Soul Humming

Grow Kindness

starting to work in my new journal...

i am in favor of world-wide peace

spread this idea

and war will cease

 grow kindness and abide in love.

Shake Your Paw

The 2010 PAWS for Charity Art Book is now available for ordering! It looks gorgeous! You can preview and order the book here. This year's book is BIG coming in at 8 x 10...and has more pages with a whopping 75 pages (almost double last year's book). And, there are many more artists showing their amazing offerings.

It is perfect for your pet loving friend, someone who wants to support cancer-fighting charities (all proceeds are donated directly to The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade) or YOU!

And, you can also order these sweet t-shirts here. Soon there will be greeting cards and in the fall a calendar for the new year. So there will be lots of ways to enjoy these fabulous furry friends all while supporting cancer charities. For which I say Thank You Very Much!!

Paws for Charity Participants 2010

Poppy as an alien seal

You probably know that I love animals. And, you may have gathered that I am nuts about photography. Also, you might have read that I am a cancer survivor. Well, did you know that I am participating in an art book project that combines all three of these? Isn't that so cool!

PAWS FOR CHARITY is the brainchild of Sara Harley. I learned about the project last year through a friend who was participating. Artist and photographers give Sara their cat or dog-themed work to be published in a beautiful art book. And all proceeds from the sale of the book goes to a cancer related charity. The 2010 monies will be going to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.

The book is currently on its way to the publisher. I will be sure to let you know when it is available for purchase. You can keep abreast of all news for the project by joining the PAWS for Charity fan page at Facebook here.

In the meantime, here's a list of links to all the artists with work in the book. Please visit them and be inspired and delighted.

2010 PAWS for Charity Participants

• Aliki Salmas
• Amanda Degard
• Amanda Pampena
• Andrea Savelo
• Angie Ketelhut
• Anita Peeples
• Anne Witton
• Art by Lori Rowe
• Becky Boggs
• Bev Hollis
• Bill Storoniak
• Blenda Tyvoll
• Cameron Graves Hayden
• Carole Akins
• Carolyn Evans
• Cookies and Water Photography
• Dan Felstead
• Debbie Virgin Shook
• Diane Schuller
• Fenne Kustermans
• Heather T Imagery
• Hong In Young
• J.T. Yost
• Jack Sutter
• Jan Swan
• Jeni Dawson
• Jennifer Gonzales
• Jessica Pruitt
• Jewel Mathieson
• Jill Beninato
• Kate Green
• Kecia Deveney
• Kelly Snelling
• Kerry Ould
• Kimberly Owen
• Kristin Bowen
• Linda O'Neill
• Lisa Graziotto
• Lynn Hanousek
• Marilyn Kellough
• Melanie Hughes
• Melissa Langer
• Melissa McDaniel
• Michele Erez
• Miriam Mas
• Nancy MacDonald
• Nancy Schutt
• Pawzitiveart
• Peter Tym
• Rachel Parker
• Rochele Cassidy
• Sara Harley
• Shannon McLaughlin
• Sheila Wedegis
• Shelagh Duffett
• Stephanie Balcom
• Stephanie Moon
• Sue Collins
• Susan Black
• Tamandra Michaels
• Tanya Brown
• Tara Anderson
• Teresa Berg
• Tianna Fisher
• Urban Dog Photog

Mixed Media Dollhouses

My friends Julie and Tally have written a great new book titled Mixed Media Dollhouses. It is all about assemblage in the form of magical artist dollhouses. And it is now available online and in book stores for You.

Here's the description from the publisher..."This book takes the artistic approach of assemblage and collage, and combines it with the long-loved tradition of making doll houses--but these doll houses are anything but traditional! Begun as an artistic challenge between a group of talented friends, these mixed-media doll houses include beautiful castles, undersea fantasy-lands, gothic attics, inspiring tree houses and much more. Authors Tally Oliveau and Julie Molina share a host of interesting alteration techniques while showing readers how to construct beautiful, fantasy doll houses. Readers learn to how to construct or repurpose found boxes into rooms and houses, how to decorate interior surfaces, how to build miniature furnishings, how to make their own paper dolls, and how to embellish their houses using a variety of imaginative materials."

Many amazing artists came together to work on these collaborative mixed media creations. And I was delighted to create a room for the hotel in the group.

I made a Lost and Found department.

 

Of course, nothing is really what it seems.

That makes it even more interesting for me.

If you are on Facebook, please pop over and join the book's Fan Page. There you can keep abreast of all the news and see some sneak peaks into the pages of Mixed Media Dollhouses.

And, speaking of news, I will be joining Tally and Julie for a book signing at Zinnia's in Pasadena on Saturday, April 3nd, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Julie and Tally will be bringing several of the original rooms from the book to display. It would be awesome if you all could stop by and say hello.

the book of knowledge

i believe...

