touch with our world. I am asking everyone to pray that this is all over soon. Enough is enough. I thank you for your love and prayers and support.
Jan 31, 2010
Such a hard thing
I am still here. It feels like I have been gone forever though. I don't even know what to write. Everything is so up and down and upside down sometimes and so heavy and intense and just consumes every fiber of your body and mind - I know many of you know what I mean. We came home from the hospital Thursday. We had two very good days, yesterday and the day before, but lost ground last night. It was a long night of confusion and hallucinations again. No one here now but my dad's wife, a 24 hour nurse aid, and me. Kent was here from Thursday to this morning but needed to get back to work and the kids. He helped immensely as I had hit my wall after about 3 straight days and nights I stayed with my dad in the hospital before we came home - very little sleep or nerves left. Hospice is coming today for an extra visit to assess and see if there is something that can help the hallucinations and restlessness - he hardly took any pain meds yesterday and hadn't had hallucinations since last Tuesday when he was taking alot more pain medicine in the days between. I fear yesterday's activities may have been that surge of energy that often comes a few days before the end, but then I also fear it wasn't. It is hard to know what to wish for anymore. Yesterday, everyone had good talks with dad about all kinds of things, trivial and not, emotional and not. He even asked for some ham salad to be made and ate a bit of that - very comfortable day, very fresh and clear. And then about 9 last night he started having confusing weird hallucinations. At one point in the night my dad wanted me to check on everyone else in the house because people from another country had been here and had taken all of our money and groceries - that kind of weird and numerous episodes through the night.
So, I am sorry my blog has taken such a turn away from art and happy things, but I guess it is part of my journey. I will try to be better about posting now that we're home. Hope some of you from some of the groups I belong to can update the message boards for me. I just can't seem to hit a stride that allows me to focus on anything but dad for more than a few minutes here and there. love you all and miss you so much.
So, I am sorry my blog has taken such a turn away from art and happy things, but I guess it is part of my journey. I will try to be better about posting now that we're home. Hope some of you from some of the groups I belong to can update the message boards for me. I just can't seem to hit a stride that allows me to focus on anything but dad for more than a few minutes here and there. love you all and miss you so much.
Jan 25, 2010
Update and quick hello
Hi everyone. I've been in Missouri 2 weeks and it seems like 2 months. What a roller coaster. What a time warp and intense experience. When I got here my dad was obviously in pain, very thin, no appetite and somewhat shell shocked with finding out about the cancer but otherwise okay. That was 2 weeks ago yesterday. By the next Thursday, he was sleeping almost constantly, in much more pain and quickly became dehydrated shutting down his kidneys causing confusion and hallucinations. He was brought to the hospital by ambulance a week ago tomorrow and it has been a long week. I took turns with my brother staying with dad in 12 hour shifts as he still needed assistance and reassurance as the confusion lifted. As his mental state and kidneys started getting better other problems arose. His kidneys worked but not his urinary tract so a catheter was put in. His bowels became impacted and that caused some painful procedures. His heart started having ventricular tachycardia because of an electrolyte imbalance, possibly, could be that his heart is starting to have more problems. Anyway, after scans we found out Friday that his back was broken in two places and was probably the cause of the worst of his pain. Tomorrow he is having a quick procedure that inflates the two broken vertebra and will hopefully take care of much of the pain but we won't know til we try. His official prognosis is 3 months but if he slips back into dehydration or any other complications, of course, this could be over at any time. The cancer started in the gall bladder and we know it is in the liver and lymph nodes but that is all. Despite appetite stimulants, his appetite is not returning nor his desire for fluids so it is just hard to say what will happen. My brother left today so most is up to me now but Neva, dad's wife, does her best to help. This is going to be a long haul. It will be good to get out of the hospital and home to their house - that will help me in some ways, make it harder in others. Hospice will start immediately and we have a call into my dad's long term health care insurance to see what other ways we can get help. At least when we are home sleeping, eating, being all in once place will help. I have a hard time focusing on anything other than this situation so forgive my absence and "bain" damage (roc). I love you all and miss you so much. Hope all is well with everyone else.
Jan 16, 2010
Just a quick update . . .
Being with someone dying is so complicated on so many levels. There are so many dynamics with all the people involved. On top of that I am hormonal I think - not a good mixture.
Doctor and Hospice both came today. Monday we are going for a bone scan to see if the cancer has spread there and that is what ...is causing the worst pain that they haven't been able to manage yet. If it shows up then they will do heavy duty radiation to eliminate pain but it will not help his prognosis. In fact, in this situation, it is a way heavier dose of radiation than would ever be used to treat cancer. We kind of almost hope that is what happens so that the pain might get better. After that process is through, Hospice will start immediately.
In the discussion my brother had with the doc away from my dad we found out that the next two weeks will reveal a lot. They might be able to improve his condition a bit, not the overall prognosis but his comfort for many weeks. If they are not able to improve things in the next two weeks, even with the radiation, then the doc said the end would come fairly quickly within a couple of weeks maybe. Next to pain, his complete loss of appetite, growing inabiltiy to take solid food and severe weight loss will have a lot to do with the outcome along with his weak heart. So there are still lots of unknowns. I can say that there has been a rather large decline since I've been here and even Kent sees a decline since he got here Thursday. His eyes look different, he is sleeping way way more the last two days, his speech has slowed down a bit, he is happy in the bedroom away from the activity, hasn't had anything solid since Thursday morning, kind of talks about things sometimes that have nothing to do with what we were just talking about (like for some reason today he explained his very weird dream last night in great detail to his doctor while we were trying to talk about medications for indigestion) Kent goes home tomorrow. My brother will be here another week. Monday is going to be a long trying day trying to get dad to the hospital and back, so pray for good things.
Jan 12, 2010
Update from Missouri
Thank you all so very much for all of your kind wishes, good thoughts, and prayers. I can feel them and I know they are helping. Please keep 'em coming.
The flight here did not do me in at least, and I got here just fine. It was a shock to see how tiny my dad has become and see him so sick so suddenly. Everyone here that sees him regularly tells me this came so fast and so hard. Hearing that makes it hard to imagine that he will linger a year as the prognosis seems to foretell. His doctor came to the house last night and said that the prognosis is a year but given my dad's heart troubles and not knowing where all the cancer has reached, it really can be any time. My dad is very very thin and can only lay on his left side to get any comfort and is still in pain then. He isn't all that weak yet, but can't sit up long enough to eat and doesn't want to eat anyway. We are giving him ensure as often as he will take it and trying to force small amounts of food but we don't get very far with that. He has a complication that is going to make this tough in that he can't have too strong a pain med or it makes his blood pressure drop too low. So he's kind of in a pickle there and I think that may make the end come sooner than later. He is going in for a bone scan Monday to see if the cancer has spread to his back bones where they can hit it with radiation to relieve the pain, but there will be no change in his prognosis.
Gall bladder cancer is very uncommon and very hard to find. It doesn't form a mass or tumor that is easily seen by any kind of medical imaging. And, usually, once it's found it's too late to treat well. But, it definitely started in the gall bladder and has likely spread to other areas like his back bones and there is some indications that it might be just now starting to affect his kidneys and pancreas, based on lab results from bloodwork. They are not going to do any other looking as it wouldn't change anything anyway.
Okay, so that's all the clinical reality side of this - still lots of unknowns. I am fine. I only break down a bit when people tell me mushy stuff and then the love and emotions kind of overwhelms my emotions a bit. But, I feel strangely matter of fact about this right now. Maybe I cried so much before I came that I have some room in my head to deal with it. The hardest part right now is having to be away from my family and not having my own support group here in person. I think that kind of makes me be tough until someone tells me something mushy and then I go to my soft side. My mom died many years ago so I have no family or personal friends here other than my dad's wife who he married about 4 years ago. She's wonderful but needs some TLC herself so I am kinda taking care of both. We will be calling in hospice in the next few days, maybe while my brother is here. My husband Kent is coming Thursday to Sunday just to see my dad and talk to the doctor and do a couple of chores around the house with my brother. My brother will be here a week and then won't be able to come much after that because of work. I think he only has 3 weeks of leave so we need to use it only when we absolutely need to.
