My friend Lisa, from Belise On Paper, and I have decided to keep life interesting by creating a new blog challenge called Point of Departure or P.O.D.   Every month we will pick a theme and each of us will find and image of that theme.   The image is the point of departure.  We swap images and then we each have to create something with it.  January's theme is Jewellery.   There being only afew days left I had to get it done quickly.  I happen to know that Lisa hasn't started hers. hehehe. 
So here is my altered jewellery piece.  Hope you like it.  Be sure to log on next month, (and hopefully before then)!  The theme for February is  "Home".

If you read my post from January 21st, you may have gathered that it's rather grey in this part of the world right now.    My husband says we're all suffering from a lack of vitamin D.  Whatever it is, it seems to be increasing my ability to worry.  I am an expert worrier.  I can worry about anything.  Last night I woke up at 3 a.m.  wondering...what if my husband had a heart attack,  hmm... what if I had a heart attack...what if the children had heart attacks!  I'm giving myself a heart attack thinking about heart attacks!  Amazingly enough I got back to sleep........the sky is bright and blue the air is warm.  There's a wonderful cooling breeze blowing off the ocean as I stroll down the boardwalk.  The sun is shining and all these magical food vendors are lined up selling fabulous exotic delicacies!  I can smell the aromas,  so can the gulls who are circling overhead.   I can hardly decide what type of food I should buy.  Finally, near the end of the board walk, I see a booth that sells fresh brewed organic coffee and fifty types of chocolate chip cookies!  Oh!!!   I go over and get some coffee while the vendor starts explaining about all the types of chocolate chip cookies...white chocolate, macadamia nut,  truffle chunk,  pistachio,  AND  Peprez Pepper.  "Peprez Pepper?",  I ask.  "Yes, it's from Mexico!"  Wow!  I pick the "peprez pepper" chocolate chip cookie.  I taste my first bite!  Sweet, peppery, crunchy, chocolately,  delicious....BUZZZZZZZZ
My Alarm!  I have to drive my husband to the early train!   But but but...  I want more of my peprez pepper cookie!!!!  Oh well, at least I had a little vacation, if only in my dreams.   I've been thinking about peprez pepper all day.  I don't know what it is, but I want some!

P.S.  The collage made from the doodle above is in my shop!

Here's my "Clumsy" picture for Illustration Friday.  I was remembering how much fun it was to draw when I was little because I'd draw whatever was in my head without worrying about reference material, or composition or any of the things we learn later.  The pictures may have been "clumsy" but they were unique!  I tried to capture a little of that feeling with this.  I used my watercolour crayons and no references.  I've seen way too much art and had too many art classes to ever draw the way I did when I was five, but that's probably a good thing. It's enough just to remember the feeling.

The weather people have been promising sun for the last few days but I haven't seen it.  I don't mind a little grey now and then but sometimes you just need some colour!  Luckily my friend Lisa from Belise on Paper lent me a most amazing book by Harry Rand on the painter and architect Hundertwasser.    Not only is he an amazing painter and a truly original architect, but he also says the most incredible things.  I may not always agree with him, but I always love reading what he said.  Here is my Hundertwasser quote for today:

    A colourful world is always a synonym for paradise.  A grey or monocoloured world is always a synonym for purgatory or hell.  Hell is only red: everything is red, fire, faces, blood - it is horrible.  Just as horrible is a world which is only blue.  If you live in a hell of vegetation, in the middle of the jungle where everything is green all the time, you go mad, the red hell, the black hell, the grey hell.  In cities you have it grey.  It is strange that architects continue to build more grey.  The diversity of colour brings betterment, brings paradise.  -  Friedensreich Hundertwasser

I Love this Guy!!  Too bad he died in 2000!  If you were like me and have never heard of Hundertwasser, you should look him up.  I am going to banish my "grey hell".  I will Hundertwasserify it!

Below are some marvelous  Hundertwasser paintings to brighten your day.

This was a busy weekend.  Many things are swirling around in my head.  I met some interesting new people and saw some beautiful encaustic painting.  I had to drop out of my watercolour class, where we were going to paint snow,  and switch to mixed media.  I love mixed-media,  my daughter would say "obvay" for obviously.  But I also love love love watercolour so I'm a bit torn about that.  I was also strongly reminded of what it is like to be twentyish and in love...or not in love... and all the problems with being twentyish.  That reminded me of the Pepsi commercial where they ask, "Is there anything else youthful you'd like to experience?".  When I think back to all the gut wrenching relationships I had back then I think,  "I'd rather have a Pepsi", and I don't even like Pepsi! 
I painted the picture above , which is a combination of some of my weekend; lost love, watercolour and Illustration Friday's new word, "wilderness"!  Hope you like it.

Illustration Friday  is an website that hosts a weekly illustration challenge.  Every Friday they issue a new word and your job is to illustrate it.  I thought I would give it a try.  This weeks word is "confined".  I couldn't decide if I should put the word in my illustration and decided to do it.  Now I'm not so sure.  My jury's still out on that.  What do you think?

I was delayed a little in getting back to art in 2010 by a nasty computer virus, but I have slain the beast and driven it back into cyber space.  Now I'm having fun making cards.  I love making cards.  I think because they are small and I can't get too carried away with them.  I'm making funny valentines and serious ones.  The funny ones I just posted on Etsy.  I guess I'll get around to posting the serious, one of a kind ones tomorrow.  Hopefully there will be something for everyone's taste.  I must admit, I like the funny ones because deep down inside, I'm really a silly person.

Sorry I haven't been here for awhile.  Christmas blew through our house like a hurricane... not the bad kind, the kind that sweeps you up over the rainbow so that you can't really remember what it is that you do in your everyday life.   It was alot of fun, but I am back now and I have a long list of things to do and make for my Etsy store.   I am going to be ready for the next holiday, Valentine's day.  If you are in the market for a one of a kind handmade card for your sweetie stay tuned.   I have ideas!