A Perfect Space to Create Art

I decided to set up a new blog for my artistic endevors.  I have wanted to set up a studio for a long time now but could never decide where to do it.  I considered taking what we call the "window room" , which is one of the extra bedrooms with lots of light, as the name implies.  I just couldn't seem to bring myself to take down the antique bed and change the room's pleasant ambience.  I've been dragging everything to the dining table when I want to work on an art project but then once I was done I'd have to drag everything back to the laundry room where I've been storing my art supplies.  That has not been working for me for sometime though because I have accumlulated so much stuff I've outgrown the space and it's caused me great frustration because I couldn't organize or find anything!  Tony has suggested several times that I take one end of the sunroom for my studio but I have been obstinate.  I have a hard time changing things once I have them like I like them.  I just couldn't wrap my head around giving up some of the sunroom furniture and moving in things I may or may not be satisfied with.  I finally acquiesced and let him convince me that it would work.  He brought the antique drafting table from his office and bought me a new ergonomic chair, helped me move in the old bookshelf  that I had stored in the garage and provided me with a huge roll of paper to use to protect the table when I paint.  I've spent days now moving my art supplies and books to their new home and generally "nesting" as Tony calls it.  I am a little surprised at how pleasant the space is and how much I like it.  OK; he was right.  There I said it.  He asked today to see something I've done.  I had to admit that I haven't done anything yet.  I've been much too busy getting everything just right to actually create art!  I am very much looking forward to getting started though.  Tara and I have been collecting ephemera to begin our art journaling project.  Now we have a great space to work and spend time together in.   Maybe tomorrow I will pour myself  a tall glass of ice tea, put my 300 + CDs on shuffle, turn up the bose speakers and see if I can get the creative juices flowing. I feel a little bit like an imposter though pretending to be a real artist.  Maybe my new studio will inspire me.  Wish me luck. Stay tuned. 

Picture This

I've been a serious amatuer photographer since 1977. My husband bought me a $300.00 35 mm Pentax SLR when our daughter was born and I was hooked. I have hundreds - maybe thousands of photos I've taken of her over her lifetime. I cringe to think how many more thousands were discarded back when I burned up roll after roll of film. I would wait eagerly for days for them to be developed and then to my great disappointment come out with one or two good ones out of the whole lot!   For years I hauled around (I must give my hubby credit for many an afternoon he did the hauling for me) multiple lens, filters and flashes so I could be sure to have the right one to capture any situation. Then the life of us ametuer shutter bugs got a lot sweeter when the cost of digital SLRs became reasonable enough  for us to buy. My first 35 mm digital camera was like a magic box. Being able to immediately view what I'd just photographed and deciding whether it was a keeper or a goner with a touch of a button was just too good. No more film to buy and develop, no more heavy camera bags to lug. Freedom - to go and SHOOT to my heart's content. Then I graduated to more advanced digital SLRs and began experimenting with different techniques and effects. Some worked -some didn't. Then I discovered photo editing programs and took my photography to a whole other level. Those photos that I might have been inclined to delete I now take a second look at. It's amazing what you can do to a not so great photo with the magic of Photoshop!  Today I signed up to take a 50 hr. digital photography course at USM. I have the best cameras anyone could possibly need other than a true professional maybe; and I think I take pretty good photographs. I really want my photographs to be better than good; I want them to be great.   At the end of the next two weeks I expect a drastic improvement in my artistic photography endevors. I'll keep you posted.

A Few More Of My Favorite Things

Spending time with my Daughter

Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream

My cats' happy purrs

Doing anything with my Sweetie

The movie - Driving Miss Daisy

Reading in bed

Writing in my journal

Photographing nature

The Perfect Day

                                                              

Have you ever had THE perfect day? Seems I have a lot of them but last Friday was definitely one of the most perfect. Tony and I went to Camp Getaway late Thursday afternoon and immediately went to Cuz's with our friends, the D'ilios, for some great seafood . Early Friday morning Tony got our fishing gear together and we headed out to try our new bimini for Teddy R. and dip a hook in hopes that with a little luck we'd catch a fish. The wind was a little cool with the boat moving but the sun was sparkling on the water like diamonds, gulls and black-winged black birds were singing and sailing on the breeze and I was enjoying it all with my sweetie. We headed to one of our go to fishing holes; the Gene Taylor reef; and found several boats already there. We anchored and Tony rigged my rod and reel. He baited my hook with one of the many kinds of artificial baits we try to lure the fish with. In the past none of them seemed to work very well for me. Seems the fish are always smarter than I am but catching the fish has never been the main objective; and that's a very good thing Martha Stuart. For me the end goal is to enjoy and savor the time Tony and I spend together. Last year was the first year that Teddy R. was launched and Tony was trying to work out any kinks. I got a little whinny because we didn't have a bemini for shade or soft seats like the pontoon boat. Sooo...Tony installed padded seats and a bimini (for my fishing comfort) so that we can fish longer periods of time without me being a whinny butt. OK- I digress; where was I? -oh yeah - I was ready for my first cast which usually ends up with my line getting tangled or getting hung up on debri. Hard as I try to be self su-fish-ent; it almost always ends up with Tony having to stop and come to my recue. He's always a good sport about it though. I cast a couple of times and so far so good except NO fish. I didn't see anyone else pulling anything in so my expectations were low. All of a sudden I felt him... I told Tony "whatever it is it's BIG". He (the fish - not Tony) began to strip my line and I was sure it would break before I could get him in the boat. I "played" him (see...I do know some fisherman terminology) for a little while and slowly but surely brought him right up to the boat where Tony could net him. A 24" 8 lb. redfish.  Woo hooo! I think Tony was more excited than I was since he always wants me to catch a big ole fish. Now we're cooking - I thought. I was ready to reel'em in until we reached our limit and had to stop while all the other fishermen (and women) in the other boats, who had caught nothing, looked on with great envy.  REWIND...we continued to cast about for a while with not even one more bite. Finally we had to admit that the dream of getting our own fishing show was looking pretty dim. We headed out toward Pass Christian, then to Grassy Point and stopped along the way to test the waters. Tony caught one nice flounder and I never got another bite.  In all we went about 30 miles that day. In the end we caught enough fish for supper, had a boat load of fun (if not a boat load of fish) and best of all I got to spend the etire day with my main squeeze.


