Whirlwind

My life is a bit of a whirlwind with busy weekends and busier weeks.

So Im taking a bit of a blog break until September

And if I owe you something in the mail, it is coming as soon as I can get to the post office when they are open!

I hope you all are well and in good spirits. I cant wait to catch up with you in September!

DAM tour of Mudworks:Overthrown

 I feel so lucky that we have regular dates to the Denver Art Museum.

 It has two parts. The North Building and the Lincoln Building. 

I'm in LOVE with the Lincoln Building architecture.

 All those angles. Like a space boat.

 Surrounded by equally awesome buildings and public art.

Currently the DAM is holding a museum-wide special exhibit titled MudWorks.

As part of it there is a particular exhibit, called Overthrown, that I just adore.

25 artists were involved, many of whom made work JUST for this show. 

Pretty darn nifty stuff too.

Annabeth Rosen created some really odd (but in a good way) sculptures straight from Alice in Wonder Land.  

 Walter McConnell used 5,500 pounds of moist clay to create these sculptures in plastic enclosures.

I have never seen damp clay as part of a finished product. I thought this was so cool!

This chandelier piece is probably my favorite. I just want to place a small dining table, room for only two, in the center! Jeanne Quinn, the artist, who is from Boulder, is a genius. I love everything about this piece! 

 Nathan Craven made these fun floors that you can walk on! I love art that is interactive!

 Kim Dickey made this really interesting tapestry piece, all made from small ceramic flowers.

Mia Mulvey made an interesting tree that has birds and butterflies strapped to it by cable ties.

It is an interesting concept of biology and the study of dead creatures placed back in its natural habitat. 

Inspiration: Moss patterns

(photos taken near the CoastGuard Beach in Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts in June 2011)

Mail Call Monday

 Seems like just about everyone I know has either just announced their pregnancy or just given birth. It seems like I mailed off hundreds of congratulations letters. I made a whole bunch that said congratulations on your "bundle of joy" (see the bundles below) that I thought were pretty cute.

I love babies and baby things. It is hard to not get a twinge of jealousy though.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

linking up with Ashley for the weekly Scavenger Hunt.

1. Geometry

2. Brushstrokes

3. Hanging on by a Thread

(this week was a little overwhelming to say the least)

4. Collage

(part of my vision wall over my computer.)

5. On the Dotted Line

inspiration: at the bike shop

My husband's uncle builds custom bikes in his spare time and has a pretty cool little shop in Cape Cod. When we stopped by in June, I couldn't help but be inspired. Sometimes inspiration strikes in the most random places. And I'm sure what I was seeing in the bike shop was a lot different then what a biker would see, what my husband would see, or what his uncle would see.

I saw textures.

 I saw patterns.

 I saw organic compositions.

 I saw visual contrast.

 I saw interesting dimension.

 I saw glitter.

 I saw treasure in the cast-off leftovers/trash.

Where have you been lately that you have found inspiration in an unexpected form? Wonder in the everyday? Enjoyment in being right there in that moment?

Give Away Winner

for the painted banner is

Lee!

Lee let me know what color you would like your "Believe" to be!

Ps. Lee asked me what my new job was. I am working (in the city - so a good commute away) as an in-home multi-systemic therapist working with at-risk adolescents and their families. I may be specializing in problem sexual behaviors (youth offenders) but that is currently undetermined due to reorganization in the company. I could also be at a different relocation... but again, they don't know yet. It would be a similar distance from my house either way, though the other location wouldn't require dealing with as much city traffic. The position is a little intimidating, but so far it has really just been paper work and lots of procedure manual reading.

I am super lucky to have another girl in the same position also starting at the same time (apparently that is rare). Not only are we in the same boat with being the baby therapists that just graduated, but she is also an art therapist like me, which is really cool because the company doesn't specialize in art therapy at all (although we can squeeze in art therapy on our own). She is also a Korean adoptee (all the adoptees in my family so far are Korean) and went to the adoption camp that I work at as an art therapist when she was a kid. All the coincidences made us instant friends. I'm very grateful to have her there with me.

