Monday, February 24, 2014
Five Cows
Saturday, February 15, 2014
French Language Studies Progress
I've been seeing pretty good progress in my French language studies, and it's really encouraging. I'm taking classes at Alliance Francaise and really enjoying those. Every novel I read - and I am always, always reading, every single evening for at least an hour - is in French. That helps immensely with my vocabulary. I might add, also, that except for one two-month beginner class in French, many years ago, I had no knowledge of the language at all. Even then, after taking the single summer two-month class at the University of Wyoming, I began struggling with reading novels in French. And it was a struggle, too: I read with my book in one hand and the dictionary in the other. I didn't even have any comprehension at all of sentence structure, my vocabulary was in the low hundreds of words -- well, you get the picture. It was bad. But I really, really wanted to learn the language, and I could at least get the basic gist of whatever it was I was attempting to read.
When I went to live in France the first time, in the 1990's, that's the level at which I was 'NOT' speaking. In other words, I was completely helpless and pretty much understood nothing and could only say sentences like "my name is . . .," and "where is. .. ." - but I couldn't understand the answers. So in the very beginning, the person talking to me and I did a lot of hand gestures. More than one person speaking, forget it; I understood nothing and found my mind wandering elsewhere. But I kept struggling, and by the time I left, around a year and a half or so later, I was at least slightly communicating -- getting by, in other words. While there, I studied a French grammar book every evening, kept flash cards with me at all times, very, very shyly tried to speak with people I worked with, and had to speak with service people in shops, etc. It was tough, tough.
Over the intervening years, my interest in studying French has waxed and waned -- and is fiery hot now, of course. And I've finally found one thing that really is seeming to work for me now: at the suggestion of my Alliance Francaise instructor, I subscribed to the French language TV channel (TV 5 Monde), and I've started doing some paintings in my bedroom - where my TV is located - as I've mentioned before. While I paint, I have the TV going constantly, where I'm totally immersed in hearing the language, even if I'm not really paying attention. I find myself later, however, telling my daughter about something interesting I heard on the TV during my painting times.
As anyone who has studied another language knows, the last thing to come is speaking, and that's the case with me. My vocabulary is very extensive now, I hear and understand most everything, but I'm still very hesitant about speaking. My Alliance Francaise classes help with that a lot because that's what they emphasize, is speaking. And with that and with hearing the TV French constantly, I'm beginning to speak more freely now, too. There is hope, in other words.
When I went to live in France the first time, in the 1990's, that's the level at which I was 'NOT' speaking. In other words, I was completely helpless and pretty much understood nothing and could only say sentences like "my name is . . .," and "where is. .. ." - but I couldn't understand the answers. So in the very beginning, the person talking to me and I did a lot of hand gestures. More than one person speaking, forget it; I understood nothing and found my mind wandering elsewhere. But I kept struggling, and by the time I left, around a year and a half or so later, I was at least slightly communicating -- getting by, in other words. While there, I studied a French grammar book every evening, kept flash cards with me at all times, very, very shyly tried to speak with people I worked with, and had to speak with service people in shops, etc. It was tough, tough.
Over the intervening years, my interest in studying French has waxed and waned -- and is fiery hot now, of course. And I've finally found one thing that really is seeming to work for me now: at the suggestion of my Alliance Francaise instructor, I subscribed to the French language TV channel (TV 5 Monde), and I've started doing some paintings in my bedroom - where my TV is located - as I've mentioned before. While I paint, I have the TV going constantly, where I'm totally immersed in hearing the language, even if I'm not really paying attention. I find myself later, however, telling my daughter about something interesting I heard on the TV during my painting times.
As anyone who has studied another language knows, the last thing to come is speaking, and that's the case with me. My vocabulary is very extensive now, I hear and understand most everything, but I'm still very hesitant about speaking. My Alliance Francaise classes help with that a lot because that's what they emphasize, is speaking. And with that and with hearing the TV French constantly, I'm beginning to speak more freely now, too. There is hope, in other words.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Okay, got it! ... in a way -- Again, "Two Cows Revisited"
Google Chrome is giving me problems again. I love it, but it really has a lot of bugs, especially in the last few months. I'm writing this time from Windows Explorer.
Some time ago I painted these two beautiful girls on just an 8x10" panel. I've always loved the painting, but the original was just too small. (It has sold, by the way.) So I decided to do another similar painting, but this time it's a 16x20" on stretched canvas. It is at this time for sale, along with prints in various sizes.
