ENTER MY CONTEST: Winning Isn’t Everything
So, I entered a contest put on by the TOMS shoe company and I won. I didn’t get...
ENTER MY CONTEST: Winning Isn’t Everything
So, I entered a contest put on by the TOMS shoe company and I won. I didn’t get free shoes for a lifetime incase you were wondering. But I did win something pretty darn cool: two books and some inspiration.
So here’s a little background on the company behind TOMS shoes:
For a long time I have been on a journey of figuring out purpose and meaning for my life in this short time I have on the planet. I have wanted to be a generator, or at least a participant, in something that affects the lives of others in a positive and meaningful way. So, I went to school to become a social worker/counselor. Turns out that wasn’t my gifting. Then I had a few kids. That’s been going mostly well and hopefully they will grow to be citizens who positively influence the world around them. And now I am awaiting the confirmation that I got in to the Bachelor of Fine Arts Program at the University of Delaware. And by doing so use my gifs as an artist to enlighten, inspire, and spur others into what they were called to do. Like I said, it’s been journey figuring this whole “what I am going to be when I grow up” thing.
So, I entered the contest and told the folks at TOMS that I am an aspiring artist and the perfect candidate for winning a set of their books. I told them that I would be happy to hold my own contest (which was their requirement) to give the second book to someone else. I also said that I would buy a book for my kids and a second one to donate to a local shelter. So, now the title “Winning isn’t everything” should be self explanatory. I won, but that isn’t the point. Now you can win, and that won’t be the point either, but what you do after that will be.
So, here’s the dealio. If you want to read “Start Something That Matters” by Blake Mycoskie for free you have to answer the questions below. I will choose from the answers and decide which of you should get my extra copy of the book. This is going to be a hoot!
OK here’s the what you have to answer:
1) What do you think would be the best humanitarian effort of our generation?
2)If you were going to donate a kids book to a shelter what book would you pick?
THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD… 
Hello Cupcake…
Cupcakes are pretty much one of the most amazing gifts to mankind. So here is a recipe for one, for those not so faint of heart that is. It took an amazing woman (in this case) to create something this awesome. I am totally going to have to try this. It’s a great challenge and would be a wonderful feat to accomplish. Especially the icing. My icing usually stinks. But looking at this pic my mouth waters at the thought of the vanilla goodness mixed with the sweet creamy texture only found after a deep bite in to the gently crisp outer layer of the frosting!!!
I am totally hitting a bakery today. My favorite one up in Wilmington. They have great icing and for years I have been trying to figure out how to make it. It’s pure white, a bit stiff, and sweet in the most nice way. I should ask for the recipe. But I doubt they’ll give it out… If I came up with it I probably wouldn’t give it out. Everybody’s gotta make a living, and that frosting is like nothing else out there.
So here’s to great cupcakes! May they ever be the wonderful addition to beautiful days… Like my birthday, which happens to be today… Which is why I am totally hitting Sweeny’s in a few hours from now!
Entry lost…
I sat here writing a very long essay of my current state of mind only to bump a button and poof, it’s gone. oh well, here’s the painting I did that I was trying to click on when I left my blog site and felt the crushing blow of severely wasted time.
Pennsylvania
Back to School… College That Is.
Taking a class. Feeling great about doing this. Overwhelmed with responsibilities. Overjoyed with opportunity. There it is in a nut shell.
Oil
Oil and pigment and thinner and canvas and a whole new world…
I took a short 3 week painting class. It was fun and enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wonder though if I will continue with oils. Most likely it will evolve… Like I always do. Seems that I grow and change and take a new form every once in a while. So does my work. If you can call it that.
Here’s a pic of my very first impressionism of a pear. I may have unlocked something very cool here… I loved making this.
Birthdays are…
…. so many things. I am hoping mine is quiet and thoughtfully remembered by those I cherish most. I anticipate a swell of emotions and I hope the weather in my heart, at least, turns in to a calm, sunny, and beautiful day. 
A friend of mine had a birthday recently and she gave everyone there a present. It was a cool party. An inspiration, in fact. And someday I hope to do the same. I will hand make a gift for each person. And they will be filled with gratitude just like I was.
This cupcake pic? I could have painted a picture of it, but I ate it instead!
On the Drawing Table
My drawing table is a pretty cool item in my house. It’s pristine white with A-frame legs and it slants upward from the back at varying heights in order to make drawing easier. And there is a cool feature built into it… A light box.Light boxes rock because sometimes you need to back light something you want to trace to get the best possible image. Before having a light box, I would trace things by taping the image to a window therefore using the outside light to see the image better through the images paper plus the tracing paper. The light box in my desk has been a great tool to accomplish the things I want to make. (And without getting tape stuck to the glass window, which incidently is really bad if you used, say, scotch tape). Having used said light box in a few pieces (like the one with the lion and the bird in my gallery), I can honestly say it’s a great item to have. In fact, I had dreamt of how one could build a desk like this because it would be space saving since most light boxes are a rectangular apparatus that sits atop a table. One year Ikea made this kind of desk… I just happened to be there at the store and stumbled upon it in the show room. A serendipitous moment to be exact because I never saw it in their beloved catalog. And so I cleaned up my “art studio” and made the perfect spot for it in front of a window. The only sad thing is I find that having a drawing table in a basement to be well, uninspiring. So, someday I hope to have a bright studio with a huge window that makes me want to draw, sketch, paint, create all the time… Of course, then my life would be a lesson of learning to not be selfish with my time because I would be torn between time in my studio and time with, well, the rest of the world.
The Next Chapter
It’s a new time of life. And now a new blog. MinMusings sat dormant for a long time. And my heart spilled out too much of its aching. Maybe I needed affirmation. Maybe I needed a hiding place. Maybe I lost inspiration because when I came to my blog it seemed like it was a bottomless hole of sadness. But I have made peace with a lot of that turmoil… Although it creeps in sometimes. I suppose a lot of us have unmet longings. And some of us battle the same demons over and over more often and harder than others. Whatever it was, I now have a fresh start.
I am starting to see where this blog is heading. I want to direct people here who are interested in my art, and no longer make it just a dumping ground for my heart. I want to fill it with new works and exciting optimistic adventures.
Some changes we long for are harder than we imagine… and contiual optimism is a challenge for me. My make up does not allow me to be optimistic in most cases. But I am going to try to turn this ol’ girl around. I am only here to write blessings and reach for hope… to see the awesome goodness the world does have. And here on these pages a new woman needs to emerge.
Here’s to the next chapter… Here’s to the optimistic me that needs to be found everyday… Here’s to a wild goose chase.
Back to School… College That Is.
Taking a class. Feeling great about doing this. Overwhelmed with responsibilities....
The Next Chapter
It’s a new time of life. And now a new blog. MinMusings sat dormant for a long...