art can't hurt

i *heart* typography

when asked to decorate the exterior of a six and a half foot fiberglass elk, i jumped at the chance. it was for a fundraising auction of a local foundation, CAPS {child and parent services}. the artists were asked to keep the theme of their elk local and to make it personal to our surrounding area.

i knew right away what i wanted to do. i sketched out numerous angles of the elk on paper first and made list after list of locations in the area that are special to me, and many other people. favorite parks, streets i have lived on, the lake where we go canoeing. it all speaks to me as 'home' and i knew that each location would speak to every person differently and that would make it relatable and personal. i also wanted to do it in a way that was visually interesting. rather that use a lot of color i decided that i would let the shapes and emotions of different text and fonts be a part of expressing these special places and speaking to their unique qualities. 

 

after base-coating the elk i hand drew each letter on in pencil first. then i hand-painted each letter, in some cases using a tube with a small tip to give a raised effect to the paint. in this way i was able to make the elk even more tactile and added '2nd street' in braille along the sholder of the sculpture. 

i worked on the elk for weeks. in that time my belly popped with the impending arrival of our third daughter. (no i'm not pregnant now; these photos are pre-sophie) it was an added joy and challenge to work amidst morning sickness, on ladders and stepstools and at times laying on the ground to complete the legs, hooves and base. 

during daylight i would work outside and then i would wheel the elk in to my garage on a furniture dolly to continue working on it after dark. the worklights were brutal as they attracted every bug imaginable, which just added to the adventure. hubby kept me company many evenings, sitting in the garage chatting or listening to music together. he even painted in a few of my hand drawn letters on the lower legs. he blesses me so!

 

 

 

i took these last photos in my garage the night i finished the elk. he was picked up 2 days later and put on display, along with all the other elk, in our county and surrounding areas. eventually they were then taken to storage until the auction later in the year. hubby and i were fortunate to be able to attend the auction, where i met the individual who purchased my elk. it was a wonderful night of fun and friendship - a joy to be a part of such an important cause as CAPS is for our community. to read more about the event and see all of the elk go HERE.

my elk raised $17,000 for CAPS when it was auctioned off. purchased by a private donor, it was gifted to the city of elkhart and is on permanent exhibit downtown in front of the city building. i have this beautiful book on my coffee table that was privately published to commemorate each of the elk. but every time i drive past my big guy downtown i smile to myself and think of all the sweat (and a few tears) that went in to finishing him. it was worth it.

if we don't share our gifts then what good are they to us?

{monday} april 28, 2014

for the love of red shoes

saturday morning begins a 24-hour art auction of massive proportions. it is to raise funds to help out with medical expenses for a dear friend of mine who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is now undergoing chemo. as an artist, small business owner, single mother and vintage junkie, catherine is a gal after my own heart! she is the owner and artist-extraordinaire behind the shop red shoes homegoods where you will find some of the most amazing art to decorate your abode. catherine and i met thru blogging many years ago, finally met in person, and from that point on we have stayed in touch and kept up with each others family's, life and general crazy creative goings on. 

i am donating two pieces of my art to the auction for cath: a 36"x36" gallery wrap canvas {BEAUTIFUL} as well as an 11"x14" print {FIGHT LIKE A GIRL} that i designed specifically for this event. it is my take on breast cancer support & awareness but applies to women everywhere. be your own strong woman.

100% of all money received during the auction april 26th goes to catherine's medical expenses, but you can also click on that link to read more about cath and donate directly to her 'you caring' site. to view and purchase any of the art during the auction on saturday, april 26th you can click here: @auctionforcatherine or follow that account if you're already on instagram. 

i am so excited to be a part of this event. it has encouraged me to shed some of my insecurities about putting my work out there and catherine has continued to be an amazing friend and supporter - even going so far as to text me wise thoughts while she's all looped up on chemo drugs ;)

the pieces shown above are available from my online shop art can't hurt, along with many other pieces coming soon. in addition to donating the two pieces above, i am also donating 50% of all proceeds from sales in my online shop of all {FIGHT LIKE A GIRL} prints & canvases from april 26th thru may 10th to catherine. please consider supporting her with your donations and keep her in your heart and prayers. 

