be an angel to an animal in need!

those of you who know me, know that i am a total softie when it comes to animals, especially dogs. there's this great even in Baltimore each year that i've always wanted to participate in, but with my dog, er, aggressive Shiloh, it wasn't really an option; SO, now that she's passed peacefully to a place where all dogs are friends, i am thrilled to announce that Mason and i will be marching on her behalf!

The lovely ladies of B.E.S.T have formed a "pack" in the hopes of rasing some much needed money for some deserving animals. Mason & I will be walking in the March for the Animals on April 20. Would you please consider making a gift to support the Maryland SPCA? As a local, private non-profit shelter, the Maryland SPCA receives no government funding or money from national animal welfare organizations. On behalf of the more than 3,000 lost and homeless animals that are placed into homes by the Maryland SPCA each year, (and on behalf of the often un-mentioned but just as important member of our little family, Finnegan the cat, who, once named "Magwire" CAME from the MDSPCA), i thank you!

I will be putting a "donation" listing up in my etsy shop next Wednesday, which will include a free gift... what will it be? a pin? a magnet? a print? we'll see, AND EVERY listing in my shop will be able to join in the fun because March 5th through April 18th, i will donate 10% of each purchase to the MD SPCA.

if you want to make a donation (and please do! even a dollar is great... i mean, that's like a whole rawhide chew, right?) please do one of the following:

*visit my etsy shop and make a purchase and enjoy knowing that 10% of that money will go to a sweet animal! shop etsy and make a difference!
*check back in next Wednesday to buy the "$10 donation" listing in my etsy shop.
*visit my personal donation page on the March for the Animals website and make a pledge make a donation online!

xoxo, danamarie

time for another installment of...

CUTE SLEEPING!!!!
(that's all i wanted to say... its just so cute).
xoxo, danamarie

walters mural

lift off! 14 hours of ladder up & downing, paint can lid on and offing, and water bottle refilling later, we have a mural! i'm very proud to be able to say i have a painting in the walters art museum; having spent the last year or so working in the education program there and seeing, every saturday, just what a special place it is. it's great to see waltee (the much loved lion cub mascot brain child of brian ralph) come to life with all his friends... the knight, the muse, the samurai and the mummy (who, luckily enough, also happen to be among the most loved pieces of art in the collection). the space looks brighter, bigger and more welcoming to the kids and families who drop in every weekend too, and i think, it's a much more "art friendly" space. i hope it's loved for years to come! xoxo, danamarie

walters mural progress

so... i started work on the mural in the walters' family art center today. here's how far i got. sorry this is a lame entry but my back hurts and my hands have paint brush abrasions on them. owie.

Is this heaven or what?!

Who me? Oh, I'm just knitting a custom hummingbird knitimal with a dachshund puppy on my lap, that's all.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

ATCs

how many of you are into this whole ATC thing (Artists Trading Cards)? I am "into it" in my mind, but haven't had time to start making any yet. my good friend Riley (proud friend of many a Knitimal) makes 'em like crazy... there's even a club and trading and what not. here's a few of his best (his words)... look at that one top and center! not too shabby. :) xoxo danamarie

mason knits!

ok, he doesn't really, but he DOES make a good lap warmer while I'M knitting.

and a mural is DONE...

two days! 14 hours! completion!
isn't it just so sweet?! (am i allowed to say that about my own work?)
i'm quite pleased with the final mural. particularly the crew alligators, the birdies on the wire and the sweet birds listening to the stories being shared from the family photo album.
i tried to include a lot of details for little Nate to explore as he grows up (that was always the kind of art i liked most... still do! the kind that keeps pulling you back in).

i like the color a lot too.

i tried a few new things with this mural and i think they worked out well. i usually measure and calculate and hand render everything from the sketch (which is always very polished) to the wall... but i invested in an overhead projector, which aside from just being fun to have (if not bulky and oversized) is very helpful to muraling! one thing i noticed is how much freer it made me, in terms of "painterly" painting--- not having to stay within pre-drawn lines (but rather using the projected image as a guide which i could turn on and off at will) and then being able to determine when to outline, if ever--- i think there's more depth in this piece because of it.



SO, you might think that i, having spent two days bent awkwardly, straining and stretching and crouching would be done with murals for a little while... well, no. i'm actually starting a new one at the walters art museum this coming monday. i wont tell you what of, but i will keep you posted. or maybe i wont and you'll have to bring your kids to the Family Art Center to find out. yes. i like that. that's what i'll do. xoxo, danamarie

weekly dose of cute

little man! are you kidding me, mason? you can not be that cute. it's too much. no one can take it.


i implore you... please take your cuteness down a notch or 4.

so, baby mason will be 3 months old on Saturday. he's going to the vet tonight for his next set of shots and i'm gonna guess that he's... 5 lbs now (he was 4.1 last time). he's gotten longer, but not taller. and yes, since you were clearly going to comment on it, yes, he is continuing to get cuter.
he's developed this very serious expression that i am currently finding very funny. i mean, you're pocket sized. why so serious?

and a mural is born...

it was off to the city of brotherly love this week for a little mural-ly love. these are some of my favorite things; opportunities to take a plain white wall and make it into something bright & (hopefully) inspiring. this particular piece? for a not- yet- born little man named Nate.

the wall is about 10 x 7 ft and the theme of the mural is family: here & there.... geography of the heart and the people and places that are important to family, no matter where they are. the focal point of the mural is a "family portrait" of the current "children" (3 cats and a dog named Annie, who befriended me and checked in on my progress throughout the day).

8 hours later, i have all (most of) the basic color blocks in place and am ready for day two: detail!