So that's the story. I'm hoping in the next few days we'll all kind of settle into this and get my dad a little better taken care of or leveled off and then I might try to do some blog visiting and maybe even some collage sheet work if Kent can bring me my wacom tablet and get photoshop installed on my laptop this weekend.
The flight here did not do me in at least, and I got here just fine. It was a shock to see how tiny my dad has become and see him so sick so suddenly. Everyone here that sees him regularly tells me this came so fast and so hard. Hearing that makes it hard to imagine that he will linger a year as the prognosis seems to foretell. His doctor came to the house last night and said that the prognosis is a year but given my dad's heart troubles and not knowing where all the cancer has reached, it really can be any time. My dad is very very thin and can only lay on his left side to get any comfort and is still in pain then. He isn't all that weak yet, but can't sit up long enough to eat and doesn't want to eat anyway. We are giving him ensure as often as he will take it and trying to force small amounts of food but we don't get very far with that. He has a complication that is going to make this tough in that he can't have too strong a pain med or it makes his blood pressure drop too low. So he's kind of in a pickle there and I think that may make the end come sooner than later. He is going in for a bone scan Monday to see if the cancer has spread to his back bones where they can hit it with radiation to relieve the pain, but there will be no change in his prognosis.
Gall bladder cancer is very uncommon and very hard to find. It doesn't form a mass or tumor that is easily seen by any kind of medical imaging. And, usually, once it's found it's too late to treat well. But, it definitely started in the gall bladder and has likely spread to other areas like his back bones and there is some indications that it might be just now starting to affect his kidneys and pancreas, based on lab results from bloodwork. They are not going to do any other looking as it wouldn't change anything anyway.
Okay, so that's all the clinical reality side of this - still lots of unknowns. I am fine. I only break down a bit when people tell me mushy stuff and then the love and emotions kind of overwhelms my emotions a bit. But, I feel strangely matter of fact about this right now. Maybe I cried so much before I came that I have some room in my head to deal with it. The hardest part right now is having to be away from my family and not having my own support group here in person. I think that kind of makes me be tough until someone tells me something mushy and then I go to my soft side. My mom died many years ago so I have no family or personal friends here other than my dad's wife who he married about 4 years ago. She's wonderful but needs some TLC herself so I am kinda taking care of both. We will be calling in hospice in the next few days, maybe while my brother is here. My husband Kent is coming Thursday to Sunday just to see my dad and talk to the doctor and do a couple of chores around the house with my brother. My brother will be here a week and then won't be able to come much after that because of work. I think he only has 3 weeks of leave so we need to use it only when we absolutely need to.
So that's the story. I'm hoping in the next few days we'll all kind of settle into this and get my dad a little better taken care of or leveled off and then I might try to do some blog visiting and maybe even some collage sheet work if Kent can bring me my wacom tablet and get photoshop installed on my laptop this weekend.
Jan 8, 2010
Very bad news
Well, this may be the hardest post I've had to write. In the midst of all the other bad things going on (as in the previous post) I found out today that my dad has terminal cancer. I am getting things together to fly there on Sunday and I bought a one way ticket. I'm not sure how long I will be there or what is about to happen or how and it will surely be the toughest trip I've ever made. Not only am I so deeply sad beyond words about my dad, but leaving my family in the midst of the crisis here with my brother-in-law and our friends' parents, it's just very very tough from all sides.
I expect to be with my dad for many weeks so I'm not sure what will happen to my art life but I will resume it down the road when the time is right. A little silver lining is that I will have plenty of time to finally get caught up on everyone else's blogs and work and I look forward to that. Of all the times I've asked for prayers, this is the time I have needed them most for myself, for strength and wisdom, and for all those in my family and friends' families that are suffering and in need of strength as well.
I expect to be with my dad for many weeks so I'm not sure what will happen to my art life but I will resume it down the road when the time is right. A little silver lining is that I will have plenty of time to finally get caught up on everyone else's blogs and work and I look forward to that. Of all the times I've asked for prayers, this is the time I have needed them most for myself, for strength and wisdom, and for all those in my family and friends' families that are suffering and in need of strength as well.
Jan 7, 2010
Life updates
Thank you all for all of the good wishes, sweet words and prayers. Please keep praying for Tina's family. I have sent about 25 prints of Walk Ahead (in the post below), and the original, to her family and very close friends. I've had so many requests for it from so many people, I put it in my Etsy for a short time to help cover the postage and packaging. You only pay for materials and shipping.
It has been a rough couple of weeks. I feel like I always have some drama to share and I feel like overall I am the happiest most un-dramatic person you'll find in reality. But when one sums up one's existence on a blog, the bad news sticks out like a sore thumb and overtakes the joys and happy things sometimes. So, I am not being much of a happy carefreee artist this week but a person with a few curve balls thrown at her.
Spent yesterday in the ER with my daughter, again. She had the swine flu in the fall but this time had a good ol' stomach/intestinal flu and got dehydrated. So, we had to go get her tanks filled up and she is starting to perk up this morning.
My dad is doing much better and feels like he is on his way to finally getting better. That's great news and a big relief to me. But, I have other bad news. Kent's (my husband) brother is in intensive care after it appears the same flu my daughter and nephew had, caused some bleeding in his stomach and intestines. He had a seizure and was taken to the hospital when they discovered the bleeding and that he had some very serious liver problems after many years of injuries, medical and other issues have overtaxed his liver. He has had a broken back and other back problems over the years and then a very badly broken leg that he nearly lost, along with his life, due to staff infection and he is in pain daily due to those injuries. He has had lots of pain meds, even just over the counter, go through that liver over the years and they have taken their toll. We are waiting to find out how bad things are but he has been sedated since Tuesday night and is currently on a ventilator though he is breathing on his own. They expect that to come out today when they feel like they have good control over all the issues going on. Test results will let us know how bad the liver is in the next day or two.
On top of that, the mothers of two of my closest friends have been in the hospital too. One had a spinal stroke Christmas night and is now in a rehabilitation center getting therapy to help her legs work again. The other has been fighting cancer many years and is in the hospital to manage pain and get some heavy duty treatment.
Here I am again, asking for prayers. Please pray for the healing of these people and that their families can overcome the challenges they face and know they have the strength of an army of angels behind them. And selfishly, I ask that you pray that 2010 gets a little better soon.
It has been a rough couple of weeks. I feel like I always have some drama to share and I feel like overall I am the happiest most un-dramatic person you'll find in reality. But when one sums up one's existence on a blog, the bad news sticks out like a sore thumb and overtakes the joys and happy things sometimes. So, I am not being much of a happy carefreee artist this week but a person with a few curve balls thrown at her.
Spent yesterday in the ER with my daughter, again. She had the swine flu in the fall but this time had a good ol' stomach/intestinal flu and got dehydrated. So, we had to go get her tanks filled up and she is starting to perk up this morning.
My dad is doing much better and feels like he is on his way to finally getting better. That's great news and a big relief to me. But, I have other bad news. Kent's (my husband) brother is in intensive care after it appears the same flu my daughter and nephew had, caused some bleeding in his stomach and intestines. He had a seizure and was taken to the hospital when they discovered the bleeding and that he had some very serious liver problems after many years of injuries, medical and other issues have overtaxed his liver. He has had a broken back and other back problems over the years and then a very badly broken leg that he nearly lost, along with his life, due to staff infection and he is in pain daily due to those injuries. He has had lots of pain meds, even just over the counter, go through that liver over the years and they have taken their toll. We are waiting to find out how bad things are but he has been sedated since Tuesday night and is currently on a ventilator though he is breathing on his own. They expect that to come out today when they feel like they have good control over all the issues going on. Test results will let us know how bad the liver is in the next day or two.