The perfect day.

LINKS to my ART Sites

Below are links to my art site and my face book page.  Hope you'll check them out.


Fine Art America

http://m-stuart.artistwebsites.com/

http://www.facebook.com/mkrstuart



You can access links to my sites from my facebook profile page under links.





















Other sites that might be of interest.



http://www.photographymasterclass.com/tag/creativity

The Painted Lady

                                         

I am painting cats these days (well pictures that is) although I did have an absolutely stupid idea one time (Yep, only once!) that involved painting a real cat, sort of. I decided to put red paint on Pookie's foot (one of our three cats) and use her paw print as the logo for my MPRints cards. I managed to get the paint on just before she tore away and sprinted through the house tracking red paint all over the floor and then managed to "wash" her foot, face and ears before I could stop her. She looked like she'd been in a terrible accident and looked at me like "ARE YOU CRAZY!?. ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!? I tried to gently wash the paint off amid the sqiggling and yawling but to no avail. She had to endure pink ears and paws for about two weeks. You could tell she was humiliated and I felt like a fool. Have you ever apologized to a cat. Forget it. They just give you a go to you know where look, turn and swish their tail and walk away.  Can't say that I blame her.  The next time I have one of those "Watch This" kinda ideas think I'll rethink before doing.   Anyway, I'm sticking to painting cats only on paper these days. I'm sure Pookie appreciates it.

One Of Those Days...

A while back I was on my way to Columbia, MS and am driving along, humming to the radio and feeling pretty good about how my day has gone so far. As I pull away from the red light and accelerate slightly I become aware that cars all around me are speeding by; leaving me behind. I look at my speedometer and verify that I am going the 65 speed limit. I wonder where all of these people are going in such a rush and am feeling smug about the fact that I will not be the one getting a ticket. I look out the window and the trees appear to be standing still. I feel like I am in slow motion as the cars keep whizzing by. I press the accelerator steadily and am alarmed when I see that the dial reads almost 100 miles per hour. If I am going almost 100 miles an hour just to keep up, then how the hell fast is every one else going? And why?  Is there some catastrophe I'm not aware of.  I have been on the highway for about fifteen minutes and have gone maybe 10 miles. I have 20 more miles to go. At this rate it will take me two hours to get there. Am I in a time warp, having a stroke, finally lost it completely? Were the mushrooms I had on my pizza at lunch "funny"?  I now have that funny tingly feeling you get from an adrenaline rush.  Before I totally panic, I decide to call my husband. As I explain the situation, I realize how ridiculous the words sound coming out of my mouth. I'm going 95 miles an hour and I feel like I'm in slow motion I tell him.  I can't keep up with traffic I say.  I'm trying not to alarm him but I know he will either go into high alert or laugh at me.  He doesn’t have a clue what could be going on he says. Tells me to take the car in for a check up. Doesn’t do a blasted thing to make me feel better about this predicament I am in nor does he even try to assure me that I am not luny tunes; mainly because he probably thinks I am. I take my foot off the accelerator and slow to 60 miles an hour and wonder if I am actually going to have to get out and push the car. The cars keep whizzing by. Fifteen minutes later hubby calls back – I knew it ! - he really does think I’ve gone over the edge and is checking up on me. He asks if I see something on my dash that says ME. I see the ME button and he says to press it. I do and when I look at the speedometer it says I am going 45 miles an hour NOT 85. It just came to me he tells me; that it somehow got switched over to metric. I notice that he is careful not to say that I am responsible for the switch, which I am grateful for although I know he's thinking it.  A rush of relief floods over me; I am not crazy after all – well not completely. I thank him and continue on my journey at what now feels like an out of control speed.  At 65 miles an hour, I am now passing other cars and the trees are a blur and no longer standing still. I wonder if other people have these kinds of days or if I am the only one lucky enough to have something this crazy to make me laugh … mainly at myself.