Day 11 and a Party

 

Said the night wind to the little lamb
Do you see what I see
Way up in the sky little lamb
Do you see what I see
A star, a star
Dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite

Those lyrics are to one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. I really start feeling like Christmas is upon us when I can turn on the radio and sing this song. And it has been especially cold and rainy here. I've had a fire in the fireplace during the DAY! Unheard of here for me. But I am starting to enjoy all this cold and all this winter. It really does feel like Christmas is coming.

Day 11 of our Christmas Exchange came today. I was so excited to open my most extremely gorgeous gift from Deryn. But today was so darn busy that it has gotten to be closer to tomorrow before I've had a chance to show it to you. So here it is all wrapped and lovely...

Deryn found the most over the top beautiful ribbon and created a gift bag with it. I hated cutting it open but it was surely worth it. And do you see that adorable little girl version of Deryn on the tag? What a doll!

She made each of us a very special reliquary. I can't begin to tell you how lovely this is in person. She used one of my very favorite holy medals with the Holy Spirit symbolized as a dove right in the middle of the cross. And inside it says Thine art Blessed.

and the back is just as pretty as the front. turquoise and red are two of my very favorite colors. i think this is just such a treasure. i love it! thank you, thank you, sweet friend!!

and, lastly, we had our book club Christmas party last night. i laughed so much and so hard that i felt like i had done a week's worth of sit-ups by the time i was ready to go home. they are just such wonderful people, these dear friends of my heart. 

 

i love you girls to bits!

  

 
 
 

 

The Auction Has Begun

After many problems with software and computers, the auction has begun! I am keeping my fingers crossed that the listings are all correct and make sense. I tell you, it was downright nutty with me using two different computers (the one with all photos and descriptions that keeps bombing unexpectedly and frequently) and up to three different programs at the same time to make it happen.

There is still something odd going on though. If you search via my Ebay seller name (english_dixie) or A Charming Exchange (which is in the title of every listing I've added) nothing comes up! Yet, the listings are in My Ebay for selling and I have the item numbers. You can click on these links to see the first five pieces.

Charm Bracelet

Time Flies 1

Metal Lace

Fan Dance

Button Stack

You will be able to see a slide show of all listings at each individual listing. So as I add more, they'll show up on each page as well.

Any help you can offer to spread the word and to bid is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thank you!

i miss you

i like blogging. i enjoy talking to everyone and meandering through the fluff in my mind. but while i am away i can't seem to manage it. forget the fact that i am on the road constantly and having adventures every hour. the problem is this wonky computer. it shuts down the internet connection sporadically, takes about three minutes to load one image, and is in my mother's library which is part of her bedroom.

so i am sorry to everyone who has left a comment but hasn't heard back from me. i just can't swing it. but thank you all for keeping up with me when i can't even seem to keep up with myself.

now...on to bigger and better blog things. have you visited my delightful friend julie's blog lately? julie is offering the most amazing classes right now. seriously!

julie is offering two classes, Super Nova One and Super Nova Two, that will teach you everything you want to know about art journaling. think of keeping a diary on steroids. think of a lucious, juicy color-filled book of dreams. that's art journaling to me. and julie does it with gusto and then some!

In the first class you will learn to make these three gorgeous books. She has awesome videos and personal assistance to teach you the basic of bookbindings. You will love, love making your own journals. Think of the lovely, personal gifts you will be able to make for your friends and family!

And, in Super Nova Two, you will learn all manner of awesome techniques. To quote Julie, "Some of the techniques we will cover in class are: mono-printing, quick painting techniques, my "mummy"  technique, ghost writing, spray painting, collage and brayer use!" It really sounds like an amazing class. Run on over there and sign up, friends!

Further Books to Delight and Intrique

 As summer is quickly sizzling along, perhaps there are other folks out there looking for something to read. I thought I would shout out some of the older books I have read with my much loved book club. Bear with me in my opinions as I am slightly ill equipped to recall all these books from years past. I will try my best to remember what I thought about these, and in doing so, hope to help you find something you will love.

July/August 2006

Book:  The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

I am not a huge reader of nonfiction. There. I've said it. I love characters best. And if a piece of nonfiction can give me a great story of someone's life, then count me in. While not my very most favorite of books, if you are a lover of words, this might be the one for you. Mr. Winchester tells the story of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary through the lives of the two men who contributed the most to its completion. One of the gentlemen ends up being a resident of a Criminal Lunatic Asylum as a convicted murderer who is also a genius. Not the story you would expect.

 

June 2006

Book:  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I picked this selection for our group. It is a favorite of mine. I've read it a couple of times and have pushed it into the laps of my husband and several friends. I especially love the themes in this book. They fascinate me. It is a love story, on one level, and also a work of science fiction. But it is also a book about fear, about family, about what becomes of love when the one you love is no longer there. The author is an artist who long made hand-painted books (usually in original copies of ten). So to read her novel and know her love of books makes it even more special to me. Also, it is soon to be released in film version starting Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. Be sure to read it before you hit your cineplex.

