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August 16, 2008 - October 9, 2008
October 9, 2008
I had the most wonderful experience yesterday. The
restaurant where I am working is displaying Jonas
Gerard's paintings for sale! He came in and I was able to
actually sit down and talk with him. He also deferred to me
for some advice for which ones to hang where! I was
thrilled. He hung 7 paintings in the restaurant, and they
are all beautiful! We talked about paints, and I got some
recommendations on which colors I should definitely have
in my palette. We also talked about his favorite time of day
to paint, and I guessed the right times - 3:00 a.m. - 6:00
a.m. I can't recall the term he used for that time, but it's
when most people are asleep and so there is less energy
floating around in the universe around us. There is more
stillness and it is a better time to tap into our energy inside.
I have gotten to the point where I like to paint at or
before 6:00 a.m., so hearing this was no surprise. I also
reiterated my story to him about how I had been in a
depression and someone recommended me going to his
gallery. That gave me the jolt I needed and was the start
of my renewed interest in painting earlier this year. He
wants me to write up something for his web site (like a
testimonial). Of course, I said I would be happy to. I was
on Cloud 9. And now, every day when I go into work, I get
to see the paintings of my favorite artist! God has given
me such a gift!
My Dad is doing better - I think they are going to be moving
him to the nursing home today. I have been praying for
God's will, whatever that may be. I just don't want him to
suffer.
Seven got shaved down - she looks like a pug! She was
scratching and licking herself so I thought it would help. I
think she must have allergies. I told Delores that "ugly
dogs need love too." She really does look like a freak.
Check it out:
Before: After:
Poor ugly baby! I mean - WOW. I hope it grows out soon.
It's like having another dog! O.k., Celeste, let's not be
shallow. :)
Delores is still coming along great with her book. It gets
better every installment. I can't wait until it's finished - I
have no doubts that she will get a publisher.
Have a great day!
celeste
October 8, 2008
Happy Wednesday. Thanks to those of you who offered
well-wishes and/or asked how the art show went.
Basically, you could hear crickets! It's o.k., it was worth a
shot. And my work will be in the salon for two months, so
you never know. It's almost like having free gallery space.
My fiction class instructor indicated an intention of buying
one of the paintings there and said he'd email me. I
haven't heard from him yet, but keeping my fingers
crossed. I have to keep trying. Period, the end. I am
fortunate to have the opportunity.
My Dad is in the hospital. He had another "mini stroke" and
is having trouble swallowing, so they have him on a feeding
tube and administering all of his fluids intravenously. They
don't know whether it will be permanent or not. I am just
praying that God brings him comfort and trying to accept
God's will for him, whatever that may be.
I have been sick the last two days. Feeling weak and my
chest has been hurting. D has had bronchitis and other
people around at work have been sick, so I have been
taking vitamins and trying to rest, with varied success. I
feel more rested today so I am going to try to put in a full
day at work. My biggest concern is that I will be taking
care of a friend recovering from surgery for two weeks
starting Friday and I need to be well to take care of her
and her family. I have been praying a LOT asking God to
make me well so that I can be there for her and it seems to
be working. I read The Purpose Driven Life Messages
daily, and the other day it said that if you don't ask God for
something specifically, how will you know if he answered
your prayers? So, yesterday and last night I decided to
specifically ask that I feel better. Seems to be working so
far!
That reminds me. I posted the church sign I had
mentioned.
It's a rainy morning here in Candler. Better get ready for
work. Hope your week is going well!
Peace and love,
celeste
October 4, 2008
Happy Saturday. I've added a few new poems (at the end
of the page). I am trying to write more. Not forcing, but
being open to whatever may come into my head. It is early
morning, and I am going to go do some painting before our
Asheville Writing Enthusiasts meeting this morning, which
we are really looking forward to. I was going to go into
work for a while, but I am getting burned out already. So,
God has a way of letting me know my limitations. Being
exhausted and cranky when I get home is not the answer.
I need balance. And I still need to remember that I am in a
process - I can't go from 0 to 100 overnight. I saw a great
church sign this morning when I went out for cigarettes. It
said something to the effect of "God's ability is not limited
by our inability." How perfect. I am going to get a picture
of it for my Church Signs page.
Wishing you a happy weekend,
celeste
October 1, 2008
Happy October, ya'll! I added the video of Tina Fey and
Sarah Poehler as Sarah Palin and Katie Couric.
I started my new job - so far, so good.
Hope you have a great Wednesday!
Peace,
celeste
September 29, 2008
I've added a couple of church messages. We've made a
decision concerning church. After visiting New Hope, our
church in VA, we have decided that we can't "settle" for
the church we are currently attending. I won't go into the
reasons why. The important thing is that New Hope is high
tech and has an audio feed that is updated weekly. They
also have notes from the service that you can download in
addition to being able to take notes during the audio feed
that you can email to yourself. So, after our morning walk
on Sundays, we are going to sit down together and
"attend" the previous week's service. We have done two
already, and in addition to saving lots of gas (in case you
didn't know, there is a monumental gas shortage here) we
will be getting our message from a Christian pastor that is
beyond excellent. I remember when I was a kid, and my
Mom forced me to go to Catholic church. I used to try to
bargain with her by saying that instead of going to church,
couldn't I just watch an hour of a T.V. Evangelist? It does
feel a little like cheating, but honestly, we don't need the
fellowship aspect of church. We just need a good message
and the prayers. Without the music, preferably. :) So, this
new approach will take care of both. I will continue to take
notes and post them, to keep myself in check and have
something tangible to read and think about.
I finally sold a painting at Silent Poetry. I was concerned
that the owners' 100% mark-up would preclude me from
selling anything, because my asking price was reasonable.
But it's nice to have sold one.
I got my paintings set up for my reception on Saturday. I
already got a commitment from my fiction class teacher,
which is an honor. I have learned my lesson about
expectations, I hope, and my ego cannot be a factor.
Delores helped me figure out (actually, she pretty much
figured it all out) the placement in the salon. They are
presented pretty well. My concern is that no one has
money to spend on art right now. But someone has to! :)
On another happy note, I have a job. I think. We'll see
how it goes. I will basically be running a restaurant from
the "back end." Actually, I will be the owner's right hand
so she can do what she is supposed to do - be a chef. I
can rely on the staff to help me with keeping the ball
rolling, I just need to be organized and make sure things
get taken care of. Organization is my strong suit, and I
don't go to work to make friends, so I think it'll work out -
if it's God's will.
Hope all is well in your world,
celeste
September 26, 2008
Click here to see the ad for my opening reception on
October 4th that will run in the Mountain Xpress
newspaper!
September 24, 2008
Just got back from our trip up north. It was a fun visit.
Me posing in front of Delores' friend John's 40s-era bench
made out of bullet punch plates from WWII; an interesting
statue (carved out of a U.S. Capitol step!) at John's with a
sign that reads "Friends Aplenty."
For pics from the trip, go to my Birthday Trip page.
Also, I have posted pics and information from my trip to the
Workhouse Arts Center (a minimum security prison
converted into an arts center) as well as pics from our hike
at Sugarloaf Mountain.
Hope you have a great Wednesday!
Peace,
celeste
September 19, 2008
Happy Friday! Just saw some movies recently:
Juno: loved it. The soundtrack is even better than the
movie.
Dan in Real Life: sucked. I mean really sucked.
Baby Mama: disappointing, at least for me.
The Women: mediocre. Save your money.
I got a new fishin' pole and the requisite camouflage
shorts. Watch out, trout! We'll see if Delores is willing to
cook them. I haven't scaled a fish since I was a kid, but I
remember how to. I just need a refresher on how to fillet
the fish and get my knife sharpened.
Hope your week was good and that your weekend is even
better. I am going to the Workhouse Arts Center tomorrow
with my sister. Should be very interesting.
We have a hike planned with Michele at Sugarloaf Mountain
Sunday. I am looking forward to it.
Peace,
celeste
September 17, 2008
In case you missed it, the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin SNL skit is
posted on my Video page. I also added a couple of funny
personal videos.
September 8, 2008
So, yesterday was the big Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun
Festival. Let me just say that all in all, it was a good day.
Lots of people-watching, music, food, big crowds. I did sell
one painting. Yes, I would have liked to have sold more,
but I am grateful that I was able to sell one. I got some
big bites, and lots of people checking them out and picking
up my business cards. One gentleman asked if I would do
some commission pieces for his home, and I said I would.
We'll see if he contacts me. I dropped off a card at a local
gallery and perhaps they will contact me as well. I still
have lots of options to explore. For pics from the event, go
to my LAAFF page.
I did get things settled yesterday for my opening reception
at Adorn Salon and Boutique. It will be Saturday, October
4th from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. A wine and cheese typical thing.
It will be nice to have an opening. They will advertise the
event, maybe some people will show up for free booze. :)
ANY exposure is good exposure, right?
Hope your Monday is happy. I turn 39 tomorrow!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
September 6, 2008
We did a hike to the Mt. Pisgah summit yesterday. Wow.
It was rated as strenuous, but we figured, hey, it's only
1.5 miles, no problem. Ahem. The only thing greater than
the size of my arse was my determination to make it to the
top (cue Rocky theme). The views were worth it! Check
out my Mt. Pisgah page for the beautiful pics!
September 5, 2008
Happy Friday, everyone! We definitely have the hiking
bug. Yesterday we went to Graveyard Fields off the Blue
Ridge Parkway. We are going to hike Mt. Pisgah today,
which is considered a "strenuous" hike, but it's only a little
over a mile so we can handle it. Here are a couple of pics
from yesterday, for more go to my Graveyard Fields page.
September 4, 2008
I've got my tent set up all ready to go for Sunday. It looks
a lot better than the set up on the 4th. I am looking
forward to it.
Delores and I went on a trip to Hooker Falls yesterday.
Click here to see the rest of the pics from our trip. It was
really cool. Have a great day!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
September 3, 2008
Yesterday was a good day. I did some exchanges at The
TAAS Gallery in preparation for Sunday. I wanted to get
some of my smaller paintings, thinking they might sell.
Then, after doing the pain-in-the-arse task of painting the
sides of my newest paintings, I decided to go for a hike up
to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I got some great pics.
Click here to go to my page from the hike.
Have a great "hump day"!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
September 2, 2008
Happy September, ya'll! I am getting ready for this
Sunday. I hope it goes well, but I am going to check my
ego at the door. It should be great exposure either way.
I sold a painting yesterday at Urban Burrito. That's the
third one I have sold there. Just goes to show that I can't
discount any opportunity to sell my art. Who would think
that someone coming in to buy a burrito would decide to
buy something to take home and put on their wall? It paid
for dinner. Very cool.
I got a call from Adorn Salon & Boutique. I am going to be
displaying my art at their salon in October & November
instead of November & December. I would prefer that, so
I was happy. It's in a good location. Not prime, but good.
Near some coffee and head shops. They offered to hold
an opening reception for me and put a black-and-white ad
in the local Mountain Express paper (if you live near DC,
think City Paper) to advertise the reception. I would have
to provide refreshments and pay one of the staff for their
help. I am going to do it. Whether it's well attended or
not, at least I can say I've had an opening reception. :)
It's like resume-building. I will put an ad in craigslist and
invite the few people I know here. Maybe they can tell a
friend, and so on, and so on...(did that conjure up the old
70's shampoo commercial?)
We had our Artist's Way group yesterday. It was
interesting. I am committed to completing this course and
I am getting something from it. We all bring different
things to the table.
Today I plan to work on a character sheet and work more
on the outline for my book. I haven't done anything
relative to the book since our class. I want to make some
progress. Part of the reason I am doing the Artist's Way
group is to alleviate some of the creative blockage I have
been experiencing in regards to writing, whether it's
poetry or fiction. I devote a lot of time and effort to
painting, but I want to make some time to devote to
writing too. I don't want my brain turning to mush.
Hope you have a great Tuesday!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
August 29, 2008
Happy Friday! Today we went on a kayaking trip with our
friend Ben. Both Delores and I had been white water
rafting and been canoeing, but had never kayaked before.
It was fun. We are going to make a longer trip next time.
We are planning to go Sunday. Here are a few pics, for
more go to my kayak trip page.
_______________________________________________
August 26, 2008
Our friend Michele left today. We are getting wicked
storms here. We did yesterday too. So, we decided to go
for a hike to some great waterfalls about 30 miles from
Asheville. Here's a couple of pics, to see more go to my
page from the hike.
I got this picture by climbing through rocks and water to
get to the base of the falls (there are three major falls that
cascade down from the top). I always feel younger when
I am in the outdoors - I love to get muddy and wet!
Me and Delores at the first overlook. I try to keep my
Demon hidden, but the eyes give it away.
We had a tremendous time and you should really check out
the pics - they are beautiful.
Sending peace and love from a stormy mountain in Candler,
celeste
_______________________________________________
August 24, 2008
Our friend Michele is visiting from up North (Maryland).
She is a chef and owns her own restaurant, so let's just
say that we're eatin' in style in Candler, ya'll.
Here's a pic of her about to take my Gary Fisher for a test
drive.
She had no trouble getting up the mountain - twice! We
three are going on a bike ride at Bent Creek during her
visit. We are also going to hike to some waterfalls. That
should be great.
Michele has a lot of energy, to say the least. We went for
a long walk and did a tiny bit of running. We've been
inactive for about 6 weeks so it was like starting over, but
a great impetuous to keep it up.
Not sure what's on tap for today. She is going to help us
prepare our tent set up (she's also handy with tools and
such - me, I'd end up decapitated if I operated a saw) for
September 7th. I need a way to display my paintings that
looks organized and well put together, unlike July 4th's
fiasco.
Hope you are having a great weekend!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
August 22, 2008
I added two new paintings to the gallery. The newest
pieces are at the end.
Today we will be trying to get this old house as clean as
possible for a spontaneous visit from a friend up North.
We are really looking forward to the visit.
Do you like silly movies? We are thinking of going to see
The Pineapple Express. It's gotten good reviews,
surprisingly.
Hope you have a great Friday!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
August 19, 2008
I got an email from a friend which had "The World's Most
Interesting Creatures." It had some really cool ones that I
had never heard of. Here are a couple of my favorites:
The Blobfish. A friend of my brother-in-law's said "If it had
a cigar in its mouth, it could be my uncle."
The Dumbo Octopus. I think I have met this creature
before.
I have a bunch more. If you'd like to see them, send me
an email.
_______________________________________________
Today I have some writing to do - I am going to do my
weekly write-up from church. Pretty interesting sermon I
want to comment on. Stay tuned. I know you are on the
edge of your seat.
I also want to register for a class which is in follow up to
the previous class I took on writing fiction. The follow up
class is called "Write Like a Pro." Sounds fantastic. Same
teacher, the gentleman who facilitates the Asheville
Writing Enthusiasts group, David Pereda. He is a really
bright guy. And nice, too.
Have a great Tuesday!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
August 18, 2008
Well, I am finally getting back into my groove - I think. I
did these two last night:
They are called "Coffee I" and "Coffee II." They are 16 x
20, Acrylic and coffee on canvas. They smell good! Thanks
to musician Kate Maguire, who supplied the coffee grounds.
We have our meeting of the Artist's Way today. We have
some catching up to do. I am looking forward to it.
Have a great day!
Peace,
celeste
_______________________________________________
August 16, 2008
Seven, uninterested in my painting "Falling Backward."
So, it's been a while since I updated the home page. I am
excited to say that I was featured in an article in an
Asheville Area newspaper regarding my art. Click here to
read the article.
Also, I am looking forward to the September 7th Lexington
Avenue Arts & Fun Festival in Asheville. I am hoping that it
will be good exposure to potential buyers of my work.
Delores is moving right along with her book, entitled The
Fine Line. I have been given small installments, and it is a
fascinating story. I will let you know when it has been
published! :)
Update: I've added two new Church Signs.
That's all for now.
Hope all is well in your world.
Peace,
celeste
