A perfect winter storm

 Our little temporary vacation home in the town   of Bisbee is experiencing its version of winter. Cold winds howled through the night and brought  rain and timid fits  of snow. Cal , I and of course Scooty and Peanut are  cozied in the for the day with a warm fire going which  we burned through the night. I have my little table of creativity going  on by the fire  and  I work a little then plop down on  the sofa  every now and then for  bit of reading. I am  finally finishing "Water for Elephants" ONE GOOD BOOK  . Cal has pasta planned for dinner.  I reckon it could not get any better then this !

 Remnants of the  summer hang in view of our living room window .

My palette seems even brighter as  the gray day swirls around my window views .

This is life

The joy of getting older, is getting wiser and for me that  means  knowing  oneself better  . I know what  makes me happy, what makes  me stressed  ( the phone for one thing - Tee hee) , what brings me peace, joy and energy . The thing is I  feel  I am  still not mature  enough to figure out how to quiet the voices in my head. The ones that  say you  " should" as in you "should" be doing this or  that  you "should" have  done  certain things  at this point  in your life , etc....  The endless lists I make for myself  that never get done . Well this past week I have  spent my time  doing just  what makes me happy.  These things are - Being kind to my husband , spending time with my pups , making art , sitting in the  sun , walks , hot baths , hot chocolate , warm  fires and reading. I have not been able to read in years. I just have not been able to quite my mind enough to comprehend what I am trying to  read .  This last week I read an  entire  book . I am truly  at  peace, just  for now. Just this  moment, that  is all one can  ask for, just  the   precious  present.   Here I am content   . Here in  Bisbee this  tiny little mountain town  nestled in a deep  canyon  . Merry Christmas  to all . Hugs Julie

A good book- Charming Billy ...

"The one that got away" made this week for  Kim's Husband ....

 I also created  another "Heart in Home"  .....

and Peanut seems at peace too!!!

winter escape

Cal and I packed the truck tuesday , loaded with tons of art supplies including  Scooter , Peanut , Cal's golf  clubs ,  good reading  books, the 4th  season of Dexter  and headed for a special  winter get away for 5 weeks in the old mining town turned artistic  enclave of Bisbee Arizona . I had never heard of this place but Cal had and he has a special eye for finding wonderful places to visit. I am smitten!!! The climate is  perfect so far , sixties  during the day and perfectly cool  at night  for warm fires .The town is  charmingly nestled in a deep canyon high in the mountains ( 6000 feet) .It resembles  a European village,  the homes are built just about anywhere they can safely perch one  .Long  Staircases  and   winding  roads  connect  owners  to  their homes. The style is Victorian/ bungalow/ cottage early last  century in style . So much charm and not much change except  for a  bright coat of paint  here and there. In it's  hey day the town   was a bustling  copper mine  town of 20 thousand . Now it boast about 6000. Which is much better then most mining towns   can say  these days . I hope to post many  pictures in the next weeks to  give each of you a feel and hopefully the bug to visit this enduring little bit of history.

 Oh the color!!!

Give me a hammer and some paint.....

....then  just add a  little  lace in the windows 

and I am in love,

Scooty and Peanut are a perfect fit .

Love  the local wild life .

Getting exercise is not a problem here.....

 

and treasure  hunting is at a premium !!

This fence rail was  just leaning on an

 old  abandoned building of which there seems to be many . 

Update on Jan 21 22 23 Classes

Terri and I have moved our  Jan 21 22 23  teaching venue to the Urban Barn in Escondido CA. It will be  a bigger space so more room to make a  creative mess !!  It will be so fun, just look at this space all in beautiful southern CA. I cannot  wait as I hope to see many of you I have not seen in a while!

