The Sideshow

Cathy Johnson, Graphics/Fine Arts, Excelsior Springs, Missouri

2009-10-28T08:41:00.000-06:00

Cathy Johnson, Graphics/Fine Arts, Excelsior Springs, Missouri

If you are involved in art, or just doodle while on the phone, give Ms Kate's (what friends call her) website and classes a peek. Really. Even if you don't consider yourself an artist or sketcher, but love nature or the Urban-ness of your city. Very inspiring stuff!

She posts photos and scans of her work, along with slideshow demonstrations, prodigiously on Flickr and in several Yahoogroups; her own class Alumni group and other art groups such as Everyday Matters and Botanical Art and Naturalist Illustration.

Her newest online class, Keeping an Artist's Journal, will begin November 16, 2009. Take it with me?

Conga Players - Mill Creek Park

2009-09-20T09:39:00.001-06:00

Conga Players - Mill Creek Park
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Yesterday was the 24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl! We were a little busy, being the day before my son's 7th Birthday party, but we managed a little time enjoying our city! After dropping R and her friend and mom off at the Plaza theater, we drove around a bit and settled on playing at Mill Creek Park. This 6 block-long park along Broadway/Nichols Parkway on the Eastern border of the Country Club Plaza and is home to the JC Nichols Fountain, a most recognizeable landmark. About half-way up the green, we found a pair of conga-players enjoying their rhythms and the mild air. As an amateur hand-drummer, myself, I could appreciate their complexity, stamina and joy in playing. My son enjoyed them, also, playing nearby and dancing for a while. The painted one was done in Photoshop with my new pen tablet, trying out different paintbrushes and blending modes. The text was "painted" on the page, also, using a calligraphy brush. Wonderful evening!

Cheers to all other sketchers!

Old Westport

2009-09-15T18:19:00.001-06:00

Old Westport
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

This morning, after putting the kidlets on their bus, I went to the new drive-up coffee shop (there's in/outdoor seating, too) to wait for Blockbuster to open. Coffee and a rich blueberry muffin and some sketching and I was happy! And the pampas grass isn't too awful!

OH BOY!!!!

2009-09-11T15:28:00.001-06:00

OH BOY!!!!
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Cowboy, you'd better have that girth and hat on tight, 'cuz this ride's gonna be ... OMG!!!

HEEEEE HAAAAWWWW!!!!!

A Day Up North

2009-09-08T07:28:00.001-06:00

Usually, in our neck of the country, Labor Day is a bit warm and sultry. What a perfect day it was, 80ish, comfortable, slight breezes, foggy morning to start…perfect! (Did I mention, perfect?)

The kids & I rode up to Smithville with Grandpa to use the car, but Ron wasn’t ready for us to fetch him, yet. So, we headed up to the lake for some sketching and play!

We went to the Jerry Litton Visitor’s Center and I settled in at a picnic table to sketch while the kids played with the frisbee and ball they had gotten inside and looked for bugs & interesting things on the ground. We found lots of “fairy handkerchiefs” and my aging camera caught the occupant of one. Rianna also managed to find a grasshopper that sat still for her and a toad that they both got to hold!

If you can’t see this master of disguise, click the photo to go to Flickr and I’ll give you a hint!

Some other critters we found…

Next, we headed back into Smithville and played at Rotary Park. I let the kids climb on the caboose…then saw the words painted on the caboose. “Do not climb or play on caboose.” Oops! So we went to the playground. Playing, being hard work, pleas for food soon followed.

Next stop, town square. Fritos and bananas and playing on the stage were good. Fortunately, it was too early for any of the antique shops to be open!

By then, Ron was ready to be rescued from his laptop, so we fetched him and headed over to Weston.

Weston Bend State Park, scene of many adventures in our family, including the dramatic 3 hour wait for my sister to come up from the city to fetch us when the Weltemobile-at-the-time broke near the beaver pond, set in lush Platte County, was our destination. For some reason, the playground there has particular appeal to the kids…don’t know why, it’s a typical modern playground. So, we did that for a while. Geordan brought me a Cottonwood leaf to draw. Cranky kids forced a scene change, so we went to explore the tobacco barn.

Tobacco is still grown in northern Missouri and sold in Weston every year. Not for the cigarette companies, though, I think for pipe tobacco. There were a few plants growing next to the barn and the door is open to see the framework inside for hanging the stakes the plants are dried (cured) on. Someone was busily eating the 4-foot plants and I managed to photograph some eggs under a leaf.

After a tour ‘round the campground to pick a likely spot for a future trip, we headed back to town.

EDM #168 - My News

2009-09-04T08:57:00.001-06:00

EDM #168 - My News
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I broke down and bought a Watercolor Moleskine - pocket-sized. I was frustrated that I don't have room to tear down full sheets of watercolor paper to make a new sketchbook and missed drawing! So...

Here's where I get my news, KCUR, the local NPR affiliate. I can't stand to watch local news on TV and newsprint makes my hands feel awful. It's not complete local coverage, but it's pretty good! Love Walt Bodine!

Birmingham Child Care Examiner: Share this poem with preschool parents: nothing in my bag today

2009-01-19T13:37:00.004-06:00

Birmingham Child Care Examiner: Share this poem with preschool parents: nothing in my bag today

Posted using ShareThis

I have an account on a site called morgueFile that I share my photographs on. A morgue file is a place where publications keep photographs and other related resources they used or may yet use in articles or for publication. The site is a photo-reference bank for artists, authors, journalists and others looking for just the right image without breaking the bank to pay for it. I have about 1,200 photos listed and catalogued there and, someday, I will add the references I've gotten there to my portfolio. It's neat to see my work used to illustrate articles on childcare, charity, women's shelters, books for increasing happiness in your life. I feel useful and like I have contributed to Society with my photographs. This columnist emailed me her article link this morning!

A Bottle of Ink

2009-01-09T10:17:00.001-06:00

My favorite inks are Noodler's Bulletproof Black and Lexington Grey...it's a love-hate relationship, though. I bought myself some Lamy Safari fountain pens last year for my birthday (?) and the inks were highly regarded by other sketchers and Moleskine enthusiasts. They are waterproof on cellulose materials and wash off of others, making them good for mailing addresses, checks, important signatures and pen and ink sketches...if you're patient. Those who know me know that "patience" isn't my strong suit. If the conditions are humid, it takes a while to dry enough not to smear or run when painted over. I love to write and draw with it and the pens, so, I wait.

At the top of the label in this tiny sketch, you can see where the ink smeared when I tried to wash a tiny bit of blue over it. It had been drying for an hour.

Last night, I got out my bundle of Sakura Pigma Micron pens, my first favorite pens before I got the Lamys. I'll carry them around for a back-up when I'm out and don't want to wait for the ink to dry. In the meantime, I'm going to check out my sketchbook papers, maybe the sizing is interfering with the ink absorption? Maybe some of the paper isn't cellulose? I used two new types in this sketchbook, made for Utrecht by Canson, I think. In the process of testing my pens (there were some older ones in the bunch), my kids decided they liked them, too, my daughter wants her own, to buy with her Christmas money. We'll make a pilgrimage to Utrecht this weekend...and maybe stop off at Creative for a tube of Daniel Smith watercolor along the way!

EDM #7 - Draw a Container From Your Kitchen

2009-01-05T09:13:00.002-06:00

Glass jars are fun to find in different shapes, sizes and colors. I have picked up interesting ones since I started getting allowances. I don't say I collect them, I don't buy them for any particular reason other than they're pretty or I have something that needs a jar...but I do have a few. These (I have four) are just small, 8 oz or so, clear jars with plastic gasketed lids for bulk spices & herbs, this one has parsley, another has thyme. There's a World Market store up the street that carries them for about $1 each.

Art and Trains

2009-01-02T16:23:00.000-06:00

We finally got to see Art in the Age of Steam at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art! Wonderfully represented works in different periods of art and stages of steam travel development! When my money order finally gets to Flickr, I'll organize my albums a bit and you can see some of the wonders of modern rail equipment that I've captured over the years. In the meantime, enjoy my rendition in miniature (about 1 1/2 x 1 inch) of Monet's Gare d'Argenteuil in pencil and ink.

Claude Monet, French, 1840-1926
Gare d'Argenteuil, 1872

Oil on canvas
Unframed: 18 3/4 x 28 inches (47.63 x 71.12 cm) Framed: 34 3/4 x 36 1/2 x 3 3/8 inches (88.27 x 92.71 x 8.59 cm)

Musée de Luzarches, Conseil Général du Val d'Oise, Cergy-Pontoise, 106.2008

Argenteuil was about eight miles northwest of Paris. By train it was only a short journey from the city center. Monet lived at Argenteuil from 1871 to 1878, and this is the first of several views he made of the station. He painted it not long after dawn, probably in one sitting, and applied the paint in broad and vigorous brushstrokes.

<a href="http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/Exhibitions/AgeSteam/CollectionDatabase.cfm?id=55012&theme=Exhibition">www.nelson-atkins.org/art/Exhibitions/AgeSteam/Collection...</a>

New Year

2009-01-01T23:29:00.001-06:00

My first drawing of the year! Let's see if I can get back in the habit!

5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches, cp wc, 4 x 4 grid, pigma micron & noodler's in my hand-bound sketchbook.

I grew up around rodeos. My parents kept their horses at and my dad worked at Benjamin Stables in KC. As a kid, I went to the Kansas City Rodeo, state fairs & the American Royal. Usually during the event, there would be some cowboy or rodeo clown riding a trained Brahma bull (that's BRAY-mah), similar to riding zebras or other wild animals, completely a novelty. Brahman cattle, natives of the Indian sub-continent, are used to cross with beef cattle for leaner meat (correct me if this is wrong!) and for their ability to withstand drought conditions. This fellow (properly, a BRAH-mah) is a Schleich toy, about 3 inches tall at the hump, waiting for his new brown coat on top of my monitor.

