re-entry

hello all- so tired. some time soon i'll write about squam, but not yet, i'm too tired, too overwhelmed with memories, thoughts and inspiration, and 3 days of playing catch-up at work, working like a dog. here are a few journal entries. i'm going to take this really slow....good night, brigid.

summer's over!!!

some pictures from my show

hello hello- i can't believe that my long awaited summer off is over in one week, and i have to go back to  work !i'm sure that those of you who have worked all summer don't feel a bit sorry for me and you're quite right. it is an absolute privilege to have the whole summer off, and i have to pinch myself quite hard to believe that i do have it. this summer has gone by so fast, i feel like i'm pedalling backwards to keep up. there is so much to do every day,that i never seem to have time to get to it all- i feel like i get up, blink,drink some coffee and it's midnight again and i have to think about going to bed. tonight i am going to start going to bed earlier so that getting up at 5:30 or 6:00 won't be such a shock to my system.this summer has been jampacked with art and all kinds of mindblowing experiences, so mind blowing that i can't even remember what they were tee-hee.i've had my work in 2 shows, spent 6 weeks at art lab, taken 2 e-courses, did some block printing (love it) and some encaustic painting (loved that too), am starting to think seriously about starting a creative business,putting my work up on etsy, designing a web page, and starting to  twitter and post more on facebook, lived thru a hurricane-we had to evacuate from my beloved beach house- no damage, all is well, many thanks to my wonderful sister kathleen and her husband alan who graciously put us up for the night and made us feel so welcome-that experience deserves a whole post of it's own. hilary leaves for london in two days and i miss her already. never mind that she would be going back to school anyway-i can drive to philadelphia and back in a day, not so london. i am truly happy for her to have this experience, but i will miss her terribly.anyway it's past my new bedtime already, so i won't bore you any more for the moment. be well, thanks for listening lol,brigid.

saturday dinner party

this is what i really look like

picture of me trying to take a self portrait in the mirror

hello hello, my guests have gone home and i am waiting until it's time for my son to go to bed, so i can have some down time. i'm not so good at entertaining- i don't do it frequently-usually because my house is a mess- but today we had friends over and had the best time! we started off at the ferry where we picked them up from mahattan and drove to snug harbor to show off my  etchings in the"process to print " show which has been up since july 9th . today was supposed to be the last day, but i spoke to the director who said they're keeping it up until monday so if you haven't seen it you have 2 more  days. i am honored to be in a show with pat decicco, bill murphy,&phyliss featherstone, to name a few of the talented artists whose work is showcased.we showed off the gardens and other delights of  the harbor to our friends who were duly impressed, and after the harbor we headed home,driving  along front street with it's fabulous views of the shore line, down past the beaches to our shady home in midland beach, which i grow more and more fond of as the years roll by. our friends thought staten island was like living in the country, a million miles away from the city. which in some ways it is, but in others-let's just say the traffic and s.i.'s drivers leave a little to be desired.once home, the kids pitched in and we had dinner on the table fairly quickly. hilary and alex were wonderful, making salad, setting out pre dinner snacks, getting the table set and the food on the table- we all worked together, and had a blast.. our friends, who we love dearly, seemed to have a good time and we plied them with jewelry, books and one of my paintings, which to my delight they seemed to love..it was truly marvelous to spend time with them- they are wonderful people i never get tired of, and we all promised to get together soon and to spend more time together, and it was great that hilary was still here-she leaves for london on the 31st- eek!i leave you with a quote from martin luther king:"all men are interdependent...our destinies are tied together." and so it seems. good night, be well, brigid.

keeping the committment

me and hilary hanging in philly before i cut all my hair off

hello hello- i'm really psyched tonight. i've been learning so much from kelly rae robert's course flying lessons, i still have two more weeks of vacation,i'm loving spending time with my daughter before she flies off to london for a semester abroad, and also enjoying time spent with my husband and two boys. i'm getting really excited about going to the squam artists workshop in september in new hampshire. i've been wanting to attend saw since i first heard about it several years ago- i can't believe that i'm actually going! i'm working on getting products ready to sell at their fair-even if i don't sell a thing it will be worth it because it's the first time i've ever done anything like this before, so it's a real learning curve for me. i'm working on my blog trying to improve it, am considering opening an etsy shop and putting together a website. the best part is that ia, my husband, and the love of my life, is coming on board to help me with all the business parts of the business, leaving me free to do the creative work, which takes a huge load off of my shoulders. we're actually going to work on it together and i'm so excited. i just have to take a few deep breaths and remember that i don't have to do everything at once. i'm going to have to pace myself, especially since i have to go back to work at the end of this month, after such an exciting and glorious summer. i'm going to try and post a picture of me and my daughter but i'm not so good at finding the exact picture i want so it may be something entirely different=i'm still learning how to do all of this stuff so please be patient. until we meet again, brigid.

