It's hard to believe 2015 is coming to an end.  So appreciate of clean air to breathe, woods to walk in, family and friends who care for me,  being able to do what I love to do everyday, for the teachers I have had and for the students who come to me, for Eloise who breathes life into my days just by being who she is, for the abiltiy to walk and run and skip and swim and bike through this thing called life.  Yes, I am blessed.  And so are you.  

Tomorrow there is a group show I am part of at Marquis art and Frame in WB.  It is artists response to the Back Mountain Bloomers event in the summer.  It will be a good night to be out and about - so please come and enjoy - colors, shapes, textures and or course there will be some gooooood foooood~!

Today I finished my first mural in Pittston - making it their SIXTH!  The amount of ART in a few blocks in this fast growing city is astonishing and refreshing.  Mike Lombardo and Rose Randazza have made a once depressed town into a destination point! 

The tree and figure were decided as a calming spot as the building is located in a grotto.

The eagle which symbolizing freedom, healing and wisdom flew about me last week.... asking to be included - of course.   

My friend Sean says this a lot ... Life is Easy Simple and Fun - it really kicks the 'Life is Good' out of the water!  So, I decided to do some fun pillows.  My student, Lola's grandma who brings her to art lessons saw them and thought to get one.  She couldn't make up her mind... and ended up with.... well, let's just say... more then one!  And after show and tell, Ms. Eloise was quite happy to have her couch back - and 'her' pillow given to her by Auntie Rame. 

Steve Taren came with an idea to have a peloton speeding down, along and up the wall constrasted with a woman on an everyday bike slowly going on her merry way with baguette, wine and flowers.  We worked to fine tune the design spanning over the 8' x 40' wall resulting to the final image. 

In his words: 'I painted a picture with words (that's all I got) and Leigh Pawling did the rest. Thank you, thank you, thank you...you listened to every word.

The appreciation from the passerbys on foot, car, bike, motorcycle was so positive.  Everyone was so glad to have some attention focused on ART! Thanks to Steve and all the employees at Wet Paint - it really was a group effort! 

The sun was off the building at around 12 last week which made painting the second mural at Wet Paint bearable with perhaps the last 'heat wave' of the summer.  Passersby seem delighted with the changes Steve Taren is making with the building which hereto before was run down, abandoned, and pilfered.  Now it is breathing life and vibrancy.  Here is what one described as "whimsical" - dog, cat, dove... doing what I like to do - PAINT!   And next week I start an 8' x 40' mural on the same building.  Stay tuned!

My oh my summer is zipping.  July was teaching at Marywood University for Arts Alive - the kids had a great exhibition after four weeks of painting, mixed media, pottery and jewelry.  The first photo is some of the instuctors and one talented teacher who took the class for continuing ed.  Second shot is a wall of the kids works - grades 5-11 .... so proud of them - they got all dressed up for their exhibiton - music, friends and family - they were thrilled.

Next is a commission piece--- do you know where this is??? I did - oh yes - Nepa is so wonderfully close to Philly and NYC. 

And now - to get up to speed, I'm working on a mural for Steve Taren who owns Wet Paint - a very busy place in South Wilkes-Barre specializing in life size cut outs as well as many other things.  Check out their site www.wetpaintprinting.com.  It's a FUN building that's transforming the block - I"m so thankful to be part of it's expansion.  And I get to paint my dog!  I mean, really, does it get any better then this?

"The Clearing" began yesterday .... in the closet ..... the question posed to each article of clothing "Does it Bring Me Joy?' If not - Get Rid of It.... then move to the kithen - do I really need two spatulas?  Do I really need five sets of salt and pepper shakers?  NO!  So, now Salvation Army has one big Element load of things that I don't need or want. 

Know what I did keep, what did bring me joy?  All the handmade things my nieces gave me and  the artworks from fellow artists friends.  The things that last are the the things that are made by hand. Period. 

'The Clearing' began yesterday - in the closet.  The question asked for every single article of clothing, "Does it Bring Me Joy?'  Then I moved to the kitchen, do I need three sets of salt and pepper shakers? No.  And so it went, drawer to drawer... I'm not done yet - but, what did and does bring me joy are the things made by hand.  The hand carved spoon my niece made at sleep away camp, the artwork that adorns my walls from fellow artist friends.  So if the question begins there - it can continue throughout my day - does this bring me joy?  So thanks Juna Bobby and Robin Giacomo who, got this ball rolling.

What:  Exhibition of flower artworks in conjunction with the Back Mountain  Bloomer      Garden Tour.

When: Saturday June 27th 9am - 4pm

Why:  Our Mom was an original Back Mountain Bloomer and we were asked to show Ramah's flower garden and my artwork in honor of her.

For more information about aquiring tickets please go to: -http://www.backmountainbloomers.org/pdfs/bloomers_garden_tour_brochure_2015.pdf

                       Balance Yoga Window Before

                              Balance Yoga Studio Window After

Balance Yoga Wellness Center is a "high vibration" place - I'm so fortunate to have been asked to do a handstand figure on glass by the new ower Corinne Farrell.  She, like her predecessor, Jen Ciarimboli appreciates the inclusion of fine art to add to any environment. 

April is soon approaching and I have been gearing up for a show in Tunkhannock with fellow artist and teacher Skip Sensbach.  The show opens March 29 with the reception being April 12, 2-4 ----- so put it on your calendar!

I am finding inspiration through my windows and daily romps in the woods with Eloise.   I am going to do thirty three of them.  Three across and eleven down - framed individually in white.  Here are some so far.

And then the sun came out --- Happy, Joyous 2015.  This image is from my morning run with Weez - the next one I do will be when there is snow on the ground!

Acrylic & Collage on Panel
20" x 20" 

“Blue lines with and without shell" looks to the impermanence of things - what the ocean waves bring in and what it takes away.  Always changing - never stagnant. 

Acrylic on Panel
Fork 48" x 24"
Spoon 54" x 24"
Knife 48" x 24"

The fork, knife and spoon has to do with food - our relationship with food - what we eat and how much can add or subtract vitality.

Acrylic & Collage on Panel
20" x 20"

The vertical lines are an uncurrent of this entire show - I see them everywhere and these pieces are my current “landscape” interpretation.

Acrylic on Canvas
30" x 30"

The conch shell emerging from the dark and into the light is almost like a figure or a butterfly metamorphosing into what it is meant to be. 

Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 36" 

Salt and pepper is a recurring theme over the years - It represents the light and the dark, the conscious and the unconscious - being awake or being asleep. 

Oil on Panel
30" x 30" 

The circles came after the conch shells - they represent a simplicity and acceptance and continuum of all that is.