Noodler's Lexington Grey in my Lamy Vista on cold-pressed wc paper, gridded.

Catch-Up!

2008-08-04T08:03:00.001-06:00

Whoops! I've been busy with the model horses and other stuff and not blogging, again!

I have remembered to draw something every once in a while!

Excelsior arrived this week from Kim Ford Hoffman in Tennessee. He's a Breyer Mini Whinny Stock horse who's been repainted as a Leopard Appaloosa with peacock spots (they have a slight halo around them). This little gelding is only 1 inch tall and packed with details!! I'm in love with him already! Look at that face! There are also loads of photos of him if you click on the journal page to go to my Flickr! This sketch of him was done in pencil first (I wanted him to look like him!) and then inked and painted, except that I got impatient with my ink and smeared it erasing the pencil lines on his croup...silly mom! He has a wee parade saddle Kim started and I'm to finish, so you may see bits of that here or on my other blog, Beneath The Mothertree.

Last week, we spent some of the cool weather playing outside. One day, after viewing the ArtsKC exhibit, art/work, Creativity from the Cube (which includes the works of several of my husband's coworkers and bosses) inside Union Station, we went out in front, the kids wanted to play on the large bronze plaques commemorating the restoration of the building. They are raised slightly on granite risers and at an angle that is fun to walk on and jump off of and not dangerously high. They played nicely enough for me to capture lots of the scene in front of me, the Bloch fountain on Pershing, the Liberty Memorial and it's parkway, the trees lining Main Street, an office building (an Advertising agency, I believe), and the old Channel 5 tower, now used by KCTV, the public television station.

The day before that, we played in Washington Park, across from Crown Center and Union Station. There is a statue of General Washington on his mount at Valley Forge, looking very regal and cold! The horse is massive and very muscular, as a warhorse should be, and could be either Old Nelson or Blueskin, the two the General rode in the war. Blueskin was the less favored of the two, however, as he wasn't as tolerant of cannonfire as Old Nelson. Breed?

Washington’s horses included Arabian, Andalusian, and Chincoteague ponies, but, since few formal breeds were established in colonial times, most were noted in records simply as “plow horse,” or “carriage horse.”

-http://www.mountvernon.org

A little less time to draw inside, two days before. because the kidlets decided they needed to do all the dangerous things they weren't supposed to do while I tried to draw the chandeliers in the main hall at Union Station. Some days are just like that!

EDM #069 - Draw a Beverage

2008-07-12T18:27:00.001-06:00

EDM #069 - Draw a Beverage
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I like coffee and tea. I tried Mom's cup when I was young and found just the right ratios of sugar, milk, creamer and honey to make each kind palatable and enjoyable. This week I wandered into a shop that sells Chinese teas. The owner let me have some samples and told me what kinds they were and where they were grown. The next day I went back and bought some. This is White Peony King whole leaf tea--without sugar, cream, milk or honey! The cup's a bone china with a wheat stalk design on the other side (not sure why the cup was turned backwards, I'm right-handed mostly) and very shiny. We found a set of four at our old recycling center. They had a table for "treasures" that we donated to and found new additions at. Better than a garage sale!

Watercolor and Noodler's ink.

Getting Ready & Getting Old

2008-07-02T09:17:00.001-06:00

We leave for Ramsey, Minnesota in the morning. It's the third Welte Family Reunion since 2002 at Uncle Carroll's house. I bet Aunt Fran cringed at the thought of 100+ people & kids trampling her yard and carpets again...we're not that bad, really! Everyone pitches in to help with dishes and meals and cleans up after ourselves. Donations to cover expenses get taken and everyone loves her house! She has a huge yard and woods and a lovely house with a park and playground across the street. There's a links-style public golf course that Ron likes to have a round at during the weekend (I would, too, if I'd get off my butt and get to the driving range once in a while. The kids'd love driving and putting!). We won't get to go visit Midwest, the big Arabian horse farm across the way, they'll be at their family reunion, too, this weekend, but they were sorry they'd miss us! I have my fingers crossed that Sunday we can go to St Paul and be-bop around a bit. Wet Paint is open 12-5 and not too far from Como Park. We won't go to the zoo this time, but will go to the Lock and Dam on the Mississippi River near the old Ford Plant. Ron had gone there to work on the conveyer some years ago and I went up to visit and watched boats locking through there. The kids'll love that! Also, we'll try to get to Ft Snelling and the park along the river near there. We'll try to see what else is close. As much as I would love to, I know I won't be able to "schedule" a time to meet with Roz, if she should be available. Time has to be flexible around the kids and the DH (who's very unpredictable whims can throw off a whole weekend!).

So, the glasses. I'll be 43 this year. About 2 months ago, I noticed that I couldn't focus on things closer than 12-14 inches from my eyes. So, I had these glasses from when I had eyestrain issues at work and school. They get used a lot, but they are just a touch too weak for me now. When we get back from our trip, I'll get the eye exam done.

Drawing People - I Don't Stink

2008-06-30T12:08:00.001-06:00

As a reply to a thread on Everyday Matters, I said that I stink at drawing people, so I'd end up drawing things around my Aunt's house next weekend at the Reunion. Well, Ms Kate set me in my place about that! I went back through the sketches of my kids and did one of my Cub last night. I don't stink, I just need more practice!

19th Worldwide Sketchcrawl - Our Second!

2008-06-22T19:57:00.001-06:00

The kids and I set out yesterday at midday and pointed the car toward Ward Parkway. I got to the Plaza and turned to go through and the kids said they wanted to go to the Cancer Survivors Park on the Western edge of the shopping district. The kids played a bit, letting me draw the view from my bench of the sculpture and the new building across the street. We moved up the park to the front and it's new sculpture, a symbolic flame of hope. I'll get a photo of it to get the colors in it. It's really beautiful!

I didn't get to sketch this one as long, little attention spans grow shorter, so I'll add color another day. I did manage a quick 'nother sketch of the kidlets checkin' out the acoustical properties of the parking garage that abutted the park!

We wandered into the Unity Temple on the Plaza, a church in the Beaux Arts (or is it Arts & Crafts?) style that I had attended once upon a time with my mother. On around the corner, I took them into the McDonald's in the lower level of Seville Square and showed them the Bas Relief Mural of Seville Spain that my husband helped design while he worked for Art Works in Chillicothe. I have an original ink on illustration board scale model of the final piece that he drew that I plan to frame when we get into a bigger place.

Home for some rest and refreshment as the temperature climbed to about 85, then off to meet Daddy at Union Station for ice cream after work! Some wriggly squiggles later, we headed out to Washington Park to run some outside and watch trains. I worked on my perspective with the balustrade and park lamps. Home, exhausted and sleepy!!

Still Drawing!

2008-06-11T21:19:00.001-06:00

Really! I did this today while the kids were playing at the Loose Park Spray Park. The sun came out right after we were done with our other adventures and warmed the day up just enough for them to enjoy the water and me to enjoy drawing without sweating too much! There was a red tail circling, scribbled him in, too.

Over previous weeks, I did a few sketches here and there. The sketchbook's full and I need to make another, but have other things demanding my attention. I committed to spending less time on the computer and more time with kids' activities, so we're doing stuff together, more than we used to. Last week, we enlarged our model horse stable. I built box stalls out of foam board and the kids each have room for over 100 small models now. This week, Rianna and I are making leather halters for our larger models. She's seeing how they are constructed and learning to handle glues, wire, and a craft knife.

EDM #019 - Handmade Tack

2008-05-27T06:11:00.003-06:00

EDM #019 - Handmade Tack
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Poor Gisa! This is the worst drawing of a horse I've ever done!! I'm posting her anyway...to remind myself, it can only get better!! She's a wee thing, an inch at the withers, and the tiny Native Show halter I made is extra-tiny! The headstall is a four-strand braid and the throatlatch is three strands, braided into the four at the poll, of cotton embroidery floss. So is the lead rope.

My eyes are normal, middle-aged and not as good as they used to be for close work like this, so, yes, I used a magnifying lamp and reading glasses for the details. The braiding - I have an idea that people think I braid tiny, short lengths of floss. That would be daunting...even to me! No, I use about 14-18 inch lengths, folded in half, and braid about half of it. I tie a knot at the end of the braid, so I can lengthen it if I want, and can make lots of halters out of one four-strand braided piece. I didn't learn to do the four-strand flat braid this small...I started with crochet cotton, just a little meatier and I have gobs of it. I got good with that, nice and even, then went smaller. So, with learning a new braid and scaling it down and trials...this took about 6 months to make, off and on.

Native Arab Show Halter
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I'm still tweaking it, though. The tiny "jewels" are Balger blending filament French knots and one is pulling out already (I gave it to Rianna on Tuesday last week), so some Super Glue Gel is in order for those and the tassle knots. Halter number two will take about a day, using the pre-braided floss.

Slide

2008-05-04T22:00:00.001-06:00

Slide
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

This was all I got to draw yesterday, having sliced a thumb open fixing my daughter's bike (it's minor and the bike got fixed!) and witnessing her riding without training wheels for the first time!!! While my DH was helping her, my son needed my help with the monkey bars and they both made lots of progress in playground skills! She fell, of course, and skinned a knee and bruised her little self. We got home and iced and cleaned and stung and kissed and had celebratory cheesecake!
BTW, this is the only time I've ever changed the date on a post. I'm posting a drawing a day in May and wanted the drawing on the date I made it...such as it is!!

Enreina & Eight Belles

2008-05-03T22:25:00.001-06:00

Enreina & Eight Belles
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

One of our Stablemate foals. The horse racing world lost another filly today. Eight Belles broke down after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. She had broken both of her front ankles and was put down on the track. We are all deeply saddened by the recent deaths there and at the Rolex Three Day Event last weekend.

