Góða ferð!

Well, friends. I will be absent from here for quite a while. It is time to embark on THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME: 19 days traveling around Iceland's perimeter with my lovely husband, exploring the capitol city as well as nine different farms and other rural areas. We will go snorkeling in the Silfra crack, spend our days hiking through the strange and beautiful landscape, and see zero darkness as the midnight sun is in effect this time of year.  We will also be celebrating our one year anniversary on July 15th! It is our hope that taking this adventure together will bring a renewed sense of life, fill our spirits, and serve as creative fuel for the year - or for many years to come. Here is a gorgeous time lapse film made last summer. I don't think it will take long for you to understand how excited we are about this trip:

I've been waiting my whole life to travel abroad. So, here we go! My bags are packed and I'm ready. Let's do this.

I had a wonderful day yesterday spent with my best friend who I have mentioned in many previous posts. We chit chatted, ate some yummy food, laughed a lot (per usual), and took some maternity photos at the Dow Gardens. It is so lovely to have her back in this state. Check out her photos - isn't she beautiful? I just cannot wait to meet the new baby in August!

I finally have a start on my sketchbook project cover. The journey begins in t minus 9 days! I can't wait to fill its pages...

This past weekend I was able to celebrate my best friend's little baby bump and the joy of motherhood along with her family and friends. I had such a great time planning, helping, and designing some elements of the shower, all centered around the theme of "birdies". For about two weeks beforehand I practically lived at Michaels and David started calling me "Martha" much to my chagrin. Here is a little peak at what I have been up to and why my drawing posts have been slacking...

These birdhouses were the table centerpieces. I painted them and added embellishments.

These were the favors - cherry vanilla speckled jordan almonds in a 3 inch nest.

Game #1: Guessing the baby food flavors based solely on the color. No smelling or tasting allowed! ;)

Game #2: A baby shower classic - cut a piece of yarn to the perfect length to wrap around mommy's adorable belly!

Game #3: Mad-Libs, Expecting Mom Edition
I think the guests enjoyed this one, although we had Grandma confused with the directions. haha

This banner was hung for guests to see as they arrived. I wish I had a picture of the whole thing, but it was quite large.
Each triangle had a baby picture of the Mommy or Daddy-to-be. 

I crocheted this little bear as part of my gift. I am hoping it will become a little comfort-piece for the new baby.

Happy Father's Day! I've been blessed with the best Dad a girl could ask for. He has given me the world. Love you Dadio!

I am so excited because today I officially "connected" with a venue for ArtPrize 2012 in Grand Rapids, Michigan! David and I spent a weekend at the event last October. I wrote about it on my old blog if you are interested in seeing some of the amazing pieces we encountered there.

How it works as an artist is you register online to be a part of the event with a profile about yourself and with images of either the actual work or samples of work to be shown. Then, you are able to search through all of the hosting venues throughout the city and request a connection with those you are interested in. From there, the venue may either choose to connect or decline your request. With the deadline to hook up with a venue fast approaching (Thursday!) and multiple declines, I was beginning to feel a bit disheartened. However, I should have remembered that things tend to work out for the best - it was worth the wait because the venue I ended up with sounds downright lovely. Minty Keen is an eco-friendly retail shop and studio located across from the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Perfect! The owner is very flexible and I can't wait to get started on my piece. A very exciting day indeed. Check it out:

What a wonderful week it has been. This was our only full five day week where David and I were able to just relax at home and go about our business with no real rhyme or reason. Here are some snippets. 

The cats were right at home relaxing all day. No problem.

A highlight: I got this card from a third grade student in the mail!

Our pool opened this week! We spent some time every day poolside.
... but not too much since our pasty white skin  couldn't handle a lot of sun ;)

David made our favorite thing - scrambled tofu - for breakfast one morning.
And yes, those are sprinkles in my yogurt. I'm a kid at heart! (and a sweet addict)

I started this drawing based on that old collection of LIFE magazines I told you about.

Getting ready to start on my Sketchbook Project cover.
I need to finish it before we leave for Iceland and i fill the pages :)

After a nice, relaxing, and enjoyable week it is time to set off on another adventure. My best friend's baby shower tomorrow (look for a post on that later this week!) and to Pennsylvania we go! 

I tackled my first round of painting today. What a relief to get that first pass (except for the flower pattern on the hat) accomplished. Now, time to refine, refine, refine! Painting always makes me miss having a real studio space. It is so hard to get lots of paint mixed up with (1) carpet, (2) limited space, and (3) those stupid jars (Never again! I don't know why that seemed like a good idea. Tubes from here on out!). It makes me cringe how thin this first layer is. 

