Hopefulness, Art, Fear, Thankfulness, Life, Darkness....

I hardly know where to start.

Life has surely pitched my family a curve ball.

You see, my husband was laid off in December of 2013.

He was unemployed from December through the end of July 2014.

He took a less than perfect job, because, let's be serious, that's better than unemployment.

He worked there for just over 7 months when that company restructured.

In early March 2015, he was laid off again.

Currently, he is still unemployed.

During this time, I have helped to keep food on the table with my Art Shop ~

and my Garden/Photography Shop.

So.....I don't know what the future holds.

But, no one really knows, do they?

I try to stay focused.

And grateful.

Grateful for those dreamy days that are far and few between....

Tea time with a friend ~ 

Quiet days in my studio....working through the worry ~ 

Staying focused ~ 

Thankful for friends that share their bounty ~

Working working working on new art ~

"The Melody Maker's Home"

"The Good Mourning Mice"

"Sister Ophelia's Unfortunate Picnic"

"Clara and Lucy's Curious Visitors"

"Another Hopeful Sunday"

"The Changeling Moon"

Savoring sweet moments ~ 

....and working hard to make ends meet.

I just recently, (finally) introduced blank inside note cards into both my shops ~

(Still trying to perfect taking artistic photos of my note cards). 

You can find note cards with my art in my Art Shop ~

"Dancing Fiona" Note Cards

"Valerian and Tartarian" Note Cards

You can find lovely gardeny note cards in my Photography Shop

"Butterfly on Orange Cosmos"

"Evening Calla Lily"

This is a rough patch...to say the least.

I have learned a lot...

Especially this ~ 

I have also learned  that, even in the most difficult, dark times....

There can be fun things.

Good things.

I am so happy to say that The Press Enterprise (an Inland Empire newspaper in the Southern California area) interviewed me for their "Artist Spotlight" this week ~  ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

They even included a slide show of my work  ~ SLIDE SHOW

My daughter was so patient last week....

Snapping a gajillion photos to get one single artist photo of me for the spotlight  ~ 

I see the tiredness in my eyes and the hardness in my smile.

And fear.

But....I see gratefulness too.

And a bit of hope.

 And thankfulness.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

"Guardian of the Melody Maker" Character Study.....

One of the great joys in my life is creating character studies for the fairy tale I'm writing called "Gerushia's New World. 

I love my work and I love the research that goes into writing a book and creating art.

This brand new piece is called ~

"Guardian of the Melody Maker"

(Available through my Etsy shop)

You see, in Gerushia's World there is a lot of music and...a lot of music inspired characters. 

This gal is a Melody Maker. She is part of a large group of musical personalities that live within Gerushia's World.  

Melody Makers often roam freely and share their music, hoping to bring calm and wonder to their world.

In this piece, you see her practicing under the yellowy skies of an oncoming storm. 

I used a scan of my Grandma Watson to create the Melody Maker ~ 

In Gerushia's World, under the yellowy skies and bruised storm clouds....

you will find kindness, hope, good and evil, comfort and fear.

But most of all, you will find peace.....eventually.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

Time For An Art Giveaway!

January is a great time to host an art giveaway.

Don't you think so?

I cleaned my studio and have put aside 3 art prints to offer for the giveaway.

It's super duper easy....

All you need to do is visit my  ~ Facebook Art Page

and leave a brief comment on the pinned post at the top.

You don't have to do anything else, just leave a little comment.

Here are the 3 prints included in the giveaway ~ 

"The Keeper of Odessa's Hymn"

"Rabbit's Curious Day"

and....

"Portrait of Mayor Ricarda"

I would love for you to stop by my Facebook Art Page and enter to win.

A winner will be picked at random on Tuesday, January 13 at 10:00 pm Pacific time.

Hope to see you there!

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

A Fanciful Twist's 2014 Halloween Blog Party !

It's that time of year again....time for A Fanciful Twist's yearly Halloween Blog Party.

Anyone in the mood for a spooky poem? 

Oh, I hope so.

I adore fun and spooky Halloween poems.

The House Upon the Halloween Hill

The house upon the Halloween hill is waiting for the day ~

For little clowns.... 

and kids in masks,

coming out to play.

Trick or treat can take you to the scariest of places ~ 

Little ghosties on the graves...

(look closely)

 and dark and evil faces.

With weeping girls...

 and ghostly brides ~

 and twins from beyond the veil.

A weak and tiny vampire boy with skin that shines so pale.

The grown-ups play in masks of their own....

Dressed up like Pierrots ~ 

and fortune tellers study books to ready for their shows.

When the autumn air is upon you, enjoy it while it's here,

Halloween is but a season to fill you up with fear.




A huge thank you to Vanessa Valencia for hosting these amazing parties each year.  xoxo

Hope you enjoyed the vintage photos.  They are all from my personal collection.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

What Is It About The Color Blue?

Do you like the color blue?

I find myself admiring blue so very often.

Humid blue skies ~ 

White puffs of fleecy clouds ~

Blues that change with the angle of the sun ~

These remarkably hot and humid days are deceiving to the eye.

Blue is a cool color.

But down here, on land, it is blazing orange.

I have a secret shady nook that offers relief ~ 

But on the hottest and most humid of days, it is still too warm, even in my little shady nook.

A quick stroll to check on the tomatoes ~ 

Won't be long now.

These lovelies will soon be on my dinner table ~ 

Fried Green Tomatoes ~

My one decadent treat...

Uh-oh...what is she sniffing around for now?

One quick look at the cucumbers ~  

and it's time to run back to the comforts of the indoors ~ 

I am perfectly content in my little home on blistering, orange days with humid blue skies.  

Bringing the outdoors in ~ 

Happy yellow sunflowers...

I have plenty to keep me busy inside.

A clean studio ~ 

a clean desk ~ 

and a clean reading nook ~ 

 I am still busy framing up art and vintage photos.

My little antique ghostie photo is finally framed ~ 

I found this photo at the bottom of a musty old box at a Southern California antique/flea market a few years ago.

One dollar is what the vendor said.

I paid the man and quickly left, as I was sure he had no idea there was a tiny ghost woman in the photo ~ 

Can you see her?  

Just there on your right hand side of the headstone ledge.

Wearing a white scoop-neck frock with hands clasped at her breast ~ 

I know, it is nothing more than an optical illusion, I'm sure of it.

Or.....maybe not.

It's fun to wonder, isn't it?

Sadly, my grand, orange and green pumpkin from last Autumn has become soft-bottomed ~ 

and I was forced to say good-bye.

But alas -

I am happy to know that such a lovely pumpkin has been replaced by...

This guy!

The Mad Hatter ~

Mr. Hatter once lived in Bizarre, Arizona with Miss. Vanessa Valencia and a cast of tea party characters ~ 

I am proud to have him watching over my studio now.

He is a perfect fit in a studio with the very lightest of blue walls ~

Blue art ~ 

Blue blue blue.

What is it about blue?

My favorite color since forever.

Look what I finally found ~

Aren't they gorgeous?

Anniversary edition of the classic blue canning jars ~

I have been hoping to find these for months with no luck...

then out of the blue :-)

my local art store had only a few cases and I grabbed one lightning fast.

Lovely, eye-candy blue.

Do you like blue too?

What is your favorite color?

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

P.S.  Remember this?  

          

          Blue blue you got the flu,

          Nobody wants to play with you.