On top of that, the mothers of two of my closest friends have been in the hospital too. One had a spinal stroke Christmas night and is now in a rehabilitation center getting therapy to help her legs work again. The other has been fighting cancer many years and is in the hospital to manage pain and get some heavy duty treatment.
Here I am again, asking for prayers. Please pray for the healing of these people and that their families can overcome the challenges they face and know they have the strength of an army of angels behind them. And selfishly, I ask that you pray that 2010 gets a little better soon.
Jan 3, 2010
Jan 1, 2010
There is no picture
that can show what a broken heart feels like. There are no words that adequately describe it. I just got word tonight that Tina Wright is losing her battle with cancer and slipping away. Many of you may know her as CollageMojo on flickr or from her blog {glue on my fingers, paint in my hair}. Tina was the first person to leave me a testimonial on my flickr and it meant so much to me then and means so much to me now. She was always available to give me a good quick kick in the pants if I started feeling blah about my work, or life in general for that matter. She wore big girl underpants and was so great at showing the rest of us how to put them on.
She and I were actually working on a little swap project together just as she got the news she had cancer. After a few weeks of adjusting to things, she posted a bit about our project together (here) and there was no way I would have thought anything but that she would kick this cancer thing out to the curb.
But she is part of another masterpiece, bigger than anything we could create here on earth and it appears she is being called to work on that now. Along with a few other thousand people, including her devoted husband and family and other artist friends, I am devastated. My life will not be the same without her here but it never would have been the same without her touching me as she did. That's how people go on after they leave this world, they live on in the ways they changed those around them. She will always be in my heart as a friend and sistah in life, and a little bit of her support and encouragement and spirit that she shared with me will always be in my art.
Added later in the evening . . . I couldn't sleep tonight. I made this. It reads "The strength we have found in our sisters on this journey, remains with us even when we must walk ahead on our own."
Walk Ahead (thinking of Tina)
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 1/1/10. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is an 8 x 10 collage using a main image from flickr's picassowoman (hand cut and colored with inks and pastel), wings and road from Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com, a crown from keeperofthenest.etsy.com, and a background from Studio Lorrie at Scrapbookgraphics.com. The group pictures are all from the Library of Congress and the outside border pieces are from Gaby Braun of gaby-cajubrasil.blogspot.com.
Thanks, Becky, for keeping me posted. Hugs to you dear friend. And thinking of you Cindy. I know you both are hurting.
She and I were actually working on a little swap project together just as she got the news she had cancer. After a few weeks of adjusting to things, she posted a bit about our project together (here) and there was no way I would have thought anything but that she would kick this cancer thing out to the curb.
But she is part of another masterpiece, bigger than anything we could create here on earth and it appears she is being called to work on that now. Along with a few other thousand people, including her devoted husband and family and other artist friends, I am devastated. My life will not be the same without her here but it never would have been the same without her touching me as she did. That's how people go on after they leave this world, they live on in the ways they changed those around them. She will always be in my heart as a friend and sistah in life, and a little bit of her support and encouragement and spirit that she shared with me will always be in my art.
Added later in the evening . . . I couldn't sleep tonight. I made this. It reads "The strength we have found in our sisters on this journey, remains with us even when we must walk ahead on our own."
Walk Ahead (thinking of Tina)
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 1/1/10. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is an 8 x 10 collage using a main image from flickr's picassowoman (hand cut and colored with inks and pastel), wings and road from Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com, a crown from keeperofthenest.etsy.com, and a background from Studio Lorrie at Scrapbookgraphics.com. The group pictures are all from the Library of Congress and the outside border pieces are from Gaby Braun of gaby-cajubrasil.blogspot.com.
Thanks, Becky, for keeping me posted. Hugs to you dear friend. And thinking of you Cindy. I know you both are hurting.
Dec 30, 2009
Happy New Year!
First things first
Happy New Year! This may well be my last post of 2009. It's been a wonderful year overall and one of the most exciting for me in a long, long time. I send you my very biggest wishes for a creative and successful and happy 2010!
Dad Update
My dad had gall bladder surgery today. Had a couple of delays with blood pressure and needing fluids, but in the end they got it out laprascopically and without a hitch. They kept him overnight but he should be able to go home on Thursday. Thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes! They did the trick and I am so very relieved!
New Piece
I haven't made anything in over a week but have done lots of inspiration shopping. Have so many things I want to try. I need to make a couple of pieces for a charity function I'm thinking about donating to - it's kind of a big one and I'm a little chicken to put myself out there, but after my inquiry, I was invited or maybe allowed, to send work. I may take the plunge. The charity raises money for the arts in the Los Angeles area. This is the first piece I'm thinking of sending. Wish you could see it in person and framed. It's so much better in person.
One
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/20/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is a large 8 x 10 mixed media collage using a face from flickr's picassowoman, a body from the Library of Congress, boots scanned from a catalog, wings from Itkupilli.etsy.com, a birdcage from keeperofthenest.etsy.com, and a dove from Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com and used with a commercial license. The floor is from flickr's JoesSistah and the main background was made from layering and altering a texture from asunderephemera.etsy.com. The red and white borders are from my own vintage popcorn bag and the other border pieces were created from parts from LandofEnchantment.etsy.com and Crowabout.etsy.com. All pieces were reprinted and most were hand colored to some degree. The face and body were printed in black and white and hand colored. All pieces were hand cut with scissors and attached to the background with glue. This is not a digital collage.
(One detail)
Interesting website that shows the work of many of you
While inspiration shopping I somehow ended up at this site . . . Formations. I think it may be comparable to Flickr River, another view of flickr work that links to your flickr images, but there are some pieces I noticed were not linked. While I found a great deal of inspiration from this site, I am a tiny bit concerned that probably no one has given permission for their work to be shown there. I found one of my pieces there and decided to leave it. But, since I saw many many pieces from many of you, I thought you might like to know. It is a very beautiful site. Just wish she asked first but appreciate that she attributes the work to the artist and links it most of the time to the appropriate place.
New Teesha stuff!
Also visited one of my regular spots for inspiration and realized that Teesha Moore has redone her store and has some new collage sheets and features. Here's the link http://www.teeshaslandofodd.com/php/sunshop/
Happy New Year! This may well be my last post of 2009. It's been a wonderful year overall and one of the most exciting for me in a long, long time. I send you my very biggest wishes for a creative and successful and happy 2010!
Dad Update
My dad had gall bladder surgery today. Had a couple of delays with blood pressure and needing fluids, but in the end they got it out laprascopically and without a hitch. They kept him overnight but he should be able to go home on Thursday. Thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes! They did the trick and I am so very relieved!
New Piece
I haven't made anything in over a week but have done lots of inspiration shopping. Have so many things I want to try. I need to make a couple of pieces for a charity function I'm thinking about donating to - it's kind of a big one and I'm a little chicken to put myself out there, but after my inquiry, I was invited or maybe allowed, to send work. I may take the plunge. The charity raises money for the arts in the Los Angeles area. This is the first piece I'm thinking of sending. Wish you could see it in person and framed. It's so much better in person.
One
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/20/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is a large 8 x 10 mixed media collage using a face from flickr's picassowoman, a body from the Library of Congress, boots scanned from a catalog, wings from Itkupilli.etsy.com, a birdcage from keeperofthenest.etsy.com, and a dove from Holliewood Studios at Oscraps.com and used with a commercial license. The floor is from flickr's JoesSistah and the main background was made from layering and altering a texture from asunderephemera.etsy.com. The red and white borders are from my own vintage popcorn bag and the other border pieces were created from parts from LandofEnchantment.etsy.com and Crowabout.etsy.com. All pieces were reprinted and most were hand colored to some degree. The face and body were printed in black and white and hand colored. All pieces were hand cut with scissors and attached to the background with glue. This is not a digital collage.