I'm also working now on a precious Italiano Bracco puppy painting. I'm working from photos given to me by someone who was showing this particular puppy at the Rose City Classic dog show a few years ago. If you are that person or know that person, I'm so sorry, but I said I would contact you when the painting was done, and I have lost your name. I know it's been years, but I do eventually get to most all the paintings I have told people I would paint. I'll be doing a progress series of shots on the painting, I've decided; but I have already gotten a bit into the painting before I decided to do so, so there won't be a whole of progress to show. The process is just too beautiful not to share on this particular painting, though. (Hope I don't jinx myself!) The pup is beautiful, the photograph is excellent, and for some reason, I'm working well -- that's a bit of a change from the difficulties I've been having on some other paintings lately that aren't ready to see the light of day yet! I'll post the pics very soon of this little guy.
I'm also working now on a precious Italiano Bracco puppy painting. I'm working from photos given to me by someone who was showing this particular puppy at the Rose City Classic dog show a few years ago. If you are that person or know that person, I'm so sorry, but I said I would contact you when the painting was done, and I have lost your name. I know it's been years, but I do eventually get to most all the paintings I have told people I would paint. I'll be doing a progress series of shots on the painting, I've decided; but I have already gotten a bit into the painting before I decided to do so, so there won't be a whole of progress to show. The process is just too beautiful not to share on this particular painting, though. (Hope I don't jinx myself!) The pup is beautiful, the photograph is excellent, and for some reason, I'm working well -- that's a bit of a change from the difficulties I've been having on some other paintings lately that aren't ready to see the light of day yet! I'll post the pics very soon of this little guy.
Two Cows - Revisited
NSomething is wrong with Blogger. I can't see a word that II'm typing, and there's no way to upload a photo. I guess I'll have to check with Google. I need this blog. I noticed afew ddays ago (sorry if I'm flubbing up; I really can't see a single thing I'm typing) I noticed, again, a few days ago that when I tried to post, I couldn't. I thought it was a passing thing. Now I'm really concerned. I'll see what I can do; don't know if this is posting or not.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Chocolate Labrador Retriever in Forest Painting
As this was a commissioned painting, the original has sold, but prints are available for purchase in various sizes.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
I lost my precious cat Mattie yesterday
I just had to say that I lost a beloved pet yesterday. She was a most precious cat that we adopted about three years ago, and we loved her so very, very much. Her name was rather complicated. I'll explain:
We, my daughter and I, found her in a backwoods area in Central Florida when we were out on a walk in an area we probably shouldn't have been. She was underweight, flea-bitten, mangy, and had only three legs. We took care of the first three problems, found no information on why she only had three legs, but she seemed to get along fine without the missing one, and she immediately settled in as the best cat I've ever had. She was proud, noble, no-nonsense, and very affectionate -- but not too much so! She was perfect.
Anyway, I decided to name her Matilda for I guess a kind of coarse reason. There's an old song, most popularly known in Australia, called "Waltzing Maltida." Well, Mattie had three out of four legs, and waltzes are in 3/4 time, so -- well, you get the rest.
We noticed about a week ago that she was hiding out a lot. Then I noticed that she was thin. Apparently, without my noticing for probably a week or two she had simply stopped eating. The vet could find no cause, only symptoms, which he was unable to reverse -- and all his attempts at saving her were futile. She died very quietly yesterday morning at home in her favorite sleeping place.
This is why I keep painting pets who are gone. I only wish I had done one of her while I had a chance. There's an empty spot in my heart today; I'm so very sad.
We, my daughter and I, found her in a backwoods area in Central Florida when we were out on a walk in an area we probably shouldn't have been. She was underweight, flea-bitten, mangy, and had only three legs. We took care of the first three problems, found no information on why she only had three legs, but she seemed to get along fine without the missing one, and she immediately settled in as the best cat I've ever had. She was proud, noble, no-nonsense, and very affectionate -- but not too much so! She was perfect.
Anyway, I decided to name her Matilda for I guess a kind of coarse reason. There's an old song, most popularly known in Australia, called "Waltzing Maltida." Well, Mattie had three out of four legs, and waltzes are in 3/4 time, so -- well, you get the rest.
