Spinning and Spinning and Spinning...

Life is such a whirlwind sometimes....but in a good way. :) Ideas and inspiration spinning around, faster than it could ever be possible to execute them all. Orders and commissions pending, and more coming in - almost daily, it seems. Ebay and Etsy. A big show for which to prepare. Emails, blogging, art groups, facebook....It's enough to make a body dizzy....

And that's just the King of Mice stuff. There's also home and family, the fur-children, friends...Never, as they say, a dull moment. A good thing, as I'm not really big on dull moments. ;)

So here's what's been keeping me busy these last few days - the bench is finally finished! I've already received an email about purchase, so I'm not sure if it will be listing on eBay or not, but stay tuned....Here's the front view....

Here's the back....

The side....

And the interior...

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. :) (Oh, and excuse the older than old background - this house was built in 1892 and it's the original floor).

I've been busy around the house too...

Last evening, around twilight, I finally finished planting the herb garden and salsa garden. I can hardly wait! There's nothing like walking out the back door for supper ingredients, and it's quite a savings too.

And at the risk of boring you to tears with a weather report, I have to tell you that being only a few days before the summer solstice, it's been downright chilly here. 59 degrees at the moment, which is making me think prematurely of autumn....I mean, summer has barely started, and here I am thinking sweaters and pumpkins and hot apple cider, hehe....Of course, it's NEVER too early to be thinking of autumn. ;)

John's been a huge help as I try to juggle everything around here. He's in the kitchen as I write this, making spaghetti sauce and garlic bread - yummmm.

So, that's about it for today. I'll be back soon, with photos of a candle box, and some wonderful links to share. In the meantime, I'm going to slow down for just a couple of hours, pour myself a glass of sangria, enjoy a delicious supper, and catch up on some reading.

♥ Carolee

Journey People and Destination People

I read somewhere that there are two kinds of travelers; journey people and destination people.

Journey people don't have a schedule, are perfectly OK with detours, consider getting sidetracked an adventure, and love exploring new paths even if it means they reach their destination late, or not at all.

Destination people are focused on the goal. They want to get there as quickly and efficiently as possible, would never consider deviating from the planned route, and can probably tell you how many miles per hour they averaged on the way.

My daughter Courtney and I are both journey people. A few years back, when she was 14 and I was 36, we took a cross-country road trip together (Huntington Beach, California to eastern Pennsylvania). Being more of a destination person, John was worried about us, and I do admit taking the trip was against his wishes. But it was one of those things I'd always wanted to do, and knew if I didn't, I'd always regret it. We drove a VW Jetta, had no cell phone, and made the entire journey on about $500.

One of the fondest memories was late afternoon the first day out, in Arizona, when Courtney spotted a sign for a Winslow exit....

"We HAVE to stop!" she said excitedly, and I had to agree. The entire purpose of the stop was to call her Dad from a phone booth and tell him she was "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona". Completely unplanned, didn't cost a thing but time and about three dollars in quarters, but a great memory.


This is the corner today. There was no statue at the time, which actually made it a lot cooler. ;)

Other detours included old route 66, shopping in Albuquerque, and exploring the craftsmanship of basket weavers in the Ozark mountains. Courtney navigated, I drove, we listened to Jackson Browne, the Indigo Girls and Tori Amos at full volume, saw some friends along the way, and generally had a great time.

I'm thinking about this journey vs. destination thing as regards the artistic process too....

Do you think the same principle applies?

I get asked pretty frequently "what are you working on now?", and I almost always answer with the name of the piece: "a sign" or "a tea box"..."a table"..."a chair". Which is often followed by "yes, but what are you painting on it?"

Which I'm sure sounds like a perfectly reasonable question to most people - You have a plan before you jump into something, right? You have it mapped out. You know where you're going and you know exactly how you'll get there.

To me (and I suspect other journey people) it's an impossibly frustrating question, and one for which I have no answer. How can I know for sure the direction a piece will take, until I'm finished, or at least very near the end of it?

Every once in a while (commissions for instance) I have a plan. But for the most part, painting is an adventure that evolves as it will, the little detours adding interest, and I'm pretty much just along to enjoy the ride. ;)

Here's one I have in progress sight now - a large storage bench (you can see it blank in the post below). Cloudy skies, a full moon, and a field of pumpkins for a little color. But beyond that, who knows?

I was thinking maybe a spooky graveyard scene, but then Merlin jumped up this morning and I was struck by his beautiful black coat against the sky, so now I'm thinking black cats somewhere. I'm also listening to gypsy music this morning, which may find it's way in there too...

Stay tuned...

And I'm curious.....are you a journey or a destination person?

♥ Carolee

Surfacing....

Eeeeesh! Has it really been four days since I've popped my head in here? It seems only a day or two, but I have to be honest - marking time is not something I do well, especially when life starts to get crazy. Which it definitely has this week....

Yep. Life has a way of waking us up sometimes - of showing us what's truly important just at the moment we really need it....

So there I was, just a few days ago, scrambling to meet deadlines, worrying about how I'd manage to meet all kinds of obligations, worrying about whether I'd make much needed sales, when the phone rang. It was John, calling from work, explaining how the brakes on the Beetle had gone out suddenly as he was exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike that morning. Now, if anyone's ever experienced the turnpike at rush hour, you'll know just how scary this is. At least half the vehicles on the road are huge semi's. If he'd had to stop suddenly, for any reason at all, I'd have received a very different phone call that morning.

