4th Art Show

On Friday, I received the 1st postcard from the postcard swap I participated in. It was a wonderful photo of a flower. I think it is an Iris. On the back, it had
The2Buds Inc. then www.THE2BUDS.com It is mainly a postcard supply link. Nothing personal about the sender of the postcard.

It was another very, very busy weekend for me. Jason & family was here from Indy. We all went out to eat Friday nite at River City Grill. The food was ok. The company was great. In the middle of the night I had some bladder pain, throbbing and spasms. I went to the bathroom and went back to sleep.

Elisa, Kristina & I went to Market Days on Broadway. I was recruiting for the PC arts while there! Not many vendors were set up. The girls found this wonderful stuff... a lady had cake on a stick for $1 but if you bought a dozen, you got 2 free. We met up with Stephanie. Kristina bought more cake pops. The lemon was the best. Then we headed to the other Market Days at the Landings which is not as good as Market Days on Broadway. They got some stuff there. It is all out in the open hot sun which made me so thankful for the shading at the downtown market days.

Next we headed to Front Porch of the South. They couldn't believe how big it was. I took a lot of pics so I was in heaven. I didn't buy much. A roll of pink see thru ribbon which I tried to stamp on later. It didn't work but I will use the ribbon for something else somewhere down the road. I found a cute little wall plaque that had an old postcard image on it with a knob for $3. I already have it up on the wall. I thought it was serendipity that I found it. The girls were waiting for me near a Tiki bar Elisa wanted for their pool area. Kristina got a lot of stuff. I did good. I spent the least but was rich with photos.

We ate at B Merrel's. I had not been there in years & years & years. By then I wasn't feeling well. I felt a bladder infection coming on. I didn't have any Cypro with me so I took 2 Alleve for the pain which helped and I was thankful. Luckily I was able to order a grilled cheese from the kids menu. I drank water & got cran-grape juice later.

Elisa went back to buy the tiki bar. I went in search of small carrying case similar to one our preacher has to carry his paints inside. The one I saw was being used to hold $1 items. It had no sales tags on it to my disappointment. I did find a deck of cards that had a neat design on them I can use in my art for 50 cents.

Things bought at The Front Porch $4.50 plus tax
A Saturday spent with my girls..... priceless

Saturday I received my 2nd postcard in the postcard swap.

Another person got one of my postcards from the postcard swap I participated in last month and thanked me for it. She sent a link to her flicker photostream. She has some amazing photos. Thought you might want to take a look. I have added her to my side bar of blogs. Here is the link...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58394948@N03/

I was able to lay down for awhile before we went to have supper at Elisa's. I took my new bathing suit I got for Gulf Shores but didn't go swimming. I was content just sitting by the pool. Funny that it is cooler there at Elisa's pool than here at home.

Sunday was the art show. We took stuff to Elisa's after church as Jason & family were leaving at 2 which was when the show started so we didn't get to the show until after 2. We should have gotten something to drink when we arrived because they ran out of cups! My art was hanging above Ms June's art that she created from the class I taught. I told her to submit that one. Unfortunately neither of us won anything. I admit I was disappointed.

The painting of the horse that the white frame was altered to match the horse's coat won a green ribbon. I forget the exact title of the ribbon. Upon closer look, an Indian and a feather appeared in the horses coat so that really was cool. It was deserving of an award. The eye reminded me of the close up photo I took of a horse's blue eye. So I it is probably good that I did not submit my horse photo! LOL. It would have been too much alike. This altered frame did make me wonder if I had used the other frame and painted the dots, if it would have changed my chances of winning? Who knows? Probably not. Esp since the photo I saw when I turned mine in won an award. A maroon ribbon. It was taken by a lady I had never seen or heard of before. Didn't even know she was in the guild.

