Folly Beach Doodles

My husband and I are just back from our yearly beach trip with all of the family. The past two years we went to Ocacroke, an island off the coast of North Carolina, just below the Outer Banks. My husband and I both love it there!... beautiful wide open beaches, a walkable small town feel with quaint shops and a neighborhood grocery store that stocks just about everything, lots of local history (Blackbeard the pirate slept here!), a long ferry ride there to help you decompress, plenty of golfcarts and bikes and hardly any cars... what's not to like?!!

But last year, we had almost a whole week of rain... and our "Big Kids" (aka our grown children!) were bored and needed something more exciting to do.

So this year, we compromised and went to a beach we'd never visited before... Folly Beach in South Carolina... just a 20 minute ride to Charleston. 

Honestly, as I packed for the trip, I was wishing we were going back to Ocacroke. But once we got there, Folly Beach kinda grew on me! We rented a gorgeous house with room for all of us to spread out. It was within a short walk to the beach, which was wide and sometimes had little pools at low tide where our granddaughter could splash around and make sand castles... Perfect! On our first night there it rained, and we were serenaded by what sounded like a million frogs!... I guess there's a first time for everything!

My husband is an early riser... and so is our 4 year old granddaughter... so they had quite a few breakfast dates at the Lost Dog Cafe. I even got to go along one morning. Lots of local color and "pampakes" for our granddaughter that were shaped like a bunny! Breakfast "dates" with Opa have become a vacation tradition that my husband really looks forward to!

We did have a few rainy and windy days that made beach-going less than ideal... so on those days we headed to Charleston, where we went to the South Carolina Aquarium (they rehabilitate injured sea turtles), ate a yummy lunch out, did a little shopping, and took a fun boat ride over to check out Fort Sumter.  

Folly Beach has a brand new pier, where we enjoyed a great family dinner at Koko's On The Pier, a tiki bar with lots of seating under colorful umbrellas. We had fun watching all the fishermen and surfers on our after dinner pier walk, and visited a cute gift shop where I found a paper mache seagull to take home with me! 

I got a little time to sketch while we were there, so I had fun drawing the Folly Beach doodles above in my sketchbook... Kinda a fun way to remember this year's family beach vacation! 

Most of all, I just enjoyed being with our family!... hanging out on the screened porch in the morning drinking coffee, sitting under the beach umbrella watching everyone play and build sandcastles, walking on the beach together looking for seashells and watching the pelicans, watching funny movies together in the evening... all the simple things that help to bring us closer together. I'm very very grateful for this time of family togetherness!... and I'm already looking forward to next year!

 

I'm A Dog Person!

"Good Dog!"

My husband Joe and I have been married now for 43 years... and over that time, we've had the pleasure of caring for five dogs... all very different in their personalities, but all very very lovable!

Our first dog came unexpectedly!... a cute Miniature Schnauzer named Jonathan. Friends of ours were going overseas as missionaries and were not able to take their dog along with them. So Jonathan came to live with us at our house. At the time, our oldest son Ben was only two years old, and I was definitely NOT looking for a dog! Ben was a handful!... an extroverted, busy, into-everything toddler with a mind of his own! When Jonathan arrived at our house, Ben made it his job to chase Jonathan around the house, trying to pull his tail. My job became running around after Ben trying to protect Jonathan!... Crazy Mom Life!! My mother-in-law was fond of saying that Jonathan was a "jaunty little fella"... and he really was! 

Next came Salem (named after our hometown, Winston-Salem). My husband saw her featured on the local news, a brand new puppy from the Humane Society. We took our boys over to see her and (of course!) fell in love with her! She was the runt of her litter... a chow mix with a beautiful auburn coat. What we didn't know at the time was that she had terrible separation anxiety, was very territorial and was dreadfully afraid of thunderstorms! When the mailman came to the door each day, she barked and barked in an effort to protect our home from outside invaders! Still, she was wonderful with our boys and was a great companion to them during their growing up years. Years later, Salem is probably the dog my sons both remember the best.

