i am sad to report that school is kicking my arse and cutting into my blogging & arting time. i am happy to report that my drive to work each morning takes me through the beautiful hills of silverlake. living in the gleaming metropolis for so long, i know the secret shortcuts to avoid long lines of freeway cars in the mornings.
the children are cute, but, as i relayed in a previous email, they are very special. and while there are only 14 of them it is rather like trying to keep 14 beachballs underwater. all at the same time. but i am up to the task!
i think fridays will have to be designated FUN FRIDAYS. we played bingo and drew pictures in the afternoon. then i got out the treasure chest and everyone got out their tickets and “bought” treasure. someone didn’t have enough tickets for a 20-ticket toy and almost blew a gasket. then didn’t. small victories are thrilling.
i stayed in bed with catboy an extra long while this morning. i did lots of perusing of past travel journals, consulted maps, zipped here and there on the airbnb app. imagined cool summer escapes to northern forests and deep blue lakes. plots are being hatched.
after i lolled about in bed till 11 i cracked open my sketchbook and painted in my pajamas while drinking a giant mug of coffee.
i continued in my quest to build a cat empire. now i have 3 cats in my collection. but i think i need some donuts to go with.
what in the heck are you doing? spill.
bear hugs & air kisses from the city of angels!
Love it! love it! Love it!
Oh My!!! I want a copy of your Kitty Portraits!
They are soooo wonderful and beautiful! I want to hug them.
Does Wyatt sleep under the covers? We had a kitty named Morris and he would get into bed, get under the covers and put his head on a pillow…looked just like a little kid in bed with us.
We take in every stray cat that wanders by…I may need to get a cat collection going too.
Mary Ann your special children are so fortunate to have you and you are up to the task.
Love lounging about in my pjs, doing creative stuff until way past when, whatever that means. What am I doing???? Well, in addition to finishing up a weaving sample, setting up the next one and reading an Eleanor Roosevelt bio, I’m getting ready for a foray up to Carp. Leaving Weds, going to stay a week. Taking a small loom, threads, paints, brushes, pencils, sketchbook. Looking forward to aimless walking.
Your cat paintings are so expressive..love that face! Yesterday it was 32 here in Austin, Tx…but the SUN was shining and no snow like in the east. Yikes, those poor folks who are dealing with it. I spent all afternoon organizing my washi tapes. Yes, it took hours. I realized I have no tape with cat faces on it, so am beginning a quest to find some. Surely that won’t be too hard, I know it exists, I just haven’t seen it yet.
Sounds like a challenge with the new kiddos and will take a lot out of you, but yes, you are up to the task!
p.s. I’m now working on my daughter’s dog painting. It will be a slow grind, but I’ll finish it and post it somewhere. So far I have painted three cats, though.
Well, Mary Ann–Due to the almost 2 feet of snow this weekend, my husband Dave just went out and dug and cleaned off our cars. He had a lot of stored energy from being stuck inside yesterday! Then I had to sweep the snow off of him so he could go out and run errands looking respectable. It’s beautiful, but I think I would now like to live in a more temperate climate. That won’t be for a while, though! Have fun with the school children, your cats, and your art!
Hi Mary Ann, Loved hearing about your new class and what a great idea to have a treasure chest. 🙂 I am packing up my house to move. It’s tedious and rather disheartening. My husband is retiring and we are leaving Texas for the beaches in Florida. I keep telling myself , it will be fine. Have great Sunday.
You captured (who is that, Wyatt or?) very very well. That expression has appeared in photos through the years. Inventing fun is the best way to maneuver your school days. You will enjoy it and when you do they will as well. Good luck, you are a fun maestra, you will come up with good stuff.
My cats require a lot of personal time. If I wanted to sketch/paint them, I could lurk around until they’re unconscious. But maybe with a lavender background…
What am I doing? Watching the Snow Lords dump 30″ inches of white wonder on my world. Staying inside. Fussing around with my wolf moon collage. Reading your blog and grinning. Working up the energy to make lentil soup tomorrow, which I plan to wash down with a slab of apple pie. You’re invited. I could even break out the wine.
I have the utmost faith that you are up to the task of those special students, Mary Ann, and I know they will be the better for having you as a teacher. I cracked up on the beach ball comment! Kitty is adorable all snuggled in like a humancat. My cat is NOT snuggly! She’d just as soon tear your face off. But I love her anyway, for some odd reason. I think she is teched (sic) in the head just a bit. She chases my 95 lb golden retriever and he is terrified of her, and rightly so. Whereabouts up north are you plotting to go? If you are ever in Seattle you are welcome to stop by Lazy Loper Stables, which is our “farm”. We used to breed paint horses, but I only have one elderly mare left. The stables are closed. I am getting to be an elderly mare myself, and it is getting harder to keep up with five acres. I have a duck pond full of ducks, most of them fly in for the winter, but I have a few resident mallards that stay year round. I am known in the neighborhood as the crazy duck lady..unofficially of course. It is very difficult this time of year because it is duck hunting season and it is not uncommon to have them shooting ducks right out behind my barn in the cow pasture. It is very hard on me! Same thing for deer and elk season. UGH. I think once the old mare is gone, we will sell this place and get something more manageable.
