This Thursday It's All About Finding My Mojo

And that's perfect because I think I have. Last March I started on a a quest into Blogland to find my art muse. As you know, creating has been been my lifelong passion, but I did lapse into a long self-imposed exile from drawing and painting. I won't retell the whole story because you've probably read it here ad nauseum, but a trip to the Bennett Street Art Gallery opening for Kenson awakened an irresistible urge to pick up a paintbrush.I missed my art so much, and I was determined never again to let insecurity or lack of knowledge keep me from what makes me happy. Since March I've been searching the Internet, studying, corresponding, drawing, painting, cutting, and pasting like a madwoman. I've experimented with everything I could get my hands on: watercolor, acrylic, oil pastel, papier mache, pencil, ink, clay, wood, textiles, and collage. I've joined art groups, taken classes, and done on-line tutorials, but, best of all, I've met so many wonderfully talented generous artists who've been kind enough to share what they've learned and techniques they've developed. (Sharon, Suzan, Nancy,Mandy,, Violette) Because my dream has always been to illustrate children's books, I wanted to find my own style and develop my skills so that I could put put what's in my kaleidoscope head onto paper.

Today This Thursday's challenge is to visit various blogs to find my mojo, and, not surprisingly, many of the blogs of artists that have encouraged and inspired me are actually linked to one another: Barbara at Artiphy My Heart, Lisa from Faerie Enchantment, Suzi Blu, and Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist

"Are You A Good Witch?" is what I've learned from all my lovely muses. She's a 15" X 32" mixed media painting on a wood canvas. I started this piece in the pre-dawn hours last Saturday morning, after foraging under my basement stairs for inspiration. I used collage elements, acrylic, pretty papers, colored pencil, and stamping ( Wednesday Stampers' Open Theme and Craftaway Sunday's Sweet challenge) in her creation. She's the first full-sized painting I've ever done that I've been pleased with, and, now that she's finished, I have ideas for so many more paintings! I'm so excited, and I'm not at all afraid to paint any more. I even feel ready to tackle the beautiful magical story that Ava wrote for me about the little girl in the moon. So stay tuned for a new chapter in my art evolution. I'm sure it will be just as OCD as my art journal phase!

Vote

One of my students, Ty, came in this morning and announced that she had just received her voter registration card in the mail. Ty should have graduated last year, but she has some problems with authority and anger management issues and misses a lot of school. Actually I don't even teach Ty this year, and I only had her in my class last year for a couple of months before her schedule was changed. She detested me at first, but, then, she figured out that I wasn't the enemy, and now she thinks I'm her mother. Ty stops by my classroom to visit first thing in the morning on the rare days that she attends school. I guess she was so excited about voting for the first time that she wanted to share her news with somebody, and decided to come to school today. She also wanted someone to explain the letter accompanying her voter registration card. The letter stated what she needs to do if she doesn't have a photo i.d. She has to fill out a form which I promised to fax for her, so she'll be ready to go and fulfil her civic responsibility on Tuesday. She is the change we've been waiting for.

While I was blow drying my hair before school today, my niece came and told me that her ninth grade geography class is raising money for Darfur. They are the change we've been waiting for.

Mr. Al and I voted yesterday. We heard on the news that, in some parts of Atlanta, people are waiting in lines for up to eight hours to vote. Since we live in a small town 25 miles east of the city, we only had to wait an hour. It's hard to even imagine how long the lines will be on Tuesday. Is the turn-out going to be that huge, or are most people voting early? Either way, it's amazing how interested and involved so many people are this year. When we helped with voter registration in August, many of the people we registered had never voted before. Some were convicted felons and, by law, had not been allowed to vote until this year. When we explained to one man that the law had changed, tears came to his eyes. He had a drug conviction when he was nineteen and couldn't vote until now. Can you imagine being 45 years old and participating in the democratic process for the very first time in your life? I think this is a great year for him to start. He is the change we've been waiting for.