We noticed about a week ago that she was hiding out a lot. Then I noticed that she was thin. Apparently, without my noticing for probably a week or two she had simply stopped eating. The vet could find no cause, only symptoms, which he was unable to reverse -- and all his attempts at saving her were futile. She died very quietly yesterday morning at home in her favorite sleeping place.
This is why I keep painting pets who are gone. I only wish I had done one of her while I had a chance. There's an empty spot in my heart today; I'm so very sad.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Happy New Year
2013 turned out to be my best year in a very long time professionally, but it left me exhausted! The very short break after Christmas was a very welcome relief. What surprised me most is that my ceramic pieces kept a pretty even pace with my paintings and prints -- and even surpassed them near the end of the month.
I'm going to have to figure out a way to make the ceramic artwork be just a little more efficiently done, though, because I'm spending way, way too much time in doing custom work for which I haven't been asking any premium -- they take more than twice as long to do as a piece that I create without custom input from a customer, and they're usually not as much fun to make. So, as soon as I figure out how to do it, I'll be asking a little more for custom work but will be having a lot more pieces available that I've done for the sheer pleasure of making them. Plus, there has been a large interest in the little bowls and dishes I've mostly been making and giving away to relatives and friends, so they'll be for sale as well. So much to figure out!!!
Woe to the poor artist/craftsperson who thinks that they can make a product, a great product, and the world will beat a path to their door to buy it -- at a fair price!! There is so much "behind-the-scenes" work to make any of the artwork ever be seen by you, the potential buyer. Sometimes it leaves barely enough time to get my actual artwork done! And that's working seven days a week. Yes, being self-employed, getting to be creative every single day, is a very rewarding way to make a living -- but it's a whole lot more work than anyone working for someone else can possibly imagine. Keeps me young, though! And fresh! My ideas come much faster than I can possibly bring them to reality.
My plans for moving/going (can't decide, so I'll take it one step at a time) to La France are still in progress, and I'm just thrilled with how rapidly my ability to speak fluent French is becoming a reality. Will I ever speak as a native Frenchwoman? No way. Think of all the jillions of expressions, memories, shared cultural info, trivia, etc., that are a part of an English-speaking American's vocabulary -- that we've been absorbing since we first started to speak, and that can give you an idea of what one is up against in trying to learn as fluently as possible another language/culture, etc.
My son-in-law is from Denmark; and if you were to hear him speak for a while, you would have no idea that his native language wasn't English -- until he comes to one of our common idiomatic expressions based in probably centuries of history -- then he stumbles and comes out with some statement that doesn't quite mesh with a native speaker's way of speaking. The only one I can think of now isn't a very good one: when we state "knock on wood," we all know exactly what it means. He's got a pretty good idea now, but it's still really odd to him and doesn't "trip off the tongue" as easily for him as it would for a native American English speaker.
Okay, back to work. Happy New Year again to all, and Peace on Earth to all the world.
I'm going to have to figure out a way to make the ceramic artwork be just a little more efficiently done, though, because I'm spending way, way too much time in doing custom work for which I haven't been asking any premium -- they take more than twice as long to do as a piece that I create without custom input from a customer, and they're usually not as much fun to make. So, as soon as I figure out how to do it, I'll be asking a little more for custom work but will be having a lot more pieces available that I've done for the sheer pleasure of making them. Plus, there has been a large interest in the little bowls and dishes I've mostly been making and giving away to relatives and friends, so they'll be for sale as well. So much to figure out!!!
Woe to the poor artist/craftsperson who thinks that they can make a product, a great product, and the world will beat a path to their door to buy it -- at a fair price!! There is so much "behind-the-scenes" work to make any of the artwork ever be seen by you, the potential buyer. Sometimes it leaves barely enough time to get my actual artwork done! And that's working seven days a week. Yes, being self-employed, getting to be creative every single day, is a very rewarding way to make a living -- but it's a whole lot more work than anyone working for someone else can possibly imagine. Keeps me young, though! And fresh! My ideas come much faster than I can possibly bring them to reality.
My plans for moving/going (can't decide, so I'll take it one step at a time) to La France are still in progress, and I'm just thrilled with how rapidly my ability to speak fluent French is becoming a reality. Will I ever speak as a native Frenchwoman? No way. Think of all the jillions of expressions, memories, shared cultural info, trivia, etc., that are a part of an English-speaking American's vocabulary -- that we've been absorbing since we first started to speak, and that can give you an idea of what one is up against in trying to learn as fluently as possible another language/culture, etc.
