Our Visit to Farmington... to the Farm

Meeting the horses... there were 5 total. They were so sweet and gentle (I can say that because we did not ride any :). They LOVED my husband who is not a horsey person at all. He was charmed by them. Abby, the horse was besotted with our little girl... I think she must have smelled extra sweet.

Colby the fat cat (20lbs) - he's a lover.

A beautiful sprig of ? mini cotton?

Over yonder in the neighbor's spread.

Bo the rescued dog... he was sweet but still a little scared.

Yesterday we had a great time visiting a little town nestled in the hills of the Palouse. (Eastern WA). My husband's cousins live out in the country and we had the pleasure of getting out of dodge and soak up the beautiful countryside. Most of the day was spent meeting all the animals - mostly dogs, cats, horses and more barn cats. After visiting in the house for a while, we drove to a park while the cousins visited an elderly aunt and on to Moscow, ID for dinner. The winding country roads at dusk were beautiful and soon very dark without all the city lights. A great adventure for all of us:)

Happy Father's Day!

Dala Horse Quilt

Loving this CD right now... his voice just vibrates in my head all day long. (in a good way ;).

There's the quilt I have been working on lately. I just fell in love with the Dala horse fabric and had to buy it! My mom found the pattern online, made by the fabric company (I want to say, Michael Miller???) But oh my, what trial it has been. You see, I do not do well following patterns and measuring. But, I thought after a VERY long time, I'd try. The horse squares were smaller than the fabric used on the pattern photo - so I added a border... but more complications. Like the space between the rows of horses vary on the fabric. Who knew?! So, it made the sizes of the blocks a bit wonky. Even though I thought I trimmed them all to the correct size, guess I didn't. I've put it away for now because I just shudder every time I see it. UG. Someday I'll take it apart and try to fix it when I'm not so emotionally involved. Sounds a little psycho, no? This sometimes happens with paintings too. What can you do? It's all a process, I suppose.

Praying for sun today so I can head out for a long walk with Mr. Darcy. Woof.

A Fresh Print or Two...

 Here is a lovely little boy, Porter.  He's a commission for a sweet friend and was so much fun to carve.  I haven't done many animals as portraits but he has me interested in doing more!  With just a little left to go, I should be done with him this coming week. 

Big Brother... can't decide on a title for this one but, it's drawn from a photo last summer.  There's a magical, beautiful trail through the woods to the ocean beach at Salishan, OR.  We're going back again... probably next year.  This year it's all about Cannon Beach :)  I'll be painting this one as soon as the ink dries and have another new ballet scene ready to carve.  Plus another little girl ballet scene.  I've got my carve on now :)

Summer Beckons

 Cory the neighborhood collie saying hello...

 Gorgeous blooms I want to paint,,,

A work of cherry art from the ice cream sundae bar!  Our son turned 9 over the weekend and for the first time, we did the sundae thing al fresco after birthday lunch over at Red Robin (the kid's fave).  After 4 days off from school (teacher day included) we are into our last stretch of school days before summer really hits!

On another note, I will begin advertising as of June 1st over at Soulemama!  I'm so excited to be working with the brilliant Amanda Soule and hope you will visit over there and check it all out :)  I'll be working on a lot of new woodcuts for the etsy shop in the next few months which I'll share here first.  Happy hump day!

A Really Big Show

 Last night was our annual dance performance... it was a great time!  The ages ranged from 3 to 18 plus a lovely Strauss waltz with the older girls and their Tux-togged fathers.  The 2nd photo was a beautiful lyrical dance in the style of Martha Graham.  The last 2 photos are from a snappy New Orleans tap number.  All of it was awesome and both our kids are new fans of Michael Jackson's Thriller... their jazz class danced it in their Halloween costumes.  A sweet night of memories. 

I'm hoping to share some creative things I've been trying to work on... just a few more whirlwind events until the kids are out of school. Attempting to make time for art with the little bit of mama time I have left in this school year.   It's official, this time of year is even busier than Christmas!

Happy Saturday.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

To all the mamas out there, young and old and especially to my mom, Happy Mother's day!  Without moms, what would we do?  They listen to our woes, take care of us and shower us with love.  Have a great day and enjoy basking in the sweet gestures you are about to receive :)

Beach Angel

Another old watercolor... size large (half-sheet of Arches).  I remember painting this from what I was feeling... my husband had just packed up a mini u-haul and had moved over here to Spokane to start his new job while I finished up a few more quarters of art school in Portland.  I was missing him so much and was a big scaredy cat at night in the house all alone. 

11 years later... here we are, living in the first house we ever bought (renters before) with two kids and two dogs.  Life is sweet :) 

Happy Wednesday.