(One detail)
Interesting website that shows the work of many of you
While inspiration shopping I somehow ended up at this site . . . Formations. I think it may be comparable to Flickr River, another view of flickr work that links to your flickr images, but there are some pieces I noticed were not linked. While I found a great deal of inspiration from this site, I am a tiny bit concerned that probably no one has given permission for their work to be shown there. I found one of my pieces there and decided to leave it. But, since I saw many many pieces from many of you, I thought you might like to know. It is a very beautiful site. Just wish she asked first but appreciate that she attributes the work to the artist and links it most of the time to the appropriate place.
New Teesha stuff!
Also visited one of my regular spots for inspiration and realized that Teesha Moore has redone her store and has some new collage sheets and features. Here's the link http://www.teeshaslandofodd.com/php/sunshop/
Dec 29, 2009
The days between . . .
I get stuck, with a bit of melancholy.
In the days between Christmas and New Year I always feel stuck, sort of. The big build up for Christmas is over and the late nights and power multi-tasking days that pulled it off, always seem to catch up to me. I feel like being a vegetable these days. And, of course, the holidays don't really feel over because New Year's is right there peeking around the corner, the kids are home from school, and there is still a festive shimmer about. There is a feeling of accomplishment, conquering and surviving the year before, and a bit of anxiety over what the new year will bring . . . hoping I can handle whatever it throws at me and at the same time hoping to squeeze every last drop of joy from each day the new calendar offers. I like to lay about and ponder, remember, dream, reflect, anticipate, plan, make wishes, make new commitments, and believe the best is yet to come. I feel quiet.
Update to this post - later in the day
I may be feeling melancholy with things just on my mind. Many of you know it has been a rough year with my dad. Just got word a few minutes ago he was admitted to the hospital today immediately after an ultrasound revealed the culprit for some pretty agonizing pain he's had the past few weeks. He is having gall bladder surgery tomorrow morning. He doesn't think it's serious enough for me to come but this will be his 4th surgery this year, poor man. The pain has been so bad they called 911 one night thinking it was his heart but the bypass and aorta repair he's had this year seem to have managed well. Just two weeks ago he had a defibrillator "installed" to keep his ticker ticking properly. He almost refused the surgery due to the pain he was having in his chest and back but not until today did the doctors confirm my suspicion that it was his gall bladder. It's enlarged, with thick walls and plugged with a stone. So, I always worry when surgery is involved but thankful this may finally get him on the road to feeling good again. Prayers very much appreciated! Now, back to the original post today . . .
Somerset Studio
I'm looking through books and magazines - refilling the inspiration tank and ready to start some new fresh work, wondering if it will actually turn out new and fresh. I am delighted to see so many friends in the pile of Somerset and Stampington magazines I bought myself to look through this week. I'm so proud to know you all! You're so talented and you inspire me so. I'll be blog visiting later this week and can't wait to see what's happening with all of you!
If I'm going to be honest, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in my recent publication in the Jan. issue of Somerset - they changed my title and completely edited my work description to the point I don't hardly recognize it. Says "color copy and cut out collage faces" - I've never color copied in my life. These were black and white images that I reprinted and hand colored with ink and pastel. I never added "additional lines" and they left out all but one of my image credits. And, I don't think they were photographed true to life - seem a bit overexposed. Oh well, it is always a compliment to be published no matter the snafues. And, I should just shut up and enjoy it as I won't be published again for awhile. I haven't sent anything in since last summer.
Hope you all are having beautiful Holidays!
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In the days between Christmas and New Year I always feel stuck, sort of. The big build up for Christmas is over and the late nights and power multi-tasking days that pulled it off, always seem to catch up to me. I feel like being a vegetable these days. And, of course, the holidays don't really feel over because New Year's is right there peeking around the corner, the kids are home from school, and there is still a festive shimmer about. There is a feeling of accomplishment, conquering and surviving the year before, and a bit of anxiety over what the new year will bring . . . hoping I can handle whatever it throws at me and at the same time hoping to squeeze every last drop of joy from each day the new calendar offers. I like to lay about and ponder, remember, dream, reflect, anticipate, plan, make wishes, make new commitments, and believe the best is yet to come. I feel quiet.
Update to this post - later in the day
I may be feeling melancholy with things just on my mind. Many of you know it has been a rough year with my dad. Just got word a few minutes ago he was admitted to the hospital today immediately after an ultrasound revealed the culprit for some pretty agonizing pain he's had the past few weeks. He is having gall bladder surgery tomorrow morning. He doesn't think it's serious enough for me to come but this will be his 4th surgery this year, poor man. The pain has been so bad they called 911 one night thinking it was his heart but the bypass and aorta repair he's had this year seem to have managed well. Just two weeks ago he had a defibrillator "installed" to keep his ticker ticking properly. He almost refused the surgery due to the pain he was having in his chest and back but not until today did the doctors confirm my suspicion that it was his gall bladder. It's enlarged, with thick walls and plugged with a stone. So, I always worry when surgery is involved but thankful this may finally get him on the road to feeling good again. Prayers very much appreciated! Now, back to the original post today . . .
Somerset Studio
I'm looking through books and magazines - refilling the inspiration tank and ready to start some new fresh work, wondering if it will actually turn out new and fresh. I am delighted to see so many friends in the pile of Somerset and Stampington magazines I bought myself to look through this week. I'm so proud to know you all! You're so talented and you inspire me so. I'll be blog visiting later this week and can't wait to see what's happening with all of you!
If I'm going to be honest, I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in my recent publication in the Jan. issue of Somerset - they changed my title and completely edited my work description to the point I don't hardly recognize it. Says "color copy and cut out collage faces" - I've never color copied in my life. These were black and white images that I reprinted and hand colored with ink and pastel. I never added "additional lines" and they left out all but one of my image credits. And, I don't think they were photographed true to life - seem a bit overexposed. Oh well, it is always a compliment to be published no matter the snafues. And, I should just shut up and enjoy it as I won't be published again for awhile. I haven't sent anything in since last summer.
Hope you all are having beautiful Holidays!
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Dec 24, 2009
Merry Christmas!
From my house and family to yours, we send wishes for a very VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you have safe journeys, warm cozy shelter, delicious and decadent meals, fellowship and fun with your loved ones, and every Christmas wish you dreamed of.
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/19/09. All rights reserved.
Special thanks to collageanonymous.etsy.com, LandofEnchantment.etsy.com, Itukupilli.etsy.com, whymsicalmusings.etsy.com, SuzeeQue of flickr, and Lauren Bavin of Scrapbookgraphics.com for image pieces used in this card.
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/19/09. All rights reserved.
Special thanks to collageanonymous.etsy.com, LandofEnchantment.etsy.com, Itukupilli.etsy.com, whymsicalmusings.etsy.com, SuzeeQue of flickr, and Lauren Bavin of Scrapbookgraphics.com for image pieces used in this card.
Dec 19, 2009
Contest winnerS and more!
Housekeeping issue
First need to let you know that someone has "spoofed" my email, meaning they haven't technically hijacked my email but they are using my email address to send an email with a link to a web site. Just wanted you to know that it's not me. It's been reported to the FTC by Yahoo and myself but it amounts to about the same thing as if someone used your house address as their return address on snail mail, which is also illegal by the way, but not much you can do about it. Let me know if you get the email though - would like to know if they got my contact list somehow.
Present Angel
Finished a custom order today. It's for the aunt of one of my best friends. It's her picture you see on this character. She takes care of everyone and is very special, not just to my friend but to many of us.
