Snow Kidding!

Would you believe it's snowing again?   Looking out my studio window, my nearest neighbor's house is just a  feathery haze.  Who shook that snow globe?

     Can you believe this is the entry to my garden?  (For Olivia old timers, this is where the greenhouse used to stand.)   I was  out there just the other day, covering my precious roses.  I remember hoping for a generous snowfall to tuck them in under their wire and leaf protections.  Perhaps I hoped too fervently.   There my little beauties lie, to the left of the tall post that is supposed to encourage upward mobility for my wisteria.    They sleep like I do, without even their noses poking out from the covers.
     In weather like this all I want to do is sleep..  My alarm clock has an unlimited snooze function.  So does the handly little timer leftover from my Pampered Chef days.  The first gives an extra nine minutes, the second an amount equal to the amount you just had.   My husband only  tolerates two snooze in the morning.  His voice can accomplish what no alarm can--instant awakening.
     I've always been a sleep hound.  I can get by on  three hours a day, as long as I get another 8 at night.
Although it makes me unproductive, this is a trait to be cherished.  Many people, especially as they age, lose their ability to sleep.  My sister lays awake until 3 a.m. and yet arises at 8.  She rarely naps.   She has one million quilts to her credit for all that time I would waste sleeping.  Yet I think she would trade with me if she could.
      So let it snow (as if I could stop it).  Let's all join my roses for a long winter's nap. 
   

Second Chance!

    Were you snowed in on Saturday?  I expected to see you at our art sale, you know.  How are we starving artists supposed to eat if you don't buy our stuff?  Anyway, you have a second chance.  The wonderful people at Master's Coffee Shop in Olivia let us leave our art displays up until tomorrow (Monday, Dec. 6) in the hopes that more of you will be able stop and view the wonders (see examples at right )we have to offer.  Most of us will be there.

    I'm going to mark down my little  parchment hearts, just because I know you need them and I don't.  I can make more.  Sure they take at least an hour to create and at $5 I'm still working for half of what fellow Olivia artist Jim Brooks (wood carver) tells me an artist should expect when he sells his work.  Otherwise, one must give it away, and it's sometimes more fun to actually give it away than sell it for "nothing."  But if I  mark them down to $3 each, I'll be giving you something and you'll be getting something for nothing, and I will be able to buy  more parchment paper and ink and paint and glue and ribbon and will be able to spend many more hours having great fun.  I'm sorry to brag, but they are darling on the Christmas tree and hold little gift items such as candies, gift cards and diamond engagement rings.  So you must have a few.

    I'm warning you--I have a house full of closets, and I can save them until next year, when hopefully a blizzard of white stuff won't prevent a turnout for an art sale.  And I might even raise the price!  You know what you  have to do....
    Or, perhaps better yet, sign up for a class to make them yourself.  They are great fun and I love to teach art much more than I like to sell art.  I only sell art so I can continue to teach art in my little yellow house, which demands $$$$  to keep the heat and lights on and the coffee brewing.  So let's see--what would be a good evening (or day or weekend) to come to A YELLOW HOUSE for a class on Parchment Heart Tree Ornaments, $12 a class, plus $3 materials fee.  Yes, it does cost at least $3 to make one.  See, you do get something for nothing if you buy one of mine already made.  We have lots more time before Christmas.
     Another thing you might look at--I have scheduled art classes for kids on Monday through Thursday during the Christmas break, Dec. 27-30.  1-3 p.m.  Cost is just $10 each and I will have a new lesson each day.  You don't even have to come along if your child is over 10.  I know how to handle the little darlings.  Children under 10, however, might tend to have short attention spans so you will need to come along.  But I will probably give you a pencil and let you learn free of charge.  Now is that a bargain or not?
     Some people considerably over 10 asked for drawing classes for adults.  Anytime I can get four of you together, I'l willing to teach adults, although the price will go back to $12, because the $10 is a Christmas special as my gift to all the harried Olivia  area parents who could use a two- hour break on vacation days.    I'll spend a lot more time preparing lessons for adults, unless you want the same cartoon  type lessons the kids love.  Until I run out of donated materials, there will be no materials fee.  After that, drawing is considerably less expensive than painting and more of you are able to bring your own tools.
     I better give you my telephone number so it can start ringing off the hook.  320-523-4162.  If a man answers, don't hang up.  It's Santa Claus and he's helping me handle the load during December. 
     Oh, and two people have spoken up in defense of the worms (see earlier blog).  So you are reading....