be well miss c! three rounds down - only three to go! you've got this! XO

{friday} april 25th, 2014

a special day

been going...doing...making...non-stop since 5am. taking a moment now to *stop* and *breathe* and *give thanks*. 67 years ago today my mom was born. wife, mother, teacher, friend, nana, neighbor, mentor, sister, daughter, two-time cancer survivor - she is the strongest woman i know. she is a godly-woman. she is a woman of prayer. she laughs and the leaves dance. her hugs make me feel the safest. i am so blessed to call her mine and to still have her here on earth beside me. happy birthday mom! i love you and the ways you still teach me so much! XOXO

{thursday} april 24, 2014

visiting the very hungry caterpillar

a couple years ago i was asked by my daughter's school to be one of many who decorate child-sized chairs for the school's annual auction held as a fundraiser each year. they wanted each of the chairs to have a children's book theme and i was given the 'the very hungry caterpillar' by eric carle.

i donated my time, the chair, the paint supplies along with a new book by eric carle. yes, i know all the copyright laws - and they are there for a good reason - but in this case the chairs everyone decorated were auctioned to raise money for a not-for-profit school. a worthy cause if there ever was any. 

the distinct style mr. carle has is created thru many layers of paint and paper. to achieve a similar look i painted dozens of sheets of vellum paper with swaths of color over a period of a couple of days, letting each layer dry in between coats.

 

rather than photocopy or trace any of the work i slowly and meticulously hand cut each piece until it resembled particular pieces of the caterpillar then modpodged them on to the child-sized reading chair. 

 

incidentally, eric carle is one of our family's favorite children's authors/illustrators. we were thrilled when last spring break we had the chance to visit his museum in amherst, massachusetts. the town itself is also a nice place to stop over - a small college town it offers many cafes, restaurants and little shops along main street.

parked out front was the museum's car. sophie just had to touch it. there is a small cafe onsite and an auditorium where they regularly have presentations by storytellers and speakers. they thought of everything here. it was amazing.

large original paintings by eric carle adorn the outer gallery, the only gallery where photography is allowed. inside the other galleries we saw many original works of leading children's picture book authors/illustrators. my favorite exhibit was that of the original hand-drawings from the classic 'charlotte's web' by e.b. white. revision after revision shown until the final inked drawings that i remember so well from the first time i read that book.

even the bathrooms have custom tiles of all of the animal characters in carle's books. sophie loved naming each of the animals. i loved that the bathrooms were so clean and infant/family friendly.

the highlight of the museum for our family was the hands-on art studio where they offer classes for local children. however, as a museum guest you are invited to spontaneously stop in and create a project they have prepared. the day we visited the project was to make small hand-held stick or marionette puppet creatures from found objects and paper. only glue sticks and wire available to hold everything together, but it was a fun challange that we embraced. 

heidi made a bird and mamie made a sea otter. below, you'll see my lobster. we were on the east coast - i had seafood on the brain.

as a mom, and one who worked full-time up until very recently, i often have many irons in the fire. it would be so much easier to say no when asked to donate my time to a cause or not bother to take the time to go off the beaten path so my family can experience different parts of our world and culture. but it's worth it to me to say yes. the color and wonder that enhances our days is only as bright and imaginative as we allow it to be. yes, it's a balancing act. but paper sea otter and reading charlotte's web are worth it, don't you think. what creative adventure will you say yes to today?

{wednesday} april 23, 2014

 

 

domesticus dea {domestic goddess}

lately i am making jello on a near-daily basis. not just any jello – we’re talking jigglers. my family has turned in to gelatinous-loving beasts. it’s like i can do no wrong when there is a multi-colored assortment of fruity, gummy goodness piled on a plate in the fridge for them to grab every 5 minutes.

it’s a newfound celebrity status for me and i think i’m handling it pretty well. i’ve been able to keep my wits about me. i don’t go all prima donna and sit in my robe and pearls eating bonbons or anything crazy like that, but i am relishing some of the perks - like not having to do all the dishes and laundry anymore sans nagging. it seems as though the consumption of rainbow bright goo has enabled my teenagers to spontaneously exert the added effort to load and unload the dishwasher without being asked to as well as physically transport their dirty sundries to the hamper and then responsible fold and put away the resulting clean garments.

