What a retreat!

The best weekend of my year was over Columbus Day Weekend at Art Is.....2009 in Cromwell, CT. It was the most inviting, loving, welcoming event that I have ever attended, and I've been to a lot of retreats. There was a comaradery that I have never experienced before. It didn't matter where you were or if you were alone or with someone, you made friends as you went. And what fun friends I met!!! And the goodies!!! Well let's just say that every day had a surprise around the corner. The morning started with Journaling with Mrs Pom, which in itself was an experience. I did not have time in the morning to mediate as I usually do, but Mrs. Pom took care of that, it was a wonderful way to open the day and get your creative juices flowing.

The two most wonderful women were in charge and built Art Is....2009 in the last 3 years to an incredible event. They are Ellen and Sal and like no one you have ever met. Before I even got to CT. I felt like I had made two very good friends. Sal & Ellen treated me as if I had been a friend on theirs forever, it was hard not to fall in love with them and their never ending energy. I feel truly blessed to now have them and the rest of the ART Is...2009 family.

I simply cannot wait until 2010, for the Wickedly Good retreat. Make it a point to look into the website and come join us. You will be in the most creative, inspirational weekend of your life!

The Sun will rise on a new day

Have you ever felt like you were stuck in the bottom of a hole
and no matter how hard you tried to get up and out
You couldn't?

That is what life is like sometimes and it is probably the hardest thing
you will ever have to go through
I know that it is supposed to build character and strengthen your faith
and for the most part is does.
But when you fall again and again trying to grab a foothold to
lift yourself out, and you fall once more
You then start to get disillusioned,
forlorn and hopeless.

Have you ever heard the story about the man that fell in a hole
and couldn't climb out?
The first two people to come by tried to help him but failed.
Then the 3rd person to come by was a friend of the man's
and he jumped into the hole with his friend.
The man was shocked and wanted to know
why his friend had jumped in because now they were both stuck.
The friend replied
"I've been here before and I will help you get out of the hole".

No matter how bad things get, there is someone else with bigger problems than you.
No matter how hopeless things seem, there is someone there to help you through.
No matter how much you want to give up, keep pushing.
No matter how half empty the glass looks, it is really half full.

Start each morning thanking God for all that is good in your life.
Do you have a bed to sleep in?
Do you have food in the refrigerator?
Do you have clothes on your back?
Do you have friends and family that loves you?
Then my friend, you are truly blessed.

Every pitfall has a lesson to be learned.
Many times hard times come in clusters like a migraine
But in the end, things will improve
And you will emerge a stronger, smarter and wiser person for it

Your time to blossom will come, just have faith and
an optimistic outlook on life. And keep reminding
yourself how very blessed you are.

Nothing better than Flea Markets!

I love new adventures and I've been lucky enough to have a few in the last few weeks. While we are busy painting our new home and trying to sell our old home, I have managed to sneak in a few flea markets and estate sales.
Nothing makes me more excited than finding new spots to go to and searching under tables for that precious jewel that no one wants and I can buy for a dollar or too.

Last week I picked up a beautiful old round table with a little drawer that I thought would make a perfect table for the chairs I'm putting in front of the fireplace. I also found gorgeous pieces of blue glassware in bowls and vases that I just had to have for the windowsill of my kitchen. When the sun shines through on the blues and orange pieces up against the white trim and buttery yellow walls, it makes the room sing.

I also found a few dolls with porcelain parts that I just had to have. I went to buy a doll from a friend of mine and fought with her to pay for it because I felt guilty knowing that I was going to rip the doll apart (gently of course) and use the limbs for art pieces. I totally missed the art doll challenge with Art Is...2009 for July but better late than never, I always say.

The hardest part of going to flea markets is containing my excitement until I bargain with the owners. One must not seem too over zealous or the price goes up. I usually can contain myself for a little while, but once money changing hands, I'm all smiles and giddy from the hunt and find!