Here's another preview....

Lots of Christmas art ready for framing!  It's all available Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Tatanka Artists Cooperative Art Sale at Master's Coffee Shop.  Hours are 8-1 p.m.  That is, if there's no blizzard on Saturday.  If there is, contact me and I'll give you a preview of all my Christmas art at A YELLOW HOUSE.

Getting Ready!

     It's almost time for our Art Event, sponsored by the Tatanka Artists Cooperative in conjunction with Olivia's Holiday Happening Events.  Remember, Saturday, December 4 at Master's Coffee Shop.  Hours  will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
     I've been feverishly designing Christmas keepsakes for the discerning shopper.   My specialty will be hand painted parchment hearts that can be filled with small gifts and hung on the Christmas tree.  I've also  made many small Christmas paintings, which I will offer at a small price for this art show.
     And of course, I'm not the only artist involved.  We have top notch area artists signed up, including Dona Larkin, Nan Karr Kaufenberg, Elaine Hagen, Mary Schroepfer, BJ Justice Kamp, Jennifer Kolp and Joy Schroer.    There will be jewelry and photography along with various art mediums.  And of course, our note cards, an inexpensive way to collect your "favorite local artist." 
      While I love being an artist, I love turning other people into artists as well.  I believe everyone has artistic talent--just waiting to be developed.  Fiber art and quilting are wonderful art forms that women especially, have been creating for centuries.   Wood carving, furniture making--all sorts of similar activities bring out the hidden artist.  My  husband Earl has revived an earlier interest in working with diamond willow and he will have a couple samples at Saturday's show
       Drawing and painting are just a couple of art forms; but they happen to be the ones I can help  you attain. .  I'll have all sorts of information for you on Saturday on how you can make the very items I am offering for sale.   If you are interested in classes  check out all the offerings available.  Gather up a few friends and come at a time that suits you--I can offer any class for a minimum of four and a maximum of 10
people.  It's a wonderful and inexpensive way to spend a winter evening--and I always serve  beverages and a treat.  It's usually homemade and healthy, because that represents another of my skills and passions, delicious natural foods.
       Because of budget cuts, local schools aren't able to offer much art instruction, especially to the younger kids.  You could help bridge that gap, by sponsoring YELLOW HOUSE scholarships to my drawing and painting classes for students of all ages.   Class fees go directly toward upkeep and utilities at A YELLOW HOUSE.  And of course, to the extensive gardens I am developing on the property.  Your continued support is the only way I can keep my little house available as a community resource for me as well as you. 
      Don't forget to stop in this Saturday morning at Master's Coffee Shop, have yourself one of their wonderful beverages or pastries and see what the local artists are up to.  See you there.

     

An open letter to the worms at 508 S. 8th St.

Dear Worms,
       My abject apologies for the havoc I created in your lives today.  The Mortgage Foreclosure Fiasco going on up here above the soil line is nothing compared to what I've done to you!  Hundreds, maybe thousands of you, little ones, big ones, skinny ones,  fat ones, all turned up and turned out in a few thrusts of a well aimed spading fork.   I tried to be careful, but even homicide (or is it wormicide?) may have resulted a few times.  Oh, I am so very sorry.
       You have been building your cozy little homes in that deep pile of leaves for years now.  Who knows when the first bagful was dumped into that clever  ring of chicken wire alongside our garden wall?  Even though you might not be able to produce actual property deeds,  possession is nine-tenths of the law.  You toiled and you labored, you chewed and you churned, and you took those autumn leaf tsunamis down to size year after year.   Your homes were beautiful, deep, earthy smelling tunnels in hummus hued halls.  The structure was amazing!   The compost value sublime!
       And then I struck.  Never mind that my raised beds were languishing under the present administration's no new chemicals decree.  So they were hungry.  That's no excuse.  I could have bought compost and left you alone.  But no, I leaped over that wire with abandon, pausing only momentarily to unhook my trousers from the loose wire and flap my arms to keep from falling.  I took that fork and I dug and I dug and I dug.  I filled buckets to be carried to the starving beds.  I filled the new bed we built high  so our aging bodies won't have to bend to tend.    Again and again I piled your wriggling  screaming carcasses into my waiting receptacles along with your walls and furniture.  If you've ever heard a worm scream,  you'll know exactly what I mean. 
     Try to look at it this way.  For those of you who survived, it's just a matter of relocation.  Find  your children and  relatives, and start  rebuilding.  I won't be removing you again although you might have to dive for cover should I decide  to speed up your process by tilling the earth.   Your sacrifice will not go for naught.    The tomatoes will laud you, the spuds will expound.  You nitrogenous contribution will rival the beans and you'll sway to the  roots of the asparagus crowd.  Your star shall rise again, although you would probably prefer that the rest of you stays buried underground.

