My Beautiful Pups - Robin

My sweet pups love to be together. On the couch is no exception. Luna is the black one and Abby the spotty.
I can't imagine a world without dogs. Thank goodness I don't have to!

Blossoms in the Cold - Rachel

Emma's real smile - Amy

Graphite pencil, pen and acrylic wash on canvas board. I initially set out to do a full on thick slather of paint. I wanted to work on improving the gesture of my "girl." Then I liked how the mouth turned out so I didn't want to cover it up with paint.

Bears of My Past - Lyn~

These are some of my dressed bears made from various types of fabrics. Felt fur, low shag lambswool and deep pile fur.

A girl and her fish - Amy

Acrylic on canvas board, Here's my next girl. This time with her beautiful Betta.

Surrounded~ Lori

Surrounded 24 x 24

This one is for you my Barbara Angel. Every year for nearly 30 years, I have put an angel on top of on my Christmas tree that was given to me from my friend Barbara, never knowing where my friend had gone and then by chance she ran into my mom, when my brother was in the hospital. We have yet to see each other in person and I have cherished watching her life from far, but now, I can hardly wait to see her and it seems appropriate that I will be bringing a piece of my heart for her during her recovery from her second bout of the terrible disease breast cancer.

I wanted to wait and have it be a complete surprise, but I thought with everything your going through and your puppy sick...why wait. I have waited long enough! This is made for my friend Barbara and I feel honored that she wanted a piece of my art in her home. I knew you were ok with all the friends and love that surround you and I am honored that I finally know what I can do for you.

May this be a constant reminder of the love that surrounds you here, above and beyond. May this help remind you of the reason you are here. Surrounded by Love.

What a gift that I can give you a piece of my heart! Thank you
The title is "Surrounded" because she is perhaps one of the most loved people I know and have every seen. She seems to have more friends who love her and whom all have encircled her with love during these trying times. I can't even imagine being so loved, it is truly a blessing to see a person who is " love", be so loved. In her Carebride Cancer Journal, she has almost 10,000 posts of good well wishes from friends, since late September...Wow! Her friends have loved her and her family through and she has fought this disease with the most courage, strength, and dignity anyone could ever imagine. She is beauty inside and out! She is a true inspiration to all that come in contact with her.

Barbara I hope you feel the healing energy and love poured into this piece and I felt all those who support you while painting this for you. Thank you for being such an inspiration in my life. Lets see each other next week or this weekend...

The girl loves her Calico - Amy

Acrylic on canvas board.

Pattern Step Two - Lyn~

Stage two in making a bear. All the pieces are hand stitched since they are too small to machine sew. That is a quilting needle to give some idea of perspective it is about 1 1/4" long.

Eye See You- Lori

I see you in Yosemite!

Holy Leaf, Yosemite

Barking up the Right Tree - Rachel

I love the look of my sycamore's bark when it's wet with rain. The only enhancements here were those provided by the rain and sun.

Pattern! - Lyn~

The first step in making a teddy bear. Since I am having one of those times where I am feeling creativity that is pulling me in too many directions, I decided to multitask. First step was doing the pattern. Later I will do some more work on my Iris painting. As I continue to work on the bear I will post updates.

A different look at the Heart- Lori

Intensity - Rachel

ya tawking to me? - Amy

Oaken Treefolk - Rachel

Last weekend my kids and I paid a visit to Mt. Diablo, as we drove and then hiked up through the oaks my daughter and I were on the lookout for treefolk. You can often find them among the oaks, blending in, hiding, twisting and contorting so as to keep out of the view of humans. Looking down upon this stand of trees I just know that the treefolk are close. Can't you feel them?

Church- Lyn~

This was one of the many beautiful churches I was able to get pics of. Unfortunately, I do not have Photoshop on my pc now so all I can give you is what came off my little phone cam. This one was a Byzantine style church. The doors were brass. I was across the street and didnt think to get out of the warm car into the freezing cold for a close up and now I am kicking myself!

Pasta Drawing~ Lori

A few of my favorite foods...

vase study - Amy

pressed charcoal on paper.

Coffee @ SFMOMA - Rachel

Yesterday I visited SFMOMA with my kids and a dear friend, I had every intention of taking a camera, and somehow managed to arrive with only my poor little Blackberry. The images I caught were not what I wanted, I was soo sad not to have my Nikon (or even my point n shoot), but I've made the best of what I did. These pics have had their lighting and contrast adjusted extensively, and I have applied a dry brush filter, as well. I like the results I got with the empty cups better than the full ones. Maybe I'll keep playing and adjusting, or maybe I'll pour myself another cup of coffee and move on.

Iris. Lovely Iris. How changed you become when confronted with my brush. (in progress)

So far behind - Robin

I could post all day and not catch up!!

I don't know what kind of plant this is. My aunt gave me a cutting and once that cutting saw my camera it started posing non-stop! I figured I would give in to it's narcissism and shoot a few frames.

Mother Hummingbird - Robin

I've missed you all! I am really struggling with my photography project. I wish you all could brainstorm with me. I'm running out of time!