Friday at School

2008-05-02T19:36:00.001-06:00

Friday at School
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I'm jumping on the Everyday in May bandwagon, drawing something everyday this month. A bench and a Black Locust tree getting it's new leaves at my son's school in Noodler's Lexington Grey ink and Prismacolor & Graphitint watercolor pencils in my sketchbook.

Nelson Sketches

2008-05-01T13:12:00.003-06:00

Nelson Sketches
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Geordan's class went on a field trip to the Nelson today and had a workshop in Shapes. They went around the Modern art galleries and identified different shapes in artworks and went back to the classroom to make their own collages with shapes and colors. I tagged along and sketched while I waited and along the way. After they went back to school, I went back down the ramp to the Noguchi sculpture garden and worked on one of the sculptures a bit more.

Shapes Collage Demo
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

They listened very well!

Shapes Collage Cub
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I drew Geordan while he was working on his collage. They got to use some watercolors. When they were done with them, I used them, too.

Fremont's Leather Flower

2008-04-25T21:22:00.002-06:00

Fremont's Leather Flower
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Young Naturalist
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Rianna was home sick yesterday, but it was too nice to stay in. We went to the Anita Goreman Discovery Center (MoDNR) and did some field sketching. We took Cathy Johnson's Sketching in Nature and looked at some journal pages she did, the details she included and notes, and did our own. I painted mine at home.

Fremont's Leather Flower is a Missouri Native, preferring dolomite glades where it blooms in the spring. The leaves last through Fall, when they become filigree ornaments gracing the Autumnal splendor.

Rianna's sketchbook page from yesterday:

"I was out drawing with mom and saw this Flower. I think its fun to darw. It is very prity and a Bug was on a leaf. Ther was tow of them."

She really tried hard to draw what she saw and get some identifying features included, we had talked about doing that before we started. We also worked on not disturbing each other and using the available time (while Mom was still drawing!) to fill in more and more detail.

I did as much of the pencil detail as I could and we ran back inside the center, worried that the rain would catch us (boy, the clouds sure were threatening-looking!). In the bookstore, we found some infor about the flower. We also found Peterson First Guides: Butterflies and Moths and Don Kurz' Trees of Missouri Field Guide that really wanted to come home with us...so they did!

The Fountain of Lamy

2008-04-23T10:27:00.001-06:00

The Fountain of Lamy
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

The Lamy Safari has been one of the be-all-end-all writing tools of Moleskine fanatics next to the Pilot G2 pens. Loaded up with a bulletproof Noodler's ink in a converter, they are a pleasure to draw with on smooth papers. Once the ink is dry, it can be painted over with my watercolor pencils or paints without smearing. To date, I have 3 pens. The Vista, pictured here, loaded with Noodler's Lexington Grey with an Extra Fine nib, produces a fine enough line without being heavily dark, but still neutral enough to work with many other colors. My Charcoal Safari, also sporting an Extra Fine nib, is loaded with Noodler's Eternal Black, mostly used for writing, though some subjects beg to be drawn in stark black. The third Extra Fine Safari is Blue, filled with Lamy's blue ink. It's water soluable; a property I love to expoit and use. I'll use a water brush to wash a sky or set a background for more blue linework. I smell garage sale season, may have to look for hidden treasures this summer...

EDM #158 - A Kernel of Popped Popcorn

2008-04-11T16:54:00.001-06:00

EDM #158 - A Kernel of Popped Popcorn
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Popcorn is a tradition in our family (the Weltes). Dad would make some in the cast iron skillet almost every night and we would eat it out of round cake pans with salt (no butter at home). Sometimes we would lie on the floor with the pan on our bellies watching TV. We don't eat it that often now, but it's a favorite still and is featured at every Welte reunion. This is some Topsy's Old Fashioned popcorn from Crown Center. I like it ok, but it's missing that frying pan taste.

EDM #074 - Clouds

2008-04-10T18:28:00.001-06:00

EDM #074 - Clouds
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

It's thunderstorm and tornado season here. Towering, anvil-topped Cumulus clouds have been moving through all day, dropping rain, off and on. Tornados almost never make it this far into the city--but it's possible--so the kids and I talked about what we should do and where to go--in case.

Breakfast of Raptors

2008-04-07T11:09:00.001-06:00

Breakfast of Raptors
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

A local Peregrine enjoying breakfast on the utility pole in front of our building. He stoops down, pulls up, over and over. We see them, once in a while, riding thermals like California hangliders and diving after prey like F-16s. Good morning.

The Newbern

2008-04-06T13:11:00.001-06:00

The Newbern
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Built in 1921-1923 and designed by Ernest O Bronstrom. It's at 525 E Armour Boulevard at the North end of Hyde Park, one of the most affluent areas of Kansas City in the 1920s. The style is called "Sullivanesque" after Chicago Architect Louis Sullivan, mentor of Frank Lloyd Wright, and is characterized by the profuse ornamentation and visual division of the vertical towers into zones. Originally two separate towers sporting 6-foot terra cotta peacocks over the doorways, the "unfortunate birds" scared patrons and were removed, one taken by Bronstrom for his garden. The central, barrel-vaulted connection and new doorway (that I drew) was added in 1925. The apartment-hotel is listed on the Missouri and National Historic Building Registers. The entrance is grey limestone with terra cotta ornamentation, framed by two wrought-iron and stained-glass lamps.

More information is available on this site: www.newbernapartments.com/history.htm

Noodler's Lexington Grey ink and Graphitint watercolor pencils on Bristol Vellum in my sketchbook.

EDM #035 - Draw a Bicycle or Part of One

2008-04-03T05:31:00.001-06:00

EDM #035 - Draw a Bicycle or Part of One
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Geordan's home sick with a fever. Nothing hurts and his breathing's fine, he just feels puny and has a 102 temperature. We went to Wal-mart and got an air pump for the bikes. He's happily riding around and around.

Geordan's closer to leaving the training wheels behind, Rianna will take lots of coaxing, cajoling and tears to give them up! I think the key will be peer pressure-her best friend rode by on her bike a couple weeks ago-without training wheels!!

This year, Bicycle Moto-cross (BMX) will make it's debut as an Olympic medal event. The kids will love watching that! NPR interviewed the two girls on the team.

Noodler's and Lamy inks and Neocolor II soluable crayons on Fabriano Artistico hp.

Science City

2008-03-30T11:54:00.001-06:00

Science City
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

The stair goes up to an area with mounted birds-the most common in our area-and a microphone to listen to bird calls on. At the foot of the tree is a cave area with stalagtites and stalagmites, crystals and spelunking gear and a bat call area. It opens to the dig site at the Dino Lab where a real Paleontologist is working on the fossilized bones of a Camarasaurus he found in Montana (I'm pretty sure). You can watch him and another guy freeing the fossils from rock and see the field jackets they were transported and stored in (plaster and toilet paper coccoons for the fossils and surrounding rock so nothing gets lost or damaged). I was sitting up a hallway from the tree, by the playground where my kids were busy climbing the jungle gym and making soap bubbles. We have a Family Membership to Union Station, our second year, and will spend lots of time here on hot days! During the World-wide Sketchcrawl. At Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri.

Hagalaz

2008-03-26T10:23:00.002-06:00

Hagalaz
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

(Hail) is the whitest of grains,
it comes from high in heaven
showers of wind hurl it,then it turns to water.
-Old English Rune Poem

Chestnut Graphitint and Noodler's Eternal Black ink on Stonehenge paper, the rune was drawn with a C-1 Speedball pen point dipped in clear water.

Germanic/Norse Runes are something I've studied, off and on, for a number of years. It's a way for me to connect with my German heritage in a way that meshes with my spiritual practices. I had the idea to try to use the watercolor pencils in a way to illustrate the symbols, reminiscent of illuminated initials in Gothic texts. Still playing with them, this will be a bit of a journey and I'll do lots of exploring along the way. I noticed on NaBloPoMo that April's theme is letters, prompting my return to studying some of the more ancient European letterforms in a new way. This particular rune marks the beginning of my journey.

Lamy Goodness!

2008-03-15T16:55:00.001-06:00

3-15 Journal Page
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

This is the first "real" journal page in this book! I have a new pen and am really enjoying it. I'm trying to watch Elizabeth, the Golden Age before it expires (on pay-per-view) today. The Cub's playing on the floor in front of me with his Mini Whinnies and Star Wars and Transformers Pocket Models. I like being able to do this! I may keep using Lamy ink in this pen-maybe not blue, I'll see what's available. I plan to buy a second one, anyway, to keep another color in. One for grey waterproof Noodler's ink, the other for soluable Lamy ink. What color? Something to ruminate on for a few weeks! I'm also able to lift the ink with my waterbrush and a tissue, nice! More to spend my allowance on! We got the new MW Drafter set last night, too. They're carrying Breyers at Zoom again! It's been about 10 years, or so.

Masking Tools

2008-03-09T12:33:00.002-06:00

Masking Tools
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Not that anyone ever needs an excuse for more art tools, but I got these to satisfy my traveling-with-masking-stuff need. I also read and got started on the first exercise in Lesson 3, trying out different ways to draw/paint surf and waves.

Off for a hike along Indian Creek with the kids...there's a waterfall at Jasper's!

Stuck Still Life

2008-03-08T08:15:00.001-06:00

Stuck Still Life
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I'm sitting here with my morning coffee, as I did 2 days ago when I made this photograph, staring at the same page in Kate's book. It's the second page of Lesson 3 on water, sky & clouds. I'm thinking about why I'm not keeping my attention and energy in the lessons and off making the book. When I pick it up, I read "I wanted to maintain lacy foliage effects in the distant trees, as well as a lighter trunk here and there, so I used a bit of liquid mask to protect those areas, applied with an old bamboo pen." Then I stop. My brain says, "liquid mask, bamboo pen, how can I make those really portable? that's a necessary thing, i must solve this now." And off I go to the internet and look up all the art supply stores' sites for masking supplies and think about screw-top containers versus snap-top containers spilling in my backpack and how can I get the really fine lines I need to make with a bamboo pen versus a synthetic brush dipped in soapy water first to keep the mask from gumming up the brush and all the things I would have to take in my backpack to paint at the park and how I can make it so I can throw it in the pack quickly to keep up with the kids or run from rain.

