First few days in NYC and first celebrity sighting of the summer...

Hi y'all!

I arrived Saturday night and was unpacked and drinking a Brooklyn Lager by 10:30pm...felt good to be back and very  comfortable!

Got up Sunday morning and went to church then down to Riverside Drive for a great cheeseburger while watching the boats coming in and out of the Hudson River

...walked along the river and found the Boathouse Project....I have signed up to be a volunteer on the weekends....it is a group of kayak enthusiast who run 3 different piers and offer free kayaking to anyone interested....they also do volunteer paddle trips during the week....never been in a kayak but it sounds and looked like a lot of fun...I will let you know...my first day is Saturday!

Orientation was yesterday so I got to meet the new 1st year students and see all my friends from last year...it was GREAT to see everyone and catch up in person!

On my way to class today as I was waiting on the bus I spotted Abe Vigoda...Fish from Barney Miller...70's sitcom!  I snuck a picture and sent it to Lucy...her response was, "I honestly thought he was dead"...I thought the same thing but there he was in living color!

Gotta go study now but check back next week for more!

Much Love!
MJ

Extreme Close Up - Oil Pastels...

So part of my workshop this past week involved teaching the kids how to use oil pastels...they LOVED it!  Not nearly as messy as the chalk pastels!

This is a sample of the last project we did for the week...it is an extreme close up of a flower...not my best work but it makes me happy to look at it...it is a small piece...3"x5"ish...

I leave on Saturday, June 26th for NYC...I'm getting really excited to be there and back in the swing of the big city life...this year our art classes at Parson's will be printmaking...something I have never done...you should see some samples in the next 2 weeks...we will see how it goes :)

Much love,
MJ

Children's Artwork...

As I promised last week, here are some of the pictures of my student's artwork...this was from "Painting in the Gardens" a week long class I taught at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens...the kids ranged from 9 to 11 years old....we had a great time!

*Click on an image to enlarge :)

A lazy weekend on the lake...

Is there a better way to spend a beautiful summer weekend?

This weekend I went to Lake Martin with 5 friends....we spent Saturday morning lounging by the pool and then after a quick lunch we hit the lake on the pontoon boat!

The lake house belongs to one friends parents, her aunt and uncle...it sits right on the lake and is 3 stories tall with many, many bedrooms....we have been taking these little trips for over a year now and each time they add to the experience with new stuff...this weekend was the boat and boy did we enjoy that!  On Sunday we had breakfast and went back out on the boat for the majority of the day...we preferred the quiet parts of the lake where we could jump off the boat and float around with our noodles :)  We did go by "Chimney Rock" before it was too crowded but there are really no adventurous ones in the group that wanted to jump off the rocks :)

Now I really want a boat!

Thank you Rebecca, The Smiths and The Mangus' for your generosity and your hospitality!

Much love,
MJ

"Painting in the Gardens"

This week I am working with nine 3rd-5th graders in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens!  We are roaming through the gardens sketching all the beautiful plants and scenery and then we go back into the classroom and paint!  They are using acrylics, watercolors and water soluble markers and they are having a blast!  Their artwork is precious and I will post some of it this weekend!  But in the meantime, here is the watercolor I did of the sunflowers...I'm not much of a watercolorist but I really liked the way it turned out!

Creative Every Day!

So....it has been 6 months since my last post...shame on me! But, today I joined a group called "Creative Every Day!" so I am challenging myself to blog at least once a week and post my new creative endeavors...so stay tuned and I will post some pics soon...I can already feel my creative juices flowing!

We just spent the Memorial Day weekend at Gulf Shores, Al...beautiful weather, beach and water...unfortunately the oil from the oil spill has now reached Mobile's Dauphin Island and is headed towards Gulf Shores and Orange Beach...they haven't closed the beaches yet but it should be any day now....this really makes me sad because these trips have become a tradition and they save my sanity....don't know what I will do if we can't continue them...

In the meantime, let me catch you up on the fam...

Christopher is celebrating his one year "clean" birthday, has a full time job, an apartment and we are so proud of him....he went to the beach with us this past weekend...the first time in many years and we had a great time!

Jacob and Jessica are preparing for their first week as leaders at Camp Winnataska! They are so very excited and I am excited for them...and a little jealous! They will spend the majority of their summer in the woods of the camp we love the best of all! They check in at 9:30 Sunday morning and Lucy and I are going up for church at 11:00...great way to start the summer at the "little brown church" :)

Collin (great nephew) has made All-Stars and will be playing baseball all summer...he spent the majority of his beach time playing imaginary baseball...he truly loves the game!

Brylie Jane (great niece) graduated kindergarten and was given an Art Award! She is quite prissy and we had a great time playing on the beach and eating grapes and cheese...she loves to snack!

Jason graduated high school and will be attending the University of Tennessee in the fall...I know, I know...

Kensley finished her first year on high school and was on the dance line!

Lindsay and Micah are in Ireland even as I type this!

Jennifer and Andy are living in Florida, much closer to the family but still far away :(

Daniel has finished his first year at the Goshen High School band director and did an amazing job with the band!

Karen and Jason are AMAZING parents...the proof is in their kids!

Cleo and Marc are celebrating their Anniversary this month!

Susan and Troy are ridiculously doting grandparents...spoiling Collin and Brylie rotten :)

Johnny and Maria are wrapping up their mission work in Guatemala and will be returning to the states in the Fall....we can't wait!

Lucy is doing great...she is engaged to Jim and they will wait to marry until the twins are seniors so they can stay at Hoover High. She also just got her a sporty new convertible!

Okay, I think that is everyone...

I leave June 26th for NYC to resume my Master's Program and will be learning printmaking this summer...have never done this so it will be fun, stressful and interesting...I'll keep you posted on my progress and of course any celebrity sightings!

Much love
MJ