So good to be back in the studio!

From Danielle Donaldson's lessons

New Dolly Undertakings for 2016!

Oh I just love a New Year! Time for new beginnings and 

new inspirations! I have started some little sculpties to begin with for 2016.

 A wee little Bunny to remind us that spring is coming, and some little clay chickens to brighten a conner of your home! Look for them on the 10th at PFATT Marketplace. Hope you are also filled with the promise of a new year as I am!

OXOX

Annie

Detail Pictures of My New Angel!

Just wanted to share these detailed pictures.

My newest Angel is available on 

PFATT Marketplace

New Angel available on PFATT Marketplace

Juanita a Christmas Angel

She goes on sale tomorrow, Dec. 10th, at 2PM central time.

 I hope you are having fun getting ready for the holidays. I have rearranged my entire house for the third time in 3 months and I think I finally have it just perfect.

I will be hosting Christmas dinner this year so I am focused on getting everything ready. 

I haven't hosted for years so this is something different for me.

I got new dishes for the occasion too!

They are from Bed,Bath and Beyond.

I love them-everything goes with them!

Here is a little pic-ie:

Aren't they pretty?

 I have a few pieces of red and white Spode transferware that look so pretty with them!

I'm trying hard to focus on my family and not think too much about recent losses.

Life must go on, so I am plowing forward; enjoying my new grand daughter and looking forward to everyone coming home again for the holidays.

And I did finally got my chickens! They range in my backyard most days and whenever I catch a glimpse of them out there I get that warm homey-farmhouse feeling.

It's good!

hugz,

~Annie

Isabel and Bella-our Buff Orpington

All four about 4 weeks old

Long Absence and Paradigm Shift

Please forgive me for this long absence from the blog. Our family has undergone a great deal of suffering in the last 3 months. It has taken me this long to get my "sea legs" back. I am slowly getting back to even wanting to make art.

 On August 16, my dear beloved brother Edward inexplicably passed away. He died of natural causes, suddenly, and without any chance of saying goodbye, of telling him how incredibly dear he is to us, with out any fan fare.

I was visited in the night by a police chaplain.

 I sat there blinking awake and trying to comprehend. 

And from that moment my life, the lives of all my children and my husband, and the lives of many in our community were changed forever.

Fr. Edward Seisser was more than a brother to me.

 He was my confidant, my spiritual father, at times my savior, and patriarch of my family, both immediate and extended.

He was our pastor, our teacher, our principal, coach, devoted uncle, guidance counselor, baptist, evangelist and friend.

He was there for every single important event of my life, from wedding day, to births, to baptisms, confirmations, every single holiday save one, and every pitfall I fell into.

He shared everything with my family; all important events and unimportant events. My children were his children. He made all things possible for us. Things we only dreamed about he turned into reality with his quiet confidence and steady love and support.

We depended on him so much and never made a move without at least considering what he would think if not actually consulting him.

I am 52 years old and I don't know what I am going to do without him there to take care of me.

He was always taking care of me in every way; body and soul.

I feel just like an orphan, small and insignificant. I know everything will be ok, because he taught me to always, always trust in the Divine Will. 

And I do.

But the pain of it, you know? 

Its just always there. 

We try to go on, put up a brave face. Try to comfort all the people who's lives he touched who are hurting as well. Allow them to comfort us. Feel incredibly thankful for their sincere warm wishes and their prayers.

And somehow try to go on.

PFATT Update and New Baby Chicks!!

Belle;An Oil Painted Doll

Check out PFATT Marketplace today at noon(pacific time) for my new folk doll! At least I've done SOMETHING with the oils!!! LOL!

UPDATE~UPDATE~UPDATE~UPDATE~UPDATE~UPDATE

My daughter(who is 8 months pregnant) and her husband just bought their first house and I have been helping them move. Also, my day old baby chicks arrived last week!! WOOT!

I am finally a chicken keeper!!

Dream come true guys!!!

We are part of a backyard chicken program in our town, so I was only allowed to get 4. But hey, thats fine with me!! Cannot WAIT for the eggs!!

LOL!

This is Bunny, an Easter Egger

This is Sparkle, she is a Speckled Sussex

This is Bella, a Buff Orpington

And this is Raptor, a Golden Wyandotte(she is a girl, my husband named her!)

So this is what has been occupying almost all of my time lately!

Ha! 

I'm so happy!!

XOXO

~Annie

Isabel and Bella

Daily Painting, Keeping the Studio Clean, and Personal Symbolism

Well I  pulled out the oils, got my self set up, and then proceeded to paint the ugliest painting ever! Ha! LOL!

oli painting number 1 from reference photo july 15

 It IS awful, and it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!

But I am determined to share anyway.

 I want to document this process so that I will hopefully be able to see improvement(if any!)

This was done on an 8" by 8" panel. After I was finished I took a picture and then wiped it off the panel!

I did this for 2 reasons-to consciously NOT take this process TOO seriously. It is practice and I don't need to get attached to every painting. And because I don't want a lot of lousy paintings hanging around my studio discouraging me. 

I know enough about myself and my process that if I have a lot of unfinished work staring at me, or work I don't like, I will avoid going into the studio at all. 

I have found that a clean studio is inspiring to me, like a blank canvas ready for creating something new. But if I let me studio get cluttered with lots of work I feel uneasy about, or unfinished pieces I feel bogged down and uninspired. 

So to make myself feel better I decided to pull out my tried and true Neocolor 2 Water Soluable Artist Crayons and do a painting on my favorite paper-Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. Hot Prress Watercolor paper. Yay! 

I buy this paper at my local Blick Art Supply in the 20" by 30" sheets and then cut it down to 9" by 11". This is the size I have been using for all of my Lifebook lessons this year as well. 

LOVE this paper!

Then I did this painting:

Drought Relief

Ah yes yes! Got my confidence back!
LOL!
This is called Drought Relief
I haven't really explained what is going on and what my symbolism is in the past because, well it is mostly very personal.  I have been thinking a lot about my own personal symbolism lately-what that would be about, what that would look like for me.
I am a devout, traditional-leaning Catholic. I take my faith very seriously. It is something that is a part of my every day and that I actually practice often. I say this because I realize a lot of catholics in this country are more or less cultural catholics: meaning they were born into the faith but they don't really understand it or practice it other than the obligatory Christmas and Easter mass.
So my faith journey tends to inform my art journey, and that is what is happening in this painting.

The angel is God's messenger and worker. She wears an outfit that is reminiscent of a uniform because she is part of God's army-doing His bidding. The background I have kept warm with earth tones to represent a time of spiritual drought.
The angel is bringing some rain clouds to relieve the earth-these represent the faithful and how their witness brings hope and guidance to the world.
The little foxy in the corner represents God's creation.

This is somewhat based on the story of Elijah found in the Old Testament. Elijah also lived in a time when the world was living very far away from God and his commandments. He had taken shelter in a cave up on Mount Carmel to hide from those who wanted to kill all of Gods prophets. He was looking out over the dry parched land and saw one lone cloud in the sky. He saw in this cloud God's plan of hope and the redemption of man. Carmelite spirituality has seen this cloud as the symbol of the Virgin Mary.
 The idea of this cloud is one of my symbols. The Blessed Mother is very important to me, and I have been close to her for many years.
So there it is; Drought Relief.
I pray everyday that God will send us good leaders and that America will turn back to the values that made her great.

Thanks for hanging in there this long-I know this is a LONG post!
XOXO
~Annie