I look at this picture of my daughter and see pure joy. When was the last time you felt like this? Shouldn't we all feel like this a lot more in life??? I feel this when I paint and especially when I deliver a painting! Joy can be an attitude, as my daughter illustrates daily.

The commissions are beginning to come in, thank goodness. Yes, the festivals went well and people said they would call, but still, you never know. Since this past weekend I have 5 new commissions for paintings and two for sculptures and an order for cards and magnets. Phew! Hopefully I don't have to take any more freelance design work for a while, but it is nice to know it is there if I need it. I may try to get in one more festival for Nov 15th, but part of me hopes I get busy enough in the next two weeks to not have to. Although, I have begun work on some Christmas ornaments and wouldn't mind finding a holiday show for those. I will be putting those in Donna Van Goghs to sell as well.

On another creative note, my other project is going really well and it is all I can do not to get obssessed and just focus on that completely. It is like having a really expensive piece of chocolate that you savor slowly, taking a nibble then wrapping it and having that delicious feeling that it is there waiting for you when you want it again. I love that! I LOVE painting my dogs and cats for people, but it is nice to have a break and do something else as well. Last night I said a prayer of gratitiude for everything I have been given. I am so very grateful and hope that anyone that sees my site takes away that they can do anything in this life they want to.

Ok, so my dear dad came in this past weekend and brought my kids some gifts. For Sophie he got a stuffed calico kitty cat that is her newest love in life. For Noah he got an electricity kit. Now, for those of you that don't know, before art school I spent almost 3 years getting a physics degree before switching to art. (Yes, greatly disappointing dear dad!) So when out came the electricity kit, not just Noah's eyes got wide but mine as well! Circuits, resistors, electrolysis!! Woohoo!! (I am not kidding, I really love this stuff!) Noah and I are peas in a pod, we get each other. He shares my love of science, math and art. So all day Saturday during my festival he kept asking, "Mom, are we doing the science experiments tomorrow?" "Yes, you betchya!" I replied. So Sunday morning, right after breakfast we got to it. We did about 7 of the books 25 experiments. We made an open circuit, then closed it and made the light bulb light up. We made a fuse then watched it blow to understand why our lights go out when I dry my hair with the coffeepot on. (We live in an OLD house!) We chemically changed salt water with an elecrtic current to show electrolysis...I guess you get the picture. I am a geek at heart and my son shares my genes. He loves art, but when he hears of places like MIT where I tell him he can do computer work and math and science all day long his eyes glaze over at the possibilities. Yup, mother and son, a couple of geeks.

Perhaps it is the crispness of Fall, the way the light hits the leaves, or just the fact that there is truly a time for everything. I notice so many people that have been struggling all summer with wondering their purpose, or exhausted by sheer desire to create, or just lack of confidence. It seems that now is the time to jump into whatever your heart is screaming out for you to try! Elena from French Toast Girl did it with her Christmas cards which are sure to be as scrumptious as she is, Claire with Lobbylu has created holiday cards as well and sold out in the first week(!!!!), Jill of Mortal Mom finished her first marathon (Wow!!), Katrina of Feisty Scribe got a children's book deal (Yahoo!!!), and Jen of Scout Dog is now featured on Another Girl At Play (can't think of another girl that would be a better addition!!), and the list goes on! I just finished 3 weeks of fetivals, have tons of commissions in the future and had just amazing feedback from amazing people the past few weeks. It seems that the time to find your courage and begin a dream or just something new, is so thick in the air I cannot ignore it. Last night I began a project that has been swimming in my head for months and is now screaming at me to begin it. I am taking today off and working on it again! I will let you know soon what it is. But I am very excited!! So, if any of you reading this are thinking about trying something, I would jump in and join this cosmic ride of "Yesness" that seems to be going around! Now is your time.