Looking for a Sign

I LOVE to paint! It doesn't matter if it's a wall or a painting! There is something wonderful about "before and after" things. Mowing the yard, vacuuming, raking leaves... painting gives this same feeling of satisfaction. It always amazes me what a coat of paint will do for something. FRESH, CLEAN, NEW, BEAUTIFUL! Another thing I love to do is writing or lettering. Occasionally my church asks me to paint something to enhance the worship experience or bring artistic expression (i.e. a visual aid) to the service.

           Isn't our Sanctuary BEAUTIFUL at Christmas? People buy Poinsettias "in honor or memorial" of someone and after Christmas they can take it home. Any that are left behind get taken to local nursing homes or to shut-ins. If you look at the left edge of the photo you can see some banners hanging. Those are mine.There are also some on the right side but my photo skills could use some improvement.
         This is a real honor for me, and part of me loves using my talents for the Lord. In reality though, I am sitting in worship staring at my signs and studying every flaw! The imperfections! Other people give me compliments and my first reaction is to say "Oh my goodness, the one on the top left is crooked!" It's so hard to just say, "Thank you. It was my pleasure to do them." The sermon series was titled Faces of the Nativity. There is one that says "the Wise Men" but it wasn't up yet.
 

Here are some closeups

         The hardest part is figuring out how to make the actual banner, not the painting. In the past I looked at buying pre-made canvases large enough to be seen, but they were super expensive. The other option is to buy the canvas and frames and stretch them myself but that wasn't really in my price range either. So I decided to buy a VERY large canvas dropcloth in the painting section at Lowe's and cut and sew it into banners. There were 4 that said "Love, Joy, Hope, and Peace" for advent. This time the sermon series was for 7 weeks = 7 signs. This took a little more thought and engineering. I ended up reusing the back of some old printed yard signs our church had used to advertise for Vacation Bible School. I cut, primed, painted, added dowels for stability and large grommets to hang and attach them to each other.  It turned out well I think even though a couple of them are sagging a little.(see? I can't help it- imperfections).

                         I hope you had a beautiful place to worship the birth of our Savior this year!

Guest Artist: Gale Hinton

Sometimes in life things are MEANT TO BE! Such is the case with my friendship with Gale.

It is such a privilege to introduce you to my friend, Gale Hinton , mural artist (please click on the link to see her website).  Several years ago she was commissioned to paint at my brother's home and dental office. She has many murals around town, and I was familiar with her work but really had no idea the SCOPE of what she did. At that time she had an assistant who worked for her and she had quit without notice. Her schedule is very frantic and she was in need of someone to do some of the background, "fill-in" painting so that she can come in and work her MAGIC.  My sister-in-law innocently said, "You should call my sister-in-law. She paints." That was it... She called me that night and I went to paint with her the next day. We have been great friends ever since! I worked for her for several years and occasionally help out if she has a really big job, but most importantly I have become an honorary member of her family. She graciously takes me along on her family vacations and I have also become good friends with her children and their families. There are some times in life that you KNOW God has placed someone in your life who will influence you and make an impact forevermore. She is an AMAZINGLY TALENTED artist who can paint a whole school in a week or create a beautiful canvas in a few hours. The speed at which she works, the long hours and busy schedule make everyone think of the Energizer Bunny- she keeps going and going. She now paints all over the country and has been featured in many glowing reviews. Here is one called "Your Stories" by Abby Ham. There is a very short ad at the beginning but it will be so worth your time to watch it. She regularly donates her talents to great causes and here, here, and here.  There is a great article in The Knoxville News Sentinel about her painting in our local schools. I can't begin to mention all of the honors and credits she has received through the years, but I will leave you with a few pictures from our latest time we painted together. All artwork in these photos is by Gale.

 

I love the way she has signed this mural and it sums her her life - a life lived wisely and with joy!

Thank you for everything you do for me Gale and I love you!

Art Room in Use

 I'm finally using my art room!!! Yeah!! It has turned out to be a wonderful, warm, light-filled space and I am feeling inspired to create. Here are a few shots of the room.

Lots of storage for yarn, fabric, and inspirational things.

A corner shelf to store glass and some vintage lace.

Items from nature.

An old wooden shelf where I'm starting a collection of things.

My brushes in handmade (not by me) ceramic containers

 Here are the "before" and "after" photos. Remember this.

