"Not Like Other Ladies" -- Copyright 2007
Spring Bay Studio

This is one of my more recent pieces that I had the most fun with!! She sorta came about when I'd been looking at some photos from my grandmothers college annual ( that doesn't look spelled right but tah dah...) and realized that there are just some people who do not fit the "Mold" and want to dress like, or have hair like, or drive the same car like Everyone Else..there are more important things to do...like have a party!!

This is in no way endorsing goin' out an' slammin' down a bunch of drinks at the local watering hole..this is jus' like havin' a "party" with the kids sharin' Kool-Aid, chocolate chip cookies, and realizin' that Other people may not like that...Well, for all of THEM -- tough!!! I lived in a place where a LOT of people were constantly all OVER me, tellin' me How to Dress -- What To Drive...Where to Shop -- etc. etc. !! So...this piece is for all of them -- You can't force me to conform to something I have no desire to do, and there should be no reason to TELL Anybody how to live their life to conform to a standard that doesn't fit them..

Shwoo!! That rant felt good!! -- And this piece is all about feelin' good!! The winter has been pretty nasty across the US, and there are some spots in Europe that have been hit really hard by some ugly weather..so this little "Lady" an' her friends are here to let everybody know, Go Ahead and Have Fun!! Put Down the Uglies an' have a good time!!

I'm now workin' on a couple new pieces ~~ think there's about 2 if not 3 in the works at the moment..the poor lil' craft table is jus' about maxed out on the room it has left -- most space on top of it is covered at the moment with SOMETHING -- watercolor pencils..stencils...glue...tape...acrylic paints...DOG HAIR...sigh...

Lady of The Tulips -- who has to let out said DOG 'cause she knows I'm tryin' to get something done away from her, an' she does get jealous...sigh...

I took advantage of the sunshine the other day an' got a picture of my lil' room -- This wasn't a day when the room was too overwhelmed with STUFF -- jus' one of the days where I'dtried to get some work done...in between the interuptions of the "children" an' their various phone calls...

The window is wonderful for watching the birds outside..an' since we're near the regional airport, I see all the planes taking off for various destinations..I think somewhere I'd mentioned that when my youngest worked at the airport, I'd taken him over so he could pick up his paycheck. While I was sitting waiting, another vehicle pulled up in front of me, with 3 people getting out. Apparently the woman driving the car was bringing a couple to the airport so they could fly somewhere -- home or whatever. So, while I sat watching, this couple kept pulling out suitcases, and suitcases...suitcases and suitcases...after TEN OF THEM ..my brain went into STOP MODE -- I was absolutely dumbfounded.

Now - I admit that I'm not one to be a Fashion Doll, or whatever the name may be...but by Golly Miss Molly -- I don't have enuf clothes to stuff into TWO suitcases, let alone 5 - 6 . I jus' sat there looking and wondering...

But back to my lil' space...(that rant felt good tho...) -- It's so nice when the sunshines in, and the temps aren't too hot...summertime can be pretty brutal tho...so I keep the sliding glass windows/doors open an' let in as much breeze as there can be...The Dog, sleeps over on the other side of the work table...tho yesterday she layed right by my feet and snored...I never can figure out how she decides where she's gonna lay down. I have to be very careful when I roll my office chair out away from the table, 'cause I may roll over The Dog...

But that's where the Muse comes in and joins me for my Daily Stuff...I'm not sure whether to call what I do "WORK" or what? Is there a correct name to what I do?? Should there be a name for what I do? I mean, like with a "regular" job..."I'm a receptionist.." "I'm a Nuclear Scientist.." WELL -- I'm an Artist!! So that IS what I do, and that is my "Title" -- my "Work" is that I create Art!! -- an' have the Sun to keep me company ~ The Dog to give me big sloppy doggie kisses...and the Breeze to keep me cool, an' remind me that the World will be ok...

Lady of The Tulips - who is now ready to go back to the work table 'cause the heater is warmed up now an' my fingers won't be too chilly to paint...

~~ The weather service has been very good at telling us that well, yes, it is going to be cold for the next few days, and while it's a no-brainer, it STILL makes me so darn agrivated, 'cause there are people who have the time, dollars and a automobile that can make the trip down to FLorida...and totally excape all these stuiped little snowflakes...or in the case of the people in upstate New York, more snow piled up and up and up that anybody wants to think about.