As always there were some really good art hanging. There was a flower made out of bark and painted to look like a magnolia. This was all on a piece of cardboard box then framed really well! Neat idea. I would have given it an award for just being different. A most excellent painting of water lilies that look so realistic. It should have won something instead of the same ole ones winning. There was a large one called Wasp Nest that won a ribbon that should not have won! Then a guy I have never seen before won for painting a Singer sewing machine! The pencil drawings were most excellent. Two of them won awards & deserved them. There was a large blue woman called "Removed" that was thought awesome by Rhett & I. Another artist's small portrait in perhaps pencil evoked an emotion much like photos of Carson McCulloughs does me.

There were new categories. Paper was one of them. I found it very irritating that these artists that have submitted work for years suddenly all had "watercolor on paper" on their info hanging beside their work. In the past, it simply read "watercolor" unless it was on canvas. I heard from another artist that there were some very mad artists at the show.

Then there was one which won that had wax poured over it! Go figure. I know this is supposed to be a new technique to do now, but I wouldn't buy it or have it in my home! That artist probably would not have mine either! LOL

Again I admit I was very disappointed I didn't win anything. In fact, it colored my mood the rest of the day. I know it shouldn't be about winning. Since I had Rhett, I realized how competitive I am. I know I should be thankful just to be apart of an art show and I am.

Daddy had a dr's appointment for a follow-up with his regular dr. The wheelchair is real sweaty chore, but somehow we managed. His dr prescribed vitamin d tablets as well as a liquid protein to be added to his Ensure. Medicure wont' pay for this liquid. Luckily & thankfully home health care can do the blood work at home so he doesn't have to go in to have that done in the office. He will have to go back in a month. I felt like I accomplished something's. One step forward, two steps back with other issues or you hit a brick wall.

Then we went to Wednesday night Bible class. I wasn't exactly prepared, but figured I could wing it. It was just Rhett and I. Rhett asked me if I noticed the wall I had decorated had been taken down. Once again I was not consulted about the room. I admit I was mad especially because of the scrapbook birds I bought with my money and others I made from the template. I walked down to the storage room only to find the background paper had been wadded to fit into a shelf slot! It is doubtful it can be reused. Who would want to use wrinkly paper? I searched the other shelves. Luckily and thankful I found my birds. No care was taken when the were removed. They were simply ripped down so now they have tears in them. Holy birds! LOL Not a happy camper about this. I would never do that to someone else's stuff.

So I made lemonade. I took notebook paper, traced one of the birds facing one direction and was able to trace another outline below it. Two birds on the page. On one I wrote the word "SOAR" and the next I wrote "FLY". They are childlike, but still they are art which I had not done in awhile. Because of the lines, I knew I wanted to write something inside the birds. So I did two more. Inside the 1st bird I wrote this...

"8/3/11
Today was hot!! Sweltering. Worked. Paid a bill. Ate. Dr's appointment. Wrestled with a wheelchair and won! Accomplished somethings. 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Always hitting a wall. Obstacles everywhere. Nothing is ever easy anymore. Paid more bills. Not my own. Filled scripts. Tried a new peachy lemonade. Liked it which surprised me. Needed a shower. Just too hot. No respite in sight. Just another day in the life of me. Boring. Not. Not artful. Maddening moments. Added more heat."

on the 2nd bird...
"Then when in a place of peace you find your ideas have been torn down, cast aside like trash! Waded up and discarded. Left wrinkled. You thought your scrapbook birds you paid $ for, made & cut out had been thrown away, but thankfully they were found, but wounded. Angry that others care not as I do about things. Yet out of my anger came this new bird idea. Not so angry birds now. Calming down. Art does this 4 me. -RAV"

"CATHARSIS" written at the bottom.

It got good to me so I did a 3rd set of birds. On the top bird, I wrote the following...

"Write your cares, burdens, woes and problems on a bird. It will make you feel better. The burdens will lessen somewhat. You will have created art. Art soothes the tired soul. Any soul tired or not. The bird brings peace to a troubled day. Troubles fly away on the wings of a dove."

This brought to mind the song "On the Wings of a Dove" which has always been one of my favorites. Despite all the maddening moments of the day, I was thankful for this artful blessing I received from above. What are you thankful for this week? Care to share your thankfulness? Then please join us at the following....
http://womentakingastand.blogspot.com/
where Laurie talks about the heat.