Healing Myself through Art

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It happened again. My husband brought home a bug and infected everyone in the house. He got over it in a few days. I, on the other hand, have been feeling lousy for a week. Although I'm grateful that I have no coughing, little sneezing and no fever, the lethargy I am experiencing is awful. Normally I am an energetic person with a hundred and one things to do and a hundred more that I want to do. When I'm feeling this dragged out and blecchh, I do only those things  that comfort me and for me that's art.

 I completed these two cards this week. The pink and black card is for a Black and One Color swap and will go to one of my fellow Oriental Stamp Art members who lives in Australia. The layout is simple and clean and contains many of the elements I love most - high contrast, silhouettes and just a touch of bling.

The blue monochromatic treescape was made as a thank you card for our upstate neighbor who has been like a godfather to us, helping us out with just about anything we needed with the house we have purchased up the road from him. The bare trees remind me of the mountains that surround us in upstate New York. In my last post, I posted a photo of the first area snowfall as seen from the deck of our home and served as the inspiration for the card. It is a one layer card created with masking and sponging techniques as well and multiple stamping to create the forest. Again, it is simple in its layout but conveys a sense of serenity and calm. It also is suitable for a man, something that I struggle with most times because I love using more feminine touches.

These two cards, along with massive amounts of chicken soup and rest, have been my medicine. No doctor visit, no prescriptions and no co-pay. Can't beat that.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Snow On The Mountain

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Battery lanterns for light.

Kerosene heater for warmth.

After many years of dreaming about it, my husband and I finally purchased a home in the mountains of upstate New York. Like any home that is not brand new construction, it requires some tender loving care to make it livable. It also requires some utilities. That's right, there is no electricity, no gas, no water. We're in the process of getting these utilities turned on but it has been a nightmare dealing with National Grid for our electricity. Without power, we can't get our gas turned on and we can't pump water. This should be taken care of this week. In the meantime, hubby and I have been up to the house twice this month and we've essentially been camping indoors. Fortunately for us, we are old hands at camping and have been making do with a little help from our neighbor who has allowed us to get water and use his kerosene heater.

Western view from the deck.

Northern view from the deck.

It gets a lot colder a lot faster up in the mountains and this past Sunday we awoke to find a dusting of snow lying on the ground and clinging to the trees. It was beautiful...cold but beautiful. I took these photos from the deck in front of the main entry door. A view like this makes all the work and the inconveniences worthwhile.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva