Well, I suppose we aren't TECHNICALLY crazy cat ladies...

Though we are cat ladies, and we are crazy... and we do like cake.

Check out Cat Versus Human for more of these comics. They're great! And oh so accurate.

A Beautiful Soul

I was just gazing at blogs of all kinds ..... which I often do. I came upon this sweet soul who is taking a journey that many women know. I suppose that all people know in some form or fashion. Please take a moment to peek in on her thoughts and share a word with her. Because with the world as vast as the days are long............... at the end of the day.......alone is alone.
love
saschi

goodnight wayne

http://anightintheforest.blogspot.com

Hedge Hog and More Hedge Hog.......

Friday nights class proved to be a classic. If things keep going like this them I'll for sure get a karaoke machine and provide entertainment . Being a "virgin" (choke , choke ) at this I am finding my way through the labyrinth of artistic individuality. I want to go out of this art class world with a bang! And once I've acquired the confidence of old timer at this thing , I'll be laying on more tricks than a world class whore!

I didn't take my camera to this class! damn! And what a shame! But never fear because I have taken portrait classes from an olde' master! And so, with the powers deemed to me from my wise and strict master I have created the likeness of which so keen, that I will keep the names anonymous so as to maintain my code of student privacy............

Above....... AQUARIUS: real estate, beautiful hair, a fan, witty with a mind so keen and sharp I dare not take it on! I suspect that in her private time she ponders the life the belly dancer. In her closet one might find various types of whips, and different sizes of cuffs. I wanted to mama this one. Truly delightful. This ones a keeper!
LEO: My most compatible sign. A photographer. Earthy. Real. And whilst she seems like a peace lover.............. I sensed a strong whoop ass factor behind those flaxen braids. No wait, they weren't flaxen...... they were brown. But flaxen sounds more Joni Mitchell which is what I imagine she gets down to in her resting time with a good bottle of Black Doctor, or who knows... a fifth of Wild Turkey. VIRGO: Keep it simple! When I finished the class Ashley gave me the sound advice to , upon demonstrating "techniques" , take her box instead of a students............... She was sporting a most groovy ETSY necklace. She had traveled a long way. By the end of the night she was a tired gal, as were the rest. In the end I don't know if mixed media could be her "thing". I think possibly something more classic and refined would suit her. But she was a hoot, and her finished work was really cool. I could see that the inside of her box that she did was more in line with her "vision" than the outside........... but like I say, as time went on we were hungry and tired.....
Next time we'll bring pizza and suggest that students b.y.o.b!

A morning snapshot of Lilly in one of my boxes. Isn't it nice how cats like to compartmentalize themselves! I used to could do that.... about 60 lbs. ago.
And yet another Buddy update: well, we went from cancer to a brown recluse bite and now so sadly.......... back to cancer. Its a rare form of cancer that only predominately light color boxers get. And so........... perhaps within a few months Buddy will venture on to a life of no sickness. Or perhaps he will return to his owners who have provided him with the life of a king. Oh Buddy, what a sweet gift from God you have been. How you will be missed. Long live Buddys spirit! And may God light his path with rainbows in the course of his ascension.

Last nights class made me think of the movie Death Proof by Quention Tarentino. Perhaps the ultimate chick flick........at least to my genre of womankind...... my Friday nights comrade's made for an intellectual but yet... motley crew! If I am blessed with students like these during my art life then I can die a happy woman! I am truly honored to have had them in my company. Truly! And I wish them all well. And from now on I'll never think of Mod Podge again as its given name.......... from here out its Hedge Hog.
Long live my Friday night girls!
thank you!
Good day wayne!

A QUICK NOTE!

For all you Halloween, ghost lovin' , campfire story tellers and for just a remarkable read all many things supernatural check out this blog! I enjoy this blog everyday!

http://abnormalssanctuaryblog.blogspot.com

Monday, Monday.......

Hello all! I've been reading all my favorite bloggers right here from this computer of mine that sits in front of , or behind depending on how you look at it, a picture window overlooking my portion of the woods. Everyone seems knee deep in busy "ness" . I have discovered in my fifties that I am not one for busy "ness". I don't like change, unless of course positive. But I have been busy too in my way gathering my nuts........speaking of nuts..... wow autumn is coming! I am a happy camper indeed!

Above is the almost finished painting that I have deemed "Darlene and the Salvation Flower". Ashley has the finished copy which is quite a bit different now and shes doing the pro photos because I'm entering the Cloth Paper Scissors contest. I'll post the finished photo soon. I've grown to really LUV this mag lately! If you mixed guys haven't joined the site you should, its free and its packed with groovy stuff. Stuff being all inclusive of all good things artsy!

Here you go.......... http://www.clothpaperscissors.com
click there and have a good time! They're good people!

