Where I've Been Lately...

From the date of the last post you can see it's been more than a month since I've posted anything here. I've been busy drawing portraits for my latest little kickstarter project. There are many more than what is in the above photo, but that will have to suffice for now. They are all Ampersand Art scratchboard.
Since the last post I've; celebrated my birthday, drawn many portraits, did several dog and cat commissions, packed up my house to move, and have built over 40 picture/mirror frames from the pile of salvaged lumber that never seems to disappear. The frames are to sell, wherever and whenever I can. I'll post some photos next time. They are really nice, and I'm pretty proud of them. I especially like the vintage beadboard ones, that wood came from a monumental dumpster dive. Those opportunities unfortunately, seem to be few and far between here in NW Arky. I'm glad I stopped when I did and got a truck load. Oh, yeah, I guess that's why the pile never goes away. I'm determined this time to use it all up! All of it. The location I'm moving to will have a sweet little studio space, but not really a big wood working space so I'm trying to get it all re-used/re-purposed and done with before the house I've been living in, with the workshop is listed for sale.
So that's it. Trying to keep my spirits up. Not many sales of existing artwork, either here or at the galleries in TX. That's ok, I'm downsizing to just the basics for a while in order to be able to continue making art. Because that's really all I ever want to do, and all I ever think about doing. I'm getting farther and farther away from being that person who "fixed" things...at least as a way of making a living that is. I still occasionally will repair this and that for special folks in my life.
Well, that's all for now. I've just been busy, busy, and writing a blog post is just about the last thing on my to do list. I'll try and post on a more regular basis...or not. I guess it doesn't really matter that much, or at least at this point in my life I wonder if it does matter or not because it's more of an exercise in sharing what I'm doing/thinking etc...and of course hoping that someone out there might read it and get something from it. Happy Trails to you...

Why I like Construction More Than Making Art...Sometimes

In my quest to make money I've been doing odd construction jobs in addition to art commissions and I must say, sometimes I like the construction more. There's a clear beginning, middle, and end to a building project and that satisfies the part of me that likes completion. The fence I'm building with a friend is just what she wanted, and makes me feel pretty happy.
 Art is not always so clear. I'll set something aside and come back to it later and realize that it's not exactly what I wanted or meant to do. Fussing with it more can do more harm than good at times, meaning you can go too far and then ruin the piece. I've thrown many of those away in my brief artist life.  Construction can be frustrating and hard, but there are usually clear solutions to the problems that arise. Still, I love making the art and don't wish to stop. All of the guru's say, "follow your heart and do what you love" blah, blah, blah. I believe that, I've been doing that, and I also believe that art is a much harder sell than plumbing. Your toilet's broken, you need it fixed right now. Your wall is blank, you can wait on that perfect piece to hang. These are lessons I've been learning over the past twelve years.
Today I am at a turning point. I tried to fund my vision of a Chicken Scratchin' book and it failed, now I'm trying to do a portrait project on kickstarter and while it is successful the dollar amount raised will hardly be a bump in my budget. I live in a house that is too large for me and that I own a portion of. It's time to move out and sell it to recoup my money invested. That will help to get me a little ahead for a minute or two. After that? I don't know. Get an RV so I'll always have a home and then travel around looking for something, is the current plan. Although, I am staying here in NW Arkansas for as long as it takes to work on organizing and cataloging my dear poet friend's archives. I fell into this project about two years ago and it has taken on a life of it's own. A lovely life it is. I feel like I am going to school on 20th Century poetry and writing. He saved everything, every scrap and letter from so many significant writers and people that he encountered, and I get to read them. Such a story. I hope to translate this experience into a book of my own someday. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile I'm packing, selling, and giving stuff away. How I collected so much is kind of mind blowing. Stay tuned I may even put some of that stuff up here for all two of you who read this blog to see and possibly buy. Mostly though my facebook page Linda Sheets Art is the best place to find out the latest.
Thanks for stopping by. Below is my portrait of the poet Miller Williams.

Why I Like Making Art More Than Plumbing...