whew!

hello all-so much has been happening i don't know where to begin.i just finished my summer class at the Art Lab and it was as usual outstanding.i received a great critique from Marie Roberts who said my work is definitely progressing and when  i asked her what artist i should be looking at she said lucian freud-who is one of my absolute favorite painters(he has a gem of a show at the met- some 17 or so fabulous paintings-his use of paint is both rough and luscious at the same time- don't miss it). i am now re-taking kellyrae roberts flying lessons e-course-so good. i am learning so much it's mind blowing and this is my 2nd time. lots of stuff about the importance of blogging-so iam committing myself to at least one if not 3 or4 posts a week from now on, and i plan to revamp the whole blog in the days ahead- i'm really excited over all that i've been learning.i hung my solo show in new hampshire on monday and i've already sold two paintings!  a fantastic beginning. we had a fab time with our incredible hosts colleen and jack foley, who co-own and operate the Cold Mountain Cafe in bethlehem new hampshire.great food,great service- i can't thank them enough for hosting my show and their incredible hospitality.- so if you are in the north country of new hampshire please stop in for a look at the show and an outsanding lunch or dinner. it's so beautiful there and the people are so friendly, i never want to leave. if my circumstances were different i'd move there in a hot minute. well that's it for tonight thanks for listening and come back to see the blog revamping. good night, lots of love, brigid

bliss;summer continuing

hi all- as you can see by the title i am totally enjoying my summer "off", and i'm busier than ever. between preparing for my show,taking an e-class and going to the summer program at the art lab,along with experimenting with other art materials and substrates, i'm having a ball.and i haven't even started working on my children's book,or trying out encaustic painting, which are 2 of my goals for this summer. life is good. and i'm so loving staying up until midnight or later and waking up when i wake up- usually around 9 or so. i could so get used to this on a permanent basis. retirement is a magic word. i don't know how many years i have yet to go-3-5 probably- but it can't come soon enough for me. still for now i'm enjoying having the summer off, and am very grateful for it. today i painted all day and spent a little time working on the bookmarks i've made for the show.tomorrow i plan on more of the same, unless i start doing some encaustic work, or work on the book. i'm a little behind on my e-class work, but i'll get caught up soon. it's very time consuming, what with doing the work, scanning or photographing the pieces, and then posting them on flicker. i've also joined something called maryjane's farmgirl sister hood which looks like a hoot. anyone heard of them? it seems to be a kind of girl scouts for grownups-you can earn merit badges, talk to other members, and hopefully meet some of the girls in the flesh eventually.well i guess that's enough gas bagging out of me for now- i'll be back with more news as the summer progresses. lol, brigid.

july's sweet s0ng

hello everyone- i've been on vacation for nearly a week and haven't. had the time to post. let's see if i can do better than one post a month over the summer! all kinds of things going on. tomorrow is the first day of art camp at the art lab-6weeks of drawing, painting, and art history lectures 3 daya a week. this is my 4th year i think. i just love it. seeing old friends,doing art together it's a blast.. my printmaking teacher pat dechico called to ask if i wanted to put some prints in an art show

 at the lab. of course i said yes and so will have a few pieces up starting on friday. come by and see. also gearing up for a one woman show in early august- september at the cold mountain cafe in bethleham n.h., which is owned and operated by my two old friends coleen and jack foley(and  partners). so for the best gourmet lunch or dinner in new hampshire,if you're heading to new england, stop in and eat and see my paintings too. i just ordered the postcards for the show-i'm calling it "women and other figments of the imagination". it should be good fun, and maybe i'll actually sell something. the summer is fling by already and i have so much art work to do. on that note i'll leave you so i can get to it-cheers brigid.