After both the boys had headed off to college and beyond, our house felt very empty. So I hunted online and found a black lab named Winnie at a lab rescue group here in North Carolina. Winnie was really sick when she was rescued. We suspect she'd been raised as a breeding dog, and when her usefulness as a puppy producer was over, she was abandoned. She had fleas and ticks and needed treatment for heartworms... but from the very first, Winnie was a "love bug!" Of all the dogs we've owned, I think I've been closest to Winnie. Joe traveled a lot during that time... and she was my gentle, faithful companion at home. There are some dogs who are more than just dogs... It seems like they see into your soul. And that's who Winnie was for me.

Jake came into our lives as a puppy... and boy was he difficult to train! We had gotten him through the same lab rescue group, and assumed he had at least some lab in him... but he started growing so fast that we soon suspected he wasn't a lab mix at all. I guess his silver gray coat should have clued us in! One of his litter mates had a DNA test, and it turned out that the puppy was a mix of Great Dane, Collie, Husky and German Shepherd... and not a drop of  Lab in him! So we assume that Jake has the same lineage. We took him to a local puppy training class and he failed miserably!... So Joe very diligently and patiently taught him to walk nicely on a leash, to come when called, and lots of other essential puppy tricks. Eventually Jake settled in here at home, and he's been a joy!... although his hard-headedness and ninety-five pound size continue to be a challenge at times. He's in love with the bunnies that sometimes hop around in our back yard, and can't get enough people attention when we have visitors. He's an extroverted dog in a home full of introverts!

We never planned to have two dogs at a time... but when both my parents passed away within nine months of each other, we brought their Labradoodle Shadow home to stay with us. Shadow was nine years old at the time.She had not received the care she needed at my parents' house. She was very overweight and unkept. We took her to our vet and learned she needed to have several teeth removed and that she had a thyroid condition that required medication. On top of that, she had arthritis that made it difficult for her to get around well. So, at the vet's suggestion, we put her on a diet and started walking her so she would shed some pounds. Twenty-five or so pounds later, Shadow is a frisky old lady who loves to play with Jake out on our deck. Shadow has never met a food she didn't want to eat, so we always need to keep a watch to be sure she doesn't steal Jake's food. She seems to have an inner alarm clock that tells her it's 5:00 and time for dinner. It has taken a while, but now she's perfectly comfortable and happy at our house.

There have been so many joys for us in caring for the different dogs God has brought into our life!... but there has also been sadness as we've had to say goodbye to some too due to sickness and age. That's the hard part about being a dog owner... You risk having your heart broken when they need to leave this earth. Still, I know that for me the risk of hurt is far outweighed by the joy I've found in loving our dogs! I'm grateful for each waggly tail and sloppy kiss I've received by being willing to be a Dog Mom!

Are you a Dog Person too???... I'd LOVE to hear about your furry friends!!

Painting My Way Through The Pandemic

It has taken me nine months to finally feel like moving back toward sharing my art on Etsy again. My heart has needed time to heal.

The Coronavirus Pandemic hit about the time that my Mom declined rapidly and passed away last spring... and so began a bizarre, heartbreaking "saying goodbye" without the chance to be with her in her last days, or even attend her funeral due to travel restrictions. It was an emotional and baffling time for me, trying to make sense of the circumstances of Mom's homecoming. For a while, it just didn't seem like it all could be real.

So... I really needed to step back for a while to think, to pray, to wrestle with what was and with what is now. I needed a safe place to just be for a while.

Being quarantined at home during this time ended up being a gift to me... I didn't have anywhere to go, there weren't many outside distractions or responsibilities, and life was extra quiet at our house. So, I dug into my craft closet and found some tiny canvas panels I'd been hoarding forever, and started to paint them one by one.

I've always enjoyed working small... My first endeavor with online art sales was creating ACEO's (artist trading cards that are for sale... They measure 2.5" x 3.5"). I like the challenge of creating in a defined space. I like to see how many different ideas can be created on a tiny art card... or in this case, a miniature canvas.

And so, I spent the summer and fall applying colorful acrylics to tiny canvases. The ideas just kept flowing...