A long, long time ago I was a contractor, which seems like a fuzzy, and fading, other life of mine. I even served time in a plumbing apprenticeship back in my hometown, following my father and brother into the trades. Over the years I became much more than a plumber, building and repairing houses as a business. I was pretty good at it, and spent about 25 years of my life doing this. If there was something I didn't know I could read a book (and even now, google it) and learn how to do it. For the past twelve years I've tried to steer myself more in the direction of art and the business of art. I still approach it pretty much like plumbing. There's a problem to solve, (or something that needs fixing) a way to solve it, and "nothing to it but to do it".  I don't spend a lot of time in artistic angst, or struggle with blank canvas blockage. I'm just so happy to be making art, instead of fixing toilets, or lifting heavy things, that if I get stuck, I just move on to the next thing. I'm working on improving my ability to do portraits, of people this time instead of dogs and cats etc... In order to do that I've got a kickstarter project going to draw YOU from your 'selfie' photos. Just like construction I've identified an area where I need work. The best way I know to learn something is to just do it over and over again until I get it right. I've got a portrait on the boards right now that is not exactly what I want it to be. I sure had fun while making it, but it's just not right. So what I have to do is start over tonight. I can hardly wait. But first, I'm revisiting my past life and building a fence with, and for, a friend. It's pretty complicated as we're building lattice from scratch; it would've been easier to just buy the lattice that's available in the building supply store, but she wouldn't have it, and I was willing to make what she wanted, so here we are, banging it out. It's not a bad way to spend some time, and it's always satisfying to have a visualization of something, and then to make it come into reality. Pretty much like art, only with art I get to experiment and play around and start over. With construction there's a right way to do it, and you'd better pay attention to that because mistakes cost time and money.
If you're interested in having a portrait done it's really easy, go to the project HERE and jump in. If you don't want the original you can get a download of my drawing of you for $25.00--You can't get plumbing done for that price anywhere folks! I'll post the two portraits next time on this blog....

Kickstarter And Why I Won't Be Using It Again...For Anything

In the past two years I've had five successful Kickstarter campaigns; I did two books (Dog And Cat Scratchin') two sets of posters using images from those books and now this current campaign "Send Me Your Selfies" a small project to do a series of portraits. I've watched the formula shift and change, really drastically over the past year. Once a site for individuals and "mom and pop" grass-root-type business to create buzz and raise funds for sweet, even unusual projects, now it's been co-opted by large businesses who've realized that they can get free publicity and raise funds and sell their product before it even hits the brick and mortar. And even Rock Stars and Hollywood folks who've jumped in with their pet projects churn the dollars even more. Little projects like mine get lost in the corner, while big names (who I'm sure could find alternative, or conventional funding) stir the pot and make their millions. Along with all of that, the amount of "marketing" and "crowdfunding" organizations who fill my email with their offers to help me raise the maximum amount, if only I'd pay them a small fee, increase daily.  It all makes me sad. It was a nice way to fund my book projects, and I was feeling pretty hopeful about the Chicken Scratchin' book.  Between the changes at Kickstarter, and the radical changes at Facebook, (what the hell is up with that? I hardly ever see any of my friends posts because of the ads and bullshit that they put up which blocks everything else out) it was hard to connect with folks who might want to back the project. So, it ended, underfunded and unsuccessful. I put it aside thinking that I'd re-launch at a later date. Now I understand that unless I get a "Star" to back it, or pay to have a company promote it for me, chances are it would fail again. So, this little project of mine will end in thirteen days, I'll draw however many portraits (not many right now) and then go back to the drawing board and make a different plan for my life as a professional artist. Meanwhile, I'm always looking for commissions and trying to make a living, like everyone else.  There are a couple of spots on this page to check out the Selfie project, if you want a portrait, the price is much less than I usually charge...last chance, going soon.

