Happiness Grows At Our Front Door!

I am loving the warmer weather, and nothing makes me happier or more inspired than warm weather with sunshine and the flowers that come along with it…especially fragrant flowers!  Anthony and I have not even lived in our tiny house a year, so it’s exciting for me to see what pops up in our yard!  I was told that the previous owners did a nice job planting flowers, so I can’t wait to see what we discover as it gets warmer! 

     So far, we only have one tiny flower that has arrived, but it IS beautiful!  Our neighbor, Irene, has some lovely jonquils and daffodils that have blossomed, and it just makes me happy, happy, happy to see their beauty!  Yesterday I took some pictures of the beautiful new arrivals and put together a collage of their grandeur.

 

paintings . chicks . birds . duchesses . general merriment

paintings . chicks . birds . duchesses . general merriment 

i’ll fly away and live with the Ewoks - small mixed media painting on board
(I LOVE THE EWOKS, SO HAD TO START WITH THIS!)

Not so long ago, on March 30th, my “Color Me Happy Necklace” was very kindly featured on pollywogpouch’s blog.  Not only as a thank you, but to also showcase her beautiful whimsical work, (WHICH I LOVE!) I have decided to also feature her on The Chatterbox.  I don’t always like to do long introductions, but sometimes I feel it’s fitting.  In this case, I’d definitely say a longer feature is great because I think the artist is interesting and her art and life will capture you!  pollywogpouch put it perfectly when she said that she “loves how anxious Etsians are to help each other out.  We’re not just sellers, we’re also buyers, helpful critics, promoters, and mentors.”  I have encountered the same and share her feelings.  

The words you first read on this post, “paintings . chicks . birds . duchesses . general merriment,” are pollywogpouch’s tag line, and appropriately so!  pollywogpouch’s art and Etsy shop are full of beautiful colors and images, excite the imagination and abound in cheer and humor!  

does this cat make me look fat- portrait of a pregnant odalisque

So, who is she?  What is she about?  Where is she from?  Why do you care to know?
Well, after I have gotten to know about her, trust me when I say,
“I have found a new kindred Etsy spirit, and when I’m finished, you will LOVE her and her artwork too!”

  

Her name is Delilah Dawson.  She is a working artist living in Woodstock, Georgia, which is one town over from her home town, near lots of family.  She has a BA in Studio Art from UGA and has enjoyed working at local art centers with one foot in administration and one in education.  She is currently living the “high life” at home with her almost 20 month-old daughter and on any given night of the week, Delilah is hanging out with 4 generations of women on her mom’s porch, laughing.  If that doesn’t paint a picture of pleasure and strong family bonds, I don’t know what does! 

Her friends would tell you that she makes eerily accurate animal noises to amuse children (and herself), all of her clothes have paint spots on them, and she’ll tell anybody anything, but only if they ask.  She’s irreverent and curious, likes to laugh and has an affinity for shiny things and apples.  She also hates tuna.   

  I’ll fly away and marry Freddy Prinze Jr. - small mixed media on board

I asked her about her balancing act of operating Etsyshop with everything else she does and Delilah responded, “Currently, not well! My husband tells me I stay up way too late playing on Etsy…”  Don’t we all, girl!  Don’t we all!  Ha ha!  And of course, as all you moms out there can relate to, while she was answering me, her daughter was hollering for her in the background, so it attests that mother crafters on Etsy must be excellent at multi-tasking, which it seems Delilah does!

I always wonder, and I know other people also do, about an artist’s story or background on how they and their art came to be.  For Delilah, she has always been an artist, but for the longest time she felt like art had to be very serious and… well… mature.  According to her, she is ”not a serious and mature person.”  Can I get an AMEN to that?!  Who wants to be serious and mature all the time anyway?  I know I don’t!  There’s no fun and no room for blazing creativity when you’re serious and mature all the time!  On Etsy, Delilah learned that lots of people were doing the odd and whimsical things she always loved doing, so she knew she would fit in.  I respect when anyone is free enough to let loose and be true to themselves, because I think when you do that, BEAUTIFUL THINGS HAPPEN!  I believe Delilah’s art is a testament to that!!!