My son-in-law is from Denmark; and if you were to hear him speak for a while, you would have no idea that his native language wasn't English -- until he comes to one of our common idiomatic expressions based in probably centuries of history -- then he stumbles and comes out with some statement that doesn't quite mesh with a native speaker's way of speaking. The only one I can think of now isn't a very good one: when we state "knock on wood," we all know exactly what it means. He's got a pretty good idea now, but it's still really odd to him and doesn't "trip off the tongue" as easily for him as it would for a native American English speaker.
Okay, back to work. Happy New Year again to all, and Peace on Earth to all the world.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Busy, Busy, Busy
I've attached a pic of a recently finished (early December) English bulldog painting I did for a customer -- I took on a couple of custom paintings recently and may do a few next year, too, but only a few custom ones due to other commitments.
Happy Holidays to all.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
A Pembroke Welsh Corgi Oil Painting I just Finished
Regarding my quest to go to La France, I'm inching forward: I am signed up for a short course of intense language study in December and am taking a full-length course starting in January. Yesterday evening, I participated in my first group discussion among mostly Francophones and a couple of Francophiles (me included). It was a lot of fun; a great group of people.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Finally doing some more Paintings! Jersey Cow
It's good to be back painting again. I missed it. And I'm working pretty much only in oils now! It's been a very slow learning curve, and I have a lot to learn yet, but I'm moving along on it now.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
France Travel Update
It's been a while since I've written about moving to France -- not because I'm not doing anything or not thinking about it. It's what I do constantly. I read, research, think, read some more, get really anxious, read some more -- well, you get the picture. I'm having mixed feelings -- for many and varied reasons. First and foremost, I am afraid. Yes, it's scary as hell to be thinking about not only moving to France but even going to France -- alone. Yes, I've been there before, even lived there for a couple of years a couple of decades ago. But now I'm just past the 65 mark, and I plan to go completely alone, by my own little self. Can I do it? I don't know. The more I read, the more frightened I become.
When I was in undergraduate college back a long time ago, I used to be a very brave (but still frightened) person. This probably isn't something to brag about, but I'll tell it anyway: I used to get my student loan every autumn, and off I would go to Europe and travel around (and have the time of my life, even though you can't imagine how scary it was at times) until I ran out of money. Then I would come back to the US, get a part-time job to pay for school, and go to school and work part-time until I got my next student loan. I did that every year for at least three years. Yes, it took me a long to time to get my first bachelor's degree, but I had a lot more fun than all of my peers who went to school the "conventional" way. And I believe I gained more by having done it the way I did. And, yes, I think I got a better, albeit non-conventional, education by all my travels, too.
I haven't been writing on here lately because of my fears -- and my uncertainties. What if I fail? I feel that I would be letting my very tiny audience here down, my family, especially my little granddaughter who looks up to me so much, down, myself???!! down. Yes, myself most of all. And I guess the rest of you don't matter so much, but in a way, you do. But even if I fail, I feel it's necessary to document my entire experience, succeed or fail.
I think as far as daring to take on new experiences, I have had a great life so far. I can't let a lot of fear stop me now. So even though I'm unsure, so very, very afraid, I must force (yes, force, if necessary) myself to go through with it. I know in my most inner self that I'll never regret doing it. What I would regret, I am sure, is not doing it.
I will say for now that my plans have somewhat changed (I think): At this time, I plan to go first of all for three months and figure out where (and if) I want to live, just once again get the feeling of being slightly out of control, with no safety net if I really mess up, but gaining so very much more. (You would think I'm talking about a trip to the moon and not just to France, wouldn't you?) Well, everything is relative to something else, and that's where I am. France, the moon, what's the difference at this point. I know that's far-fetched, but it's kind of how I feel now.
So I continue to decide where I'll end up in my first foray there, how I'll fill my days!!! without suffering a terrible loneliness (I'm shy and don't strike up acquaintances very easily -- and I'm OLD! To many of you, anyway, even if I myself don't feel old). I've been studying my somewhat rusty French non-stop, watching French news every evening, reading only French novels (when I'm not reading about traveling), etc,. etc.
'Til next time . . .
