Day 75 ~ Frida

Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artists, so I decided to honor her memory by creating a special Frida butterfly. I used paper clay, which is air drying and great stuff to work with. It ended up reminding me of the clay figurines they sell in Mexico. I made her wings out of chili peppers, and when I picked her up I realized that they rattle!

Day 74 ~ Spring Cleaning

It's past midnight and I am in the middle of a spring cleaning binge. There's nothing like it to get the energy and ideas flowing in new directions. There's a feng shui concept that says if you move 27 things in your home, you can change your life and raise your energy levels significantly. (I know it sounds like new age hooey, but it really works!) Keep a notepad nearby after doing this exercise and you wont believe how many new ideas will flow into your mind!
I made this butterfly using a feng shui bagua. If you are interested in learning more about feng shui, check out my friend Vicky's website: http://www.lifedesignstrategies.com/about.html

Day 73: Holland ~ Fly Me Away!

Today's "butterfly" is a bit of a stretch, I know. It's a tulip I painted for an art contest to win a trip to Amsterdam. (I tried to make the leaves look like wings!) Below is the contest description:

The Keukenhof, KLM, and Netherlands Board of Tourism are celebrating the season by sending one lucky fan to the very exclusive VIP opening day at Keukenhof as well as the opening of the Blossom exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

PS: I get to take a friend! Who wants to go to Amsterdam with me?

Day 72 ~ Fungai

I heard from my friend Mark today, which is always a pleasure. We've known each other for 20 years now. He's always known how to make me laugh, which is such a gift! We often end up talking about the joys of collecting wild edible mushrooms, so I made him into a "fungai!"

Day 71 ~ The Divine Miss M

I watched an interesting art documentary about a guy who spent almost 10 years of his life, full-time, working on a pencil drawing of Marilyn Monroe. The movie is called "Waiting for Hockney," and it has a good message about passion and going for your dreams.
This Marilyn only took me about 10 minutes! I decided to color her using makeup only, which was really quite fun and different! I rarely wear the stuff, but I'm glad I didn't throw it away.
Sometimes I wonder what kind of old people Marilyn, Elvis and James Dean would have been if they were still alive...
I think Marilyn would still be beautiful. Her beauty came from the inside and radiated outward, despite all her troubles. Her beauty was there, with or without makeup. But we're used to seeing her with makeup, and I sure had fun making her up!

Day 70 ~ GMA

This butterfly is in memory of my grandma. We shared a love/hate relationship for the majority of my life. She was always trying to change me. I wonder how much of who I am is based on rejection of her opinions of me. Fighting with her made me strong, resilient, and self-reliant. It’s good to know that there is always a gift within every difficult relationship…the sand that makes the pearl.

The butterflies I used are copies of real butterflies that my grandparents collected on a trip to South America before I was born. As a child, these butterflies were always the very first thing I was drawn to in their room. I never would have dreamed then that someday I would be creating a butterfly a day for a year!

Day 69 ~ Mother T

I heard from my friend in India today. Whenever I think of India, I think Of Mother Teresa and the many works of love she performed there. I have another friend here in California who got a chance to meet her when he was in India. He said he instantly felt he was interacting with greatness; that she beamed with love and approachability.
I love her philosophy on small acts of warmth and kindness that we can all do easily. Something as simple as smiling and looking into someone's eyes can change the course of a day or even a life. "We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do." ~Mother Teresa
I send you a smile from my heart to yours.
Pass it on...