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/19/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is a 5 x 7 collage using the face of a friend on a body from lisasalteredart.etsy.com, legs from the public domain, boots scanned and altered from a magazine, wings from Itkupilli.etsy.com and a crown from whymsicalmusings.etsy.com. The hearts are from designer Nicole Young and used with a commercial license. The outside border pieces are from LandofEnchantment.etsy.com with the exception of the two partial photographs. The blue and white stripe piece at the bottom is from scrap paper and the scalloped border is from designer Lauren Bavin of Scrapbookgraphics.com. All pieces were hand cut with scissors and most were colored and shaded by hand before attaching to the background.
Without further ado - The Contest WinnerS! Yes - as in more than one winner!
It was too hard to choose just one! We could've chosen all of them! You all had such great ideas but after long deliberation we had ended up with two we all agreed on. The first is from Stacey of Primarily Primitives blog. We only used part of your suggestion as that is all that would fit. Stacey suggested "if I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense". I hope that's okay, Stacey. And, the second winner is Nancy Lefko of My Collage Art blog who suggested "perspective is often found with that first step off the beaten path". So both of you will be getting one of the first two Limited Edition Prints in the mail in the New Year (maybe a little sooner) and credit with your blog address in the image description wherever it is shown. Thank you so much for your help! So ladies, I'll need your addresses to mail them to!
I still have a bit of touching up and a few details to add and shading to do but I am already so late with announcing the winners, thought I'd better get something up for now.
Nonsense
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/19/09. All rights reserved. You may not print, copy, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is a large 8 x 10 collage all hand cut with scissors with tons of hand coloring and shading. The face is from flickr's picassowoman, the body and skirt are from my own vintage pictures, the legs are from collageanonymous.etsy.com (altered and colored), and the boots are from my own scanned and altered catalog picture. The hat was made from paper scraps and the horns are from clipart.com. The hearts are from designer Nicole Young and used with a commercial license. The blue background is from flickr's SkeletalMess and the checked floor is from flickr's JoesSistah. The borders are made from scraps and some pieces from collageanonymous.etsy.com, cemerony.etsy.com, Itupilli.etsy.com, designer Sande Krieger (used with commercial license) and suppliestogo.etsy.com. The moon is from the public domain and the earth globe from cemerony.etsy.com. Quotes were suggested by Stacey of http://primprimitives.blogspot.com and Nancy Lefko of http://nancylefko.blogspot.com
First need to let you know that someone has "spoofed" my email, meaning they haven't technically hijacked my email but they are using my email address to send an email with a link to a web site. Just wanted you to know that it's not me. It's been reported to the FTC by Yahoo and myself but it amounts to about the same thing as if someone used your house address as their return address on snail mail, which is also illegal by the way, but not much you can do about it. Let me know if you get the email though - would like to know if they got my contact list somehow.
Present Angel
Finished a custom order today. It's for the aunt of one of my best friends. It's her picture you see on this character. She takes care of everyone and is very special, not just to my friend but to many of us.
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/19/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is a 5 x 7 collage using the face of a friend on a body from lisasalteredart.etsy.com, legs from the public domain, boots scanned and altered from a magazine, wings from Itkupilli.etsy.com and a crown from whymsicalmusings.etsy.com. The hearts are from designer Nicole Young and used with a commercial license. The outside border pieces are from LandofEnchantment.etsy.com with the exception of the two partial photographs. The blue and white stripe piece at the bottom is from scrap paper and the scalloped border is from designer Lauren Bavin of Scrapbookgraphics.com. All pieces were hand cut with scissors and most were colored and shaded by hand before attaching to the background.
Without further ado - The Contest WinnerS! Yes - as in more than one winner!
It was too hard to choose just one! We could've chosen all of them! You all had such great ideas but after long deliberation we had ended up with two we all agreed on. The first is from Stacey of Primarily Primitives blog. We only used part of your suggestion as that is all that would fit. Stacey suggested "if I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense". I hope that's okay, Stacey. And, the second winner is Nancy Lefko of My Collage Art blog who suggested "perspective is often found with that first step off the beaten path". So both of you will be getting one of the first two Limited Edition Prints in the mail in the New Year (maybe a little sooner) and credit with your blog address in the image description wherever it is shown. Thank you so much for your help! So ladies, I'll need your addresses to mail them to!
I still have a bit of touching up and a few details to add and shading to do but I am already so late with announcing the winners, thought I'd better get something up for now.
Nonsense
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/19/09. All rights reserved. You may not print, copy, download, or use this image in any way without my permission.
This is a large 8 x 10 collage all hand cut with scissors with tons of hand coloring and shading. The face is from flickr's picassowoman, the body and skirt are from my own vintage pictures, the legs are from collageanonymous.etsy.com (altered and colored), and the boots are from my own scanned and altered catalog picture. The hat was made from paper scraps and the horns are from clipart.com. The hearts are from designer Nicole Young and used with a commercial license. The blue background is from flickr's SkeletalMess and the checked floor is from flickr's JoesSistah. The borders are made from scraps and some pieces from collageanonymous.etsy.com, cemerony.etsy.com, Itupilli.etsy.com, designer Sande Krieger (used with commercial license) and suppliestogo.etsy.com. The moon is from the public domain and the earth globe from cemerony.etsy.com. Quotes were suggested by Stacey of http://primprimitives.blogspot.com and Nancy Lefko of http://nancylefko.blogspot.com
The Contest . . .
Family hasn't voted yet on the winning quote for my art piece two posts down this page - last night didn't go as planned. I may not get the piece finished today but will announce the winner tonight! (I just had a last minute custom order come in that I have to squeeze in today)
Enjoy the season! Quote from Albert Einstein . . . "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Here is a free picture for you! This is cleaned up from one of my own antique pictures. I'm sure it will show up on one of my collage sheets in Etsy soon, but until then thought I'd share this. The Holidays are all about family for me and this family looks so happy! (Please don't sell this image in a collage sheet or image collection or share with anyone else. It is for your personal use only. Thank you! You can click on it for a larger version.)
Enjoy the season! Quote from Albert Einstein . . . "There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Here is a free picture for you! This is cleaned up from one of my own antique pictures. I'm sure it will show up on one of my collage sheets in Etsy soon, but until then thought I'd share this. The Holidays are all about family for me and this family looks so happy! (Please don't sell this image in a collage sheet or image collection or share with anyone else. It is for your personal use only. Thank you! You can click on it for a larger version.)
Dec 18, 2009
Thought you might like a little giggle
Found this from visiting FishStikks blog for the first time this morning which I got to by way of EggStudio both of which have been enthusiastically added to my blog links list!
I'm drinkin' some Evian today . . .
Don't forget the "give me some words" contest in the post below! Deadline is tonight!
I'm drinkin' some Evian today . . .
Don't forget the "give me some words" contest in the post below! Deadline is tonight!
Dec 14, 2009
Oooh! A contest for you & more!
The Contest . . .
My daughter and I like it when I include words in my pieces. My husband doesn't and the discussion over this piece left me empty as to what words to add. So, if you interpret this piece in a quote that I can later add to it, you will win the first signed full size Limited Edition print of the piece below when it's finished with your words included! I'll even mat it for you prior to mailing. (the original will be offered in my Etsy after it's finished). Just leave me a quote below and my family and I will choose the one we like the best, keeping in mind the concept of this piece. Hints: perspective, introspection, she is stepping off the path and away from the rest of the world. Leave your quote by Friday night!
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/15/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download or use this image in any way without my permission. Image credits will be given this weekend when the piece is finished.
Fabulous Mail from friends. . .
I have received some of the funnest mail lately. Some from swaps and some because there are just very thoughtful folks in our art world.
from my friend Renee (flickr's Nayski), this gorgeous postcard from a swap . . .
from my friend Mary (flickr's PaperScraps), this beautiful postcard from a swap . . .
from my friend Danny of FiDOart, this spectacular and oh so fun festive pendant . . .
and last but not least, from sweet Hanne of Limoglitter, this exquisite handmade card . . .