"The Pitch"

Boy do I hate pitching myself. Don't we all, but on the other hand I try to tell people to go out with confidence  and tell others about themselves .Try your best to  push yourself to succeed no matter how hard  it  may be to do so .  Practice self confidence as  it is very becoming. We women must do this  and try especially hard   if  we are artist who tend to be a bit shy by nature  . It is also nice to support each other by spreading the word about others we know and what they do . It helps us all as women to  network and   succeed . So here I go practicing what I preach .Here is an  image of  my newsletter for the coming year which I just sent out   this A.M . I made it on my soft ware  I -Works in" Pages" .  I also  just signed up with Terri Brush to do a duo 3 day retreat at the  Urban Barn In Escondido Ca Jan 21, 22 23 we will each teach  3 classes in 3 days with  meals included .   I am doing" memories of the Heart " , "Just Bee" and "Hanging Around" I fun mix of many of my techniques. Here is the link to see more detail.http://www.juliehaymaker.com/site/Classes.html

                                                     Hanging Around

                                                     Memories of the Heart            

The is " Just Bee" I just  made for Jill and also decided to teach it as a class!

My news letter.

Just Bee

 Well I leave in the A.M. for Home!!! It has been a very intense 7 weeks . Mom has been home from treatment  for 2 weeks  and in her new home .She is doing amazing. She is a changed woman and making her continued recovery from hoarding and other problems her priority. I am filled with so much joy and peace for her and my family.  I am also filled with much hope for her continued recovery and that will depend  on if she stays with her healing program .It is now in her hands .She has the tools and support . One day at a time. All this  just goes to  show us  that we  are never to old to change. Just  Bee --- the person we want to be . Just Bee   is a   commission I squeezed in  for Jill  this last week   while in   the midst of the whirl  wind of  helping Mom make the change .  It was great to be creative . Art is my saving grace as I am sure it is for  many of you too.

Inspired

Just for today be grateful for what you do have .

The pups are waiting for me to come home

My blog , home and art life has been collecting dust  again but this time for a good cause !! I have been doing another family project !! It is for  my Mom  as she has taken a major step  in seeking help with her  self destructive patterns . 2  1/2 weeks ago she entered  a 4 week retreat program to  seek  help in becoming a more whole and healthy person !!! I could  not be prouder. In exchange for her willingness to do this work on her self  I  am willing and agreed  to be there for  her  and give her the support she needs through the process, which so far has been  being  with her  for 1 week before she went into the program , moving  her into a smaller home and  getting rid of the millions of  hoarded  boxes of   clutter at her old home. I did and am  doing this  while she  is  in the program . This week ( week 3 ) of her program  I am  also doing a  4 day   family week with her to help us both  learn  to communicate better , It has been good, but hard .  I then go back  friday to her home and  finish up more move details  like the estate sale details at her old house  . Hopefully I will have time to  pop home for a visit next week  and then back again  to bring her home and   spend   the first  2 weeks  with her at her  new home in  order to help her  make the adjustment to her new patterns of living and life style . I am sure it will take another life time of work but 2 weeks should help a  bit and many more visit in the future  IF she stays  healthy, but IF not then back to tough love. What more could a daughter  ask of her 73 year old mother but to have the courage to change  and make these  changes at 73 !!! Yippee!!!!! What a great gift she is giving her self and her loved ones !!!  I am so hopeful and happy for her and the family as my Mom has been in crisis  mode for some time and  many family members have been heavy hearted . Please all rejoice with me and remember -As long as there is life their is hope !!Now  the other side of this is my artwork  business and home life have  had to take a major back seat . So  please say a prayer that all will be ok with those things  when I get back to my life again  . And  I want to say  a" Big Thanks "to Cal for being so supportive and helping my Mom with the move too!! Love you Sweetie!!!You have come a long way too!! And I know Peanut and Scooter miss me too and wait patiently for me to arrive back home with them where I belong.

heading to Atlanta

In the morning I head to  Atlanta Georgia to teach two classes  at Jill Coopers I have not yet met Jill  and yes  she is really married  to Jack- Tee Hee . I am sure  it will feel as if we  have known each other as  she is part of "the  clan" you know- creative folks !!  I know it  will be another "best time". Speaking of creative folks  and best times ,when I was teaching in  Portland at  Art and Soul , 2 weeks ago , I did the  three day class with  Nina Bagly .What can I say about this woman , she  is an old soul!! My soul is just a teenagers compared to her.  Here is what I made. The class was called " because I want to remember"  and yes I learned a lot and will remember the Nina wire wrap  !! Thanks   Nina.

