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.