Impressions of New Orleans

I just realized I had never shown my little art book I created.  I created it using a combination of stencils, gel prints and files cut with my Cricut.  Some of the doors and windows open.  The individual pages were created and joined together to make a book.  Its theme is my impressions of New Orleans.

I've never posted a video before so I have no idea whether or not it will work properly but here goes:

 

Joy Journal: Seeing lots of buds and flowers on my Shi Shi Gashira sasanqua.

Demons from Hell

There is no way to describe being stung multiple times by yellow jackets other than pure agony.  IT HURTS!  Not just a little, a LOT!  And they chase you down and try repeatedly to get to you and sting you again.

Last Friday I was cleaning out a flower bed in front of my house, trying to do a little delayed garden spring cleaning.  All of a sudden my ear was in agony and I was surrounded by little bits of flying hell.  I was slapping them away so hard I actually slapped my earring out of my ear!!!  I got at least 5 stings, maybe more, before I escaped into the house, 3 stings on my face and neck, 1 (or maybe 2) on my arm and 1 on my elbow.  And they hurt for over 3 days!

Yellow jackets (the evil kind, not the Ramblin' Wrecks) build most of their nests underground leaving only a 1/2" to 1" hole for an entrance.  Dig that hole under a few fallen leaves and you have the perfect portal to hell. 

Saint Gene and I went back after it started getting dark and sprayed the entrance with wasp and hornet spray and closed the portal to hell.  Now I can get back to planting the daylilies I planned to put in that location.

It wasn't a fun experience but it gave me a good subject to sketch for my journal.

Joy Journal: Air Conditioning!!!

Spring Forward

Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year. I hate winter, I don't like being cold. I find the grey, bleak colors and landscape of winter very depresssing. Summer is ok, I can take a little warmth and humidity. But July and August don't get the concept of "little" when it comes to heat and humidity. Fall is nice, the colors are beautiful but it is also bittersweet. It means winter is coming. And I hate winter. Spring brings newness, bright colors, beginnings. And, ok, rain. Lots of rain. But the fresh green that follows a spring rain is such a delight to see. 

Spring also beings Daylight Savings Time and, being a nightowl, I LIKE Daylight Savings time. I would rather have my sunshine at 7 p.m. than at 7 a.m. I can easily catch up that hour of sleep.

Now I'm off to have lunch with 3 friends from the office. Nice to renew friendships.

Joy Journal:

There were little sparkles on my ceiling when I woke up this morning. Sparkles from the sun reflecting off a little disco ball.

Letting Go

It's hard for me to let things go. No, I don't mean I'm a hoarder, I'm not. I just mean that things stay with me.  I form emotional attachments to some things and said attachments don't always make sense, even to me.  The items in the picture above are some little nightlights I made for a retreat I attended a few years ago.  They were made out of cardstock and vellum and had a little tea light in them and were supposed to be put in the bathrooms we had at the retreat.  At the retreat we all had our own room and our own bathroom.  I put a lot of time and thought into these little lights and then went off to the retreat and forgot to take them with me!!  So they stayed at home.

Now, the question is:  Why do I still have them several years later?  They were never meant to be permanent, just to be a little fun something for the retreat.  But I still have them and hate the thought of throwing them away.  The pandemic made sure we didn't have a retreat again and the chances of having another one in the future are not good, so it's not like I will use them.  But yet they remain.

Another "for instance."  My mother lived with me for 3-1/2 years until her death in 2012.  I still have the ID badge that she needed for her job at Robins Air Force Base.  A job she had been retired from for many years before she needed to come to live with me.  Why do I still have it and am reluctant to let it go?  

And the list goes on.  None of the items are useful or valuable.  It's time for them to go.  It's going to be hard.  But it's going to happen.  At least that's the plan.

Joy Journal: Watching the light patterns on the wall made by the sun hitting a little disco ball Christmas decoration 

Well, I'm going to try again

Maybe I'll do better this time.

I'm really not much of a wordsmith, especially when I try to write something as opposed to speaking with people face-to-face.  And my life is pretty much the same from day to day, especially since I retired.  But maybe you'll bear with me.

The picture above is of a little 6"x6" canvas I created for our local Cultural Arts Center's annual "Tiny Art" fundraiser.  And I titled it Sunrise Serenade.  It was fun to do but very definitely out of my comfort zone when it comes to art!  I tend to go for semi-realism and I'm certainly not inclined to do "cute," but I think I managed it with these little canvases.  I did 6 of them and each of them sold!