Snow Days And Other Things That Are Out Of My Control

I sit here this morning, reflecting on life, after two days of not getting out much due to snow and ice. When I did attempt to drive around yesterday it was like "The Hunger Games", with folks running off the road and/or crashing into each other like crazy people. I was happy to make it home unscathed. So, I've had a lot of time on my hands... Three commissions were finished and thanks to the internet the results were approved by the clients, now they are framed and ready to ship, once things thaw a bit today and tomorrow. With all that time on my hands I've had much time to think about art, projects, success and failure. The Chicken Scratchin' book is not funding with just about 24 hours to go. I don't anticipate that it will raise the total amount needed by the deadline.(unless there is a freaking miracle) But, I've got to say, I'm not too upset about it. I still believe in the project and think it's doable, just not right now. I have resolved to adjust and tweak the project and re-launch sometime in the near future. Obviously I need to find the chicken people and network there first. I know they're out there.
As things go I'm still pretty happy. I've had 4 very successful projects fund on kickstarter and one that flopped. It's not the end of the world, or even the beginning of the end. I'm actually working on a new, smaller scale project that I hope to launch within a week or so. More on that once it's live.
Meanwhile, here's the link to the chicken book project: Chicken Scratchin'

Chicken Scratching And Other Thoughts

I approach the art business pretty much how I ran my contracting business; there's a job to do, a right and wrong way to do it (I choose the right way, of course), a length of time it will take, amount of money, expected final outcome, etc...etc... This makes me very focused and 'project' driven. For the most part I have commissions or jobs to work on daily. If I don't, I try and 'make up' work that must be done, that's the creative challenge for me. Sometimes what I make is just a bunch of crap and it gets tossed into the trash...or it is given away on my Linda Sheets Art page at Facebook. Usually someone likes it a lot more than I do. Or I go out into the little woodworking workshop in my garage and cut and sand lumber which is very satisfying and often results in a fun piece of furniture or decorative box or what-not.  Right now, this is my project;
Chicken Scratchin' Book. I'm trying to raise the funds at kickstarter. I know exactly how much it costs, and how much work it takes to 'build' this book. So far though, I have not raised enough or attracted attention from the backyard chicken community. I still have over 30 days to make this happen, and I believe in the project, so we'll see if I can blog, tweet, instagram, facebook, pinterest, this enough to find folks who want a portrait of their chickens and a place in the book. Plan B, if it doesn't fund? I'll tweak it and re-launch soon after. I am persistent. So here it is, share and share again, please. I can't do this alone. I already do so much alone, I need your help. Thanks for stopping by.
Click HERE to see the project.  This is a sample two page spread. 

Kickstarter, Chickens, And Marketing

The Chicken Scratchin' book continues to fund until March 6th. It's slow but sure. Here are some observations about popular projects on kickstarter that seem to always fund above and beyond the requested amount:
Coffee: mostly new improved ways to brew it, dispense it etc... One of the projects that raised big bucks was an affordable espresso machine, which hasn't seemed to come to fruition...at least from the comments I've read, production is way behind and folks are unhappy. Now, I like coffee, in fact I love coffee, but I guess having the 'perfect' cup every time is less important to me than it is to others.
Wallets: Esp. super skinny. I guess this is for the 'hipsters' in their skinny jeans. Lord knows you don't want a big bulge in your back pocket, or the front pocket. What more than ID, credit card and a little cash do you need anyway? There are even some that you can slide your smart phone into. Wow. Since I'm not skinny and my jeans are baggy I guess this really isn't for me. I can go into any leather shop or amazon and find a pretty good wallet. I'm still amazed at how many of these projects to 're-invent' the wallet there are out there!
Pens: This is truly interesting to me, as hardly anyone writes anymore. We all type, or text or when I write it is more like printing and I just use one of my art pens. They make these pens out of vintage wood from liquor casks, or sustainable, reclaimed, recylcled, upcycled wood that came from who knows where. It's a pen for crips sake. Do we really need 6,000 more of these on the earth for folks who've forgotten how to write?
Watches: Ok, I admit to being totally baffled by this one. I use my phone to tell time. It's super easy and I don't have to look at my wrist. Hell, I look at my phone about 5,000 times a day, so I usually know where I am and what time it is. There are so many different versions of watches being made on kickstarter I have to wonder if I somehow fell asleep and went backwards in time.
Oh yeah, one more, Playing Cards: there are more artist designed or machine designed decks of cards raising money on kickstarter, along with the odd ball Tarot versions left and right. How often do all y'all play cards? And what card games are you playing? Or maybe you're just framing these beautiful works of art and using the usual cards to play your poker with. Oh, no wait, you can play poker on the computer with virtual cards. All of this scrambles my brain. And it is to say; there is no other Chicken Scratchin' book project being marketed out there...just me, maybe I need to do like everyone else and make a Coffee Drinking Chicken with a watch and skinny wallet writing on a deck of cards...Nah!  So take a look here. Let's make a chicken book just for fun.
One last thing, I have received at least six solicitations from various marketing firms that have formed just for the online crowdfunding model.  My answer is NO. Stop sending your damned emails saying, "How nice your project is, I can help you..."
They want money to bug the hell out of your social networks....I can do that myself, thank you!