When I was in undergraduate college back a long time ago, I used to be a very brave (but still frightened) person. This probably isn't something to brag about, but I'll tell it anyway: I used to get my student loan every autumn, and off I would go to Europe and travel around (and have the time of my life, even though you can't imagine how scary it was at times) until I ran out of money. Then I would come back to the US, get a part-time job to pay for school, and go to school and work part-time until I got my next student loan. I did that every year for at least three years. Yes, it took me a long to time to get my first bachelor's degree, but I had a lot more fun than all of my peers who went to school the "conventional" way. And I believe I gained more by having done it the way I did. And, yes, I think I got a better, albeit non-conventional, education by all my travels, too.
I haven't been writing on here lately because of my fears -- and my uncertainties. What if I fail? I feel that I would be letting my very tiny audience here down, my family, especially my little granddaughter who looks up to me so much, down, myself???!! down. Yes, myself most of all. And I guess the rest of you don't matter so much, but in a way, you do. But even if I fail, I feel it's necessary to document my entire experience, succeed or fail.
I think as far as daring to take on new experiences, I have had a great life so far. I can't let a lot of fear stop me now. So even though I'm unsure, so very, very afraid, I must force (yes, force, if necessary) myself to go through with it. I know in my most inner self that I'll never regret doing it. What I would regret, I am sure, is not doing it.
I will say for now that my plans have somewhat changed (I think): At this time, I plan to go first of all for three months and figure out where (and if) I want to live, just once again get the feeling of being slightly out of control, with no safety net if I really mess up, but gaining so very much more. (You would think I'm talking about a trip to the moon and not just to France, wouldn't you?) Well, everything is relative to something else, and that's where I am. France, the moon, what's the difference at this point. I know that's far-fetched, but it's kind of how I feel now.
So I continue to decide where I'll end up in my first foray there, how I'll fill my days!!! without suffering a terrible loneliness (I'm shy and don't strike up acquaintances very easily -- and I'm OLD! To many of you, anyway, even if I myself don't feel old). I've been studying my somewhat rusty French non-stop, watching French news every evening, reading only French novels (when I'm not reading about traveling), etc,. etc.
'Til next time . . .
Friday, October 4, 2013
And you thought you were having a bad day! Nothing to do with Anything on My Blog -- But it Really made me Laugh
I can't stop laughing every time I look at it. My daughter sent it to me to cheer me up because I was indeed having a bad day -- still getting over a killer cold.
Poor guy, I can just imagine what calamity followed this photo. Hope he was okay.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Am I too Sensitive? Or just ignorant about the workings of "online forum societies"? Maybe both . . .
I'm still searching online constantly, trying to figure out how best to go to France. I went to this expats-in-France forum and asked a question about working in France, got a decent response. Then I wrote today and described who I was, why I wanted to live in France, that I had lived there in the past, what "department" (region) of France interested me (Brittany/Bretagne), even a small town and a large city that I am considering. I asked if someone who had any knowledge of that area -- and knowing my circumstances as I had described them -- could recommend either the city or the small town -- or could recommend any alternate places in the area. Well, I got blasted big time, as in "Oh Lordy Lordy ... how many times do we get this nonsensical question ????" . . . and so on.
Anyway, it stung. Someone, the moderator, came on later and kindly gave me some pointers that I have found very useful. But I had no idea people could be so nasty. I had heard stories, of course, and I'm not a naive person, but really, I just don't understand why someone would behave in such a way.
Is this sort of behavior on forums typical? Do I have to be an expert before I ask questions on a forum? I don't understand it. I'll continue to try, of course, and see what I can learn. If I get another similar response, I'll look for another place to get information.
Oh, if I haven't already mentioned it, I am going to be taking language lessons through Alliance Francaise very soon. I'm close to having a good working knowledge of French but haven't had anyone to speak with in a long time, so I think this will help a lot. I'm also taking a really great free online course through the "Open Learning Initiative," from Carnegie Mellon University. They offer full university courses completely free online. If you don't mind not interacting with a professor or getting grades, it's a great way to learn something new. Here's the link of you're interested: https://oli.cmu.edu/.
Now to my work: Another good thing is my ceramic pieces have suddenly taken off! I'm getting several orders a day, nearly all I can handle, so that's great. I want to have as much money saved up as possible before I leave.
Anyway, it stung. Someone, the moderator, came on later and kindly gave me some pointers that I have found very useful. But I had no idea people could be so nasty. I had heard stories, of course, and I'm not a naive person, but really, I just don't understand why someone would behave in such a way.