Be sure to vote next Tuesday. "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for."

Birthday Girls

Today is Amarylis' and Magenta's 15th birthday and here are the cards I made for them. The Birthday Witch is for Magenta, for the Sunday Postcard Art "Trick or Treat" challenge MMM challenge "Things That Go Bump In the Night," and for Think Monday's "Halloween" challenge

and the Queen Bee is for Amarylis and for the Craft Away Sunday Butterfly Challenge, and an extra card for Sunday Postcard Art "Long Live the Queen Challenge."

Merci Beaucoup Rosie

This 6 X 4 card is for both the Sunday Postcard Art's "Long Live the Queen" challenge and for Gothic Arches' "Patchwork Papers" challenge. I layered four different papers with an altered magazine cutout of Marie and then drew on her Mardi Gras face paint with a Uniball marker. The flower brooch was in one of my 50th birthday countdown surpise goody bags from Ava. I made this card as a thank you card (Created By Hand)for my BFF (blog friend forever) Rosie from Altered Art & Stuff. Yesterday Rosie sent me a lovely surprise in the mail. She had noticed my apparent fondness for jester hats and sent me the most gorgeous one all the way from the UK! I will have to take a photograph of it later to show you. I tried to get Marie to pose in my jester hat for this card, but she was too stubborn (can you imagine?) to put on a hat. I guess she was too vain to mess up that coiffure.

The Sleepy Hollow Soiree

It's time! It's time! We've been decorating for days



We've shined our pointy shoes




We've gotten our witchy manicures



And donned our witchiest hats


Everything is ready, so let the soiree begin!


On this fine autumnal day when the sky is clear and serene, when nature wears that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance,
In a forest where trees have put on their sober brown and yellow, and some have been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet, join the inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow


Glimpse the small pond in these woods, tranquil enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility.

Step over an ancient tumbled stone wall to the shade of a grove of tall walnut-trees.

Meet Ichabod Crane a worthy wight, tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves.Indeed one might mistake him for some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield.

Katrina Van Tassel, a blooming lass of eighteen; plump as a partridge; ripe and melting and rosy-cheeked as one of her father's peaches.


She is withal a little of a coquette, as might be perceived even in her dress, which is a mixture of ancient and modern fashions, as most suited to set off her charms
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She displayed the prettiest foot and ankle in the country round




See the sequestered situation of this churchyard that seems always to have made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits surrounded by locust-trees and lofty elms.





Behold the luxurious display of the ample charms of a genuine Dutch country tea-table, in the sumptuous time of autumn.



Partake of autumn’s bounty and revel with the witching influence of the air. Grow imaginative, dream dreams, glimpse apparitions and goblins among the tranquil solitudes of Sleepy Hollow


Remain with us and listen to tales of apparitions and ghosts until the very witching time of night. Then loiter homeward in the twilight air.



(paraphrased shamelessly from Mr. Washington Irving)

Wednesday Stamper: Goth Style and This Thursday: We Love a Party

Just three more days until all ghosts and goblins don capes and masks to haunt the peaceful valley of Sleepy Hollow. So bring your tricks and treats and join us on October 18th to celebrate with the Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel, as the headless Horseman makes his midnight ride.

My Crazy Amigo Time To Craft Creative, Therapeutic Sunday Postcard Art

This week Creative Therapy asked " What novel most impacted your life and why?" Well, as an English teacher and true lover of books, it's difficult to narrow my choice to one book. However, in the spirit of the season, I chose The Wizard of Oz, the very first fantasy novel I ever read. Explanation to follow... (Later)I'm back, after a little interruption I like to call "work."

