Back!

My 6 year old friend came by to give me a gift she made for me. It was a Valentines gift that got delivered just when I needed it most. She is awesome!


I wasted no time getting back to work in the studio. It took me one full day to give the Reaching up Monkey a layer of paper mache. He is coming along.



My first Monkey using shells from Sanibel Island Beach, is the guy up front with shell eyes, shell ears and shell penis. I worked on every monkey on my work table!



This is how it looked when I reopened the studio. I cleaned off the table, scarped all the clay and wax off and got to work!



Here are all the shells I brought home with me. It is funny how different they feel off the beach and in the studio.

We faced cancer, the recovery from the cancer operation. A limb impaled our home. Took a trip out of town and now I am back! It feels so good to be working again. The best was walking in the studio and being greeted by the Reaching Up Monkey, we did a high 5-double hands and I got down to work!

Onward Monkeys!!

Again with the falling limbs

Our home was impaled by a limb from our big oak



somehow it missed the painting, my head, the lamp and just poked though the wall



It snapped off this large Maple in our yard



When we returned from Florida another limb had cracked off, this time hitting nothing but grass



How cute is Mr.Eleven!

There was a huge limb waiting for us when we returned from our trip to Florida. Another huge limb cracked off the old Maple. Miraculously, it hit nothing. We conceder ourselves very lucky. But we wasted no time calling our favorite tree guys. The expert said, Maples rot from the inside and it is almost impossible to tell from the outside. They will be here in a week or so to give the beautiful old tree a major trim. Until then I am keeping my eye on it when the wind blows.

We are working things out with the contractors and insurance company over the damage from the first limb incident. We just picked a new roof color! A new bedroom color is next. Never a dull moment!

Onward Monkeys!

Belly, Frankentiny, and Trubee!

The hardest part about going away was leaving Frankenstein, Bella and Truman. We found the best pet sitter in David. He stayed with them, washed out Bella's incision and gave Truman a shower each day. It was great coming home and seeing the dogs sit next to him and show me they were happy with my choice. Truman went a wondering the day before we came home. We got a call from David saying he couldn't find her. I knew just where she would be and found her within moments of arriving home. Everyone is safe and sound. Bella seems to be healing. We will know more after a trip to the Vet later today.

I really struggled with this decision, but the print to help pay off her vet bills will have to be put off for a while. First of all she is still not 100% and the vet visits have not stopped (cha-ching). The more selfish reason is once again art related. I am working towards a show in Oct. (Oct. 14th to be exact) a date that gets closer each day. I have a habit of throwing myself off track with side projects, before dead lines. I identified this as just one of those projects. I can't afford to give up anymore time. My Monkeys need every moment I can find.

There will be prints and I will do them when I can give my full attention to them. Believe me the need will still be there. Most importantly I am looking forward to having a place to land once this Monkey show is up in the Gallery.

Onward Monkeys!

Beach Monkeys and other birds

My happy feet in the sands of Sanibel Island.



Some shells I collected. Each was chosen with a monkey in mind.



Along the shore



I met some Pelicans



Mr.Elevin's family catching some sun.

The big family weekend came and went. It was a celebration of birthdays. Mr. Eleven, his mom and sister all had milestone birthdays, 40, 50 and 75. We rented 2 cabins on the beach, brought a beach tent and everyone came equipped with plenty of reading material. I was on a mission. Monkey business!

When you are dreaming, there is a moment when you can stay in the dream or wake up. If you wake you know you can't go back to where you were, but sometimes you trick yourself into thinking you can control it and go right back. It is never the same. Leaving my work is like that. What kind of a shitty girlfriend (wife) would I be if I didn't go to my guys 40th birthday. Or missed his mothers 75th or sisters 50th birthdays? I know it was a huge sacrifice to spend 5 days in Florida. 5 days on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. But I bit the bullet and did it.

Oh poor me it was horrible--just kidding, it was amazing! First of all I really enjoyed my relatives. But on a more selfish note, it was like leaving my dream only to find, I landed in a better one. Maybe the one I needed just then. I have been using shells in my work for about a year now. Sanibel Island the beach we stayed on is all shells. Big and small all shapes colors and textures of shell. Or as I saw them Monkey ears and eyes and penis' all over the place as far as I could see as far as I could walk!

I walked and walked and hunted for the perfect Monkey parts. I knew I could only take a small amount home. It was my job editing my haul down and finding shells I knew I would use. I felt like I was keeping on track, with my work, even though I was on vacation.

On one of my walks, 3 water birds (they looked like loons, but I have no idea what they were) swam in the water next to me as I walked along the shore. Not the Pelicans in the photo above those guys were awesome but they didn't walk with me. The beach was very secluded, I barely saw any people, just lots of shells, sea, sand, sky and these birds. As I walked along the Golf beach I thought about that bird I was just referencing here on the blog, the one covered in oil, in this same body of water a little over a year ago. The one that inspired me to start on this Monkey quest. It was one of those moments that when you try to express it to your dearest friends, you can see their eyes rolling. In your heart you know it had profound meaning. Like that dream you just woke up from the importance is just a feeling and the parts you can relate seem silly and disjointed. I can say I had a moment and I can still feel it. I am pretty sure the tears in my eyes right now, are not from the pollen outside but from a memory deep inside.

I am back in the studio with my shells and ready to get to work,
onward Monkeys!