In case you don't notice and I probably wouldn't either, I've added mirror to "Darlene" along with more vines and stripes and the "yellena" flower has been transformed to a "connie" flower. The finished painting has gone through even more changes . I could have kept going but the deadline for the Cloth Paper Scissors is today so I had to let er' go.

Oh my lovely Lilly. Lilly takes kisses. Well most of the time and that's good because she gets enough of them. For about the past four weeks when I am showering Lilly will jump up between the shower curtains and just have a cozy little lie down and watch the water droplets fall down the clear shower liner and occasionally take a swat at them. Its so very nice! Now... ahead of time I put a towell on the bath edge and give her a call and shes comes eager to shower! Such a wonderful addition to bath time! God bless Lilly! In case you don't know of Lilly she was given to me by the most wonderful man in the world. My best friend Terry Gene Smith. A remarkable cartoon artist who had been in love with me most of our lives. Seriously! Since the 7th grade. Terry had a head full of red hair and eyes like Gene Wilder. A Scorpio. A natural born comedian and just the best company a human could want. Terry died a few years back from diabetes and heart surgery complications............ to this day....even now..... when I imagine his face, and conjure his spirit, it twists my old heart into an aching knot.
How I miss you my best friend.
I always enjoy coming home from Wonders on Woodland with a few photos! I enjoy visiting Wonders so much! It is my refuge. It is that corner barber shop..... that little diner.... that special place that in time many people call their own. In all of East Nashville Wonders is my niche'. What a wonderful pin cushion! You know.... I don't know if the pins are old or new, but for now we'll call them old and let the cushion tell its tale.
A Halloween scardy cat! As I was taking pictures in the corner of my eye I spied Wayne putting this little piece on the table ready for a photo. Wayne must either fancy this little cat or enjoy my photos........or both. So here you go! Buddy update: I posted recently on Buddy , my brothers dog. He developed a lump, which to my knowledge was diagnosed as cancerous. Yes this is what I was told. But as fate would have it after his surgery on Monday (last Monday) he was back in the hospital the next day for more surgery! Well.......... now the physician has a strong notion that Buddy was bitten by a brown recluse spider!!! His flesh was dying and turning black at a speedy rate and with the other symptoms the doctor went in and removed all the dead tissue and with crossed fingers deemed it a done deal. Buddy is okay now thank God.
Long live Buddy!
Love them maters'! I planted my tomatoes late this year. And I didn't use fertilizer. Not by conscious design but I just never got around to buying it. Anyway my three vines are just now cranking em' out! And they're little..... but good!
And to end this post heres a wonderful picture of Wonders on Woodland from the main room looking down the hallway into the veeerrrry back. The stairs to the left lead to the upstairs gallery. I wish I was there right now.......... but I'm not.
and with that
Goodnight Wayne

Where Have I Been You Ask?

What a busy week I've had! Full of nothing but work and thought! Thinking deep thoughts. I've slowly worked on the above painting that I thought I'd have done in no time. But its evolved! I'm trying out different styles so that I can morph them and do a little tweaking and make them more mine. No matter how hard I try I cant stick with a simple color theme. And I find it hard to deviate from the psychedelic. But all in all I'm happy with where this little boy is going.
Above is Buddy. Buddy is a pit bull mix that my brother rescued from a life of beating and heart worms in East Nashville. Here in East Nashville it seems like you have two distinct groups (1) those who torture and beat and kill and (2) those who are running themselves ragged trying to save and spay and neuter. I believe my brother came upon Buddy in around 2001 with the beautiful Little Mama pictured below. Both babies were torn up pretty badly. For the longest if you so much a raised your arm around Buddy he would drop to the floor. To this day he is just a timid boy. And sadly now he has cancer. We had to take him to the emergency room this morning because of bad hemorrhaging. Pray for Buddy.
Oh this is the sweet Little Mama. Little Mama is getting on in the age category too. She's started having seizures and takes meds and wobbles along when she walks. Such a sweet soul. Such a gift from God!
This ole crab is Sooty! Why he must be 18 if a day! He gets around East Nashville like he's the king! And he is to me and his family. This is one of those boys that just loves to cuddle. But the age has turned him to a bag o' bones. Still he enjoys the good life on the warm porch under the ferns. Long live Sooty! A rather peculiar plant I saw today. Looks like a mandrake root doesn't it? I'm not sure what this plant is, but it has such personality! Like an old man with tales to tale.
Another interesting shot........at least to me. I like the colors and the subject matter. Nice and clean.
Yesterday, as well as today, the weather was divine! Huhbin' and Lupe' wrestled out in the back yard. Here Dudley / Huhbin' has Lupe in a head lock! They carry on like this all the time! Even in bed when I'm trying to go to sleep.................... yep.
And lastly Huhbin's favorite position, belly up. No matter where we are or who we're around anytime is always a good time for Huhbin' to go belly up. He is a whore for a belly rub. He lives for belly rubs. Belly rubs , cat turds and long walks with mom; these things make my man happy. Long Live Huhbin' and Lupe'.

