WOW such a long absence... UPCOMING SHOWS

My deepest apologies for being gone so long. It's been just about a whole year (let's just call it a year cause in 11 days it will be). This isn't because I have not been creating or working, it is because of the life that I have been having to live regardless of creating or working. So much has happened.

After I posted in December last year the end of December was always hectic, as was Jan, Feb, and April. December was Aaron's birthday (17th), then Christmas (was always a big deal), and then in January Martin's (my husband) birthday on the 1st, then Hope's birthday on the 11th, and then in February there was Valentine's Day (never a big deal :( to my husband) and then my birthday. In March was our wedding anniversary (again, :( not a big deal to my husband). Then almost immediately in April was Angel's birthday. There was very little time to settle down enough to blog about anything short of just being about how hectic I was feeling.

Then things started falling apart for me.

Martin started cheating (I think) on me. He decided to move to an apartment and separate, then the adoption for the kids that we had been working toward was finally scheduled. It was set for Aug. 8, 2008 at 8:00 am. I let Martin know. And was in the midst of a move from Denton to Mesquite. I got the apartment all approved, and everything seemed to be going somewhat normally. I thought Martin would settle down when he saw the stress over the fostering / adoption was over. He said he would go through with the adoption because he didn't want to screw the kids up. I thought all would be fine after some time. He kept telling me nothing was wrong he was just overly stressed.

Well on 7-27-08 I received divorce papers. The next day the jerk had called the state and the state effectively kidnapped the kids from me. I was told while I was driving down the freeway and nearly killed myself, my mom, and everyone else withing a 200 ft radius of my car.

Let me just say the state, the agencies, the people who are charged with "child protection" don't have a blasted clue about what is right for kids or how to handle situations properly.

So here we are... it's December again. Thanksgiving sucked, I have no hope of getting the kids back, and Christmas is coming and I dread it. I am looking forward to meeting a fellow artist. She is coming to Oklahoma for some Christmas festivities and I will be travelling up to see her at some point in her holiday visit. Haven't set on a specific day yet, but we are working on it. You can see her work at http://teague-drydan.deviantart.com

I have also made some decisions about the future of me and where I am going to be. I am re-locating to the UK. I have a couple of very good, very dear friends there who have been a drastic support for me through all I have been going through and I have wanted to return there ever since I was there in 1999 studying art. It was truly the first place I felt like I was home.

I am going to go visit this summer, start getting some things together and set up and look for a place to live. Then I will be going back and forth quite a bit and deal with several shows here and getting shows set up there etc.

I do have some shows here set up and getting set up.

Because of all that has happened I missed the application deadlines of a couple, but here is a current listing of were I am applying and/or will be exhibiting.

I will / am trying to be in the following places:

April 4&5
San Antonio, Texas
La Villita Spring Arts Festival (Vendor & Exhibitor)

October 10-18
Houston, Texas
International Quilt Show (Vendor)

October 31 & November 1 (I think - new dates haven't been made available yet)
Carterville, Illinois
34th annual John A. Logan College Autumn Fest Arts and Crafts Show (Vendor)

I will be working on Blogging much more regularly, but I just started a new job so I will aim for weekly blogs rather than daily blogs.

Don't forget to sign up for my feed so you can read my coming and admittedly fascinating artistic blogs.

Short Creative Hiatus (but I am back!)

I must apologize to my readers as I have been attempting to keep a running log of all the inner workings of my art and my creative process, but the last few days have been busy-busy-busy as I have been extremely creative and coming up with all kinds of ideas and getting inspirations from all kinds of places (some very unexpected ones).

I will catch you up here.

In preparing for my show in April, I have come up with all kinds of items, products, and possibilities. I can't divulge too much information (not that I am afraid, but I have not yet figured out all the kinks and details yet. Here is a list of what I have come up with.

1. Individually painted/lettered business cards
2. ATCs
3. Carved, Pyroengraved, Sculpted, and Painted Gourds
4. Handmade OOAK woodwind instruments (flutes, pipes, etc.)
5. Jewelry from unusual (but beautiful) materials
6. Original ornaments (and not just for Christmas) (beads, clay, etc.)
7. Carved Goose, Emu, and Ostrich Eggs
8. Beaded, clay, sculpted, pyroengraved "chicken" and "goose" eggs
9. Rock animals (hidden compartments for storing treasures)
10. Minature teddy bears, rabbits, dogs, cats, etc.
11. OOAK dolls (I have several sketched and plans for more)
12. Rice "bags" in imagery that can be heated to be warmers
13. Window Clings
14. Treasure boxes
15. OOAK detailed canes (for others to make clay projects from)
16. Magnets of clay "quilts", etc.
17. Coasters
18. Trivets
19. Suncatchers
20. Sewing Kits from animal forms
21. Handpainted Soaps
22. Fairy home door stops
23. Handpainted mugs
24. Creative tie/hat/jacket tacks
25. Fun draft blockers (cause I need them if no one else does ;) LOL)
26. Hand painted candles
27. Apple head dolls (in honor of my grandparents and a special gift that was damaged in an unfortunate accident recently)
28. Felted Soaps (this is the dern coolest idea I have seen around.)
29. Charms (scented and unscented)
30. Stuffed Animals (with real character OOAK)
31. Postcards taken from my art (art produced specific for postcards)
32. Fabric postcards
33. "Fabulous Felted Foods" (copyright The Magic Weaver 2007)
34. Felted book / journal covers
35. Fingerpuppets
36. Coloring books

More to come on these as I figure out the problems and work them out. I am really excited about all these things and looking forward to the new adventures they will inevitably bring.

And of course there will be the default bread and butter items:

1. Paintings (watercolor, oil, acrylic)
2. Drawings (pastels, ink, pencil, charcoal/graphite)
3. Spinning (hand spun yarn by me)
4. Weaving (abstract and realistic)
5. Sculpture (polymer clay, fabric, assemblage)