A new year is on the horizon...

I just want to wish you all a great end to 2011 and a wonderful new year filled with possibilites!



New Year 2012 Pictures Comments - Photobucket

Merry Christmas...

My creative funk is continuing.... a real desert around here. :(  Anyway, I have this happy painting from a couple of years back that will spread some holiday cheer, my Christmas Angel.  I want to be able to make more and share more, but for now, this is what it is.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone!  I love your blogs and they give me inspiration all the time, and I thank you for that! :)

I painted this in 2004... 

Better late than never...

It has been a long time since I posted.  Moving to a new area threw me off my creative wave completely, but the inspiration is slowly coming back.  Creating is living well!!  I sent off a box of bracelets and necklaces to a artsy shop in Indiana this morning.  The line at the P.O. was unbelievable.  People are getting an early start with their Christmas shipping.  The line was reaching out the door and only two clerks working...

Some of the bracelets were simple beaded designs, but I also made this beaded necklace with a center bead that I found at JoAnn's of all places.  I love the colors...

What have you been making lately?  If you leave a comment I'll have a link to check out your site! 

Black Friday SALE going on!!

To all you kind and creative people who stop by and say hi, thank you!!  Without you, this would be a lonely and sad blog.  You bring me creative inspiration and great vibes.  :)  I want to give something back, with this SALE, if you're in the mood for something handmade. Please check out my etsy shop Greene Earth Originals.  I'm running a sale until Sunday, midnight.  Everything is 15% off.  Just enter the code blackfriday at check out...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GreeneEarthOriginals?ref=si_shop

xoxo

Maria

I have moved...

It has been a looong month for me... I moved to a different location, and I'm still setting up my stuff--always too much of it, right?  I have more art supplies than I know what to do with, but there's always that possibility of using the items on some art piece.  Maybe I should pick up pencil drawing in sketch books?  Sure less to keep track of in the materials department.  I'm hoping my muse will return shortly, but there are so many distractions!  I'm hoping to delight you with some new pieces soon, even if they are from my art journal.  Yeah, where did I pack that??  Must be in the mess of boxes over there in the corner. 

Just saying hi... I'm still alive but overwhelmed with "stuff."  And, my cat is not happy with the move...

  A little snooze beside me...

Disgusted...

I can't believe it has been a whole month since I posted.  That's just not acceptable.  However, the creative juices have not been flowing much, and now I'm in the middle of moving.  Aaargh, don't like moving.  I'm really sore everywhere.  I did make a collage this month, which I put up on etsy for sale, but didn't post here.  And I made a necklace with glass beads, and a bracelet...  At least it's something...  Have a great creative day (life!)

 

Dream bride...

I have been a creative funk for a while, and then I decided to take an old collage that I did not like and make into something I do like.  Using polymer clay mosaic tiles, fabric and paper, I went to work on this otherworldly bride.  Like something out of a dream.  I hadn't planned on doing a bride, but when the white dress had been decorated, I decided she needed a veil so it all evolved from there.... Seems that it was windy that day...  Had a lot of fun, and it's always good to incorporate all the different angles of my art.  Together they become something truly unique.   Maybe some would say it's a cop-out to use a molded polymer face, but it fit into this picture perfectly.  I have always wondered what to do with that face. 
What do you think?

 

Sisters, girlfriends, ladies, women, mothers, and grandmothers...

I don't know where I would be without my trusty girlfriends....  There is always someone to lend an ear to anything that I have to say, or complain about, or praise, or wonder about.  However, lately I've heard many of them complain about the men in their lives, and it makes me angry and sad at the same time.  We are strong!  We are capable and intelligent people.  We raise kids and have full time jobs.  It's really disturbs me when someone offers a deeper insight into their life, about their relationship with  The Man, be it hubby, lover, boyfriend, sometimes brother or dad.

What I hear is, "I would really like to get involved with that man."
"But he's married," I say, or "He's not emotionally available."
"Well, maybe he'll change, and he says he doesn't get along with his wife.  He gets jealous when I talk to other men, so he must feel something for me."
"No," I say.  "He'll never leave his wife to marry YOU, because you're already willing to give him everything he wants.  He does not want to marry you LATER... and jealousy is not love." 

Or this one... 

"He doesn't have a job; I pay for his stuff, and I give him money, but that's okay because he loves me, or he's so wounded I have to help him get over his past."

"NO," I say... "he's using you!  It can't lead anywhere but to heartache.  He needs to grow up and heals his own past.  It's just a convenient excuse to get sympathy and to free load on you."

Or this one...

"He yells at me, but that's okay.  I know he's in a lot of pain.  I just let it run off me."
"No, it's not okay!!  Yelling is emotional abuse, and if he's in pain, why doesn't he do something about it??"

Or this one...

"My husband wants a divorce but I won't give him one.  I'll hold on to what we have created together.  It wouldn't be right.  And he's never home anyway."

"Maybe he found another woman?"  I say.
"No, he would never do that."  Doh.  Well, what can you say to that?

