An After Christmas Calm

As I sit at my computer, looking out to what has become a damp and sullen morning, I can feel a calmness all around. It is a soft and lazy time in our home...the time that falls between Christmas and New Year. The Christmas boxes are still stacked on the dining room table and half of the decorations have been taken down. What looked like this last week...



Now looks like this (yuck...I really think I hate those pillows)....



There are newly unwrapped books...



and toys... all about.



These are the last acceptable days for snacking on the sweets my daughter made...





And it's officially okay to take a "catnap" at any given time...



Our Christmas was quiet and fun. But, I must admit ~ our Christmas Eve started off with a glitch...



My husband was bit on top of the hand by a neighbor's dog. Look closely and you can see that the bite mark looks like it says the word "silly"...



His hand is healing nicely and the bruising and swelling have almost gone. It made for an unforgettable Christmas Eve!

I am looking forward to the new year, but as usual, I am a bit fearful as well. This family could use some easier times.

I am looking forward to getting back to work...



and back to my gardens...





I hope you are having a soft and lazy week as well.

Kim
Gerushia's New World

A Gentle Blog and a Few Treasures

Good Morning My Dear Friends:

As some of you know, I decided to take the plunge and open a Facebook account last week. I have been spending some time over there in order to understand it all. It's hectic, flashy and confusing. So...that being said, let me also say ~ I Love My Blog!...I Need My Blog!

There is a gentleness here. A flow and calm that I have not found anywhere else...ever! This particular art-blogging community of like-minded souls is a tiny Heaven on earth ~ nicely wrapped in this electronic box we call the computer.

I know now that I will use Facebook to keep up with family and friends. I've even reconnected with my best friend from Elementary school, and after all these years, we have so very much in common that it's almost spooky. But, as far as my art and my artist friends are concerned, I'll stay right here, thank you very much!

~Now, onto my treasures~

As you well know by now, I adore all things rabbit-y. I love to use their heads in my art. I find them to be challenging because they truly are almost expressionless. Because I use them "anthropomorphically", I must bring personality into the rabbit/human creation. I find that the personality usually comes from a certain tilt of the head. Well....anyway, maybe you get my drift, maybe not. Ultimately, I LOVE rabbits...



The gentleman to the right with the dark hat is my Grandpa Watson. No one in the family knows who the other gentleman is. But have a look at the rabbit! Then...look closely and you'll see that my Grandpa has a bandaged finger. Could he have been bitten by the rabbit? What a curious photo! The thing is, even if my Grandpa wasn't in this picture, I would still love it. So, having it in the family makes it even that much better.

My cousin Danny has the hard copy of this cabinet photo. Until a few days ago, I had no idea that this photo existed. It is a treasure for sure. Danny has kindly sent this image to me and I intend to print it and hang it in my studio.

~This is something that I have wanted to share with you for a very long time...



When I was in first grade, I had a friend named Noha. I don't remember her last name, but I believe she was Arabic. She came into my school several months after the school year started and she spoke very little English. The teacher asked me if I would help her to learn some English words. So, I worked with Noha the best that I could, and she did learn to speak some English. As a thank you for helping her with her English, she gave me this beautiful Scarab ring...



As you can see, I do not clean it, as I don't want to damage it. A bit of the lacquer has already peeled off, so I am very gentle with it and only take it out of it's box when I get a hankering to have a peek. This is one of my treasures.

~The last treasure that I want to share with you today is a very special friend that I've had my entire life...



Can you see that he's so old he's gone blind? He's ever so tattered and he's come unstuffed a bit through the years...



I don't even know who gave this to me or who made it. He is stuffed with very old women's stockings! Isn't he adorable? When I was little, I dreamed that he was my very own real live monkey. My mom made a diaper for him with a hole for his tale. Now, the diaper is gone and he proudly sits in my family room.

Well, as you can plainly tell, I haven't much to blog about today, but I really wanted to be here, to tell you all how much I appreciate you and to find my calm, gentle world once again.

Kim
Gerushia's New World

Why Do I Do These Things?

Well, I swore I would never do it.... ~~FACEBOOK~~ What am I thinking? I have 3 blogs, 2 Etsy shops and a twitter. Not to mention work in the studio, making prints, running to the post office several times a week, dealing with my vintage photo shop and still being part of my fabulous, kooky family. I feel a bit out of breath, overwhelmed with it all. Just like poor Zeb in the photo above. Limp and lifeless.

I am what you would call computer illiterate. I can run my blog fairly well as long as I don't have to do any HTML, and the Etsy shops are kindergarten easy. Facebook, on the other hand, is like a big hairy monster and I want to run away from it. But alas...I know that lots of my family and artist friends are on it, so I'll give it a try. I think this is the link....

