and then it was february, twenty-ten!

time flies when.......

how is it the middle of february already, people? i. mean. really. seriously. H.O.W?
 
here's a peek at my work hanging in the sweet little flower shop show i did this month...
a heartfelt thank you to the darling little amore fiore for hosting my work!

it was so nice to see the little "sketches" get scooped up! thank you dear friends for your love + support. it means sooooooo much more than any of you know.... here's the thing:
i always wonder if anyone is going to come to an opening. and then i allow myself the dark moment to wonder if anyone will like my work. i know it's silly to even use good energy to write about angst- but, i think anytime we put ourselves out there, all vulnerable, exposed, and REALLY out there- all brave + hopeful- these scary, icky moments of self-doubt creep in.
it's such a ride as an artist.
pride + doubt circle each other like kittens chasing tails.
this circle becomes easier to ride the busier i stay.
so, i keep on working. reinventing + reflecting, bowing to that divine spirit that tells me what comes next. + then the work just feels so good- like every other BIG amazing thing in this life + the icky parts of the scary sorta melt away.

this february is all about this circle for me. focus + intention + reflection + truth + resolve + work.
it's really a circle- completely energizing + good-scary all at once.
am i making any sense?



it all comes back to that little whale painting in my last blog entry from january- let go + believe. i need to let go + believe. heart shining, blessings counted, other stuff edited,  + ready.
¡listo!
             or shall i say ¡listos!
             i wish i knew. silly circle.



bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla LOVE bla bla bla....
if you're still reading on.... thank you. i smile at the thought.

here is a little mixed media quadro i poured myself into:

"te quiero" 

12" x 12" mixed media on canvas

it's a collage about love. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
+ so is that other little one off to the right. it's called "favoritas" 4" x 4" ink on wood.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

sooooooo, that brings me to what's next. juju. that's what. here's the story, morning glory:
i'll try to make it snappy.


one of my little february highlights thus far was this: my step-momma, janice, called + asked me to  pop up to bainbrige island, washington to surprise my poppa-bear for his 60th birthday! it was truly B.L.I.S.S. for so many reasons. what a special time:
 

"bliss" 4" x 4" 
mixed media
on wood

shortly after i landed on bainbridge, all blissed out on the rush of popping into a party, unexpected, (after riding a bus, a plane, a train, a taxi, a ferry and another taxi...) a great friend of my dad told me why she picks him as a bridge partner... and it was this SWEETNESS that struck me: the way she described my dad's amazing confidence, his blind luck + his juju when it came to playing the game... + in that moment i knew where my sketches would go next. 
curious?
i'll be sharing this new series, all about juju, with anyone who can come- the first friday in march to a wonderful modern-craft gallery in denver called: tomte craft! it's sure to be a hoot. (i'll share some images of the works here too- in case you can't make it. just be patient with me. k?)

 i adore tomte, you will too!
click here to follow tomte on facebook!

~wishing you good juju... 
lizzie




p.s. fELiZ 60th geeps!

i have a little show tomorrow at a sweet flower shop called Amore Fiore in the neighborhood where i live. the pieces i've done for this show number 30. they are all inspired by love.
this one is about the way i felt yesterday. dreaming + sure.
"let go + believe" 6" x 6" ink and acrylic on canvas

i love the high contrast next to the low contrast, the peach next to the navy.... i wanted to leave my lines free of color- like a coloring book- waiting for paint. it actually makes me think of this song that i still don't know the name of. (doesn't it just bug you when you can't trace a song?)
it's about making connections that are real. real live organic connections, unlike the kind we all have with our techy toys of today.

i'll share some more pics from this series after i hang it tomorrow! can't wait!

we are about to list our house- so i moved my studio space into our laundry room in order to make it look like "normal" people lived here- i was anxious to see if i could actually get any work done in that room- and guess what! the space actually works really really well. It's truly too whimsical + magical in here to do just laundry! See:soooo... speaking of space... i just stumbled upon the work space of this über amazing artist i am a fan of :nathalie lete from paris. she paints, she makes rugs, she designs an earth-ware line for anthropologie, and makes art out of truly everything she touches. her workshop space makes me feel happy and brave. to see images of her pretty world is a delight to my soul... it's exactly the way i think about space and color. everywhere i go, i dream of doodling on the walls- the surfaces- playing with fabric like it was paint... i can see that this artist does too. i adore ms. lete.

happy wednesday,
l i z z i e

(Caveat: This will not be a short post. I have been a total slacker and therefore I will be unloading a season's worth of little details that I can actually remember. It's been a blur. So there you have it. Stop reading now if you're not into art, girly caca, or french macaroons, or Gaudi.)

Being the list lover I tend to be. Here's what's been lighting up my soul:

+++August + September were FULL of paintings for special people... here are little peeks from my studio (which has been a busy place!)

.

This is Sir Gillie. He was created by a lovely woman who just turned 80. Her family had me illustrate the story of Sir Gillie for her birthday. She was touched. It was soooo fun!

My friend Laura from Sweet Blossom Boutique had me help her with a new logo... I can's wait to share it with you.

