Black and White and an Easter Bonnet.

I made this blouse this weekend and I am rather proud of it. Love the print. McCall's pattern 5630. I had to add an inch to the sleeves to accommodate my "bingo wings" (sigh). I took it in at the shoulder and let it out at the waist as I become more "Pear-like" as time goes by (laziness and bad habits--I have a corn chip addiction.)

Once more with a chapeau and saddle shoes.

Go check out fashion ideas at visible monday: http://notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.ca/2013/03/visible-monday-91-bank-of-world.html#disqus_thread

Whining

Unsettled, grumpy, depressed, aimless, lost......don't know why but that's pretty much how I feel today. I feel compelled to downsize. I have so much STUFF! We have taken 5 truck loads to the dump! And there is still stuff. Do I really need a dozen lanterns? And yet,  when I go on a purge, the very next project begs for whatever I just threw out!

I can't settle, I can't paint. I want chocolate.....

Maybe I just need to spend some time in the sun and the air.

I lied!

 Lifeguards   16x20 acrylic

I went back in and toned down the background. That had the effect of making the figures pop out more dramatically.

Life Guards

Life Guards   16x20 acrylic

This is pretty much done. I am just keeping it around looking at it to see what i need to do to make it finished. I'm guessing PC stands for Prince Charles?

Losing Choice

North Dakota legislators just passed a personhood bill. This is very dangerous concerning your reproductive right's choices.
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/26/jack-dalrymple-north-dakota_n_2956934.html

 I believe every woman has a right to make that choice for herself.  You can help make a difference. Email, tweet, blog, facebook. Contact your legislators and let them know where you stand.

Support an organization:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

http://www.naral.org/

http://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen

Don't lose your choices!

Playing Around

We held a life drawing session at our art group the other night. I love the practice and really like the freedom of line in quick sketches. I decided to make a painting out of this one. I printed off the sketch on paper to fit a 12x 16 canvas ( I had to divide the sketch in two and print both halves). Then, I made a quick carbon onto my canvas. I was hoping to keep that free line but I don't think I achieved it.

 I used lots of collagey bits. The pose is quite twisted...it looks odd but she was sitting like this. Oh to be young and flexible!

Fred the Fierce

 Fred the Fierce   16x20 acrylic

I liked this hockey players intense look. Let's play hockey!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Ok, this is an older photo. It definitely isn't green outside yet. I am planning and sewing but I am not about to go into a blizzard to take photos.
 
So just go check out Visible Monday for fashion ideas:  http://notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.ca/2013/03/visible-monday-89-suitably-dressed.html

This week's abstract

I never had a Barbie....

I don't know why my Mom had a thing against Barbie but I never had a Barbie doll growing up. She bought me a different larger fashion doll then commissioned a local woman to sew a wonderful wardrobe for her. I played with that doll for years.

I have a pinterest board "I never had a Barbie but I would want one like this". It is an extremely popular board! This sorta mystifies me but I have been infiltrating it with feminist links. I figure that if they are scrolling through Barbie outfits, maybe they will check out one of the political links.

I find the Republican war on women truly horrible. I hope American women wake up to the fact that their birth control privileges are being SHUT DOWN!! How can you have a life if you can't have any control over when or if you want to have children?

Most recent creepy laws:  http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/13/1714551/frc-premarital-sex-punish/?mobile=nc

But that is my opinion. If you just like Barbie, well...enjoy!

Starting a swimsuit painting

So I have my 16x20 canvas graphed off and I am working from an old photo. A proud pair of lifeguards...soon to be colorful!

Quotation rotation sequence

QRS   8x10 acrylic, acrylic skins, stencils, stamps

I quite like the colors in this abstract. I am going tor try to use them in a figurative painting. QRS stands for quotation rotation sequence, a bit of nonsense that I just like the sound of. I am constantly collecting art quotes. Here's one for the day

High rise and an abstract

I have a very high rise. I am tired of my tights sliding down towards my hips. So I cut the top off and added a 2 inch knit band. Now they stay up near my waist line. An inelegant solution but a comfortable one. No one is going to see the amendment but me. I wish I could do this with my other pants!!

And an abstract.

"efg"   16x16 acrylic, stencils, acrylic skins, molding paste.

Check other fashion ideas at:  http://notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.ca/2013/03/visible-monday-88-arrangement-in-gray.html#disqus_thread

4a

4a    8x10    stencils, acrylic skin,

Exploring abstracts. I don't know why even a little lettering suggests a narrative to me.

Farewell, Stompin' Tom

Stompin' Tom Connors was always a defining voice for blue collar Canada for me. A great, salt of the Earth singer. Learn more about him here:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/03/06/stompin-tom-obit.html

And this is my favorite Canadian hockey song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8zeB7b1uFY

his final letter to his fans

Hello friends,
I want all my fans, past, present, or future, to know that without you, there would have not been any Stompin' Tom.
It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with its beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world.
I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future.
I humbly thank you all, one last time, for allowing me in your homes, I hope I continue to bring a little bit of cheer into your lives from the work I have done.
Sincerely,
Your Friend always,
Stompin' Tom Connors

Small feminist rant

There is a large celebration organized for March 1-3  in Washington DC. Please let me know if you see ANYTHING  on the news about it. Mass media seems to be pointedly ignoring what is happening with the feminist movement.

If you think feminism is no longer an issue, you might want to check out :  http://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen. There are a lot of things happening that will affect you, your mothers,fathers, husbands/partners,  sons and daughters.

There is a really good PBS film circulating called "The Makers, Women who made America"  http://www.pbs.org/makers/home/ Take a break from Downton Abbey and check it out.

"feminist: a person who advocates equal rights for women". I like this because it puts the lie to all the insanity of the people who would have you think feminists hate men or have some other motive beyond simply equality of rights.

Not sure if the title implies that I am a small feminist or that I am making a small rant. I will let you decide. I try not to politicize too much but International Women's day is March 8th. I am grateful for all the women who fought to make it possible for me and my daughters to have choices in our lives.