i'm not above a little incentive program when it comes to keeping up with housework particularly because it helps keep my sanity in check. if i had had any idea before that keeping an abundant supply of these tasty, translucent squares around could harness that much power i would have started doing it years ago. 

power: it’s a beautiful thing. I won’t abuse it. Honest. Pinky swear. *wink*wink*

{tuesday} april 15, 2014

that time when hubby spent two days making candles

some time ago my husband and i both became unemployed. on the same day. to say it was devastating is the understatement of the year. but worse things have happened – a job is not your identity. it brought us closer together and we decided that we would not let this weigh us down.

did it happen right away? noooooooo. i can count a few days in the first week that neither hubby nor i got out of our pjs. the littlest family member went sans bathtime for days on end. dishes piled up in the sink and an unconscious act on my part of avoiding public places (aka the grocery store) led our kids to back to back meals of macaroni and cheese. blech! just letting everything sink in and for us to process things took time. 

but we rallied around in short order.

it was a conscious decision on our part to make our own sunshine.

things started to look up rather quickly after that and hubby went on a number of interviews. a few offers came in but he was holding out hope for one job in particular. waiting….and waiting….two interviews in to it all and still waiting. in the meantime we took a huge leap of faith and he turned down another big job offer. what the WHAT?! i know. but we were praying for the first job; the right job - that not only fit him but fit our family for the long term.

in those days of waiting the anxiety ate at us slowly. we were snowed in for much of this time and i caught hubby literally pacing a few times. finally, after many phone calls and emails it came down to crunch time and he received word that he should expect a call within 48 hours from the company with a contract offer.

time has never crawled more slowly. i didn’t know how to help, and not being the most patient person in the world myself i finally just blurted out to hubby “why don’t you go make some candles or something.” out of thin air that is what came to me. i have no answer why. nor can i explain the fact that he listened, and took me seriously. so seriously, in fact, that within a matter of two hours our kitchen had become a make-shift candle factory.

it was quite possibly the single most bizarre thing for my hubby to do but it worked! he was busy, determined and focused to get all the scents, colors and wax measurements just right. and he was enjoying himself! by the end of the day my kitchen counter was lined with almost a dozen scented candles. there were pomegranate, wild fern and sweet pea scents drifting around. my favorite is the mocha colored candle with the wooden wick that crackles as it burns – hubby dubbed it 'heminway' and it smells heavenly. 

who knew. i certainly didn’t see all that coming.  that’s just the thing though – neither of us saw a lot of what has happened in the past few months coming and yet in the bigger picture it was all meant to be; candle-making included. how often are we all blindsided by life and left wandering and wondering. but blessings can be hidden in the strangest of places if we are open to receiving them. hard work will pay off in the end. God is good, even when the path in front of you seems to have turned to dust and blown away. it’s not really disappeared at all. 

growing up, my mother would light a candle at our house when she had a special prayer concern. to this day it is not unusual to end a phone call with my mom and hear her say “i will light a candle”. both metaphorically and literally, that has always been something i could count on and it has meant so much.

that day, after hubby lept with both feet and consumed himself with melting wax and concocting various recipes in order to save himself from his own anxiety, we selected one of the newly poured candles and we lit it.

the next day he got the call and accepted his new job.

if it weren’t for those candles we all might just have gone stir crazy during those 48 hours. but sometimes it begins with some homemade sunshine of your own doing. blessings abound.

{sunday} april 13, 2014

 

the ever elusive balance

lately finding balance has been something of a struggle. for this girl who has always worked outside the home, not currently having employment has me in a twilight zone. home life now seems like it was easier when loads of laundry, kids homework and dirty dishes had to be squeezed into the wee hours of mornings and nights of full days where ongoing work projects and encroaching deadlines were priority.

i used to inwardly roll my eyes when i would hear a stay-at-home mom friend mention how stressed she was and how there wasn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. If she only knew….i would think to myself.

i was that judgemental working mom. now the shoe’s on the other foot and let me be the first to put my foot in my mouth. methaphorically, of course.

so may i offer my apologies to all stay-at-home moms, for being judgemental. i am truly and sincerely sorry. 

how is it the minutes and hours whir by at a faster rate when “all you’re doing” is chasing a toddler around while completing household chores. suddenly chores i used to complete in my free moments went from mundane to monumental. add to that my on-going task of sending out resumes, scheduling interviews and maintaining the occasional freelance gig and you’ve got a full-blown reality show of epic proportions.

