Lemonade Award

I was honored to find that my friend Kathleen Krucoff nominated me for a Lemonade Award. She's a talented artist whose stained glass work and beautiful glass jewelry are always an inspiration and a joy to look at. Kathleen has been consistently kind and supportive, leaving positive comments that have often cheered me up and made my day. She probably has no idea how important to me her encouragement has been. I'm very grateful to Kathleen and others who've taken the time to share their thoughts with me.

What is a Lemonade Award? It is awarded to bloggers that show a positive attitude and gratitude.
Here are the rules for the award:
1.Put the logo on your blog or post
2.Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.
3.Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.
4.Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.
5.Nominate your favorites and link to your post.

And the nominees are (drumroll).....


A View Beyond Words
Altered Attic
Art Propelled
STONZ
Lone Crow Art and Collage
Pinch me to see if you're dreaming
The Altered Page
Carol Engles Art
Quiet Girl Gallery
Brainworks

All of these wonderful artists, are, to me, great examples of what a positive attitude is. Please visit their blogs and see for yourself.

Good News

Well, I've been busy and I wanted to update everyone on what I've been up to. I have some good news to share.

Exciting news! My work has been selected to be featured in the book "Art Buzz: The 2009 Collection." An annual, full color, hardback, 'coffee table' type book, this publication showcases the work of professional artists from around the world. I'm honored to be included in the 2009 Collection, which will be available for purchase directly from the publisher later this winter.

In October, my work was juried into the Artist Guild of Northwest Georgia 1st Annual Open Online Art Competition. "Moonshadows" was awarded 1st place for mixed media. You can view the show at their website.

I was fortunate to be accepted into the organization "Artists Who Teach", a group of fine artists who are also teachers. Membership is juried, and there is some very nice work on this site. You can see my profile here, at the bottom of the page. Also, if you have a chance, look for my work in their ad in the December issue of American Style Magazine.

While I sometimes get frustrated with the lack of sales (which is understandable in this economy), I guess this just goes to show that if you just keep pluggin' away, eventually something will happen. I am definitely the tortoise rather than the hare. I'm developing kind of a zen attitude about all this- enjoy the process and don't worry about the outcome, or something like that. Maybe it should be "Ride with the tide, and go with the flow" as James Taylor and Carly Simon sang so long ago. Well anyway, I'm trying.

1st Place Award

Some very nice things have happened in the past couple of days, one of them being that I found out I won a first place award for this mixed media piece, MOON SHADOWS, at the AGNWG 1st Annual Online Art Competition. There is some very nice work in this show, and you can still vote for the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD until the end of the month. (Shameless plug: Vote for me! Vote for me!)

Another nice thing is that I was juried onto the Artists Who Teach site; you can find my profile here.

And, last but certainly not least, I finally got my electricity back after 6 days. Even though I'm in Kentucky, Hurricane Ike was able to reach out its long arms and knock down countless trees and power lines, leaving 90% of Duke Energy's customers in the dark. You have no idea how wonderful hot water can feel- and my computer still works, too!!