Chickens and Other Life Stuff...

The project is funding at Kickstarter, slowly, but surely. As a friend told me today, "Don't get discouraged, you're a 'doer' and you will make it happen". That and a sale of a folk art cat and dog on etsy at my shop made me feel a lot better. And you don't have to have a chicken to back the project, there are plenty of $$ levels that don't require you have a chicken in the book. Although, I will be beating the bushes for chickens to draw and tell stories about...that's the whole point of the book. To see the project and a pretty funny video of me with a rooster comb go HERE.
I've also been giving away a lot of my older artworks on the Linda Sheets Art Facebook page. That is always a fun ride. It helps me clean out the studio so I can make more art. And I ask folks to make a donation to a shelter. Win-win.
The other life stuff going on today is that it is the 10th anniversary of my father's death. I always acknowledge it every year, this year though seems to be even more significant. I was there for the whole dang deal. He knew he was dying and wanted to do it at home. So, back to Indiana I went to help care for him,  and spent the time saying goodbye and loving him...and crushing pills, mixing them with water and squirting them into his mouth to keep the pain at bay. He and I didn't always get along, in fact for most of our relationship it was difficult as he was kind of a tyrant. But the last year and a half of his life we made up for lost time.  When he got sick it was a true wake-up call for me and that's when I began moving back to art and more and more away from construction. It was a sweet gift he gave to me. And even as hard as it was being one of his caretakers at the end, it was an extraordinary experience that I will never forget. So that's where I am today in a nutshell. Pushing the book project, and having sweet, sad memories of my dad.

It's Chicken Book Time!

Today I launched my 5th kickstarter project: Chicken Scratchin' A Collection Of Good Chickens And Their People.The videos look good, fun even. Hey it's a chance to see me with a red cock's comb in my hair...
I've been ready for this for months, got the videos and site built in record time and now I'm ready to hit it. The funding process will go for 45 days and I hope to raise $9500.00, which is the least amount I need to make this happen. We shall see if folks with chickens want me to scratch out a portrait of them, and if they have a story to share. I'm sure hoping they do. Would be a huge bummer if it doesn't fund.
I'm also continuing a Linda's Big Art Giveaway at my Linda Sheets Art facebook page(if you're on face book look for me, like the page and watch for the giveaway.  Free art, mostly scratchboard, and mostly older work of mine that needs a home. All I ask is that folks pay for shipping and packing, and that they give some $$ to a shelter of their choice(human or animal). Am I crazy for giving my art away? Maybe, but maybe not. I do like spreading the wealth and get a real kick out of sharing these pieces rather than tossing them, or worse, packing them away and hanging on to them like an 'art hoarder'. Would I rather sell art? Uh, well, yes I would, thanks for asking. But what I've found in doing this is new people come along for me to share it with, and I've even gotten some commissions out of it all. So not a bad thing this giving it away, letting go. Try it sometime. It really does feel good. In the meantime, do something that makes you happy!