by the time the hungry husband and kiddos come parading thru the door in the evenings asking ‘what’s for dinner’, the toddler has bested me and won. she towers over me on top of the pile of clean (and still unfolded) laundry clearly proud of the exhausted heap she has reduced me to. i cannot even claim to be a disheveled mess, because that would require me to have been ‘sheveled’ at some point that day. I don’t think three-day old jeans, hubby’s t-shirt, no makeup and a messy hair topknot constitutes ‘sheveledness’.

it was the other night, after one such day of said episodes that i’d had it. dinner was finished, homework complete, toddler in bed and everyone else winding down their routines for the night. instead of crawling up to bed feeling defeated i decided to do something for myself and i curled up on the couch with a book. one of our teenagers walked in to the room and i may or have may not have growled at them and bared my teeth – a clear sign to all child cubs that momma bear needed some alone time.  picking up tsh ovenreider’s book, 'notes from a blue bike', I dove in – mug of decaf coffee in hand.

i surfaced for air fifty-five pages later and had an epiphany. i put the book down and went to my desk. opening my laptop i went to work and promptly wrote up a shot list for the next day. (if you don't know what a shot list is google can explain it) just because i wasn’t getting up and leaving for work each day to where i was a master at time management, deadlines and details, didn’t mean i couldn’t infuse my time at home with those same skills. instead of my list looking like this: 

8:45am           P/U FLORAL & PERISHABLES

9:30am           CHECK EMAIL / REPLY TO VOICEMAILS / CONFIRM ARRIVAL TIME WITH SITE MGR.

10:00am        BOX PROPS FOR SET / TURN IN EXPENSE REPORT / MEET W/ MARKETING ABOUT                 
                       SHOWROOM SIGNAGE

11:00am        LOAD TRUCK

11:30am        LEAVE FOR SITE / P/U LUNCH FOR CREW

 

my shot list looked like this:

9:00am           CHECK EMAIL / FOLLOWUP RESUME INQUIRIES – SOPHIE MORNING SNACK
                        (APPLE/PB SLICES)

9:35am           SWAP LAUNDRY OUT & FOLD WHILE SOPH WATCHING SESAME STREET

10:15am        WINTER CLOTHES TOTES UP FROM BSMT – COATS PUT AWAY

10:50am        REDO WEEKLY MEAL PLAN

11:10am        LEAVE WITH SOPH FOR LIBRARY & MARKET

11:20am        RETURN BOOKS

11:30am        MARKET (SEE REVISED GROCERY LIST) 

12:30pm        HOME: LUNCHTIME (HAM & CHEESE ROLLUP, GRAPES)

12:45pm        CHECK EMAIL / RETURN VOICEMAILS / CALL TRACK COACH ABOUT PARENT MTG.

1:15pm          UNLOAD/LOAD DISHWASHER

i realize that this may seem over-the-top for most people. for me, however, this is all a new normal – this solo time with my toddler in which i need to find and then maintain a balance.  i want to live in the present for her sake, and mine, by not squandering the days that ‘home’ is my job.

i can also give my family better, from the food i prepare and feed them to the way in which i handle myself while doing it. slowing down and making more of our meals from scratch, now that i have more time to do so, is a way i can create balance. intentionally holding off on household chores – knowing that i have it budgeted into the day for later on during naptime – allows me to spend time focused on the important things with my toddler, like play-doh, playing with lacing cards (and then unknotting them), drawing in coloring books and discussing the social lives of all of her stuffed animals.

eureka! i’m not “cured” but holy cow did the next day ever run smoother! and at the end of the day i actually felt ACCOMPLISHED as my shot list had been completed. my family also deemed my homemade eggplant parmiagana a dinner homerun! i fell asleep that night with my head nestled in the fluff of cloud nine.

while i must give some of the credit to tsh, i can’t overlook the fact that it was me, myself and i who took the first step to making a change for the better: by taking notice that i needed some “me time”.  giving yourself credit when you do something good for you and good for others is a huge step in maintaining that ever tenuous delicate balance.

i have every intention of maintaining my daily shot lists for now. it’s worked for a couple of days now and while i don’t feel like my old self, i do recognize the woman i see in the mirror again. whether this stay-at-home gig is a long-term thing or something temporary remains to be seen. but i know the lessons that this time is teaching me are for life. 

