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Having a family is very fulfilling, sometime to the point of…


Having a family is very fulfilling, sometime to the point of overflowing excessively.  Like the kind of full that you have to use a super-absorbant microfiber towel just to catch it all.  I am totally enjoying my busy little family,  but It might be wearing me out…. Just a little bit….I have serious bags under my eyes.  Seriously,  don’t stare too long at them!

Ok there would be visible bags under my had I not purposefully overexposed my face, but I’m sure you get the point.

So you wanna know who does NOT have bags under his eyes?  This guy:

How in the world he manages to get his beauty rest on such little sleep I will never know.  I’m just sayin’,  Jude….Would it kill ya to nap every now and then.  Trust me, naps are a beautiful thing.  Nevertheless, we endeavor to truck on and do what we can.

I am ready to embrace the fall weather but it seems that summer still wants to persist.  I am attempting to scare the warmness away and bring on the chill with a few spooky decorations.  I’ve never decorated the yard for Halloween before so I decided to live a little on the wild side and purchase a few Hallowcheesy things to get us into the spirit.   Pretty sure it was my best effort yet….Never mind that this is the first time:

I think it turned out pretty cool and most importantly we had a great time doing it.

In in other news, I think Baby J and Mags the Dog are in cahoots…..Not sure about what, but they have been acting very suspicious lately:

See?!  It’s enough to drive you batty!

Stay tuned for more up to the  minute month info on the goings on in Wenderflonia….Notice there wasn’t any talk about painting.  I am at a loss as to when I can find the time and inspiration and I am becoming ok with that.  I am enjoying my family at the moment and all the chaos that goes with all their creative whirlwinds.   But of you must know, BFS has been doing some terrific work lately.  You can check it out here.

Peace and Love,

Wenders

p.s.  all photos taken with my iphone and  then overly post processed with shakeit photo and camerabag apps because I am addicted

Potentially next up will be tales of my harrowing adventures through photoshop training…. that sh@*’s hard!  Just so you know.

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Fall is here!…..sort of…..

My energy is slowly, repeat…slowly, returning. I am still tremendously overwhelmed but now that there is some relief from the heat, I am feeling the tingle of creativity trickling in. Odd how simple things as outside temperatures have an effect on creativity. It does for me that is for sure! Now, to see where I can fit a little painting in. Surely there is a spot in my day…somewhere. Maybe after my 10:30pm gym runs?

Bah, it will go somewhere. All I know is that the mornings are crisp and cool and I can take the baby out for a walk at a normal time. I even feel like doing a bit of yard work. Which is awesome because there was some serious garden neglect going on this summer.

Fall is here and I’m ready to don on my favorite sweater and go buy spice candles and carve punkins!

Much Love,
Wenders

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Where’s Wenders

True artist are sulky and reclusive…. right?  Of course this is not so easy when one has to be present for a  family but that is pretty much all I have to give artistically now.

Several weeks ago, I took an unexpectical, unintentional step back from my work and blogging.  Unfortunately it was right in the middle of a pretty busy time, and oddly during a surge of creative ideas.  Is this sabotage or sabbatical? Sabbotatical? … Tell me brain.  Tell me now!   If it was a sabbatical of sort then I spent the whole time anxious.  Even after working a few things out with my brain, I still feel nervous and blocked.  Still friends…but blocked none-the-less.

I suppose it is difficult to “create” under such conflicting feelings but I endeavor to muck through.  I’m just hoping my existential artistic crisis is winding down soon, and I stop being so dang avoidant…which is what it truly feels like.   I look at the piles in my studio and think, “no thanks”.  I see all the unfinished work and I want to work on something else.

I’m generally on the bandwagon of personal growth and triumph, but realistically I think as an artist I work better by having a few blue periods.  That’s my new excuse anyway.  There has to be something to it though…

btw it has taken me three days to do this poorly constructed blog post….just wrong brain….just wrong :-(…..

That is all,

Wenders

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still alive

Never fear, I’m still here. I’m hopefully in the end stages of a critical creative malfunction. I’m not exactly sure what came over me, but it mainly involved physical exhaustion and lack of time. Little Mr. 6 month old reserves most of my time and energy these days so the reserves deplete quickly.

Nevertheless, there are still many exciting ideas in the works. There will be more details coming soon so stay tuned.

Peace and Love
Wenders

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What is your story?

Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story. —John Barth

I love a good story.  I can get crazy immersed in a good book, movie, or tale of someone inspirational’s life.  I want to learn what makes someone tick and why they do the things they do when they did what they did or did not do or might have done.  Perhaps this is why I was always torn between practicing psychology or art (yeah, I’m going with the one with less paper work).  I am especially inspired by interviews about creative individuals that have something unique and positive to offer the world.
On a related note…I promise my ramblings are leading to something…  This weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to answer a few questions about myself and my art for a fellow artist friend (here) and thought it such a wonderful idea that she used her blog as a way to introduce other creative individuals to her readers.  It was fun and I really felt good about getting to put a voice behind myself and work.  So I think I shall adopt a similar concept and start featuring other artists and creative individuals as well. So….

