I've moved!

After having let my blog sit idle for over a year now, I've decided to start posting again! I have a new goal to post regularly and have decided to move so you can now find me here!

Chill Out Fairy

With all this snow we've been having lately, it's made me a bit stir crazy. Last week we got hit with about 12" of the white stuff and it shut down virtually everything for two days... schools, stores, businesses, doctor offices, restaurants. It's finally starting to melt, but as far as I'm concerned it can't be soon enough. I'm not a big cold weather fan so when it gets cold outside I start getting crabby.

My mind has been preoccupied lately with my daughter's upcoming wedding next month. Although we've been planning the ceremony for nine months and everything has been rolling along quite smoothly, all of the sudden I've started to get anxious. It's crunch time now and all the details need to be worked out. It hurts my head to think about it all! Plus, I really need to loose about 50 pounds by March 24th.... arrrggghhh!!

Anyway, as I was worrying and stewing over everything the other day, my calm and collected hubby tells me I just need to "chill"... everything will fall together! Quit worrying and "go make some art", he tells me. So that's exactly what I did! Is it any wonder I came up with this ACEO art card? I love this chubby little "Chill Out Fairy" all bundled up in her winter snowsuit, ready to zap those worries away!

Dream BIG!!

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men." I love this inspirational quote by Goethe, don't you? Makes me want to dream BIG! I just had to use this in my latest funky art painting. I'm entering the original in the next art show at the Indianapolis Art Center, so I hope it's juried in. I had prints of it made today in the original size of 11" x 15", which fits into a standard size 16" x 20" frame with a mat. I also had 5" x 7" and art card size printed, as well. I just listed the large size on Etsy tonight and will list the other sizes tomorrow.

Talk about dreaming big, I made this big long list of goals for the new year! There's so many things I want to achieve in my life and I feel like time keeps slipping away, faster and faster each year. I look back over the previous year and think, 'wow, where did the time go?'. And even though I usually feel frustrated and disappointed I didn't accomplish more during the year, I'm always happy to see a new year role around. It's a time for renewal and commitment. I feel like I can wipe the slate clean (well, almost!) and start fresh once again. Each new year brings high hopes and expectations to be more organized and successful. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I figure if I keep putting the same things on my list year after year, eventually I may have a breakthrough and actually be able to cross some things off the list!

Although I'm a tad behind schedule here, I'm wishing all of you a happy and prosperous new year. May all your dreams come true... and remember to DREAM BIG!!

Believe

Just wanted to give you an update on Dale’s progress. We went back to the retina specialist last week. Although it appears the reattachment of Dale’s retina was successful, the vision in his right eye is still very blurry, dim and distorted. Dale was still unable to see any letters on the eye chart, let alone read anything. His doctor believes this is caused by a lot of “junk” floating around inside his eye (i.e. dried blood and scar tissue from when the retina detached, and also from the surgery). His doctor recommended another eye surgery, this time to remove the fluid from inside Dale’s eye and then replace it with a saline-type solution. Although we aren’t too excited about the prospect of another surgery so soon, Dale will have a vitrectomy on Wednesday morning, Dec. 20th. We hope this surgery does the trick. Keep your fingers crossed and please say a prayer for a successful surgery! Dale’s eyesight returning would be an awesome Christmas gift, indeed!! Thanks to all for your positive thoughts, kind words, prayers and blessings!

All Dolled Up

Do you ever create something to sell, then cringe at the thought of selling it? Yet you still want to put your best foot forward and offer for sale those things that you're most proud of. Well, I created a couple of art dolls this summer and have been dragging my feet on listing them anywhere. I had been toying with sending them to one of my favorite magazines, Somerset Studio or Cloth Paper Scissors, as my goal for the year was to get published in a national publication. But I'm somewhat anxious about packing them up and sending them across the country to have them sit around in some back room somewhere for six months. I know, I know, my art friends here tell me I can't achieve my goal unless I actually submit something!! arrgghhh! Anyway, I finally listed the "Journey Angel Art Doll" and "Believe Angel Art Doll" on Etsy today. Both dolls were juried into the Professional Fine Arts division of 150th Indiana State Fair this summer. "Believe" received an Honorable Mention ribbon. I'd like some honest feedback on these. What do you think, should I make more?

Balancing Act of Life

Do you ever feel life is like one big balancing act? I do. It seems that my life is so full of commitments, obligations, appointments, classes, visiting relatives, running errands, and keeping up with all the recitals and programs and ceremonies my daughter is involved in, there's barely time to create art these days. I try, but boy do I get behind! Right now I need to finish three large paintings (22" x 30") for a hanging at the Indianapolis Art Center, start and complete an 8"x10" piece for a Christmas gift exchange, and create two ornaments for another gift exchange, all within the next two weeks, and still work on making new stuff for my Etsy store. The pressure is on to "produce" so that's what I plan on doing today... making art! Yeah!!