OK -- it is February, but it gets a little tiresome when the car takes more than 10 minutes to get warm in the morning, and naturally one of the "boys" is running later than they should be...naturally that leave The Mom to try and get somewhere FAST when that very word is against all that's normal in her mind...and the past week was So much of that -- HURRY -- HURY -- HURRY -- an' then sit and wait while something else is going on. Had to take the youngest one to a couple of job interviews (and once again, the Bus system does not go anywhere close to any of the job sites...) and then had the joy of sitting in the cold patiently waiting for the interview to get over with. And wind is zippin' around the poor old car an' I'm wondering if it's really safe where I'm sitting....next to a railroad track, right in the smack dab middle of downtown in an industrial park...

Then..as if that is jus' not enuf FUN ~~ the Very Fine Automobile has been taken over by The Husband, so ME gets to take on the poor abused Saturn, that the oldest left for his younger brother to use. And, who naturally ISN'T using, because he doesn't even have a drivers license...Whoo Hooo....This really shouldn't be looked at like, well looking at a gift horse in the mouth..but this poor car is really beat to a pulp...over 200,000 miles on it...the transmission has a fun lil' thing about not going into gear just when the traffic lites turn green, and I'm stuck in neutral..or better yet, gets stuck in 5th gear while goin' along down the highway, and doesn't want to downshift to 4th...or any other gear for that matter. Scared? Naw, not me....REALLY scared is more like it, and looking in the rear view mirror with absolute fear is actually more like it...cars comin' up behind me at usually 10 - 15 mph over the speed limit, an' there I am, like a dead duck floating in the water....2 days in a row I messed with that sort of thing...an' now I'm realizing why my right arm, shoulder and back are in some sort of pain...fighting with the gear shift an' gettin' nowhere...an' naturally I would like to be ANYWHERE else...but, well, here we go back to wanting to be South where it's warm....

Fortunately there has been some more work done on the Collage side of things, an' after the first of the week I should be able to get something up on here...I've got a little fiddling to do on one of the mermaids I recently got set up...been messin' with her for what seems like For-EVAH but I think I've got her jus' about where she needs to be.. An' she didn't turn out too bad, even if I don't mind sayin' so myself....Had so many darn interuptions I thot I'd never get her done, but she's gettin' ready to make her lil' Debut...well, not quite the Debutante type of THANG but you get the idea...

Have only a couple minutes left -- the youngest is due home shortly, an' is gonna get some sleep after he gets back in here. That's what's tricky about sharing the computer...3 people, one computer an' one room to use it in...Get's a lil' hairy some times..."Are you done YET???!!" -- Once I hear that question between the brothers, I know there's gonna be some tense moments an' usually have to referee to keep the 2 from strangling each other...Ahh.....siblings....

Lady of The Tulips - who is still wonderin' how to go about getting warmer in the house without making the gas & electric bills more sky - high...sigh...

~~ "Star Fish" ~~

Copyright 2006 Spring Bay Studio

This was one of the pieces I got done fairly fast...got some of the collage papers an' jus' sorta went to glue stage pretty quick...then I got the "Does this REALLY look right?" kind of thots buzzing thru my head. So it sat on the work table for a couple dayz...then a week or so..finally it got to where I'd take a look at it an' get disgusted..that horrible "Inner Critic" was taking over my head, and it nearly drove me to distraction.

Finally I got back to work on it - got some other papers set on the piece with matte medium, and got to where it felt like it was just about as good as it was gonna get. The funny thing was getting all the beads to behave themselves. I'd used some glue that really, and I mean REALLY does a number on my head...fumes make me want to mumble an' fumble around. So I have to be carefull when working with the stuff. Anyway, got some of the beads set, and when Iwent to get a picture taken of the piece, some of the larger beads wanted to jump away an' go somewhere for the winter...talk about making me MAD....thank heavens all of them decided to stay put when I got another batch of glue slapped on 'em.

Now I'm pretty much in the same boat with another piece...it's been sitting on the work table for nearly a week, in different stages of "Done" --- no, NOT done -- then it was revamp time and all the original painting I'd done went out the door. Well, not actually out the door, just into another file folder an' put away till, oh sometime next fall....VERY confounding if I do say so. Now it's sitting back in different stages of layout. One would think that just putting together a collage would be a ~ ZIP ~ an' DONE kind of thing...if anybody out there can do that pleeze let me know...I just have to tweak every little thing these days when it comes to getting a collage done. No inner critic, just SOMETHING... The new piece will get done ~~ I'm jus' not too sure WHEN...

Jus' realized it's after 4 p.m. an' I haven't gotten a thing done in the kitchen...Dinner?? What's that?? Do the men in the house really REALLY want to eat something tonight??

Blast...suppose they do....other wise there'd be so much bellyachin' it'd be horrible...