I won an art giveaway on Friday, and am so tickled! It was one from Ivy Newport, and lots of great stuff. I sign up for lots of them but never win, so boy was that great! I am excited to be starting Pam Garrison’s class soon, and have been painting petals in anticipation:). I was wondering…how does one find their style? I have been doing mixed media for 2 years and still don’t have a “style”. I can look through Pinterest or Instagram and instantly spot an artist’s work by the style. I always recognize Pam’s and yours and many other artists, but I don’t think anyone can say that about myself. I feel I haven’t find mine yet. I don’t know if that is something that one can learn…I seem to want to do EVERYTHING and every style, and every medium, and every color. Oy. Well if you know, could you please advise? Well I sure have babbled on, but you DID ask! Teehee! Have a great rest of the weekend! P.S. The colors on your kitty painting are Pantone’s two colors of the year. (Rose quartz and serenity, which is more periwinkle.) I just learned about that from my eldest offspring. Blather blather…
winning things is fun!
style. schmile. fuggetaboutit. you just keep PLAYING. i can spot someone a mile away who is working hard to have a “style”. don’t try.
it will evolve naturally the more you create and are drawn to certain shapes, palettes, lines. marks.
you are on the exact right track.
in the meantime go read roald dahl’s THE MAGIC FINGER. it’s about duck hunters. most excellent!
Thank you, Mary Ann, and I shall heed your advice. I will also look for that book:)
This popped up randomly in my feed today. “To find your style is not to find and create something others like, but something that brings meaning, satisfaction and fulfillment.” Natalie Shaun, Digital Photo Artist. I thought it was ironic since I just asked about it.
Hi Mary Ann. I’ll be back in the trenches at work on Wednesday. We have a new kinder class this year with 7 autistic children. I feel for their teacher who suffers from anxiety. I also suffer with anxiety and a chronic pain condition called fibromyalgia. I’m choosing to work 4 days a week instead of 5 for the first time in 20 years. I am now working with year 3 and 4 and all the classes are composite to spread out the behaviour problem kids. I am the ESL Mentor for the teachers and work with the new arrival kids too. I’m wondering if I may have some new refugee students from Syria. I have one already who came a few years ago who is adorable. Art soothes me and keeps me sane.
Wednesdays will be my catch up day and play day when you start Sketchbook 2! Pam Garrison has started this rumour you see. I’m not very good at Urban Sketching and I am in Liz Steel’s online courses for that but don’t have much time to devote to study. But we have a Feb 6th Urban Sketchers Day which I am attending so – I will practice beforehand because Liz will be there too and I love the old terrace houses there so much. She is an architect and loves drawing houses but also tea cups. I love them too.
My daughter Sunflower and I got interviewed by Buzzfeed Australia about our heritage so I am including the link which got published yesterday,
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annamendoza/all-the-colours-of-the-world?utm_term=.ig5vEgzD8#.sne7yaXW0
That means a lot to me ‘outing’ about my heritage due to the Aboriginal lineage.
So many arty folks publish books and if you ever do I feel you need to include monkeys and cats!
Missing your Chimp Proof lessons and still sewing up the x stitch proudly for my sketch books.
I have two rescued cats now. Holly and Jarrod. Jarrod and young (a year now) and tears my toilet paper! And knocks it out of the cupboard I hide it in unless I push it shut properly. He’s black and white and Holly is a Torty. She is so petite like a little Fairy but is an adult.
I wonder where you might travel to this year. I’m in Pam’s new Petals class and can’t wait! I love flowers so much and love all your adventures with cactus n stuff!
Cactus! My mind boggles. It’s not indigenous here.
Your new charges sound challenging but then you seem good at challenges so I’m sure you will manage and I love your growing menagerie …
I really am amazed at how much I look forward to your dispatches. Sorry your day job is draining, but KEEP ON for it gets better ms moss! As a veteran of 32 years with LAUSD, I am grateful for the opportunities I had and now for the retirement check that automatically deposits itself into my account on the first of the month. Whoopee! Now I can go out and buy some more paint. Keep on working, traveling and arting……what a great combination.
Last year I did 15 paintings in a row that featured cats, but I got sick of painting the backgrounds before I got sick of the cats themselves. They just have so many LOOKS, you could fill an entire sketchbook with them and have no repeats! :O There’s always nanojoumo for challenging a theme!
Today is not-much day. Overcast. I so badly want to get closer to installing laminate floors, but getting the other half on board has been like pulling teeth!