Boots, Balloons and The Art of Rejection

Last Thursday evening I went with an artist friend to the Cheyenne Museum Depot in Cheyenne Wyoming. We had both entered an art competition and the participants who made the "cut" were invited for a reception. The winners of the competition were also to be announced. Well, we didn't win, but we learned some interesting things that, if we had known about them, might have given us the opportunity to win.

The boots above were the design I submitted. In comparison to most of the submissions that were on display, I felt that they were very good. I felt that they were good enough to have won. However, we discovered that the winning artists, who had competed before and knew the "ropes", had their designs on large canvases as opposed to the rest of us, who submitted in an 8-1/2" X 11" format. The winning entries were very good also. I know that if I had been informed of these particulars regarding the submissions, I would have definitely done them on a large canvas for presentation. Live and learn. The competition for the 2008 "Images of the West" is due by May 1, 2008 and I'll be painting my fanny off over the winter in preparation. The prizes were $1500, $1000 and $500 - nice chunks of change.

Being in the art business is sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating and rejection is a big part of taking a chance on art. I have submitted many greeting card designs that have not been accepted. I have painted many paintings that have not been purchased (our walls here at home are my gallery). I have entered competitions that I have not won. However, this is the way of the art world. When you are not a highly sought after creator of artworks, you are one of the majority who keeps trying even though you may never get recognized.

Lest you think I am bitter, let me state that I am not. I have learned to roll with the punches, pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again. Just about anyone who has ever been successful has done the same thing. At this point in time, I am just trying to enjoy creating works of art and if that's all I ever do - then fine.

Here's another nice design that was rejected earlier this year. It was for a tee shirt. When I finally did see the winning design - it was pitiful. No flair, no style, no color and downright ugly. I'm not sure who judged the competition. Maybe their nephew was an artist.

Not all of my art has been rejected. I have sold a couple of paintings, I painted a cow for the Denver Cow Parade in 2006, I've sold a couple of greeting card designs, I was invited and joined a gallery and I've been paid to do illustration. Those things help validate me as an artist. In my next blog, I'll tell you about the Denver Cow Parade experience - a very good one.

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls "

- Pablo Picasso

A Baby and Some Snow...........

OK. That's me on the left, my daughter in the middle and yes, it's true, Merle and I are going to be grandfolks next year. Also, you now know how old I am.

This is a first time experience for both Merle and I and we are excited to watch it unfold. The expectant couple may be moving back here to Colorado from Arkansas before the birth, so it's going to be an interesting interval. Plans are in the works and details are to be ironed out before any final move decisions, but it's looking more and more like this will be a Colorado Native baby.

SNOW

We battened down the hatches yesterday in preparation for the first winter snow forecast of the season. Finally this morning it started in a very beautifully calm way. Big, puffy snowflakes drifted and swirled around outside our big windows. We sat with our coffee mesmerized with all that white tumbling. It was like we were looking into a really big snow globe. I couldn't resist taking a video and sharing it with you.

It's now about 4 hours later, the snow has stopped and most of it has melted. This is Colorado and that's how quickly our weather changes. Yesterday it was 75 degrees Farenheit and I hiked in shorts. Temperatures are predicted in the 60's and 70's for the rest of the week.

Take care of yourself.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.......

I have a very part time job doing bookkeeping for a small, one owner landscape company. I work out of the owner's home. It's a nice place to work and there is minimal stress. In fact, I actually have a good time most of the time. Part of this is because of my animal work companions. Two cats and one dog. I've mentioned Darby the Dog before. I've known her since she first came to live at the house when she was a little puppy. Since then she has only gotten cuter. My typical day always includes a very enthusiastic greeting from Darby who acts like she hasn't seen me for a very long time and then several affectionate encounters throughout the time I am there. Of the two cats, only one makes her presence known. Aquina generally resides on the desk where I work. When she wants attention (on her terms, of course), she is pretty obnoxious. If I can't find a particular paper that was earlier sitting on the desk, it's usually been pushed off of the desk by Aquina during one of her cat stretching "scratch my furry belly" sessions. I've learned that when I leave the office to make sure all paperwork is secured with binder clips in a neat pile so she can't lose something for me. She is also a checkbook and general paper chewer. The checkbook has been severely abused and we now make sure it's in a drawer.
The other cat, is Durany (spelling may be incorrect - it's an unusual name). I rarely see this cat who apparently spends most of her time atop a bookshelf somewhere else in the house.
Darby and Aquina have a love/hate relationship. Aquina lets Darby chew on her some, up to a certain point when Darby gets a little too rough. Today, Aquina was sitting behind a tall, floor vase and Darby had her cornered. At anytime Aquina could have escaped easily, but she just played along, wapping (like slapping, but not as hard) Darby on the head with her paws while Darby tried to get a paw in her mouth. They are quite a pair and provide me with many moments of entertainment.