We are a hummer friendly yard. We have many, many hummers and many nests. One that is active this year is situated between the garage and house. There are about 3.5 feet between the nest and the wall which makes photography of the babies difficult. It's pretty dark as well. I have seen them briefly and they are so very small. They are about .5" long and .2" wide.
I'd have to get above the nest with my camera on my tripod to get the babies in focus. It's been so cold that I don't want to cause any more stress to this new little family. So, I'm making due with my zoom and a respectful distance. I hope you like it!

and everything nice -Amy

Collage of assorted craft jewels adhered to canvas board.  I was going to do do this with some of my buttons (make note to self to do this) but these jewels needed to be part of something. They were once in a bag but had escaped and were all over an art supply draw.  Now they are this piece.

Purple Cornflower~ Lori

Art Where You Find It~ Lori

A girl and her cat - Amy

Acrylic on canvas board

Snowy Stem

Snow Flower - Rachel

Here's one thing I LOVE about living in California - even when we do get a little snow (emphasize little) we still have beautiful flowers in bloom.

I missed a day somewhere along the way this month, so I'm posting a second image today to make up for it.

The Reaching Tree - Rachel

Welcoming or ominous ~ I'm not sure, but I certainly do like this tree with its branches reaching out.

Falling Down - Rachel

I pass this falling down building everyday when I drop my daughter off at school, and everyday I see something a little different. Sometimes it's swathed in fog, others it's surrounded by frost, and still others it's merely a silhouette framed by a bright starburst of sunshine. I haven't yet gotten "the" pictures I want, for I'm always rushing off to drop off child #2 at school #2, but someday I'll get with no other agenda or responsibilities. Until then this will have to do.

Love Bud - Amy

This is a "make up" image for my missed day. I could not get an image of it until today. This was my Valentine Card/gift to Emma. Glass paint on a small bud vase.

A trio of cupcakes - Amy

Acrylic painting with my first use of the modeling paste (the icing).

Altars~ Lori

In the mail~ Lori

A Valentines Gift finished and a quick visit on my altar. I will be a little sad to see you go "Golden Spirit", but I know you will be in a very good home. You know you've created something good, when you have a hard time saying goodbye. It was really exciting to put a painting in the mail today! My first time mailing artwork...

I open the door to more trips to the post office to mail art to distant places, and welcome new avenues of growth, wealth, and creative energy. Release....

You Are What You Eat - Rachel

I was fascinated with this DNA model made entirely from cookbooks. While not strictly my art, since it's someone else's creation, I wanted to capture it. I like the use of cookbooks, particularly in creating this model... afterall, we are what we eat, but also, our DNA is our recipe. The science geek in me is satisfied, at least for now.

Abandoned Pier - Amy

Taken in Berkeley at the Pier on a foggy and sunny day (typical Bay Area weather!). We started with clear blue skies and walked the full length of the pier (3000 feet) into thick wet fog. At the end is the old remains of the original pier which seems to go on for another 3000 feet. Alas, no stellar views of the Bay.

Into the Village - Lyn~

This was driving thru an Amish town. It was really incredible. In a lot of the windows there were lit candles. I was told that it is a sign that tells people help can be obtained at that house. Any kind of help needed. I thought that was amazing for a community to come together like that. There were several little towns and even individual farm houses that had those lights in the windows.

Heart Art~ Lori

"Make new friends, keep the old. One is silver, and the other gold."

A small detail, of the under painting, of a very special painting I began today, for a very special friend from childhood. She just had her last Chemo treatment for Breast Cancer. I am very excited and honored to do this piece for her and hope it brings great love to her home and family during her recovery and beyond.

rub this spot, often - Amy

I just  got an iPhone; a reward for waiting patiently for many years for Verizon to get in on the action. This is one of my first photos (I am sure many more to follow) of my lovely Lilly. This is straight from the phone - no PS. PS is on our Mac and our iTunes is on our PC. It is very crazy here! One day,we will have everything on the Mac. We have too many computers in this house.

That little gray spot is one of my favorite characteristics of Lilly. Emma helped me catch this moment by shaking something over my head. (She insisted that I give her credit!)  I rub her neck often so that I can get a peek at this spot. To me, it's her little mole above her lips, her unique little stamp.

Icicles - Lyn~

These icicles went from roof to ground and were several inches thick!. Being from Cali and very nice weather weather most of the time, it was a surprise to see.

Broccoli Bouquet

St. Paul's - Rachel

There's something I find so enchanting in stone buildings, whether they be churches or other buildings, the solid, eternal feeling of the stone and the marvel of architecture draws my eye. This is St. Paul's Catholic Church in San Francisco, the red door was a fun surprise. In this picture I elected to leave the door it's actual red, while changing the rest of the image to B&W. I also bumped up the contrast so that the details of the stone popped out.

2010's Room with a View- Lori

Room with a view 2011

A pleasant surprise from my son Jack... a heart for Mom. Awww!

Gold River - Rachel

I love water. The way it plays with light and color, the way it feels, the sense of washing away things unwanted and refreshing life. Its rushing pounding power, and its gentle meandering refrain. Filling, spilling, washing, fascinating... I'm always trying to capture the essence of this magical elixer.

Golden Spirit~ Lori

Golden Spirit~ For Valentines Day Gift

I've been working on this one today for a very special person and trying to get it done and in the mail for a Valentines commission. It is feeling close to being done, but I am not sure...I'll have to see how it dries and how it feels.

Happy Valentines~ Thanks for viewing our work!

Lori











I have been working on this one to