Playing Catch Up...

I can hardly believe I haven't posted since August - where has the time gone?!  My husband is now home from the hospital and rehab.  Slowly but surely I have found my way back to my studio, but haven't blogged about my progress.

I've been working on small projects - something I can do when I have a few minutes to spare.

Reluctant Angels

Christmas Paintings - gifts for caretakers (6x8 w/o frame) - acrylics

Three Wise Women (3 heads - one body)

Polymer clay, cardboard, plaster wrap, wire, aluminum foil, beads, Apoxie sculpt, acrylic paint

Cape Romano at Sunset

If you've never heard of the dome houses, check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Romano_Dome_House

I've always wanted to paint them...

24x36 canvas - oil paints

charcoal sketch, blocking in sky

working on water - many, many layers!

Adding the darks made all the difference!

The Long Goodbye...

Saturday was a crummy day. Sunday was almost normal.  Dementia is taking my dear husband away from me one day at a time...

Creating a journal page using miscellaneous items in my stash...this is how I feel today.

Magazine images; dyed teabags, scrap paper...

acrylic paint

finishing touches...

What happened to June?!

 Somewhere along the way, I lost the month of June.  Dealing with my husband's dementia has been challenging and exhausting.  Should we sell our home and move to independent/assisted living - a very expensive option to say the least.  After a lot of searching on the internet, I found a new adult daycare right here in my own town which opened up about 7 months ago.  It's a wonderful place.  I filled out the necessary paperwork; had his doctor sign off on the plan; TB shot and then held my breath the first day I dropped him off fearing he might not like the place/experience.  I'm happy to say, he really likes it there.  It's such a relief to have blocks of time all to myself.  It's a bonus for him too - he's meeting new people, interacting, playing games, keeping busy.  It's an absolute miracle.

I pulled out my little sketchbook this morning and played with pencil, continuous line drawing, colored pencils...a little portrait of who is anyone's guess - took about 15 minutes to do and gave me immense pleasure.  What more could one ask?!  My next plan is to pull out a much larger canvas and ENJOY!

 

Miss Twiggy

Small work made from cardboard, plaster mesh, a button, found twigs and acorn caps.  

We have live oak trees all over our neighborhood.  I love collecting the twigs and acorns that I find on my morning walks.  The other day I found two that reminded me of human legs and feet...that sparked an idea...

My process

4.5" x 7" cardboard covered with plaster mesh

body pattern

insert legs

add wings and masking tape

cover with paper clay; head made of apoxie sculpt; acorn cap

Voila!

 

Corkscrew Sanctuary Adventure

Art journal page created from Corkscrew Sanctuary guidebook.  

It was a beautiful day, but hot-hot-hot!  I had read an article in our daily newspaper about the flowers in bloom at the sanctuary.  It had been years since we visited - so bottles of water in hand and hats on our heads - off we were on our great adventure.  The foliage was very green, blue skies, slight breeze.  The boardwalk was shaded for the most part.  We could hear various birds singing in the treetops.  Tons of wild flowers about.  We also espied two small alligators and numerous butterflies.  All in all, a satisfying visit to the swamp.

American Elderberry flowers with berries

Swamp Hibiscus

Buttonbush (reminds me of, dare I say it, COVID-19!)

Cool looking bugs - Spartocera Fusca - I think

My Feet Hurt!

I was glancing through a fashion magazine at the nail salon last week.  The ad with shoes brought back memories from days of yore!  It's hard to remember that I once wore stiletto heeled shoes - just thinking about it now makes my feet hurt!

my process