I want to hear from all you super-creative people out there.  If you would like to to be featured on  a future Wenderflonia  post, please send me an email (superlady@wenderflonia.com) and I will send you the details.  This will be a weekly post and you don’t necessarily have to be a visual artist to participate.  I’m looking to hear stories from all sorts of  creative individuals who have something positive to offer.  Speak up peoples and tell me your story!
peace and love
Wenders
superlady@wenderflonia.com

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This a post where i will not whine about the…

This a post where i will not whine about the heat (still above 100 btw), will not whine about the dirtyness of the house (cuz it is still dirty) or lament on how behind I am in my painting and blogging (yup…still behind)…. Nope, I will not whine period….OK maybe just  a little…. I am so behind, it is hot and the house is dirty!  Whew!  I feel better!

So if you read my previous posts you could obviously tell I was due for a break of some kind.  And a few breaks I was provided!  It ended up being a fabulous week.  Supper BFS took me out for wonderful evening that included a delicious dinner at our favorite Mexican place, The Jalapeno Tree.  And his mom came by a few days ago to watch the tiny one while I took the bigger one back to school shopping.  Parker and I thoroughly enjoyed our day out together, and were definitely way over-due for some one-on-one time.  I realized the benefit to having boys is that shopping was relatively quick and easy.  He was totally OK with Target brand everything and Nike tennis shoes, so we only had to go to two places! Score!!  We rewarded ourselves for shopping well done with a delicious lunch at Rock Fish (nom nom!).  I love eating out with Parkers because he is all about getting the dessert.  It doesn’t matter how stuffed he pretends to be, he will always leave room for dessert and ask for two spoons.  Love that about him :-).  We returned to a happy baby safe in the arms of his Farmor.  It was a day well spent without breaking the bank.

On a related note, school is about to start back up and I couldn’t be happier.  Having a mopey, bored teenager hanging around is nerve wracking to say the least.  It has been too hot for the kiddos to even go swimming and run around much and it’s driving me crazy.  At least, they have been going to summer band, and practice has been in the evening when it has cooled to a chilly 95ish degrees.

On the arty art front, I did get actual work done over the weekend.  I covered my super long dining table with layers of protective coverings and lined up the pieces I was working on assembly line style.  Then proceeded to knock ’em down one by one.  I finished several painting including this one:

This is Bone Trees. A 16 x 20 mixed media  original on canvas.  I was really pleased on how this piece turned out.  I have always been fascinated with the mystery and wisdom of trees.  They are a symbol for so many things: life, family, maturity, strength, vitality,healing, etc….   I left the trees white to show purity and hope that they convey a sense of protection over what lies underneath.  It is available for purchase here.

This is The Night Song (also 16×20) and it went to a local charity auction to benefit student scholarships.  I felt honored to be included in the auction and for such a worthy cause.  This painting, I feel speaks to those who sometimes feel trapped but knows that there is always someone out there who believes you will shine brightly.

There are a few other pieces that I have yet to post or are still in the works.  I’ll get right on that… probably…maybe….soon…ish.  In the mean time, find hope and inspiration in the most unlikely of places and always love one another.

Happy day everyone.

Wenders

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to busy and hot in texas


You sometimes see a woman who would have made a Joan of Arc in another century and climate, threshing herself to pieces over all the mean worry of housekeeping.  ~Rudyard Kipling

Is it possible to manage it all?  I feel overwhelmed in a sea of dirty dishes, neglected flower beds, ever growing piles of laundry, and trying to find time in the studio.  Aaaakk.   As a stay at homer, I go to my job and try to keep up like everyone else.  It’s just that my commute is shorter. I feel as if I must manage it all in order to not let my family down, but right now I’m barely treading water. Anyone who says being a stay at home parent is easy and not as hard as going to work obviously hasn’t done it before.  I am absolutely and (literally) udderly exhausted.  BFS asked me what I needed today.  I do believe he could see through my bravado and saw that I was on the verge of a melt down and wanted to help.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell him what I needed.  How about 10 more hours in the day!?  Oh wait… I still want to have time to paint and take care of Wenderflonia Business too…..make it 15 extra hours…….And you know what?  I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!

On a whiny note, what I really want is this heat to be gone already.  I don’t think I have looked forward to fall so much in my life. 106 yesterday and 104 today! It has been in the 100’s for weeks…ugh. It stays at a constant 82 in the house and that is with the air conditioner running full blast 24/7. Running errands is miserable when you are having to get into a 120 degree car afterward.  We even let the car run with the air conditioner on for 15 minutes before we needed to leave and the car was still a little too hot for the baby. I would love to take Jude to the neighborhood pool to cool off but there is no shade. Waaahhh…..ok ok I’m done whining now.

Peace and love my friends

Wenders

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floating somewhere

I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering.  ~Steven Wright

Not that I am a particularly focused person, but as of late I feel especially scattered.  OK I have NEVER been focused, but I definitely feel further away from focus than I usually am…or am not.   It’s hormones… totally positive absolutely sure…. mostly… maybe…. *sigh*, what was I doing?  Possible other explanations could be the mind numbing heat, or the overwhelming amounts of house work that has piled up and is screaming my name at a deafening volume.  No matter, whatever it may be, I shall endeavor to persevere and push off the adult ADD diagnosis out of principle yet again.   Now where did I put my crayons? ….

The above painting is called Love Bird….or Dorian….either or……it is available for purchase here