Is this sort of behavior on forums typical? Do I have to be an expert before I ask questions on a forum? I don't understand it. I'll continue to try, of course, and see what I can learn. If I get another similar response, I'll look for another place to get information.
Oh, if I haven't already mentioned it, I am going to be taking language lessons through Alliance Francaise very soon. I'm close to having a good working knowledge of French but haven't had anyone to speak with in a long time, so I think this will help a lot. I'm also taking a really great free online course through the "Open Learning Initiative," from Carnegie Mellon University. They offer full university courses completely free online. If you don't mind not interacting with a professor or getting grades, it's a great way to learn something new. Here's the link of you're interested: https://oli.cmu.edu/.
Now to my work: Another good thing is my ceramic pieces have suddenly taken off! I'm getting several orders a day, nearly all I can handle, so that's great. I want to have as much money saved up as possible before I leave.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Already learning moving to France isn't so easy
I've been doing a lot of research on my move to France, and there's a lot to learn! I've found that most likely I'm going to have to apply for residency when the time comes as a self-employed person. I want to continue doing my paintings until I can no longer hold a brush or see the canvas! And of course, not being too keen on being a "starving artist," I want to continue to make my income. I'll be contacting the French consulate here in Portland soon to be able to iron out a few more details about what's involved in applying for residency as a self-employed artist. (I don't know if I'll be able to do my ceramic work there or not, so I'm just focusing on my paintings at this time.)
An aside: I took a virtual tour of my so-far preferred city to live, Fougères, in Brittany, and it's a really, really great looking place. I'll describe it in more detail in my next post since it's pretty late now. But I'll say it's a rather small town, about 23,000 people. It has a really fantastic medieval castle, the Château de Fougères, (a link if you want to know more about the castle.) But it also has pretty much everything else one would need on a day-to-day basis, including a train station in case I want to do some traveling. I'm hoping to be able to do without a car if possible since I'll only be there 3 months this first time. I expect to be renting a small house or apartment in or near the city so I can bike or walk everywhere. And it's a clean, beautiful looking town. Not too large, not too small, just right.
On to another subject now: Regarding my ceramic artwork: The holiday season is flying madly toward us, as usual, and I have to make some adjustments in how I take orders for ceramic pieces. Currently, I have a general listing on Etsy, and you, the customer, have a lot of freedom in choosing how you want your particular piece to be made. Unfortunately, it takes me about two weeks (or sometimes more) to make a new piece. So sometime probably around Thanksgiving, I'll have to stop taking orders for pieces to be made (in time for Holiday delivery) and only list pieces that I've already made and have ready to ship.
So if you're thinking about having something made, be sure and place your order before the latter part of November -- and if I get too many orders earlier on, I'll have to stop taking them even earlier than I've stated here.
An aside: I took a virtual tour of my so-far preferred city to live, Fougères, in Brittany, and it's a really, really great looking place. I'll describe it in more detail in my next post since it's pretty late now. But I'll say it's a rather small town, about 23,000 people. It has a really fantastic medieval castle, the Château de Fougères, (a link if you want to know more about the castle.) But it also has pretty much everything else one would need on a day-to-day basis, including a train station in case I want to do some traveling. I'm hoping to be able to do without a car if possible since I'll only be there 3 months this first time. I expect to be renting a small house or apartment in or near the city so I can bike or walk everywhere. And it's a clean, beautiful looking town. Not too large, not too small, just right.
On to another subject now: Regarding my ceramic artwork: The holiday season is flying madly toward us, as usual, and I have to make some adjustments in how I take orders for ceramic pieces. Currently, I have a general listing on Etsy, and you, the customer, have a lot of freedom in choosing how you want your particular piece to be made. Unfortunately, it takes me about two weeks (or sometimes more) to make a new piece. So sometime probably around Thanksgiving, I'll have to stop taking orders for pieces to be made (in time for Holiday delivery) and only list pieces that I've already made and have ready to ship.
So if you're thinking about having something made, be sure and place your order before the latter part of November -- and if I get too many orders earlier on, I'll have to stop taking them even earlier than I've stated here.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Checking In -- and Updating
Well, I've decided that Denmark probably won't work for me -- but France will. I've been doing research like mad and have found out that I can make it work. I have a tentative "no-later-than" date to leave of around the end of May 2014. I've found a region that most appeals to me -- kind of east and slightly southeast of Paris, in the Brittany region. With my daughter's help, we've been both researching different regions and have found that we both are gravitating toward that part of France. When we lived in France nearly 20 years ago, we lived in the south in a wonderful city called Toulouse. It was a great place to live, and I made many friends there; but the heat in the summertime just isn't something I handle very well. I've always preferred cold-weather climates (such as Colorado and Wyoming in this country, where I spent many years), so at this time anyway, Brittany it is.
