Artful Gatherings - Let's Plan Some !!!

Summer is in mid-swing, and it's time for so many of us to have our vacation getaways {as well as our stay-cations}.

I myself am heading to Big Sky Country - to the Flathead Lake area of Montana - soon.  Mark's parents have a 6+acre, 400 (+/-) tree CHERRY orchard up there, and the Lake to rival all Lakes is right across the road. 

And guess what I discovered up there last summer?  A wonderful QUILTING shop - picked up some really fab cherry-print fabric there last year, brought it all home, and I'm in the process of laying out aprons.  Just don't tell my in-laws - they're meant to be Christmas gifts :-) !!!   You, too, can visit this amazing quilter's paradise:   http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ {and as it turned out, Mark's cousin's wife works there ... who knew?}.


This year, this trip, there will be a whole lotta Huffmans' up there at the same time.   I made a schedule - it ended up looking like an air-traffic controller's schedule - it's going to be just that crazy up there!

Before I leave, I am tending to cleaning and clearing up my ... office.  

Holy Cow, it's become a messy, land-mine filled space lately ... how does that keep happening? :-)

{an image of my desk circa 2009, but it looks like this now ...}

And I will sneak in a bit of art here and there, because I know that the art studio that I so take for granted when I am home full-time ...

will call out to me when I am away, making me question why I am not down there for a bit EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

So I hope some of you, my artful, mixed media (or single-media, it really doesn't matter) friends will want to come over and play after I get home.   We'll have most all of August and then September.  Let's get busy doing what makes us happy !!!

Wouldn't it be fun to plan / schedule {I'm a big 'scheduler' kind of person} some ART PLAY TIME together?  If you'd like to come play, get messy, make art, experiment with supplies -- with me -- then let's make and take the time. 

If you live out of town, you could plan to stay over a night or two, even.  Summer is for Fun, and we deserve to have all the FUN, and make all the ART - that we can, while we can.

LET'S GET MESSY.  Call, text, e-mail, or comment on this post so we can make a plan to have some ARTful fun together.

Happy Summer !!!

-- Davielle
aka, your PRINCESS MAGPIE

P.S.  you've just got to laugh when you're on holiday, the car needs some gas, and you happen upon a sign like this one:

I mean, really ... who wants hucks {huckleberries} or cherries WITH ethanol ???

it's KC's birthday and SHE's giving away the love !!!

oooh, I love a good special.  and this one IS special.

colorado artist KC willis is offering one of her on-line workshops, COLLAGE CAMP, at the special price of just $54 -- in honor of her very own 54th (shhhhhh) birthday !!!

hop on over to her blog for the details:

http://www.kcwillis.blogspot.com/

And here's the link to her Collage Camp online workshop:  http://collagecamp.ning.com/ 

Happy Birthday to you, KC.  thanks for sharing the love.

-- Princess Magpie

The Sketchbook Project: 2011 ... I'm In !!!

Local artist extraordinaire SUZI BLU  {http://www.alovelydream.com} posted a link today on FaceBook about this cool project:  THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT: 2011


 I just had to look into that ...

Wow.  What a wonderful thing !!!

If you choose to participate, you have the option of choosing from one of many interesting "themes" {'in flight', 'sleepless', 'figuring you out', 'revenge', 'face in the crowd' - and plenty more} ... or you can have the organizers randomly assign one to you. 

If you know me at all, you know that I'm just not the "random" kind of girl, so I opted for "This Is Not a Sketchbook" - because I prefer mixed media / collage to pure sketching.  Besides, I rather suck at pure sketching.  Doodling, rough depictions of simple things, I can do that.  But real sketching?  Umm, that's a challenge for me.

Want more info on The Sketchbook Project: 2011 ???  Link up right here:  http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject 

So I'm pretty sure my recent creative slump is just about over now.  I spent time in the studio yesterday .. about an hour .. playing with a canvas that one of the granddaughters began a week ago.  OMG, was it wonderful to just get in their and play around a bit. 

I think I'm back ... and I thank you, friends, for all your kind encouragement last week.

