aloha friday

It's Aloha Friday!

I've been really busy painting - which is nice. Feels good to be productive again. Still have my lingering cough, but all the other annoying symptoms seem to have passed. The air outside is crisp and breezy - storm supposed to be moving in for the weekend. Sounds good to me. I'd love to be huddled inside, listening to the rain. I love the clouds on a day like today. Big puffballs with the blue sky poking through every other cloud or so, moving quickly, making way for the storm clouds pulling up the rear. Tonight we go see The Times They Are A-Changin', a show choreographed by Twyla Tharp to Bob Dylan music, at the Old Globe in San Diego. Fun fun fun!

weekend in review

A little sampling of my weekend...

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First, finished a painting. It's always fun to paint on a Saturday morning.

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Next, played around with an idea that came to me in the middle of the night - zinnia flower necklaces. I like them. I think it's the first time that an idea came out pretty good on the first try. It's one of the ideas I have swarming around in my head for the probably one-in-a-million shot I have (please please please fingers crossed!) of getting into the Bazaar Bizaare, San Francisco.

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And I got an early Valentines' Day present - Almond Cookie Body Spray from Carol's Daughter!!! I'll have to update you on this later because my nose is still stuffed up and I can't smell...wait...wait! I just gave it another try and it seems my nose is back in business. This smells WONDERFUL!!! (I can't believe I couldn't smell this yesterday) A perfect blend of almond, vanilla, lemon and sandalwood. Doesn't smell too sweet like some food-flavor scents tend to be - so sweet you almost get a bellyache from wearing it too much. (thank you Tommy!)

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And last, an afternoon spent sitting at the beach while my son took his nap in the backseat. Waves looked to be in pretty good condition (but, what do I know?). Hoped this photograph would bring some warmth to those of you trapped in the "blizzard of the century", as Katie and Matt keep calling it. If you want to see more, check out my dad's surfing album here.

can you smell them?

Smell the Flowers

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I have a mountain of mail (and I haven't been out of town) to go through - need to find the bills that need to be paid. I absolutely hate all this junk mail. It puts such a damper on the good mail. Nice cover on the Feb. 6th New Yorker, though.

I heart...

Things I Y Today:

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Y Starting each day with a cup of tea and a quiet moment with my gramma

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Y Mini muffins (fresh batch this morning!)

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Y Thrift store finds (like this funky floral table cloth) that remind me of my gramma

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Y Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole's voice

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Y Jiffy baking mixes

Y Scent of tuberose
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Y That my fever and sore throat are gone.

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Things I Don't Y Today:

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x The fact that the Jehovah's Witness lady will probably be coming round and I need to get up the guts to tell her I don't want her coming by no more. (no offense to anyone out there who may be a JW...but my husband's a Holy Roman Catholic!)

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x The kink in my neck. (if it ain't your ass it's your elbow...grrrr)

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x My persistant cough.

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x My inability to just break down and buy that $6.95, outrageous green mu-mu at the thrift store yesterday...sure it was obnoxious, but it would make anyone who saw me in it smile, and that's a good thing, right? (maybe I'll go back and see if it's still there today!)

Self Portrait Tuesday

Self Portrait Tuesday
February Theme: All of Me

(my picture is small because I'm too insecure to tackle this theme head on)

Ah, yes. Here I am, ALL of me, in Hawaii last year. Big ol' floppy hat to keep the sun from turning my nose lobster red, swimsuit with the little skirt (you know the kind - not very sexy I'm afraid) and wrap around my shoulders to protect the sunburn I'd already gotten after probably a couple hours on the islands.

I think I'm close to simply embracing what I am. I'm sick and tired of beating myself up - you need to diet, you need to exercise, you need to you need to you need to. I'm exhausted with it. Cuz let's face it - even if I did manage to lose 50 pounds, I'm never gonna look like Audrey Hepburn. Nope. It just ain't gonna happen my friend.

So I have to wear a one piece swimsuit that uses more fabric than a pant suit for some women. Big deal. So I can't walk around the beach in a bikini top and a sarong. Like I said earlier, I burn anyway, so a big floral sun dress not only covers my curves it keeps me safe from the sun.

I don't want to waste another moment counting my calories or writing a food journal. I got a ton of other things I'd rather be doing.

Hi, my name is Dawn and I am curvy. Botticelli would've LOVED me!

without further adieu

I hardly expect that there is this huge gathering of people out there checking this here little blog on a daily basis...maybe one (if that), so, for you, my one dedicated reader, I apologize for my lack of posts over the past couple weeks. I lost my Grandma. The things that used to bring me so much joy are now taking some time for me to get back into. But I'll dust off the cobwebs and try to channel my emotions into something productive. That's what she would have wanted me to do, afterall. Finally started drawing again yesterday:

And, while in the process of recovering from a cold, I found myself with enough downtime to finish a couple books I started reading months ago. One of them has left me with a lot of inspiration and encouragement. I highly suggest reading Lisa Price's memoir about starting her fragrance, bath and body company, Carol's Daughter. (one of these days I'll order myself some Almond Cookie body spray - doesn't that sound wonderful???)