+++September Tour of the South... a girly road trip from Atlanta to a 150 year old farm in Nashville, and then off to the most charming B & B in Columbus. It was a HOOT!

Lizzie & KP at some little shop somewhere along the road... goofin'.

This darling pond had a real live MAN lurking in it. We had the willies + the giggles all at once for a while over that sight. Let me just say- Columbus never stopped surprising us around every corner!

My girlies are pictured here- admiring an artist's flair in at the Country Living Magazine Fair... where I also found this: by Deirdre Friebely. Her work floors me. I love that she was able to make this darling piece with the words "hummingbird cake" clipped from a newspaper for inspiration. She certainly is a clever lady! +++ she puts little houses in her work, too... which made me feel instantly connected to her.

I went cuckoo for these. I have a thing for cuckoo clocks ever since (my then five year old) T asked Santa to bring him a cuckoo.

+++October brought me to Portland, Oregon. Where I think my family could up and move! I went to meet my new leetle cousin, Adam. What a doll! We enjoyed a morning at the Saturday Farmer's Market- it was truly lovely! We enjoyed hot cider with lavender + cardamom. My momma and I both LOVE cardamom- so we were floating about. And then I saw these dahlias... and oh, how a flower stall at an open air market can bring me to my knees. They also host a wonderful gluten free baker + thus bought T a bunch of treats for his lunch-box for the upcoming week. We popped into a wonderful little fabric store called Cool Cottons where I found this designer from Portland named Lizzy House. I adore her crisp, clean, whimsical designs- infused with her wit + charm.

Baby Adam's daddy had a nightly Daddy Dance Party that touched my soul + made me cry. Click here to hear one of his grooves. Adam's momma, Annie, is a poster child for breast feeding. Being in their cozy home with my momma was just what the doctor ordered for my soul this fall. I have dozens of paintings swimming in my heart from those tender days shared in Portland.

+++Late October in . . . . . . Paris!

Ahhhhhhhh. What a way to end the autumn!

The Paris Metro was so good to us. Lucky for me, B has a way with maps. Lucky for B, I have a way with French. Sorta. It was a good visit.

I had to double back in a Metro sortie to catch this little moment: Some street folk had peeled the paper back from this framed ad space + the color just spoke to me. If you came to my little art show at Sacred i Yoga this November, the piece called "Passion" was inspired by this wall. I love the humanity + grit to be seen on the Metro as much as the beauty + grace above ground in Paris.

Some things will always tug at my heart strings... one of them is thistle--just look at this tile from the exterior of a darling little boulangerie. It was just near this little skate shop where we rented skates for the Pari-Roller. The roller evening of MY LIFE! If you like to skate + find yourself in Paris on a Friday night- you must do this! I'll never forget wizzing by the Hotel de Ville at midnight with more than a thousand other skaters. Some were wearing actual roller skates as you see here. Hee Hee! On eve of Halloween- it was really cool to imagine the spirits of that lived in Montparnasse where the Pari Roller gathered to begin. It made me wonder.

Beauty and design. My goodness. There is a ball to be had at the Centre Pompidou. The installations, the cinema, the fountain by Niki de Saint Phalle + Jean Tinguely, the library store... and the shops in that neighborhood. Divine. From lingerie to noodles, art to thrift. It is a mecca of art, culture, and F.U.N.

A moment for Laudree Macaroons. My good God- the Lavender-Casis flavor could put me into a tizzy. They are perfection.

And another moment for the amazing Kenzo. Ever since Louis Vuitton bought the Kenzo brand- and even before then some pretty cool architectural design moments in Paris. Talk about eye candy. The Kenzo Spa- La Bulle is an amazing sight. I had read about it + in Wallpaper so I was excited to stumble upon it. Also on this eye candy list is Kong. This 2003 restaurant space was designed by Phillipe Starck. The juxtapose of the house music, the Starck acrylic chairs with pop images of ladies faces adorning them, the incredibly vivid colors with the panoramic view of grand Paris is powerful. It's like a place of fiction compared to the typical Parisian cafe. Kong has received really poor reviews since 2003- but, I say pop in for a drink after you're done touring Notre Dame +/or after you're done forcing your fellow to try on an incredible jacket at Kenzo downstairs.

I, of course, had a good old cry in the Musee de Orsay. There is nothing like visiting the master impressionists & post impressionists there. Emotion floods me as I climb the steps to the salons full of Van Gogh's, Gauguin, Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck, Monet, and their contemporaries... It is overwhelming to see Manet's Olympia again as an adult. Yet, I was still fascinated by that black cat at the foot of the bed.

There was a James Ensor exhibit open at the Orsay. This rare + bizarre collection of pre-expressionism work is amazing to take in. Ensor used symbolism through masks to portray satire + irony in a series of works. These frightening + somewhat grotesque works were tender once you had a chance to read about Ensor's life... and a bit appropriate for a Halloween visit!

This is the humble view from bed. Take me back. Just saying.

This city blows me away!

+++November began for me in Barcelona.

BCN, O' BCN, Te quiero, te quiero. Te quiero all your green, your azure, your ochre, your shades of grey, + your amazing shades of rose. Thank goodness for all your color.