Thank you friends for so much magical mail! I love them all!
A little gift from me to you . . .
Here's a collage sheet for you that you may use in your art for resale. Please do not sell the images themselves singly or in a collage sheet or collage image collection. It is for your use only.
You can click on the sheet to get a larger version good enough to download and use.
My daughter and I like it when I include words in my pieces. My husband doesn't and the discussion over this piece left me empty as to what words to add. So, if you interpret this piece in a quote that I can later add to it, you will win the first signed full size Limited Edition print of the piece below when it's finished with your words included! I'll even mat it for you prior to mailing. (the original will be offered in my Etsy after it's finished). Just leave me a quote below and my family and I will choose the one we like the best, keeping in mind the concept of this piece. Hints: perspective, introspection, she is stepping off the path and away from the rest of the world. Leave your quote by Friday night!
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/15/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download or use this image in any way without my permission. Image credits will be given this weekend when the piece is finished.
Fabulous Mail from friends. . .
I have received some of the funnest mail lately. Some from swaps and some because there are just very thoughtful folks in our art world.
from my friend Renee (flickr's Nayski), this gorgeous postcard from a swap . . .
from my friend Mary (flickr's PaperScraps), this beautiful postcard from a swap . . .
from my friend Danny of FiDOart, this spectacular and oh so fun festive pendant . . .
and last but not least, from sweet Hanne of Limoglitter, this exquisite handmade card . . .
Thank you friends for so much magical mail! I love them all!
A little gift from me to you . . .
Here's a collage sheet for you that you may use in your art for resale. Please do not sell the images themselves singly or in a collage sheet or collage image collection. It is for your use only.
You can click on the sheet to get a larger version good enough to download and use.
Dec 10, 2009
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.
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.
Dec 1, 2009
A little art . . .
Still painting the house but I had to rest a bit yesterday and today. Took care of Etsy business, installed a new printer, did laundry and paid bills. I'm a little rusty making art - can't wait to get the projects done so I can work on art full time again. Today I just had to make something before the muses leave me completely. Plan to finish painting the main parts of the house by Saturday, put up the Christmas tree this weekend since it didn't get done last weekend as planned, do a bit of shopping for the long distance folks and work on art all next week. Feeling a bit better with a full week reprieve from mother nature. I'm hoping maybe she was just throwing me one last big good-bye party the last few months. We'll see I guess. Happy December 1st!
Soul Sisters
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/1/09. All rights reserved.
This is an approximate 5 x 7 collage using a face and body from flickr’s Very Good with Computers (both highly altered digitally and by hand). The wings in the headpiece are from Itkupilli.etsy.com, and the stars are from flickr’s cleome1. The hair was altered from a magazine picture. The background and border pieces are by designer Nicole Young (used with a commercial license) and cemerony.etsy.com and Cassiscreations.etsy.com. The black and white border was created from pieces from Crowabout.etsy.com. The girls at the bottom were used legally from the public domain and highly altered. The crowns on these girls are from keeperofthenest.etsy.com. Most of these pieces were hand colored and all were reprinted, hand trimmed with scissors and attached to the background.
Soul Sisters
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 12/1/09. All rights reserved.
This is an approximate 5 x 7 collage using a face and body from flickr’s Very Good with Computers (both highly altered digitally and by hand). The wings in the headpiece are from Itkupilli.etsy.com, and the stars are from flickr’s cleome1. The hair was altered from a magazine picture. The background and border pieces are by designer Nicole Young (used with a commercial license) and cemerony.etsy.com and Cassiscreations.etsy.com. The black and white border was created from pieces from Crowabout.etsy.com. The girls at the bottom were used legally from the public domain and highly altered. The crowns on these girls are from keeperofthenest.etsy.com. Most of these pieces were hand colored and all were reprinted, hand trimmed with scissors and attached to the background.
Nov 28, 2009
I'm here and alive
I've been putting all of my energy into family stuff this last week. In addition to Thanksgiving dinner stuff (including waiting in line an hour and a half for our pre-ordered Honeybaked ham and turkey breasts - which were almost worth it), painted our son's room, ripped up the old carpet, cleaned the vintage hardwood floors, put up new base boards, and rearranged furniture. Tomorrow we're getting new blinds for him and new soccer cleats for the daughter. Then we are going to try and decorate for the holidays and sometime in the next couple of days I need to paint the hallway and put in new doorknobs. I'm pretty tired and very anxious to get to the doctor this next week I hope. Went to see Blind Side tonight - best movie I've seen in a long, long time - very inspiring and uplifting and moving. Avoided shopping this weekend and hope to do as much online as possible this year. Printer is giving me headaches so waiting on a new one to do much art - it should be here in the next couple of days. Will really try to get some more art done and get around to say howdy on everyone else's blogs next week. I miss you all and I miss knowing what you are up to - you're my army of inspiration muses. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Nov 22, 2009
Sunday night miscellany
(An update on the Too Much Information post can be found at the bottom of this post if you're interested.)
Inspired by playing FarmVille on FaceBook, here is the first piece of art I've finished in over a week. I am addicted to FarmVille because it requires very little thinking and helps keep me awake when I want to be sleeping and can't be. You know, writing things and creating things takes so much motivation - it takes a lot to bring forth something that didn't exist before you put the letters together or brought the elements together in a piece of art. There's a place and energy you have to tap into to bring those things out. Mine is all plugged up right now. And you don't realize how much motivation it takes to do what we do until you are all of a sudden on empty! Things like doing laundry or running the vacuum have been comforting for me because I don't have to think to do them and still feel productive. Anyway, you can read more about that stuff at the bottom of this post if you want.
Soul Growing
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 11/22/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, download, print, or use this image in any way without my permision.
This is a 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 collage using bodies from the 1930 painting American Gothic by Grant Wood, and faces of Albert and Mileva Einstein from the public domain. Both of these elements were altered significantly in PhotoShop, reprinted, hand trimmed with scissors, and hand colored. The corn crowns come from my own vintage seed package, words from crowabout.etsy.com, the fish from phenomenon1851.etsy.com, the house from collagevisions.etsy.com, and the small frame from Studio Lorrie at Scrapbookgraphics.com and used with a commercial license. The backwards letters and numbers at the bottom are from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com and also used with commercial permission. The Native American photograph and the eggs are from the public domain. The 2 hearts were cut from a 100 year old encyclopedia page. The raspberry pieces and most other border elements are from Gaby Braun of gaby-cajubrasil.blogspot.com. Thank you, Gaby for your generosity. All pieces were reprinted, hand cut, and hand colored and then placed on a background created by merging textures from flickr's JoesSistah and Itkupilli.etsy.com. Many thanks to JoesSistah for always providing such lovely textures to play with.
Did you get yours? Oh, my. Anahata Katkin's Papaya catalog is a feast for the eyes and a must have for making your holiday wish list! It is like a little portable museum of her gorgeous work and I want one of everything inside. Anahata has commented my work once or twice before so to see her big amazing 62 page catalog makes me a little star crossed and giddy. She is living my dream and I find so much inspiration in her work and from her example - another art idol to worship.
Once again, the mailbox Gods have been good to me and brought me surprises galore. I received this gorgeous and so fun piece from Janny Tricolore of Tricolore of Mixed Media blog. I have loved Janny's work forever and after gushing over this piece on flickr she up and sent it to me! I just love that guy sitting there so matter-of-factly in his tutu and boots! You'll notice the same words I used in my piece above - Replinish the Soul. They're part of a hot, hot, hot collage sheet from Nancy Baumiller at crowabout.etsy.com! Thank you, Janny, for this very much enjoyed piece! I love it.