And I don't get the lesson read.
And I don't paint.

Hopefully, this self-examination will clear up the matter enough, this morning, for me to actually get further than that sentence once I post this entry...we'll see!

Phalaenopsis Orchid

2008-03-06T15:00:00.001-06:00

Orchid WIP 6 - Done?
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Watercolor pencil on cold press paper. It's a little bigger than the last two were, it's 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. I was just supposed to do a simple flower or piece of fruit to get some feel for watercolor pencils...but couldn't pass this up. I took the photo at Powell Gardens last year during Cynthia Padilla's Botanical Still Life class. It was fun to try different techniques; lifting color from the pencils with a wet brush, dry points on wet paper and blending in layers. I like them! I'd like to pare my palette down to something portable, like most of us are in Kate Johnson's Watercolor Pencil Magic online class, and I want to get some of the F-C Albrect Durer pencils, too. They are very portable and it was neat to do the doorway and come home and wet it and detail it later last week.

This orchid's gotten some nice comments over on Flickr...come see!

Conway Hall Door

2008-03-02T12:19:00.001-06:00

Conway Hall Door
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

at Rockhurst College, a Jesuit school in Kansas City, MO. We were there for a Girl Scout function and I had a little time after helping with the sack lunches (I bagged turkey sandwiches, PB&Js & cleaned up), so I got out the Graphitint watercolor pencils and my trusty sketchbook! I did this so quickly! Some details I had to do from memory or make up... the reflection in the doors, the texture of the stones...the bush wasn't there, and I know I should have been able to see into the door a bit..and wet the whole thing at home tonight. Not an assignment for my class either, but we were working on rocks and trees in Lesson 2 last week.

Art--of a Different Sort

2007-12-18T19:10:00.001-06:00

Destiny's Road Headstudy
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

My current subjects, if you've followed my Flickr photos, are mostly of the four-hooved nature. And, if you've known me for any length of time, it's about time! I've loved these animals all my life and this summer I turned my hand to painting models of them. My first two completed Customs (as repainted models are called in the hobby) went off to a contest some time ago to benefit a model horse community site I "live" on. The models I painted didn't win first or second place, or even Honorable mention, but they did get nice comments from the judges! Mind you, these are Breyer Stablemate-sized models, about 3 inches high by 4 inches long average, made of plastic in many different breeds and poses, all very realistically done! This one started life as a white horse with black spots, an Appaloosa. My daughter picked it out and promptly found out how easily their ears can break if dropped onto a wood floor. After some minor re-sculpting, he got painted. All the mold seams get smoothed and re-sculpt parts that got lost, ears get hollowed out, so does the nose, then the whole thing gets a dose of Krylon Primer. The primer gives just enough tooth for Unison dry pastels to adhere in layers, brushed on, building up the muzzle, eyes, mane and tail shading, sealing each layer with Matte Finish spray. The flea-bites are done in Prismacolor pencils, different colors, in layers like the pastels, to build depth and hair patterns that were carefully researched and referenced. Mane and tail details were added in CP, also, giving individual hairs definition and depth from the carved grooves and adding shading and striping and growth ring details to the hooves. Last were the eyes. 1/16th of an inch across, I used a 15/0 brush to paint them in 6 colors of acrylics with a dry touch of interference blue for the retinal reflective bit of 'life" in them. After sealing the entire model in several coats of Matte finish, the eyes, nostrils and hooves are given 2 coats of Gloss coat. Click on the photo to go to Flickr, click on "all sizes" to see the excruciating detail I put into these!!

Would you believe I forgot to sign them? Yup! Like I'd never made art before!!

The models in the contest were taken to the "Walkin' in a Mini Wonderland" live model horse show in Tucson, AZ on Dec 15. Destiny took 1st place and earned a North America Nationals Qualifier card in his class! The models were all auctioned on Ebay last weekend and this Jumper fetched $31! The other one I painted, a shaded grey Andalusian, brought $25.50!

Drawing Grid - 5

2007-11-26T06:26:00.001-06:00

Drawing Grid - 5
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

You know, I really have funny things that trip my trigger. Like, when I'm drawing in my hedgie, I really like to use the .005 black Pigma Micron. It's point is micro tiny and scritches in the fibers of the watercolor paper of my book. If I draw fast, the line is faint and broken and if I draw slow, it's dark and clear, so, in a way, I can get some shading from it, if I put my mind to it and have the luxury of drawing for more than half a second at a time.

Writing is a different matter. I don't like scritchy when I write. I use a Uniball Vision Elite, I forget what size it is, really fine. And smooth paper. I have a writing journal I made for just writing in, but it's vanished in the Mess Monster of my house in the last couple months. Looking for it, if you see it, let me know, set it out where I can find it!!

Winter Fun!

2007-11-24T07:26:00.001-06:00

Crown Center Ice Terrace - Us!
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I love skating!! When I was a kid, Dad gave me some metal, strap-on rollerskates and "told" me how to skate on the front porch of our Smithville house. I'd take them to Mom's apartment and skate in the basement while she did laundry. Loud, noisy metal wheeled circles and figure 8s around the poles! Then, in school, there were the Girl Scout skating parties and the school skating parties. Skating with my friends in endless circles, doing spins in the middle...sometimes a boy to skate with in couples. Limbo, Hokey-Pokey, Snowball, Girls' Choice, all those games.... Glorious fun! Get home exhausted, fall asleep immediately!

Dad is an Olympics fan, the Winter Games especially. He and Mom had gone to Winter Park and learned to ski one year and he loved it. He bought us all skis and boots and took us out in the pasture and let us slide down little hills and side-step back up. Taught us to fall down and get back up in the living room. Then he would buy a case of video tapes and have my sister and I tape the Winter Games so he could watch when he got home from work (Twilight shift). His favorite are the Skiing events, of course, but mine are the skaters! Dorothy Hamill, Kristy Yamaguchi, Brian Orser, Brian Boitano, the pairs, Torville and Dean...I got ice skates for Christmas!! So, off we went to Iceland South, the Ice Chateau and Crown Center's Ice Terrace! I even got to take lessons one year! Little Waltz jumps and better stroking and turns from it.

I took Rianna and Geordan to the Ice Terrace Tuesday after school...look at the Bear Cub's face...we had fun!! We'll do this some more!

Nail Clipper - Wednesday Grid

2007-11-15T08:43:00.001-06:00

Nail Clipper - Wednesday Grid
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I'm letting the kidlets sleep in this morning, they're getting harder and harder to wake up this week and they get harder and harder to calm down at night. Sugar moratorium? They're not eating but a peice or two of candy a day, I'm pretty strict about that, they're wound enough as it is. I try to make sure they have activities to help calm them before bedtime, they were coloring and cutting paper up. Then they started jumping around like monkeys! There goes the Adrenalin! Tell them to stop so their bodies can get sleepy...not much good, sit 'em in chairs with books...not after they've started, they just fret! Bedtime's rough!

NaBloPoMo

2007-11-12T19:39:00.000-06:00

Back to blogging and drawing and reading Everyday Matters again! I seem to need to do that when I've been on hiatus. Today I started a grid, haven't done one before. This is one of Rianna's tiny kitties that needed her bow retied this morning.

Time to Get Back In The Saddle

2007-11-11T21:44:00.001-06:00

Lugh Headstudy
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Or back in the drawing daily habit!! This is a new model I bought myself for my birthday last week. Neck's too skinny, face's too short & eye's enormous! Wow, I'm rusty!! Wish me luck keeping on the wagon!!

Happy Little Tree

2007-05-21T07:32:00.001-06:00

Happy Little Tree
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

From our outing to Englewood Park, Gladstone, Missouri (or is it Kansas City still?) yesterday. There's also a little pond with lots of fishermen, women & children pulling out little sunfish and bluegills, families of Canada geese, a jungle gym and sand pit along with softball/baseball fields and only one port-a-john! There used to be a real bathroom, but it was 40-50 years old and torn down last year. Needs to be replaced!!

Anyway, I got out my little Van Gogh box with some of my new Daniel Smith watercolors stuck to the palette and splashed around in them with a waterbrush while the kids played. I warmed up by drawing henna doodles and a hopscotch grid on the sidewalks with chalk. We keep a bucket of it in the trunk for just such emergencies! It was such a lovely mild day Sunday.

Wonder what the rest of the summer will be like? We do have our family membership to Union Station to escape the heat. Science City, the Rail Experience and Extreme Screen movies will be a good thing! Hey, they put a snack vending machine in on the lower level by the snack bar! Cheap snacks!!!

I have been making art lately, just not posting a whole lot of it...color wheels and such, trying to learn some color theory stuff and understand a little more about color choices...

Oh, and I picked up my remaining painting from Powell Gardens last week. It wasn't the Oncidium that sold, it was the Brassia! I'm secretly (ok, not so secretly) glad, the Oncidium is my favorite! It can hang on the wall for a while!

I don't know if they've sent out anyone's art from the show, but you can call them and check...

May 3 - Horse

2007-05-03T21:15:00.001-06:00

May 3 - Horse
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Well, I missed a day! But here's today's! It's a little model horse, 3 inches at the withers, a palomino Warmblood. I just won another one on ebay that has a scratch on it that I will paint as a Lipizzaner. The model horse hobby has all kinds of stuff that I like doing so we'll give it a go for a while.

