I'm Back!

Ciao Friends!

I've been home from Italy for about a week now, and am finally getting back into the groove of things. What a trip!

Our Italian adventure started off in Venice. Such an interesting city - no cars, just sidewalks and canals for boats. I loved the layers of age visible on all the buildings. Matt and I enjoyed walking around the Island and sampling the local foods like sarde en sour (sweet, pickled sardines). It sounds awful but really does taste delicious! Our travel guru Rick Steves recommended that we order "misto" plates when dining in Venice. A misto plate is basically a combination a restaurant's antipastos and boy was Stevie right on the money. One night we ate octopus, sardines, grilled polenta and mussels.....and that was just the appetizer!


On two separate occasions while in Venice, I ran into Travel Channel personality Andrew Zimmern. He was nice enough to take a picture with us. We didn't get to talk to him for very long, so we don't know what he was shooting. We'll be watching Bizzare Foods to find out.

Something else quite newsworthy happened in Venice....Matt and I got engaged! We're so very excited and so is the rest of the Mullin and Johnson clans. We are planning a "destination" wedding in California wine country for June 2011.

After 2 nights in Venice, we rented a car and headed south. More on Verona and Florence in my next post.

Arriverderci.

A Great Escape

We all need to escape sometimes.

For some, escape is a place. The couch, a room, the beach, the mall.

For others, escape is a state of mind. Prayer, food, exercise, reading.

I find escape in many ways, with art being a primary means of escape. I can escape in the very act of creating. When I am making art, I am in that "right brained" state - losing track of time and feeling content and confident. I even escape into the images I create. With each piece, I aspire to create an ideal and comfortable little world within the confines of the format.

Where do you go to escape?

Little Luxuries

To many, art is a luxury.

To me, art is a necessity.

I hope that someone out there is willing to indulge in this "Little Luxury."

This original mixed media ACEO, measuring just 2.5" x 3.5" is available in my Etsy shop.

School will be out shortly, so expect a new crop of originals in the shoppe soon.

Ciao.

Happy New Year

Happy 2010 friends! I hope that this new year brings many good things to all.

Sadly, I've reached the end of my 2 week vacation and I am reluctantly thinking about going back to work tomorrow. Its been a glorious 2 weeks and I've relished all of my free time!

During the break I made some new art for the shop and further experimented with oil painting. I am working on a small oil painting of my own and Matt and I collaborated once again on a larger piece. Both are close to finished. I'll be sure to post when they are complete. I created the cute little "Valentiny" ACEO, which is for sale on Etsy. It will also be available as a card in the near future for all your Valentine needs. I'm also cooking up some tiny ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") valentines with matching tiny little envelopes.

Happily, I said goodbye to two large original mixed media pieces during the holiday season. "Petals and Postage" (above) sold at the Wallblank holiday show and "Necessity Breeds Invention" (below) was sold via Etsy to an old friend of mine. These are the first mixed media pieces of this size (8" x 10") that I've sold. I'm happy to see that going big is finally paying off and it motivates me to make more in this size.

I'm looking forward to 2010 and there are already some big plans in the works. I am hoping to enter and show at 2 local juried art shows AND......go to Italy!!! I'm working on a passport at the moment and am trying to sock away all of the money I can to make the trip happen. Wish me luck.

Off to enjoy the last few hours of freedom. Ta Ta!