Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung, or at least is in the process of sprunging, (yes I know that it not a real word, but it should be.) All of the colors around me are changing and I simply love what I see! The two little art quilts above are the first in a new series of small abstract works where I have fun, (it is all about having fun, you know) with playing around with simple colors, shapes, lines and textures. The wonderful crisp clear newborn colors of spring inspired these two pieces. The baby blue of the sky, and the lovely yellow green colors of the leaf buds forming on the trees, excite me each and every year as if I am seeing them for the first time. It's nothing short of magic.

Growing Older

Molasses, my beloved pooch, and I are growing older. She turned 11 this past December, and I hit 45 last Sunday. I generally shy away from the camera, but today I thought I would take a few pics of us and pay tribute to growing older. (Note I say growing "older" not "old". There is a difference!) Ever since I was a little girl I was determined to view the aging process as a thing of beauty. I loved the dignity and assuredness of Georgia O'Keefe. I adored the spirit of Ruth Gordon, especially in her role as Maude in "Harold and Maude". (If you have never seen this movie go rent it now!) As a 10 year old girl I vowed that I would be a woman who embraced what ever age she was, and who wore her wrinkles with pride. As a 45 year old woman, this is proving a bit more difficult to master than I had thought it would. The changes that I see in each passing year have alarmed me at times. Things aren't as toned, and it seems that age spots are appearing everywhere. I wear bifocals now! But it's all good. I look forward to each birthday. I love that I am still here! I really enjoy the process of growing into myself. Maybe it has to do with being fortunate enough to have a birthday that coincides with the arrival of spring. It's all about hope, rebirth, renewal and joy. That's how I view birthdays. I sincerely hope that I get to celebrate another 45 birthdays, and I wish that Molasses could, too.

1970's Boob Tube (They Just Don't Make Them Like They Use Too)

Our 1970's boob tube died last month. We knew that it would eventually have to go to that big appliance store up in the sky, yet it was a sad day when it finally happened. It was a mammoth boxy thing with fake wood veneer, and ugly silver plastic dials. Conspicuous looking amongst our more refined retro items that stood nearby, like my cool 1920's Westinghouse copper heater, my sleek 1930's art deco Paymaster machine and our lovely old 1950's Smith-Corona typewriter. I admit I was horrified when my in-laws gave us this old set of theirs. It was back in the 80's when we were super young, newly married and barely scraping by. The folks took pity on us, as all we had was a tiny black and white TV that I brought to the marriage, (and which I still have!) The big boob tube was a dinosaur, even back then, and just screamed ugly. My husband was in heaven. At the time, I figured it was bound to die soon, I mean how much longer could it last? And we'd either go back to the tiny old B&W, or save up and by a new set. But it didn't die soon, and after a while it just became a part of the family. And after a while longer I grew to find it beautiful in it's own hideous way! When the day came to put it out for the trash collectors, I had to turn away, I couldn't bare to watch. And when we went shopping for a new TV, I turned my nose up at every ostentatious looking big screen and flat screen I saw. Finally we settled on a small retro looking new TV, and with each passing day I like it more and more, but I know I must refrain from getting too attached, as they just don't make them like they use too.