Some of the things I learned and ideas that were reinforced in my mind:

• First impressions? Go with your gut.
• Nothing gets done if you are afraid to speak up and rattle a few cages.
• You never know until you ask. (or “throw it against the wall and see what sticks”)
• And grandma’s favorite saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” still rings true.

I gave it my all, folks, just like I do with most things I touch. I wish everybody over at PSA the best of luck as they continue to grow and evolve. I look forward to being part of the visiting public on First Fridays in the future!

The juxtaposition of elements of the piece created a unique perspective and presented the artist’s intention.  The joy of creation is present in this piece.

I’m blown away because this is the first piece in a long time that’s really turned me on while I was doing it. I am looking forward to becoming more technically proficient in hand stitching, beading and machine sewing, but I loved incorporating those elements with paper and paint. I love this piece so much and am so excited to do more in this style.

Mother Earth

The more I worked with these things, the more I knew it was going to become a grave  marker of some sort. With Dia de los Muertos on the way, it seemed to make sense. Also, my family recently finished engraving our grandparents’ headstone to include my grandma’s info and my sister had sent me a photo from back east. They’ve been on my mind a LOT lately. Grandpa’s been gone over 20 years and grandma’s been gone about 4 years, but I still miss them like it was yesterday.

I thought about how awesome they were and their special little quirks that made them my grandma and grandpa, that made them my mom’s parents, that made them the hard workers their neighbors knew them as, and so on. Most of their friends and family are gone and once my siblings and my mom and aunt are gone, all of those memories will be gone, too. Wouldn’t it be cool if their headstone had a little drawer where we could store photos and stories and mementos so that when people came by the cemetery, they could read about these people I loved so much. I spent the month of October thinking about this kind of loss that happens when nobody remembers us anymore. I can’t even count how many times I have said to my husband, “I wish you could have met grandpa; he would have loved you.”

Using plaster of paris, I created a grave where the figure is partly above ground to signify that he’s gone, and part of the earth and the universe, but still very much a part of the living world as well. The little dresser is the headstone, with flowers and lights and glitter inside the glass to pay tribute and celebrate the life that once was. The tiny drawers hold symbols of the life the person in the grave has left behind.

And yes, he’s holding an umbrella. Just in case it rains.

Today Tim and I went to the Fort Collins’ Senior Center dedication of the Blog Pony, an installation by local artist JJ Edwards.

There are a number of large art horses around the state which were created a few years ago by an assortment of local artists. One of these horses was donated to the Senior Center and JJ won the bid when the center was trying to decide how to best use the horse. Her proposal was to create a snapshot of Fort Collins by letting community members participate and her plan was to create a sort of patchwork quilt design representing the city.

The artists at my co-op, Poudre Studio Artists, were invited to participate a while back and four of us did — Kat Peters-Midland, Bernadette Youngquist, Carol Simmons and myself. We each created an 8″x8″ square that was to be printed and incorporated into the design of the horse. Our squares have a photo of us at work, along with a representation of our art. At the dedication this morning, Kat and I each received a certificate of participation as well as a marble paperweight thing with the pony on it — I thought that was a nice touch. It’s the first time I’ve been involved in one of the public art pieces around town and it makes me happy to have left my mark somewhere in this city that I love so much.

Last night, mom and I were talking and I mentioned Heather’s positive attitude. She said, “You used to be just like that.” I said I remember that and I was trying to pinpoint when it went away. I narrowed it down to 10 years ago, when I was getting a divorce and moved home to NJ just before 9/11 happened. *sigh* I know that I will never be that pre-2001 Tracey, but maybe she and post-2001 Tracey can meet up somewhere in the middle soon.

In the meantime, I spent today in quiet reflection about 9/11, doing things around the house that, while tedious and/or distasteful (husband’s bathroom, anyone?), I am grateful that I can do them. And that I have a home in which to do them. With a husband who loves and supports me completely in whatever I choose to do.