here’s to the on-going quest for balance in life, and to not judging each other as moms – whether we work solely in the home or not. we all work. cheers!

finding joy

when faced with hard times joy can seem distant. in the midst of uncertain times you have to make your own sunshine.
i lost my job.

scary, yes. heart-breaking, yes. i love what i do for a living and am good at it. i have the awards i've won to prove it. but i can't dwell on what was if i'm going to move forward towards what will be.
today stretches out before me like a blank slate.

as i search for a new job i am putting myself back on the market as a freelance designer. i am available for commercial, corporate and residential design: showrooms, offices, product photo shoots, retail merchandising, real estate staging, home decor as well as consultations {these can be done via skype or facetime if distance is an issue}. email me if you'd like to inquire about details.

i also will be opening my bigcartel.com shop very soon with original art & creative sundries for sale. 

i would be lying if i said i wasn't scared - i'm terrified. i feel like a fish out of water. but i must do whatever it takes to make ends meet for my family's sake, if not for my own sanity.

stay tuned - joy will prevail!

{thursday} march 13, 2014

traditions

when our youngest was born we had her photographed at two days old.
while they were all beautiful, i do have a favorite photo. 
(infant photo by jeri)

we wrapped sleeping sophie in a scarf of mine.
it occurred to me a few months ago that it might be a neat idea to take a pic of soph with that scarf each year on her birthday...
and a new tradition was born!

 i look forward to compiling all of the photos into a special book for her when she's 18.
or maybe i will keep taking photos and never stop....
and then i think i will give this special scarf to her when the day comes that she becomes a mommy herself. 
during soph's first year i also printed her footprints every two months.
i'm framing this piece and taking all acid-free/uv precautions so it will last indefinitely.

what traditions do you hold dear?
do you have any special ways you document the growing up of your kiddos?
i'd love to hear them - feel free to leave a comment and share.

 

ah, sugar sugar

we're still recovering around here from the birthday party almost two weeks ago. 
the balloons are mostly gone but a few are dragging their strings along the floor as they bob around.
kind of sad and silly at the same time.
so i figured: why not post a few more pics of that day?
the pics here were taken with my iphone.
i own a nikon d90 and love shooting with it, but most moments of life are spur of the moment and my phone is just more handy.
i'm not taking pics to sell anything or promote my "mad photog skilz"... just documenting all the little things that are really the big things when it comes right down to it.
i'll specify if any photography is from any other soure but my iphone 4s  
a little color never hurt anybody - so here goes! 

icing is like makeup. it covers up all the little flaws - martha stewart i'm not ;)
but it was tasty. and moist. most importantly, soph enjoyed her mini-cake that i made to
look like the big one.

my dear friend, miss catherine, of red shoes  made sophie's dress. 
nothing miss c creates fails to amaze me - and she has a blog! visit it here
tell her lauren sent you ;)
soph was so very dainty eating her cake...and she loved it when we sang 'happy birthday' to her!

i made three cakes. please don't judge; i was in baking mode.
we had no shortage of sweets. and the meringue letters turned out just right...the third time i made them ;)
i also made these oreo treats.
yes, eating them resulted in dental rainbow awesomeness! 

m&m favors inspired by lindsay bonnice that i tweaked and made my own. thank you lindsay!
i must give props to my hubby for assembling these and topping them with sweet stickers he designed!

for the adults i had serve yourself m&m treat bags. there were cupcakes too (see this post).
daddy insisted on making, and wearing, a tshirt emblazond with the number 1 just for the occassion.
our home was bursting with family & friends - some whom we hadn't seen in a long while.
such a sweet reminder for us of the best day ever, when we said hello to her for the very first time.
(as documented by my friend, and amazing photographer, jeri) 

i'm hoping the sugar-fog around our house lifts soon, as all treats are officially gone.
it's sunny today and i'm desperately wanting to go for a run and test out my foot to see if it holds up.
haven't been on a run since the walking boot came off a few weeks ago. i'm nervous.
thanks for sharing in a little color with me today.
if any of you have any advice on how to make birthdays on christmas day special, i'm all ears!
after all, our sophie is just that - a christmas baby.