I've been trying to be more consistent with my blog postings and my listings on Etsy and eBay. That's always such a challenge for me beause I'm not a "regular-routine-schedule-type" girl, but more of a "spur-of-the-moment-fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" kind of girl!

The "Small Works Holiday Show" is now open. This annual event is held at the 423 Gallery in Columbus, Indiana. Invitations from the gallery go out to about 30 local and regional artists to submit one or two 5"x7" paintings to decorate a large Christmas tree in the center of the gallery. The paintings serve as "ornaments", nestled between the pine branches and tiny white lights. I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to submit my work again this year! All work is priced the same, at $100 each. Fifty percent of the proceeds go to a charity and the other fifty percent to the artist. The photos above are the two pieces of mixed-media I submitted. Although the originals are for sale at the gallery, I'm offering 5"x7" prints for both "Faith" and "Violette", as well as ACEO art card prints.

You Should See the Other Guy!

After a long and arduous night of waiting and worrying, we were so relieve when we received the surgeon's phone call at 7:00am. Dr. Cuilla had been successful in gathering together a team to perform surgery and we would need to be at the clinic at 9:00 for Dale's 10:00 surgery. Now, I've had a total of three surgeries in my lifetime and never have I been so excited to go to the hospital... but then, of course, it wasn't me who was about to have my eye cut open. Several family members met us at the facility to sit with me during Dale's surgery, and for that I'm grateful. Talking and visiting kept my mind occupied for the hour long surgery.

Not too many years ago, a procedure such as this would have required a lengthy hospital stay. These days though, unless you've just had brain surgery, they pack you up and send you on your way. While it's nice to cut down on the medical expenses, it's also pretty scary, especially for the caretaker. The patient is generally so tired and medicated they don't really care to do anything but sleep. The caretaker, on the other hand, is left with a long list of "dos and don'ts" to figure out. What connotates "unusual looking incision"... "extreme tiredness"... or "excessive bleeding"? Awwwhhhh, hellllp!! I'm not a nurse, I'm an artist! It all looks bad to me! Most days, choosing the perfect paint color is the biggest decision I make! I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep or eat for the first five days after Dale's surgery. I'm certain now I would never want to be a doctor or nurse. The responsibility of someone's eyesight (or life) on my shoulders is more than I could handle.

The worst part of this surgery was not the bruising, not the swelling, not prying my poor hubby's eye open four times a day to put in antibiotic drops. The worst part was the requirement that he stay face down for five days! When I say face down, I don't mean lay on your stomach and turn your head to the side, I mean it literally, as in "parallel to the floor" kind of face down. It's kind of hard to breath with your face stuffed in a pillow so one has to find a comfortable face down position that also allows one to breath! Not only was it required to lay face down, but Dale needed to sit face down, and walk face down. Conversation with visitors became somewhat amusing. They would talk and he kept saying, "uh huh, I'm listening". Of course, if he did look up, the moment they saw his eye they'd tell him to go ahead and look back down.

We both got used to looking at his nasty-looking eye which was all back and swollen. The swelling and blackness didn't go away for about four to five weeks. Dale insisted that our sixteen year old daughter (his little photographer-in-training) photograph his eye every day so he could see the progress. He wanted to send his co-workers an email to let them know how he was doing while he was off work, so he attached a photo of himself. The subject line was: "A few bad nights in Mexico". Upon opening the email you saw the photo and it read: "You should see the other guy!!" Always the funny guy, he is.

So I'm sure you're wondering how his sight is and if the surgery was successful. Well, the surgery (per se) was a success, in that the retina was reattached. He can now see light and movement and has fairly good peripheral vision, which greatly helps with his ability to drive. However, it's been a little over two months now and his central vision is still recovering. He can see a minimum of things which are very blurry and distorted, and still can't see the "Big E" on the eye chart. Actually there is another letter above the "E" on these charts. It's a giant "H" about twice the size of the "E"... he can't see that either. His doctor said it could still be several months before he regains more vision and then would need a very strong lens in his glasses. When we were at the doctor a couple weeks ago, the surgeon talked about the possibility of another surgery to remove "junk and debris" from inside his eye. It didn't sound very exciting to us, so for now we're doing the 'ol "wait and see" (no pun intended).

I hope that in reading this story, you will take a moment to click on the links above and here in order to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of potential eye problems. We all know the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. We hear about early detection of breast cancer. We get checked for high blood pressure and diabetes and skin cancer. We just don't hear that much about diseases of the eyes and early detection. It is such a devastating thing to loose one's eyesight! Not only for the patient, but for their spouse and family members, as well. So please, have your eyes checked yearly. Ask for a dilated eye exam, as this is the only way your doctor can see all the way to the back of the eye and check for retinal tears or damage.

Again, thanks to all of you who have sent your thoughts and prayers. Rest assured, I've passed your comments along to Dale and he's so appreciative of your concerns. We have faith that his vision will continue to improve and I will keep you posted on his progress. Blessings to you all, and have a safe, happy, and very thankful Thanksgiving!