Here's the chicken project link:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1547701634/chicken-scratchin-a-collection-of-good-chickens-an?ref=home_location

Feeling Kinda Twitchy

Those who know me well might say I lack patience, and I would agree with them. This waiting to launch to Kickstarter Chicken project is just about killing me. The site is built, ready to go and approved by them. I am waiting until January 20th because that's when I decided to launch,--but is the waiting easy? Oh no, it is not! I'm so used to putting something together, bang, bang, bang, and then just pulling the trigger--boom, go. I will survive this, and I'm probably going to learn something about life and myself, in spite of my resistence. Tick-tock...suffice to say, check back in with me on the 20th.
The two chickens above are 5x7 scratchboards. They will go into the mix of the big art giveaway, which coicidently will begin the same day as the Chicken project. So come back for that too. That happy event will take place on my Linda Sheets Art facebook page so if you haven't gone there and clicked to 'like' it you might lose out. Stay tuned. All is good in Linda-Land. Went to Crystal Bridges with a friend today to see the Stieglitz/O'Keeffe collection again. Pretty fabulous. Feeling lucky to have such a great place here in NW Ark. Ok, over and out for now...things are a fixin' to heat up soon!

New Year New Life Working On A Dream

The above is a sweet little commission I got to do before Xmas. It was hard, the person who commissioned it was doing it as a surprise, so obtaining the photos was difficult. Between the two of us, me scratching and showing, and her advising on refinements, it got done and was well received by the dog owners. This is not the finished piece, I had to add the ear on the right of the middle dog, even though the photo didn't show it, because it was just odd looking without having it there.
I made it through the holidays without any meltdowns, high drama or mishaps. For that I am grateful. For many reasons it's NOT my favorite time of year. I know, all of the holiday shows, cards, songs say it should be wonderful, but the reality is that for many of us it is chock full of painful memories. I try and approach it as 'just another day' and that seems to work, for now.
So, the new year, here now...I am working on the next book project which will launch on kickstarter (for funding) around January 20th and will run for at least 30 days, maybe more.  I'm putting together the video and text for the project site and just finished some mock-up drawings for it. Below is one of them. Everything I do now is Ampersand Scratchbord.

Meanwhile I'm cleaning out my studio and will donate all of the other art products (oils, acrylics, pastels etc..) to some worthy cause. Speaking of donating, I will also be doing another art giveaway around the same time as the kickstarter launch. I've found so many pieces that either didn't sell, or were not so successful but are still pretty cool, and not worthy of tossing into the trash. Watch my facebook page at Linda Sheets Art for more info. The art will be posted there and the first to like and say they want it will get it. The only requirement is for you to pay shipping/handling and give a donation to a shelter of your choice.  The previous giveaway was a great experience and I look forward to doing it again.
I also look forward to more commission work in pets and my latest boards, people portraits(will post that image next time). Contact me via my website for more info regarding prices and sizes.
Until next post, stay on your path, whatever it is, unless of course it's a negative dive into badness. In that case, get ahold of yourself, life is too freaking short to be unhappy.

Kickstarter Cat Poster Project is Live!

This is #1 of a total of four different posters that I'm putting together for a kickstarter project. Earlier this year I drew 78 cats for the Cat Scratchin' book. These posters will have every cat (twenty per poster) plus two for a total of 80 cats in a limited edition series of posters, signed and numbered. Today is the first day of thirteen days to fund. If you love cats and want to participate please go take a look at the project and jump in. Thanks, I appreciate your support. And the posters are pretty awesome! Here's the link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1547701634/cat-scratchin-limited-edition-posters-for-your-wal