As you’ll see when browsing her shop, Delilah works on canvas and paper, but when asked about her favorite materials, she said, “I love the feel of a wood board– under newspaper, pencil, or paint. I like to see a little bit of grain peeking through and know that the item under all my work is *real*, not (entirely) manufactured.”  Delilah gets her inspiration from Etsy, from birds, from daydreams, and from things she has liked drawing since she was a child.  THAT, my dear readers, IS PART OF EXACTLY WHY I LOVE HAND MADE!  Delilah said that she likes when things have a story.  She said, “I love to know that things were really thought about, that someone really cared. I love to see brush strokes or stray pencil markings. I get sick of everything feeling so “same”.  I couldn’t agree more and I believe there is a true and meaningful story behind every creation!  Generally, there’s a reason for why pieces of art turn out the way they do!  Knowing those details are “goose-bump” moments for me and I don’t know about you, but those things are the things that incline me to become attached enough to BUY!!!

 

We all love to talk about our favorite things.  They bring us joy and inner happiness.  When you CREATE something and it’s your favorite, they take on a whole new level of meaning…they contribute to the artist’s self-esteem, self-worth, self-fulfillment, pride, inspiration, and create a mark on the measuring stick of quality and personal achievement.  When I asked Delilah about her personal favorite from her shop, she said, “I just love chicks with birds.  I love simple portraits with unusual details and silly descriptions.”  I must say, her silly descriptions are a big part of why I look forward to returning to her shop regularly - it is not only candy for the eye, but it’s candy and humor for the mind, and I love it!  After all…laughter is the best medicine!

ACEO - ATC - they said she had nice hooters - original watercolor portrait of Athena

If you want to know more about Delilah, or would like to take a deeper peek into her life, she blogs about etsy at http://www.pollywogpouch.blogspot.com, and blogs about herself and her life as a mom at http://www.delilahpaints.blogspot.com.  Both are enjoyable reads and I think you’ll enjoy visiting!  In her Etsy Store, you will find that she has some realistic paintings for sale, but she doesn’t think they’re as good.  How about you be the judge and share your opinions on her work by leaving a comment on my blog!  Oh!  Did I also mention that her husband is an MMA fighter?  Of course, I immediately connected, being that my husband, Anthony, is obsessed with MMA and has his own company (Bully Ink) where he sells Mixed Martial Arts apparel and equipment!  I wish they lived closer!  I would totally arrange a get-together! 

=)  BONUS FOR MY READERS  =)
DELILAH’S OFFERING FREE SHIPPING IN HER ETSY STORE, pollywogpouch!!!
IF YOU MENTION, “NICOLE LEE ARTISTRY’S BLOG” IN THE MESSAGE TO SELLER.

I hope the wind changes and they stick like that, Lydia thought - acrylic painting on 6×6 board

Sundays are for REST AND RELAXATION. :)

Being that I like to look at Sunday’s as a day for rest, enjoyment and relaxation, I thought my theme for today would be exactly that.  Some of you may know that Anthony and I will be moving next year.  My parents have gifted us with some property and we have begun to plan for our future home.  We have selected a site, have started to draw up the floor plans, and it’s just so exciting…it’s truly coming along!  I can’t wait to move back home!  I miss my Pennsylvania roots and tremendously miss being near my family!  I’ve been day dreaming lately, and today, I put together a collage of some pictures from my design folder (inspiration for our future home) that remind me of rest and relaxation.  If you look closely, I’ve also included two pictures of our charming piece of rural property!  :)  It’s just lovely!