One afternoon when I was about eight, as I was pillaging the closets andcupboards at my grandparents' house, I discovered a box of my mother's childhood books. Inside were treasures like Maida's Little House, Cherry Ames: Student Nurse, and several editions from the Wizard of Oz series. I devoured the first Wizard book in short order and went on to read about the adventures of Ozma, The Patchwork Girl, Tik-Tok, and Billina, the talking hen. The discovery of these books was like finding my own portal into another world, a world of magic, where trees had souls, children could be kings and queens, and good always triumphed over evil. The fantastic kingdoms of Oz created in me a longing for escape into adventure and enchantment, so I went on to visit Wonderland and Narnia, Green Knowe and Neverland, and later even Camazotz and Shangri La. By reading a fantasy, I could leave the stresses and fears of my own life behind, and travel to the perfect worlds of mermaids and gnome kings and wizards.

As an adult I carried the power of my dreams with me. I discovered that I could weave my own spells to create my world to realize my fantasy. I was able to imagine a family and build the world I wanted my children to have. I taught my children and students about the power of imagination. I taught them to celebrate the specialness of every day and that, with determination and dreams, they could invent their own realities. Because of what fantasy taught me as a child, I taught all my children that their inner visions could become real, that they could be their own heroes, that they could actually open the doors to inhabit the world that they once only imagined.

"Books are a uniquely portable magic." Stephen King

Haunted Halloween Workshop

Ava and I got up too early and had too much coffee today, I think, because we've come up with a fiendishly brilliant idea for the Sleepy Hollow Soiree. I can't tell you what it is yet, though, because we're not sure we can pull it off. Let me just say though, that, due to the locale of the pending festivities, I won't be traipsing around in my nightie while I'm decorating this time. Drat! Where is XLO05, the Queen of Capers, when I need her?




As you can see from this photo, Ava has a clear vision of what she wants the decorations to look like.

Pandamonium

For My Time To Create "Teddies" challenge, This Thursday's "Spooky" challenge and Creative Therapy's "Decision" catalyst.

Sleepy Hollow Soiree

An Invitation To All Arty Girlz and Crazy Amigos and Wednesday Stampers and Other Kindred Spirits

(our apologies to Mr. Irving)On a fine autumnal day when the sky is clear and serene, and nature wears that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance, and the forests have put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind have been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet, please put on your Halloween finery and join us for twilight revelery and moonlight dancing at our the Sleepy Hollow Soiree here at Amusing Muses, in conjunction with the Vanessa's Party at A Fanciful Twist. No RSVP is necessary but comments are welcome!

Come On Over, Baby, Whole Lotta Zetti Going On...

Sunday Postcard Gothic Arch



I AM grateful for life, and one of the things I'm most grateful for is friends, especially my BBFF's (Best Blog Friends Forever). You will never know how much you have inspired me over the last seven months. After my 20 year art block, you have helped get "unblocked." Without your encouragement and enthusiasm for my work, I would never accomplished what I have. You have given back my inspiration and that has added such an important dimension back to my life: the joy, release, and healing of creating.

One of those sweet friends, Linda, at R2Scrap (big hug to you BBFF!) has honored us with an award. Go over and check out her wonderful blog when you have a chance.



Margaret Ann at Water Blossoms also gave us an award.

She is an extremely accomplished artist and writer, and, if you want to see some of the loveliest botanical art around, you should definitely pay her a vist. Thank you, Margaret Ann!

Ava thanks you both too, but she's not even up yet. Go figure.It's 5:30 already! We have so much to do to prepare for Vanessa's Halloween Party over at A Fanciful Twist and our own Sleepy Hollow Soiree here. Pumpkins to carve, webs to weave, cauldrons to stir, heads to decapitate...oops, did I say that? Well, the horseman WAS headless, after all!

Stay tuned BBFF's! Your invitation will be arriving soon here.

Your Own Purple Rain Jesus (for Joel)

Collage by Ava and Alberta. Ava took the photo of this Jesus yard ornament on the way back from Myrtle Beach last summer, and I did the watercolor and collage.

Crazy Amigo: Color Challenge and Creative Therapy: Someone We Admire