and/or

(for example "B Good" or "W8 for it" - valentine candy hearts style)

This project is taking waaaaaay longer than I expected. I've been working on it all day and I started with the yesterday. I know it doesn't seem like much but believe me it is. 

You'll see by the text it's called, "Mysteries of a Mom Purse". It's a page with a flap and this is what it looks like closed.

And this is what it looks like opened. I took all the lists and tried to put everything listed into the drawing. I didn't have pepper spray and for the life of me could not find gum or hand sanitizer in our house, which I know we have. I find enough gum smashed into the floor. And at this very moment I realized I didn't put in the diaper. I've carried a diaper in my bag for so many years. I will remedy that. 

We used to call one of my purses, "the black hole" because it was so big and held so much stuff. I've since downsized since I don't have babies. Now, I need to do a count of what's in there. 

This is a close up of the front flap where I'm listing the people who contributed. (I just need to add Wade's name since he suggested 'weapons' if he had a purse.) I asked for their permission to use their names though they didn't know why. I may change it up a bit but this is the general idea. Thanks to all my Free-for-all-Friday friends you'll have to check what I added from your list. 

If you want to be part of the collaborative art projects then check in at the beginning of the week (monday or tuesday here or at Shannon's Studio FB page) to see what I'm looking for and check back Friday. It's that easy. And fun. 

This is a painting that was started Thursday night at a meeting in which I spoke about education. In my mind, education is part of a larger formula...

Education is wonderful but put it with the addition of Experience and Enlightenment then you really have something powerful. 

Some of the ladies and girls added words they associated with Education. Then I added the words that some of you gave me online Friday. (Dang it! I just saw I misspelled humility. I do that all the time.) There you have it, our collaborative Free-for-all-Friday art project. 

Next weeks project - I need to know what's in your purse. 

Well, you can see where I'm going with this. One mom sent in her kid's drawings this week after I asked. I didn't ask for monsters because I didn't want to do that.  I didn't know what I'd get or how I'd do any transformation. I figured I'd just see what happened. That's what Free-for-all-Friday is all about - collaborative experimentation. This is nothing like I usually do but here you go... Eliza & my painting.

When I saw Eliza's drawing I just loved it. (Thanks Eliza for letting me experiment with your artwork.) It was perfect on it's own but I was excited to try this transformation out. I kept faithful to her drawing but added color and a story. I call the painting Me & the Moon - Our Midnight Celebration. Since I just ended my 50th birthday celebration last week this just seemed fitting. The photo's a little dark since it wasn't that light out this morning when I took it.

I kept the same dark color palette DeVries uses. The only thing I wish I did differently was to put a face on that moon. Which I leave the right to go back and do. This doesn't look like anything I normally do but it was such fun. I may have to try this again sometime. Do you think I should?

A while ago, I came across an idea I've wanted to try. Free-for-all-Friday (I'm starting early this week and will unveil on Friday) is the perfect time to try it out but I will need some help from you. What I want are ...

I will take one or two and use them in a project. This is what you have to do -

I'll take it from there and you can see it Friday. That's if it all works out. Experiments are tricky that way; you never know how it's going to turn out but I'm excited to try. Wish me luck and post a picture.

In the beginning I said that I wasn't giving the paintings to those who turned photos in. Actually, when I started I didn't know what I wanted to do with them. I just started and thought I'd figure out the details later. And, I've figured it out now.

For those who participated and want, I will give everyone their painting with a couple requests. 

First, if you live far away and I have to mail the painting, go to my website here and pay for shipping. I'm doing a flat fee of $12.00. Your's might be less than that and other's will be more, this is so that I don't have to worry about a separate price for every single painting. This also saves me from spending a few hundred dollars on shipping; that wouldn't be much of a celebration for me to do that. If you don't want the portrait it won't hurt my feelings. I've been through some rough art critiques before so I'm pretty tough. 

Second, if you live near by, I invite you to my 50th Birthday Celebration to pick up your painting. It's an Open House type of celebration from 7-10 pm on Friday the 31st. (8567 NE Crouch Road) This way all the paintings are out of my studio in a quick time frame. 

Third, I'd like you to send a donation for a local Cameron charity, click here. I haven't decided between the women's shelter or the food pantry, or to split it. But, what we gather this week I will give. So, by Friday night you can make a donation ($25, $50, $75) here. I usually never sell a painting for less than $800 so this is actually a good deal. If you are totally strapped and can't make a donation the painting is still yours.

If you didn't get a portrait but just enjoyed the journey and want to be part of the Celebration Donation you can help too. Just go to this link as well. 

So as the 50th Birthday Celebration comes to an end, I just have to say THANK YOU to all of you who were brave enough to send in photos and those of you who just liked seeing the new paintings. Either way, it's been a fun 50th birthday celebration for me. I hope it's been for you as well.

Before you go you might want to check out this post. To continue the fun, there will be some collaborative, artsy experiences every Friday.