An Adventure was Had!

Last week I was unexpectedly taken from my normal routine and thrown into chaos so that fun could be had.  It’s crazy how that can happen with just a phone call.  My daughter auditions for tv/film from time to time.  I say from time to time because I can’t stand it and try to avoid it at all cost.  Most people think I’m crazy because “how cool is that!” but I’m not really cool with last minute changes of plans that potentially have the chance to derail my life for a few days, months or years.  I like stability and I like to know exactly what I’m going to be doing and when.  I can’t stand stage mom’s and have no desire to be one or even be around them.  BUT, this chance audition started out a routine thing and turned into something exciting cause I had the chance to go with Tessa to L.A.!

A passport was needed and I am thankful for my good time management skills and the ability to stay somewhat calm in the midst of panic and a conference call with two agents on a Bluetooth I was just learning how to use on a drive to every passport office in town while I had two kids in the back of the car.  I am also thankful my longtime friend Beatrice was at home making meat loaf  but was able to clean off her hands long enough to sign my passport info and get me to the next destination with good directions and a calm voice knowing that I was ready to snap.  People who have known me for a long time know it isn’t pretty when I snap so most try to alleviate the possibility.

The Richmond Passport office closes at 5:30 p.m. if anyone is interested and, if you waltz in with two kids flailing behind you at 5:25 p.m. this lovely little Asian man will say in a soft voice “Thank you for visiting the Richmond Passport Office just to let you know for next time we close at 5:30 p.m.”  I just looked at him with my exasperated look and said “I know; but it’s 5:25″.  The man at the next counter knew he was going to miss the start of the Olympic “big” hockey game (but not that gold winning game that came a few days later) and when I told him I was going to ask for the impossible and looked like I was going to cry if he didn’t give it to me he rolled his eyes and asked where my itinerary was. I told him it should be on his fax machine and looked at my husband with that look that said “that fucking fax better be on his machine”.   Husband just nodded to me that it was and, to my relief, it really was and I could finally breathe again.

The lovely man who had rolled his eyes at me when I arrived at his little counter turned nicer as he saw that the fax was from Warner Bros. Studios and then he told me I was leaving the next evening at 6:30 p.m. to which I responded “Thursday?  I thought I was going Friday!”  “Well, it says here you are on a 6:30 p.m. flight to LA tomorrow.”  and transferred me to the smiley processing girl who had a personality and a sense of humor and promised my passport would be ready at 3 p.m. the following day!

Going to L.A. for an audition is fun because, let’s face it, not many people get that chance and I was so proud of Tessas for just being her and having this opportunity to shine.  I was also excited because I knew I was finally going to meet Linda Woods and her husband Dustin oh, and lets not forget, the trip was paid for and who doesn’t like a free trip!

The passports were picked up from a personality-less passport agent and off to the airport we went. My daughter and I were off on an adventure and we knew the chance of getting “the part” was like playing the lotto so we were focusing on the adventure, the opportunity and meeting Linda and Dustin.  We found the stage mom and her daughter almost instantly at the airport as they had that look and it was confirmed when we got on board the plane and they were sitting practically beside us when she leaned over and said “Is your daughter auditioning for the part as well cause she keeps looking at my daughter?”  I responded in my I don’t want to be your friend but will answer your question voice “Yes she is but she actually recognizes your daughter from previous auditions.”  Turns out I would have to endure this woman and her stupid stage mom comments for my time in L.A. as she was staying at the hotel plus the girls had lots in common which, as it turned out on audition day, wasn’t a good thing for the other little girl’s head space as stage mom told Tessa not to talk to her daughter until after the audition.  Yes I gave her that are you fucking kidding me look along with the I really don’t like you look.  Being my daughter, Tessa is not at a loss for words and sometimes her words can be pointed so when the little girl kept talking to her she very kindly said “I don’t think your mother wants me talking to you so I probably shouldn’t”.  Yes I was smirking as I was trying to comprehend the voluminous contracts I had before me that were so overwhelming I was starting to sweat and it was then I realized I had forgotten to pack my deodorant!  I immediately texted Linda who I knew would understand the gravity of the situation but would also be laughing her head off at the thought of me without deodorant in a overwhelmed state.  She responded accordingly which made me smile especially since she even offered to pick me up some!  The horror of meeting someone who you already felt you knew but theoretically didn’t because you hadn’t seen them in person without deodorant after a sweaty situation doesn’t equal a good first impression.