What is it with women that we allow a man to treat us without respect, and then come up with excuses why he's behaving like a brat?  Are we so insecure that we can't stand strong and demand that he acts in a respectful manner?  Are we afraid of being alone and willing to accept a relationship that is less than fulfilling just to be with "someone."  Are we so insecure that we think he's right and we're wrong?

Please!  Stand in your power, accept nothing less than respect and genuine caring, accept yourself completely as you are today, and know that you're worth the very best!!  Don't sell yourself short... don't accept the crumbs.  It's not love... it's groveling madness!  Obsession, addiction, you name it, but it ain't love... 

Honoring my girlfriends for their kindness toward me, here's a painting I painted today, Sisterhood 8.  The other Sisterhood paintings are available as prints at Imagekind.com.  Just search the site for Maria Greene and my paintings will come up. 

Old tote becomes new...

Recycling, upcycling, those are popular words these days, and they should be!  I did my part yesterday by upcycling an old canvas tote bag.  I washed it, dried it, dyed it, and then embellished the front  with various fabric scraps and inspirational words.  The scraps were colored with acrylic paints and then let to dry.  I used my hands as paint brushes.  When all was dry I cut out pieces to please my eye, attached them together with fusible web on a panel of fabric the size of the bag, then stitched on top.  Machine and hand stitched with various colors and then attached the panel to the bag.  Voila, a nice bag for your art supplies, journal, or any other can't-live-without item(s.)

 

 

 I used a lovely teal dye and the bag was wrinkled and got this wave pattern.

Maybe recycle or upcycle something today??

Bad hair day under the sea...

Happy Independence Day!  Eat lots of water melon and cake! :)  I spent the day painting, the most fave thing in the whole wide world.  Came up with another mermaid, and here's the result:

 

This has many layers of paint and texture, and then I decide to paint it white and start over.

I did have the texture to contend with when I began on the face, but it added some interest to her features and to the roiling sea.  The sky is about as roiling, but what the hay, it's windy and sunny! :)

I forgot to post about when Horizon Magazine, the Magazine of Presbytarian Women offered me some good money to use one of my images:

 

Out of the blue they emailed me and asked if they could use one of my images.  Heck yeah!

 

The article is by Nancy Copeland-Payton, A Prayerful Sorting

 

My piece is a mixed media mosaic collage that I made a few years back, called Heart Path.  For a better view of the piece, you can check my Flickr stream.  There are lots of photos of my older stuff there if you're interested.  Anyway, the March/April issue was focused on Native Americans and the USA Mission Experience.  I was really impressed.  I've never heard of these people, or the magazine before.  I  knew about the Presbytarian church, but not what they had accomplished.  If you want to know more about the magazine, check it out at: http://www.pcusa.org/horizons.

No art but busy times...

I NEED to create something...  It has been several weeks.  I went to Sweden to see my mom and the rest of the family.  A good time, indeed, but so hectic I'm still recovering from the busy days and the change in my "clock" from all the traveling.  I felt a strong need to write, so I bought a small oilcloth covered notebook that I kept for jotting down my feelings as the days sped by.  It helps to write things down for sure.  Here are some random pictures of my adventures...  Sweden is lovely in May with all the flowers going wild and the green, green landscape.

My niece's new baby.  My first encounter with little Klara... 

My brother and little Klara... grandpa

 

My niece Isabella.  She just graduated from music college.  She's a fabulous opera singer, a soprano.                          

  Erik, nephew on the couch, just graduated as well, He's now an R.N.

He was very happy!

  Isabella in another role... 

Graduation feast....

                                                                  Tiny daisies....

                                             Wild roses... the scent is incredible...

Buttercups...

B 

Meadowy hill with rapeseed flowers

 Great little meadow with flowers until I discovered this discarded McDonald's bag... :(

 Mom on Mother's Day.  I did buy an extravagant bouquet of flowers because she's the BEST!

                                                     Loved the dew drops on this leaf...

 Blue and yellow is the Swedish flag..

The view from the kitchen window at my mom's condo.... she loves geraniums and they are indoor plants in Sweden.

 

My other niece with her baby....

 My brother is an artist, and he was part of an outdoor exhibit.  These pieces are not his though, but I took some pictures...

                                    large mirror pyramid that gave interesting angles of reflections...

Intuitive painting "party"

Wow, I have really been slacking in the blog lately!  I've been doing other things except art, but here I spent a Sunday afternoon teaching an intuitive painting class.  Most of these women had never tried that kind of art before, and we began with relaxation and a short meditation to get in touch with our center.  Then they chose the colors they wanted to work with and we started by covering the canvas with paint.  They really had a good time, and so did I.  We were right on a lake, the most beautiful spot you can ever imagine!  The day was perfect in every way except for the wind blowing, but it kept us moving forward with the projects.  No stagnation in that fun and creative group!  Here are some pictures.

This was the first layer of paints drying in the sun

Check out the lake in the background!

Having fun with paint!  Everyone really painted from the heart...

Some of the supplies...

Progress....

If someone got stuck, another artist would paint something on the canvas to kick start the project again...

All so different....