Right address

The address for the halloween blog spot is http://halloweenartistblogspot.com/

Some good stuff over there.

New Halloween Blog

Halloween Artists.com has a new blog. It should be fun to share all things Halloween. Check it out.

I have finished a new shelf unit that I will post soon. I think it turned out well.
Sold a lamp today and am pleased with the sale. Sort of a surprise as things have been slow lately. I have decided to include a "surprise gift" with each item I sell. A little thank you I guess you'd say.

I handpaint sanddollars that I collect from the beach ( a block away) They are meticulously detailed and take hours to complete. I have a set that I have done for the Christmas tree that are wonderful. The ones I will include with my Halloween items will be in Halloween colors of course and can be hung on a tree or wherever. I think it will be a nice touch

Still reeling from turning 71 I decided to take a day off so to speak. Its a day to gather thoughts and make lists and just get it all together. I must do this every once in awhile for sanity's sake. I become so deeply embroiled in projects that I forget the day, the date, the time, the weather etc etc etc. You know how that goes?!
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is actually springtime outside. The sun is shinning warmly and the birds are chirping, my kitties are chasing and the fragrance of budding trees and flowers is heavenly.
I DID take advantage of this day by spreading newspaper on the deck and bringing a load of goodies out to be spray painted primer white. I have shelves and cute boxes, clocks, candleholders and many other great little items picked up over the last few months. Once they are primered I can chose which one to
start a new project with. Now I am excited about all of the possibilities.
EEnie meenie minee mo-!!!! Its good to have a choice.

It's Snowing

The Oregon coast doesnt usually see much of the white stuff so it is always a treat when it happens. Big fluffy flakes blown about by a moderate wind today!!!
Some friends visited this weekend and the husband helped me with some technical computor stuff. Wow he has made it so much easier for me. All I needed was a patient teacher who was wil ing to wait while I wrote everything down. Unfortunately its the only way I am able to recall these days.
I am packaging the little table with the kids painted around it to send to the winning bidder from ebay. I have decided to include in ALL of my packages a little token of my gratitude for the sale. I gather tons of sanddollars from ou beach here and have in the past painted them with Christmas design for ornaments. They are exquisite . Really. Very detailed. I hate blowing my own horn but these are truly OOAK in the truest sense of the word. I think if I paint them in Halloween colors they would look adorable on a Halloween tree so I intend to do some to include with the items I sell. Actually they do take an awful lot of time- anywhere from two to five hours depending on the design. But
I can paint up a few in between projects to have on hand. I'll see how it goes. It will depend on the response from the buyers. HI ho HI ho its back to work I go!!

Mood swings

From meloncholy to euphoria in 24 hours. All it took was a great sale on ebay to lift my spirits. I have been hoping for such a miracle for several months now. Some of the folks in my art groups have had some terrific sell prices for their work and I have been dreaming of the day that would happen for me. When that day arrived I simply couldnt believe it!
I am so tickled. Now I am anxious to come up with more pieces that people will find interesting and /or beautiful enough to purchase. I woul;d love to have a reputation like Cali Lee, my favorite Halloween artist. Sigh Maybe some day.

Melancholia

Dont know what's the matter with me but I just can't get started today. I feel a bit melancholy. I looked up melancholy in the dictionary to be sure that it espressed my feelings. It says, nostalgia, angst, distress, ,disconsolate, cheerless. and on and on. I dont know if my mood truly reflects angst or distress but I surely dont feel like kicking up my heels. Now if I want to dissect the reasons behind this "malaise" I might start here---- Recently an old friend of ours returned from out of state to the family "ranch" a little ways out of town from us. My husband has been out to see him a few times. They have always been very close buddies. Yesterday they were talking about "old times" and the subject of age raised its ugly head . Our friend is only in his fifties, a lot younger than us. When my husband reminded him that he ( my hubby) was 62, our friend was shocked with disbelief. It hadnt occurred to him that so much time had passed. But then when my age was mentioned (70) he couldnt beleive it!
Well neither can I. Most of the time though, my age isn't a concern .
When it really bothers me is when I have to do something physically demanding and I can't because of my C.O.P.D.. ( chronic obstructive pulminary desease) which by the way, I brought upon myself by smoking for too many years and not giving it up soon enough. It is very depressing when I can't garden without becoming breathless very soon. I can do very little without having difficulty breathing. I pi--es me off! I have the will to do it all but not ability. Now THAT makes me feel old! I have always been "young at heart" but some days its so hard to think youn when I dont feel that way. Enough of this whining. My message for today when it all comes down to it is IF YOU SMOKE GIVE IT OR DIE! no kidding

I Should Learn My Limitations

This silly little witch thing I'm trying to do for the group challenge is driving me up the wall. I decided to sculpt a witch and have her sit in half of a L'Eggs egg
with her striped stockinged legs hanging over the edge . She will hold a tiny chick and bunny. I am now considering this project a learning process. I may never finish it at this rate. Using 3 types of clay trying to figure out what is going to work best. It would take two or three pages to try and tell you all the problems I have had. Suffice it say, I am FRUSTRATED! If this turns out it will be a miracle. Plus I discovered I am developing a little arthritis in my right hand and by the end of day it is pretty uncomfortable. Geezz I hate getting old. lol

WOW

I actually was able to read the instructions and add music to my blog. I feel so smug. lol I really cant believe I was able to do it. (I am so very technically impaired. )

I am trying to sculpt a witch and have the head done and arms and legs. I must sew an outfit for the poor thing and as poorly as I sew she may have to go naked.
I learn something new every day and that is what keeps me going and helps ,me stay "young". So I will make an attempt at a black witchy style dress for her.
The sun is shining and the door to the back deack is OPEN! Yea The fresh spring air floats in and clears my winterized brain. Its about time.

