Glass Pin of San Pascual

Here is a custom order for a San Pascual pin for an aspiring chef. It turned out so cute I have made a few more as magnets for those who love to cook. Here is the original painting too. It is a painting that is fun to look at - there are so many details to see. All of the pins are sparkly and vibrant with color. Currently working on a mermaid painting for a mosaic that will also be used for the pins because it is in my playful SOL style of bright colors and images.

All of the pins are packaged in a small clear envelope with matching image papers. The back of the papers inform that the pins are Not Waterproof. Just water resistant.

St. Francis and Risa mini Paintings Mosaics

Wow! The day after Thanksgiving. Feels like any other day and it's back to work. Had a lovely dinner and ate Waay too much. Had highly nutritious coffee and apple pie for breakfast - mmm! those leftovers are tasty!

Starting new reverse glass paintings and pieces - they are small and pretty cute.All of the mini mosaics have gems, stones, beads, glass and often mirror. Size range is 7 - 12 inches. 

Never tire of St. Francis, wildlife & Risa subjects. Risa Star Gazer will be used for some holiday cards and gifts.  As you can tell,  I like Starry Nights and Risa will be gazing up at the brightest star of Christmas.

Hope there are those out there that are reading - leave comments :~)  I know I should work Facebook page, but no time! Will get on there shortly and put something  up!

The Power of LOVE Positivity

I wanted to share a part of Kathy the Crafty Chica's post about The Power of Positivity because it is So True! 

Kathy: Last month when I was at iLoveToCreate headquarters, I noticed happy signs hung up all over the building. This one is my favorite! "LOVE SHINE"   Every time I walked by it, I smiled. Even if I just spilled paint on my new $50 blouse, I'd glance at this message and was reminded me of the good things in life.

I know, I know, it is just a piece of cardboard with a corny saying, but it works for me. I'm not sure who chose to hang up these colorful affirmations, but it's genius. The more we surround ourselves with words and images of things that make us happy, the more the bad things won't seem, well, as bad.

It goes even deeper than the sign. It goes with every action we make, every inflection of our voice, the vibe we carry when we enter a room, even down to our status updates on Facebook or Twitter. Our actions can change people's moods in an instant. We carry a lot of power with how we present ourselves.

If you are in a frumpy mood because you stubbed your toe on the dog dish one morning, and then stomp past the desk guard on your way into work, you have just passed that bad juju on to him and he will pass it to someone else, etc. It's hard to shake the bad stuff, but I've learned if you don't shake it off and let it go, you'll only attract more of it!

Bottom line? Life goes on. Unless you are the President, NOTHING is worth losing sleep or peace over. When I lived at home with my parents and would come to them with what I thought was a life or death situation, they would always tell me, "Be thankful, it could always be worse."

In this day and age, everything is at a make-or-break moment for all of us. It takes all our will - and 100% enthusiasm and faith - to be that little bit of extra weight to tips the scales in our favor. After a recent stressful week, I found my happy place again. Instead of worrying, I'm back to embracing all the gifts each challenge brings, appreciating each lesson. It is what it is - make it work! The glitter jar is always half full. OK, sometimes 1/4 full, but as long as there is some kind of visible sparkle, everything will always work out.

The power of positivity is endless!

Me Again! While creating all of the pieces for the art show at the gardens I found myself listening to audio books in the paranormal romance genre and just romance. I don't know why -  but they entertained me with their humor, passion, adventure and of course, LOVE - AMOR. 
 I found myself laughing or going "wow" in the late evenings and it jazzed a 'painting passion' so that hours drifted by. During the last month or so TV was not even an option and it was not missed. The stories fueled my creative imagination and time took on a surreal  sort of Einstein quality. My earlier post on Art and Romance was alluding to this feel. It was such a  positive, energizing experience that I am working to keep the momentum going.
There are three pieces in particular that give me such good energy that I keep them right by the drafting and computer tables. The little fruit bat, the kit fox and the red tailed hawk.The  Energy of Positivity is powerful - discover and surround yourself with whatever it takes to work your special creative mojo and then - Just Do It!

My First Art Show

Well my first show is over and I have mixed feelings about it. I felt I needed to do it and am glad I did.

My booth looked wonderful, even though it was a questionable spot at first. A Very Big Thanks to a friend who set it up for me and made it work. His opinion was that I should not have to make a purchase work - "you should get what you pay for". I was too stressed to make an issue out of it at the time. Glad he was there!

All of the mosaics glittered and the pins and postcards looked great. I took my wildlife panels at the last minute and they ended up attracting a lot of attention. I love doing them and hope all of those people who took my card commission one! The javelina and bobcat were crowd pleasers. Painting wildlife and St. Francis pieces is so satisfying!

My parents drove out from San Diego to attend my first show, then drove all the way back two days later!! I am so lucky to have them in my life. I know it cost them much effort. Again I am so very blessed and humbled.

