No,no I'm Okay, I totally got this.

I think this is how the economy has a lot of people feeling. They struggle and struggle, think they have found their way through only to receive a final hit they can't survive. In our town Borders Books announced it is closing. I was very sad for several reasons. One, my book was on their shelves but more importantly I love book stores and having it close, having another empty building in town is just sad.

Shopping local is important to our household. We go out of our way to give our money to Alaskans. True, Borders was a big corporate box store but they did employ a lot of Alaskans. They had a nice coffee shop where musicians would come to play. I found a musician at that very spot that I still hire to this day. They regularly hung art from the Anchorage Watercolor Society and had local author book signings.

The Internet is wonderful, it's true but I think we are realizing it's power for evil. Why drive to my local book store when I can click from my computer and order it from Amazon.com? There are lots of reasons why. I hope we all start to realize that....and soon.

New Pony

I love Signore Greve. I have painted him dozens of times but he still makes me smile. I love how easy going he is, I love all his travels and adventures. And I love the boost he has given my career.

No artist wants to be a one trick pony. You know what I mean. There is ONE thing they can paint and one thing only. Now, I will never be a portrait artist or an architecture artist but you want to have a range. That's why I was excited when a patron commissioned me to recreate a painting from 1908.

This is my interpretation of Georges Braque's " Musical Instruments" painting. I am very happy with the results. It is totally out of my comfort zone and that is where the excitement came from. It is really opposite of my style. It's soft, organic colors and loose lines

forced me to paint with a different pony. My patron also asked for a companion piece. After studying music from that era and Braque's style I create a sketch to match the above painting. I will be sure to post that when completed.

I hope to ride my Greve pony for many,many years to come but sometimes that pony needs to graze and take a breather. I really appreciate that my patron saw more to my talent than a guy on a bike.

Family History

This is a intricately carved room screen from Thialand. The best part? It is now in MY dining room. Sadly, my husband's mother died recently. She died too young, we weren't ready to already be burying a parent. As things took the normal cycle after a family member dies it came to retrieving things from her possessions that meant something special to her son. This was the only thing he wanted.

This room screen was brought back from Thailand by Steve's father. He was a navigator in the Air Force and after a tour of duty hauled back this 70 pound screen on a military transport. It was a gift to his wife, Steve's mom. Steve says any house his family lived in, that he can remember, had one unifying element, this stunning screen.

It took us some time to get it to Alaska. The shipping was several hundred dollars. The packaging was nerve wrecking. Pieces of wood connected by an eighth of an inch didn't seem likely to make a journey of thousands of miles. Steve reminded me it made it to the U.S. from Thailand but it was of little comfort. When he handed it to the UPS employee I felt we were making an awful mistake.

But it made it! The damage was minimal and easily repaired. The best part is this family history is now part of our lives. And what beautiful history!

Under the Big Top

I never wanted to run away and join the circus. I enjoy the energy of the big top, don't get me wrong, but it always seems so sad to me. Having to live out of a suitcase. Spending most of your time setting things up and tearing them down. Sharing meals with the bearded lady. Not my idea of fun.

Lately I feel a bit like a clown. I am stumbling around like I'm wearing shoes ten sizes too big, trying to juggle all the while keeping a smile on my face. But now the smile is ready to give way to tears, yes to tears of a clown.

Managing the different aspects of my business seems to be getting more challenging. You always want your art to continue to move forward, staying fresh and new. But the book needs to keep moving as well. You have your galleries to check in with and update. You have customers that have commissioned paintings and are eagerly awaiting the results. You have shows to plan and execute. Whew, I need to nap just thinking about it all.

I don't know what the solution is so I continue to juggle it all in my floppy shoes and big red nose.
I am still enjoying it so I will push on until a plan forms. Keeping all the plastic balls in the air isn't so bad. But once I start juggle chainsaws.........we got trouble!