OK...it's done!....

just a few tweeks here & there and this one is done!

She looked really good on my living room wall

(which was set up as a makeshift studio in the meantime)

she is on her way to the new owner...& she will be missed....

Thank you Joseph for the opportunity to paint the beauty of a storm. I dedicate this to my pledge to the element of AIR. Capturing the essence of wind which can have great strength, endurance and power to move the biggest obstacles, even though it is invisible.

weathering the storm...

I am just about done the commission painting....

it is 2 panels and is titled:

"weathering the storm"

Wishing (me) Well....

It seems like everytime I get into my car,

the "Airplanes" song is playing.

It's the one that says:

" I could really use a wish right now....wish right now....wish right now"

I find myself singing along (outloud) and have it constantly stuck in my head...I have also started to collect items for an assemblage art piece for this song...

I can tell that the universe is listening....
because a few days ago I received a gift from a dear friend...

Inside was a "Wishing" rock

She brought it back from Mexico

(and the little fancy gift box she got from the cart before the horse)

www.thecartbeforethehorse.blogspot.com

The interesting thing is... the only rocks I have ever collected (2 little rocks) were from Mexico....(unlike my family who collects rocks all the time...especially my mom...who finds them anywhere and everywhere....infact.....if you were to check her pockets right now, you would probably find a handful......along with an unsuspecting kleenex!)

For now my new wishing rock and my elephant hair bracelet have found their way under my pillow (where magic happens)

painting today! YEY

Woke up to a WONDERFUL STORM this morning...

lots of lightening and thunder

I feel so good.....I got out my painting gear and got a good start on the commission peice....

now it is time for a break...

I think I will go for a walk and get my juices flowing

Elephant hair bracelet

I have never heard of an Elephant Hair Bracelet...

let alone ELEPHANT HAIR

(do they really have hair??)

....but I received this magical gift yesterday from a lady named Danny

I met Danny just a few days ago down at Art Central for "First Thursday". She came into my studio and really liked my work. She bought my "Palette Painting" book and gave me many generous compliments...

We re-connected yesterday as she decided to purchase some artwork...not only that...but she wanted to give me a gift. She said the moment that she met me (on Thursday), she knew that she was going to give me this bracelet...

She said that when she was very sick several years ago, a stranger gave it to her for luck & healing and to pass it along when the time was right. She said that she has been holding on to it for a long time...waiting for the right person to give it to.

I told her that I was surprized that she would give me such an item, considering she had no idea about my health issues and I could really use some luck & healing right now.

She said that she just had a feeling that I needed it!

I LOVE the fact that the bracelet is made from silver TUBES

(iconic for me with kidney disease & dialysis tubes)

Unfortunately, the bracelet is too small to fit so I will try to incorporate onto a necklace I think....

Here are some other types of Elephant hair bracelets....

They say that the hair is thick & plasticky

"Chant of a Poor Man"

There were 4 of us that painted....

the song chosen was:

"Chant of a Poor Man"

(by Leftfield)

The rules were to paint anything while listening to the song,

feeling the vibe of the song.... and complete it within an hour

.

I thought it was interesting that I have heard this song many times before (although I didn't know the name of the song)...but I always thought they were saying " charm of a woman" (instead of "chant of a poor man")

but that is no surprize...I am known to make up my own lyrics...

for example the song by Creedence Clearwater Revival -

"Bad Moon on the Rise"

I thought they were saying: " there's a bathroom on the right"

.

anyway, near the end of this song, he says "I'm somewhere else"

(which I LOVE)

or....he could be saying "I am so far out"

either way....it fits with the painting I created...

Here are the paintings done by the other artists

artwork to music.....

A few years ago, a friend of mine bought one of my paintings

and told me it reminded him of a song by Johnny Cash....

Since then I have fantasized having an art show

where the artwork reflected or was painted to a certain song....

alas....here we are today...

I have decided to have an impromtu art contest with

some fellow artists (anyone can join)

where we each take turns to pick a specific song

and then we each do a peice of artwork

listening to the song or reflecting the song etc.

(the person that picks the song decides what the rules are during their turn)

At the end of the deadline, we come together and compare our peices

some of us on the same page or maybe not (?)

anyway....

Here is my peice

"I Won't Back Down" (by Tom Petty)

(can you see the little dialysis tubes?)

see lyrics listed below

Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

No I'll stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin me down
gonna stand my ground
and I won't back down

Chorus:
(and I won't back down)
Hey Baby, there ain't no easy way out
(and I won't back down)
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down

Well I know what's right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down

Chorus

*this song was recently talked about at a memorial for Chris Melnychuk (a fellow artist friend)
who recently passed away from tongue cancer. He had a strong will to live and it makes sense that he would enjoy this song. It inspires me to keep plugging along

the crows are back......

I had no idea that my friend in Edmonton

is such a master at taking crow pictures....

I am so happy that she shared these photos with me

because it really helped me get back into my studio

after these long months of just focusing on my health....

Don't these birds look so REGAL?

not scruffy looking like the crows around here...

Here are my paintings...inspired by these photos....

This one is called:

looking back with no regrets

This one is called:

heading in the right direction

feels like a mushroom day......

I think I will crawl back into bed......

maybe the sun will come out later and I will feel better

pancake syrup

It's that time of year again...CALGARY STAMPEDE

and lots of free pancake breakfasts...

I was in the grocery store yesterday and saw

three teenage boys in front of me in the check-out line....

They looked like they were probably 16 or 17 years old (but then I am a bad judge of age)....

They were each buying 4 bottles of pancake syrup....

My first thought was that they were hosting a pancake breakfast

and were sent to the store to get syrup....

But why were they each buying four bottles? I wondered....

Why didn't one guy buy all the bottles?

Perhaps they were each in charge of hosting their own breakfasts? hmmmm....

Then I noticed that they were having difficultly figuring out how much money to give the clerk....and she had to tell them where to grab their change (coin dispenser)....

Had they never been shopping before at the grocery store???

WEIRD....I thought

Then when I got up to the clerk, she told me that those boys were

from the Chec Republic and they were buying Maple Syrup to take back home.

It all made sense then....the four bottles each...and the currency /cash issue...

my perseption antenna was a little off!

my itsy bisty teeny weeny ponytail...is GONE

I have never really been attached to my hair...
Once I participated in a charity event:
"Shave Your Lid for a Kid" and had my long hair shaved off...
and I also had dreads put in my hair
But there is something about losing your hair...
clumps at a time (because of strong medication)
that is a little scary....
and what makes it worse is that the medication makes
your face all puffy as well...
I could probably handle one or the other at one time
but to be bald and puffy at once??
Anyway....
I was hanging on to my teeny pony tail for too long
I finally got it chopped off yesterday...

My last few strands of hair

are now in the follicle graveyard.....

I am happy to report that

there are signs of hair growth!

My hair is coming back! YEY

going to KENTUCKY?

I had a DREAM a few nights ago....

I had over-extended my time in the pool

and was one of the last ones to get out...

my friends and I ran to the parking lot across the street, dripping wet...

we saw a tow truck removing cars

One of my friends noticed that the tow truck

was hooked up to his vehicle....

He ran up to the tow truck driver and asked if he could

release his car......and the driver obliged

Then the tow truck hooked up to another friends car...

She did the same and asked the driver to release her car...

He obliged

At this point I noticed that I can't see my car...

it was missing

did the tow truck already haul it away?

So I went up to the driver and asked him if he towed my car

He said "yes"

I asked him " Where is it? Is it at the Impound Lot?"

He said "No"....."It is in KENTUCKY"

K E N T U C K Y ?

Feeling hopeless....I explained that I needed my car for a special appt.

He said " Well, you will need to go to Kentucky to get it"

My interpretation of this dream has to do with living with this newly acquired cronic condition....

The friends in the dream represent the 2 people that I have met at dialysis, who recently had surgery the same time as me....theirs were successful...mine was not. Perhaps their car represents their progress along this dialysis/ kidney failure journey...they are free to go.

My car is stuck in a place that seems unreachable.

I guess I need to decide how committed I am to the journey ahead.

Most days I feel defeated...so I find myself on the fence

I need to decide whether to stay or to leave....

or in this case....go to KENTUCKY!

Reality TV and ART?

There is a new show called "Work of Art"
coming to Bravo this month....
I am so glad to see some exciting exposure to the art community!

http://www.bravo.ca/television/workofart/index.asp

Happy Birthday JB!

no longer a teen....she turns 20 years old today!

i love collage...

meet "Beverly"....she is one of my new butterfly girls
working with collage allows my hands to be busy
even though they are still shakey from meds.....
check out my new work:
http://heatherbrewster.com/new%20work.htm

cool wearables....

My daughter Jennifer and her friend Natalie

have made some really cool wearable art....

funky hoods with dreads, organic jewlery & leatherwork

check out their first sale together down at ART CENTRAL

"DRESS THE GROUND"

on March 4th 6-9 pm

click here for details:

http://www.heatherbrewster.com/events.htm