Also sprawled across my floor is the beginning of a sketch based on this photo. A few weeks back at the library's used book sale I came across bound collections of LIFE magazine. I got really excited flipping through the pages - there were so many intriguing images and headlines. There was a whole table full of them up for grabs. I got my hands on a few months from both 1959 and 1960 - right around the time my parents were born. I wanted to feel some sort of personal connection to the time period. I am looking forward to finishing my commission in order to find out what these might inspire...

Wow. Summer time vs. school year time feels completely different. Today literally seemed to last an hour, tops. In reality, it has been about 12 hours since my feet hit the floor this morning. Maybe that is the difference between waking up at 6am and rising at 8:30. Those earlier hours stretch the day out. Either way, it is throwing me off kilter a bit.

I know I have been MIA from here, but in between some special crafty projects (which will be soon revealed), festivities surrounding my youngest sister's high school graduation, and preparing ourselves to go to Iceland in 17 days (!!!) I haven't had a moment to breathe. I am finally getting back into some art making with a portrait I have been commissioned to paint. It has been a long time since I have painted a portrait for someone else, so I am approaching this with complete caution. To be honest, I am a little nervous. It is a different experience to paint someone I have never met. In this case, the granddaughter of someone that knows my husband's step-mother. I decided to start with a drawing which helps me to get into the project before I actually start to lay the paint down. Silly as it sounds, drawing first gets me more emotionally attached to the subject. I see some problem areas here and there, but I'll get to those and for now I'm just glad to have gotten started...

It is totally normal.

This note from one of my fourth grade Art Angels (they come in every Monday during lunch/recess to help with things around the art room) made my day. I even teared up a little. In case you don't want to crane your neck to read it:

I will miss you. You are the best girl art teacher ever. I could just sit and name one million great things about you. You are a super great artist. You really inspire me. Thanks for teaching me art. I love Art Angels. Thanks.

We had our final meeting together during lunch/recess today. There was pizza (don't let them fool you, eight tiny kids devoured three pizzas), pop, double bubble, brand new 64-pack crayons, and laughs all around. They were an amazing group and I will miss them next year!

****

I acknowledge that my drawing challenge has pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth... It is the last week of school and I'm cutting myself some slack. You should too. I have a bazillion other projects I am trying to plow through so that when Friday hits, my scheduled time will be minimal. For example, I am about to start working on a presentation for a group of fourth grade boy scouts tomorrow night about art careers. It only needs to be ten minutes, but knowing me I will spend two hours preparing it. ...and it is already past 11. I shouldn't have taken that nap earlier!

I've been slowly improving my crocheting skills. If you haven't noticed, as long as I am making something with my hands I am content. I have been venturing into the realm of craft, but mainly as stress relief - and merely to keep my hands busy when my head is too worn out for deeper thought and more intense processes. This is my third cat, and I am pretty happy with it other than the fact that I overstuffed the head and was too lazy to inject (because that honestly feels like the only fitting term) pellets into the hands and feet. Other than a few lopsided winter scarves and one misshapen hat, these cats are the most ambitious fiber project I have attempted. This particular one is a birthday present for a dear friend of mine. The color is her favorite and I added the little plaque because I wanted to give him some kind of personality and she has dedicated much of her life so far to peace studies. I find it interesting that when I make things for or about those that I care so much for, that they become full of life and meaning in my eyes and I am much more satisfied with the stage of completion. Or perhaps it is because I know nothing about the fiber arts and hardly know what I am doing. Jonah Lehrer's concept of the "outsider" at work? Maybe?

I am so glad that the weekend has begun. The past four days went by quickly and a lot happened. My schedule has been slowly changing as David is on summer vacation and seeing him more each day was a definite bonus. Also, I wrapped up work at three of my four schools this week. When I say "wrapped up" I mean I wont be going back there again for the rest of the school year! ...and actually, as of Thursday I found out I wont be returning next year either! ...but for a good reason - I will be working at only two schools, one of which will be brand new to me. It is sad to say goodbye to many students that I just starting really getting to know, but it is a relief to know I wont be spread so thin next year. With only one week remaining (and a mere two "teaching" days) before summer officially starts, I am really beginning to get geared up. I'm feeling a surge of energy in all areas of life - from running to creating to my relationships and even ideas for next school year. As always, I have high expectations for the next few months. I need to try not to intimidate myself with too-lofty goals and unrealistic plans. Sometimes just living is my biggest challenge. I need to reread my little cat's sign.