Cactus

Cactus

2" x 2"

watercolors

This is a very small, circular watercolor that I had made into a badge to wear at times when something western was going on. I wore this with my jeans and a denim shirt or cowboy shirt for such things as the county fair. Showing my art, and the work of my students, was one thing. But, adding it as a piece of wearable art was kind of a fun thing to do. I also had a pair of ceramic cactus earrings that I made and wore at the same times as I wore the badge.

It came out a little off center, showing a bit of the badge backing, but it really doesn't show in the actual badge. And, while the colors in the background look a little splotchy, they really don't show that way on the item. I do like the colors in this and may rework it in a larger watercolor.

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Doesn't February seem like it is just flying by! It seems like I just turned my calendar from January.

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For those of you in this area, if you planned to go by and see the Brazos Valley Art League show at the P.David Romnei Center this week, you will need to change your plans. I took my entry over Friday and found that it had been rescheduled for February 29th with judging March 1. Show opens to the public at 12:30 that day with a reception to follow.

It seems that the flu struck the members of the Brazos Valley Art League along with so many others in this area, and there were not enough well members to work with the show on Friday.

This means that the Members show is also going to be changed to a date yet to be determined.

I have a link to the Art League and the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley on my sidebar under Organizations. You can check there for more information.

Actually, I'm a little glad for the extra time to do something else for the show, but I'm sorry that there are so many people who feel bad. Flu seems to be in many places, and increasing.

I don't remember that the Art League has had to postpone a show due to so many illnesses in the past.

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My computer has been unplugged a lot lately, due to all the thunderstorms around. I was really concerned yesterday, as the worst weather was supposed to be moving in. I noticed that one of the anchors for the Weather Channel was broadcasting from here. I know that they broadcast from where terrible things happen, so I had a lot of anxiety. Fortunately, it all moved east, with just some thunderstorms and badly needed rain. Tornadoes were spotted to the east, but I haven't heard of damage. I was sure glad that their forecast was off. They said that everything was set up for a dangerous situation, but we had cloud cover all day, which kept the temperatures down and prevented the big rotation in the clouds that had been expected. Only 4 more degrees, they said, and we could have had tornadoes, damaging winds, etc. Whew! Now I can breathe again, until the next time!

It's pretty and sunny today and into the 70s. Looks like spring is just around the corner here. At least, I haven't noticed the pear trees blooming, yet. The past few years, they have been blooming in February instead of April or May as they once did. Sometimes the pear and peach trees would bloom early, only to be covered with ice by a late storm. But, that hasn't happened recently.

Those of you who are sick of snow and cold, just know that there are those of us who would love to see some of it!

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Thanks for your interest and your comments. I loved getting all the comments during the One World-One Heart event!

An Old Fashioned Valentine

An Old Fashioned Valentine

8.5" x 8.5"

colored pencil

When it was close to Valentine's Day, when I was growing up, there were maybe 3 or 4 messages that people would start to write and recite, preparing for the day when they would present a valentine to classmates, friends, teachers, boy friends and girl friends during the Valentine's Day party in class.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you." That one was the most popular one. The very words brought giggles of embarassment or innocence that pretended to be very knowing of the ways of the world.

It was said so much that it became trite and boring, and out of date.

A message that hinted of romance might be printed on notebook paper with a drawing of a heart, then passed on to someone special with the help of classmates. And all involved, hoped that the teacher wouldn't catch them. How awful for that note expressing their love to be read by a mocking teacher to the class, or, worse yet, in front of the whole study hall. And, then, soon, that teacher might have a talk with parents, which brought on another set of problems. Might even "nip that in the bud", and that's what the adults hoped for.

Of course, there was "Be mine, Valentine." and other such traditional sayings.

I just happened to think during a Valentine's Day party at a nursing home, that we don't hear those old sayings at all anymore. I can't remember when I saw a simple, old fashioned valentine. Today's valentines are tiny, at least the ones used for kids' parties at school, and they don't even have an envelope to address. The themes are cartoons or movies, or gimmicks to catch attention.

When I was teaching, I had my students make valentines to send off to VA hospitals, as part of the Valentines for Vets project. If we had an address to mail to service men and women, we would send there. Then we made extras to deliver to the local nursing home and hospital. As I visited in the nursing home, this Valentine's Day, I noticed that local students had made a lot of valentines for the people there. Sheets of construction paper were filled with pop ups, colored shapes, printed messages, and decorated with glitter and string. I was glad to see that someone else was carrying this project on. I thought that my students enjoyed making the cards, got a feeling of pride when they delivered their work, and the recipients got to enjoy some bright and cheerful art work, made with care.

So, at the end of the day today, I wanted to draw something to add to my blog about Valentine's Day. I ended up with the little drawing above. A valentine with an old fashioned message. Not so fancy, but a memory.

Hope that you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

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And now, a drum roll, please.

I was so excited and pleased with the comments I recieved with the One World-One Heart event. I thank everyone who added such nice comments. I really appreciate all the visitors and hope that you come back again.

I was trying to visit each blog, and comment on them, but there were so many to read, and my computer was acting up. So, I didn't get around to seeing all of them. Those links will remain so it will be possible to go back and look as I have time.

There are some wonderful blogs out there!

I had said that, if I got 50 comments, I would add a second watercolor for the giveaway. That was shown on my last post when I went over 50 entries. Today, I received a few more, bringing the total to 60. I left it open until midnight, in case anyone else wanted to be included.

After that time, I made a list of all the names, cut them apart, put them in a hat, shook them up. I wanted to have my grandson draw, but that's a little late for him to be up! My drawing was the old fashioned way.

Congratulations to the winners!

Tammie Lee is the winner of "Fun Tree".

Reeva is the winner of "Dream Tree".

I'll be contacting you by e-mail , or comment on your website, to let you know that you have won. Just in case you don't see it here. In the event that I can't contact someone, I will redraw in a few days.

I want to thank Lisa for all her work in getting this together. It has been a fun event, and I feel like I have really expanded my world in getting to know a little more about other bloggers and their work. The event seems to be a big success. It has really grown!

If you have a blog, and you learned about OWOH too late to participate this year, you might want to think about it for the next time.

Keep checking back here. You never know what ideas I might have added!

Thanks for reading and sharing!

For some reason, the picture of the "Dream Tree" seems to have disappeared from that post where I announced it. So, here are the two watercolors in my giveaway again.