Hello friends,
     I visited my mom recently and had a fun time spending time with her. While chatting, she showed me a mail order catalog with pictures of her favorite chocolate (we'd been talking about our love for all things sweet!) Was the catalog a hint?  Well, it got me thinking about upcoming Mother's Day & I decided to (surprise) her with some of her favorite goodies.
     That led to my wondering what I could offer you as gift ideas for your moms!  Here is one of my designs (entitled "GROW") which you can find on my REDBUBBLE site; it can be made into a wide variety of goodies for Mom.  Travel mugs, tote bags, clocks, greeting cards, cosmetic bags,  journals/notebooks, even iphone skins!  Check out this and all of my other designs at:

     https://redbubble.com/people/LauraCLeMaster/portfol

Another "from me to thee" goody.  Enjoy!
(BTW, this piece was inspired by part of a work by Laurie Mika, as seen in Kelly Rae Roberts' book "Taking Flight")

Another "from me to thee" offering!  Since my REDBUBBLE site is up and operational now, I'm excited to let you know about some of my goodies that will make the perfect Mother's Day gifts.  Does Mom love her coffee?...how 'bout a travel mug w/one of my unique designs?  You may also select a throw pillow, iphone skin, studio bag, clock, frameable print, or tote bag.  Options galore!  Check out my designs at:  http://www.redbubble.com/people/LauraCLeMaster/portfolio

     It's springtime in the Treasure Valley, Idaho.  While driving to work today I was delighted to see all the brightly colored tulips alongside the road, popping up out of the soil with such enthusiasm.  Other types of flowers are doing the same, and although I don't know their names, I still enjoy them.  Some pink crocuses even surprised me the other day by greeting me as I stepped outside my front door.  There they were, waving their bright, kelly green arms, smiling up at me with their pretty little bloom-faces...such a delight.
     Don't you just love flowers and all the fabulous colors they come in?  I'm inspired:  maybe I'll do a series of floral canvases...I do have a huge, heavy box FULL of blank canvases and canvas boards, after all.
     I hear my worktable a-callin'.

     Do you like to journal...whether it be written-only, or art journaling?  I sure do.  I love to write in my journal, even though I haven't found the time lately.  I've filled so many journals over the years that I couldn't begin to count them.  There are boxes of them, all filled up, off getting dusty somewhere. Some were store bought with elaborate covers, some came to me as delicious gifts from people I love, some have the prettiest of bookmarks attached, some I even created myself, but they're all FULL!  Full of my hopes, my dreams, my ramblings, and my daring, brave goals.
     Lately, life has been sooo biz-y with valid, important things that I've ignored this just-as-important, tiny little inner tug I've been feeling.  My sweet little inner artist has been gently pulling on my creative hem, asking me in the quietest of whispers (she very polite and doesn't like to holler) "Mom, don't you think it's time to start writing again?"  Sad to say, I've chosen to focus on my biz-iness and have repeatedly ignored. her.
     Well, today I felt a jolt - more of a hard jerk than a polite tug, really - on the hem of my artisticness.  (I just made up a word)  I even heard that polite little inner artist give a great, big uncharacteristic YELL:  "HEY!!!, are you listening to me!?!?!"  Oops!  Nope.
     So, just now, I went and hunted down my "next" journal. (it took some hunting!)  I bought it some time ago & only recently found it in storage, where it's been since I moved four years ago.  I'd bought it because of  the quote on its front:  "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!  Live the life you've imagined."  Thoreau said that.
     Well, I have dreams.  I'm usually a pretty confident gal (although I've been known on occasion to suffer from the affliction called FEAR).  And I'm moving forward with my new online art biz (thanks to the help I'm getting from my new ecourse from Kelly Rae Roberts:  "Flying Lessons:  Let's Make Your Creative Biz Soar!").  I am, indeed, moving toward living the life I've imagined.  And you know what?.. I'm oh soooo glad you've come along with me on this, the journey of my exciting, new, creative life!
     Hey, I think I'll even go write about this in my new/old journal!  Do you have one?  C'mon, let's journal together!

     Happy Birthday to me!  An hour ago I turned...nevermind how old.  Not a glass of water big enough to swallow that pill!  But wait a minute...what is a number, anyway?  Society and Hollywood would have us believe that the best numbers are in the lower range, and when those digits get up to a certain point, look out!  BAM!  Honey, you're TOO old! And the moment we glimpse our first wrinkle in the mirror, we are dooooomed!
     What's wrong with our culture?  When did we start believing that life is only good until you hit 30?  I regret to say that when I was in my 20's I started to buy in to what "they" told me.  That I had to look this or that way, wear these clothes but for Pete's sake never THOSE clothes!  I didn't act on what "they" told me and everyone else to do ...but I caught myself thinking I SHOULD do all "they" said I should do.
     I should be saying "forget Hollywood, what's wrong with ME?"  I bought into all those lies for all those years. Whenever I looked in the mirror I told myself I was allll wrong. I believed that I didn't measure up because I was this and not that.  That I wasn't this but was that.  Oh brother.  All that wasted time worrying about what other people thought.
     I read this somewhere:  "wrinkles are merely memories of where smiles have been."  I love that.  My mirror tells me that I have smiled a lot in my life.  And I like that.  Poo on vanity.  I'll take wisdom, insight, and friends I've known more than 40 years.
     OK, in the spirit of REAL vulnerabilty and honesty....here goes.  I am now 60 years old.  Eegads.  That didn't even hurt....too much!.
     Happy Birthday, Baby!

Churchill's Wisdom

     Churchill once said "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."  If you're like me, you've tripped and fallen a few times in your life.  I really don't like to think about those times, or think of myself as a failure but, according to Churchill, the key is to keep up our steam...to pick ourselves up after falling, dust off those knees, and keep going.  It's important to keep looking forward to where we want to go vs. concentrating on where we just fell.  I've actually benefited from my failures when I've thought about how I can do things differently next time I'm faced with a similar decision, situation, whatever.
     As an artist, I've also found this to be true.  I try a new painting method for a background on a canvas that doesn't work, or I try out a design that's maybe a bit different from my usual style.  I've even tried participating in certain art fairs that I doubted would be a good fit for my work, and later thought "eegads, I'll never do THAT again!".  But that's the point, isn't it?  I'll never do that AGAIN.  I love that in the workroom, or in life, we can learn by our mistakes.  We can look at the canvas of our lives and reflect on how this or that may or may not have worked in the best way.  And we can move forward with that in mind, making better, more informed decisions based on what we learned from our failures.
     Churchill knew what he was talking about..