My Facebook.

Then again, I might be wrong.

Kim
Gerushia's New World

Clara and Lucy's Curious Visitors (Story Art).

"It was a very warm summer morning...heading into the kind of day that blankets you in furnace heat and dampness. Clara and Lucy were off for a walk. Oh they had a lovely time, each wearing their sun hats and pretty lace up boots. They strolled by the creek, picked bouquets of wild flowers and even had a taste of Mr. Stepps plump and purple Huckleberries. Clara and Lucy were the best of friends, they were sisters. They both had dreams of great adventures and spent hours telling each other stories. As Clara and Lucy made their way back home, they skipped and held hands...they were so happy to be together. But, just as they arrived back home, something felt askew...they each broke out in goosebumps and were so very curious. "We have visitors" said Clara. "Yes, but who are they?" said Lucy".

Now, you get to fill in the blank. The end of the story belongs to you!!

This is my newest print freshly listed in My Shop.

Clara was my maternal grandmother. She's the cute and rounder of the two young women. Lucy, with the long ringlets, was her sister...



I never met either of them. My Grandma Watson passed away long before I was born, but I have heard stories. My mom said she could "dance a jig", because she was Irish, you know. I think I've heard tell that she was fiery and spirited and fun as well....

~Grandma at Knott's Berry Farm~


So, there you go, in a nutshell, that's just about all I know of her. My parents were a bit older when they had me, so even though I'm only in my 40s, both of my parents are gone and I actually never knew any of my grandparents. But I do know them in spirit and heart and through stories.

These photos of my Grandma Watson are priceless to me. I have them as scans, as they were sent to me electronically by my dearest cousin, Danny (who is also a young one in my family and never knew our grandma in person). Between the two of us, we've managed to keep our heritage alive for each other. Through our stories and art and communication, we've created a connection that won't be broken. Danny lives way out yonder over the hills and dales. I'm here in the dusty desert of Southern California and Danny is in the lush and green rolling hills of Northwest Arkansas, but through these electronic boxes that I often swear I hate, we have become the best of friends.

Thank you so much for reading my stories and looking at my art.

Kim
Gerushia's New World

A Very Good Tired

I wonder if you know how long it's been since I've felt a "good tired"? Not tired from worry or laundry or bill paying, but tired from accomplishment.

This week has been a sort of turning point for me. I've managed to finish a three piece custom order AND finish and list 5 new pieces for my Etsy Shop.

Last year, at this time, my mom was in a Board and Care and on her way out of this sometimes broken world. I was her advocate, her guardian, her mom and her daughter. Art?....I don't think so.

After she passed away, my nights were filled with odd and other-worldly nightmares. I questioned my choice of care for her and wondered if I had done all that could be done. I lived in a hazy sort of guilt for months. I still have nightmares (but I always have) and I still hope that I did all the best I could for her. But as time has passed, some of the cold and foggy guilt has lifted and I've been left with time to dilly-dally with my art.

Isn't it curious how guilt can steal away our freedom and cause us to question our choices? If left unattended, guilt can cause us to withdraw from our very lives.

So...for me, these 5 finished pieces truly are more than the simple watercolor brushstrokes. More than the cut and paste, more than the composition. They are a step out, a step up, a step in the right direction?

June's Guardian


Notes of June 5" x 7"


Sunday Drive With June


A Windy Day for June


Notes of June


Thank you so very much for having a look:
Kim
Gerushia's New World

The Eyes of June Revisited and a Long Overdue Shop Update.

I do hope you have time for a little story, as I am in the mood to tell one...

