Opening at Guardino Gallery

Friday night was a big night - Guardino Gallery on NE Alberta had the opening for their 8th Annual Little Things show, and guess who had some work on display? Well, Linda Womack did, and Jennifer Mercede, and Mar Gorman, Kim Hamblin, and Diane Archer and a bunch of other artists and . . . me!

Here's a display of some dimensional work - encaustic and acrylic and assemblage.

Here's a close up of one called "View."

And here's another one called "Skeleton Key."

Here's another display of some flat encaustic and collage pieces. I think the one with the typewriter is my favorite.

Spotted: World's Biggest Squirrel

On Thanksgiving, I put out some dried corn on the cob out for
the squirrels who frolic in my yard.

Believe it or not, these guys usually hang upside down
and eat from the bird feeder.

Occasionally, they fall. But mostly they are able to successfully
hang upside and eat like bats.

So, I thought it was time to give them a break and set some food out just for them.
It looks like this big guy got all of it - We call him Alpha Squirrel.
Of course, it's also possible that he's only part squirrel. I'll bet he has raccoon DNA.
Or maybe even bear.

Printing with Junk!

I love to teach, and I teach about once a month, but I always forget to bring a camera . . . I taught a Basic Beading class yesterday at DIY Lounge, and while I remembered to bring my camera, I forgot to take a single picture . . .

Last month, I taught a class called Printing with Junk . . . I had no camera, but one of my students, Emily, did . . . so, instead of sharing yesterday's class with you, I'm going to share a class with you from a month ago! We used recycled materials - and junk - to make cool prints. Here's Emily, the smart lady with the camera:

She's holding a print she made with a recycled plastic bag.

And here's another student and her plastic bag print.

Here's a print I made using an old piece of styrofoam - I carved it with a hot knife.

Here's a student inking up a heat moldable foam stamp. In the foreground, you can see a cut foam stamp glued on a peanut butter jar lid.

These prints are made with a combination of plastic bag prints and cut foam prints.

This print is so fun - a bubble wrap print in yellow, mixed up with cut-foam-on-peanut-butter-jar-lid print.

And, here's me!

This class was a lot of fun . . . and I'll be doing it again on January 14th. Maybe I'll see you there - with your camera!

I'm a Winner!

One of the best things about blogging is the friendships that develop. I've met new people, and gotten to know other people better. Like Dayna Collins over at Alley Art Studio. I love following her adventures as she hunts through junk shops around Oregon and around the world! She just got back from Italy . . . I had so much fun reading her blog and following her journey, and then as a "thank you" for commenting, she sent me this super cool care package!


A bookmark from Assisi, cool yogurt glass, sugar packet, sand and stones, a bit of a place mat from the Cinque Terra . . . and my favorite, an antique brass keyhole! As a thank you, I sent her a little goodie from Mexico.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, Dayna nominated me for a blog award! How cool is that?! And now that I've won it, I get to put the badge on my blog, and pass it on to more folks . . . seven more folks, to be exact.


And all those folks get to put the badge on their blogs and nominate seven more folks.

So, I'm nominating a few of my latest favorite blogs - at least the ones that Dayna didn't nominate - and it's hard to narrow it down!

Erin over at A Dress A Day - cool vintage patterns and sewing nifty-ness
Betty at Bitter Betty Blogs - crafty adventuring
Claudia at Aux Petits Oiseaux - a wonderfully whimsical crafter
Diane at CraftyPod - your link to all the crafty goodness out there
Alice at FutureGirl - general craftiness, now with even MORE future!
Jen at Jen Worden - slightly creepy mixed media wonderfulness
Michael5000 at The Life and Times of Michael 5000 - a brainy break from the craftiness, with quizzes!

Now, I'm off to notify everyone . . .

Window on Oaxaca

Time to head home . . . but let me leave you with a few more images of Oaxaca and the surrounding villages . . .

Street in Oaxaca City, near my favorite pizza place.

And a street near my hotel . . . I love the multi-colored buildings.

And a sneak peak into a courtyard . . . I love the way tropical locales build around an open courtyard . . . hidden from the street and full of fountains and color and sun.

And sometimes even red carts full of birdcages and green plants.

And windows with iron work and pretty paint on the walls.

I love the bright colors.

The pretty pastels.

And veggies at the native market . . . it travels from village to village in the Oaxaca valley.

I'll miss the sun and the bright colors.

I'll be glad to be rid of the Montezuma's Revenge, though.