Wishful Thinking

I live in a condo that overlooks a beautiful park on Bellingham Bay. I sit on my couch I can see only the ever-changing landscape of sea and sky. I can remember visiting the park prior to our move to this location. I would look up with unspeakable resentment at the balconies above me and the people sunning themselves there. Never in my wildest dream did I ever expect to be one of those lucky people. Thanks be that the Professor's dreams are larger than mine and a sunny summer day now finds me puttering on the deck.

The one drawback to living on the hill is that we have no access to the park below. We daily walk briskly walk around the long block and down the the hill to the waiting beach. And then we haul ourselves at our wander's end up and up and up that same, but now seemingly endless, hill to our street. Because of the proximity, we cannot justify a drive, not that we could find parking there if we could. So unless I am doing a photo shoot and hauling clients, our feet travel the hill.

The park was a favorite place for any of the children who visit and our grandchildren have traveled that hill with us for years. Early on they would beg to be carried and often got their wish from Poppi, as he got some kind of manly pleasure from the ability to accomplish the task. Those days were replaced replaced with a regular conversation, complete with huffing and puffing, on our return home.

As we began the climb one of us will call out, "If I had a super power, I would choose to fly!" This declaration was always followed by numerous solutions to our having to endure the discomfort of the climb. These powers included the ability to "beam up," or magically fly (with or without wings or propulsion), psychic powers of relocation and to create a reverse zip line to the balcony, to name a few.

We don't to have them visit here as much these days, but when the Professor and I wander down to the park, inevitably one or the other of us will take up the super power conversation in honor of the many trips our grandchildren made with us.

Deadlines

I'm racing against the clock again. And before any of you send me nasty text messages demanding I step away from the keyboard and pony up to the paint table, let me say that I'm waiting for something to dry. And find this a rewarding way to spend a few minutes break. So there!

That said, my inspiration seems to grow in relation to the closeness of a deadline. Or perhaps I simply lose the time I usually allow myself to agonize over even the smallest of decisions. My current project a sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project 2011, which is like a concert tour only for sketchbooks, must be postmarked January 15.



So since it's Thursday and I find deadlines motivating (even this weekly one with Sara over at Gitzen Girl, thank you Sara, I'll post a sampling of what I'll be sending off Saturday. Before midnight. The theme I've had to work with is Make Mine a Double. Here you'll find three of my favorite things to have "made a double," although I only allow myself the last these days. Seems my addictive personality takes over when I indulge in the first two.





I recently read an article in a medical magazine that 3-5 cups of coffee WITH CAFFEINE THANK YOU per day can help with prevention of Alzheimer's. Of course there were many other practices one could include daily to help fight the onset of this disease, but this one seems to be the only one I remember.



The sketchbook page is dry. On to another! Sure do love these deadlines, regardless of what the Professor might think!

What are you creating in your world this week?

The Day the Music Died

The Handsome Ginger gave me this hat New Year's Day and it was so light on my head, I forgot it was there, much to the amusement of the Professor. Here's hoping your 2011 has begun beautifully. If it's not, begin again today!



Since I'm finally getting around to posting this on a You Create Thursday, here's the process for today's project. I must confess, however, that I did it over the holidays as a gift for a bass player who stole my heart so long ago.


No, this isn't my doing, although having lived with musicians for most of my life, I may have been tempted. I found it as it lay beside the path on one of my summer walks. It begged me to carry it home, which I did. I promptly stored it away with all my other finds and forgot about it until I visited the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum last fall.



There I saw his Guitar: a board painted white with a disassembled guitar positioned on it also painted white. When I got home, I brought out the pieces I'd hauled home. I then gave them, a board and frame a few coats of white gesso. The result was too bland for my tastes, so I auditioned a number of background colors.





Deciding on a background and placement, I affixed the pieces to the board with heavy gel medium. Then I weighted the pieces for a couple of days with the heaviest things I could find in the studio: a bag of white sea glass, a huge family Bible and the Professor's bronze baby shoe.


Such a cutie he must have been.
And here it is after knocking back the background color some and painting the frame a copper. I'm calling it My Rival. My husband, son and grandson all play guitar, so I often have to battle for attention. And in this particular case, I come out the winner.


The Handsome Ginger insists the guitar be painted a deep blue. Still giving it thought. What do you think?

And what are you creating this year? Join me over at Gitzen Girl this year with your creations.