Im also exhausted. I probably wont be visiting blogs as often until my body regulates to the new schedule. But I promise to be around to say hello to all you lovies soon.

Give Away Winner

for the art goodies to craft ATC (or something else) with is....

April Cole

April, those will be mailed out in a few days!

Thank you.

Mail Call Monday: Mixed tape exchange

I remember when Micaela posted all about the Goodnight Little Spoon's Mix Share Swap last year and how bummed out I was to miss out on it. So this year I stayed alert and when Mix Share Swap Vol 2 came around... I jumped on the bandwagon quickly!

For each of mine partners (I was assigned 2) I made 2 cds.

 The first is the start of many CDs I made my nephew. He just picked up guitar lessons and on the first day asked if he could learn to play Smoke on the Water. Which I think is pretty awesome for an eight year old to even know. So this music list is what I would want to learn to play if I knew how to play guitar! Its a rock and roll, classic rock, and a little of the classic heavy metal education!

 The second mix is a bunch of soft lovely songs I adore to listen to, particularly while driving. It will be playing today as I start my commute to my new job. Today is my very first day - and I am a bit nervous about this transition.

My second set:

Give Away Winner

For the photography postcards

is

Sarah from The Stiles Files

Please shoot me an email with your address!

phoenixpeacock(at)gmail(dot)com

Congratulations Sarah!

And a big thank you to all my loyal followers.

You and your comments really make life lovely.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Linking up with Ashley for another Sunday hunt!
1. Against the Light

(this one is from my archives. It is a SOOC {aside from the watermark} from a camera phone)I love watching the mountains against the light of sunsets. It is always spectacular.
2. Frame within a Frame

I have a soft spot for taking pictures of my hubby while he looks at art.
3. Best Part of My Day

There are so many wonderful parts of my day. When I'm listening to music, when I'm cooking or baking, when I'm making art. etc, etc, etc.But three wonderful things happen every day that I look forward to:1. Snuggles with hubby when we both are home from work2. Playtime with Sasha. We go for 3 miles every morning and another shorter walk in the evening.3. Watering my garden in the morning and in the evening. Here some Borage flowers are prime for the salad. 
4. Buttons

5. Ink

Isn't life wonderful?!

Sasha seems to enjoy the clean sheets and the extra pillows I just added to our bed last night.

While I'd rather not have fur all over the just-cleaned sheets... she is too cute and comfy to be interrupted. And really, fur is a reality of being a dog owner and when it gets bad the washer and dryer are just a trip to the basement and I have extra sheets if need be.

Since I'm busy ignoring Fursace (sounds like Versace) and her thrown of pillows, I'm enjoying a second slice of just-made zucchini bread and a latte.

What are you enjoying to celebrate the middle of the week?

atc technique #2

As part of my Personal Library Workshop during the month of August I am making ATCs using techniques from the Artist Trading Card Workshop book by Berlin.
She suggests using foam to create ATCs by painting over them and then stamping the top.
This is what happened when I tried:

These are kinda lack-luster for me. So while I may keep just a few for future use, the rest will be used as stamps for creating backgrounds on other ATCs and art journal pages.

Continuing with this week's theme of a gratitude give away for my followers (thank you, thank you, lovies!) I am offering a custom banner to one follower.
Here is an example I made for the lovely Micaela.

Yours could be one word or a whole phrase. It could be a banner for a party - like a birthday party, baby shower, bridal shower, etc. It could be a banner for a holiday. It could just be for decor. Its really up to you and what you want. The winner will choose their word/phrase and color theme.

All you have to do to be in the drawing is let me know in a comment that you are a follower.
(if you are not a follower, you are welcome to become one... but please only do so if you want to read my blog and not for the give away alone). In your comment let me know what your word/phrase and color choice would be if you won!

This is open until Sunday August 14. And the winner will be announced by Tuesday the 16th!