 

Ok…I’m back. :)

Wow!  What a hiatus!  I feel like I’ve been on my bloggin’ break FOR-EVER!!!  Today, I’m going with the hubby to get some Starbucks and then we are headed to get the two front windows on our SUV tinted (huge fun), and then we are off to (yaay!) Home Depot, to plan our landscaping projects to be done soon!  It should be an enjoyable day.  While I’m out and about, if you stop in on my blog, I thought I’d give you some things to look at and enjoy.  I have some fashion images that just appealed to me, inspired me, or perhaps they just got the wheels in my noggin turning this morning.  I’d also like to share a link with you to something I LOVE!!!  It’s a fun feature from Style.com (one of my fave sites to visit) called, “Candycast”  :)  It’s a fun fashion and style trends podcast by Candy Pratts Price.  I like the style and her humor and maybe you will too!  Till tomorrow!  Have a wonderful day! 

Concentrate On This.

“To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did” 

When God takes something from your grasp, He’s not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence…..

‘The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.’ 

A Strong Woman…

The Brotherhood is BACK!!!!!

OK PEOPLE…I’m totally going to expose what a UBER-GOOB I am, but I dont’ care.  I’m beyond excited and my heart is all a flutter!  FIRST, it was the upcoming SEX IN THE CITY movie, and NOW, break out your ruffled skirts, tease up your hair and put on some neon because we are gonna do some reminiscing!
GET READY FOR THIS…

The Brotherhood is back!  NKOTB IS BACK!!!   They are back together, and are going to do a concert tour, during which they will perform new music and old!  Oh…it’s SO exciting!  View the NKOTB trailer here.

AND LET’S HEAR IT FOR DONNIE WAHLBERG for his outlook on what is important in life…
Donnie\’s Interview –> CAN I GET AN, “AMEN!” ?

I ALMOST CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF!  These guys were for my generation, what the Beatles were for my mother’s generation….”Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh…Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh…Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh…..THE RIGHT STUFF!”  Can you stand it?  It makes me want to jump up, criss cross my legs, turn around with my head down in my crossed arms, then look up with athority! 

    
  

Hahah…where can I buy my tickets???!!!  I feel like I’m twelve again!  :)  The only question now, before I get lost in their music, hotness, and Joey’s eyes is…  (Oh yes!  They still have some hotness!) 

…will their new music avoid being a big disappointment?  I have such high expectations.  I hope they ROCK!

If you want to learn more…go to: www.nkotb.com  :)  :) 

Here are a couple links to their music video’s, to help you begin remembering…:)  (I know, I’m a goob.)
Step By Step
Hangin’ Tough

And…Mark your calendars…May 16th - They’ll be live in the plaza on the Today Show.

Now I’m going to hunt down my cassette…

A BLOGGIN BREAK

I’m sorry all…I usually blog every day, but I’ve been more focused on creating some new pieces with different materials and I’ve been slacking on my blog.  I do have a new artist to feature, which will be coming up sometime this week, and then I’ll show you what I’ve been up to.  Sometimes we just need a break, so today and tomorrow are mine.  I might post a picture or a poem, or a quote, but it won’t be anything that requires great thought or time.  Until I am back…I’ll share a picture that I’ve been looking at over the weekend.  It’s a cute picture of one of my neices (Ashley) peeking through a play house window, (when she was a little younger) whom I miss very much… 

 

WordPress Changes

Alright, for all of you bloggers who do not use WordPress, the newsflash is that WordPress has a NEW dashboard.  It seems more powerful and it offers a lot, with regard to improvements, but it is STUCK ON STUPID in some areas and we are still waiting for WordPress to work out the kinks. 

That said, my only major complaint is that they never sent an email out to prepare you for the changes.  Some people were even in the middle of an edit and the whole screen changed on them, causing a lot of uproar in the WP community.  In my humble opinion, the new dashboard, in all of its functionality, is actually quite a nice change.  The blogging stats they provide are WAY powerful, and although there are a lot of people complaining, who just want the old dashboard back, CHANGE IS GOOD.  I can’t seem to get my widget edits to save, but other than that, I’m not having any major issues.

I’d like to know how other WP bloggers feel about the changes.  Are readers seeing anything new?  What is your overall experience, given the new dashboard?  Any thoughts on your experience?

New, From My Favorite Etsy Sellers…

As I promised, here are some great new items from some of my favorite Etsy Sellers. (Click on any of the images below to open a new window and learn more about the item)

Have a wonderful and blessed day!