Wow, I know it has been a long time since I have had any time at all to sit down and write, let alone take a breather. So much has changed in my life in the last few months that I hardly know where I am most of the time.
About 2 1/2 months ago my husband and I took the responsibility of fostering 2 children in our home. Krystine is 4 years old and her baby brother, Damien, is 4 months old. It has been so long since either of us have had any small children around, and we have found out first hand what it is like having children at an older age. WOW! I wish I could bottle some of the children's energy 
and inject it into me!
and inject it into me! Here is a current picture of my husband, Randy, and the kids on Father's day.
When the children came to live with us, we broke down my art studio and packed most everything up in boxes to store in the basement temporarily. My art room is now Krystine's bedroom and personal space. I have missed my creative time very much and slowly but surely I am converting a section of the basement into my new space. I can really understand how new mother artist's feel when trying to balance everything and still have some personal art time to themselves! But there is light at the end of this tunnel. With the passing of time, I am seeing our new family routines starting to take hold and more free time is starting to appear here and there. All I need now is some more energy to create art in those moments of free time!
On another note...I am excited to announce that I created an assemblage art piece to submit to a juried show in a Chicago gallery a few months ago, and it was accepted! My husband and I are flying up to Chicago for the artist's opening reception at the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago on June 29th. The exhibition, titled "Some Assembly Required", will last about a month. The piece that I created is called "Empty Nest", and is approximately 26 inches tall and 23 inches wide. When I created this piece, I wanted to capture the essence of a woman who values family and home and has gone through the process of her children leaving the nest, but now has the opportunity to spread her own wings and finish growing up herself. I will post some pictures of the art gallery when I return from Chicago. I am almost as excited at the prospect of a few days alone with my husband without children as I am at having my art piece accepted.
More to follow later!