Well that is all for now. I have been a bit under the weather this week which is a bit odd. And I've spent some time with an old friend who is worthy of several posts himself and I will be doing some spots on him soon. His name is Mark Wray and he has become very important to me in my artistic endeavors. He's probably one of the most talented men I've met in a good long while.
I've still got lots of pictures to share and stories too, and we have classes starting this week!
Talk to you soon!
Night Wayne............

DIY Art Rack

As I announced in my last post, Saschi and I will be leading art classes at Fairytales Bookstore in East Nashville beginning next week. Tammy, the lovely proprietor of Fairytales, wanted to be able to display some of Saschi's art without putting holes in her plaster walls. I suggested that we could have a special rack just for displaying art, and after a bit of measuring and conferring, here is the design I came up with:

I drew it in Google Sketchup. I didn't draw in the back for two reasons: firstly because I wasn't completely sure how I wanted to do it--I considered a few different materials, and secondly because I'm a Sketchup newbie and I was getting frustrated enough already.

I went to Lowes and bought some supplies. I got a bunch of 2x2s, a bunch of 1x2s, a couple of 2x4s, and one 1x8.

I assembled my workspace. My garage is a dark, dank, spidery hellhole at the moment (okay... always), so I opted to work on my bright, uneven, awkward deck instead. (I also built my very large bookshelf on said deck.)

Those rocks? MODERN ART. Totally not there for lack of a better place to put them. And NONE of them got smashed with a hammer in a smashed-thumb-induced rage. Not a one.

I started by putting together the 2x4s as a base. Then I built the two side pieces, using the first one as the template for the second one so they would be as close to identical as possible. I attached them with the middle shelf, then attached the whole thing to the base.

I put some more supports on the sides. I got the angles by trial and error... who needs math when you have a miter saw? (Apparently, I do.)  I also put the top structure on. I cut the arbor-looking ends with a jigsaw. If the nice man at Lowes tells you that you can cut curves with any jigsaw blade, do what I did: smile and thank him, then buy the little blade that is made for curves anyway. You CAN cut curves with most jigsaw blades... but they look terrible and they are harder to cut. Your mileage may vary (as his apparently did), but the finer-toothed blade was much, much better for me.

Don't be fooled by the above picture: Peanut was not actually allowed to operate the saw. However, I did have to discourage her from misguided cleanup efforts. She thought that eating the sawdust was a reasonable and clever way to dispose of it. I imagine many dog foods are composed largely of sawdust anyway, but still. She also tried to take off with small pieces of scrap wood a couple of times. 'A' for effort, Peanut.

Next I put the backing on the rack. A key design element of this rack was some kind of backing that would allow us to hang artworks on it and move them around and change them out easily. I considered steel wiring, chain-link fence, wooden dowels, and just more horizontal boards.

Turns out steel wiring is sold by the foot for more than I wanted to pay, chain-link fence is only sold in massive rolls, and dowels or boards would not be as versatile as I wanted. Ultimately, I went with galvanized hardware cloth, which I think is usually used in building small animal cages. If you use this stuff, WATCH OUT! When I was trying to attach it, the part I trimmed snapped back and sliced eleven cuts of various depth and length along my arm. Ow! I stapled the bejesus out of the hardware cloth and put trim over it to hold it down even further. It won't be coming back to slice anyone else's arm to shreds.

I put trim and wheels on it and primed it. 

I painted it white initially thinking that a) I would rub wood stain over the white like I did with my bookshelf and it would make it look antique-y, b) that I would be at last making use of the cans of white paint that the previous house owner left and c) that it would be neutral-looking, since Tammy requested a neutral color scheme. 

Alas, I hated the white. 

Hate, hate, hated it! 

It actually looks not too bad in the picture, but in person it looked awful. The white brought out every tiny little flaw, and even after the stain, it still looked white (just dirty). I find solid white to be quite boring, though I know it's all the rage right now. (In fact, it being all the rage is probably part of why I find it so objectionable, but that's just how I am.) White is sterile and grandma-ish to me, and like both my late grandmothers were, it is best approached in moderation and with much caution. (Sorry, Grandmas S. and J.) The stain didn't help; it made it look like someone had spilled iced tea on it. I had built iced-tea stained grandma furniture, and that just couldn't stand.

So I slathered some black on it. Here it is, partially obscured by evening shadows:

Here is a closeup of the finish: 

Now it looks like acid-washed black jeans from the 80s, which still beats solid white. Black is neutral... right? I only hope it looks distressed and not diseased. 

After a coat or two of polyurethane, this bad boy will be heading over to Fairytales. Wish me luck; I will need it to stuff the whole thing in my car. I really should have gone for a pickup truck...