July Is The Cruelest Month

I've just come through what has been the darkest July I've ever had. (I'm sure there may have been darker times in my life, but this is the most recent, most painful one so let's leave it at that.) There wasn't any one thing that I can put my finger on and say, "This is it, that's what's causing all of this crap!"  No, just a general feeling of sadness, and failure, and even loss of faith in the path I'm on. Good god. Or maybe not good god. Art sales have been slow, and I haven't had any 'mailbox money' in a while. I'm not destitute yet, but have been feeling like something must change, and soon.  Last night I was even searching want ads to see if any jobs were out there for this 58 year old broke down woman contractor/artist without a college degree. Wah-- Poor me....right? Well, this morning I woke up and took a little ride on my bicycle and thought some things through. (it was a beautiful ride) I'm closer to having a plan of positive action now. I'm sure I'll keep all and any of you folks who read this blog posted, because I'm a sharing kind of gal. The last few months I had pretty much given up and had been feeling discouraged about my path. This is interesting because during that time I've also finished up the Cat Scratchin' book and sent it off to the designer, and had a successful little poster project fund on kickstarter. Go figure. None of that seemed to matter when I was feeling lowest. That's how it works I guess, the spiral down into that dimly lit cellar of hopelessness. Don't worry, I'm on my way back up now. I guess I had to fall down and get scuffed up a bit so I would figure out a different way to achieve the things I wish to do. Ultimately what I realized was that I could get a regular 'day job' (or two or three) and hate every minute of it, or do what it is I feel I'm meant to do and just love doing it, most of the time. I'm choosing love. It's going to be a little more work, but I'm pretty sure it's worth it. And I've been doing it for the past twelve years so why give up now?
The above photo is a fabulous mixed media sculpture (reflective traffic/construction materials etc...) hanging on the wall at the Hive restaurant at the 21C Museum Hotel in Bentonville, Arkansas. I went there last week and had lunch with a good friend and then we went on to Crystal Bridges to see the Angels and Tomboys exhibit. The food was good. The exhibit was ok, I wish there would've been more Tomboys, but that's just me. I thought it was kind of a weak show. (Great classical paintings, but give me 20th and 21st Century art any day of the week and I'm happy.)
Ok, here's my message for today; Don't give up...just don't.

Upcycle-ReUsed Vintage Lumber Folk Art Dogs And Cats

I've been in the process of tearing through a heap of vintage lumber that I moved three times in the last three years. The big pieces are becoming table tops and rolling work stations. I'm left with small scraps and I just hate throwing good wood away. Here you go--I'm in the process of building little dog and cat folk art gee-gaw statues. These are in the rough right now. I will throw some paint on them and embellish the eyes and such. Stay tuned, I'll put finished images up here. I work on these in my kitchen (on the counter) while watching episodes of whatever I can find on Nextflix and Hulu and Amazon. My favorite thing to do is to find a series so I can "binge-watch" while working on art or craft--go figure, it works for me.
I'm still working on the Cat Scratchin' book you can click here to jump over to that blog. I'm on schedule and happy.
I also have a small kickstarter project going to create posters from the Dog Scratchin' book. You can click here to see that.  I used some super cheap poster frames from the big box hobby store to show them off. Here's an image below to give you an idea of what they look like.

It's hot as hell, my ac is working overtime, my electric bill just came and it's almost double what it was last month. I'm remembering when I lived up on the mountain three years ago with no ac and only two windows that opened, during the summer! It was a good day when it was only 80 degrees in the house. How did I survive that??
Hey, have a day!

Funding Art Projects and Other Stuff

The above are earlier works of mine using Ampersand Scratchbord and mixed-media. There is nothing wrong with them. In fact I'm pretty fond of where I've been and where I am now with my art journey. Putting together the Dog Scratchin' book, and now the Cat Scratchin' version has helped me to become better at my chosen trade.  Below is one of the dogs in the book that shows how much better I became as I drew one after another. Practice is good.

All this is to say, I'm running a project at kickstarter right now to create a limited series of posters using 80 of my drawings from the book. If you will please take a look and see if any or all of them interest you. I'm not asking for money for nothing (hey, that could be a song), I have a product to offer for a fee. And I think it's a pretty cool, fun, and lovely product. If you can think about art as part of the commerce stream (and we are) we are just as important as the plumbers who fix our toilets. Believe me, being a former contractor, I am coming at you from both sides of that world.So take a look here to see what it's all about. It will be up for 28 more days and it's already going well. Thanks. Buy art, fix your plumbing, and enjoy your world.
The first artwork shown above is available (size is 16"x24") the title is "Big Dog In The Backyard", and I'll make you a deal and a half. Contact me.