All the girls made it through to the second set of auditions and we had a break in between so we were able to have a walk around the Warner Bros. Lot which was totally cool.  We saw what was left of the ER set and all kinds of cool t.v. stuff.  The cafeteria or commissary as they called it was huge and full of so many choices.  The sizes of some of the servings floored me.  Just huge. Tessa was happy just to take pictures with her camera and check out the gift shop. She bought her close friends little gifts with her own money too!

Auditions ended and all went well.  I was extremely proud of Tessa and all of the girls who auditioned as they handled themselves beautifully in front of the heads of two big networks.  Stage mom unfortunately put her foot in her mouth several times and you really wanted to try and pull it out for her but really…it seemed to fit so nicely so you didn’t.

We hooked up with Linda and Dustin at our hotel after the audition and, aside from hearing each others voices for the first time, it was like meeting an old friend and the two non huggy people hugged!  We had brought a few goodies for Linda and Dustin from Canada and they bought us some cool CSI t-shirts and the most delicious Trader Joe peanut butter cups and dark chocolate pretzel.

Linda and Dustin were so kind and drove Tessa and I around to Hollywood and the Universal City Walk.  We had such a great time; photos were taken and food was eaten.  As all good things do, it had to end but not without a picture in the hotel bathroom.

After enduring breakfast with stage mom and her daughter the next day, who was now allowed to talk to Tessa, we boarded the plane, exhausted but thrilled with the opportunity we just had.  Tessa got her wish of a window seat and as such we got a amazing view of all the giant mountains below as well as Mt. St. Helen’s.  As I said, we were exhausted. Although Tessa did not get the part, neither did stage mom’s daughter.  To the little girl who did get the part, who I have to say, other than Tessa, is a great fit for the part, I wish you well, keep your head on straight you seem to be a natural.  To your Mother, I am so glad it’s you carting your kid to set every day and not me!

An Olympic Paper Bag

The Olympics are upon us;  if you haven’t noticed perhaps you are living in box or don’t have television.  For those of us living here we are on red and white overload as the world has descended on Vancouver.  I live just outside Vancouver and, even in the burbs, everyone is talking about the Olympics.  Red and white are the dominate color choices and CANADA is often seen on many of the hoodies around.  I have a fondness for hoodies so I’ve been noticing a fair share of them ~ Tracy Cimaglia if you are reading this watch yours cause it’s my favorite and it may go missing.  I have never seen so much Canadian pride, not even on Canada Day; sure we celebrate but nothing to this degree.  The world has seen the beauty of Vancouver and it’s surrounding areas and it has also seen our lack of snow and our extremely spring like warmth.

The first gold medal win on home turf was the talk of the town and, I have to admit, I was hoping Alexandre Bilodeau would get it.  I loved the story of him and his brother.  The Olympics are so medal focused; yes, I too am thrilled to see the medal ceremonies when our fellow Canadians receive their medals, the anthem in the background, flags waving, red and white everywhere and the athletes standing on the podium, tears in their eyes so proud.  It’s thrilling!  What about the others, the ones who didn’t get the medal, the ones who just missed that medal by a hair?  Is their Olympic experience and the journey to that moment any less important?  I don’t think so and yet they aren’t the ones who get the attention.  Every athlete participating at the Olympics deserve recognition for their journey.  The hard work, injuries they have worked through, the parts of life they have given up so they can practice their sport to get to the place they are at…the Olympics.  It is a dream of many.

This paper bag was created with the non-medal Olympians in mind.  The ones who often aren’t spoken of, the ones who do deserve recognition as their journey to the Olympics is likely a great tale just one that won’t get published unless of course they are from some really remote place in the world and learned to ski on rollerskates.

The Inevitable V-Day

It comes every February 14th and I detest it every year.  Valentine’s Day the hearts and mush is unavoidable.  I have people in my life who love Valentine’s Day – it’s their favorite!  I’ll do stuff for those who it matters to but otherwise…not so fond of it.

Matthew wanted Star Wars Valentines to give out! Surprise, surprise!!  He made it easy and Wal-mart was able to provide me with those.  Tessa wanted me to make her Valentines.  I was going to make them with her but she said to do them my way!  So I did.

Painted canvas

I hauled out my printable canvas but didn’t plan to print out anything on it.  I just figured I could use it to paint on.  I have to practice my graffiti given I’m suppose to teach a lesson on it in the near future (that’s a whole other blog post) so I decided to go about this project in that style. I started painting the canvas and while it was drying I grabbed my card stock and cut it down to the size I wanted.