But first, let me refer you here to this post from September about a beautiful girl named June...



~~~June was born in Norfolk Virginia on November 12, 1913 and passed away in California on November 28, 1989. She was the first born in a family of 5 children. From the very beginning, June was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes were sultry and sexy and she had a natural way with the camera...


Her mother, Louella, was very aware of her daughter's unusual beauty. So, when June was a teen-ager, the family packed their belongings and headed to California. To Hollywood of course...



While Louella focused on June's Hollywood career, she decided to introduce two of her son's, Tommy and Sonny, to Hollywood as well. As time passed, June realized that Hollywood simply wasn't for her. I believe she was offended by "the casting couch". June left the acting business for marriage and had 2 sons of her own.

However, June's brothers went on to have fabulous careers in Hollywood as "child actors" in the 1930s and 1940s. They were in countless Westerns, and a few episodes of "The Three Stooges" and an "Our Gang" episode as well. At one point in time, one of June's brothers was considered the highest paid child actor in Hollywood.~~~

Now, when I originally acquired these gorgeous photos of June, I had no idea who she was, only that I was drawn to her. I knew that I needed to use her images in my art. However, after "googling" her, I found that she has a newphew who is actively collecting information about his father's career in early Hollywood. Through this research, I have been able to send scans of these beautiful photos back to June's family. June's sons are still alive and had not seen any of these photos before. They truly have no idea how they ever fell out of the hands of family.

I am honored to help the family in their research and to share "The Eyes of June".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As promised, A Shop Update:

I have been a very busy girl lately. Having put my vintage photo shop on a short vacation, I have had nice blocks of time to focus on art. What you see here is the beginning of a long relationship I will have with June, in my studio:

June with Baby Sister vintage photo...



June with Baby Sister ACEO collage/watercolor...



June Playing Violin vintage photo...



June Playing Violin ACEO collage/watercolor...



June On a Windy Day vintage photo...



June On a Windy Day ACEO collage/watercolor...



And ~

I have two works in progress...





One is an ACEO depicting June with her mother Louella...



and the other is a 5" x 7" of June with her violin.

I am hoping to have these finished in time for my shop update.

I will be listing these new prints in my Etsy shop, Gerushia's New World, on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 pm Pacific Standard time.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about June and her family. Thanks, as well, for having a look at my new pieces. It has been a long time since I've had the heart to "create" and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Kim
Gerushia's New World

Decking the Halls...

Has it been as busy and kooky around your house as it has been around mine? 'Tis the season, I guess.

In between finishing a three piece custom order, working on several new pieces for my own shop (more about that in a day or two), and just generally keeping a family of five running along, I've finally managed to finish "decking my halls".

Why oh why do I have so much Christmas "stuff"? Where did it all come from? When did I make the absurd decision to have two Christmas trees?

Well, truth be known, I'm a collector. I hold on to most anything that has a good memory attached. Our very large and colorful tree that stands in the middle of the front window holds an array of memory filled trinkets...



When Gary and I celebrated our first Christmas together after being married, the simple red bauble was from a boxed set that went on our first tree. It is now one of the few that we have left. The pretty little green and white glittered trinket is from my mom and dad's first set of ornaments. It is terribly thin and very fragile. Actually, I have an almost full box of those very old ornaments. They're now going on 63 years old...



Also welcome on my confetti tree are dried baby's breath, beaded chili peppers, crocheted snowflakes, (made by my mom), and vacant bird's nests and wasp's nests...



Our second and smaller tree sits by the fireplace in the family room. It's tall and skinny and rather silly looking. This is the tree that holds all of the "fun" stuff. Have a close look and you can see Toad and Mario, The Three Stooges and Yoda. You can even see Mr. Toast and his bacon-y friend. You'll recognize The Nightmare Before Christmas, I Love Lucy and The Tazmanian Devil as well. The little china tea sets were mine as a little girl. I think they make the most fabulous Christmas ornaments ever!



And, of course, Jack Skellington sits atop this family tree, just as he has over the last 5 or so years...



The mantel is ready for the holidays as well. The styrofoam ball snowman was made by my daughter, Ava, when she was a little girl. (Do you think maybe she's been influenced by Tim Burton?). It truly is one of my most treasured pieces...



On the hearth is a hearty collection of snowmen. All shapes and sizes are welcome. The snowmen have fully accepted my childhood elf and Candy-Puff-A-Lump...



In the dining room, the hutch is happily decorated with the seasonal reds and lots of fun and quirky characters...



Uptop on the hutch sits my childhood Santa mug. I honestly can't remember a Christmas without this mug...



And the dining room table is where this beautiful lady (head vase) holds candy canes. She holds Nasturtiums and Sweet Peas in the Spring and spindly left-over Chocolate Mint in the Autumn. A very dear friend, that I have unfortunately lost contact with, gave her to me a few years ago. I miss my friend terribly and looking at the vase brings back very good memories...



Each year, my Humpty Dumpty Jack Frost joins in the fun. I made him a few years back...



My kids all think that my frosty blue Humpty Dumpty looks like this...



Here he is with all his Christmas pals...



Well now, that was a bit of a home tour, wasn't it?

I do so love to sit back and enjoy the decorations of the season, but I must admit, I am always glad when I'm done with the actual decorating. Our big colorful tree requires ladders to reach the top and by the time we're done with all the indoor decorations, we're exhausted. But....it's not really done until the lights outside are sparkling and the garland has been hung around the front door. So, technically, we're ALMOST done!

P.S. Watch for an Etsy shop announcement. I've been a busy artist girl this week and will have a number of new pieces to list within the next day or so.

Thank you so much for stopping by:
Kim
Gerushia's New World