WENDERFLONIATIONS

I can’t believe that we have less than a week and BFS and I will be holding our sweet baby in our arms.  Because of previous complications with Parker’s birth, I am having a planned C-section next Friday.  I’ll admit it is a little disappointing that I wasn’t a candidate for VBAC, but as long as the baby is healthy it will not matter one bit.  So far everything has been blessedly smooth and uncomplicated.   However, I can tell it is getting to be that time because I am simply miserable.  I feel huge, can’t sleep, can’t eat normally, can’t get comfortable, can’t fit into any of my clothes and can definitely tell it will be a very long week.   There have also been signs such as false labor and braxton hicks contractions.  BFS even got to download a cool stopwatch app on his phone today in order to time a few suspicious contractions.  I had about 6 or so painful ones about 20 to 25 minutes apart earlier that put us in a state of red alert.  No emergency trip to the hospital resulted, so in reality it was more like code mild orange.  I just took a short nap and all was fine.  It did however, light the fire under me to finally put the last pieces of preparation into play.

We worked on getting the house ready, and I picked up the last of my essential items to pack (like gynormous unmentionables and other things best not discussed).   The baby bag is ready to go, but I can’t exactly finish packing my own hospital bag since I am down to wearing only a couple of outfits that are still comfy.  I refused to buy any maternity clothes this time around since they tend to be, in my opinion, ugly and overpriced.  I just stick to the stretchy and larger end of  my wardrobe and do just fine.  However, it means that I will probably be doing laundry Thursday night before we go to the hospital.

We also finished the nursery this weekend (well minus the completion of one last painting, but BFS will finish up this week).  Most everything was ready thanks to the wonderful baby showers, the generosity of amazing friends and family, and the purchase of a few key furniture items.  I was mainly searching for one last thing to tie in all my mismatched elements and colors.  I wanted an orange rug.  I searched the internet and a few stores and couldn’t find what I wanted.  My last endeavor was IKEA.  I was sure they would have what I wanted.  They absolutely did, but surprisingly it was not in the shade of orange I had been envisioning.   Instead, it was a brilliant and soothing green.  There was some skepticism at first, but something told me I would like it.  Here are a few shots of Baby Jude’s finished Nursery.  It feels very calm and peaceful to me.  Let me know what you think.

I decorated these letters myself with a little glue, ink , ribbon and scrapbook paper.  I am really stoked at how cool they turned out.  Since these items are pretty much what I use to create my mixed media paintings, I only had to buy the wooden letters at Hobby Lobby.

Loved this crib bedding the second I saw it  in  a shop one day browsing.  It is by Cotton Tale Designs.   We wanted the theme to be elephants with a little Indian meets modern hippie flair thrown in.  In other words, eclectic elephants.  I just loved the colors and design of the elephants AND the red palm trees.   BTW! BFS’s mom hand knitted the adorable elephant seen in the top left! And my good friend Jen made the blanket hanging over the side. LOVE IT! LOVE the fact that there are so many handmade with love items all about this room.

So many fun things to go into the baby room.  I love this sling that ties conveniently to the side to hold baby Jude’s favorite squishy toys.

Oooh a peak at the green carpet. Whatchew think?  I just think it adds peacefulness to an already colorful room.  You can see the baby bag is already hanging on the door ready to go.  I am really excited that my favorite Aunt Lori got me the ultra cool Moses basket seen in the corner.  I can’t wait to use it.  Eventually, we will put the rocker in this corner of  the room.  For now it is in our bedroom, along with the portacrib, for those frequent all night feedings I’m not wanting to walk across the house for.

I LOVE this carved elephant rack of convenient hooks.  I am sure in the times to come these hooks will be filled with coats, jackets, bags and such.  For now, they offer a home to a beautiful plaque given to us by a beautiful friend, and the cutest and tiniest of baby shirts that belonged to BFS.  I just love that we decorated the room with a few of father-to-be’s mementos from his own babyness.  It makes it all the more special.