May 2006

Book:  An Unfinished Season by Ward Just 

An Unfinished Season, written in 2004, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Heartland Prize for Fiction. It is a coming-of-age novel set in 1950s Chicago. I remember it having a quiet, subtle rhythm that I enjoyed. The central character is Wilson Ravan, a young man who is stepping into adulthood for the first time. He is learning about his father in a way he hasn't known him before as he deals with a labor dispute at his business and receives threats to his home. He is discovering the class system as well as himself.

The author writes his dialogue in an unusual fashion, which may be off-putting to some at first. He writes his dialoge with no quotation marks and has done so in several of his books. He explains, "I was working on a theory of dialogue:  that if you elminate the quotation marks, what you're getting to is kind of the deep structure of the dialogue, almost like the pentimento of a painting. You're not listening so much for the regional accents, the way the late George Higgins used to write dialogue; [he was] the modern master of that. This dialogue, the way I see it, it's quite straightforward; and if you take the quotation marks out of it, you can sorto f see through it like a pane of window glass, to what's going on underneath and what's going on between the lines....I've had a couple of editors who've been really quite put off by it, but I've stuck with it."

 

 

April 2006

Book:  Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is about two women in 19th century China whose lives are lived with rigid rules in seclusion which is the common practice for young women at this time. I really did not know anything about this time and place and I found the book fascinating. A couple of major parts of the book have to do with a secret language of the women which is embroidered in the secret fan of the title and the ritual of foot binding. I had heard of foot binding before but really didn't know anything about it. Ms. See goes into detail about the practice and its meaning.

 

 

March 2006

Book:  The Heidi Chronicles and Other Plays by Wendy Wasserstein

The Heidi Chronicles won the Pulitzer Prize for drama as well as the Antoinette Perry (Tony) and New York Drama Critics' Circle awards for best play, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Dramatists Guild's Hull-Warriner Award, and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award for women playwrights.

My book club read this collection after Wendy Wasserstein passed away.  We also saw a local college production of the main piece. All these things worked to make me appreciate this one more than I otherwise would have. It follows the life of Heidi from high school to feminist career woman. It really wasn't my favorite as I felt very removed from the situations of this era. I did enjoy seeing the play much more than I enjoyed reading it.

 

February 2006

Book:  Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Hmmm. I had to go look this one up. It doesn't sound even vaguely familiar which makes me think I didn't read this one. It sounds interesting enough if you read the description but I'm sorry to say I've got nothing on it.

 

January 2006

Book:  Good Harbor by Anita Diamant

I had actually started this post about books last year in draft form. I had written in all the dates my club had read the books and put in the links to each title. On most of them I had written a very brief thumbs up or thumbs down review. But for this title I had only one word, and not really even a word, written. I had said, "Nu-uh." That doesn't sound so good, does it. But today I honestly couldn't remember this book, not even vaguely, so I read an online synopsis by Bette-Lee Fox that said, "Diamant draws a portrait of a friendship between women that weathers illness and infidelity. Kathleen Levine, a children's librarian in Cape Ann, MA, is 59 years old, married, and the mother of two grown sons. She is also suffering from breast cancer, which brings overwhelming solicitousness from others and countless stories of other women's illness. She is no stranger to the disease, having lived through her sister's death from breast cancer. Joyce Tabachnik is a journalist and pseudonymous romance novelist. Now 42, she is married and has a 12-year-old daughter who bristles at anything her parents say and do. The two Jewish women Joyce by birth, Kathleen by conversion meet at synagogue one Friday evening and begin a relationship that will take them up the Good Harbor beach in Gloucester for frequent walks and talks and through the momentous challenges and fears of their varied lives. Kathleen's ordeal with cancer, especially radiation treatment, rings true, and her honest, compassionate friendship with Joyce, who is doubting her own marriage and her ability to write, will touch readers as they recognize these women's frailties and strengths."

In January of 2006 I was unaware that I would have breast cancer in the near future. I imagine that if I were to read this book again today I would have a slightly different take on it. While it might not be my favorite read, I do remember it as interesting and good tale of friendship.

 

December 2005

Book:  A Widow for One Year by John Irving

John Irving can do no wrong, as far as I am concerned. While this isn't my favorite Irving book (that one comes later), it is a good one. I read this book before I had children. And, as innocuous as that may sound, it really makes a difference in how I receive certain stories. Pre-children I thought this book was great. Post-children it was slightly frightening. Not frightening in the same way a story about kidnapping is but my focus had shifted and I had a new layer of depth in my own life with which to measure this tale. Still, I am a big John Irving fan and I would recommend this book to you. I would not recommend the film, A Door in the Floor, which is based on the first part of this novel.

 

November 2005

Book:  One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This book is touted as Marquez's greatest work and that's saying something for someone who holds the Nobel Prize for literature. It is the bestselling modern Spanish work of fiction second only to Don Quixote. It is a work of magical realism which is one of my favorite sorts of books to read. One Hundred Years of Solitude is the history of an isolated town called Macondo and the family who founds it. It is complex, funny, full of irony, love, adventure, and sadness. It is a classic.

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That's it for today. I still have many more books from my book club to tell you about. But I really want to go and read now. Please tell me about your favorite reads, too!