-- Princess Magpie

Creative Slump

so I've been in a creative slump lately.  if i were a writer, it'd be writer's block.  since i'm a "creative", i guess this is a creative's block.  hmmm.

but i have been diligent about going over the e-course FLYING LESSONS that Kelly Rae Roberts has going on. { http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/ }. yes, i have been making sure i have the info saved to a file (for my eyes only) ... and this way, in a binder, i can review it over and over again.  (yes, kelly rae gave us permission to do that, by the way - so long as we didn't share the info with others).

back to my creative's slump.   could be the weather - could be my migraines - could be plenty of things.  mostly, i think, it's GUILT over not being a good housekeeper, struggling to do more around the house, which then sets off all my joints -- bah humbug - this getting old(er) is for the birds.  (albeit NOT for the magpies - who never hurt!).

so i'm adding an "I Read Kelly Rae" button to my sidebar this morning.  it's about all i have, dear readers, to add to my blog today.

missing you - missing my creative spark - but hoping it will return soon.

xo
Davielle - your Princess Magpie


{at right, my 'beloved' mixed media art teacher, JANE LA FAZIO - I'm guessing she rarely, if ever, has a 'creative slump' ... i'm just saying ... i mean, JUST LOOK AT HER.  Such energy and such enthusiasm and such joy.  :-) !!}

up, up, and away ... FLYING LESSONS, here I come !!!

Yes, that's right.  I've signed up for Flying Lessons.  It's a way cool e-course.  You read that right. You can learn to FLY online now.

Okay, so the full title of the class is FLYING LESSONS: Tips + Tricks to Help Your Creative Business Soar, and it's taught by the amazing KELLY RAE ROBERTS of mixed media fame.

Click on the FLYING LESSONS button on my sidebar to go to Kelly's site and find out more details.

I signed up a week late, so I have some catching up to do ... so I better sign off for now.

{that's me and Kelly Rae in Los Gatos, CA back in February 2010, at An Artful Journey}

I hope you'll join me on this adventure ...

-- Davielle
aka, your PRINCESS MAGPIE

BSM: Best Shot Monday 5-10-10

Okay, I know - I'm a day late.  But I think this photo is worth the wait ... I hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying it.

Ready?   So here it is:

These are the Mother's Day flowers that I received from some of the kids / grandkids on Sunday.  Aren't they luscious?

So there is my first BEST SHOT MONDAY image in I don't know how long ...

--  Princess Magpie

Update on MAGPIE'S ART NEST

I thank you all for your patience, your support, and your encouragement over the last 6 weeks ... it was a couple of weeks before St. Patrick's Day when I first "hatched" the idea for MAGPIE'S ART NEST, and since then, I have looked at residential properties with the business in mind.  I do admit that looking at properties without an investor is premature, however, in the name of research, it makes sense to me.   

In working up a Business Plan, I found it far easier to work the numbers when I had a specific property in mind - because it allowed me to project based on actual classroom space/s.   Now that my "ideal" property sold ... for far less than the original asking price, I might add ... {okay, YES, I am still 'CREST'-fallen about it, I admit ...} ... now that it's sold, it's a challenge for me to "work up projected income" based on ... an unknown variable such as the premises themselves.

But I persevere, and I remain vigilant and hopeful.   The actual "ideal property" is still out there ... I just have to find it.

Of course, as one of our grandchildren said to me just yesterday, "wow, Oma, you're really serious about this business arent' you ?!"    {out of the mouths of babes ...}  She went on to say "it sounds like the ship's about to leave and Papa's still on the dock" -- again, 'out of the mouths of babes'.   No truer words have (lately) been spoken !!!   Mark's not "on board" with my business vision ... I'd say "yet", but I am not so sure he ever will be.

And still -- I remain optimistic.

Obviously it's going to take a partner - an investor for the real estate, and possibly a business partner.

Meanwhile, I do thank you for your support and encouragement and enthusiasm.

I wish I had more to "report" at this time, so with that in mind, I'd better get back to some numbers-crunching.

Your --

Princess Magpie

images from Google search ... "magpie" and "stone cottage".

The stone cottage is from http://www.serenitystonecottage.com/ in Heath, Massachusetts ... it's a wonderful-looking vacation rental that I happened upon while googling "stone cottages". 

Here's a little more about Serenity Stone Cottage: The Serenity Stone Cottage is tucked into five private acres of meadow, pond, and forest in the historic town of Heath, Massachusetts (population 805) in the Berkshires. Located just off the scenic Mohawk Trail, this hidden treasure was built in 1933 and eventually became a summer home to renowned theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, author of the Serenity Prayer. The Serenity Prayer (in its original version) was written at the stone cottage, and first preached by Mr. Niebuhr in the Heath Union Church in 1943. This all-season cottage has been lovingly maintained to reflect its original warmth, charm, and unique sense of peace and quiet.


The exterior design of the cottage is European in style, with a beautiful stone façade, cedar shakes, balcony porches, a hidden stone stairway, and a courtyard garden. All-around windows look out from the main living room to a cedar grove, a field of wildflowers, a small (seasonal) pond, and the woods beyond. The cottage is surprisingly spacious (approximately 1500 square feet on three levels) and there are skylights throughout.