Rather than purchasing a changing table, we went with a small dresser instead.  Just placed a changing mat , wipe warmer, and a lamp on top and…Voila! we have a transformable dresser/changing table that does not look like a poorly constructed hotel drink cart with a mat on top.  It is a piece of furniture that can be used for a long time to come.  We also made sure that the crib converted to eventually a full sized bed as well.  Baby J will be stuck with his furniture for a LONG time to come.

AWWW check out the paintings on the wall! My favorite part of the nursery by far.  BFS still needs to finish the second painting but they make me feel all warm and gooey every time I look at them.  I can see the talent and love he put in every brush stroke.  This is gonna be one lucky kid for sure!

These are a few of the elephants that have a special home in the nursery.  My favorite is the black Indian elephant given to us by one of my favorite cousins and his fiance.  They get me MAN!!!

A baby nursery is not complete without a shelf of doodads and whatsits.  In this case, we needed a shelf to hold slinkey dog, drums, books, videos, blocks, BFS’s first teddy bear (awe!) and baskets of goodies.  My SIL also gave me the cool big block chest that I have yet to decorate.

See! Doodads and whatsits.

Well folks? whatddya think?  I think all we are missing is the baby.

I had so much fun decorating this room and getting ready for Jude’s arrival.  I consider myself blessed that I have the opportunity to make a loving space for our new family member.

Happy Valentines Day everyone. I hope for a day filled with love and peace sprinkled with chocolate…and lots of it.

I plan on spending a warm, relaxing day with my wonderful family and dream of this time next week when I am holding my sweet new baby boy in my arms.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see all your life

you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

(Blackbird – Beatles)

Blackbirds have always been one of my favorite birds.  They are so mysterious and sometimes look menacing.  I always felt it was more like they “knew things” rather than being minions of darkness.  Most see them as pest and scavengers, but to me they seem wise, knowing, and kind of cute.

I can see myself evolving as an artist as far as style and technique but these new Blackbird paintings threw me for a loop.  I even Wow’ed myself.  I loved the freeness of the paint and silhouette of the birds and tree.  At first glance one might feel the darkness of the panting, but in reality there is more of a sense of protection and watchfulness.  That’s what I see anyway.

By the way – These Blackbirds are available for purchase.  Just go to my shop link  and send me a message….. or click here.

It is a new year, a new decade and so many things are going on.  I really didn’t bother with making resolutions this year.  It is definitely hard keeping up with all the new things falling into place, but everything is falling so well.  I didn’t want to muck it up with a lot of empty promises made to myself.  I will worry about getting into shape at the end of the year after I recover from the birth (always my standard resolution),  and I will continue to concentrate on building a business out of my art.  Slowly, but surely, I am winning this race.  Now, if I could just manage to post more and still get the dishes and laundry done.  I blame it totally on nesting.  Jude is due February 19th, and for weeks now I have been obsessed with cleaning baseboards and closets.  I have been wiped out and tired.  I’m painting, but not as much as I like and am finding getting into a set schedule very difficult.  I only anticipate it getting more hectic. That’s OK though, it is so exciting how much our lives are going to change this year, so I say bring it on.

Things that have been happening of late:

~Playing with ink.  I love it!  It adds a texture and dimension to my art that makes me sing.  I really love Tim Holtz’s line of alcohol based ink.

I love the texture and depth it adds to my pieces.  Trying to develop a consistent style is difficult when I have all these fun materials to play with.

~I’m also trying out a new venue for selling my art at etsy.com.  If you click the shop link on the home page it will take you to my store. or follow this link  http://www.etsy.com/shop/wenderflonia.

~BFS and I have been super busy gettign ready for or little Aquarian arrival.  It is less than 4 weeks now (Not panicking AT ALL!!!!).  We have been aranging and rearanging and preping and cleaning and painting.

Isn’t this fabulous!?  Super talented BFS painted this for our sweet baby boy. It will hang in the nursery……. err That is, once we get around to actually get the nursery decorated and set up.   Hopefully, I will be able to post a companion piece soon with an elephant and sun soon.

