SEE YOU ALL IN MAY!

I'm off...
hopefully will be back around May 22 with lots of photos and stories to share!

HUGS!

Getting Ready To Leave...

I anticipate the next day to be super busy, so I will write my "before the big trip" post today.

As many of you know I will be going to Poland and Ukraine with my family. It will be my first homecoming since I left at the age of 16.5...It's been 13 years, almost day to day...
It is hard to describe in words what this trip means to me. The first two years in the US I worked almost every day after school to make enough money for the ticket to go back. Then I found out I can not since my papers are not in order. I gained about 25 pounds and decided to become an Artist;) I guess that is a good thing, that it worked out like that.
I realize that the city changed a lot, since I left. The house where I grew up was sold and rebuilt, I am not sure if I will be able to go into the garden. But I want to smell the air there, I want to see the trees which I climbed as a child. I want to go to the cemetery, I want to look at that candy store that seemed so our of reach when we lived there. I wonder if it is possible to return to your childhood? This will be the closest I will get. I can not think of anything but this trip now, I dream walking down the old street to the bread shop and buying the fresh baked bread.
I wonder how what my impressions will be like after I get back. This will be a good reference point. The idyllic place I am seeing in my mind, and the "real" world out there. But I need this trip. I need to close that door. Sorry for today's rambling, but it is very hard to keep my mind at peace.
I will close my Etsy store for the length of the trip, starting tomorrow. Any orders placed before Wednesday will go out on time. Listing a few new things and making travel lists for the trip. A good way to spend an evening.

Movie Monday 31

A light and funny little animation

IF: Theater

Yesterday my Cat announced that he would like to join a Theatre group, and play in dramas. And I think it's for the best.

In the Closets of the Mind

Live all sort of strange creatures and lonely little girls.
The first one is Lonely Lucy with her pet black butterfly.
The second is another fairy accquantance of mine , the Strawberry Tea Fairy. A cute and fuzzy little being , too sweet sometimes, but always very kind.

Human Bird

Now staying briefly (for I hope she will find a home very soon )at my shop.

I have been working with the subject of human birds for a long time now, and they have appeared in many forms shapes and sizes, this one is the most elegant and mature thus far.

Movie Monday 30

About a girl who lost her teddy bear. Great cut out like figures, and the lay out of the animation is wonderfully thought out.
PS Do not wonder about the parents leaving the child at home by herself, it is common practice in Russia (does not mean child abuse or anything like that)

Happy Birthday to Me

Christ is Risen!
It is Orthodox Easter today, my favorite holiday of the them all. Spring, blossom, blue sky, night service in the church, candles, joy...Everything seems possible and one believes the Miracle is taking place.
This year my Birthday fell on Easter. Sometimes it happens, every once in a while.
29 is an awfully big number , or so it seems at the moment.
I can't say that it was a happy Birthday this year, a chain of coincidences (or not coincidences) that made the day not so very happy. oh well.. but another year has passed and I am ready to approach the big numbers starting with a 3.

My birthday cake was a Pasxa cheese creation that I finally made properly this year:) Obviously it takes only 29 years to start learning to cook, by the time I am 58 I should be superb!

This is Ana picking out a Birthday flowers for me.

being silly

a fun site to play with your photos, pick a new hair style or just search for the image of your inner self

I had a good laugh

Time for Green

I have been feeling a strong urge to paint, wear, and sculpt in green. I am also turning slightly green myself, due to the lack of sleep that has been piling up on me for the past years. But green is my favorite color , so ..WHATEVER!

Movie Monday 28

Do pinguins fly? Love the "fake death" in this one

IF: Fleeting

Life is fleeting too fast for my liking sometimes, so I keep all the cherished memories in a bag close to my heart.

Colors

The one on top is mine, the one on the bottom is something I found on Live Journal. An artist

Кадмий оранжевый

with a wonderful sense of humor. The did a series of portraits of famous artists. My favorites are Van Gough and Sunflowers, and Goya and His Mistress.

What do we do here , anyway?

As we are getting ready for our big trip to Poland and Ukraine at the end of the month, I've been getting this feeling that I need to make as much Art before we leave as possible. Probably because my watercolors will have to stay back, and I will be able to sketch and photograph only. So I am on a roll, ACEO after ACEO and some new ideas for big pieces.
I am super happy that Andrei started to enjoy Art! He has a good take on things, original vision and not a bad hand, but he definitly could use more practice. So I am proud to share his last painting, a copy of Van Gough's Postman.

Movie Monday 26

I had to change todays movie due to the fact that the one I posted before had no ending. So this is dedicated to all my kitting friends as well as all the ones that can not "not make" things. Please do not knit on the edge of the cliff!

IF: Talisman

The guardian spirit gave him a talisman , it was a small green stone that he should carry at all times. It would protect him and call upon the tree spirits when needed.

the creative block has passed!

And I am making about a dozen new ACEOs. I like to paint them, they are little glimpses into something bigger that comes later. I like playing with various ideas, and characters, and seeing them develop into full functioning critters.
Here are a few that are already finished.
My son picked the one with the Giant Night bear, while my daughter picked the Lady Snail. Only she called her "fairy snail"