Ladies Who Lunch...

A gorgeous day and a lovely lunch spent with some wonderful gals (not to mention amazing artists) to say good bye to my good friend Erica Jane Huntzinger...who is moving to rural Wisconsin in August. Corinne Peterson & Cathi Bouzide joined us...on the menu: Crab Quiche, a Blueberry, Blue Cheese & Pine Nut Salad, Veggies, Ice Tea, Candy Necklaces and Brownies (with an 'E' for Erica)!

Erica brought each of us a sweet little hand made felt and yarn heart necklace with our initials on them.

I'm getting better at this entertaining thing but I still get in a tizzy beforehand, I figure the more I do it the more comfortable I'll become...so come on over! Oh, but you do have to deal with Alice. You have to give her a little time to calm down, she is a lot to take when you first come in the door. I feel like a bad mother who cannot control her child.

Other bonus of entertaining: THE HOUSE IS CLEAN!

What I did on my summer vacation...

I feel a little like school has started again as I try to organize all I have to do since returning from one of the most memorable summer vacations of my life!'Beehive Barn' - my favorite creation from the Fields Project (see more here), with the exception of my field sculpture. This barn was inspired by a photo I took onDaysville Road between Franklin Grove and Amboy (my daily route to and from the farm I stayed at). I'm going to put together a flickr photo journal of my fields project experience much like this excellent one created by my wonderful and witty friend Laura Nugent... I've got my July Newsletter to write, several pet portrait commissions to finish, the 3 day Magnificent Mile Art Fair this weekend, new paintings to add to my website, Illinois sales taxes to file and some serious design work for a pending licensing deal. I would really love some help but delegation does not come naturally to me...it would really take the right person. How do you find that person? How do you trust that person? I have been dancing around this topic for the last 5 years or so...and with my now divided work space I don't see it happening any time soon; unless, of course, the right person presents his or herself to me. I am officially putting out a request to the universe...

The second half of my vacation was a good old fashioned road trip via I-80to the YMCA of the Rockies in Colorado for Rich's family reunion. We saw all the expected road side attractions, complete with gargantuan gorilla daring people to buy some fireworks.

In addition to the astounding beauty, it was so great to see all of our nieces & nephews and other family as well as participate in a nocturnal hike, archery and a good old fashioned campfire sing along. Thanks to Ruth & Ray for this unique and memorable event!

After all is said and done, it is always wonderful to come home to our beloved pups - we our really lucky to have a great pet sitter from Urban Tailz, thanks Ben!

11 Acres

It can't get much bigger than this...What a week I've had here in rural Illinois at the Fields Project. I will detail more about how we created this field sculpture in a later post, but let me just say this was a community effort, a lot of hard work, 2 full days in the hot sun in the field gridding out this design with flags then mowing the design. I was one of 3 women and a student who did designs, I'll show the others when I have photos and more time to post. I'm running back out to the country to paint, only a day and a half left before our art fair on Sunday and then back to the city...with the most amazing memories and greater appreciation for the land, the farmer, this special community around Oregon, Illinois and art making!

"This 11 acre field sculpture, by Chicago artist Anne Leuck Feldhaus, was created to encourage people to adopt from their local animal shelters and rescue groups."

View my Flickr Photo Journal of the making of this sculpture!

Smokey

I just received the sad news that the star of one of my pet portraits, Smokey, has gone on ahead. I had so much fun making his painting, he was a wonderful joyful subject. He lived 12 happy years, and his owner sent me a very sweet tribute to him in which she details his antics which include: 'burying a turkey carcass in the couch and getting up on the kitchen table and standing there for no apparent reason'. She asked that we all 'do something silly that makes you deliriously happy' in his memory today. And I will.

I try so hard not to worry about my 13 year old Izzy and instead cherish each day I have with her. She is the reason I started painting dogs, the cornerstone of my art business, the one who really opened my eyes to all the other homeless pets out there that need adoption, and my 4 legged soul mate - I can only guess that the love I have for her is equal to the unconditional love a parent has for their child. It's hard for me to leave her behind as I embark on 2 and a half weeks of traveling... I know  she will be in good hands and that crazy Alice will keep her busy while I am gone. I sure do love my pups.

New Postcards...

There are benefits of doing your own graphic design but the curse is that you spend way too much time tweaking and changing and deliberating on the final piece. And of course as usual, I left this task to 3 days before leaving for my 8 day artist residency at the Fields Project and a road trip the following week to Colorado for a family reunion at the YMCA of the Rockies. Rich chose the final design, we went with the upper left one. I placed my order late last night so they get printed and mailed before the July 13-15 Magnificent Mile Art Fair. I use GotPrint.com for my printing and my mailing. Their prices are great and the quality superb. Other companies I use are PSPrint.com (for bookmarks and stickers) and ClubFlyers.com (for high quantity - minimum order is 5000 cards but for the incredible price of $150). Phew...okay, now on to the next 25 things on my to do (in the next 48 hours) list!

Suit

Illustration Friday Theme = Suit

This was a page from my sketch book last year - I like to do a little visual wardrobe planning (or wishing) before I take a trip. I think I was mentally 'suit-ing' up for my trip to New York for the 2006 Licensing Show. Sadly, I don't wear the cute fancy high heel shoes or the pointy ones, I have very large, serious feet that insist on practical, comfortable footwear!

Recent works in clay...

Acupuncture72

We had our final spring class at Lill Street on Monday night, so I brought home some new pieces. These are both carved terra cotta tiles painted with slips and underglazes. The foot (created after my first accupuncture treatment earlier this spring) is about 2.5"x6" and the squarish tile is 2.75"x3"...an image that surfaced during a conversation with my friend Erica about a dream she had involving a crow. I have some interesting 3d pieces as well but still need to photograph them. This clay journey never ends, I'm constantly learning new things and am often surprised with what comes out of the kiln. I will miss the great people I have had the honor of working with in Corinne Peterson's class: "Dreams, Myths & Stories" over the last 12 weeks. I'll start up again in the fall, her class has been inspiring me for many years now as do the other students who take it.

I got the call...Wells Street this Weekend.

I have been wait listed for the Wells Street Art Fair for the last 4 years (after cancelling in 2003 to go to the Fields Project). It was always one of my best shows of the season, so I was very happy today to get the call that I am in! My booth number is #285, I will be on Wells Street between Goethe & Evergreen. Yay! This show runs concurrently with The Old Town Art Fair (a few blocks northwest of Wells Street) where you can see the work of several other artist friends of mine: Deb LeAir, Dolan Geiman and Judy Zeddies.