I even baked chocolate chip cookies today. Why? Because I can.

Now, stop reading and go do something. Because you can.

There is Nothing Left For Me Here

As you know, I am a Sharpie fiend. FIEND, I tell you! I’ve been searching for over a month for the new Sharpie Stained fabric pens and finally found some today at Office Max. What made today a banner day, though, was finding out that they were having a buy 2, get 1 free sale. I picked out a set of Sharpie 80s Glam Ultra Fine pens, since I don’t have those colors yet. Then I was torn for the last set of pens…should I replace my dying black big thick gargantuan markers, or try something new? “New” won out and I picked up 2-pack of fine black retractable Sharpie pens. JOY! Tonight will be a feast for my journal, during sofa time, with me and my new pens.

It’s the little things, folks.

In other news, tomorrow night, 9/2, is Fort Collins Gallery Walk. If you are in the area, please stop by Poudre Studio Artists and Galleries! You can find me in studio 211, working on some project or another or flitting about, visiting with our guests. We have an exhibit in our gallery this month called Recycle It!, featuring artwork made with 75% recycled materials. I have three collages in the show, one of which is shown here (click for a larger view).

If you like garage sales, our studio artists are having an indoor “sidewalk” sale during gallery walk, too. I’ve got 50% off all arty supplies and even some discounts going deeper than that! I’ve also previewed some of the other artists’ sales and boy, you don’t want to miss it! I’m just sayin’! Boyer’s Coffee has been kind enough to sponsor the evening by coming out and serving free coffee to our visitors, so I think you’ll find at least one of your vices covered when you stop by.

So, it’s September, everybody. What neat projects do you have planned for when the weather eventually cools down? Need some inspiration? Check out my new friend Heather’s blog. She’s such a clever gal. I think you’ll like what she has to share with you!

Don’t forget about my upcoming Composition Book Journaling and Reclaimed Envelope Book classes, on October 1 and September 17, respectively. Email me to sign up – it’s guaranteed to be a great time for all! If you register by September 7, you can take $10 off the class fee.

On Saturday, September 17, we’ll do Return to Sender – A Reclaimed Envelope Book

On Saturday, October 1, it’s Composition Book Journaling – This is Your Life

Each class is scheduled 10 am – 4 pm with a half hour break for lunch (bring your own!). Classes are $100 and include all supplies. I will, of course, have you bring your own scissors, favorite glue and a few other staples, but everything else you need for the classes will be supplied. Visit each class page to see the details. Each student also gets a goody bag of supplies and ephemera to take home (if you don’t use it all up in class, that is!).

To make the deal even sweeter, if you register before September 7, take $10 off the class fee. Seriously!

I need 3 people to make each class go; classes max out at 8 students. If we get too many registrants, we’ll schedule a second session. To register, email me at tracey@sunshinefactory.net.

I am SO excited to share these classes with you! Here’s the big thing to remember: You do not need to be an artist to take these classes. Each of us has lots of creativity built right into us. It’s the stuff that helps you figure out what to make for dinner tonight and how to coordinate carpools and get creative with $10 at the grocery store. You have it in you. Let me help you bring it out to make something gorgeous and tangible.

This morning I penciled in a painting I’m going to do on my studio wall. Yes, ON my studio wall. They are Tracey Flowers. This photo is a quick cell phone camera shot of the image I was projecting so I could trace over it (thanks Yann, for letting me borrow your projector!). I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. And there will be glitter.

Now I’m off to our board meeting (yawn, but necessary!)

When you get a moment, though, please go read my post over at the eeep! productions blog. There’s a short post about the great speaker/author  Todd Henry and I think you may develop a crush on him, too.

balance? what's that?

I know that artists, self-help folks, coaches, therapists, spiritual counselors and others have spoken ad nauseum about finding balance. About not being off kilter. About putting the oxygen mask on yourself before putting one on the person you’re traveling with.