New Dog Scratchin' Poster Project Is Funding

These are number 1 and 2 of the four total posters in the project. You can go here to see it. It will be up for 30 days. I wonder who will be the first to jump in?? Click on 'here' or down below. #dogs #dogscratchin
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1547701634/dog-scratchin-limited-edition-posters-for-your-wal

2 Sweet Dogs Commission

This is the work in progress from the previous post about "choices." You can see I've made quite a few, choices that is. There is some tweaking to finish, and a frame to build before I deliver it. My clients already approve and like it very much. I'll change the collar to red and make some other changes. This is a 16"x20" ampersand scratchboard with colored inks.  Lots of scratchin' going on there. In addition I've been scratchin' out cats left and right for the Cat Scratchin' book, and getting ready to launch a kickstarter project to create posters with the artwork from the Dog Scratchin' book.
Along with all of that, my truck which I love so much hit 200,000 miles last week. It came and went without the fanfare I had expected--no parade or confetti. I looked down and whoop there it went. Oh well. I personally put 160,000 of those miles on the truck in eight years of owning it.  I had always used 200,000 has a sort of milestone, although I can't remember what I thought would happen afterward. I'm in no hurry now, to sell or trade it in. I'm in no hurry to do anything right now. That is an unusual condition for me. I am always moving ahead, often quickly leaving folks in the dust. My movement forward has not always been in the 'right' direction, or should I say, sometimes in my haste I leap before I look. Like a cat though, I most often land on my feet. Or my ass, and then I have to pick myself up and dust off and try to make the best of it. Waiting and patience is not something I'm known for. But, here I am, waiting and studying to see what path is next for me. I will say I hope to be in a small travel trailer or rv type vehicle in the next year or so. Free of the responsibility of owning a house...and all the things that go with that. I can do what I'm doing, ie. the books the scratchboards, anywhere that there is a table to work on. I don't need stuff...There you have it. This time next week I hope to be raising some money to print dog posters. Don't worry, there will be plenty of notice about it.
 Until then, be happy. Really, that's it.

Scratchboard Demos And Kickstarter Project

Here's the February schedule of scratchboard drawing classes and demos: We'll be drawing dogs, monkeys, and flowers on Saturday Feb. 16th 9am-12 Casa De Linda New Braunfels, TX. / Sunday Feb. 13th 12-3pm Jerry's Artarama Austin, TX./ Tuesday Feb. 19th 9am-12 and 1-4pm Casa De Linda New Braunfels, TX. There is a small fee and pre-registration required at Casa De Linda. Jerry's Artarama is on N. IH 35 and is free but space is limited.
I'll also be giving a class at the Pavilion in Austin on the 22nd for residents and the 27th for Rockwall Middle School systems Teachers.  All in all a busy Feb for me. I continue to raise funds at the Cat Scratchin' book project on kickstarter. Funding ends on Feb 13th and I'll be on the road driving to Austin so won't be checking the $$ amount too often, or worrying about whether or not it will fund. Here's how kickstarter works, if I don't raise the amount I need I get none of the money and the project doesn't go forward. So if you are thinking about being a part of the book and have not picked a pledge level, please do so pretty soon. 24 days left to raise $7800.00.
I continue to learn about having a new puppy in my life. One week in we are making adjustments to each other.

Cats Baby Cats!

Well, the kickstarter Cat Scratchin' book project is in full swing! In 24 hours it is now at $901.00 which is amazing! But We've got a long way to go to hit that $7800.00 mark by Feb 13th. Here is the link please go and check it out. If you can't participate, that's fine, just give me a facebook like though if you will. And share the project with your friends who love cats. The above photo is a cat that belongs to a friend, Ginger likes to drink out of the watering can. The drawing is an earlier Ampersand scratchboard...old style Linda folk art. Still, fun. Thanks for stopping by.

We Did It!

The kickstarter Dog Scratchin' book project is funded and now waiting to get done. I will begin gathering the stories, sending those off to Fay to help edit and assemble. The dog photos will be collected and the drawing will commence. This is exciting. My current big deal.  Life seems to contain a series of big and little deals...Actually this one is HUGE!
The above artwork is large, 16"x20" and is for sale at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin TX. When I was working on this I was listening to Lucinda Williams music, specifically the "West" album recording.  The song 'What If' spoke to me, the line "if dogs became kings" is the title of this.  I mentioned this while being interviewed for a local npr radio show and because of it (a longer story than I wish to go into here)I have become friends with the fabulous couple Miller & Jordan Williams. It just so happens that they are Lucinda's parents. And they live here. I get to visit with them at least once a week. And Miller is a wonderful poet. Today is his 82nd Birthday. Happy Birthday Miller! You and Jordan are so dear to me. I'm a lucky gal.