Unfortunately, the pandemic has seemed to squash my desire to create.  I kind of just sit and look at my art supplies (and we won't even go into how many I have!!!!) and then get up and watch tv instead.  But now that the days are getting warmer and the sunlight hours longer I'm feeling a little stirring of creativity.  So there is hope.  And maybe restarting this blog is just the push I need.  So I hope someone somewhere decides to read it, but if not, that's ok too.  Wish me luck. 

Joy Journal:
My daffodils are blooming and their happy colors make me smile!

Best Intentions

Despite my best intentions, once again I haven't kept up the blog. Sigh.

Joy Journal:

Feeling the Colors

I had a wonderful 4-day weekend in Panama City Beach, Florida. And, no, that isn't a self portrait of me on the beach! (joke!!) Graham Berry, a renowned master artist from the UK, has been one of my favorite artists since I first came across his work on Facebook. When I found out he was making his first trip to the US for workshops I immediately started trying to find one I could attend. And when I found there was one in Charleston, SC I signed up ASAP. I was a little disappointed that it was only a 2-day workshop but 2 days was better than none. And it was a fun experience and a good workshop. So good that when I found out while there that he was holding a 4-day workshop in Panama City Beach, I immediately starting making plans to attend that one also! Saint Gene and I discussed the $$ situation and decided it was worth the expense and I signed up. I'm so glad I did. Painting the human figure is a daunting thing for me. And believe me when I say I will never try portraiture. But Graham's approach is one I can get into and feel like I can do it justice. Right now my figures are a little clumsy but that's where practice comes in. And practice I will because I love the idea of painting like this. His use of color is perfect for me and makes me happy. And happy is a good thing.

I used AirBnB for lodging for the first time and it was an overall very good experience. I rented a bedroom in a private home for only $55 a night including breakfast each day (hotel minimums were running $150 a night). Yes, staying in a private home while the homeowners are there is a little awkward but my two hosts were so great that I got past that pretty quickly. There was a great swimming pool (which I didn't manage to use - but next time.....) and the food was fantastic. They even invited me to have dinner with them two nights and I'm sure glad I said yes. Wonderful gourmet cooking.

Overall, a great long weekend

Joy Journal: A tap on the shoulder and a thumbs up from the instructor

I've Been "Resting"

Ok, so maybe "temporary" was somewhat of an understatement. It's been two years. But I'm considering restarting.

Retirement suits me. I never liked my job. I loved the friends I made on the job. But the job itself, not so much. But the money was good. And I miss that. But I don't miss the job.
I've rediscovered painting. I had been "painting buddies" with a friend here in my town and I loved having someone to talk with and discuss painting with and throw paint on paper with and critique paintings with, well, you get the idea. But she moved. She announced one day, out the clear blue, that she and her husband had decided to move to Asheville, NC. And just like that they moved. She listed her house and sold it almost immediately. And, boom, my painting buddy was gone.
And I kind of lost my will to paint. But I was asked to do a show at our local art center and one of the conditions was that I had to use paintings that had never been displayed there. And I didn't have very many of those! So we agreed that it would be a 3 person show and I set about to get some paintings done. Even then I procrastinated and didn't start on them for a long, long time. I finished the last painting the night before I needed to deliver them to the center! And now I'm energized again to paint. I'll have to go through my old posts to make sure I haven't already shared some of them with you but until then I hope you enjoy my painting shown above, "Resting", a 16x20 watercolor done on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed watercolor paper.

Joy Journal: Two of my paintings sold!!

Temporarily Closed for Renovation

The Gypsy Gold Studio blog is undergoing renovation and is temporarily closed.  A new blog is being established to showcase my paintings and it will be found on my new art blog ERNIE HENDRIX. Visit me there anytime.  I'll be adding artwork when it's created but for now paintings may not be in chronological order.




Joy Journal:  Breakfast in bed.  Wonderful.

Addiction and Going Back to Kindergarten

OK, I admit it. I'm addicted. I've lost count of how many of these little inros I've made. But I'm still enjoying them so why not continue on.

But believe it or not, I do have other interests. Today I visited Paper Trail Art Center where the owner gave me a tour of their facility. It's all about the paper arts, which I love. It's a great place and a great resource, especially for book artists in the general Atlanta area. They have a book shear! Something that will cut through my bookboard without killing my hands! The only problem is that they are a loooooonnnnnnggg way from where I live. The Atlanta metro area is huge and I'm on one side, the west side, and they are on the other side, the east side. But they have an "Adult Kindergarten" on Friday evenings where you can come and just play and I'm going to try to attend a few of those. I used to make a lot of books and just recently have gotten back into making star books and going back to kindergarten sounds like fun!

Joy Journal: Being inside, eating jerk chicken, while it poured down rain.