YUCK! Terrible.

Gettin' better.

Now that's more like it. :-)

 With all this inspiration I think I'll start a spring project! I've been crocheting all winter and I will have some pictures soon of my finished projects.  In the meantime... I'm looking forward to some PAINTING TIME. Right now I'm prepping some canvases with gesso. 

I used a canvas drop cloth and embroidery hoops to save some money.

I'm trying to be economical and use a drop cloth which is SOOOO much less expensive than going to the art store and buying stretched and primed canvases. The canvas is really nice and thick but does require a few extra steps to prepare it for paint.  Here are the steps I followed.

Trimmed to large, medium and small sizes

Gotta iron those wrinkles out!!

Trim the excess canvas.

Stretch between the hoops, secure with glue, and trim.

Ready for gesso.

That's it for now. You have unlimited possibilities with these little canvases. I'll let you know when they have something on them.  Stay tuned....

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and I hope you'll come back soon!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Painting on the Pad

Have you ever tried "painting" on your IPad? I have a new app on my IPad that I absolutely LOVE!!! It's called ArtRage and it allows you to draw or paint pictures with your finger and I'm completely obsessed with it at the moment. Here are a few pictures I made which were inspired by Autumn.
Hope you enjoy these BRIGHTS!

Here are a few pics from this summer

And finally, a summer sand dollar.

How do you like to express your creative side? This is such a fun, quick, app for drawing and as a BONUS, NO MESS!

p.s. Today is my 46th birthday and I'm going with my hubby to a great new restaurant called Tupelo Honey Cafe. It just opened in Knoxville and we have eaten there one time.It is FANTASTIC! I'll share some pictures of my supper soon.  

"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If  God is for us, who can ever be against us?"
Romans 8:31

Busy as a Bee

Hey y'all,
Well, it seems like this summer is off to a great start. If you like HEAT, that is!  I love spring and usually May is a wonderful month with days around 80 and nights in the 60's - we skipped right to the 90's! Now, I am cold natured, meaning that I am always cold. I take a sweater with me everywhere in the summer because if I'm in air conditioning- I am COLD. So, I am not complaining about the heat, but really just making an observation. I have baked in the heat to get a few outside projects done - 

 Putting out annuals 

Lobelia- I've tried this before and it really doesn't like our heat but it was so pretty I had to give it another try!

Geraniums for the front and Impatiens for our shady back yard

Some beautiful red verbena

AHHHH! Red Geraniums, my favorite!

 

 

 

 

I'll get some pics with them in the ground after I mulch.

Next, I painted a white PVC plastic fence section to look like weathered wood for my in-laws new house. They are going to use it as a headboard in their master bedroom.

I didn't have very high expectations for this project when my mother-in-law brought this to me with her clever idea, but it actually turned out just fine. I'll take some pictures when they get to move in.

Lastly, I pressure washed the back porch deck. It WAS GROSS! We are getting ready to have it screened in so we can actually sit out there without being carried off by the mosquitoes. It is my favorite part of our house with all the trees around and an outdoor fireplace and we want to be able to enjoy it. We've been talking about it for years but we are actually going to do it! Thankfully it won't start for a few weeks because we have a visitor on our mantle.  Do you see it? Next to the candle?

It's a bird nest with a momma sitting on 5 eggs! Of course she didn't choose the birdhouse!

She actually started the nest inside our GRILL and I found it when I was turning on the gas tank. At that time it only had one egg so I moved it up onto the mantle (I couldn't get it inside the birdhouse.LOL) . It is a house wren and they have built there before. She returned to it and laid 4 more eggs!!! She stayed on it the whole time I was cleaning the porch, which was very loud! She only leaves when I get really close -she flew out when I put my camera up to take a picture of her. Don't worry...she came RIGHT BACK. I will give you baby updates when they hatch. I LOVE animals!

With all of these projects going on I have been doing my crocheting in the evenings and I am almost finished with my bunting. Pics to come soon.

Other updates:
-The artroom is basically finished but I have spent very little time in there so far. It is wonderful to know that it is all organized and I can find all of my things now.
-I will be leaving for the beach this Saturday for a week at the beach and I will post lots of pictures while I'm there.

I will leave you with a picture of the sunset as I drove home the other night.

Blessings to you and yours xxxxxxoooxxxxxxxxxxooo

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."