Dandelion - May 1

2007-05-02T07:04:00.001-06:00

Dandelion - May 1
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

My first drawing for the "Drawing a Day in May" Challenge on Everyday Matters. A dandelion at Rianna's bus stop. Pigma Micron in my hedgie.

I haven't been "drawing" for a little while, just playing with new media in some new papers and this challenge is a good thing to get me back in the habit!

My Still Life

2007-04-20T07:47:00.001-06:00

My Still Life
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

In Cynthia Padilla's Botanical Art: Still Life class at Powell Gardens. The thought of doing such a large (to me) drawing in colored pencil is very daunting. I am such a detail-focused person in my art. We were working on 11 by 14 inch Bristol, vellum finish. Nice stuff for cp! I just did what I did and it's going to be nice and big! Not so bad! We were especially enjoined to make things actual size and to pay attention to the negative space around objects. It was hard not let perspective take over completely, the far orange wanted to be small. And a photograph does make things look different...just a little. Our "film plane" is curved, cameras' aren't.

I got to meet Jill and Cynthia and Rex came by for the artists reception after the class. Such nice people! Jill graciously shared her still life objects with me, I hadn't gotten the materials list! Luckily, I did bring the necessary art materials! Many people brought woodland objects and flowers and all were generous with them. Cynthia demonstrated all the art materials and had extras we were encouraged to try out and buy if we liked them. All skill levels were represented, some had no previous art experience and others had more, and all made lovely still lifes to draw from.

Most of all, I enjoyed getting to make art for a very long period of time, uninterrupted! What a luxury!

I did take a few photos, but out of respect for the privacy of the others, I won't share all of them publicly. If you were there, contact me and I'll email you yours!

Great class, great people, great fun!

Orchids and Hydrangeas Exhibit

2007-03-28T06:40:00.000-06:00

In conjunction with Powell Gardens conservatory exhibit of live orchids and hydrangeas, special guest curator and botanical artist Cynthia Padilla presents a representative online viewing of art and the artists inspired by orchids and hydrangeas!

Where: Powell Gardens, Kansas City, Missouri
http://www.powellgardens.org/
Date: March 1 - April 30, 2007.
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Getting There: 30 miles east of Kansas City on Highway 50.1609 N.W. U.S. Highway 50 Kingsville, MO 64061
Telephone: 816-697-2600
Garden Hours: 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Garden Admission: $8/adults $7/senior citizens $3/children ages 5-12 Free/children under 5 and Friends of Powell Gardens.

Reception w/Artists: Join curator Padilla and a selection of the exhibiting artists in an art reception open to the public. Padilla will also have there a collection of related themed rare and beautiful antique botanical prints for view and sale. Powell Gardens is home to some of the region’s most unique contemporary architecture. These facilities, set among the serenity of the ever-changing gardens, provides an ideal locale for this themed exhibition... "Orchids & Hydrangeas."

Orchids and Hydrangeas Exhibit Blog with representative pieces by each of the artists in the exhibit.

Daffodil

2007-03-26T10:59:00.001-06:00

Daffodil
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Spring brought warm temperatures this weekend. It also brought some wind that pulled apart a window crank. We had to leave the front window closed so it wouldn't break. The front windows face south and, with the warm days and sunshine this weekend, it gets quite warm in the house. We kept the back windows open all night last night and I got to listen to the robins singing this morning when I woke up. Rianna rode the bus this morning, also, so I got to take a bit of a walk. I remembered to bring my sketchbook and pens with me and drew a few things. Nice day.

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up - by Malinda Welte

2007-03-20T06:05:00.001-06:00

brassiawip8
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Ok, I'm going to acknowledge, first, that I really don't want to grow up.

There. Now that that's out of the way, I do love being an Artist! With a capital "A." The photography I love, the painting I'm improving at, drawing I've rediscovered. Seeing. It's all about that. Watching my children play, seeing the forms of their hands, their expressions, the negative spaces between them, their toys. Things around me, flowers, buildings, my city (My City!). When my son goes to Kindergarten full time in a year and a half, I have to give up my time with him during the days. A Mother gets through that, he's growing so much now! But, also, I'll be expected to go find a "job." I'm sad about that. I have to find a way to convince the "Powers That Be" to convince my spouse that it's a good idea to let me stay the "Artist." I have some habits to modify, some ideas to implement...wish me luck!

Palomino Painting During Spring Break

2007-03-19T16:36:00.001-06:00

Palomino Painting
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Gotta keep active kids active or they get crazy! So, we got Breyer's activity kit with two unpainted horses, a book on horse colors and a set of paints. They had a grand time slopping on yellow ochre mixed with white and a touch of raw sienna for that perfect Palomino gold! We're finishing up them tonight, I hope. We'll even out the main body color on them and we'll do the shadows and highlights and clean up the manes and tails (Geordan got especially crazy with his!). We also got out a lot last week, the weather was really nice!

Bikes at the Park

2007-03-15T09:33:00.001-06:00

Bikes at the Park
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Kids have me working on some projects now that the paintings are delivered and there is a choreography to learn for the student recital at my bellydance school. We have spring break right now, so it's kid time! Rianna and I bought a Breyer kit to paint two horse models, she wants hers to be a palomino and I'm partial to yellow horses, too! I might try some antiquing in the mane and tail (the paints are acrylic and I used to paint ceramics so this is pretty familiar territory).

It was a grand warm day yesterday here and my DH took the day off to go to the park with us! We got the little bike out and both kidlets took turns riding it. Geordan's way too big for his trikey, so I've had him riding in the basement on sister's bike and he was ready to solo! It was really funny seeing sister's Barbie helmet perched on his too-big head! He didn't care! While he and DH were running to the local gas station, I got a chance to sketch my girl riding back and forth by me

Raquy's New Drumhead

2007-02-17T08:58:00.001-06:00

Raquy's New Drumhead
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I got the art done on the new drumhead painting for Raquy Danziger's birthday present. She had her birthday just before the St Louis workshop. I had brought my Raquy Signature drum with me and had painted the head of mine. She really liked it, so, I had her husband send me a spare drum head when they got back home so I could paint one for her. This is different from mine. I found some different pigment materials that make it a little more like mother-of-pearl and a little more sparkly and used an opaque black paint. I do need to find a different carrier for the pigments, the one I've been using peels off and when I took my drum head off, the mylar contracted, the paint didn't. I'll head to a hobby shop I know that sells paint for Lexan R/C models, it's much more suitable for this. I'll see if there's a clear version that I can add my pigments to. I have some more time, Raquy's in Egypt for a while longer. I'll also re-do mine, too.

Parallel Bars - Everyday Matters Challenge #71

2007-02-08T08:04:00.001-06:00

Parallel Bars
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

When I was young, my dad would have my sister and I video tape the Olympic Games broadcasts so he could watch them when he got home from work (he works Twilights, 3pm to 11pm). His favorite sport was skiing. He'd gone to Winter Park, Colorado with Mom for a vacation and taken lessons. That Christmas, we all got skis! When he took us to Colorado over summer vacation one year, he bought me a pair of boots in Aspen. We skied in the pasture. About 3/4 of a mile up the highway from our house we leased a pasture where we kept our horses and there were some small hills on it. We learned to fall and get up and to do snowplows and to turn and to side-step up the hill. For a young kid (I was about 8ish) this was all grand fun!

So we taped the Olympics. And watched skiing and figure skating (which I took lessons for). Then we taped Summer Games, too. I wanted to watch the equestrian events, but they weren't shown as much as the gymnastics. But there were Nadia and Olga, the waifs who flew! And Bela Karoli, all blustery, squeezing those 10s out of his girls.

I took ballet/tap/jazz/acrobatics class when I was 11 or 13, but by then, I wasn't very flexible and wasn't interested in working hard enough to get that way. In Jr High, I took the summer gymnastics class in the school district, it was fun, but I didn't get beyond doing good round-offs and cartwheels. I did watch my friends excel and wished I'd done more work.

My kids are in gymnastics now. They are young and still made of rubber and full of energy and have great teachers that make it really fun for them. They go to a great school that they could go far in if they want it. I won't push, but if they want, I'll encourage. It's great exercise for their little bodies, they learn so much from it and take it into everything else. And they won't ruin their feet, like ballet will.

I sit in the loft with the parents, and watch and fly with them!

EDM #96 - Something Sweet

2007-01-30T08:37:00.001-06:00

EDM #96 - Something Sweet
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

It was the weekend of sick kids & we still got in a Birthday Party! Yesterday, we went to the Dr to check out Geordan's fever and left to find out that Rianna had been sick at school. Geordan had picked out this jell-o parfait at the cafeteria and only ate one bite. He was much more interested in the cheese pringles and goldfish crackers. I had a baked potato and drew the parfait. His diagnosis was a cold and that he should just keep having ibuporphen to stay comfortable and Robitussin CF for his cold symptoms. They've put Guaifenesin in as an expectorant and Dextromethorphan as the cough supressant so it works pretty well. It's also formulated for adults and children, so we don't have to buy something for each.

Rianna Asleep

2007-01-24T11:54:00.001-06:00

Rianna Asleep
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Everyday Matters Challenge #54 - Draw someone/thing you love.

My daughter's been home sick from school all week. Seems like Strep, it's going around, but I can't get her in to see the Dr til tomorrow. She looks so young still when she's asleep. She turned 7 Saturday. It's the cheeks! This was done a little larger than usual... about 8 x 10 in a 9 x 12 sketchbook with charcoal pencil. I haven't used charcoal before, in any form. I like it. I'd like to try some a little softer, this was a General's 2B med charcoal pencil.

