all work and no play, makes Dean cranky...

It has been almost a week and I haven't had a chance to play as much as I would have hoped. But I have excuses: Scott broke his wrist (maybe it is only a sprain?- yeah babe, that is why it is blue...), Hale is off in Kingston (an emotional rollercoaster), I am juggling two positions at work, was offered a new job (yippee), making alternative arrangements for Nick (skiing, Jiujitsu Training), blah, blah, blah!
However, I have noticed an interesting trend in my art...I no longer get the same satisfaction from doodling in my art journal, the way I mostly had before. I am becoming much more comfortable with paint, collaging and just letting go! I would say that I am progressing, evolving -- one might say I am following my bliss!

I am off tomorrow with my Love ~ to go spend the day in Ktown with Lei - hang out, shop, drink and have fun. I better remember to also get Hale (LOL, just kidding BabyGirl!)

Happy weekend everyone!
xoxoDean

it's finished!

I finally finished the mural late last night with the help of Scott and Hale (she was tasked with cleaning brushes and our messes)... It dried over night and I was able to deliver this morning as I had committed. What a great feeling!

yes....

oh my! - the drama continues...

It is Day 4 - I feel like I have hit the wall with this mural!
Last night, I didn't want to deal with it and thought about bailing. But my "good-side" faerie thought I should stay and work on it. I do want to finish it and get on with my creating and claim back my kitchen (the floors are gray with my footprints from paint...), and my hands are taking a beating. They are cracking, dry and hurting...
So I started with painting the remainder of blue, 6x1 ft, of the top of the canvas - check.
Then I started with the curtain on the left and really let go. It was fun and therapeutic. I got in there with my hands and added shading and texture and the results were better than I could have hoped! - left curtain done - check.
I moved to the window and penciled in the line grids. Not once, not twice, but three times a charm. Then, I outlined them with fabric, 3D paint - very nice. I taped off the edges so that the window sill would be crisp - check.

As I cleaned up for the evening and started taking photos of the progress and noticed that something wasn't right with the blue paint. Hmmm. Looking at it from various angles, I realized that it wasn't that it wasn't drying properly - I purchased the wrong shade of blue!  $%V#@!!!
{sigh}

So, tonight, I will make ONE more run to deserres (I should have shares, I swear) and will buy what I need. Then after our date tonight, Scott and I will arm ourselves with rollers, the right shades of paint -- and finish this bad boy off. My goal is to deliver tomorrow morning, and I want to keep that commitment to myself.
Wish me luck!
Blessings for an amazing weekend,
Dean

inside my mind and the moulin rouge

This has to be one of the most difficult undertakings I have ever volunteered for. While in theory it sounded like a fun challenge, it has turned out to be a consuming ordeal. As you know, it started when I drew the outside of the moulin instead of the inside. Once I came up with a sketch I was comfortable with...I decided the easiest way to proceed was to project my drawing onto the canvas (which by the way is approximately 12x10 ft). It took a bit of fiddling with focus, resizing, etc...but I was happy with the sketch.

I took the day off on Monday as a volunteer day and rose pretty early - eager to start. The very first stroke of paint indicated that I was in for a long day! My side of the canvas had not been prepped (the otherside is being used for an office scene and is just boring white). Before my eyes, the paint disappeared and seeped into the fabric. A little bit swearing,and a drop of determination, I continued with the task.
Two days later, I am out of paint, but I can see the end in sight.
I guess the exciting part of this is it forces me to be creative and to find a solution when my plan doesn't unfold as I would expect it to...I really cannot wait to finish!

Friday Night Art Night - What a HOOT!

Last Friday night the girls finally got together for our monthly art night - the first this year. Since we are close to Valentine's day, and we all seem to have an affinity with anything winged, I thought it would be fun to stitch "love owls". While Helene and I were both keen about it, Lucie and Suzanne rolled their eyes - but came very well prepared nonetheless.

We used felt, fabric, thread, buttons, brads - you name it. It was fun. I loved mine so much, I didn't know when to stop! Here is a pic of our owls...I am hooked and making more for gifts!

Today, I am grateful for...

Gratitude.

• noun thankfulness; appreciation of kindness.

— ORIGIN Latin gratitudo, from gratus ‘pleasing, thankful’.

A number of years ago, I participating in a stress management class, it was recommended that I start a gratitude journal. Everyday, I would write down at least 5 things I was grateful for. If it was a really bad day, this was especially important. Sometimes my entries were as simple as: I am grateful for the sunshine, a hug, a coy look from Scott -- you get the sense. I did this everyday faithfully until June of last year and then stopped.  I found it by my bedside yesterday - it was still there with my pen.

While we were spring cleaning yesterday, Scott found a page long list of affirmations in a coat-  inlcuding that we were ready to open and receive all blessings. While reading it over, I realized everything on that list had come true! Positive thinking, showing gratitude, paying it forward -- it all comes full circle.

Last night, I made my first entry and have decided that even though I create in my art journal almost everyday and express myself artiscally - it is equally important to restart this routine.

Lastly, since I am on the topic of being grateful... Scott and I have made every effort possible to help Nick-Nack with his reading. It is hard for him and he doesn't enjoy it all that much. We usually read with him, or he will ask Hale, or he will listen with an MP3 version. Recently he has had a book report due and he selected a book at the school library on his own. We sent him up to bed last night so he could read for a half hour before bed. He came into our rooms with his eyes filled with tears...he had finished the book and he was sad. Not because it had a sad ending, but because it was over. A breakthrough. He asked if I would buy him that book, and the one that followed...

Today, I am grateful for Nick-Nack reading his first book, on his own...

A walk in the enchanted garden of J.W. Waterhouse

I rose early last week and jumped a train to Montreal to witness and experience the collected works of John William Waterhouse. The largest exhibit of his works ever, it was an experience out of this world and literally in the scenes he captured on canvas. I was moved with emotion as I felt I was in the tower with the cursed Lady of Shallot or locked away awaiting her true love like Marianne, or a witness as the sick child was brought to the Temple for healing, I was one of the mourners who saw the cruelty that Eulilia endured and then died, I was part of the rituals in which the Magic Circle took place.

I truely felt that I had made friends and lived a part of their lives, if only for a brief moment. It moved me in ways that I have never been moved by art before. And art is a big part of my life!

So much so, that I insisted on going back before the exhibit was over and these wonderful works were sent back to their respective homes. My husband and daughter joined me my journey back yesterday and it was just as amazing as the first time. Forever in my heart is the Enchanted Garden of John William Waterhouse...