Can the Weekend Really Be Over?

 Please tell me I'm hallucinating and that it isn't really Monday! Please tell me that I don't have to get up and go do something mundane when I'd rather do something creavtive and fun. Then I always hear things like, "I'm so thankful I have a job" or "you should be thankful you have a job". Surely there's some truth to that, but what if that "job" you're so "thankful" for drains the absolute life out of you or might just be taking a toll on your health? Then what? I've read that times like these are the best to start a business. Hmm. Maybe so, but what kind of business? Enough of that downer talk, but any thoughts are surely appreciated.

On Saturday my sister thought it would be nice to take my mom out for lunch and then shopping at one of her favorite stores, Merle Norman. My mom had said that she'd like to go get some foundation and lipstick. Having macular degeneration makes it hard for to primp herself into her onetime diva self and she's been feeling a bit down about that. So off we went and had a nice lunch in a very loud Chipotle. Naturally, my mom eats much slower than my sis or I and we waited quite some after finishing out veggie tacos for her to finish her burrito in a bowl. Then we walked to Merle Norman. My mom got lovely special treatment there and ended up getting this awesome tinted moisturize with SPF! It really looked good on her and brightened her complexion! I couldn't wait to try it. She also got a nice pink lipstick that is somewhat reminisent of the old Yardley Slickers!



On Sunday, I FINALLY did some test prints of my lino and soft rubber blocks! Yes, I think Hell did freeze over. I did my test prints on an unironed floursack dish towel and pretty much feel that the lino blocks did not lend themselves well at all to the fabric. Not sure why that is.

I feel that the soft rubber blocks printed much better on the "unironed" cotton, and now my little adorable Louie might just be ready to adorn kitchens worldwide. Will need to work on the prints though, prior to his household appearance. Oh, and get better pictures!

Fabulous Finds...and woe is me

This has been the week from hell (as they say). Work is getting me down, it has been hot, and I have managed to go nearly the entire week without producing any art. I do tend to think of writing as art, so maybe my blogging in lieu of painting or printing might count. So, yes, those lino blocks are still waiting to be inked up and printed and I shall do that tomorrow. Tomorrow is Friday, after all, and thank God for that! I think, too, that I've tanked on the 30 day art challenge, so I am going to have to get a mental adjustment and try again.

I even told myself earlier in the week that I was going to pull out my Gocco and play. Well, not yet. I have been wanting to print with the Gocco for some time now, but have been afraid to since the supplies are quickly becoming obsolete as the parent company, Riso, has discontinued my favorite little "toy"!

Today I had to take my mom to a doctor's appointment. This was a follow up to discuss the results of her barium esophagram. The results were normal and only showed typical signs of aging which is good. She was having headaches, coughing, and what seemed to be allergies and the doctor gave her some samples of Nasonex which has really helped her. Well, we got to the appointment at 2 in the afternoon. There was a lady there already doing a crossword puzzle, and shortly after we signed in, a man came in for an appointment. The clock was ticking and the man there for his appointment was loud and chatty. Then the receptionist told us that the doctor was running late - a surgery went into OT and he wouldn't be in the office until 2:45. So, we sat and waited.

While we waited, the chatty man began talking to the lady doing the crossword puzzle. They somehow got on the subject of her husband's arthritis and various surgeries and then she mentioned that her husband is 85. I thought she was a child bride or something. Not that she was in her 20s, but surely, she wasn't yet 70! She had on a hip blouse and Capri pants, and was wearing sandals, exposing her polished toenails and toe ring. Her hair was done and make-up applied perfectly. I'd say she may have been a diva! She mentioned that she and her husband were pen pals and went to the same high school, except that she was 4 years younger than him! I nearly fell out of my chair. She began writing letters to him when he was in the Navy during WWII. When he came home he took her out for dinner to thank her for all those letters and they began seeing each other and have now been married 62 years!