I set up a space heater in my room and turned it on so the canvases would dry faster and I wouldn’t get cold!  It worked like a charm.  I did up three canvases and once dry I chucked them through my Xyron to add the adhesive to them and then cut the canvas into small squares. I had a mild panic attack when I thought I needed to paint another canvas but I managed to make it work! Paying attention in Grade 3 math might have helped.

They turned out just the way I hoped.  Once I attached the canvas to the card stock I thought they each needed a definitive heart on them so out came the black paint and a heart was adorned to each.  Oh and I had enough for two 5×7 size cards – one for the Principal and Tessa’s teacher! 

Oh and there is still time to get FREE shipping in my Etsy shop.  It ends February 12th.

What a Year

February 11, 2010 marks one year since I start selling my journals on Etsy.  Since then I have added my canvases, notepads and blank note cards.   It has been quite a ride.  I’ve made so many fantastic contacts and such incredible friends too.  Life’s path is never known and sometimes when we come to a cross roads we sit and wonder what the hell is up next for me.  Had you asked me 5 years ago where I would be I likely wouldn’t even have come close to what my reality is.  You can choose to sit and wallow in what you think things should be like or you can put your big girl panties on and take a leap of faith – or, in my case a what the hell let’s give it a go.  All the art work I create and list are created with music in the background, me disappearing into my head and letting the music dance with my paint brush or glue stick.  The finished product is always surprising to me.  I’ve been asked what motivates me and inspires me to create everything one of a kind, “like don’t you run out of ideas?”  I never do.  There are days I just don’t have it in me to create and then there are other days where there just isn’t enough time to get it all out of me.  When I run the ideas flow, words and flashes of finished images come together.  It’s the most calming, cheapest form of therapy available.  Me, paper, paint and glue.  I’ve walked through more places with torn paper stuck to my ass than I care to remember this past year but I have enjoyed the process.

It’s been a year I’ll never forget.  I met a bunch of fabulous women through Erica Ehm and Erica herself!  Thanks to Michelle Blau and Dusti Ohland I met Jann Arden which still causes me to grin ear to ear and I made a paper dress and am wearing it in this amazing book Meeting in the Ladies Room written by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino with Pamela Detlor.

My wish list for this year….continued creativity and lots of it.  I hope to finally meet Pamela Detlor, Linda Woods, Karen Dinino and many others from Meeting in the Ladies Room.  I have a new relationship with Zutter which will allow me to continue making my journals on well constructed chipboard and introduce new types of books as well which I’m super excited about.  I am also selling prints of my original sold artwork, the first is now listed in my Etsy shop.

Also…as my thank you for all your support I’m offering FREE SHIPPING on everything in my shop until February 12th!  Take advantage as it’s a great time to buy a one of a kind gift for that special someone – even if you have to hide it for a while.

“Mommy, I need some art for my wall and I want you to do it for me NOW.”

Matthew is all about the now unless of course I want him to do something now and then he pretends that he didn’t hear me or, as my Mother in Law has often wondered, that he’s completely deaf!  It annoys the shit out of me in a huge way which is why I think he does it.  So…being the stubborn one that I can be I took my sweet ass time make his art for his wall.

In fact, I started it and then changed it completely.  He liked the first one.  I didn’t.  The nice thing about paint is you can paint over what you originally painted and go in a completely different direction.  I started off making him something very little boy and, quite frankly, prissy.  Matthew is not prissy at all.  He is full of beans and vibrancy.  Even when he’s pissed off and demanding he is still full of life, zest and fun.  He’s colorful, cuddly and lovable – which is a good thing because otherwise I think I would have disowned him a few times already.

His art was completed today.  It is full of life and color too….and he LOVES it!