Solona Beach CA fun Nov. 19 20 21

  I want to post today about 2  friends  Terri Brush and Deb Hodge  If you live in southern CA mark a date for Nov. 19, 20 , 21 when   they will both be in Solana Beach southern CA . This is a very sweet place to attend a wonderful vendor event at the Mermaid Mercantile and see Deb's wonderful  wearable art  as well as other unique vendor wares . Then hop up the stairs to a sun filled studio and take 1 , 2 or all 3  days of fun classes with Terri Brush !!  This sweet little beach town has not lost its bygone small beach town feel either and makes for one wonderful pre holiday fun filled weekend. Think -pretty home, pretty body adornement , pretty art  and Pretty NICE people!!

Terri's work!!! and just one of the fun items  you will make !

Deb's work and just one of the fun items  you can wear!!

Art in Soul Portland

I am all snugged into bed in my hotel suite in Portland  for  Art and Soul this week .   I teach  3 classes   and get to take a 3 day class with Nina  Bagly . My sister Lorrie   is coming  in  for the class  with Nina too (  Time with Lorrie  is always my best time!!) . I left behind a wonderful mess in my stuido as I  created up a storm  . How come ones  studio  has to end up  looking  like this ( see below )  to create this...
                                                                        .

  I made this for the teapot art auction. The theme is Wonderland!!I had to add a  Stempunk twist .

OMG!!

Peanut  thought if she perched on my suit case she could go too.

The whole process of me packing and creating just exhausted Scooty!

fun things in the works Heytommy shop!!!

Lots of fun stuff going on , summer is over  and it seems it is time to get on the stick and I did. I FINALLY got my web site updated with a new look and added my on line shop which I had wanted to do forever. I sell stuff that I use in my art work and  classes . I was printing this long supply  list of all the places I buy my items and giving it out to students when I taught. I found it was getting complicated  for them and me . So why not just offer everyone "one stop" shopping so they can  go to my site and buy the items  they want and not have to buy them in the bulk like I do for some of the items !! As time goes by I will add more and more things.  I have cute hand crocheted flowers coming in next week  and unpainted game pieces,  paints etc...YIPPEE.  It should be fun and most of all easier for my students and other folks . By the first of the year I hope to have a few kits with dvd instructions.  Cal is building me an awesome light box for shooting the classes with our dvd camera so we get really good light and quality. Well, here it is HEYTOMMY .That is  name   I  also use for my shop on ETSY   . It is a combo of Haymaker Thompson TEE HEE!!  If you have any suggestions for items for me to carry in the shop  that you do not see let me know  .  Oh and USA shipping is free. I am having  trouble with my new web  site publishing right now for some folks wwwjuliehaymaker.com I have contacted Tiger technologies about it, so I hope to is all worked out in the next few days. Yuk!!! Computer tech. stuff!!!! What a love hate relationship.

Just some of the stuff in my shop!!

Fish Out of Water

Another mindless ramble... Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water, my mouth is always  opening and closing . But instead of gasping for air, words come out. I will run my mouth  about anything!!! Sometimes the most  shocking things things are spewed out  but most the time it is  just mindless chatter.  ( help I've started talking and I cannot stop!!) .Often I will feel   guilt  about all this chatter and wish so badly I could make some of the words come back. It amazes me when I meet so many people that are able to censor themselves and therefore in my mind  they are so " nice" . I am just not one for those people. For those  of you who know me  you can also  say "and she even chatters on about chattering" !!! I guess this post is just another one of those chattering moments, but instead of my voice I am using   cyber space to ramble .Well today I am off to teach an all day class. It is one of my favorite projects and the first time I am teaching it at the Frenzy Stamper , "Shelf Life".  Maybe I will bring  ear plugs for the students so they can tune me out when they need to. Tee HEE

 PS -I did the frog jump callenge  ( bellow post and link)  , correct  about 3 times  but for the life of me I do not know how it happened.  Try it it's silly fun!!!