My little kitties, postcards and pendants went very well. I painted and created from the heart what I truly love and it shines in my work. Though I love all of the pieces, some of my favorites are the hawk, bat, kit fox, and Risa pieces. The teeny St. Francis are cute, the flowers on the little kitties glows in the dark and I wear my pins every day. They are little gems in glass. I also sold the lovely Sun piece, one of my magical bats and small kitty mosaics. Let's see those calls for commissions start rolling in!

Kit Fox

Here is a secretive little kit fox peaking out from a mesquite - finished! She is part of my Starry Night series for the upcoming shows. A small piece 9" x 12".  These little foxes have adapted well to urban life as it has encroached on their environment. Being mostly nocturnal they  can be seen scavenging around trash cans, yards etc. It's amazing the way  much of the wildlife has adapted in spite of the often thoughtless human society. Birds, bats, coyotes, squirrels, raptors, bobcats etc. can be seen everywhere. 

New Cards

Well they have arrived - my new postcards! Three designs to sell at the show and one for promotional.

They are 4" x 6" and look so nice! Glossy, heavy card stock. Can't wait to start sending them out!!

I have chosen San Pascual, Virgin De Guadalupe and Persian Angel Gabriel as my designs for sale since they are some of my favorites. 

Here is the Virgin. The other two can be seen in my galleries in the Glass Painting albums!

I scanned the front and back of the promotional one.

My Best Girl Risa

Here is my best girl and Muse - my 24/7 Aussie companion Risa. 

Her cheerful, patient, very intelligent personality and     companionship is one of the reasons I am so grateful that my business keeps me in the studio at home. She is my cheerleader and keeps me on track!  My very  own Dog Star (Sirus).

In the winter when the weather is cooler she comes everywhere with me - she is a fabulous public relations making friends wherever she goes. Her beauty and sweet personality draws the public to her like a magnet. I am the sidekick!

Here she is asking "is it snack time yet??!" (anytime is a good snacktime) and hanging out in "the pit" - a plain dirt work and play area. She loves to lay and sun in the dirt - especially after grooming or cleaning!

Risa will have her own blog or little site very soon - "assoonas" I can make time, get time, get it together, etc..

New mini glass works

New works are smaller for the upcoming shows. Mirror mixed media mosaics and tiny jewel colored 1" glass pins and pendants as well as the framed glass paintings.

My other series I like to refer to as SOL (Smiling Out Loud) pieces are dreamlike images inspired by St. Francis, Madonnas, angels, folktales, proverbs, love, and dogs (love dogs!). Vibrant jewel tone color palett combines with wildlife and the SOL pieces. A direction my work has moved toward since 2005.

Featured in several of my pieces is my k9 Aussie companion Risa. 

The glass paintings glow with color and gold metallic highlights in both series. It's fun to toggle/play between them for endless design combinations!

 The light shines thru the sides in the glass pins highlighting the glitter in them. I have always wanted to make a few of these - they are so cute and colorful to wear! Just had to finally make some :~)

 Currently on the easel is a shy, mysterious, lovely Kit Fox.

Twilight

Did I mention I am a Stephanie Myer fan?  Actually I have listened to all of the books while I paint or work. So much of my work is connected with stories or music and that is how I remember the pieces for a while. Found the book Twilight Directors Notebook and of course read it right away. It is always fun to read other creative processes and I always find many similarities. Like belonging to a tribe that  sees the world thru different eyes and responds to problem solving differently and often very unconventional.

I have many visual journals similar to this Twilight notebook which is why it resonated with me. 

Have added a link to the official Stephanie Myer site where there is a pic of the little book.

The next movie New Moon comes out in Nov. - yeay!

Still working like crazy to prepare for two Nov. art shows on the same  days. One is an art fair and the other is a gallery show. Plus I have work at the Tucson Airport. Will have to pull some pieces on loan for these other shows. All are nice opportunities that I am so grateful for. They just are all happening at the same time! 

Better get back to painting! 

Art & Romance

Working hard to finish as many pieces as I can for the holiday season and have been literally living in a bubble of painting, cutting glass, and listening to audio romance books. Yes, I have become addicted to them and the time goes by so fast - I feel so creatively productive! Not just any romance, but paranormal romance and I even joined an online book club thru Shelfari called Paranormal Romance is my Brand of Heroine. 

Though I have always liked fantasy and sci fi it never occurred to me to even look for this genre and I stumbled onto it thru another blog.

Anyway, I am so hooked and it must be good for me because I am producing some nice pieces. 

Yesterday I quite for the evening and when I turned the TV on there was one of my favorite movies - The Lake House. I think this is the 5th time I've watched it and still enjoy the very end where Sandra Bullock and Keanu Finally get together ... Sigh!

Sharing Risa Love Mirror

New piece inspired by the quote:

"To the world you may be one person,

but to one person you may be the world".

Heather Cortez

This is not only for pet owners, but for parents, teachers etc.

Reverse glass painting, mirror, turquoise.

"Here Comes The Sun" Mosaic

Sun images. 
 This one is 18" .

The next two will be smaller and maybe one teeny one for a mirror. All will be slightly different!