Keep on Pluggin' Away

Thats what my sister and my friends tell me all of the time. "Just keep on keepin' on".
Well thats what I am doing. Today I repainted a couple of little details on the photo cube I was working on. My husband tells me I am way to obsessive when it comes to wanting everything I do to be prefect. He has actually taken brushes out of my hands to keep me from doing more ( and more and more).\
It's become sort of a joke cause' he realizes I can just wait till he leaves and do it anyway.
I am thinking about starting on the challenge theme of Eerie Equinox for my Halloween art group HA31. I have a couple of ideas and they include processes I havent tried yet. That ought to be interesting.. I will keep you posted.

Sculpting- a real challenge

I admire all the ladies I know who sculpt. There really truly is a trick to it that I have yet to learn. Maybe I am too impatient for results as good as the ones I see and like. Then too perhaps I will NEVER learn to do it well. I am trying to finish up a little photo cube box and have sculpted a tiny black cat with a tiny camera in his hand and a witches hat on his head. He is turning out OK but not like I invisioned when I began. Usually --( this is a profound statement) - IF I CAN VISUALIZE IT I CAN CREATE IT. Do any of you seem to be able to do that also? Well, I could sort of see with my minds eye the kitty but the finsihed kept changing. Poop! I will put him up for bid never the less. I am happy to ahve a bid on my table. Boy oh boy there sure are a lot of hours in this one.

I feel better

I am so glad I decided to get out of my funk and go to lunch with my long lost friend. She made me feel vital, useful and gratful to be alive. ( even if she is only 40) Some of her youth must have rubbed off on me. I even splurged and had delicious marionberry cobbler for dessert. Yum
I was able to have liver and onions for lunch .My husband would never have it in the house ( like most sane people) My friend, being a very noraml person screwed up her nose and said"yeeeewww". Ah it was glorious!!!

Facing the facts

The fact is that I dont have all that much time left to finish everything I planned to do before I die. I am not trying to be morbid ( although I admit that does sound a bit creepy ) But realistically at almost 71 with C.O.P.D. I could pop off at any time. I did so want to make a name for myself in my chosen field- that of artisitc expression. So I guess my point is that I had better get off my butt and get busy ! Which brings me to today's agenda.
1. Wake up
2. Get out of bed
3. Clean the cat box
4. Say "good morning" to David
5. Take my pills
6. Pour a cup of coffee
7. (if it was a weekday I'd check out the stock market on CNBC)
8. Cry, because the markets stinks
9. Suck it up and start thinking positively
10. Check out the progress on my latest Halloween art project which is a photo cube with little Halloween scenes painted on each of 4 inserts which can be removed and replaced with the owners own Halloween photos. I sculpted a tiny black cat and a tiny camera to glue to the top but I am not happy with them so far.
11. Rethink the ideas for the top of the cube
12. This is where I clear my head and put the project on the back burner .
13. Now is when I finally open my PC and check out my messages- answer or delete depending on my mood. Every day I click on the animal rescue site to feed the kitties and doggies. It only takes a second and I feel I have helped feed some poor little thing. Next I click on the Human Society site to do the same thing.
14. Here's where I visit my groups on ebay or if I have something up for bid I check that first. I read what I want on Ha31 and BWBA and add comments or not.
15. That done, this is where I am suppose to "get off my butt" and get busy. but far too often sit in a daze with thoughts whirling around in my brain and mindlessly staring at the TV or looking out the window.
16. Today I know I have to ( or GET to) go meet a friends I haven't seen for over 20 years for lunch. In a way I am looking forward to seeing her and in another way I am just wanting to stay home and be a hermit. What is wrong with me?

21. For now I guess I will just sit here and stare ou the window until I can come up with an answer for that last question.

Sleepless in Cannon Beach

I squinted in the darkeness to read the time on the digital bedside clock. Egad, it was 2.00 am and I had't slept a wink. I even took a Tylenol PM to help me
with the process.
My mind was a busy highway last night--rapidly conjuring up the best ideas to post here and just as quickly tossing them aside. I can see where I will have to read a lot more in order to do this blog thing with any success. More later

Starting over as a senior

Well I never thought I'd be comtemplating blog designs at 70 years old. If truth be told, I never thought I'd survive this long. I was pretty wild as a young'un.
But the only thing in life we can be sure of is, "things change". Now if that isn't a profound statment I dont know what is.
Things changed for me a few years ago when I set up a still life consisting of items found along the beaches here in the northwest where I have lived for 39 years. A large aqua green Japanese glass float, some small ones, shells, ropes, from ships and driftwood arranged and ready to capture on canvas. Little did I know what was follow when I finally picked up my brushes after so many years creative abstinence.
To make a long story short, that 24" by 36" acrylic interpretation of the still life setup shoved me in the direction I had been seeking since I was a wee child.

Since then I have been joyously painting , creating and using my imagination
for whatever came to mind without hesitation. I have had two successful one woman shows here in Cannon Beach and recently developed a website where all of my serious paintings may be seen. http://www.susiepastorart.com/.

A few short months ago while browsing ebay I discovered wonderful Halloween
artwork and since I love that season I decided to try my luck with Halloween
creations. I have a lot to learn about ebay and about listings etc. but the folks on ha31 are more than helpful and encouraging. I plan to be a prolific member of that group as well as the newly created BWBA ( Because we Believe) for all holiday artful offerings.

In the meantime I continue to paint the things that inspire me here and will offer those works as well on my site. I am just getting started and Ill be da--ed if anything is going to hold me back now.