EDM Challenge #84 - Bread

2007-01-23T15:18:00.001-06:00

EDM Challenge #84 - Bread
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Does everyone know about cinnamon sugar toast? Toast, butter, cinnamon, sugar. I mix the cinnamon and sugar in an empty spice bottle so we have it ready. Rianna eats it most days for breakfast and tried to eat some today but it scratched her sore throat. We use wheat bread, going through about a loaf a week, sometimes more. I grew up on Wonder Bread, though. It was supposed to be healthy, or something, now we know better. I have baked bread from scratch, some black rye bread that turned out heavy as a stone, what a texture that had! Our current infatuation is for the dough balls you can buy in the freezer section. You thaw them in the microwave for a few seconds, the put them in a greased pan with greased plastic wrap over them to rise for 2 hours in the oven with the burner off. It stays just warm enough. Then you bake them for 15 minutes, nice and fluffy! I like bread!

Sleeping Kitty - Finished

2007-01-22T19:38:00.001-06:00

Sleeping Kitty - Finished
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Rianna picked out a new kitty at Crown Center Saturday. Tinalina is an orange tabby who sleeps on her own fleece bed and her tummy goes up and down like she's breathing. She's stuffed! It was hard to really define the features of the toy with the pattern in the fur and shadows being very soft. Graphite in my hedgie.

Union Cafe at Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri

2007-01-21T13:53:00.001-06:00

1/19-20/07
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

We got to come to Union Station for a while and run around a little to burn off some of the stir crazies before the snow hit yesterday afternoon. Some little boys with their dad and uncle invited us to play "duck, duck, goose" in the middle of the floor here. Lots of running and squealing! Then we walked across the Link to Crown Center and had lunch at Fritz's train cafe where your food is delivered by trains! When we were done, I checked outside and the snow had started so we headed up to Zoom, the toy store, and the kids picked out a toy each to buy with their Christmas money and we skee-daddled on home just in time!

Album Cover

2007-01-18T23:07:00.001-06:00

Album Cover
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

After the Master of the Arabian Flute CD by Mohamed Naiem. The flute is an Egyptian Ney or nay, made from reed, it has a haunting sound. I had to make a paper cd envelope for it so I did some of the cover art, too. I left out the calligraphy, but may add it in later with some white ink, if I'm feeling ambitious. General's Layout pencil on 24 pound inkjet paper.

PITT Pen Color Chart

2007-01-17T20:45:00.001-06:00

PITT Pen Color Chart
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I recently started a new sketchbook so I had to make a new color chart of my PITT markers. I love these things! The light cool grey lives in my pen case that follows me everywhere. So does the sanguine set, you just never know when you'll want to draw henna designs! I also keep the flesh tones handy, I'm not real great at mixing them in watercolors yet and end up wasting too much time at the park. They've expanded their selection, I think there are 48 colors now, including a lighter flesh-tone and many other lighter shades of colors. 103 and that turquiose are wonderful to use! Danny Gregory used to use them in his journals and I liked what he was doing, and my art store had them on sale, so I bought some. Wish I had some more greens, but they do blend a little while still wet. I run into Utrecht and grab a couple every once in a while, just pocket change really, and will slowly accumulate all of them. Art supplies! Love 'em!

Kids

2007-01-14T23:20:00.001-06:00

Geordan Playing Dulcimer
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

This is a super-quick gesture sketch of my Cub playing my mountain dulcimer. He really had fun strumming with the picks and trying out notes on frets. I bought it a gazillion years ago at Silver Dollar City on my Open Water dive certification weekend. It was the first trip I'd taken by myself, too. I can still play some tunes on it!

Edit: Yeah, the dulcimer's on his lap backwards, he insisted!

Last night I curled up in the rocking chair with my daughter. We both drew, she in her pink sketchbook with my prismacolor pencils and PITT markers, and I in my hedgie with my sanguine pigma microns.

EDM Challenge 101 Draw a Bar of Soap

2007-01-13T11:43:00.001-06:00

EDM Challenge 101 Draw a Bar of Soap
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Sandalwood soap I received from my Secret Santa partner in the Henna Page gift swap. Smells great, but I don't want to use it up! Pencil in my hedgie...that's watercolor paper!

Here's a song I remember from Girl Scouts...

"Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap),
Oh I wish I were a
little bar of soap (bar of soap),
I'd go slippy, slippy slidey, over
everybody's hidey,
Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of
soap)!"

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

2007-01-11T16:53:00.001-06:00

1-11-07
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

My sketch of the design for the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts being built in KC by Moshe Safdie. My dh is the Zahner Architectural Metals Project Engineer on it! I'm terribly proud of this, Safdie is an internationally known Arch. as is Frank Gehry, whose MIT Stata Center was one of the first buildings Ron did work on when he first went to Zahner. (yeah, I'm throwing names around!)

http://www.kcperformingartscenter.org/
www.azahner.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gehry

Kleenexes

2007-01-10T22:04:00.001-06:00

Kleenexes
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

When you send your significant other to the store for tissues because you have a cold and are out, what do they bring to you? Something nice and soft? Or sandpaper?

Couldn't let the day go by without a bit of ink...

Challenge #92 Brown Paper Bag

2007-01-08T12:55:00.001-06:00

1-8-07 Challenge #92 Brown Paper Bag
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

In my father's house, there is a closet next to the basement door, just inside the kitchen. This closet is next to the chimney for the furnace, so all winter, it's nice and warm inside. This is where we kept the brown paper grocery bags, on the shelf above the coat rack. We used them for our trash bags. Put one under the dropped counter, next to the dishwasher in the island where the sink is. They came from Big V, without handles, with groceries, Wonder Bread, Wheaties, Velveeta cheese, and cans of Del Monte green beans. The ones we get from Sunfresh have handles, Spam, Best Choice wheat bread, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and are next to the fridge holding cardboard boxes, plastic and cans to be recycled.

Challenge #92 Draw a Brown Paper Bag

2007-01-07T23:28:00.001-06:00

Challenge #92 Draw a Brown Paper Bag
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Ok, so it's not brown...yet. I'll do that tomorrow, it's getting late and I wanted to get something up tonight. Pigma micron in my new hedgie!

I'll also get the link in the group page in the morning!

Bon Soir

Christmas Angel

2007-01-06T22:26:00.001-06:00

1-6-07
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

This porcelain angel vase has been on my parents' mantle and by my Christmas trees all my life. Delicate porcelain prayers for Peace on Earth.

If you come to my Flickr in the next week or so and see something strange there, fear not. All shall be right soon! All my photos are still there as are all my sets, they are just hiding til Yahoo gets my money order in the mail!

New Sketchbooks In Production

2007-01-05T21:43:00.001-06:00

Stitching the Signatures, originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I've been making sketchbooks for a little over a year now. I started in the Everyday Matters Group almost 2 years ago with a Moleskine pocket sketchbook. Loved it, learned to deal with the beading up watercolors, wanted something better by the time I was halfway through the second one. I liked the size and the elastic and the pocket and the ribbon! I surfed Moleskine sites in search of cool hacks and stuff to do and found out about Hedgehogs. Wirewoman's Hedgehogs Forever Yahoo group is full of glorious stuff including instructions for making your own mole look-alikes! I tried it out, modified it, made it mine. Now I am in the middle of a batch of three; watercolor paper pages, fabric covers, pocket Molie size. They are numbers 10, 11 and 12. I've sold one, given one to my dh, another to a friend for a birthday, two typing paper ones to my kids, a henna journal with hand and foot templates to my Secret Santa person, and some for future use. These will have a nice Persian print fabric on them and be filled with love!

I did do a sketch today, I am waiting to see if I'll post it or not...someone else's input is needed...

Blogging & Bribes

2007-01-04T19:10:00.001-06:00

1-4-07, originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Hi Everyone on the Superblog! Michael was kind enough to add me today! Thank you!

I've been inactive for a while, since about May, and am on day 4 drawing again! I finished re-ready "Everyday Matters" this morning and am making a new batch of pocket moleskine-like sketchbooks as this one is on it's last two pages. If you'd like to look, they're on my flickr in the Making Books set here.

Hi to all the new EDM members! I look forward to seeing your work as I go through the links of the challenges and blogs! I am also getting more active on the Botanical and Naturalist group, Hi to you, too!

Rianna's in first grade and has homework every night (!). Tonight it's addition and subtraction of numbers up to 20. She get's real stubborn about getting started so we did some bribery today after some tickling to get her woke up and alert. Rold Gold pretzels are a good bribe for her but I didn't want her filling up before supper, so she only got 1/3 of a stick per right answer!

Trains Today

2007-01-03T22:20:00.001-06:00

1-3-07
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I drew my son's newest locomotive. This is Diesel. Not Diesel 10, but another rascal on the Sodor Line. Geordan really has train fever, he'll either be an engineer or a life-long hobbyist.

I started three new hedgehogs today, this one's only got 2 pages left!

Yesterday's Drawing

2007-01-03T22:13:00.001-06:00

Keyboard
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Drawing what's in front of me at 10am, here's my keyboard. I spend way too much time in front of it...something to cut back on this year. Most of the time is spent wondering if someone's answered a post of mine, commented on a photo or drawing of mine, or done something else of interest to me...

Quite narcisistic, I think.

A certain amount of self-focus is necessary to one's health and well-being, but to the exclusion of getting things done. Just not healthy.

Something to think about this year.

Seriously.

New Year's Day, 2007

2007-01-01T17:02:00.001-06:00

New Year's Day, 2007
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

A new day, a new start! I'm taking up my drawing again and re-reading Danny's book to start off. I've lost sight of the reason for doing my art and dropped it except for the henna art.

Ka-Chow! Yeah, Baby!!!!

2006-12-28T22:46:00.000-06:00

I am proud of this!!!

Now I gotta get the kids to sleep!

Kaci, Mindy & Me: Henna Sisterhood

2006-12-11T12:44:00.000-06:00

Kaci, Mindy & Me
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

My new friends in Henna Goodness! We had a get-together at Kaci's to sift henna, drink chai, eat sago, talk about henna and watch our kids play deliriously in the family room! These are two very nice ladies who share several interests with me and I look forward to more! Kaci went to the last Las Vegas Henna Conference and is a wealth of information as well as a fantabulous person. She shared so much with us! Thank you!