...until finally I'd created quite a stash of mini paintings!

I resisted the idea of reopening my Etsy shop at first... Was I ready to come out of my retreat yet? Did I have the emotional and physical energy to re-engage with the world? And, was I willing to go back to posting on Instagram and Facebook again so people could find out about my art?

Well, to tell the truth, the jury's still out on the social media question. I have really loved the quiet... not feeling obligated to post, not being bombarded with what everyone else if doing and thinking... just being me with my own creative ideas and thoughts.

But I did miss putting my artwork out into the world and sharing what I'd created. It seemed a waste to keep stashing my paintings where no one would ever enjoy them.

So, I'm back. And it feels OK. I'm not expecting hoards of customers knocking at my shop's door. But I do hope that others will find a tiny bit of happiness from what I have made. If I can add to someone's joy by sharing my art, that will be more than enough! 

 

Thank you Lord for time to heal. Thank you for the joy of creativity. Thank you for new beginnings. Thank you for loving me! 💖

'Tis The Week After Christmas...

...and somehow, in all the travelings afar and gatherings at home and tree decorating and cookie baking and present wrapping and talking and laughing with the ones we love and dog-sitting for my son's Great Dane and eating waaaaay too much delicious holiday food and doing a thousand loads of laundry and about the same amount of dishes....

... I'm just now getting around to showing you the paintings I made for my Etsy shop to celebrate Christmas this year.

First up is "Jolly Old Saint Nick." I had never painted a Santa before, so I was really excited about creating him!  :)  I used an original sketch I'd drawn and painted him with acrylics on a 5x7 inch canvas panel. The background is a soft gold I mixed up, with gold dots on top. I really like the contrast of his dark red suit and hat against the background. Wonder what could be inside that present he's holding???... I'm kinda in love with his cute little grin!

The second Christmas painting I made was based on an illustration I'd created several years ago... "Away In A Manger."

This one was also painted on a 5x7 flat panel canvas. It's simple and a little "quilty" and sweet... just the star that led the shepherds to the baby Jesus, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

What an amazing event!!... Who could ever have imagined God's gift to us!!???
 

Finally, this is the canvas I painted for an Christmas tree ornament this year.

I never did get a photo of the ornament on my Christmas tree before the season was over... so this scan will have to do! The background is a 2x4 inch flat panel canvas that was painted bright white and flecked with gold. I hand lettered the word "Rejoice" with a black fine point water-based Sharpie paint pen, and painted the heart a deep red inside the letter "O". I finished it by gluing white string to the back of the canvas, covered the back with white cardstock and signed it.

So that's it!... My Christmas 2017 RoundUp of Etsy paintings!!  :)

And, since today happens to be January 1st of 2018, I'd like to wish YOU a very Happy New Year filled with Love, Joy, Hope, and Creativity!!

Happy Halloween!!

 (This is one of the doodles from my sketchbook!)

Halloween is coming up next week!... I always look forward to seeing the little Trick-or-Treaters who come to our door for goodies! It's the preschool-aged children who tickle me the most!... the tiny Supermen and princesses, the wee pumpkin babies in their parents' arms.

Last year we had an amazing butterfly visit us, with gorgeous sparkly wings! And, of course, there are bound to be a few friendly ghosts, a pirate, a robot, a zombie and a gypsy too. I always love to see the creativity of homemade costumes! (by some very loving parents putting together crazy outfits for their kids in the late night hours!).

This year, I've managed to hide the 'treats' from my husband, so (hopefully!) there will be plenty to go around!  :)

What does YOUR family do for Halloween?... Do you carve pumpkins? Make your own costumes? Go to Trunk-or-Treat parties with friends?... I'd really LOVE to hear what YOU do!

Wishing you a Fun and Safe night of Trick-or-Treating with YOUR family this year!!

"Little Ghost And Bat In The Pumpkin Patch"

Hello July 2017!