Getting back to the furniture, I'm going for a "beachy" theme in the new house and the old wood of the table just wouldn't do so my girlfriend Linda and I spent hours priming a bunch of furniture last week. Then of course, we just had to go and check out the local VOA Thrift shops for more goodies.

Then comes my next dilemma, how to finish the furniture to fit in the room. I scoured websites and looked at all different faux finishes and distressing furniture but nothing really caught my eye.
As most people, I do my best thinking in the shower (don't ask me why) and I decided to go to my local craft store and I bought 2 cans of spray paint, one in an ocean like blue and the other in a soft green (love those 40% off coupons!).
I took the furniture outside and my son Brian and I went to town spray painting the furniture in both of these colors. No rhyme or reason, just swirls and fun. The pieces were bright and beautiful but needed to be toned down a bit so after much thought, I mixed white latex paint with water and dry brushed it on the furniture.

WOW!!!! IT WAS GORGEOUS!!!!!
Of course, I have mixed up a huge batch of whitewash and used about a quarter of a cup but it was well worth wasting the extra paint. There is just a bit of the colors coming through and once I take a light sanding to the edges, it is going to be perfect. I'll post pictures soon.

I'm so excited about my flea market finds and turning them into treasures for the new house, I can't even begin to tell you.

So when you're out at estate sales, yard sales and flea markets, don't forget to check under the table for they hold the most wonderful (and cheap) treasures!

Sunday Morning Ritual

I LOVE,LOVE, LOVE Sunday mornings. Getting up early, coffee and newspaper and laptop in hand. Sitting quietly by the pool and making my ritual TO DO LIST for the week. I have a notebook and divide a page into 3 columns, Monday, Tues, Wed, etc is the first column, followed by the largest column which holds all that I have to do that week, then the little itty bitty third column of meals for the weeks (that one sometimes stays blank.
I fill in my columns, sometimes transferring things on the "To Do" list from last week to this week ( I never seem to get caught up!) and followed by reading the paper.
This is my ritual and I love it. These week is filled with job searching (still), painting the new house (we went with a beachy theme and soft colors) and creating art.
I'm taking a class from Artella and if you have never visited their website, DO IT NOW! Marney is amazing and I have watched her grow her business for years and it is so inspiring. Just google Artella and it will come up.
This week I am concentrating on new samples for Art Is ....2009, a class that I'm teaching on Friday called"Landscape Painting and 3D embellishments. My mind has been swirling for days on new ideas and I'm up to my elbows in paint and fabric and loving every minute.
So, it's time to go, I'm teaching a class today at Studio 34 in Rochester and it's called Memories under Glass, mini colleges sandwiched between thin glass and soldered. It's one of my favorites to teach.
So have a wonderful week and create some art!
Di

Blank Canvas's are so Intimidating

I've got a blank canvas sitting in front of me and it's so intimidating because I want to do it right the first time. I'm referring to a new home that we will be moving to as soon as our house sells. It's a beautiful home that we are renting with hardwood floors, gumwood trim and so much character that I just can't stand it.

Part of me wants the house to be a beachy retreat. I love the ocean and the colors of blues, greens, softness and beauty. My son loves the idea too. It will be easy to paint soft colors, get slipcovers for our furniture and accent the place with things that are light and airy.

The the other part of me wants warm tones, reds, off whites, bright accents and a warm wonderful feel.

So I stand divided and I'd better make up my mind soon because time is not going to stand still.

It's like when I order in a restaurant. I always have to go last because I can never make up my mind until I'm forced to. So I'll keep you posted as to what we decide. I have a feeling it will either be Brian's choice or a coin flip!

Tribute to my Dad

Last Monday June 1, 2009 my father passed away, leaving a world full of pain, cancer and broken hearts. He is pictured above with his pride and joy, my son Brian taken last June at Bri's graduation party.
My father left a legacy in his children and grandchildren and took much pride in his family. He taught me so much and although the pain is so fresh and the wound so open I feel compelled to tell you about him. I had forgotten how painful it is to lose a parent, as my mom died 20 years ago. I am so grateful for both of my parents and their guidance and love.
I'm so relieved that his pain and suffering is over and that he is "Safely Home in Heaven at Last", with my mom and other loved ones but it leaves such a hole in my heart and my life. Let me tell you a little about him.....

