HeARTS in Healing

On February 6th I attended a benefit in Sioux Falls for the Avera HeARTS in Healing.   It was an interesting day for me, a homebody happy in sweats or jeans.  Stableboy and I had to dress up, he even wore a tie!  *gasp*.  Too bad we didnt' get a photo of it for proof!

 Held in the Behavioral Health Building, it was to help those in need of their special sort of services.   A woman gave a short talk, which I found to be extremely moving, about her son, about being his mom and what that center did to help them.   

 Miss South Dakota also spoke, as she had been a patient there once.   She spoke of how the stigma of using services of such a place was ok, nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of.   I heard a lot of that sort of talk that evening, and I couldn't agree more.   

The evening also had food, oh my, the food!   They called them hors d'oeuvres, but that seems a bit of a loose term for such a nice feast.   Stableboy was especially fond of the nice girls who kept coming by our table with trays of meat!   And the dessert table was so very pretty....

I donated an 18x24 landscape I created just for the event.   The center deals often with loss, something I know far too much about, so I did this as a sort of personal art therapy.   My piece was done for my Cheyenne, whom I lost almost 3 years ago.   Titled In Her Honor, its a portrait of her of sorts, as it exemplifies who she was...sunshine, flowers, nature and beauty.

I am happy and honored that it went extremely well, a very nice man bought it for his newly remodeled room.  We had a bit of a chat, and I walked away feeling very positive about the whole thing. 

That's a wrap!

Ebay can be a source for low cost pastels.   I bought this little set well over a year ago and haven't used them much at all, due to that irritating wrapper.  

So I put on a movie and went about stripping them.   Using a razor blade, I sliced the wrapper enough to peel it off.   These pastels are pretty old, this brand now is a larger sized stick, and this set probably has been banged around some.   Due to this, when the wrapper came off, some of the sticks crumbled. 

 As you can see in the first photo, I put the bits into piles of like-colors, then I crushed them up, added distilled water, and made new, whole pastels.   I added other pieces to change the color as well.   Then formed them into shapes I like and let dry.  

Now this set is fully usable, and after all this time, its almost like having a new set!   Although not original to the set, it came to me in this sweet little wooden box, which I will more than likely make into a pochade box at another time. 

A-sketching I will go

I know I should sketch more, and have no real excuse why I don't.   When I do, its a wonderful experience, whether it was 5 minutes or 50.   I especially like sketching outside.   So when I found I had a bit of time yesterday, I took my super cool journal book and sketch kit to town with the idea to head to the local public lake area.

Its been to icy and/or muddy to walk at home, so Arty and I really enjoyed the cleared off roadway to get in a brisk walk. 

 Late in the day, we were treated to a sunset, altho it didn't sport wild  colors, the serenity of it was awesome.    






 After the walk, I found this little spot, with a log to sit on, for a little sketch.    Arty stood watch so I could lose myself in my journal book.








 This little journal book is pretty cool, with the leather cover, and stitched in pages.   I've not used it yet tho, even having owned it for a couple years.  It was a gift from a friend, and I guess I avoided it because I didn't want to 'ruin it'.  Sound familiar?   I bet so!   But, she gave it to me to use, and its so cool I just can't let it collect dust, I want to use it!    It currently has lined pages, but since I dont' write much, I am using it for sketching.   The lines are handy tho, as I am liking to have a place to write a few words about the sketch or the day.


I knew I didn't have much time before it was too dark, so I opted for walnut ink and pen.   Quick and simple was all I was after.   

Its not a masterpiece by any means, but so what?  I enjoyed it, this sort of thing is more about the experience than the product, made even better since I got to use my super cool journal book.    And it was a very sweet experience!