Photo Credit from Pixabay: Workandapix

Happy July Friends!... Here I am, once again dusting off my neglected blog. It's been a year and a half since I've written (insert emoji with eyes rolling here!). After taking a looong break from Etsy while my husband Joe & I were helping to care for his mom, I'm now gearing up to reopen my shop again (hopefully pretty soon!).

"The Lemonade Stand"

Last time my Etsy shop, PHOLKART*STUDIO, focused on digital stamps for cardmaking. But this time, I'll be offering something completely brand new! I have fallen in love with acrylic painting!!... and I'm having the best.time.ever drawing my cute little illustrations on canvas panels and painting them with yummy, colorful acrylic paints!  :)

I'm also experimenting with creating hand painted ornaments. The tiny yellow house in the upper right corner of my blog is one of those ornaments! I've got that one hanging in my studio right now for inspiration. And I made the "quilty" star below for a sweet friend who is a quilt-lover just like I am!

As always, my blog is a work in progress (like I am!). I'd be honored if you'd like to follow along with me on my art journey. If you'd like to receive email updates about my new blog entries, there's a little form at the top where you can do that. And as always, I'd LOVE to hear from YOU! :)

Blessings & Happy Creating!!

Patti

Waiting For Spring

"Waiting For Spring"

We got the call one evening last February... Mom was in the hospital again and things weren't looking good. My husband & I immediately went into emergency mode, packing clothes, food, and doggie needs, gathering up hats, gloves, scarves and winter coats, getting ready to travel first thing the next day. We were on auto-pilot...

Once we'd arrived, the waiting began... At that point I realized I had forgotten to bring any art supplies along with me. I was surprised that, during this period of stress & uncertainty, I really wanted to quietly sketch and then color what I had created.

So... my husband took me to Walmart, and I bought a child-sized box of Crayola colored pencils. I started with one quilt block, and then another, not having a plan in mind, just designing one thing & then the next. I chose the Crayola colors that looked most like Spring to me, that felt most like hope. And then I filled the waiting hours with quiet prayer & happy colors. They soothed my soul.

Thank you, Lord, that you met me in my time of anxiety in a way that I could understand... through the quietness of sketching, through the hopefulness of color, through the power of answered prayer.

An Unexpected Snow Holiday

"Snowbound" ACEO

Here in the Piedmont of North Carolina where I live, we don't often get major winter snow storms... but last week, Winter Storm Jonas paid us a visit, leaving behind more sleet than snow. My husband & I were thankful that our power stayed on and that we had plenty of food in the house. After checking to be sure that our parents & grown kids were safe & warm, we settled in 'til the snow melted. And so, being the introverts that we both are, we each dove into the books we'd been wanting to read & the creative projects around the house we'd been waiting to do... loving this unexpected Snow Holiday in our quiet home.

Welcome Home Winnie!

Four years ago this month, Winnie, a gentle black lab, came to live at our house... The moment I saw her, I totally fell in love.  :)

My husband Joe & I don't know much about Winnie's story... If only she could tell us! She came to us through the Lab Rescue of North Carolina, found by a caring stranger somewhere near a beach in eastern Carolina. She had recently had a litter of puppies, though we have no idea what happened to them. All we know is that Winnie was very sick with heartworm disease when she was found and she needed lots of love & care.

The kind folks at the Lab Rescue named her Winnie... and my husband decided she'd been through enough... she shouldn't have to get used to a brand new name too. So 'Winnie' it was.

When we first adopted Winnie, the lab rescue guessed she was somewhere between two and three years old. But after our family vet needed to x-ray her, we discovered that our young dog was actually a whole lot older (which helped explain her very laid back personality).

Winnie's the first dog we've adopted since my sons have grown up... and she's been the perfect companion for me. Nothing makes her happier than a walk around the neighborhood, her chewy 'Kong' & her favorite toy duck (now looking a lot worse for wear!). She follows the sun around our house & is content just to 'be' with me... my super sweet studio buddy!  :)  Without a doubt, Winnie helps make our house a home!

The doodle above was drawn on a 4x6 index card, just for fun, using a black Micron pen, Copic markers, Prismacolor markers & Prismacolor pencils.  :)

Blessed Beyond Words!