Leap frog !!!

For a while I have been having a hard time keeping my brain on a train of thought. I feel even flakier then ever. Is it age or what !!???  Well I droped by a new blogger friends Blog and he had this link to a puzzle. I could  not resist trying . Yikes! now a feel even duller !How do you do this darn thing?????
http://funstufftosee.com/frogleaptest.html

New on Pfatt market

Every month  on the 10th I list new items on Pfatt market . These are 2 pieces I did, inspired by my smaller ( tiny) versions . It is fun for me to see how things change when you work in different sizes .
 The artist Jeff Koons  has been doing this for years taking basic irelevent small objects and blowing them way up in size. He oftern works in chrome . Also  think of  the Sta puff marshmallow man in the old movie Ghost Busters. Oh do not worry mine are NOT ten feet tall ( TEE HEE) .Only about 12 - 17 inches.

Inspiration and influences

Number 2 in my  series  on inspiration and influences. From time to time , as I had stated in a past  post   I want to feature artist that I am inspired by and as before  if you feel I have overstepped my boundaries let me know . I just want to say very few of us have an original thought yet in that  all of us are original !! Life, nature, society  are all  influences. This is good and unavoidable if you are a visual person. This post is dedicated to the the artist Elizabeth Frank ( her esty). I first saw  her work at Sequoia, a  unique gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico . I lusted after this Angel  for 6 months and then I took the plunge and had to have it which meant a special order from her as the piece I had original saw  was long gone . . . 3   years later when  working on some pieces to teach at Hacienda de  Mosaico  I  put my influence to work along with my other techniques to create my pieces called "Someone  to Watch Over Me". Here we go....

Elizabeth Frank's work

My Angels 

Tunnel Vision

What do  you see??? I took this shot on a recent road trip .  I thought it was very thought provoking .  I would love to hear your  thoughts???

Somtimes you have to risk everything for art !!

 Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to my art direction and asking a lot of questions. It has left me rather confused and without motivation, as I question what I am doing,  what are  my goals, am I enjoying it, do I have what it takes to make it and what is making it , am I using  my talents  to the best of my ability . And the  biggest of all... how do I do this and try to deal ( yes I will say it) with my  bipolar  mood swings. Moods  that can sometime bring me to my knees with deep depressions, severe  social anxieties and then the hoping and waiting for that manic high when one can succeed at everything one dreams of!!!!   Well, this morning  I woke up and went to my  list of blogs I follow and  Angela Racada had posted this moving  UTube short ,it just touched me deeply . I have to share it too. Thanks Angela . 

And the winner is ......

Cranial Purge!!  Thanks to  all who joined in the  fun and  visiting my site and reading  my ramblings !!!  Here also  are the pictures of my little garden ( always a work in progress) but the little tiny pond is up and working !!!You can hardy see it because I love to garden and  clutter the garden with plants and rocks  In a few years you will not even see the rocks as  "hopefully" they  will be covered with the mature crawling type plants a scattered aournd  the rocks. I have posted the last water feature I did in the graden of  our last house we moved from last aug 2009 . It was on  much bigger scale, but I loved it!!! The birds did  too and the dogs and the cats .In this  new one  I created a small little rock steeping stone for the birds  to land on as  they can  fall into the water  and drown , did you know that ?? Well  enjoy!! hugs Julie  ----and for those how did  not win the spoon  I hope you can make one !! And I will keep the kit up for a bit longer  and the post will asawys be in  my old post for review . Oh and I can  make one for anyone who wants to order one . But I am as slow as a rock.

Before May 2010

After , Aug 2010

After , Aug 2010

 Aug 2010 The tiny new pond . It is deep and can keep fish all, year !!! But of course we will keep a heater in it for the birds and fish!!

Old garden, 2008

Old Garden ,2008  I have to say I miss this garden the most about the old house .but hopefully the  little  new one will look like this on a small scale in a few years too and a lot   less work !!! I hope to plant lots  of bulbs  this fall.