Now I’m just trying to figure out how to balance the balancing with all of the other stuff I gotta do!

Each night, I go to bed and fully convince myself that I have the wherewithal to eat healthy, lose weight, make a living, make art and support my fellow PSA artists, along with keeping a nice home and sharing a healthy and loving life with my husband and furry children. Once I do all of that, being a better friend, sister, daughter, aunt, daughter-in-law should be a snap!

I mean, how hard could it be to keep a schedule like this: pop out of bed (7 am), do some stretching (7:05 am), write morning pages (7:30 am), eat breakfast (8 am), take care of the animals (8:15 am), do the elliptical (8:30 am) and then shower (8:45 am) and dress (oops…I’ve run out of time!) and start working at 9? If nothing goes wrong, it’s doable (I could eat while I write, right?). How do I make sure it all gets done, though? What do other folks do? Do I need to schedule everything on my calendar? Make a list? Put signs all over the house that say “exercise at 8 am!” and “paint backgrounds on some journal pages at 2 pm!”?

What it’s beginning to come down to, for me, is Pick Something … Anything … And Do It. Sure, I’ll keep organized with task lists and make sure to keep my  deadlines loose, but rather than forcing myself to write a blog post at 9:30 am or update a client’s site at 1:15, I need to FEEL what to do next. I’m hoping this approach will help me with the blocks I keep having.

I’ve begun asking myself some questions: Do I feel like doing busy work or doing thinking work? Do I feel like being active and accomplished or is it time to sit back in a new atmosphere and read and dream up some new ideas? Does this task I’ve chosen get me closer to or further away from my goal?  In a few weeks, I’ll let you know how this is going.

photo by dieraecherin, courtesty of morguefile.com (click to see more)

Today is Day 2 of ongoing rain/hail/snow precipitation in Colorado. I love it. Don’t get me wrong — I do love the 300+ sunny days we get here, but when we have a full day of cool, gray, wet weather, I get super happy. I love the gray light. I love being cozy and comfy in the house, or in my studio. I feel creative and a little less stressed. Today I played hooky from the studio and came home to do some work and I realized that I feel a bit optimistic, even, which is unusual for me. I think I may have spring fever.

This is something I don’t normally experience, but I’m kinda likin’ it! The world is my oyster, there is all kinds of potential ahead of me, etc. I am making some serious changes in my life that will allow me to actually pursue the stuff I love and take care of my family and myself at the same time. We’ll see how it goes and when I have something to report, I will share here.

Oh! I guess I should share some of those minty fresh springtime thoughts, huh?

• I am not a gardener, but I really want to plant some stuff in our backyard to sort of block out the neighbors and add some whimsy. Trees, flowering shrubs, painting the fence and creating some found-object sculptures are all on the horizon!
  

  The inspiration for my yard beautification project is this section of the city of fort collins xeriscape demonstration garden in front of city hall. Sculpture by Don Mitchell.

• Spring cleaning! Not so much the housecleaning part, but the straightening, purging, reorganizing parts.
• Potentially, some of the rooms in the house will get a fresh coat of paint. At least on one wall in the big rooms.
• I will be moving studios at the arts center soon and I have a little bit of a mural I’d like to attempt on one of the walls — some of my sketchy flowers, lifesize, with a touch of glitter. Hopefully they will banish any leftover wacky mojo and make the room brighter and truly mine. Super excited about that!

In the meantime, I wanted to show some detail on my piece “The Wall I Must Scale” since the little picture in my last post didn’t show much. Here’s the bottom part of the wall hanging. I never thought white on white would be so challenging! It’s hard to get a good shot of the whole piece and, it appears to go a bit unnoticed in our gallery, hanging along with all of the colorful works in this year’s Artists in Dreamland. But the more I look at it, the more I like it and I’m glad I tried something new.

"The Wall I Must Scale" by Tracey Kazimir-Cree; acrylic on canvas; 12" x 48"; $500