Thankfulness

An interesting thing happened at the breakfast table this morning.  Bubaboo's birthday is coming up and has been playing with her American Girl doll Lainie a lot lately.  She has expressed an interest in getting the new doll of the year, Saige, and Daddy and I were going to get it for her, until today.  As we were eating breakfast, Bugs says, "I am getting Saige."  I said, "oh, really.  Why do you say that."  Her response was very matter of factly, "because I want it."  Hmmmmmm....... What a rotten attitude.  Thankfully Daddy has the day off and was with us at the table.  We all discussed that she would have to earn the money to buy her doll.  $110.  That is a lot of money.  She was given 3 chores that she needs to do, with a good attitude, every day and she would bet $5 a week.  Needless to say, she was in tears, because she wanted it, "so bad!".  Well, if she wants it that bad, she will earn it.  After breakfast Daddy and I discussed at and agreed that if she could save up 1/2 of the money, we would match it.  I guess we will see how badly she wants Saige.

 

As I was thinking about this, I realized that our Father in Heaven sometimes has to make decisions like this.  I remembered this verse:

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"   Matthew 7:11.

How many times have we wanted something, but because of our bad attitude, He has had to allow us to suffer for a while before blessing us.  Thankfully He loves us enough to not give into our pride, selfishness, and demands.  Now if I can just remember this when I am having a temper tantrum, because I am not getting what I want when I want it!!!

Lazy Sunday

It has been a while since I have added anything to my blog.  One of the downfalls of having a simplified life.  It can be a little uneventful.  I decided to chronicle a day just for fun.

I have decided to try and duplicate Bugaboo's school schedule at home to help keep our days consistent.  This morning we had church and after lunch we had, "recess", just like she has at school.  We took our sleds down to the park which is a block and a half away and hit the slops.  Bugs likes to, "surf", down the sledding hills.

At the park they also have a warming house with ice skates you can borrow.  We ended up finding a pair for Bugaboo and she had her first try at ice skating.  She was a natural.  Tomorrow the park is having a party for Presidents Day and they are serving hot apple cider, hot chocolate and smores.  We are planning on going back tomorrow for the party and more skating.

After skating we headed home for some Siesta time.  At school they have a time of rest while the teacher reads a chapter from a book. I decided to keep that on our schedule at home also.  We are currently reading the American Girl book, Saige.  It was so nice snuggling up and reading together.

 After reading we have some quiet time.  Bugaboo plays in her room quietly while I spend some time working in my studio.  I haven't blogged lately about my sketching class, because I have become a little frustrated.  I can't seem to, "get it", and I think the instructor is beginning to get a little frustrated with me.  My last work he said I was putting in too much detail.  I thought we were supposed to be copying the work we chose in the gallery, and I asked if I had put the detail in too soon, or if I shouldn't have added it at all.  His response was to tell me he wanted me to read the end of the book, The Art Spririt, by Robert Henri.  I was able to get it on my nook, and read the section I thought he was talking about, but I still am not understanding.  It seems that the more I learn about how to do art well, instead of becoming better, I am just getting more confused.  But I keep trying, and I know it will pay off one way or another.  So, I spend my afternoon quiet time in my studio.

After our quiet time, we get a yummy snack and watch some T.V.  Kimber helped me with the snack, apples and poppcorn, then we watched one of our favorites shows, Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin.

By then Daddy was home from work and I was getting ready to prep for dinner.  Sweet and Sour Chicken, yummy!! 

So, that is our day.  I always wonder what a day looks like to other families, and now you know what a day looks like for ours.

 

Mediums

Somehow my blog has turned from being about my little home in the city to my adventures in art.

Anyways, I had my class on Saturday and the instructor talked to me a bit about needing more professional supplies as my art improves.  I had been preferring chalk pastels, but with the professional grade chalk pastels, you can end up with some toxicity, so I was not excited about dealing with that.  I have learned that I don't particularly enjoy working with a brush, and despite my many water painting classes, I still hate it and suck at it.  So, I am down to oil pastels (which can have some toxicity with the professional grade, but it is limited in the colors, and most brands substitute, so it is easier to avoid), or colored pencils.  As of yesterday, I was not very familiar with either of them, so I have decided to work with them and see if I can make one of them work for my main medium.

I started today with the oil pastels.  I have used them in the past, but not as seriously as I could have.  I decided to duplicate a painting that I did with my chalk pastels to see what the differences would be.  Here is my chalk pastel of Mary Cassat's Mother and Child 1880:

And here is my unfinished oil pastel of the same picture:

I have only finished the mother and child's heads so far, but I can say that I actually prefer the oil pastels now that I have given them a fair chance!  What a relief!  I was so afraid that I would not find anything I liked better than my chalk pastels and would be stuck with the decision of continuing to use student grade pastels and not progressing like I would want to, or using more professional grade and freaking out all the time!  I have enjoyed the results of the oil pastels so much, I don't know if I even want to give the colored pencils their fair share of effort.  They would be a lot more easy to use outside of my studio, so maybe I will see what happens with them.  If nothing else, they can be my back up.

