Back again!

Hello, hello! I'm not sure whether I've ever been away from my blog

 for so long as this last break, but it's good to be back!

It has been a tough winter, weather-wise, but a creative time for me.

I've been taking classes at a local studio called Create, and have hooked up
with a terrific instructor, Amy Ropple, and a very creative group of women.
Our last class together was called "Love Your Sketchbook",
which finished up earlier this month. We sketched, learned about perspective,
did some printmaking and collage, and had a great time together.

At our last class, we took an 'Ellen' inspired selfie of the group.
 The parrot is Amy's pet, Cairo,
who comes along to class some nights and is a great addition!

I had forgotten how much I loved to simply draw, and these are 

a few pages from my sketchbook.

Just for fun!

This last one is actually 3 pages deep.

The top page is the cats and windowsill,

the middle page is the window

and the bottom page is a photo from National Geographic

of albatross birds congregating on a beach.

Many of us have signed up for Amy's next class, which

starts later in April, called "Collage and Mixed Media".

As I said, I'm so glad to get back to my blog.

It is in its eighth year, and I love all the

blogging friends I've made through it over the years.

I'll try to post more often now -

still looking forward to Spring!!!

Hope you're having a great week!

A Little Break

Dear Readers,

I'm taking a little break and doing some work on my blog.

I hope to be back soon with some fresh ideas 

and new work to share!

Just think - spring is on its way!!

Sketchbook and an Inspiration Board

One project from last week's sketchbook class 

was making a collage picture from scraps of magazine pages.

I used a calendar picture of a scarlet tanager as the inspiration for my drawing.

Then I collected red and black areas of color from magazines, ripped

small pieces and collaged the different scraps together.

It was a fun exercise, but messy, and I finished it today!

And I'm still working on getting my sewing room/studio into shape,

so I made an inspiration board to get me going!

My goal is a warm, inspiring, organized space where I want to go

to create. I'm so lucky to have a room of my own, but have so many interests

it's hard to keep all of my materials organized. The sketch in the center is my sewing table 

which is in front of a large window. I'm looking forward to getting everything in order

so that I can go in, find what I need and get to work!

Does anyone else out there have trouble with being organized?

I hope that everyone who reads this has had a pleasant weekend!

Yet ANOTHER snowy day!

I'll start this post off on a cheery note -

Here is a woven ribbon heart I made last year!

Alas, I am not following through as I promised.

I'm finding it difficult to keep up with my heart-a-day idea

and seem to be finding it a chore.

And so, I hope you won't mind if I let it go

and just continue on with other creative pursuits.

 I just got in from a trip to the grocery store and this is what my driveway looks like.

The old snow from last week's and Saturday's snowstorms

is dirty and ugly, so Mother Nature is sending us even more snow today

to freshen things up. Thank you - I think… 

With it looking so bleak outside, I bought some flowers at the grocery store

to brighten things up inside.

Rosie is more interested in the plastic sleeve than the flowers,

but she does make a pretty picture!

I've been doing some sketching in my sketchbook...

and making plans to redesign my studio. I'm hoping to store supplies more logically

and make the space more serene and inspiring. These are just scribbled notes, and

drawings always make me think more clearly.

That is what I've been up to -

I'm off to check out your blogs and see what you have been doing!

Still snowing out!

Hope your day is going well!

Hope you've had

a Happy Valentine's Day!

Another Snowy Day

Another heart for today -

I put this on a card for a friend.

Today we had a bit of everything, weather-wise -

snow, sleet, rain and high winds...

Did some shoveling and will try to finish in the morning

before my husband returns from a business trip.

Hope you've had a great day!

A Little Sketch

Just a little sketch...

Hope you've had a good day!