2012: Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It’s been a while (8 months!) and a boatload has happened! The hubby and I pulled up stakes and moved to Florida! It started with a great (day)job offer for me, drawing upon my computer graphic and other skills and offering the security of a (wonderful) paycheck and benefits and the chance to live nearer the ocean in pleasant Central Florida.

Smokey, our Dalmatian and I moved down first, in early June into a tiny 2nd floor apartment. We sold the house quickly and hubby joined me in September. We’re in Lakeland, along the I-4 Corridor only a short drive from both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.

That’s the good news. The bad news is, I haven’t had the space, time or drive to create any art in the past.eight.months. And I’m now feeling it. Yes, the job offers a great deal of opportunity for creativity. But there is something very different about manipulating an image on a computer screen and the sensual pleasure of moving paint and materials on a canvas.

Well, that’s all about to change… We are now house-hunting and while the practical side of me weighs in, my (he)art and soul demands to be heard. Stay tuned.

For now, check out my Lakeland, Florida Pinterest Board and see what we’ve discovered!

Hung art with Tennessee Art League colleagues

For April’s show.  There’re some lovely works up this month, including this beauty, “Baby Bok Choy” by Kathleen Dummer, a very talented fellow member.  Distinguishing the beauty to be found in all of nature, I love this work.  Beautiful, yes?  I didn’t have my act together enough (nor spare

works around) to submit a work for the show, but it will be a nice one all the same.

Located at 808 Broadway, the Tennessee Art League  is right across from The Frist Museum, and part of the First Saturday Art Crawl downtown.  It’s a lovely evening out, there are free shuttles to take you throughout the art neighborhoods and it’s always a great time!  Think about heading there this Saturday, April 7 for a lovely experience.

And in case you’re reading this, don’t forget, my works are still up at Provence Breads in Hillsboro Village and I will be present there for the Hillsboro Village Art Walk, a lively time on 21st Avenue in Hillsboro Village from 5-8 p.m.    As it celebrates Earth Day, too, there will be loads of organizations that work in support of our Earth participating!  Do come out if you get a chance.  Works

Le Maison

like the one below of mine will be on display at Provence.  I hope to see you there!

Held over! My show at Provence Breads in Hillsboro Village!

Held over!

My show at Provence Breads in HillsboroVillage.

Come by during the Hillsboro Village Art Crawl (read about it here) Thurs. April 5,  5-8 pm.  I’ll be there, along with a great live band and sample foods from Provence.  It’s a great relaxed evening of fun, entertainment, art and food packed into a few blocks on 21st Avenue in one of Nashville’s coolest hoods!

I didn’t catch the band’s name but they were really great! Hope they’re playing again this time!

I didn’t catch the band’s name but they were really great! Hope they’re playing again this time!

As an aside, if you’ve never been to Provence Breads, you really need to go.  It’s like stepping across the ocean directly into a patisserie in France!  Well, one offering not only fine pastries, but also artisan breads, a fabulous array of cheeses, olives, salads and more.  I discovered Provence (the Nashville one) when I first moved here in the early 2000s.  I was fortunate to spend my 30th Birthday on the Mediterranean at the other Provence (well, Cannes), but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

What I’m getting at here is just venture your little selves into Hillsboro Village along 21st Ave near Vanderbilt.  If you can make it for the First Thursday Art Walk, all the better.  If you are unable to get there that night, no problem.  Just get there sometime!

A pair of encaustics for Norway fundraiser

A Woman’s Place
Bunny Tales

This pair of small encaustic mixed media works is going to Norway, part of a fundraising event there to raise funds for The Women’s Crisis Center in Moss, Norway. I’m so glad to be participating!

Thanks and enjoy!

Iraq invasion was 9 years ago today.

The Iraq invasion 9 years ago today. I get emotional thinking about it as my oldest son was a Marine 0311 (infantryman) on the berms. #verklempt

The truth is, back then I was immersed in the role of supportive military mom. But with reservations. I had watched (and videotaped for my son) EVERY SINGLE hour of the U.N. Security Council meetings, hearing the testimony of the UN WMD Inspectors and our own Colin Powell, in dire hopes that this invasion I was sure was about to happen would not be in vain and the UN would find just cause to go in.  Alas, as we all know …

So, five tours, two veteran sons and massive personal and national cost later, I found art my way of escaping the ugliness and death and misery of all that. I wanted to celebrate life instead and found this my way of doing just that!

I’m so glad for the distance between then and now.

My son is taking a hike – to raise $ for the Wounded Warrior Project.

He’s hiking with a former Army buddy who was injured in Iraq. The WWP did his friend a world of good and they want to pay it back in their own way. Here’s a link to the fundraising site if you happen to have some extra funds to support their cause.

Preview of the Provence Breads show

Here are a few samples of the preliminary hanging of the Provence Breads & Cafe in Hillsboro Village for the Village Art Walk tonight.  One of my signature larger works is absent in this pic as it was still at the Tennessee Art League, but it will be in the show tonight along with the rest.  Hope to see local Nashvillians there as the weather is going to be simply perfect!

Provence Breads & Cafe – 1705 21st Avenue South, Hillsboro Village, Nashville.

20 years ago today, my life became complete…

20 years ago today, my husband, a U.K. native from Reading, landed at Logan International Airport in Boston and went through Immigration as an alien for the last time.  Long story short, we met the year before and decided we didn’t want to live without each other.  I applied for a fiance visa for him and after a three-month state-department-enforced separation and hundreds of dollars in international long-distance charges, he joined me here, with the understanding we would have to marry within 90 days of his arrival.  I’ll share more about that on March 14, our anniversary.

I spied him through the double doors in immigration and as he exited, I fell into his arms, ready for whatever challenges might come our way, as long as we were together.   I had kept the Christmas tree up and had a boatload of presents awaiting him, including a pair of suede slippers, a Mets jacket and a pair of mountain bikes I’d had on layaway for months…  I can happily say there are no regrets…

Oh, and by the way, not only did he get his green card on January 5, but it’s his birthday too!

Centennial Art Center and Gallery Holiday Show

I’m showing my Rainhat Lady and this sweet Wildflower scene.

Field of Wildflowers

Edinburgh…

I have a painting in a show in Edinburgh.  It’s a charity event to raise money for an old growth forest there.  I thought, what better to reflect old growth from our Southeastern U.S. than a Live Oak? Love these gracious trees!

Live Oak
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