I'm a Winner...!

Hooray! So very excited -- I've been privileged to win, by random selection, a prize in the new Ehag's Emporium recent blog giveaway....!

I will be sent a little Halloween Box, in the shape of a sculpted black cat, by the artist Candy, of Howling Moon Designs. It can be seen here.

Thanks so much, Candy...!

Nutcracker '09 Projects

Nutcracker Ballet 'Soldier' and 'Rat' Stick Masks

I did still manage to take on a few fun commissions during the course of my treatments -- here we have my completed projects for this past year's local Nutcracker Ballet production: 5 papier mache Stick Masks (2 Solider and 3 Rat) ...

My Cancer Year.....

So..., a long overdue update....

It's been over a year since I've last posted in this, my lonely, near-abandoned art journal. And indeed, what a year it's been too. It was almost just about this time last year when I first received my personally startling diagnosis of Stage II Breast Cancer.

Well, suffice it to say, while I can't exactly claim it's necessarily been the easiest thing in the world to deal with, I haven't been devastated by it either, not by a long stretch -- willing as I've been to simply take each and every day and its challenges as they come, one at a time. And always along with the love and encouragement of my super network of ever-supportive family and friends, plus a wonderful team of health care professionals, backing me up. I may have had Cancer, but it never had me....

Still, a lot of my typical activities, pursuits and interests were put aside these last many months, simmering on the back burner as it were, as I focused on my health. However now with several surgeries and aggressive chemotherapy under my belt, plus the nearing of the end of a few months of radiation treatments, I'm happy to report my overall prognosis is quite good and I am at peace -- here as I find myself ready and willing to soon kiss my Cancer Year goodbye, and get back to my regularly scheduled Life* and good health....



(*...which naturally includes my artistic life as well -- Huzzah...! :-)

Jumping on the Bandwagon.....

Just for fun... a new 'Art of Patience' Facebook page:

here

Sabbatical

Horse Head Mask commission, for an Arizona ballet production of 'The Nutcracker'....

Just a little blogging hiatus... (be back soon)....

Horse Heads

Funny how these horse head commissions keep coming down the pike. I have yet another pair to make for our local ballet company's production of Cinderella in May. To date I have made well over a dozen of these by now, and the requests still dribble in....

"First Snow", 9 x 12

Third of my three entries into the January '09 Nibblfest Art Contest, as mentioned in my two previous journal posts -- this month's theme being 'Winter Wonderland'....

http://cgi.ebay.com/NFAC-First-Snow-Original-Painting-by-PATIENCE_W0QQitemZ150322313539QQcmdZViewItemQQptZArt_Paintings?hash=item150322313539&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

Born and raised in the Midwest, I feel a real connection with our four dynamic seasons. Very much affected by them (for better or worse), my internal bio-rhythms seem to hum right along with our seasonal transitions. As such I always anticipate and appreciate the unique changes each presents -- in weather, landscape, lifestyle, activities, etc. Personally, I believe it takes the extremes of one season to fully appreciate the extremes of another. For me, life would be likely deadly dull without this recurring dramatic Cycle....

Needless to say, it probably goes without saying that always without fail do I look forward to that very first snow of the season (as well as that LAST one, because by then? I'm usually feeling, "Enough already!"). Because please, what could be more magical than the First Snow...?