Guess who turns 6 today???? If this girl had any idea how much she has my heart in her little hands...There are not even words or phrases to accurately describe how in awe of my daughter I am. She is a chaotic bubble of sunshine with a zest for life that I wish I could bottle up and sip on days that I cannot quite muster my own energy. She is everything I wish I was. Oh, how I love my little girl.

Ok, this is the last post of the day...promise. Just wanted to let you know that I also have an 8x10 gift certificate,
9x12 gift certificate, and a
16x20 gift certificate all up for sale on ebay as well. All begin at $9.99. You can use them for your pet or give them to someone else. You get to choose all the colors and background all for YOUR pooch or kitty or rabbit or llama or whatever!

Happy bidding!

Drumroll please.....ok, here is my newest and cutest...CLOCKS! I began selling them this past weekend. I have bunch of different breeds and YES! even cats too!! Here is the first I am selling on ebay. Click on the pic to see product details. C'mon...functional art?!? You know you gotta have it! Wait till I get the Lucy and Rufus ones online...soooooo cute!

How come when one gets extra money (and I mean extra in the very liberal sense of the word here, it is money that is actually meant for very patient people I owe money) that is the exact moment your car begins to have trouble? Huh? WHY? I mean, c'mon! And this isn't the kind of slight squeak you can ignore for a little bit, oh no. This is the kind of chug, chug, where you KNOW the car is most certainly going to die right here at this stop sign kinda thing. The kinda thing you know you better not drive one 10th of a foot longer than you have to. The kinda thing that you drop off the car and walk home in the rain kinda chug, chug. Boo....So first I have to go cash checks then drop the car off then walk home. The walk home is short, not bad. It is the rain part where you can feel sorry for me. Oh well. But really there must be a directly proportional relationship. The higher the amount of money in your pocket, the higher the probability of car trouble. Ah well, that's life, right? And I get to paint a door design all day long today and that makes me pretty darn happy. And painting a door while sipping coffee and listening to the rain while the dogs lounge at my feet? Well, there is a little slice of heaven. Well, see? Now I don't feel so bad. Money shmoney. Who needs it? I got my paint, you can have my car today. And my money....

This past Saturday I had a festival. It went really, really great. I got a bunch of new commissions and made more money that day that I have ever made in one day. I hardly ever get much cash in hand the day of - more often the orders come in the following weeks. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed it. But something strange happened. By the time I got home, unloaded and sat down, I was already on to the next thing. I was thinking about the design work that needed to be finished. I was thinking about the door I need to paint for a festival. I was thinking about more design work I need to get before this bunch ends. In short, I was thinking about money. And that always makes me irritible. I had not even for a moment sat in the wonderment and joy of selling my art that day. I can remember years ago wishing nothing more than for people to like my art. A wish that I thought might never come true. And now here it is HAPPENING and still I am not quite satisfied. I got so mad at myself. Ok, rather my husband did. He had to point this out to me, and that was none too pleasant. And he was right. OOOOOh. Hate that. The husband being right is bad enough, but right about my lack of pleasure in my success as an artist is really icky. So yesterday I tried very hard to live in the moment. To not be thinking about the next thing. To not be figuring out the next bill to pay with still having money for supplies for the next festival or event. To not be thinking about the next new series for my agent. Boy is that hard! It is such a fine line. Art as a business. You need it to come from your heart and soul. That is the thing that people find appealing. Yet at the same time you have to be clinical about it if you want to make money. It is, after all a business. What sells? What doesn't? What cost too much to make, what makes a good profit? What will people pay? What won't they? What is licensable? What needs to be one of a kind? This, friends, is what runs through my head at a billion miles an hour. But in the end, it comes down to this: If I don't get to sit in gratitude and enjoy all this, it means nothing. Joy and passion. That is what it is all about. And it seems strange that I have to make time for that, but I do. Today I just finished up a big design project and have a day before I will get revisions back. I can take today to just be, to enjoy. I will go take some pictures in the square for some references I need for a door I am painting for a fundraiser. But I will do it slowly. I will enjoy today and the life I have created from my hopes and dreams. Maybe I will bring my kids and get an ice cream while I do it. And remeber that today I am living a wish that I wished years ago. And that my wishes and desires today will come true in time as well. And today is a very good place to be.