The Here & Now.

I awake in gratitude of you, 

Oh Lord.

My soul is content in knowing you love me

for who I am. 

Right here. Right now.

Jacksonville, Florida

The Hands I Hold

I miss this:

These were some of my favorite moments during the two weeks of camp in Kenya.

At any point point of time in the day there would be at least one kid's hand in yours. 

This is love, and it is so simple.

Hangin from a Cloud

I have no idea who created this photo, but I enjoy it. I would like to be that girl on the swing....

Levitated Mass by Michael Heizer @ LACMA

taken on my instagram... of course.

Art and Independence? Happy 4th!

Things I Find in the Garden

 Artichoke flowers- one of my new favorite things.

Mail for Al

Al is really into collaging and things, so the last couple pieces of mail art I have sent him were somewhat my reflection of him in this form. 

First, Al LOVES Paula Dean! When we worked together he would bring up Paula Dean all the time, talking about her crazy recipes, and how extremely unhealthy they are for us. For example, she made a breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, and hamburger meat between two doughnuts! {Let's talk about a heart attack waiting to happen!} Nonetheless, he found her very fascinating, and I think she is crazy! I based one of my pieces on his love for her, as well as including a snippet of Al- he likes to paint his nails.

Last time Al and I hung out he was wearing silver nail polish. I am going to be honest. His nails look much better painted than mine do. His fingernails are bigger, so there is more surface to cover, and also it seems to last longer on him. When I paint my nails, it starts chipping off an hour after I am finished {horribly} painting them. 

So, this was my humorous attempt to spotlight Al's love for Queen Paula Dean and painted nails. I made the collage on the outside of an envelope and covered the whole thing with vellum. 

Below is the second piece of mail I made for Al. I made it in response to his mail for me: an abstractly cordial invitation, asking me to go on a walk with him. Today I plan to make more.

Art in Motion

To celebrate president's day {not really} Paula, Milan and I took a trip to the MOCA, in downtown Los Angeles. This was my favorite phone photo of the day. My goal was to make art artsier- accomplished.

Blue Singing Poppies

I painted this yesterday, at 5:30 am, for a woman named Ashlee. It was bought for her as a birthday gift by a friend of mine. I had to mail it off myself so it would arrive on time. I included a little note wishing her a happy day.
It is neat sending mail to people I have never met. I can imagine her reaction of interest and curiosity about who I am, and I know she will smile, because it is something other than a bill.

Zentangling It Up

My dad loves to draw. He is constantly sending people his drawings, as envelope art. Since before I was born he has been drawing "zentangles", but has really been getting into them more in the last year or so {check 'em out}.  He asked me if I would draw and send him my own version {below}.

I really enjoyed making this. So I made another-

My friend Al, from work, and I decided we were going to be mail art friends. I decided to draw him a zentangle. I sent it off in the mail yesterday- he should be receiving it today, if the post office is reliable. Here it is:

 

There are more in the works. Thanks Tata for the inspiration!

Flowers for Sharon

Recently, I was asked to paint a picture, by my awesome friend Corinne, as a gift for her mother. She gave me a picture to match, dimensions and specifications. Here is what I came up with:

The picture I had to match:

  

I had fun painting this, and her mom loved it. Success!

Gratitude for a Fox

This rock is for Lori Fox, a magnificent woman and friend. 

Two weeks ago, Lori moved to Texas for her job as a designer, for a really great company called Raven and Lily. They work with women in India and Ethiopia, designing jewelry, journals and other goods, empowering these woman and giving proceeds back to them. Read about them!

Before Lori left, for the past 2 1/2 years, I rode a bicycle and walked as means of transportation. Occasionally I used public transportation, but honestly I usually ended up walking because in Los Angeles the buses are a joke, {helpful at times} but slow as! So, anyway, One day I was riding to work and praying, asking God to somehow give me a car, because my legs were so exhausted. One hour later, my phone rings and it was Lori Fox. She said she was no longer keeping her car and asked if I still needed one. I said YES, of course! Then, Lori told me she was giving me the car........ How amazing! I had a grin from ear to ear the rest of the day. I could do nothing but thank God for being so good, and putting such wonderful people in my life. So, forever I am truly grateful.

Lori is my new pen pal, and this is just the start of the art she will be receiving.