Hello It's Me

I am about to return to a more regular schedule of blog entry writing. Apologies to those of you who follow my blog. I have been overwhelmed with college courses, my job as a teacher, and with the frustrating task of not finding sufficient opportunity to vent my artistic energy.

I am a few days away from the last day of school. My mind is locked in thought around creating art. I want to dash out doors and set up my work station now, but I have to be patient a few more days - Friday night or Saturday morning.

Plan one - Windows
My elementary students made small stain glass windows and I adhered them to some old wooden storm windows arranged in a triangle. Then I illuminated the installation with a small desk lamp. I loved the results that I decided to paint the windows for my own personal use.

Plan two - Galaxy Door
I have thought a lot about stars and galaxies this past year. I have used stars as metaphors in my writing and think of the night sky as being akin to unseen and mysterious parts of the soul. I have been collecting parts for a few years, but was having difficult time conceptualizing the piece. I change the orientation of the door to horizontal and things started to take off after that. I hope I have enough components.

I hope to have both of these done by the end of June.

November - December 2008

These are snaps of people I LOVE. My college class made me weepy so that I just wanted to be around people I love. Fortunately, I got some sweet doses of lovely faces and warm hugs during the semester. The last time I was in school I was tough and bullish, this time around I just want someone to hold me till it's over. Time is slipping by so fast and I haven't the fire in my belly to keep up with the demands. However, visits with loved ones came at just the right moments for me spiritually so I could keep on working.



This is me and my niece Emily. Em cracks me up! Also, she knows what movies I will love.


Yay! Carrie came home from Africa! She is looking beautiful. Kadie was so shocked!



Jen with Mariah Quine. Little Mariah is a miracle baby that has been much prayed for. It will be hard for her to comprehend how much she was wanted.


Kadie at Arington Ice Rink. We did this over Thanksgiving break. What a nice time.


This is Mia eating Thanksgiving pie. Mia thinks I am "magical." FINALLY somebody gets me!


A few weeks before Thanksgiving Joel and Jennie came home for a visit. It was so nice to see them. Of all my children Joel makes me laugh the most. My children have well developed senses of humor, but Joel not only recognizes what is absurd, but also knows that the ridiculous sometimes makes life fun. Joel likes to make faces like me. When story telling we like to over emphasize emotion with visual and auditory expressions. Joel has some unexpected expressions that will make me stamp my foot laughing.
Kadie does this too, but it is Kadie's line of questioning or reactions to events that will crack me up. Randy has the most sophisticated humor in the family. Randy has a comic's sensibility because he sees connections between things that the average person doesn't recognize. His humor is often surprising.

More Snapshots of Autumn 2008

Jeff at the end of football with his "rally beard."

Bulldog Jeff mid season.

Tinker Bell!

My student Jasmine gave me a baby blue spotted salamander (I loved him). I let him go back to the woods because everyday I woke afraid he was dead. Even the most amphibian fearful couldn't help but comment on his cuteness.

Picture Album Late Summer and Fall 2008

September at Art-A-Licious with artist buddy Emily Pierce. Em makes the coolest jewelry of felted spheres and plastic tubing.
Check
http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5380102
to see Em's stuff.

At Art-A-Licious with Carlos Tobar. I bought a goat print which seems apropos seeing how Johanna Spyri's Heidi had a grandpa who made goat cheese and who had a crush on goat herder Peter. Interesting note is that Carlos's right arm has some paralysis so he carved the wood block with his weaker left arm.

Randy and me at Pee Wit's Nest (the coolest slot canyon in Wisconsin).

"Iron Man" at Tom Every's sculpture garden

Dr. Evermore and his Forevertron

Meeting Tom Every was one of the highlights of our trip. Go to the site below to see amazing pictures and facts about his Forevertron. Beyond cool! His wife gifted us with a tip to go to PeeWee's Nest. It's really called Pewits nest. More about this later.
http://heart2art2heart.com/pages/theforevertron.html

Herman the German

Herman the German is a major landmark in New Ulm. Randy and I climbed to the top of the monument, 98 steps. The view is quiet stunning from the top. Herman is New Ulm's Empire State building. Every town should have such a lofty public place to view their world from.

How does an Albino Peacock impress their colorful friends?

Answer: Serve them Schell Beer!
I saw this albino peacock at the Schell brewery in New Ulm. While we were there we had fun times and great beer! Adrian ought to have it's own brewery! Go to Schell's web site to learn more. A local asked me if we have Applebees in Adrian (like maybe it was just a Minnesota thing), I said yes and asked if their Appelbees sold Schell beer and the man said,"Oh, Yes! If they didn't they'd be driven right out of town!"
http://www.schellsbrewery.com/home.php

Taking our Girl to College

We had a good time taking Kadie to Martin Luther College. We made an adventure of it! First we visited Aunt Marlene who took us out for dinner at JJ Twiggs. We ate the best pizza!!! If your ever in the Lake Zurich area it's definitely worth seeking out!
Wisconsin is all about the cows and cheese. Who can turn down chocolate cheese? Yum! Yum! Wisconsin loves their cows so much that they make cow cookies to honor them.
This time around we stopped at the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is a noble river and worthy of American honor. It's easy to see how Twain was enchanted by her to the point that he spent nearly his whole life devoted to thought about how the river runs and life on the Mississippi.