I'm mixing up a new batch now!

Crocheted Yarn for Yarn Belt/Skirt

2006-10-21T12:04:00.000-06:00

Crocheted Yarn for Yarn Belt/Skirt
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Thicker than a single strand of yarn or even three strands braided, I think this will hang and swing nicer on a yarn belt/skirt. I'll do some braided strands with silver metallic cord in them, too, for some sparkle and put some coins and silver beads in, like the hair braids. The yarn is 1 strand of 4-ply Red Heart burgundy and 1 strand Lion Boucle in Popsicle held together using a really big hook that my daughter got at a JoAnn demo. I'd say it's close to a J...

Arrrrr!

2006-10-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

Here's some more blogthings nonsense...a couple of weeks ago it was "Talk Like a Pirate Day" and yesterday I went the the KC Renaissance Festival (so, I'm still not convinced that Pirates belonged in Tudor or Elizabethan England). So...

Your Pirate Name Is...

Cannibal Right Eye Rita

What's Your Pirate Name?

Musicians

2006-10-06T12:15:00.000-06:00

RiverWynd
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

This is a photo of my friends Amy and George and I when we played some music for church service one Sunday. Amy was my recorder and piano teacher and is a good friend as is George. We grew apart when I had my kids, I just have a busier life now. They stay in my thoughts, though. The kids are more forgiving of my practice time now, and I've added Middle Eastern drumming to my interests along with dance. I'd like to get back into some contact sometime soon...find out how they are...I miss you guys!

Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter and Human Extraordinaire: 1962 -2006

2006-09-06T06:50:00.000-06:00

Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter and Human Extraordinaire: 1962 -2006
Originally uploaded by lorenzodom.

I really can't add too much to what lorenzodom writes here. We've lost a passionate human...and still have his adventures to remember and watch and pretend about!

Malinda

Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter and Human Extraordinaire: 1962 -2006
September 5, 2006:

The death of Steve Irwin is not as tragic as many media pundits are purporting it to be.

Far from, for how many of us have the courage, the tenacity and the integrity to do exactly what we love doing, everyday, regardless of the risks and the ridicule, regardless of the perils of the unknown?

Not many.

But Steve certainly did, and he died well knowing of the dangers involved in executing his greatest passion. That is not tragic, that is triumphant.

Granted, I’m sure he, his family and all his fans around the world would have preferred that he had lived a lot longer.

Alas, when a man looks fate straight in the eye and even vies to wrestle with it, and when an indifferent and amoral species, such as the mortal stingray that killed Steve on Monday by piercing him directly in the heart, as it reacted out of primal fear—he, nor we, should be surprised.

Zoo owner, star of several documentaries on Animal Planet and the Travel Channel, ardent conservationist, and business entrepreneur, Steve Irwin understood what it took to succeed; he understood the perseverance, the passion, and the peril that he faced often, if only because he wanted to teach and inspire others not to fear living life to its fullest.

Fearless in so many ways, Steve was still known to have a more vulnerable, human side to him. For he is reported to have said, “Getting married was the scariest moment of my life.”

Nonetheless and allthemore, the fact is, Steve likely died as he had hoped, maybe a little earlier than he had anticipated, but certainly in as grand a manner as his gall, his showmanship, and his exemplar exuberance had together deemed what was ultimately the most apropos way to go, for this extraordinary man, this extraordinary human, and this extraordinary lover of (wild) life.

The End Is Not So Horrible, If You Know How To Get There *

Immediately after Niezstche's Zarathustra gives his prologue, the tight rope walker carrying on above Zarathustra and the onlooking town folk—plunges to his death.

The following conversation ensues between Zarathustra and the fallen, prior to the latter's last breath:

“By my honor, friend,” answered Zarathustra, “all that of which you speak does not exist: there is no devil and no hell. Your soul will be dead even before your body: fear nothing further.”

The man looked up suspiciously. “If you speak the truth,” he said, “I lose nothing when I lose my life. I am not much more than a beast that has been taught to dance by blows and a few meager morsels.”

“By no means,” said Zarathustra. “You have made danger your vocation; there is nothing contemptible in that. Now you perish of your vocation: for that I will bury you with my own hands.”

To die by one's vocation.

That is perhaps the highest form of passion. To live and perish in the thrill of one's purpose and the moments that made life meaningful for that individual. That is the ultimate form of living.

Perhaps, it is living dangerously, but it is also living.

How many heroes have done much the same? Those we hold in the highest esteem live and die by that which they know to be their calling.

9.11 and the bold acts of all the municipal servicemen that perished is a poignant example.

But just the same, the likes of the greatest artists, writers, scientists, entrepreneurs and other elite minds and imaginations who died of old age are equally laudable, if only because they held their course in life, they overcame obstacles and defeated monsters, and outwitted conformity, complacency and their seven ugly sisters: jealousy, envy, virtue, materialism, righteousness, apathy, and the unknown.

“Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.”
- Mary Schmich -

The greatest journeys are always alone and end with death, which is why the journey itself should be the ultimate goal. Fulfillment comes with the fulfilling. If you constantly are looking to go somewhere in order to achieve happiness, you'll really never get there.

“That's the message of the myth. You, as you know yourself, you are not the final term of your being. And you must die to that, one way or another—giving of yourself to something or in being annihilated, actually, physically—to return, you might say, or to recognize (that) life is always on the edge of death—always. And one should lack fear, and have the courage of life. That's the principle initiation of all of the heroic stories.”
- The Power of the Myth, Joseph Campbell -

And so my fellow photographers, kin spirits, adventurers, lovers of life, Make Every Shot Count, position yourself well, and then click before you’ve lost the nerve.

Life is fleeting, as are all the fine moments that cumulatively constitute our existence.
So fear not! Most of the time you won’t get hit or the person you’re aiming your camera at really won’t care (especially after you walk away).

“The choice to live our passion is not dangerous,
it is much worse, it is unknown.
But what is known can never be new or creative.
If we die in our passion, at least we have lived,
if we live in the known we have already died.”
-Steven Harrison-

Decicated in memory of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter and Human Extraordinaire: 1962 -2006

*Excerpted from the upcoming book 25 Lessons I Have Learned, to be published by Cyan Books in the Spring of 2007.

Uploaded by lorenzodom on 5 Sep '06, 5.33pm PDT.

New Map on Flickr

2006-09-03T11:36:00.000-06:00

West of Marakkesh
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Guess what? You can see where photos were taken and plot yours on a map within Flickr! You can set permission to say who's allowed to see the location on an individual photo basis or for all photos and change the ones you don't want, like home and school photos...so no one, or family or friends only can see them. I tried it out with some of mine...the most recent...and it's cool! Click on the photo, then, once you're in Flickr, click on "Map" under the photo...

Henna Sunflower Hand

2006-08-31T09:29:00.000-06:00

Henna Sunflower Hand
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Not been doing much art lately...unless this counts. Dance is an art. Middle Eastern dance is the victim of much mis-information. In the eyes of most Westerners, it's a dance of semi-naked gyrations and bellyrolls, seen only in Greek, Middle Eastern or North African restaurants or, lately, Renaissance Festivals. Women in the Middle East and North Africa often dance among themselves to entertain themselves at family celebrations or at the end of a long day to relieve tension. It is celebratory. It is feminine. It is physically challenging and has many health benefits.

I am more comfortable in my body than I have been in a long time. My belly is stretched and pouchy from having my two babies and I bare it proudly. I am a Mother.

The henna that stains my hand in this photo is a paste from a plant that grows in the Middle East and India and used to decorate hands, feet and bellies of women for Islamic holidays, weddings and pregnancies. Mehndi has become popular in the US also. I've been doing Mehndi for a while, a girl I knew in school from Pakistan gave me a tube of henna and I tried some designs with it. Now I use mylar cones to apply the paste and get very intricate designs this way.

A week ago, some friends and I met for a video/henna party and there was some left-over paste that I've been playing with...

So, here's my latest art-work!

Europe? Ok.

2006-08-02T12:37:00.000-06:00

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris.
You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Little Drummer Boy

2006-06-07T21:08:00.000-06:00

Little Drummer Boy
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Here's Geordan on my doumbek! Look at him go!! I shot the video clip at the end of his drumming session so he's a little less energetic than in the photos...but you can see him in action, doums, teks and all! He really likes drumming and has learned the basic Baladi rhythm of Middle Eastern music!

That's not the only way he's growing up right now...he's ALL ready to start Early Childhood school in the Fall! No more DIAPERS!!!! We visited Mrs Frey, who will be his teacher and was his sister's, yesterday and she is so excited that he's ready!!

There are more photos, and the end result, in my Flickr!

Hydrants and Firefighters - EDM #66

2006-05-26T08:17:00.000-06:00

Hydrants and Firefighters
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

When I was 6 or 7, I went to vacation bible school in Smithville. At the end of the week, there was a parade and I got to ride on top of a fire truck.

When I was 12 or 13, a girl next door used her toaster and it caused a fire that burned the kitchen of the duplex on the other side of ours. The girl's family had to move and lost some of their possessions due to smoke and water damage. There was a crack in our kitchen wall from the firefighters chopping out the burned bits with their axes. Our apartment smelled like burned plastic for a long time.

Hydrants
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

When I was going to school at DeVry (1986-88) there was an explosion at a gravel quarry near 87th street and Blue River Road near Swope Park. Someone had set fire to a trailer full of fertilizer that the quarry used to blast out gravel. When the fire company arrived, no one told them what was in the trailer and it exploded, killing six firefighters and injuring others. The blast could be heard 20 miles away and broke windows all over the area. I was in the area, staying with a friend. I heard it. There is a memorial there now.