Long story short, when we had the car inspected the previous week, the mechanic neglected to tighten a couple of bolts, which came flying off suddenly, leaving John without brakes. An honest, but potentially deadly mistake, which to their credit they owned and immediately repaired.


Not so easily repaired is my sense of security, which maybe isn't such a bad thing...The whole episode was a reminder of just how fragile life is - and to never, ever take it for granted. (I'm showing you the car here only because John won't let me show him, hehe.)

And those deadlines I was so worried about? I met two of them (commissions) and missed one (a magazine submission). I'm still scrambling, but with a cooler, and much more appreciative head. ;)

I've also decided to work on a completely fun piece this week. Not that they're ALL not fun, but this one is extra fun because it's so large. It's actual furniture.


Soon to be HALLOWEEN furniture, hehe!

I'll be back soon with photos of this one in progress.

In the meantime, since we were on the subject of appreciation, I want to thank all of you who purchase my work and support my art. Without you, I wouldn't be able to live this artful life, wouldn't be able to spend my days creating....I soooooooo appreciate every single comment, every email, every bid, every purchase, and I'm incredibly honored you like my creations enough to give them a home.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ♥

~ Carolee

Little Boxes...

I'm up to my ears in Halloween boxes and loving it!

The PFATT Marketplace's Jack-o-Lantern June is still a few hours away, but I wanted to share a quick preview....

A candle box with words of cat wisdom written around the edge....

Another black cat, this one a tiny trinket box.....

And a witch's fortune telling tea box, listed on eBay, and already sold....


There are several others in the works too, for commissions and the upcoming Ghoultide Gathering...In the meantime, I'm feeling the urge to paint something large, and I think I know just the piece; a hand made storage bench...

Stay tuned. :)

♥ Carolee
Wednesday morning update - all boxes are now sold. :)

Monday Madness and a Recipe

Ah, who am I kidding? Every day is madness around here, hehe...(but in a good way!)

At the moment, I'm up to my ears in boxes - treat and treasure boxes, trinket boxes, tea boxes, candle boxes...


These are just a few of them. I'm not yet certain which will end up where....some for eBay, some for Etsy, some for the PFATT Marketplace and some for the Ghoultide Gathering show. I'm not even certain yet what direction most of them will take. As you can see, there's a bit of sketching, but for the most part they'll lead me where they will...

It's an absolute gorgeous, sunny morning here - the kind of morning that makes you feel like jumping right into it at 6AM, squeezing every single, productive second you can out of the day! Which is what I intend to do, but not before I've brewed up some tea and put some tunes on - something "up" sounding today - Santana, Jazon Mraz, maybe a little Corrine Bailey Rae...Isn't it funny how music can set the tone for the whole day?

Assuming I'm actually as productive as I hope to be, I'm also thinking I may throw together a batch of chai later on. LOVE it, especially iced. Do you want the recipe? It's dead easy, and soooooooooo yummy. And LOT cheaper than the kind you buy at the market. My niece Sarah gave me a canister of this for Christmas a couple of years ago, along with the recipe, and I've been hooked ever since! I use decaf tea....

Instant Chai Tea

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea (decaf or regular)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
a pinch or two of white pepper if you like it extra spicy

In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons Chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water. For iced chai, stir the same measure into a small amount of hot water, then add cold water and ice.

Enjoy!

Doesn't that sound yummy? If you try it, let me know what you think :)

That's about it for today....OH! Almost forgot - I just started reading "Twilight". Coming on the heels of the last book I read, "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" (soooooo beautifully written, and by an alumni of the same college our daughter attended), "Twilight" is much simpler - but I knew this going in, so my expectations weren't that high. One friend told me to just keep an open mind, realize it was written for teens, and try to enjoy it for what it is. Good advice, and so far I'm enjoying it. When I'm finished, I'll check out the movie. I have a thing for never, ever seeing a movie until I've read the book. ;)

Okay, I've rambled on long enough - don't want to spoil my plans for a productive day!

Back again soon with photos of all these pieces completed...Until then, wishing everyone a happy and creatively mad Monday!

♥ Carolee

Wicked Jack and Other Doings...

Wicked Jack (along with Happy or Jolly Jack) is one of my favorite Halloween characters. I've painted him on tavern signs, and sculpted him as a Wicked Jack in the box, but this time around I thought he needed his own little verse.....


"Raise a glass, and praises sing
to Wicked Jack, the Pumpkin King!"

He's listed on eBay now, with a little surprise message inside the box. :)

Things are still crazy busy here - shipping a couple of commissions this week, trying to get the herb garden and a salsa garden planted, and we have dinner guests coming over Saturday, which means a bit of cooking and cleaning.

That's about it for today...a short, boring post, I know, but it's almost midnight here and if I'm not careful, I'LL turn into a pumpkin!

So I'll be back soon, but in the meantime I have to send you visiting - this post by the fabulous and imaginative Vanessa Valencia really touched me, and I thought it may touch some of you as well....

Until next time,
♥ Carolee

"Nevermore!"

Just a quick post tonight, to share the Poe inspired box I finished today....

The quote around the top of the box is from "The Raven" with the interior of the box finishing the line with "Nevermore!" *UPDATE* - SOLD.

SUCH fun, this one, and such a haunting poem. If you've never read it, do - or at least click here and listen to Vincent Price reciting it. Pure genius. :)

I'm calling it a night now, but I'll be back with a friend tomorrow. ;)

Until then, wishing you magical dreams!
♥ Carolee