There's so much to do between now and then to be ready to go that I stay a bit overwhelmed, and it's still eight months in the future. Oh, by the way, my trip there the end of May is to go to the areas we've found to be most desirable, check them out, and make a decision on where we want to move -- yes, we, because my family will be following me later on. This first time, I'll only be there three months so I won't have to apply yet for the "visa de long séjour." the long-stay visa.
Regarding my art, yes, I'm still painting -- and am finally getting some landscapes done that I'll be happy to show. We took a camping trip along the Oregon coast a week ago, and I did some great sketches and am almost finished with the first painting, a small 8x10" on canvas panel, around Cape Lookout. I'll be doing a series of them and then will list the best ones. And I am finally!! getting the hang of oil paints. I even did a small long-haired doxie painting in oil a few days ago, my first dog painting in oil. I'll also be doing some more animals in the not-too-distant future, too.
Okay, now I have to go put on my other hat, my "ceramics" hat, and finish up too many dog mask orders that all have to go out on Monday! Yikes! Fortunately, I'm nearing the completion of all of them. I built them all at approximately the same time, bisque-fired them all at the same time, and am now painting them all together, etc., etc. So, unless something unfortunate happens in the glaze-fire, they'll all be ready to ship by Monday morning. Then on to the next batch! It's fun, though. After my long break from doing them, it's fun again.
So keep in touch on my big, big move in the next eight months. I know everyone and their cousin blogs about moving to another country -- but, hey, there's always room for one more, though. And I'll try to cover as much of the "nitty-gritty" as I possibly can. One of the things that I'll definitely cover in great detail is getting pets moved to another country. We did it when we moved to Denmark a couple of years ago, mostly my daughter's work, and it was quite a daunting task --and the "importation" fees they charged were something we overlooked, and they were massive! France has no such fees, so it's at least going to cost less. Anyway, if you have any specific questions you want to ask as I post more, please do so. I'll try to cover any moving-overseas subject I'm able to. I'm so excited now that I've made my decision of where and when I'm leaving!
There's so much to do between now and then to be ready to go that I stay a bit overwhelmed, and it's still eight months in the future. Oh, by the way, my trip there the end of May is to go to the areas we've found to be most desirable, check them out, and make a decision on where we want to move -- yes, we, because my family will be following me later on. This first time, I'll only be there three months so I won't have to apply yet for the "visa de long séjour." the long-stay visa.
Regarding my art, yes, I'm still painting -- and am finally getting some landscapes done that I'll be happy to show. We took a camping trip along the Oregon coast a week ago, and I did some great sketches and am almost finished with the first painting, a small 8x10" on canvas panel, around Cape Lookout. I'll be doing a series of them and then will list the best ones. And I am finally!! getting the hang of oil paints. I even did a small long-haired doxie painting in oil a few days ago, my first dog painting in oil. I'll also be doing some more animals in the not-too-distant future, too.
Okay, now I have to go put on my other hat, my "ceramics" hat, and finish up too many dog mask orders that all have to go out on Monday! Yikes! Fortunately, I'm nearing the completion of all of them. I built them all at approximately the same time, bisque-fired them all at the same time, and am now painting them all together, etc., etc. So, unless something unfortunate happens in the glaze-fire, they'll all be ready to ship by Monday morning. Then on to the next batch! It's fun, though. After my long break from doing them, it's fun again.
So keep in touch on my big, big move in the next eight months. I know everyone and their cousin blogs about moving to another country -- but, hey, there's always room for one more, though. And I'll try to cover as much of the "nitty-gritty" as I possibly can. One of the things that I'll definitely cover in great detail is getting pets moved to another country. We did it when we moved to Denmark a couple of years ago, mostly my daughter's work, and it was quite a daunting task --and the "importation" fees they charged were something we overlooked, and they were massive! France has no such fees, so it's at least going to cost less. Anyway, if you have any specific questions you want to ask as I post more, please do so. I'll try to cover any moving-overseas subject I'm able to. I'm so excited now that I've made my decision of where and when I'm leaving!
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