Obsession

It seems I've become obsessed wih making polymer inros. What are polymer inro? They are little boxes that open that you wear as a necklace. They are derived from the ancient Japanese inro which are far more complicated. I learned how to make them from the late Gwen Gibson, a polymer clay legend, many years ago and went on a run of making them. But I hadn't made one in a long, long time. I still wear the original ones I made and several times I had been asked by guild members to teach a class in how to make them. I finally agreed and thought, well, I better brush up on my technique to be sure I remember how before I try to teach someone else how to make one. After making the first one, I was completely hooked. And now I can't stop. I have plenty of samples, the workshop is filled up so I don't need to advertise - and I keep right on making more inros. I've sold four of them already (for April delivery) but I think I'm going to have to a find a bigger market or else quit making them. And I can't seem to quit!!

Joy Journal: Plenty of time to play with my polymer.

A Classy Situation

I'm busy getting ready to teach a workshop for my local polymer clay guild - in April! The workshop is on making inros, little pendants that are based on the ancient Chinese inro box. From the way I'm preparing you would think the workshop is tomorrow. But that's just me. I like to be prepared well in advance, I make lists of things, I buy the supplies I need now, not in April. And then when the day finally comes, I still feel like I'm not ready! But I really enjoy the workshop itself. I love the teaching and interacting. And I get a lot of compliments so I must be fairly good at it.

And I've also been asked to teach a bookmaking class at Creative Journey Studios, but that won't be until either July or September. Not sure which yet so both dates are reserved on my calendar. Now this class I am very confident about. The class isn't hard and the results are something really unique - a star book. And there is a lot preparation involved in this class, but I've taught it before so I'm confident about it.

Heading up to frozen Tennessee Monday, could sure use a break in this COLD weather.

Joy Journal: Spicy Hoppin' John

Almost Frozen

I have to look really hard to find something beautiful to photograph in the winter. Browns and greys just don't appeal to me. But I think I managed to find something for this photograph. This was at the edge of a wooded area near my house and I'm pretty sure it's a hydrangea bloom. But it reminds me of an old sepia-toned photograph.

Jo and I went to a free art workshop/presentation at Sam Flax in Atlanta yesterday presented by Golden paints. The presentation was ok, and they gave us a free package of assorted Golden acrylic paints, but I thought I would die before it was over!! Yesterday the outside temp never got above freezing. And the temp inside Sam Flax was pretty close to that, too!! Their heating system was broken and the blowers were stuck in the "on" position. So it was blowing cold air directy on us. I've never wished more for a hat and gloves - I had the coat and definitely had it on and buttoned up. Jo was comfortable!! Everyone else was bundled up like Eskimos in Alaska. We decided to immediately go to Starbucks and get something warm in my body!! I need to check the package of paints I got and see if they have thawed out yet!!

Joy Journal: Starbucks Vanilla Latte, definitely!!

New Year's Cup of Words

As I was thinking of my word for the year (Energy) I was searching for words that might work for me. Ali Edwards always has a word of the year project on her blog so I copied all of the words that her readers were using and I created a word cloud out of them. Using Tagxedo I was able to make the words into a coffee cup shape which I felt was appropriate because I do a lot of my thinking over a cup of coffee. There are some really good words in this list and many of them would have worked for me. But "energy" is still the word I need, so I'm sticking with it.

Joy Journal: Saint Gene's Birthday Dinner

Energy

My backyard on this gloomy, grey day.
Winter is so NOT my favorite time of year. Grey, gloomy, often rainy. Just generally depressing. And let's not forget cold. I'm not a big fan of cold either. I do think I have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Just a touch, not enough to cause me to dip into depression but enough that I'm aware of it. And today is one of those rainy, gloomy, grey days. Fortunately, it's not that cold. But it's not the best way to start the new year.

And speaking of the new year, I've decided that my word this year is ENERGY. I want to infuse a little more (and sometimes a lot more) energy into my life. I've gotten lazy. Some of it has to do with the knee issues I've been having (and continue to have!) but most of it is just pure laziness. It's become much too easy to put off doing things, even things I really enjoy doing. So this year I'm going to work on upping my energy level. I'm starting tomorrow. (JOKE!) I started yesterday and am going to continue all year. But I'm still going to sleep late. That's a retirement luxury I refuse to give up.

Joy Journal: Home made hot chocolate. Divine!