RAINY DAY RAMBLE

There is music in the meadows, in the air

Autumn is here; Skies are gray, but hearts are mellow,

William Stanley Braithwaite, (1878–1962)

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Listen! the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!

Humbert Wolfe (1885–1940)

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Although Fall was officially here about a month ago, today feels like the real first day of fall. Only 30 miles from us snow is predicted to accumulate between 3 - 5" and farther up in Leadville, up to 10". Time to break out the skis and snowshoes. Last winter we had a fairly atypical winter where there was lots of snow. (It's true, we don't get as much snow as people think we do here in Colorado.) We put our snowshoes to some use, but never did get around to skiing. The closest ski resorts are about 2 hours plus drive and the least expensive lift tickets are about $35 per person. That cost along with gas prices and you are looking at about a $100 day. It's not something we are able to do very frequently.


Today, we went for breakfast burritos, then to Walmart to get the stew meat and hamburger I managed to get home without after shopping Friday. Now, we are each in our little nooks and doing "our thing". I'm obviously blogging and Merle's out in the garage sorting hardware.
Green chili ingredients are sitting on the kitchen counter waiting for me to assemble them into a thick, tasty dish that we will eat with warm, buttered tortillas. Perfect cold rainy weather comfort food.

I'm reading a book called Mexican Hat by Michael McGarrity. It's a mystery set in the southwest. I'm looking for a substitute for Tony Hillerman because I'm quite a fan of his work. His books are Navajo police mysteries, and I've read all of them, some more than once. However, he hasn't had anything new in awhile. This author isn't a Tony Hillerman, but I'm trying to give him a chance. His first book called Tularosa really didn't grab me at all, so I picked up the this one and it's a bit better although it's not one of those that I can't put down.

I also download books from the library to my Mp3 player and the one I'm listening to is by a new author I've discovered - Ted Conover. He is a journalist writer who immerses himself into a particular subject matter for a long period of time and then writes about his experience. My audio book is called Rolling Nowhere and he wrote it after riding the rails with hobos for a period of time. It's very good and I plan to either read or listen to all of his other books. He's been a prison guard in Sing Sing, driven a cab in Aspen and traveled with illegal immigrants, all subjects of books he has written.

All this talk about reading makes me want to curl up on the sofa with the afghan, a cup of tea and a book. So long.

Red Dirt Girl.

This is what my feet and legs look like after a nice long hike on my regular hiking path. The dirt is red and this is the result. It's satisfying to get home, remove my socks and see the evidence of my little outdoor experience.

A hike does good things for me. Not only physically, but mentally. I know that if I am feeling a little down, I can pick myself up from the couch of doldrums, put on my hikin' boots and do it. Without fail, my spirits are always lifted. It's that endorphin thing I've mentioned before. It's also just being out in the fresh air, seeing the foliage, looking up at the sky and knowing that this costs nothing, but it is one of the best things in life.

When I hike, I also enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy. Although I've never had a "professional" aromatherapy session, I have realized how certain smells can create positive and uplifting thoughts and feelings. My main source is this little plant that proliferates in this area. It is all along the sides of my regular hiking path and even grows here on the hillside where we live. I tried to find out what it is by researching on the Internet, but no luck. I'll keep trying.When I am ready to experience it's aromatic benefits, I pull a few pieces off of the end of one stem, rub it between my fingers and smell it. This particular plant smells like Thanksgiving and I think it must be some kind of wild sage or thyme. This smell brings to mind the little cabin we've rented sometimes, the early morning 'put the turkey' in the oven, the walk along a sunny dirt road in crisply cool air, the pine on the hillside, a warm, firelit log room. Whatever it is, it is my favorite smell along with that of fall aspen leaves - another wonderful gift from the great outdoors.