Heather Bleasdell

Artist: Nura Porat

I don't know. It just made me laugh. You can tell what kind of art I like. Illustrator Nura Porat

Early Evening

The sun was out today, so Addie & I went for an early evening walk. As always, we wandered past the Catholic church near my house.

photo: iphone (hipstamatic app)

Be So Fun: Update

First of all, I can't believe it has been a week since I last posted here. I've been in Build Altars land. Major things happening over there with guest bloggers... and starting a FB business page, offering my first GiveAway, and a new sense of community. It's wild. So, in the midst of all that exciting goodness, I am also starting to feel the blah. The blah being - my annual descent into the grief with the approach of the anniversary of my dad's death just a few weeks away now. This year, the fourth, has been more mild, but now it feels like PMS with a short fuse. I'm staying busy with work, planning a Halloween party and not trying to take myself too seriously. So far, my husband has been forgiving :)

Here is the BeSoFun update: We have hit a roadbump. What roadbump? My fear of acrylics. Does anyone else have this? Sheez. It makes me feel retarded. One of my Stir the Post promises for this week was to run in a new place AND make a mark on our BeSoFUn collaborative canvas. Well, the week is almost up (Sat. is my week end) and I have to make a move. OMG. How I worry about such things rather than just taking an action step. So, I will be making a mark and posting here by Sunday nite. There, I've said it.

Image: another exquisite corpse, created by Steve & I.

Artist: Nikki McClure

Poster: Mendicino by Nikki McClure’s work. If you haven’t seen her calendars or her book Collecting Raindrops, you should definitely check them out.

Artist: Bansky

This is beautiful.

 

I also recommend the book Wall & Piece by Banksy. So inspiring.

Artist: Betsy Walton

I'm very excited about my new purchase from Betsy Walton!

Jack Johnson at the Greek Theater in Berkeley

This was SO not something I would do and I am SO glad I did it.

To be fair, my husband and I were home-bodies way before we had our daughter... so I can't blame parenthood for our lack of noctural exploration. However, the responsibilites of parenthood make it a little more challenging for the naturally Home-bound folks to bust forth into the big world, much less drive 45 minutes to the BIG BOLD CITY that is Berkeley... please. Lucky for us, our wonderful new Petaluma friends don't know about our stagnant tendencies and invited us to a concert. 

I won't lie to you. We are not huge JJ fans and we fear crowds, traffic, parking, concert food and over-spending. And we still said yes. Yes to adventure, yes to new friends, yes to stirring the pot, yes to the Mystery... that it might work out BETTER than we can imagine. And you know what, it did. We carpooled with our friends and laughed all the way to Berkeley. We found great parking and great seats. We ran into dear old friends and made a new one - love Nita! And, to top it off... Jack Johnson & his friends were terrific. I don't know what to say about him, other than he feels good - good in the heart and very inspiring in his relaxed performance. He is comfortable being himself. It felt like a gift to witness and share in the experience of artists channeling creative energy full-out. It was just good. And, we really like Mr Johnson now. Not just because of his performance but because of his authenticity, heart and caring. If you don't know, Jack Johnson donates 100% of his profits from this tour (and his 2008 tour) to charity. Aloha Spirit is alive. I can taste the rainbow, can you?

i heart ballet

Having a daughter is heavenly. I think the image speaks for itself. We've been spending a lot of time together lately, and there have been moments when I can't believe my luck - she is so beautiful and fun - and moments when I can't believe I'm being yelled at by a 2.5 year old caveman. It's a little crazy, but that's mommyhood for you. It's a dance, not always graceful, but moving with a beauty and force that is hard to deny. 

Last week she had 2 full days of school and loved it. This week, she will be doing her 2 full days and I will love it - no more worrying for me. I'm deep in the expansion of Build Altars and this week we will be hosting our first guest blogger on the New Moon in Libra, this Thursday. Hope you can check it out.

Books: check out the children's book Me Hungry by Jeremy Tankard to delight your cave-child, and if you need a little help relating with your cave-kid, check out The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD.

Artist : Amy Blackwell

At Home on the Sea by Amy Blackwell
Image on Etsy 

Painting with Leah

My friend Leah, who is also a mother and artist, came over tonight to paint in the studio. We needed to stir things up, create some movement, and of course, have some fun. We even got the painting table out! And it worked - we had too much fun! When we would lose interest in our painting, we'd switch paintings. We laughed and talked and painted. And guess what? We even loved one of our collaborations, though that wasn't really the point (see above - who wouldn't love her?) We are doing it again in a couple of weeks. And maybe, we'll even invite some more friends over. Moms on the loose! Check out Leah Joy's music on CD Baby too. She is incredible.