'Joyful Mail'

The mailman has been delivering Christmas cards to our house this week... friends from near & far! It amazes me that, over the course of our marriage, Joe and I have been loved by so many special people, far too many to count!

Often these Christmas cards contain personal letters, updating us on the highs & lows of the past year for each family. I loved the JOY in one of the first cards to arrive in our mailbox... a photo card of a grandma, surrounded by her ten 'grands' at the beach. While her year had held many ups & downs... this grandma's perspective was that she'd been 'Blessed Beyond Words'... and so it is for our family!

Lord, thank you for your kindness & generosity to us. This past year was filled with love and joy, courage and fears, disappointment and challenges. And in it all, we are so grateful that you've been right here with us through all of it... We have indeed been blessed beyond words!

Some Recent Thoughts on Creative Goals...

photo credit: Rosa Say  https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosasay/6338228205/

I am really in a strange place recently. The summer's pace interrupted the art goals that I thought I was so excited about... My husband was home, we traveled a lot, we spent time with family & cared for aging parents. I crocheted a whole bunch of kids' hats for World Vision's 'Knit for Kids'... and got excited about learning a brand new craft. Somehow, my sketchbook stayed on my shelf all summer & really didn't call my name. I put my Etsy shop on vacation for an undetermined amount of time. This is really not like me... not like me at all!

I have almost (but not quite) 'broken up with' Facebook... and I'm not missing social marketing a bit (zip-zero!). It's been months since I've "zazzled" or tried to keep up with my website or blogs. OK now, seriously... What gives?

I'm wondering if I've reached a new place in my life where I'm just ready to do something more tangible, more here-and-now... something more meaningful.

Or could it be that this is just part of the up & down life of being a creative person? Life changes... interests ebb & flow.


What do you have for me Lord, as the seasons change and I adopt a new rhythm to life? Will you give me a 'heart' for something new?... or will you encourage me to keep going with what I've already started? I don't know yet... but my prayer is to be in the center of your will. Help me to have ears to hear your voice & a heart to embrace your direction.

A Very Simple Christmas

It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas at our house again this year! Our wreath is hung on the front door... just a simple green wreath with a red bow. It feels welcoming to me. I hope it will make others feel welcomed to our home this season as well. 

Our artificial tree is assembled & fluffed & strung with lights. I miss the smell of fresh pine from a real tree, but this is a season in our married life when holidays mean traveling away from home. The twinkling lights are bright & cheerful. They give our home a festive feel. Sometime soon I'll carry down our boxes of ornaments from upstairs & add to the tree's sparkle... But for now, the simple, un-embellished tree makes me feel happy.

On top of the old piano in our dining room, I've arranged the Nativity scene... just a replica of someone's skilled hand carving. I love the folk art feel of it & its' rustic simplicity. It's a reminder to me that Jesus was born in the humblest of circumstances & laid in a feeding trough used for the stable animals... Amazing Grace!! God sent His only Son to live & walk among us. Who would have thought He could love us so much?

I took this picture from our deck last night... It reminded me of the carol, "Silent Night". This year I have found myself longing for peacefulness, for time to meditate on the true meaning of the Christmas season. My husband & I have scaled our gift-giving & holiday shopping back. In truth, I'm relieved not to be bustling about looking for 'who knows what to give to Uncle Harry.' I'm content to miss out on the crowds & glitz & commercialism so often a part of the Christmas season. I'm feeling more centered, less stressed & more joyous. Yes, the Merry feels like it's returned to Christmas for me this year!

Last Sunday at church, we sang the well-known French carol, "Angels We Have Heard On High." I know I must have sung this song thousands of times over the years. But somehow, the words of the third verse jumped out at me this time... so much so that I scribbled them down on the bulletin so I wouldn't forget. They really sum up what I long to do this Christmas season (& always!)...

Come to Bethlehem and see

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come adore on bended knee

Christ, the Lord, the Newborn King.

~ Wayne Wold

May YOU be blessed in knowing the love
of Jesus, our Savior and Lord
this Christmas!