Success Never Smelled So Sweet: How I Followed My Nose and Found My Passion

Self Portrait Tuesday

January's Theme: Personal History

My Grandma * My Mother * Myself

The recent declining health of my grandma has had me thinking a lot about her life. Born and raised on the islands of Hawaii, her world, as a Japanese immigrant, was completely turned upside down after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Folks who one day saw her as a young and vibrant young woman wanted nothing to do with her the next day in the wake of the attack by Japan. But she pushed through, putting herself through college by working in an orphanage and eventually becoming a nurse. After marrying my grandfather, a mainlander, she moved with him to the Midwest where the only job she could get in any hospital was that of a janitor. The discrimination she faced on the islands was miniscule when compared to that she faced on the mainland. Three daughters and a son later, she was eventually able to return to nursing when the family moved to California. Since my grandma worked night shifts, my mom and her sister were responsible for all the household duties of cooking and cleaning. Though my mom married my dad, her High School sweetheart, at a young 19-years old, I suspect she was a much older 19-years old than I was at that age. I am now 32-years old with a 2-year old son. When I was 2-years old, my mom was 23 - just a kid herself - and also caring for a 2-month old baby. I don't know how she did it.

It makes me realize how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to be a mom while also pursuing my career path and seeking out creative alternatives as my life's work. I spend my days working on different projects, taking on any kind of creative adventure I can get my hands into. I know that each and every stroke of a paint brush or scratch of lead on paper is a gesture made possible by the lives of my grandma and my mom. Inevitably, as one life reaches its end another begins its great journey. I hope to always have, at the core of my soul, the essence of survival that I associate with the lives of the women before me.

And looking at these photographs, I see something similar in our smiles - the way they lift our cheeks and round out our faces. Even once she's gone, I'll turn to my smile for comfort, knowing that grandma is there saying to me, "Look at that sunset. Quick, Dawn, paint it!"

a treat

First the sketch, then the painting. Painted it right on a piece of birch plywood. I like the natural look of it. Think I'll do more like this. It was nice to be painting today. There were so many "shouldas" (I shoulda been doing this, I shoulda been doing that) - but when I woke up before everyone else this morning, it was the first thing that occured to me to do. And then I made the time to finish this afternoon. It's actually a little drizzly here today. Nice day to be inside.

how sweet it is

It's so fun to draw cupcakes and ice cream and all sweets in general. I wonder how that would work as a diet...instead of eating what I crave, I draw it. Hmmm...

Self-Portrait Tuesday

January's Theme: Personal History

Over the holidays a friend gave me this photo of me taken back in 1991...fresh out of high school, summer before heading off to college and looking generally spaced out. Ha ha.

I don't remember ever looking like this. Looking at it makes me feel swollen.

My husband says he fell in love with the distant look in my eye that he'd catch from across the classroom, looking like I'd rather be anywhere but here...looking like my mind was already there, just waiting to be physically removed from the hell that was high school. I've never seen that look for myself. When I saw this photo, I suddenly understood what others see when I'm off in my land of daydreams. Hello...hello...earth to Dawn...

fallen off the new year's wagon

A graphic I put together for my "Buzzing Bog" site. Everyone asks...what is the Buzzing Bog? I hope to answer that question by FINALLY developing my story. But, that will require me to banish from existance non-productive weeks like the one I had last week. On that note...

Failed Attempts at my New Year's Resolutions:

1. One painting a week. [nope, not yet. this week i'll have to do 2 to catch up]

2. One creative thing a day. [no excuse - just didn't dedicate the time]

3. Diet and exercise. [lost 2 pounds...but before the weekend I was down 4 pounds. you guessed it - mexican food.]

4. Read the newspaper EVERYDAY. [does reading headlines count?]

5. Replace booz with tea. [same as resolution #3 - did pretty well until i hit the weekend]

a few of my favorite things...

pretty green and blue jewelry

red Simple shoes

Readymade magazine's "How To Make {Almost} Everything"

Strawberry Shortcake notebook i picked up at the grocery store for $1

The Honeymooners complete DVD set

Sur La Table giftcard for buying kitchen toys i normally wouldn't

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a drill press that i didn't photograph because it is still in the box because i don't have space on my existing workbench for it but will soon have space for because i am going to once and for all build my new workbench before the year is out

{hopefully}

twenty aught six

it can't be...it just can't be!

Is this really true? My new favorite toy is on the way to the retirement home? I got my gocco for my birthday last July and only really started using it this fall in preps for BazBiz. And now, word on the street says, it's Japanese manufacturer is calling it quits. So do I invest all my non-existant money in buying up supplies that will last me the rest of my life? Please say it isn't true!

AHHHHHHH...sigh of relief

Bazaar Bizarre...prints like these didn't sell as well as I thought they would. But, other things did surprisingly well. So no complaints from me. I think people are more interested in handmade paintings over digitally enhanced drawings. Well, they're groovy for the web, but when it comes to hanging something on the wall I suppose I'd have to agree. Sold paintings that were significantly higher in price more than I sold prints that were mass-produced and cheaper. That actually makes me happy. Now I know what to focus on - now I know other people appreciate original work too!

I have so many thoughts on the BazBiz, but I feel like I need to spend the day decompressing first. Need to unpack, need to catch up on the things I neglected all last week (laundry, grocery shopping, trips to the park with Mr. Little-Ball-O-Energy). But long story short, it was a fantastic experience. Far exceeded all my expectations.