I was accepted! AND was awarded an Honorable Mention!

I was accepted! AND was awarded an Honorable Mention!, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

'm so excited! One of my linocut prints entitled "Cave Point Park" which I printed with water based black ink on ochre Mulberry paper was accepted into the "Vicinity" show in St. Charles, Illinois! I was even more excited when they told me I was awarded an honorable mention! It isn't a monetary award, but that doesn't matter at all to me. There are artists there who have decades of experience (some of them taught me in college way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth). So, I'm am so pleased that I'm starting to hold my own against against a wider range than my immediate area. If you can go to the show, check it out!

Exhibit Opens: Saturday, October 4

Reception & Awards: Sunday, October 26 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Exhibit Closes: Saturday, November 15

Burning the candle at both ends

WARNING: This is similar to the litany of Job:
I've been so busy at work that I work late, then I come home, make dinner, go straight to the studio and work until late into the night. Come home, pay bills, get some family responsibility stuff done, arrgh! (Insert scream here.)I need two extra days in the week to get everything completed. I'm not really complaining, though. I guess I thrive on living life this way, but it does tire me out and I miss my family when I'm not at home. I ate lunch at a local mom and pop restaurant with my husband. I kind of forgot about the time and took a really long lunch. He is tired too and thinks he's coming down with something. Yesterday the car broke down - I think it is a U-joint which sounds really expensive. So all the hard work I've been putting in at the studio to officially start my own business and purchase some nifty new tools will probably go into fixing the stupid car. I've been finishing up the Huskies on Parade, working on the December show at the DAWC, creating and submitting work to other juried shows, there's just alot going on right now. I sure hope that all this work pays off down the road.

Lambs from the fair

Lambs from the fair, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

Here I've inked the block to view my progress so far. I let the tengucho paper and nori dry thuroughly - overnight - before carving and it is adherely to the lino block really well. I purchased new X-actos so it cuts instead of tears. I still have to cut out the straw, then I'll be ready to print. It is one of the blocks I'll be using for the DAWC show. To be honest, I though it might sell well around Christmas because of the stable look.

References

Lop Eared Rabbit, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

The fair was a great place to get reference shots of different animals. I wish I had the couage to take photos of all the characters there too. One old man had such a kind, wrinkled face with bright sparkling eyes and wore a cowboy hat. He was so happy to be at the fair! He was following his wife who had a hard-life look about her. They were complete opposites. Another young guy was dressed as Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean. His long dark hair was a tangle of small braids, dread locks, and red hankerchieves. There were piercings and tatoos everywhere and he wore uberwide black denim pants with skulls and crossbones painted on towards to bottom. To top it off he was drunk as a skunk which made his eyes glisten and his body sway as he spoke. There were the hard core FFA members with plaid shirts, cowboy hats & boots, and straight backs. There were adorable little girls with brown curls reaching out to win their first stuffed animal prize. Spoiled girls crying that they didn't want to buy that, they wanted to buy this. People watching is a wonderful pastime.

Solo Show in December!

Solo Show in December, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

It's marked in the books! Keep the date open. Robayre and I will have concurrent solo shows in the twin galleries at the DeKalb Area Women's Center this December with an Artist's Reception on Sunday, December 7th from 2-4 p.m. Hope to see you there!Remember way back when *shimmering lights fade into memory* I said my new year's goal was to have a show in a gallery? Well, baby, this is it! I just squeaked in just under the "year's up" deadline.

And now for something completely different...
Does somone or something just annoy the heck out of you and you just can't stay away, so you're subjected to the same torture repeatedly? There is a particular person who just pops up from behind me, literally making me jump, and engages me in the most awkward conversations. The next time I see them, I try to keep my distance. I momentarily am sidetracked and *POOF* there they are - RIGHT IN MY FACE. Do they have some sort of super stealth power or the ability to stop time? I heard the military is perfecting a cloaking device... huh.