El Born is a wonderful little neighborhood in Barcelona, flanking the Gothic Quarter & Barcelonetta. The churches, shops, & tapas restaurants are AMAZING. I love how during the day they are open, then closed for siesta, then open for evening, then closed for a few hours & back at it again the next day.
The siesta schedule works for this girl's body clock.

It's so wild how the streets look like a foreign place when everything is closed. Its hard to imagine that a darling little boutiques lay behind these graffiti ridden doors.

I love the old + new all over this city. I was told this is the oldest public fountain in the city. It reminds me of my dad.

This dress is from 1803. I snapped a shot of it while I was walking by an antique store + 2 older women were standing in front chatting about it.

It was so wild to see because just a few doors down was this little H + M store... which in some ways is sad... but sorta great for us- because we don't have H + M in Colorado. SoOoooOOoooo... we paid a little visit.

What gets me about Barcelona is the pulse. It feels like home to my soul. The sea air, the creativity around every corner, the simple + pure food, the fashion, the music, the night life + evidence of Gaudi everywhere. I love it!

Lunch + a little hike around Parc Güell,

a tour of Gaudi's Casa Batllo + siesta by the sea is a near perfect vacation day for me.

The whole wonderful time went by in a flash... + there was very little sleep to be had in Barcelona. That city likes to dance + play...

¡Vamanos a Barcelona!

p.s. Check out the link for food above. It's for a restaurant called La Plata in the Gothic Quarter... They are famous for fried sardine tapas + it's been said the Bono has been known to eat there when in Barcelona. I'm not usually a star f***er. But, its the sweetest, cutest, littlest place with the teeniest menu ever. And just a few doors down is a handmade candy shop called Papabubble. It makes the streets smell so divine! I hope you get to go!

+++ if you find yourself wandering BCN- be sure to visit the museum- Fundacio Joan Miro. Then stop for a bite at Quimet + Quimet. Yummy.

Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you Nana Suzanna + PopPop for hanging out with our bambinos on Dayton Street so we could go!

I found a soap today that is the yummiest thing this land locked girl has stumbled upon in a while... its called Saltwater. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Saltwater. Sigh.

Order yourself some: saipua

They do flowers in their Brooklyn store, too.... this photo took my breath away.

just had to share... 

xoxo

I love summer! LOVE it.
I'll post images of this summer's paintings soon.
Stayed up super late last night- listening to Andrew Bird's Oh No. I adore it. There are a million+ paintings inspired by that song swimming in my heart. Click here to hear it... again and again. ;)
Andrew Bird - Oh No

Shared via AddThis

Sunday Parenting

I just read this and cried my eyes out.

Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columinst & Author


All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief.

I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults,
two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the
same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with
me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that
make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower
gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I
like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets
and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick
soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the
baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through
the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me
now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on
sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood
education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where
the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I
suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories.
What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the
playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they
taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then
becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that
it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds
well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a
stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his
sibling at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put
baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-
up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs
because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent
this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing.

Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research
will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr.
Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he
describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and
active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who
did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs?
Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he
developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last
year he went to China Next year he goes to college.
He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me,
mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the 'Remember-
When- Mom-Did ' Hall of Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the
bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed.
The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare
sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came
barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I
responded, 'What did you get wrong?'. (She insisted I include that.)
The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through
speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window.
(They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the
Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while
doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly
clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.
There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a
quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and
1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked
about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that
night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing:
dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little
more and the getting it done a little less. Even today I'm not sure
what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life.
When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would
become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they
simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a
thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be
relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over
the top.

And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I
like best in the world who have done more than anyone to excavate my
essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound
and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to
figure out who the experts were.



I like that little essay. My 3 "experts" are keeping me busy. They're still so little and I keep wondering what things I'll wish I could experience all over again when they get big.
This makes me want to make a list of things I like today.
TILT:
* going barefoot * barefoot children * the way my friend Alli laughs * Scott Matthews * toad stools * vintage tablecloths and candles * eating outside * summertime * teenage rock bands * greek yogurt * this little game I play on my iPhone * my amazing iPhone * twitter * this song on a playlist that i play that goes straight to my heart and squeezes it so much I can feel the whole world's love * parties * candles * bathtime * sandalwood * March 2009 * the way Julio dances * playing chase * giggling * * white corn tortillas * vintage flashcards with messages * hollyhocks * the word espejo * sticky rice with mango from Swing Thai * yoga * new babies * 5280 * word games * organic licorice * my daughter lulu's birth story * New York Times online slideshows * Stumble Upon and Firefox * kindergarten kiddo writing * home made birthday cards * playlists for friends * e cards from MOMA * circles & connections * handwriting * popcorn * whistling & jingling change * Barenaked Ladies "If I had a Million Dollars * 140 characters * big dreams * eyes * firefly & tigerlily * naps * Coldplay "Fix You" * having my first small business listed as one of the 205 reasons to like Denver! * Friday mornings * Sunday night dates * lists * sign language * acorns *color * you *
Om Namah Shivaya!
lizzie