Rianna on 9\11
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

When I lived at the car shop, Storm and I volunteered with the Red Cross Disaster Aid Teams as monitors. We would listen to a scanner for fire calls. When there was a fire in an occupied residence or more than 2 alarms called, we called the RC to send the IRV (Immediate Response Vehicle). It had blankets and coffee and relief items for firefighters and victims. One time there was a fire across the street from the shop. We went and watched the firefighters work. They are so efficient, fearless, tireless and courageous. Their lives are at risk every time they leave the station. People have so little respect for what they do, I see so many cars not pull over and stop when emergency vehicles have their lights and sirens on. What if it was their loved-ones' lives at stake? There's a new station being built near our apartment. We'll make sure they know they're appreciated!

Rianna Comeneci

2006-05-25T09:10:00.000-06:00

Rianna Comenici
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

The kids go to gymnastics at the Kansas City Gymnastics School up in Riverside. The school has trophys lining the gym walls and banners of college girls from the gym (and a boy!). There are the usual apparatus and a big foam pit for the kids to jump into at the end of their classes.

Last weekend they held their Spring Fling. It's sort of a meet for the parents to see what the kids are up to. The gymnastics version of a recital. The kids all get scores and ribbons and everyone gets a medal!

Rianna got to participate, Geordan is sitting out for a little while. She got sixth place for Beam and Bars and third for Floor! She was so good, sitting patiently with her classmates while she waited to be called! She even tried a trick on the beam that she had been afraid to do! She is very proud and so are we!!

As an extra bonus, some of the college girls were there visiting. One of them, Jennifer Naughton, did her floor exercise routine! The kids were sitting on the edge of the floor and Rianna said, "Mommy, she ran so fast and she was flying!!"

Here's video clips of the day! (Remember, no sound!)

Sketchcrawling with Mom

2006-05-14T20:52:00.000-06:00

Here she is drawing with me at the park. She is drawing our waterbottle. I'll post the finished drawing, too.

Dancing Princess

2006-05-14T20:42:00.000-06:00

More videos!! Rianna wanted me to shoot her dancing at the park, so, here she is, dancing to her own singing, Rianna!

People You Don't Know

2006-05-04T10:40:00.000-06:00

DSCN9563
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Hi! This is my husband Ron (say "hi" Ron)("Hi!"). We've been married for almost 4 years (June 30) and together for almost 13 (June 1). I just found out this morning that he used to paint.

He works as a structural drafter for a company that builds commercial buildings, Butler Construction, in the heavy structures division. His currently working on the US Tennis Association's new building in New York to be finished before the 2007 US Open. He has previously worked on automotive conveyors, commercial office buildings and sports arenas. He was the first person to design a building in AUTOCAD at Black & Veatch, the largest engineering firm in KC. In his early design days, he renovated a number of McDonald's restaurants in the Greater KC area, including the Country Club Plaza restaurant in Seville Square. As part of the remodel, he produced the drawings from which the Seville, Spain bas-relief mural was based. I have his ink on illustration board drawing and plan to have a clean copy made to frame and hang in our house (when we get a house).

I know he drew some as a young man, that's about it.

I am currently in the process of making a batch of hand-bound books; three from typing paper for the kids (their own "Moleskines") and three from watercolor paper (one for me and one to sell). I asked him,this morning, if he would like me to make one for him. He said, "yes." "What kind of paper, typing or watercolor?" "Watercolor."

His answer surprised me, I'm not sure why. I asked if he would draw in it and he said maybe he would. I asked if he had painted before and he said he had, a long time ago. "What media?" "Watercolors, some tempera and oils."

I had no idea.

I am very pleased to know this and pleased that he wants me to make him a book.

I love him!

Ice Princess

2006-05-02T17:26:00.000-06:00

Here's Rianna's first time on ice skates. After about 20 minutes, she insisted on a "solo" flight!

Third St Louis Video

2006-05-02T17:13:00.000-06:00

Here's the last one from the St Louis trip last summer...

Are We On?

2006-05-02T16:04:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if this will work, but I have a YouTube account now and have shot some video clips of my kids (no sound, sorry). See if it works and comment! Oh, yeah, it's sideways! I'm a photographer, not a videographer, and forget you can't just flip it sideways...

Young Illustrator in the Making

2006-04-26T11:59:00.000-06:00

DSCN0365
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

We have, from Netflix, Disney's Haunted Mansion. The kids have watched about a dozen times this week and last night, as I was cleaning from supper, Rianna got this book out and illustrated her own version of the "legend" of the haunted mansion story. Very carefully, she drew each of the scenes and told me what each drawing was of and was very excited to do it! The best way to see them is to go to the Kids' Art set, they are in the proper order there.

Bellydance!

2006-04-24T08:59:00.000-06:00

Tribal
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

We did it!!! We survived and danced, too! Don't we look cool!

We (Marcy, aka Christiana and me, aka Vina) made our choreographic debut yesterday with our original dance to Raquy and the Cavemen's Caravan in the Shimmyfest recital of the Maya Zahira School of Bellydance. We also danced with our intermediate class to Paul Dinletir's Raks Africa. I was in the front row, next to our teacher Amara (whose photo is in my stream!), by accident, and nailed it!!!

(Click the photo to go to Flickr and mouse over it for notes)

"Still Life" by Dave Gray

2006-04-22T10:26:00.000-06:00

Still life
Originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

One of my Flickr contacts is Dave Gray, his screen name is "dgray_xplane."

Dave is an artist.

His Flickr stream is a lovely place to hang out and just absorb light and beauty, photographs and paintings. Recently, he's uploaded a lot of his oil paintings.

I saw this this morning.

The composition is masterful. His whites are so full of color and light. The palette and tissue next to his easel...like he's just taking a break from his painting to make a painting.

I live within 2 miles of Thomas Hart Benton's studio/home, and the studio was left the way it was when he died, working at his easel on a painting. His palette's there and brushes and it looks like he is just taking a break and will be right back any minute to finish signing it...an unintended homage.

Click the painting to go to a larger version and his Flickr stream!

I really love this Dave!

Weekend

2006-04-17T08:33:00.000-06:00

Brush Creek
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Well, I had a bit of a surprise when I woke up, my monitor shows blue, green and a tiny bit of red. I know it's either the vid card or the monitor (it's rebuilt). The monitor's had a problem for some time, though. Partway through the morning, it gets darker. So my photos have been a little off...I think. I try not to mess with them too much, just in case. Well, it's just time to get the new machine, finally. I've been using the kids' computer that we found, it's an old school computer with a Pentium MMX and a teeny hard-drive. I could do most things I needed to with it. I have my scanner, printer, mp3 player, an old version of Photoshop and my lickity-split Roadrunner. So we just let it limp along, trying not to fill it up, having Walgreens burn my photos to cds, not putting all my music on it, til now. When we get the new one, I'll wipe the drive on this one and give it back to the kids with a new monitor/video card.

We went to the library Saturday and the kids picked out some great books and played while I drew this scene out the window (that doesn't count as plein air, does it?). Anyway, it was lots of fun. April is poetry month and the kids and I made poetry pockets with styro desert plates and small poems to put in them. We found one by Shel Silverstien about homework that Rianna liked and made a new version about balls with the same form. She is such a creative kid, I hope no one squashes that! I plan to keep a close eye on her teachers (already do)!

ShimmyFest

2006-04-16T14:55:00.000-06:00

Matadors
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

"Shimmyfest" Dance Recital

Sunday April 23, 2006
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Event Location: Shawnee Civic Center, 13817 Johnson Drive, Shawnee KS

Notes:
Doors open at 1 p.m.
Reception follows show.
$8 advance tickets, $10 at the door, Kids 8 to 12 $3, Kids under 8 are free

I am dancing a duet with my friend Marcy and with our class. My first performance!

EDM Challenges #1 & #13

2006-04-12T11:06:00.000-06:00

EDM Challenges #1 & #13
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

I did most of this yesterday. At home I did the phone and at the park I did my shoe. I colored in the phone this morning in the same light. In my hedgehog!

New Book

2006-04-12T10:53:00.000-06:00

New Book
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Another friend on EDM, Starr, had commented about my blog and how she was inspired by my drawing consistently and as a surprise Thank-you, she sent me Danny's book! Bless you Starr! I read it in one sleepless night and have loaned it to another friend who is an "artist-in-hiding"... for the time being!

What I'm Doing

2006-04-12T10:48:00.000-06:00

East Belfast Beach
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

Hi!

I've been busy lately! A friend on Everyday Matters introduced me to Wet Canvas! a couple of weeks ago and I've done two of their Weekly Drawing Events! It's a really big art community site with tons of stuff and people and I'm finding my way around it. I got back to doing some tiny little ATC-sized paintings, this time more landscape-y than what I was doing for ATCs before. This one is from a photo by WDE host Barbara last weekend of a beach in Maine. Just 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches! You'll have to read these posts backwards to get it all...

Garden Panorama

2006-04-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

Garden Panorama
Originally uploaded by SideShowMom.

We went to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead today, the second day they are open for the season. It was 73, a little windy, but gorgeous! The kids had a grand time and were good as gold! So, on the way home we stopped at Sonic and had a large chocolate shake! Yummy!

There is a new member in the Everyday Matters Yahoo group who said lots of complimentary things about my blog today. How it made a difference with her. I'll make sure I keep posting. If one person is touched by what I have to give, others are and haven't said so. Thank you Starr!

I have been working on a painting this weekend for a Weekend Drawing Event on Wet Canvas! Diahn is hosting and I am working on something for her, so I thought I'd try. It's really amazing that a tiny little painting is taking me more than 3 days to get done. I've, maybe, put an hour's work into it. They are only supposed to have about 2 in them. Spending lots of time with the kidlets!