To keep myself motivated and painting, I decided to create some mini paintings and turn them into postcards.  It's a good place for me to "sample" some painting ideas I have before jumping into the canvas.My goal is to create one a week and to send them to people.Here are the first couple...If you want a postcard, email me your address and perhaps you'll receive some greetings from New York!xo

yeah. that's right. i got the "hipstamatic" app for my phone and have to admit, it's pretty fun. i figured this will be fun to play with until i get myself a diana or holga camera. right now i just can't decide which one i want! all i know is that i love the dreamy look from film photos.pardon the grain on some of the darker photos!3D glasses...Karaoke in Harlem -- actually, quite fun.new york got another snow dump yesterday, which means another day of trudging through this disgusting "soup" (per Julian) as the snow melts.at least it was pretty this morning...if only i had time to make this snow pile a snow castle like the sign! ;)oil and snow rainbows are actually quite pretty...**i won't lie, these gray days have been getting me down, but i have been trying to beat the winter blues. so far the best medicine has been good conversation, laughing, films, vitamin d, and starting new projects.in fact, this weekend i plan on starting something inspired by the movie, Wasteland, and my silly imagination.and the most exciting thing yet - my painting class starts on Monday. I'm excited and a little nervous, but mostly I just can't wait to create.maybe i'll paint myself a little paradise!have a wonderful weekend!xo

Happy Friday...and..Happy Birthday Jenna!Happy Birthday Andrew and Roy!And to any other January birthdays!I hope you have a colorful...(unless, of course, you hate color) Flowery...(if you like flowers) Day!Happy Birthday friends and happy weekend to all!xoxoxo

i had a thought.i have many. i often think too much.but this thought. is perhaps, an explanationyou see. i am a words person. i often overlook actions. awaiting words.growing up my mom used to shower me with words of affection- tied nicely in strings of threes ~i love you (almost all of the time) i miss you (after a day of school) you are wonderful her ailing body didn't leave much room for actions i could only offer help with IVs of lipids run around hospitalsthe action i remember most is her death.poof.just like that.people die. they leave us. things change. i am equally terrified as i am excited about change... for i know it can bring many wonderful things.but however many years later, i've managed to become so afraid of loss. it's still in my bones. makes me feel. lonely.and sometimes i dismiss the lovely actions people show me now. instead, waiting for words...but actions do speak louder....so maybe this thought. this oh-so-uncomfortable-thought for i hate thinking of death. and that loss. this realization.this... space.will help things make sense.**if only i had the open roads of iowa to drive on to clear my mind.

Make a big stretch like a kitty and/or listen to some good tunes.  

I love flowers and I love surprises.And guess what happened today? I got flowers as a surprise!today.. I win! :)**They are so beautiful!Tiny little roses brightening this gray January day...I love them! :)

We had a snowstorm this week, but we did not have a snow day. *boo*Fat, fluffy flakes fell from the sky.Hayden and I went to the park and watched the snow, catching flakes on our gloves, looking at all of their pretty points. So far, I am not a huge fan of January. It's too cold. Sure, I like the snow, but I need summer's color.I got an awesome sketchbook **thank you** and decided to brighten the day.*Hope you're all staying warm this winter!Have a wonderful weekend, I'll be finishing some paintings and may go sledding. :)xo

a new painting in progress 

that these tiny...fluffy...sugarlike...snow puffs....could produce this mountain of snow!At least snow days make for good art days :)New York may get some more flurries this weekend - which means I may be able to finish this new piece!Have a fantastic weekend all!xo*(all photos taken with iphone)

Oh January, thank you for providing me with a new album by this lovely band!I've been a fan of the Decemberists ever since I heard the Apology song about a stolen bicycle, it was love at first listen | reviewthis album makes me want to be sit in nature, away from light pollution, watching the stars come out, eating s'mores at a campfire and being with friends. hmm...and possibly playing charades. oh summer, get here soon! until then, i may consider building a fort in my shoebox apt. :)

So far, so good...Lots of sparkles...starting with my nails...Visits from faraway friends...Hugs from new friends...trekking in the snow...Hope you all had a fantastic New Years and that this is year is s'marvelous, s'wonderful, bright, and colorful!

look a little closer on flickr...Last year, Mary told us to think of a word that encompassed the year, a word that would bring us back to our goal, our resolutions. Truthfully, I'm not sure I had an actual "resolution" - I was just trying to "figure it out" (aren't we all??) but looking back I see that my reminder word ended up being a major reflection of 2010.My reminder word?listenToo often I've brushed past my own ideas and feelings and gotten lost in the ideas of others. Whenever I'm in an "uncomfortable" place, I express my thoughts immediately hoping to find answers to soothe my ache. I catch their words of comfort and put them in my pocket - not daring to let anyone take them away.When really, all I needed to do was listen to myself...My voice. My gut. My intuition. That nagging feeling of "knowing" has always been strong, but this year I finally let it guide me. In listening to myself I found honesty and started doing things for myself, things that really made me happy.Who knew that finding happiness could be so simple? Just by listening to yourself?I realize this sounds very cliche ~ but if you think about it, "answers" (getting it, life, figuring it out) are quite simple. Although what works for me, may not be what works for others. I get that.In reviewing my photos from the past year, I realized that I was happy. Maybe the happiest I've been since moving to this city. That's exciting and wonderful. Of course I'm scared that this elation will go away for I cannot predict what is going to happen in the future, but I've learned that I can control how I react to my often-oh-so-turbulent-over-reactive-dramatic-emotions and this is a good start to more happy (hopefully) years to come. And it all started with listening to my inner voice.As far as my word for 2011 - that's still to be decided.**Last year I was happy to say good riddance to 2009 - it was a rough year -- but 2010 -- I'm a little sad to see you go!We've had a great year~Getting my camera |:.. making fun valentines |:.. having my childhood best friend visit me and watching him get married |:. visiting mary and georgia in oklahoma |:.. a great birthday |:. being part of a fairy tale wedding and seeing all of my girlies from college including a summer visit from katy |:. many lazy days at the beach |:. midnight train to montauk |:. new york cares day 2010 |:. late night pie making with friends |:. key west |:. dancing pumpkins |:. the open roads of iowa and especially seeing katie mary |:. lots of music and art |:. and making a difference |:. and of course loveAll that said, I'm really excited about this year. I already have things to look forward to:

• a painting class at FIT
• moving in with HT
• i plan to travel more ~ maybe i'll visit some of my faraway friends - or more warm places
• volunteering
• spring flowers
• lazy beach days
• and so much more...

So folks ~ here's to the New Year, resolutions, and happiness.HAPPY NEW YEAR!photo mosaic made with this awesome free download by andrea mosaic

...and not the Dairy Queen kind!As you've probably heard NYC was hit with a big blizzard!Snowplows in the East Village -- not a typical site!Buried bicycles...Before the storm, I spent the weekend catching up with Sean and McKinze...(Skype is so cool!!!!)and cat sitting some crazy cats!On my way home I stumbled upon these beautiful trees in Columbus Circle...I love sparkles!!!Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and if you were in NYC -- enjoyed the snow day for grown ups! :)xo

It's been snowing for several hours straight...but I have been having a lot of fun in this NYC snow globe and decided to spread some holiday love...Whether you are in Iowa, Germany, Georgia, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Kansas City, Atlanta, Ohio, LA, Chicago, or wherever else you may be.... know that there's lots of love....coming from NYC!May the rest of your year be filled with bright colors!Surprises!Fun!Smiles!And New Year's wishes!xoxop.s. these kitties enjoyed this photo shoot way too much! :)p.p.s. this is a wonderful song by beirut

Last weekend I had a holiday party at Hayden's *thank you!*It was quite fun and festive...*HT made the lovely plaid and I made the snowflakes and swans*We had some delicious treats...*sticky buns, Colombian cheese bread (my favorite), arugula beet salad with candied pecans and goat cheese, sweet potatoes, and a sausage, sun-dried tomato casserole*but. the best part?Charades.At first eveyone was a little hesitant when I made them fill out pieces of paper, telling them to pick fun words for us to act out -- I'm sure I remember some comment about this not being my NY Cares class!But the result? Lots of laughing.And big motionsActing got fun with certain words...And the star made a lovely background...Post party relaxing moment. :)Thanks everyone for coming and for participating in my fun charades game! The best way to play charades -- have everyone write their own words to act out!Happy holidays friends!and Merry Chrisnakuh!xo

...paper snowflakes!Our last Art Explorer's class is on Saturday and I wanted to do something "wintry". I decided we should make some snowflakes. One of my favorite part of doing AE is finding new projects, trying them out, and modifying them for my own. There are so many wonderful art blogs out there and just not enough time to make art!In a perfect world, I'd be making things all of the time all while teaching kids about the environment through art and music. I am getting some nifty ideas for things to do with all of our paper scraps for next semester's Earth Day.Here is my newest love and some photos of the snowflakes we'll make on Saturday:Lots of cutting and glueing...I reused a bunch of my choir envelopes with old addresses...Jumbo snowflake on bright blue paper!So pretty!Hopefully the kids like the project!Either way, I'm looking forward to my long weekend, - I took the day off - so I'll be making lots of art and singing in our concert tomorrow night, and surrounding myself wonderful people.Enjoy the weekend! I hope it's filled with lots of sparkly love...and laughing..lots of it!

...At a holiday gift for you lovelies. :)And a sample of our last Art Explorers project for the season.Can't wait to share the finals of both! :)

Oh the holidays! How I love humming holiday songs throughout the day! Here are few places to find some holiday cheer.I'm quite smitten with the following albums:Great artists, Fanfarlo, Sufjan Stevens, and Florence and Machine to name a few - singing holiday songs. The only annoying thing is you have to click on each song!Hey! It's Christmas is another treat.NPR has a wintry mix of jingle jams with a bunch of classics and goodies.And the Glee Christmas album is also quite charming.**Lastly, for those in the NYC Area ~ come check out our choir concert this Friday!Thanks Julian for the awesome poster design!Happy Holidays Friends!xoxox

...you know what that means!leaving hearts on cars! :)

NYC is constantly sprucing up the neighborhoods with flowers - tulips in the spring and hydrangeas in the summer. But they don't stop there, in the winter you will not go down a street without seeing some purple and green cabbage.This morning, I was distracted by big, fat rain drops on these pretty purple leaves... Who knew cabbage be so pretty?Even though I had a crabby morning, I'm glad I took these pretty photos!