Jo's Christmas Present

"Bittersweet Beauty"
8" x 10" ink and watercolor on 140lb Arches
Shhhhhh! It's a secret. Jo hasn't seen her Christmas present yet. But since she doesn't read my blog (I don't think she even knows I have it) or any other blog for that matter, I'm pretty sure the secret will be safe from her. Jo is my dear friend with whom I spend most of my Wednesdays. We get together every week to paint in her studio. This year I wanted to give her something a little special. And what is so special about this painting? Well, I become very attached to my paintings and don't want to part with them. The only one that I've ever let go was a Christmas present for my brother and sister-in-law, very special people to me. This will be only the second one. Jo is getting the original, not a print. This one is a little different than my usual style and it is breaking my heart to let it go!! But if there is anyone who will love it like I do, it will be Jo since she is also an artist. I loved painting this. I could just let myself go with color and since reds, yellows, oranges and golds always make me happy, I was a happy girl playing with this. And, of course, I have scanned it in so I can make myself a print anytime I want!!


Joy Journal: Beautiful true color from my new printer.

Creating is Messy Business

Creating isn't a neat and tidy process, at least not for me anyway. And I have to confess, these pictures were taken AFTER I had cleaned up a little bit!!! But I had to take the pictures. Those bright blue pieces of paper just sing to me. I love them!!

Saint Gene and I went on our first cruise last May on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. And we loved pretty much every minute of it. We splurged and got a junior suite and I'm SO GLAD we did!! It was fabulous to be able to sit out on the balcony and watch the ocean go by. The clouds were particularly impressive one day and I took a lot of pictures of the incredibly blue sky with the white clouds in their diferent formations. I took lots and lots and lots of pictures on this cruise and they have been sitting on their little DVD just waiting for me to do something with them. So now I am. I'm making a star book to memorialize our cruise and using some the many, many pictures I took. And I'm using the sky photos as backgrounds. Saint Gene and I both marveled at the beauty of the changing colors of the sea and the brilliance of the sky away from land. And when I saw those beautiful blue papers I knew immediately I had to use them to make a book.

I had forgotten in all my painting absorption how much I enjoy working with paper. My little Caribbean Blue Star Book is really a labor of love. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself.

Joy Journal: A warm bed on a cold morning.

Life Interferes Sometimes!

Have you ever noticed how life has a way of interferring with the plans we make? Plan for a picnic and it rains, right? But I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. If life were all that predictable it would get kinda' boring. And while I'm not an adrenalin junky in any sense of the word, the situations we face that stop us in our tracks also make us grateful for those days that slide smoothly along.

So what have I been doing? My brother was seriously ill and that took up two full months of the summer. He's doing very well now so it was definitely worth it. Our polymer clay guild had a retreat that I was responsible for and it turned out fabulous. So all my hard word there payed off. I entered one of my paintings in an art show and was a "featured artist" in their advertising. Didn't win an award but that's ok - my painting is hanging in their exhibit right now and other people are getting to see it. You should be able to easily tell which one is mine in the photo above {grin}. Saint Gene had extremely risky surgery on an 85% blocked carotid artery. The surgery was very successful and he's doing great. A big relief. Next up is arthroscopic surgery on my left knee. I'm 'kinda, 'sorta looking forward to the surgery (though not the recovery process) so that I can get full use of the knee again. I miss being able to walk around for an hour in my favorite craft store!! The knee also kept me from getting out with my camera and capturing the fall color. But overall life is good. And I'm grateful for that!!!

Joy Journal: The roast in the crockpot smells wonderful!

Already?

It's hard to believe I'm already seeing Fall leaves in the trees. I've been spending so much time indoors lately and it really felt good to be able to be outside today as much as I wanted. My brother is in the hospital and we're staying with him so that means lots of time indoors in a tiny little ICU room. Today was my "day off" so I took full advantage of it. The beautiful red leaf above was seen on my way in to a fun lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, followed by some time at Sam's Club, JoAnn's Arts & Crafts and Kohl's. It was tax-free weekend here in the Atlanta area so there were lots and lots and lots of people in Sam's and Kohl's. Now I'm going to sit in front of the tv and catch up on my TIVO'd Longmire and Major Crimes and enjoy being in my recliner instead of a poorly cushioned, metal ICU room chair.

Joy Journal: Sleeping late

48 Years Ago Today

Forty-eight years ago today at approximately this time (12:50 PM), I was a nervous wreck. Putting on the beautiful dress that my mother handmade for me, putting on my makeup, trying to make everything perfect. My brother would walk me down the aisle, my father would perform the ceremony and a handsome young Airman First Class would be waiting for me at the altar. My two wonderful cousins, Roxie and Libby would precede me down the aisle as my junior bridesmaid and flower girl (their mother did the reception for me). And Saint Gene and I would start on the 48 year journey together that brought us to this day. And the love story continues.

Joy Journal: