This Friday is opening night at HERE. A Pop-Up Shop in Annapolis, Maryland.  The women who run this awesome pop-up are amazing and have really helped me become a more serious and dedicated (albeit crazy busy!) artist.  I will always be thankful for their kind words, support and inspiration of local talent. This POP-UP is themed LIVE.LOVE.(shop)LOCAL.  I will be painting LIVE during the week of the shop, so hope to see some of you there!

Come on over on Friday night, 7-9pm at 40 West Street in Annapolis for opening night.  Or come see us any night next week for fun local art, crafts, and vendors.

June's Book Club pick was "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns".  The book was set in Afghanistan, just as his others were, and told the tragic tale of the interwoven lives of several people living in the transitional years before, during and after the Taliban in Afghanistan.  The story was EXTREMELY sad, the book club was a little up in arms about reading such a depressing book (sorry girls!), but Hosseini writes so poignantly and with such talent, that the terrible tale of others disaster and misfortune is still a compelling tale.  We all cried, right?  I hope so.

I always enjoy a story that has the "Crash movie effect".  In other words, everyone's lives are interconnected and woven in such a complicated and interrelated plot.  In the end, the sad tales of one's life are related so closely to the plot of another and it is so very intriguing  to me at least!

What did you guys think?

Join our book club here: 13 in 2013 on Facebook.

Next up, "The Light Between Oceans" for July.  (It's realllllllly good!)

Also, have you checked out this blog (Joy the Baker)?  She has a great round up of Book Club ideas and a collaborative summer reading list!  I love it.  We may have to continue this Book Club for years and years, to get through all of these books! :)

Ok book clubbers, what did you think of our February pick by Kate?  "Sweet Tooth" by Ian McEwan was a good read that got EXCELLENT at the end.  Just in time, because I was a little bored and distracted during the middle, but I am easily distracted.

What did you gals think?

I loved the ending so much!!!!

Next month's book is entitled "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver (thanks Helen!).

Happy reading gals! :)

Hi there! Lets read 13 great books in 2013...shall we?

First book (my choice, Katie gets to pick February's!): "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society". So far, I'm in love! It's compelling! Written in a series of letters which go back and forth from an amazingly unique and refreshing group of very eclectic characters, I literally can't put it down. Love that!

Have you read it?

Want to pick the next book? You do...

Get in on the (nerdy) fun!

Do you remember meeting your best friend(s)?   I giggled as I thought of writing about this because some friends just magically appear in our lives, while we meet others in the funniest (and often times most awkward) situations throughout our lives.

Take, for example, my little brother.  He came home from his first day of 3 year old nursery school with a new best friend: "the boy in the orange shirt".  Unfortunately, Benjamin (as we later came to know him) wore a different colored shirt the next day.  The story ended well with the kind teacher helping my brother find his "new best friend".

I have an "eclectic" group of best friends.  They are awesome.  

Katie is my lifeguard buddy who I met in a pool.  Literally, while swimming in the pool, we said to one another (I remember it as clear as day!), "we are friends".  That was the end of that.  How easy!  Our friendship has been easy (like having an awesome big sister that doesn't judge and literally reads my mind telepathically) ever since.

Bethan is the first friend I made in high school.  I don't remember exactly when it happened, but I do remember seeing her in a lot of my classes and one day striking up a conversation where we literally decided that we were not only best friends, but also sisters.  We decided that since we looked alike, we should be friends.  Period.  The antics began and they haven't stopped many years later!

Megan is one of the friends that I don't remember meeting very well.  She was in my homeroom freshman year and I remember loving and admiring her silliness from the beginning.  All of the sudden, I was telling people that we were friends, no questions asked.  That's exactly how she is.  We are friends, no matter what.  No questions asked.

Katie (not to be confused with Katie above) and Mo (short for Maureen) were a two-for-one friendship deal.  I had classes with both of them and remember thinking "gosh, those girls are cool, I wonder if they would be my friends?"  (Note: This is awfully embarrassing to admit.)  Well, it worked out fabulously and we became a little gang of not just 3 friends (yes, they allowed other people into their force field of friendship!), but 5 (see the two characters above).  We are the type of friends that will go to the beach together as old ladies and sit together in the tide with our drink coozies and giggle until sunset.  I love these girls like sisters.

So, the question is.... How did you meet your best friend (s)?  Do you remember?

Happy Tuesday,

M

This May 18th, Artomatic comes to Crystal City, to take over an old Federal Building that will be knocked down.  Before the demolition begins, Artomatic and hundreds of DC area artists take over and transform the space (for about 2 months) into an awesome center for the arts .  For more information on dates, directions and details, visit their website!  Meet the Artist night is June 2, see you there!?

I found out about this awesome art event from a friend, read about it and signed up right away...no questions asked.  After attending their orientation seminar on Saturday, I am super pumped to share my artwork (check me out on the 1st floor by the cafe!) and to meet other artists and hear all about their adventures and work.

On Sunday, I am headed to a baby shower for 3 ladies at work who are expecting.  Thinking of what they need and can actually use as new moms got me thinking of a post that I have been meaning to write for months!  Today, I am sharing 5 of the nicest and "not so nice" things that I have noticed people saying about newborn babies and their shell shocked, but love struck new mamas (and papas!).  

5 kind / awesome things to say to someone who just had a baby: 

1.  "Your baby is beautiful."

(end of story)  No matter how many times you hear it, it never gets old.  I like to call this comment "the classic".

2.  "You look beautiful."

(are you seeing a trend here yet?)  Just tell a woman that she makes it look good.  Even if she doesn't.  It feels nice! 

3.  "You guys make a good looking / cute / adorable kid."

This comment is great because it's not especially emotional or cheesy, but covers the "your baby is beautiful and so are you, mama" comments which I love so much.

4.  "Can I come over and clean your house / do your dishes / go shopping for you"?

The only thing I wanted to do after having our little one was hold her while she was sleeping and maybe even drift off to sleep too.  Visitors insisted on holding her, which was fine, but I felt like I should have first dibs.  Some wise friends and family members brought food (bonus points!), cleaned (double bonus!) and even went on errands for us.  Now, these are friends! 

5.  "You guys are doing a great job, you are naturals."

Sincere and kind.  You can't go wrong.  

5 comments to avoid:

1.  "Your baby looks just like your husband."

 Mine does.  Which means that she is adorably cute and has cheeks that you could pinch for days.  BUT, for some reason (9 months + hours of labor), I wanted to hear that she looked just a tiny bit like me.  Call me crazy, but I worked hard for that girl!  Just stick with comment #1 above, people! 

2.  "You are going to lose all of the baby weight in no time."

Please refrain from all body comments.  Don't tell me how pregnant (or not) that I look.  Just say that I am pretty even though I am 40 pounds overweight and in pain.  

3.  "How is the baby sleeping"?

Really people?  Have you ever heard of a newborn who sleeps well?  That's just cruel.  And the nights that she did sleep well, we were petrified to talk about them because of extreme superstition.

4.  "Are you breast feeding?"

Nope.  Just don't ask.  It's difficult and emotional and people get upset having to answer this one.  Avoid it, please.  See above for other ideas.

5.  "When are you going back to work?"

Ugh.  I just had a kid.  I want to stay at home and stare at her pretty little button nose for all eternity.  Don't make me think of reality.  Thanks.  

Each Easter, the Washington Post hosts the Peeps Contest.  It's the silliest and funniest way to celebrate springtime.

This year they spoofed the upcoming elections, the movie "The Hunger Games" and the "Occupy DC" movement.  Happy Easter (almost)!

I was proofreading a paper for a student the other day and stumbled upon the most beautiful and accurate quote regarding art by Keats: “Art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreables evaporate.” (Keats)

After a crazy day, sometimes looking at something that is truly beautiful can help to calm the nerves.  How true are these words?

His quote goes nicely with my newest Pinterest board (feel free to follow) called lovely.simple.

Check it out! A treasury list on etsy!  And another!

Thanks Michal and Cathy, for featuring my painting.

Happy Friday everyone,

M

Life is nutzo.  As an aspiring blogger, mama bear, and full-time teacher, there are not enough hours in the day to make all of the awesomeness happen.  That being said, I am a little behind on my "29 paintings in 29 days" posts. In order to catch up, here goes!

Paintings 18-21 are done and more will be posted tomorrow!  Where did February go?  For real, this is crazy!

Happy Monday everyone,

M

Painting #14 has arrived!

Check it out and others on Etsy.  But act quickly, these paintings are flying off the shelves!

Happy weekend everyone.

M

Paintings are chugging along after a brief Valentine's break. Here are 3 new ones! All so random, how does that happen? I just love this crazy little hobby/obsession/gig.

Painting #7 is here! "Daffodil" is springy and beautiful and makes me want to run through a field of wild flowers!

Enjoy.

I love Etsy.  What a friendly little community of creative nerds like me.  If only we could have all sat together at the same lunch table in school, imagine what we could have come up with!  (sorry, thats the high school teacher in me talking, I digress).

Today, I stumbled upon a great treasury list, (called "Beachy-Keen") featuring MY ART!  Thank you Sophie.

Now, quit reading my blog and GO BUY SOME (of my) ART!

I can't wait for DC Flamenco week!  It looks like such an awesome event full of beautiful dancing and Spanish food.

And, at the National Gallery, there is an exhibition of Picasso's Drawings!  What a fun little Spanish day of adventure this could be!

Now all I can think about is sitting outside at a cafe drinking a cafecito and people watching.

Happy Monday.

M

I am posting a day in advance to make life a little easier...here's tomorrow's! More paintings are in the works and will be posted on Monday for next week!  A Painting-a-day Section in Etsy.

Check it out on Etsy.

Here's day two's painting a couple of hours early!

Check out more info here.

Enjoy!

M

Enjoy this and imagine traveling as much as Matt. where the hell is Matt

Image courtesy of designaglow.com

Yesterday, I was listening to NPR and heard about a new and fascinating book written by an Muslim-American author and his experiences growing up in Minnesota. The book is entitled "American Dervish" and profiles a young, Pakistani born boy who lives as the extreme minority in suburban Minnesota prior to 9/11.

Adding it to my "list of books to read in 2012". Have you heard of any other new books that I should add?

NPR Fresh Air Review

NY Times Review