What is it about PMS that makes you want to beat the living crap out of everything and generally irritated beyond any imaginable irritation?  I know, hormones but seriously the amount of irritation and annoyance brought on at that special time of the month is not enjoyable.  Well, it’s not enjoyable to those around me anyway.  My longtime friend Beatrice just told me, after I ranted on and on in a text about how everything was irritating me and I just wanted to tell everyone to fuck off, “Damn LOL Thank God I am not the brunt of your PMS these days.  I paid my dues in that area many moons ago! LOL”  I can fully admit that she did and so did Tricia!  Sigh…  Many a bike got stomped on when that stupid kick stand wouldn’t work properly and many a brush flew across the room when the hair wasn’t working!  I no longer ride a bike that has a kick stand, in fact, I’m not a big fan of riding bikes since they made it a rule that you had to wear a helmet which in turn gives you bad hair.  Now add PMS to that mix and you can see why I stomped on that bike in the first place.  I likely had bad hair that day too as I do believe it was about the same time as that really bad perm that left me looking like Orphan Annie.  Oh I know, the visual on that is priceless and if you knew me at that time you are likely saying “Oh yeah I remember that.” My Dad couldn’t help but laugh after picking me up from that hair appointment and rather that saying it was awful and console me in my grief my Mother told me it helped me build character.  Character building is likely what caused me to smack Danny Stuart across the face in Grade 9 as that dreadful perm was growing out when he repeatedly called me Katie the Cleaning Lady and told me he could turn me upside down and use my hair as a mop.  Beatrice was my witness, and she never forgets anything, I did warn him before the smack.  Now looking back, it was likely PMS!  I’m currently writing this locked in my room after giving myself a time out and I’m irritated because I forgot to bring the ice cream and chocolate sauce with me!

Creative Eyes

Looking for the perfect shot

She’s got a good eye that daughter of mine.  She is creative, enthusiastic and amazingly supportive.  I have used her photos when creating my journals and this only feeds her creativity and that urges to create more.  She insists, because some of the journals which boast her photos have sold, that I now must tag my items saying “Photo by Tessa, age 9 1/2″.  She’s smart.  Already knowing not to let others take credit for her work which quite often takes years to learn and yet she knows this at age 9.

Tessa and I went on a photo shoot down at Rocky Point Park.  First stop though was a garbage can that I have been dying to have a photo of for months now and never got the opportunity.  Of course, walking from the car to the garbage can Tessa had already taken 10 pictures.  She seems to see the potential in everything and as a title for all of them.  The crack on the sidewalk was “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back”.  I know, used before but she thought she was rather clever!

After I had clicked away the funky garbage can we hit Black Sheep Wool to see if we could get her some needle felting supplies.  We found the supplies and as I turned around there was Tessa snapping pictures of the colorful yarns and wools.  It was so inviting and I was fighting the urge but I was waiting for the right moment to ask if it would be ok to snap some photos in their lovely shop.  The owner said no problem and then I pimped myself right out and dropped my business card on the desk telling her what I make.  She responded, “Well if you used a photo that you’ve taken from our shop we’d happily post it on our website.”  Perfect!

Tessa and I were on our way.  As with most sunny days in the Lower Mainland during the winter months, people make their way outside to get their dose of Vitamin D as we know the sun’s light won’t last long and the rain is usually a day away.  Quite a few people were out walking their dogs, few were running, kids occupied the playground and there was Tessa and I, walking off the beaten path, squatting down in places most wouldn’t think to take a picture.  I watched as my daughter looked for things to capture using her lens and while she was searching for shots I was looking at people watching her.  Some smirked, some smiled and some, you just knew were looking at her taking a picture of the arrow on the ground thinking “She’s gonna clog someone’s computer full of shit pictures”.  Little do they know, unlike most people who aim to capture beauty and memories of the kids playing we were looking for the not so obvious shot.  We had a mission, together searching for the shot to create with, captions to play with and a journal to put up on Etsy.  Here are a few of the pictures she took.

Available in my Etsy shop

Now here’s a new sketch book listed in my Etsy shop!

Wish

This canvas was for sale at the Anonymous Art Show this past December.  I watched as some really excited woman bought it off the wall right before my eyes.  It was pretty cool!  It was one of those canvases I created and really loved and could have kept for myself.  It sold for $100.  I was thrilled!!

I had the idea of using the image of this canvas for a journal cover but I didn’t want it to be exactly the same sooooo I decided to print it out and do a gel transfer of the image to see how it would look on a cover.  Given the word WISH is on it I had to remember to flip it so that I printed off the mirror image otherwise it would transfer backwards and that wouldn’t be good at all!  It turned out pretty good.

The peeling process began and it was actually working.

I added some paint around the final transferred image and then just to make it look just a bit different I re-printed the original dandelion picture, tore out the “wish” part and adhered it over top of the transferred image.  I added splashes of other paints and the end result…well, it’s for sale in my Etsy shop.

Beautiful Beginnings

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Double Happiness – Original Journal

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