His name is Bob Russell and his life revolved around his family. He fell in love with and married my mom Ursula in the mid 1950's and about a year later my older brother Mark came along, quickly followed by yours truly 14 months later. My younger brother Bobby was born 4 years after me and my parents always said if Bobby had been the first, he would have been the last (he was a wee bit mischievous as a child).

My brothers and I grew up with our parents involved in all that we did. We lived in a little Italian community in Rochester NY and went to a 4 room/8 grade schoolhouse, complete with our catholic Italian church, Most Precious Blood. Dad was a huge part of our parish and worked on everything from Bingo calling to help building our new church, rectory and convent. We were blessed to have our second family in our MPB parish and still have remained close with many that we were lucky enough to grow up with. Because as in all families, blood and love is thicker than water.

He was a plumber by trade and very smart. We had a family affair in his company, Russell Plumbing and Heating with all of us kids worked with dad at one time or another and my mom running the office. We have many wonderful memories of growing up at the "shop".

Now this may sound like a fairy tale childhood and in many ways it was, but my father was also a perfectionist and strove to instill in his children a set of values, morals and a love for working hard at all you do. Of course it took years for us to realize that he spent our whole lives
teaching us in a way that we were not even aware of and for that we are eternally grateful.

He was a man who was not afraid of hard work and worked endless hours both in the field and the office. It was not unusual to hear our telephone ring in the middle of a cold winter's night and dad leaving to fix someone's furnace who was without heat.

He worked hard and played hard. He loved our cottage and boating (but hated to fish), we spent many a day on the water (hence, my love for bodies of water). He loved to travel with my mom and for 17 years, they would go every year to Las Vegas with a group of their friends from MPB. They later bought a time share in Paradise Island Bahamas which was truly their paradise and spent 2 glorious weeks every winter there.

His family and friends always came first and he taught me to think of others first and gave me my love for volunteering and helping others. He passed on his love of movies and music to my younger brother Bobby (who is the director of the historical Little Theatre in Rochester NY) and his love of The Lord, church and friendships to my older brother Mark in Highlands Ranch Co.

He was always a sharp dresser, spent hours on the golf course, loved to go out on Saturday date night with my mom, loved his sports (Mets & Giants fan forever and of course his favorite, hockey), devote father, grandfather and friend. He was a Little League coach, spent many a 6am morning at the hockey rink with my younger brother, drove the Aquinas band equipment truck on many a road trip with my older brother and fought like the dickens to keep my majorette group at Nazareth Academy from being disbanded by a nasty nun.

All in all, Dad taught us everything we know. He and Mom always taught us to reach for the stars, all the while knowing that they were there to catch us if we fell.

He leaves behind our children, his grandchildren who adored him and is the only grandfather who's name was Baba (a combo of Bob and Papa, compliments of his oldest grandchild, Jenny). He has wonderful in-law kids who he always thought of as his own and of course my brothers and I.
Dad, you served The Lord well and did everything He asked of you. He took you to heaven a week ago to enjoy eternal life. Give Mom a big hug and kiss everyday from her kids and grandkids. Until we meet again we will hold you in our hearts forever.
Love, Di, Danny, Bobby, Kathy, Mark, Cathy, Jenny, Chris, A, Brian and Madi

The Superman of all Roller Coasters

Life can be such a roller coaster, and one that sometimes,
I would personally like to get off of.
If only for a short while, enough time to take a deep breathe
and live in peace and harmony.
If only for a moment, an hour, a day.....

So where do I go when I need a break?
Either outside to sit by my pool and reflect (no pun intended)
or to Paradise, my studio.

At either place I am able to clear my head, close my eyes and picture
the things that make me happy.
Friends, Family, Art & the gentle sounds of water

So when life gets to be too much to handle,
Take a short vacation to your paradise

Trust me, it will renew you and give you the strength to keep going.