Speaking of artists that are producing artwork on a regular (if not daily basis) and divas, today's Fabulous Find features both! Steven Hall is the artist behind some of my all time favorite illustrations, The Doodle Divas!

They are fabulous. They are fun. They are funny. And they are taking over and here to stay! You can adorn your walls with divas or you can get a diva notecard! And if that's not enough, you can even get them on candles, soap and t-shirts!

I can't see these illustrations without being in awe of the simplicity, yet the detail at the same. I love them.  You can find them on Etsy and follow their adventures of Facebook or on Steven's blog. Get out of the mundane and step into the fabulous (one high heel at a time, of course).

Fabulous Finds...and a little more

For some reason, I'm really tired tonight, and have used that as an excuse to, yet again, not run test prints of my lino blocks. When I'm tired, I find writing seems to be much easier than pulling out the art supplies and working them. Surely, I'll kick myself if I don't get those test prints done soon! Seriously, what's the point of carving them if they're just going to hang out on the table! And why do I find it easier to carve linoleum than to print the carved pieces? Who knows!

A few months ago my cousin, Beverly, sent me some copies of old family photos she has.  I actually got the photos the same day I got the Records Release form from Fairview Developmental Center to request my grandmother's hospital records. The photos were so cool, but this one has really haunted me.  It was a copy and probably the original is not very big, so it isn't the best quality nor clarity, and I really need to get a scan of the original to better "research" the people in the photo.

Now I know my dad, and I know that the little boy with the ball on his head on the right is him. I also know that the tall guy with the wild hair next to my dad is my grandfather, Earl (aka Red) - and it's funny that tall and wild hair does run in the family. Could the lady next to Red possibly be my grandmother, Lola? I don't know as I've now only seen one picture of her that I'm aware of and that was the "inmate" photo on her admittance forms from the State hospital; a photo that does not depict a happy, young woman in her 40s. I also wonder who the other people are, and wonder if this picture was taken in Mason City, Iowa, where my dad was born. I'm still not sure when or where or how Lola and Red landed in Mason City, but I do know that they stayed there until my dad was 10 years old and then they moved to California.

You know that saying, "Those who can't, teach"? Well I think that saying sucks! In my opinion, anyone that teaches, provides a tremendous service to society, and sometimes, they are lucky enough to teach something they absolutely love!! What better way to spend your 9-5? I've always thought it would be so cool to be an art teacher. Imagine spending your days teaching people to paint, while you're also working on your own paintings that you might just show or sell!! Today's Fabulous Finds features someone that is an artist and an art teacher!

Katt, from Black Friday Studios, is a fabulous painter! Some of the best Johnny Depp paintings I've seen, have been at her Etsy shop! Yes, I do L-O-V-E Johnny Depp.

She is also an animal lover, and does donate to her local shelter and animal charities (which I find admirable)! This multi-talented lady is also a blogger. But she doesn't ONLY paint Johnny Depp, she also paints fabulous animal portraits! I really love her work and find her totally inspiring!

 The realism in her paintings amazes me, as I am NOT a realist when I paint. I think any student lucky enough to be in her art classes should be "thanking" God, and I'm sure learn a lot from this cool teacher!

The Hair Color, Wash and Set, and a Genealogy Challenge

Busy Saturday. Took my mom to get her hair colored today. Three hours later, we left the salon! You might gasp that it took that long, but you must realize that we are not talking about the blow-dry type salon here. My mom comes from the wash and set with curlers and sit under the hairdryer generation.  Once the hair is dry, it is followed by back-combing and teasing and lots of hairspray! But she was happy, and that's the point!

After the appointment, I made her lunch and we went to get her vitamins and pick up a few grocery items (and lottery tickets for me). Then home to watch recorded episodes of Keeping Up Appearances while I put the finishing touches on The Dionne Catuplets (should be ready to list tomorrow). So, yet again, no test prints of lino blocks! Tomorrow for sure. I will get up in the morning, make a cup of coffee and get printing!

