4.23.2008

Long long ago, in a house next door. . .

We're having a moving sale.
It'll be five years this June that we loaded up the kids and all our stuff and headed West. We went from Florida to the Oregon Coast, with dreams of a life less humid. We didn't have jobs lined up, but we figured we could be poor anywhere, so we might as well enjoy the scenery while we were at it. We stayed with my mom for the first week, while we found a little house to rent and a job (or two). I found work at a little gallery, and at a fabric store.
Dylan stayed at home with the kids, and started to learn how to have our own little arty business online. We started with little tiny paintings. He cut the wood and primed it, and I took the little boards with me to work at the gallery (it wasn't a successful gallery, so I had to keep myself busy). There I doodled folky cats and birds and bunnies and skeletons and whatever else tickled my fancy.
Cart Before The Horse was born.

We listed it on ebay for $14 I think. It didn't sell.
So we listed it again for $9. No one was interested.
...

Now here it is, five years later, and we're moving again. This time we're just moving across town, out of the flood and tsunami zones. No cross-country trek. In the course of packing we revisited so many little rejected paintings, and decided to give them one more shot at finding a home (they've been on a dark shelf in a closet for too long). This time they're being listed for a penny. Undignified? Perhaps, but so is the closet.
...

Here's another very early one, inspired by the funny little birds that run along the edges of the coast. I really liked this one, but I was alone in my appreciation.

...

This one is actually the very first Bone Daddy, a character I have revisited many many times over the years. He wasn't really rejected by the world, but rather by us on account of he has that chip on the bottom corner of his block. He was inspired by traditional Guatemalan Day of the Dead figures, like these. I'm very fond of Day of the Dead, for many reasons, but that's another post. . .


4.13.2008

Crazy Week

This week started like any other, but you know what they say, "If you wanna make God laugh, tell Him your plans." On Wednesday Dylan woke up to a call from our landlord; she had sold the house we've been renting for almost 5 years. Surprise! After a few minutes of What??!! we embraced our challenge and set about finding a new place of residence. Lots of looking and calling and looking some more, but nothing revealed itself immediately, so we gave up for the day, resolved to wait for next week's paper (that's right, it comes out once a week) to come out for more leads. Then an evening call to a friend led to just the right fit. By the time we picked up our oldest kid from play rehearsal we were on our way to check out the new digs.
Woohoo!
It's a lovely place, and we're having lots of fun figuring out how to arrange our new studio space. I'll miss living down the dirt road from my parents though. Right now we're out in the boonies, with cows and elk and Canada geese for neighbors. Many mornings I stop by my folks' house for tea and conversation before starting my day.
Lately the hummingbirds are taking over.
Funny, cheeky little things.
They're like tiny feathery birdbugs.
My dad has become quite the photographer as of late.
Here's the latest of many hummingbird pics.
Isn't it wonderful?
It's been quite the challenge trying to balance packing and working and such, not to mention the man-eating plant that we're making for my daughter's school play. But we have managed to get a few pieces done.
This one's my favorite this week:
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells
And pretty maids all in a row.
...
Hope this day finds you all happy, healthy, and willing to embrace new beginnings should they arrive unexpectedly.

4.12.2008

I'm a winner!

Doreen from Vermont Harvest had this
giveaway on her blog and I won!
Woohoo!
A wonderful surprise indeed.
I'm feeling mighty lucky now.
Thank you, Doreen!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...