As hectic as things will be in the next few months, I hope to stay on track and post more.  Fingers crossed. Now I think I will take my turtle self to bed and see if I can get a few hours of sleep in.

It has been a super busy month and I have sadly fallen behind on my posting. My goal to be more productive, it seems, didn’t include blogging. Instead, I have been filling my days with many creative processes and Christmas preparations. Oh,and don’t forget about busy keeping the bun in the oven safe and all the ups and downs that go with that. As of Christmas day, I will be 32 weeks pregnant. Time is flying by! We have so much to get done before D-Day, February 25th.

Along with the bun in the oven, I have many other things brewing that I am so excited to get to work on. This is the year (dare I announce it!?) that I actually make a career out of my love for Painting and creating! What was once considered a hobby and passion, is being upgraded to a full on J.O.B. I don’t expect miracles overnight, but I am giving it my all and following a dream I have had since I was a child. The plan is to start slow (given that I am giving birth in a few months, that won’t be a problem). There are a few other steps to the plan but there will be much more to come after the new year. Things are just popping into place and I love it.

In the mean time, from my family to yours, Happy Holidays!

"8x8" Mixed Media on Canvas "Birdie 1" SOLD

"8x8" Mixed Media on Canvas "Birdie 2" $40 (+ s&h)

"8x8" Mixed Media on Canvas "Birdie 3" SOLD

I am really enjoying working on a smaller and simpler scale.  These little Birds remind me of quilts my grandmothers made and collected.  They withstood many harsh treatments by grandkids and time.  These pieces are mixed media on museum quality canvas (8×8x1.5),  so the paintings should hold up to posterity as well.

I suppose this new whimsical direction has taken flight from thoughts of decorating for the nursery.  I am a few weeks shy of being 7 months now and I can definitely see that babies and pregnancy has definitly influenced my work as of late.  For example:

"24x30" Mixed Media on Canvas "Universe" SOLD

For information on purchasing works of art please contact me at superlady@wenderflonia.com

It has been so hard getting into the groove lately.  I am looking for inspiration and keep hitting a wall.  I know that with this sweet child kicking around in my belly I should be seeing sunshine and daisies where ever I look.  However, I’m just seeing meanness and dark skies.  There has been so much unilateral thinking staining my path lately, and find I must seek comfort and wisdom in what is greater than I.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. ~Mother Teresa

I love and hate completing a painting.  I find I’m already dreaming of the next masterpiece, but at the same time, have grown so attached to the current one.  I’m especially loving the latest commission painting, now in the finishing up phase, and will be so sad to see it go.  Especially since it would look so fabulous hanging on my wall!   However, I know she  is going to the best home possible and will be loved and cherished.  How silly this may sound to some, but they obviously have never poured their time, energy, and spirit into creating something with love. My creations are so meaningful to me and I put everything I have into it.  I guess this is why doing commission work is so stressful because you really do have to work to please the customer.  I just hope Stacy is pleased with her tree.  I am thinking a road trip is in order to deliver the goods.  Not only will it be cheaper than shipping, but it will be a great opportunity to catch up with good friends!  Here is a sneak peak of the big mama:

I think this will be the last of mega huge paintings for a while. The next two commission paintings I am about to start will be only medium huge (still huge in fabulousness tho).   I also have so many ideas for my upcoming work that I wish I could just lock myself up in a studio for a few weeks.

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. ~Ansel Adams

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There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people:  religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.

~Linus

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It is rainy and beautiful today.  The mums are gorgeous and the pumpkins are blissfully unaware of their impending Halloween makeover. Until then, they are  basking in the front flower bed spreading their fall cheer.  Parker has been ready to carve “those suckers” for days, but I am always sad to make pretty pumpkins into growly goblins so I put it off as long as possible.  I will  eventually give in and help carve them, however, because I loved fresh roasted pumpkin seeds more.