Lady of The Tulips -- who - DUH!! - realized that she hasn't gone to the grocery store in nearly a week...could be that's why the refrigerator is nearly empty...'cept those weird things wrapped up in foil...hmm....

~~ Pondering ~~ Pondering ~~ Pondering ~~

Been sitting looking at some watercolor paper I painted just the other day...got some tissue paper sponged up with a pale blue..and after applying the tissue paper to the watercolor paper, I wanted to apply this whole sheet to a piece of foamboard I'd cut out...well....I will readily admit that I'm lousy at math..an' even tho I measured TWICE an' thot the watercolor paper waz the correct size to fit the cut foamboard...OF COURSE IT WASN'T ~~ So now I have this very cool painted paper an' nothing to use it on..well, at least for now.

So - instead of making up a piece of foamboard with THAT little experiment, I've now got something completely different started -- I just cut out a batch of little stars, after applying (oh hush..that isn't spelled right so there...) some nice gold glitter all over them, an' they don' look so bad...I made it easier on myself an' used my craft knife to cut 'em out -- rather than use anything else...So -- now there they sit all alone an' forlorn on my craft table, waiting for their big moment to be used for Something...

But instead I came into the house to get warmed up a little. The lil' heater in the Studio is good, but I don't want to pay for some Exec.'s vacation at the Electric Company with the amount the next months electric bill is gonna be if I don't cut back on using the heater too much. It does make me ohh so cozy out there. Sometimes I get too comfortable in the heat an' then jus' sorta start starin' out the window an' then reailze I'm getting NOTHING accomplished...So I gotta snap back to attention, as it were, an' paint an' play with my Art Stuff..

The Husband has been given some blood pressure medicine for now..The Dr. took a couple blood samples the other morning, an' also gave him some cholestrol ( oh now that's REALLY spelled wrong..) medicine...so he's a happy camper for now. The Dr. said he will have to be seen the first of next month, an' that will cover him for his DOT physical - All he has to do is let the attending Dr. at the clinic (where the DOT test is taken) know he's under his doctors care, an' he should be able to get another 3 month extension on his card...

One of the people working at the Port said it may be worth The Husband's time to go check out a Health Food Store on the Oceanfront an' look into getting some herbal treatment for his blood pressure...so we may go an'see what there is...can't hurt...

Well -- Both the youngest an' middle one are just about finished w/their jobs for the day, an' they'll be calling for a ride home...naturally the job the youngest has for today, is not even close to any bus line, an' the middle one can't figure out if his job is on one of the bus lines that runs near our house or not...he's gonna check it out today. If it is, it'd be great, 'cause the Bus stops right in front of the building where he' s workin' -- Whoo Hooo!! -- How great is that??!!

Running off for now...well, not exactly RUNNING...that'd be kinda weird..last time I tried to run, the youngest was watchin' me & sez, "Please never do that again...." > Sigh <

Lady of The Tulips

"Starshine"

Copyright 2007 SpringBay Studio

Originally I'd made this lil' picture but after looking at it for a spell, it made me feel like it needed some more stuff -- So, finding some more stars, glitter stuff I painted not too long ago, an' some other collage papers, I had a field day -- got some matte medium and put the rest of the goodies on the piece ~~ not too bad for something that I really wasn't too thrilled with. I think it was actually a stage of "Ohh Woe is Meee...I'm not good...I'm not anyting that anybody wants to deal with..." -- BLAH --

So - now there are some other pieces that I'm gettin' ready to get into the computer, an' someothers that I need to get photographed ~~ my middle one is giving me a crash course in workin' with the new digital camera. Nothing like the old fashioned ones I've used in the past...an' a whole lot cheaper than' those old ones from WAY back in the day that developed while you sat an' watched...they had some ditty - name but I can't remember what. They were a mess if you happened to get some of the developing glop on your hand...an' sometimes the paper would do weird things...my youngest made a nasty face one day when one of those pictures threw-up on me an' spilled that glop all over me. Naturally we were at the beach -- not close to any water (other than the ocean..) where I could wash my hands...an' when we DID make it to the bathrooms at the state park...they were closed for the winter. BLAST!!

Those were the days...

Well -- This is a short post - but I have some watercolor paper dryin' in the Sunroom/Studio -- an' I need to skeedaddle (is that how that's spelled??) back in there.

Lady of The Tulips - who has to enjoy the sunshine in the room before the weather turns icky-gak in the next couple days....we had flurries the other day, an' that was quite ENOUGH of THAT!! -- thank you very much...