Finding Creative New Ideas Every Day

 "Backyard Gardeners"

So, where do new art ideas come from anyhow?... Well, everywhere really. I'm finding even life's ordinary everyday moments can inspire fun & creative ideas for art!  :)

On an average spring or summer Saturday morning around our house (after blueberry pancakes & coffee with my husband Joe!), it's time for Joe to head out into the yard. He puts on his straw gardening hat & I know he's about to be in his "Happy Place." I can almost see him start to relax as he mows the grass & pulls the weeds & moves plants from one location to another more suitable home. Watching him from our kitchen window, I feel like I'm watching him "paint" his own very beautiful picture.

Of course, our Lab, Winnie, is sure to make it known that she wants to be out in the yard with Joe too! She lies by the basement door & whimpers (loudly!) 'til Joe has finally finished mowing the grass. Then it's time for her to head out into the backyard & "supervise" the gardening. I'm convinced this is the highlight of Winnie's entire week!  ;)

A simple, every week scene at our house... Who'da thought that something so normal could inspire anything creative???

A little side-note here... Winnie is a black lab, so I cheated when I colored her brown! I'm still figuring out how to work with areas of black in art & not have them look like a great big black hole!  :)

Greetings From A Corn Field

While visiting our family farm this past June, I began to wonder whether it might be wisest for me to focus more of my attention on growing my Zazzle shop during this season in our family life. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Etsy! (I really do!)... and I plan to continue to list my art there as much as I'm able to. But my husband & I are finding we need to be at the farm more often these days. It's not as easy keeping in touch with buyers when I'm out in the middle of a corn field, away from the internet!... and mailing art while I'm on the road has proven to be a pretty big challenge too!

Now, admittedly, I am not the best at making changes. But, with all the back-and-forth we've been doing between our home in North Carolina & the family farm in Virginia, I finally decided that moving to "Plan B" just might be the best option for me right now.

And so, I've started to design t-shirts for infants, toddlers & elementary-aged kids. It's really been lots of fun!... something I've always wanted to do, in fact. Maybe I just needed a gentle nudge from the Lord to move out in a brand new arty direction. The t-shirts join my growing selection of prints, cards & stamps that I offer in my Zazzle shop, PholkartStudio.

I'd sure LOVE to have your help in brainstorming new design ideas for baby & kids' tees! My sons are all grown up now, so it feels like a lifetime ago since I needed to be "in tune" with what little guys like to wear! Leave me a comment!... I'd love to hear from you!! :)

Happy to be a Mom Of Boys :)

"No Girlz Allowed"

Somehow, it's May already!... and the neighborhood is starting to fill up with the sights & sounds I remember so well from my two sons' growing-up-days! I love seeing little boys out riding their bikes on the sidewalk... kids with dirty knees playing "trucks" in the front yard... hearing the sounds of skateboards down the street as "the big boys" practice their jumping skills. Pretty soon there will be kiddie pools & sprinklers & squirt gun fights... kids catching fireflies after dark... and best of all, the sounds of children laughing & playing!

I have to admit... I have a BIG soft spot in my heart for little boys! Our house was full of them!... our two sons with their whole gang of little buddies... playing legos by the hour on rainy days, eating drippy popsicles on the front porch when the weather was hot, making forts & playing with flashlights... a constant noisy parade of little guys in search of snacks & bandaids for scraped knees... and sometimes hugs & kisses too!...  

I loved every minute of it!! 

Sometimes now it's hard to believe that those "little boy days" went by so quickly!... I remember wondering back then (on my more "challenging" days!) if time had stood still! Now I know that I was especially blessed to be home with our boys & be there for all their growing-up minutes!... 

Such a gift from God to me!... and I am so very thankful!

Thank you so much, Lord, for the wonderful gift of being a mom of boys! Thanks for the good days & the not-so-good days of growing up together as a family. What a JOY & a PRIVILEGE to have been there to nurture them along!... Please help me to treasure these memories & to encourage them on as they continue to grow.