Art Prize Listing

Start posting now to be entered to win this magnet set of Gerber Daisy prints that brighten up any kitchen or office. Taken from a 3 piece set that I painted a few years ago, I wanted to bring them back just in time for summer. Please refer to my original posting for rules and dates on announcing the winner. Good luck!

July eNewsletter

I just published my July eNewsletter. It lists my upcoming art shows and workshops, as well as my latest design ventures. To view it click here and to subscribe click here.

Motivation for New Painting

I love this prayer. It is deep at the heart of what God is teaching me right now, and where most of my motivation and inspiration for my paintings have come from recently.

St. Theresa's Prayer:
"May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

New Web Service Offered

In the last few months, I've been asked to take on a few existing websites that need routine maintenance updates. Some just need simple updates while others need a little flare or a total overhaul so there's consistency to each page. Check out my website for a list of services that may meet your needs if you have a website that could use a little kick, or need help with regular maintenance.

Enter to Win!

Each quarter, I'll be picking at random, a winner of a piece of art made by me. It could be custom made art magnets, packs of greeting cards, a print or piece of art! All you have to do is make a comment on my blog and you're entered to win! And the more comments you make, the more chances you have of winning! I'll announce the winner on my blog and eNewsletter. For a list of upcoming dates to see when the prizes and winner will be announced, see below.

August 1, 2008 - Prize Listed
October 31, 2008 - Winner Announced

Round Robin Journals

The Art Ministry at NewSong Fellowship has started a new Round Robin-type Journal project where we meet on a monthly basis sharing what we've done in our themed art journals. The theme we chose was "Elements and Principles of Design" and I chose Movement. No surprise, I'm sure. But ever since our zucchini plant has grown and blossomed I've been wanting to draw the beautiful movements of the vine-like stems. Every morning I excitedly go out into our backyard and am not only amazed by how many new zucchini and yellow squash we have growing, but how long and curvy the stems of the leaves grow. It's beautiful to watch.

Paintings for girls bathroom

I painted these for NewSong Fellowship Church's little girls bathroom. They're a set of 3 wooden pieces with cute yellow polka-dotted ribbon attached to hang it. Aren't they cute! Below are pictures of the final product.

Our Garden Bounty

How beautiful is this?! Not only because of the colors, but because it all came out of my garden yesterday! And it was as delicious as it looks. Talk about another natural inspiration!

Group Show

DogStar Books & Gallery

529 W. Chestnut St
July 1 - July 26
1st Friday Opening Reception, July 4th 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Artists:
Deirdre Citro; paintings
Cinda Collins; pop-art
Maggie French. folk art; collaged salvage
Victoria Gertenbach; Fiber arts/collage
Rachel Marie Kantner; Fiber arts
Ann Kimmich; paintings
Magdalen C. Mowery; paintings and prints

Natural Inspiration

I just got back from an incredible trip to the Olympic National Park in Washington State. From walking through the Hall of Mosses in the rain forest, following along the turquoise Hoh River, to picking up wild purple star fish at Ruby Beach, you can't be in more awe of God's creative hands.

Gift Cycle

The Gift Cycle is a cross country cycling project that carries works of art as gifts from local artists of one town to local artists of the next town along the route---a 3,000 mile journey uniting 12 plus communities. Watch the slide show here /// giftcycle.org

I think this is such a cool idea, I just had to participate, so I donated a couple pieces for when they come through Lancaster. One is a print of my "Your's or His" painting. The other is a painting that says what I think everyone needs to tell themselves everyday.

For their schedule, go here and to see pictures of artwork donated so far, go here.

Painting 2 for New Baby

I have a friend in Portland who commissioned a painting from me right after she had her first baby a couple years ago. She just had her second baby last September and I'm finally finishing up the next one. I LOVE how it turned out and can't wait to hand deliver it to her tomorrow night when my husband and I fly into Portland to see her.

It's based on a story book with the greatest line in it:
"I love you right up to the moon and back."

Frame for New Baby

Shhhhhh.
This is the frame I just finished for a friend and mailed it off this week. I was too excited to not show it, so I'm risking the chance that she'll see it before it arrives in her mailbox.

LIA Fundraiser Buttons

Who doesn't love buttons!
Lancaster Indie Arts, a small group of independent artists in the city, have created 1 inch buttons to sell as a fundraiser. Our main objective is to encourage and promote growth and success in our community, while helping each other through our own artistic endeavors.

We've done a lot this last year, for example, we helped implement the Arts Market section at Eastern Market last summer (which continues this summer). We also led the effort to hold Art in the Garden during the September First Friday. And you'll notice in my New Orleans trip article below, we sent a gift basket to a Habitat for Humanity home owner while I went with a team from Lancaster.

We're looking forward to the next few months as we've added another member to our group and are in the process of working on a show at DogStar Books for the month of July. And as a way of making sure we have the funds to continue helping our community, and outside it, we're selling buttons. If you'd like to purchase a random mix of 10, go to my etsy shop.

Press!

To my surprise, there was a great article about me and the Abstract Expressionist class I taught last week in the Lititz paper. It was a wonderful promo for my business and led a few people to contact me through it. Thanks Sallie for putting it together!