And then the very kind and talented Lorraine Stobie of Creative Daily blog sent me these beautiful Christmas tags. What another lovely surprise to get! Thank you, Lorraine! You are too good to me and so thoughtful. They will be used and enjoyed and bragged about this holiday season!
Okay more on the previous Too Much Information (TMI) post. Mother nature has given me a break for a couple of days and I've had just enough energy to do what needs to be done and just a bit more. I go in for blood work Tuesday or Wednesday and waiting for paperwork to see the gynocologist, who just happens to be the obstetrician that delivered both of my kids 16 and 18 years ago. I am very pleased with that as I loved him and trusted him completely. Anyway, I imagine I'll get to see him in the next 2 weeks. Thank you for all of the emails and comments. I told my husband it helps so much to know I am not crazy in trying to describe how very exhausted I am feeling because so many of you have been through it, came out of it, and "get" what I'm going through. I'm sure this will be all over soon. Until then, I'll do the best I can with everything! Thanks heaps for your loving thoughts and wishes!
Inspired by playing FarmVille on FaceBook, here is the first piece of art I've finished in over a week. I am addicted to FarmVille because it requires very little thinking and helps keep me awake when I want to be sleeping and can't be. You know, writing things and creating things takes so much motivation - it takes a lot to bring forth something that didn't exist before you put the letters together or brought the elements together in a piece of art. There's a place and energy you have to tap into to bring those things out. Mine is all plugged up right now. And you don't realize how much motivation it takes to do what we do until you are all of a sudden on empty! Things like doing laundry or running the vacuum have been comforting for me because I don't have to think to do them and still feel productive. Anyway, you can read more about that stuff at the bottom of this post if you want.
Soul Growing
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 11/22/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, download, print, or use this image in any way without my permision.
This is a 7 3/4 x 9 3/4 collage using bodies from the 1930 painting American Gothic by Grant Wood, and faces of Albert and Mileva Einstein from the public domain. Both of these elements were altered significantly in PhotoShop, reprinted, hand trimmed with scissors, and hand colored. The corn crowns come from my own vintage seed package, words from crowabout.etsy.com, the fish from phenomenon1851.etsy.com, the house from collagevisions.etsy.com, and the small frame from Studio Lorrie at Scrapbookgraphics.com and used with a commercial license. The backwards letters and numbers at the bottom are from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com and also used with commercial permission. The Native American photograph and the eggs are from the public domain. The 2 hearts were cut from a 100 year old encyclopedia page. The raspberry pieces and most other border elements are from Gaby Braun of gaby-cajubrasil.blogspot.com. Thank you, Gaby for your generosity. All pieces were reprinted, hand cut, and hand colored and then placed on a background created by merging textures from flickr's JoesSistah and Itkupilli.etsy.com. Many thanks to JoesSistah for always providing such lovely textures to play with.
Did you get yours? Oh, my. Anahata Katkin's Papaya catalog is a feast for the eyes and a must have for making your holiday wish list! It is like a little portable museum of her gorgeous work and I want one of everything inside. Anahata has commented my work once or twice before so to see her big amazing 62 page catalog makes me a little star crossed and giddy. She is living my dream and I find so much inspiration in her work and from her example - another art idol to worship.
Once again, the mailbox Gods have been good to me and brought me surprises galore. I received this gorgeous and so fun piece from Janny Tricolore of Tricolore of Mixed Media blog. I have loved Janny's work forever and after gushing over this piece on flickr she up and sent it to me! I just love that guy sitting there so matter-of-factly in his tutu and boots! You'll notice the same words I used in my piece above - Replinish the Soul. They're part of a hot, hot, hot collage sheet from Nancy Baumiller at crowabout.etsy.com! Thank you, Janny, for this very much enjoyed piece! I love it.
And then the very kind and talented Lorraine Stobie of Creative Daily blog sent me these beautiful Christmas tags. What another lovely surprise to get! Thank you, Lorraine! You are too good to me and so thoughtful. They will be used and enjoyed and bragged about this holiday season!
Okay more on the previous Too Much Information (TMI) post. Mother nature has given me a break for a couple of days and I've had just enough energy to do what needs to be done and just a bit more. I go in for blood work Tuesday or Wednesday and waiting for paperwork to see the gynocologist, who just happens to be the obstetrician that delivered both of my kids 16 and 18 years ago. I am very pleased with that as I loved him and trusted him completely. Anyway, I imagine I'll get to see him in the next 2 weeks. Thank you for all of the emails and comments. I told my husband it helps so much to know I am not crazy in trying to describe how very exhausted I am feeling because so many of you have been through it, came out of it, and "get" what I'm going through. I'm sure this will be all over soon. Until then, I'll do the best I can with everything! Thanks heaps for your loving thoughts and wishes!
Nov 17, 2009
TMI
Hi all. For my new visitors, I apologize in advance for this post . . . It's definitely a little Too Much Information, but my blog has always been about my journey, mostly art, but personal stuff overlaps sometimes. This is a personal post and I'll be posting art stuff later on Wednesday. I'm very open about what is going on in my life, usually, but try to hold back a bit from personal stuff - I don't a lot of the time because of my openness, but I try.
Anyway, many of you regular visitors know, I am 43 and relatively healthy and happy. But, to be candid, I'm having some female issues that are really taking their toll on me. I have had some ovarian cysts for three years that have caused some concern lately. I had a pap smear in August and it was normal and then had an MRI and pelvic ultrasound which revealed there are more cysts and the tests need to be repeated in about two weeks to decide what to do about them. I was feeling fine and not too worried until September and started having my "monthly visitor" every other week. Now I have had it pretty much constantly and very heavy for the last five weeks and I find myself exhausted. I keep trying to talk myself out of it and that it will all straighten out, but I am just plain old tired, like more tired than I have ever been in my life, with the exception of those first few baby weeks twice (2 kids). I have reached the point the last two days I feel I can't fake it anymore and it's not going away and I just have to let you all know I am not myself. I have calls in to get authorization to see a specialist and hopefully get this taken care of soon, but just wanted you to know that I am having trouble keeping all of the balls I used to juggle in the air now. I am so tired, I find it harder and harder to blog visit, make art, answer emails, or do things that require actual thinking beyond what is absolutely necessary to stay afloat. Coming up with original ideas is the hard part. Etsy is going fine and chore like things I can stay on top of, but mental effort is really not going well for me. I am a very determined person, so some days I pull it off and others I just have to give up. I'm not overly concerned. I think it's just one of those things some of us have to go through in our 40's (my mom had the exact same thing happen at 42) and it will get taken care of pretty routinely once we get the ball rolling. So forgive my absences and flakiness and lack of visiting. I will work through this and all will be fine soon. Thank you!
Anyway, many of you regular visitors know, I am 43 and relatively healthy and happy. But, to be candid, I'm having some female issues that are really taking their toll on me. I have had some ovarian cysts for three years that have caused some concern lately. I had a pap smear in August and it was normal and then had an MRI and pelvic ultrasound which revealed there are more cysts and the tests need to be repeated in about two weeks to decide what to do about them. I was feeling fine and not too worried until September and started having my "monthly visitor" every other week. Now I have had it pretty much constantly and very heavy for the last five weeks and I find myself exhausted. I keep trying to talk myself out of it and that it will all straighten out, but I am just plain old tired, like more tired than I have ever been in my life, with the exception of those first few baby weeks twice (2 kids). I have reached the point the last two days I feel I can't fake it anymore and it's not going away and I just have to let you all know I am not myself. I have calls in to get authorization to see a specialist and hopefully get this taken care of soon, but just wanted you to know that I am having trouble keeping all of the balls I used to juggle in the air now. I am so tired, I find it harder and harder to blog visit, make art, answer emails, or do things that require actual thinking beyond what is absolutely necessary to stay afloat. Coming up with original ideas is the hard part. Etsy is going fine and chore like things I can stay on top of, but mental effort is really not going well for me. I am a very determined person, so some days I pull it off and others I just have to give up. I'm not overly concerned. I think it's just one of those things some of us have to go through in our 40's (my mom had the exact same thing happen at 42) and it will get taken care of pretty routinely once we get the ball rolling. So forgive my absences and flakiness and lack of visiting. I will work through this and all will be fine soon. Thank you!