      Take heart in the fact that everybody loves me, nobody hates me so I guess I won't  go eat worms.  It can always be worse.
      Sincerely, Ginger

I love the response!

    Many people have responded to my new website and blog!  I am so excited with the comments,which are ranging from favorable to very favorable.  You can't beat that.
     The dear person who took all those photos of the Birch Scene watercolor class used on site wrote that she'd like to arrange a play date for her and her grandchildren at A YELLOW HOUSE.  What a great idea! I have created a drawing class which accommodates all ages
      We start with basic geometric shapes and I show students how to make animals, people, whatever out of those shapes.  When we get our drawings done we cut them out and arrange them on a big piece of paper, on which we have drawn or traced a background.  The end result is a very nice looking picture that usually surprises the artist,who had no previous conception of their latent talent. 
       The last one we did was for Halloween, but this method lends itself to any topic.  Christmas pictures would be awesome.   I have some donated paper and lots of pencils so at this time there would be no materials charge for this class.  The fee would be $12 per child, with one accompanying adult sitting in free, and even making drawings if they desire.  I always serve a treat.  You can't take your kids to the movies for less than that!  Right now I don't have any of these classes scheduled, but I would be happy to schedule one for a minimum of 4 students.  I can accommodate 8-10.  Holiday breaks are coming up.   Plan three hours for each class.  I will schedule any day, any time including weekends.  According to the BOLD school schedule, Christmas break is from December 23 to Jan. 3.  Be the first to schedule a drawing class!

Ginger Snaps!

Ginger Snaps
It’s been a long time since I’ve used this title to convey my thoughts! I know why I stopped writing before, but I don’t know why it took me so long to take it up again by way of a blog. So here goes nuttin.’ Ginger Snaps is REBORN!

Once upon a time I was the editor of a small weekly newspaper called “The Carver County Sun.” Among other writings, I published a column called “Ginger Snaps.” It was so much fun because I wrote about whatever struck me at the time and people actually read it. In fact, I would say I even had a small following because people would come up to me on the street and comment on something I wrote, or even write back as a letter to the editor.
The newspaper gig only lasted a couple of years and I went on to what I thought at the time were bigger and better things. Through the years, I continued writing sporadically, but I soon realized that I really missed a forum to air my thoughts and feelings. Although it hurt when the returning comments were less than complimentary, I think I learned from them. One of my favorite “ not so nice” comments was: “There she goes again, writing when she should be reading.” And my very most favorite “nice” comment, came from a young man who came to my office to meet me after I had written some controversial articles about the city of Chaska. When I walked out of my office to shake his hand he said, “Gee, I thought you would be bigger!”
I’ve gotten much older since those times, but not a whole lot bigger. I may even be wiser. I have an opinion on everything and they come out of my mouth ready or not. You’ll love me if you agree with me and hate me if you don’t. Sometimes you will be so confused that you’ll end up doing both. That’s sort of where my husband stands most of the time. He and I are on opposite sides of so many issues that we should be living on different continents. I hope I never tee him off so bad he leaves because I would sorely miss him. And he’d die without me. My opinion.
If you decide you want to read more, stay tuned right here. I’ll be talking about all my favorite things: gardening, painting, cooking, social justice issues, good vs. evil and most of all, never wasting a doggone thing.
Should I get too far out, I’ll let my husband say a few words--he’s a bit shy so you’ll have to put in a request . If you can get him to talk you can bet your boots he’ll balance the see saw. Until next time,
that’s enough snapping from Ginger’s Yellow House.