In between the above, and making dinner, I checked my blog reading list and found a fun post at GenBlog about a challenge. The challenge is to list your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places), countries, etc.  Well, since my genealogy research of the past two years has really only focused on my paternal grandmother, Lola, and her family, I am not ready to participate in a challenge dating back that far. However, I can list two of my paternal great grandparents and give a little history of them! So here goes.

George Cloos - Father of my paternal grandmother, Lola. Born 23 Dec 1871 in Germany (not yet sure where in Germany). Son of George Cloos and Elizabeth Grauhausen (both from Frankenthal, Germany, according to grandpa George's death certificate which I have a copy of). From what I can tell, he arrived in the US in 1876 at age 5. He had an older sister named Catherine E. Cloos Sowers Mauzy that he was very close to. He married my great grandmother, Effie Furst Beck 14 Dec 1892. They had five children - Bessie, Lola, Monroe, George and William. They split up before 1910 and were divorced 11 Oct 1920. George remarried Grace M. Hayes Abel Cloos sometime after 1920. I have established contact with a granddaughter of Grace and she has a picture of grandpa George to share with me once I make my trip to Illinois. George died in Decatur, Illinois on 28 June 1947.

Effie Furst Beck Cloos Roby - By far, the most notorious of my great grandparents, Effie was the mother of my paternal grandmother, Lola. Born 9 Aug 1871 in Prairie Home, Shelby County, Illinois. Daughter of Wells Marcus Beck and Emma Mayben (both from Pennsylvania). Her middle name, Furst, was the maiden name of her paternal grandmother, Leah Furst (mother of Wells Marcus Beck). Effie was the fourth of ten children. I have learned quite a bit about her thanks to a favorite site for genealogy research called NewspaperArchive.com. They have many Decatur newspapers archived there.

On 23 Sept 1889, Effie gave birth to an illegitimate child she named Zetta Fern Beck. According to newspaper articles, Effie was "betrayed" by a 25 year old "Lothario" named Charles Cox, who refused to marry her after, as her father, Wells, put it, "blighting the life" of his daughter. Effie did charge Charles with "bastardy" and that must have been terribly scandalous in the 1889s! A young woman of 17 years old being pregnant and unwed must have been enough to drop a family from certain social activities of the time. Wells and Emma did claim Zetta as their daughter on later US Census reports, yet, Zetta was never mentioned in obituaries for Wells, Emma or Effie.

I'm not sure yet how George Cloos and Effie Beck met, but I think George may have known Effie's brothers (from articles I've seen). George and Effie married 14 Dec 1892 and their first child, Bessie, was born 7 months later on 1 July 1893. They then had four more children - Lola, Monroe, George and William. They split up sometime before 1910 and Effie and the children were living with different families as either laborers, domestics or servants for their board. Obviously, Effie was in no position to financially support five children once her marriage split up. I still cannot find grandpa George's whereabouts in 1910, but have found him in newspaper articles in Decatur from 1915 on.

Effie was arrested a few times in 1914 for being drunk in public. The articles did mention that she had a hard life. On the 13 Jan 1920 census she was "married" to Ellsworth Roby, yet her divorce from George Cloos wasn't "official" until 11 Oct 1920. Effie was arrested in 1930 for illegally selling booze and died at the young age of 59 on 13 Apr 1931 in Decatur, Illinois.

Carving and Block Printing

It has been a while since I pulled out the carving block and lino cutters but I was seriously in the mood. Since it has been a while, I opted for a simple design. I drew a vase with flowers on a table right on the block and began to carve away.



As I was carving, I decided to add more detail to the design. This added detail may or may not end up as a part of the final product. That is what I like so much about carving - the end result is often different that the original idea.



I drew the design with my trusty Pitt Pen brush marker and was a bit surprised to see the ink smear as the blade came in contact with it. This was the first time I used a Pitt pen on the printing block and wasn't expecting it to smear so much. I have used Sharpies and pencil in the past and both smear, but not to this extreme. I'll post pictures when it's done.