Nov 13, 2009
Happy Friday!
Another busy week - lots going on but all is good. I ended up not taking the job at Micheal's due to some minor health issues that need to be fixed up and that I decided were more important than the whopping $500 I might make by Christmas. Can't put a price on your body and comfort. My son sent his first two college applications out this week and we are going to visit some campuses this weekend but they're nearby.
Here's my latest piece for the Collage Dreams on Paper class. I'm not really happy with the lettering but I did it - still afraid of that darn lettering and that's probably why I'm struggling with it so much. But, as I struggle with the lettering, I'm getting more comfortable with the new background style at least. I may reuse this main figure and try another one. The main figure will be showing up in parts on one of my collage sheets soon. I'm still working on some other body parts to add to that sheet but I've got it about 3/4 done. Hope to blog visit and flickr visit over the next few days - I miss everyone and I've been hunkered down in my own little world. Time to throw open the curtains and see what's going on outside!
All Star Diva
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 11/13/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image or any part of it in any way without my permission.
This is an 8 x 10 collage (approximately) using a face, body, legs, and shoes from one of my own collage sheets (not yet released), a hat purchased from clipart.com, and wings purchased with a commercial license from Butterfly Utopia. All but the wings and hat were printed in black and white and then hand colored. Regarding the border pieces: the flowers, wavy black and white stripes, teal and white piece at the bottom, and number 9's are from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com; the parking meters were purchased from clipart.com; the rest of the border pieces are from my own collage sheets at tumblefishstudio.etsy.com. All pieces were attached to a background altered with NeoColors, PanPastels, and ink.
Have a great weekend!
Here's my latest piece for the Collage Dreams on Paper class. I'm not really happy with the lettering but I did it - still afraid of that darn lettering and that's probably why I'm struggling with it so much. But, as I struggle with the lettering, I'm getting more comfortable with the new background style at least. I may reuse this main figure and try another one. The main figure will be showing up in parts on one of my collage sheets soon. I'm still working on some other body parts to add to that sheet but I've got it about 3/4 done. Hope to blog visit and flickr visit over the next few days - I miss everyone and I've been hunkered down in my own little world. Time to throw open the curtains and see what's going on outside!
All Star Diva
copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 11/13/09. All rights reserved. You may not copy, print, download, or use this image or any part of it in any way without my permission.
This is an 8 x 10 collage (approximately) using a face, body, legs, and shoes from one of my own collage sheets (not yet released), a hat purchased from clipart.com, and wings purchased with a commercial license from Butterfly Utopia. All but the wings and hat were printed in black and white and then hand colored. Regarding the border pieces: the flowers, wavy black and white stripes, teal and white piece at the bottom, and number 9's are from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com; the parking meters were purchased from clipart.com; the rest of the border pieces are from my own collage sheets at tumblefishstudio.etsy.com. All pieces were attached to a background altered with NeoColors, PanPastels, and ink.
Have a great weekend!
Nov 11, 2009
Not just Veteran's Day for me . . .
We buried my mom 13 years ago today. She died very suddenly at age 66. I was 30 and so not ready to be without her. But, life has a way of working in its own way and honestly, the way things turned out, I got much closer to my dad than I might have otherwise and that has been a very precious gift to me. What they say is true, time heals things and lessens pain and sorrow, but I miss my mom.
I am starting a part time job today. I applied for one, kind of on a whim, and got it, not sure that I even really wanted it. It's no great feat - I'm working at Micheal's of all places! If nothing else, a discount will be nice. But, I have to say, it's been a long, long time since I worked for minimum wage. I hear the job and nice pay I left to make art no longer exists thanks to CA's education cuts and I'm just thankful to have a job at all in a state that has the worst unemployment rate in the country. I was sharing somewhere else today that it's just hard to not have a job, regardless of pay rates. I've only not worked 5 years out of the last 29 - I started working when I was 14 and didn't not work until my son was born. I keep thinking he's going to college in less than a year and I can't just play all day everyday. I'm not sure how it will change things art wise . . . we'll see.
I finished one collage sheet and one collage today. Here's what I wrote in flickr about my collage piece . . . "For Nancy Baumiller's Collage Dreams on Paper class . . . Well, I did it. I did what I was afraid to do. I played, no plan, no printing stuff out. I just used scraps AND I finally tried hand lettering. I can't say that I like it, but I like that I finally let go, loosened up, and faced some fears here. Heck, I even scribbled some if you can believe it."
Always
This is an 8 x 10 collage using mostly images from my new collage sheets but also many scrap pieces of paper and a few magazine pictures of trees (altered and recolored). The wings are from Itkupilli.etsy.com, the scalloped border at the top is from designer Sande Krieger, and the hat was made from a piece from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com. The fish, all the bodies, face, and many other pieces are from my collage sheets at tumblefishstudio.etsy.com. Lots of ink, pastel, and the main background is acrylic.
Here's the new collage sheet
FrooFroo
I am so honored to be featured on two lovely blogs today. Thank you to Lorraine of Creative Daily for a lovely post. Lorraine was just published in Somerset Studio and has so many different talents. You must hop over and peruse her lovely blog. And, another big thank you to Nikki Smith (again! I mentioned her on yesterday's post). If you didn't stop by after yesterday's post, jump over now and check out not just her blog but all of her gorgeous galleries!
I am starting a part time job today. I applied for one, kind of on a whim, and got it, not sure that I even really wanted it. It's no great feat - I'm working at Micheal's of all places! If nothing else, a discount will be nice. But, I have to say, it's been a long, long time since I worked for minimum wage. I hear the job and nice pay I left to make art no longer exists thanks to CA's education cuts and I'm just thankful to have a job at all in a state that has the worst unemployment rate in the country. I was sharing somewhere else today that it's just hard to not have a job, regardless of pay rates. I've only not worked 5 years out of the last 29 - I started working when I was 14 and didn't not work until my son was born. I keep thinking he's going to college in less than a year and I can't just play all day everyday. I'm not sure how it will change things art wise . . . we'll see.
I finished one collage sheet and one collage today. Here's what I wrote in flickr about my collage piece . . . "For Nancy Baumiller's Collage Dreams on Paper class . . . Well, I did it. I did what I was afraid to do. I played, no plan, no printing stuff out. I just used scraps AND I finally tried hand lettering. I can't say that I like it, but I like that I finally let go, loosened up, and faced some fears here. Heck, I even scribbled some if you can believe it."
Always
This is an 8 x 10 collage using mostly images from my new collage sheets but also many scrap pieces of paper and a few magazine pictures of trees (altered and recolored). The wings are from Itkupilli.etsy.com, the scalloped border at the top is from designer Sande Krieger, and the hat was made from a piece from Studio Maya at Scrapbookgraphics.com. The fish, all the bodies, face, and many other pieces are from my collage sheets at tumblefishstudio.etsy.com. Lots of ink, pastel, and the main background is acrylic.
Here's the new collage sheet
FrooFroo
I am so honored to be featured on two lovely blogs today. Thank you to Lorraine of Creative Daily for a lovely post. Lorraine was just published in Somerset Studio and has so many different talents. You must hop over and peruse her lovely blog. And, another big thank you to Nikki Smith (again! I mentioned her on yesterday's post). If you didn't stop by after yesterday's post, jump over now and check out not just her blog but all of her gorgeous galleries!
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