And one last photo.  I had previously posted an unfinished chalk pastel painting of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Head of a Young Woman, 1890.  I finished it, and am posting it here.

It would be fun to try this one in oil pastel as well!  I will post it if I get around to it!

Sketching Challenge

It has been a while.  So many thoughts to share, but just not the motivation.

My new challenge was initiated by my sketching instructor from the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  I have been taking the Saturday classes for a few weeks, and I have to say it has been incredibly life changing.  The instructor Kenneth Wenzel is so knowledgeable and easy going.  We start out the class with a lecture (we get to drink coffee in the studio, so I am a very happy student), and then move up to the galleries to sketch.

The first week was wonderful and I was happy with my work.  This last Saturday didn't go so well....  While everyone is "sketching", (it really is doing fine art, not rough sketching like I expected), Ken comes around with his chair and sits for a while talking about the work you selected to copy and any questions you have about what you are working on.  So I explained that I was having an "off" day.  My sketch was not laid out right, and I was having a hard time with everything coming together. He encouraged me to set aside time in my studio (yes, I am blessed to have a studio in my home) to work on my art.  He said that it is good to schedule a weekly goal instead of daily, but to try and get some time in every day, even if it is only 15 minutes. Then he allowed me to scrap my painting.  Here is where I ended:

 

So, I have stepped up to the challenge and have spent time in my studio every day and so far I have put in 3 hours and 15 minutes.  And I have already seen improvements.

Here are a few of my projects (please be kind, remember I am still a beginner!!)

 The tulips that our neighbors brought to us when we had them over for dinner was a wonderful subject.

 This is a copy of Mary Cassat's Baby's Back, 1889 (she is one of my favorite painters).

 This is an unfinished pastel painting of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Head of a Young Woman, 1890.  I have neglected to post any of my previous sketches of people, because they are really, really bad!  That is why I was so excited about this one, because it is actually starting to look like a person (my previous attempts looked like aliens!).  I am excited to see improvement, because I really suck at life drawing!!

Decluttering Bugs Room and Date Night

I was hoping to post this last night, but it was Handsome's Date Night, not Computer Date Night, so it had to wait until today.

Yesterday was both productive and relaxing.  Bugaboo's habit for the month for February is keeping things tidy.  She actually agreed to put a lot of her things into, "rotation", aka the basement, so that it would be easier for her to keep clean.  I think it helped having a play date with her friend, Princess Rose, yesterday.  When it was time to clean up, both girls were at a loss as to where to put everything.  We got through the room, and I think it should be much more manageable.  Here is a picture of Bugs going through her American Girl clothes and putting half in storage and the other half in a drawer for her closet.

 

(as you can see we had to move it into my bedroom to stay on track)

Then in the afternoon Bugaboo went to spend the night with her Yaya, Poppy, and cousins.  She was bouncing off the walls with excitement, and deep down Daddy and I were too.  We love her so much, but we love our time as a couple as well.  If you are at all acquainted with us you can probably guess our first stop........COFFEE!  We stopped at our favorite Maple Grove coffee shop, Starbucks, and were able to snag a couple of the comfy chairs.

It was so wonderful, and the time always flies by too quickly.  Our next stop was Benihana, so we weren't too disappointed to say good-bye to the coffee shop.  And we ended the night with some of Yaya's chocolate chip cookies.  A perfect date night!!  Thank you Handsome for a wonderful date!

Altered Bed Coverings

Am I the only one who gets frustrated with trying to find bed coverings that are easy for kids to work with?  I have been struggling for years to figure out a way for Bugaboo (5) to easily make her own bed.  She now has bunk beds, so not only are we struggling to make one bed work, but two.

When we bought the bunk beds we let Bugs pick out her own duvet covers.  They were not what I would have picked out, but it is her bed, so her choice.  The covers worked O.K, but they were so big for her little body, and also those comforters always shift around inside the covers.  FRUSTRATING! So, yesterday and today I worked on altering the comforters to work better for us.

Without getting into the sewing details (some of which I improvised so much that I barely remember what I did), I narrowed the duvet and comforter and sewed around all 4 sides.  Then I tacked all of the layers together with yarn knots (like great-grandma did with the quilts she made).  They are exactly the same size as the top of the mattress, and can easily be straightened in the morning.  No worries about trying to tuck the sides in, etc.

Here is the finished results (please ignore the top bunk, that is the one Bugs sleeps on now, and I let her leave it a little messy, because you know it has to be a certain way with the "friends" in certain spots).

(please excuse me if the photo doesn't work - I am still learning...)

Welcome to my new Blog!  I am really excited, and really terrified.  I am normally a pretty private person, but have recently felt like expressing some thoughts and experiences more publicly.  Hopefully this will be a fun blog and a fun journey.