> 140 characters...

I've been off spending time on Facebook and Twitter trying to catch up with friends and family in the past year, and tonight I feel the need to write a longer passage. I'm having a temporary case of severe cynicism...

I'm struggling with the fact that the Palin twit continues to find a voice and listeners. I'm dismayed that there is so much political polarization running amuck rather than doing something productive. It's disturbing that people with the biggest egos are out there in roles of managers, executives, and other powerful positions. Luckily, I suppose, for them, their egos seem to be enough; unluckily, for the rest of us, I think we'd prefer real substance, strategy, and commitment.

Then again, maybe we don't care about real substance. We watch staged reality shows. We pay attention the the trails behind people like Heidi/Barbie. We see spin-doctoring come into play to repaint bad choices into uncontrollable addictions. We think Simon's the bad guy because he tells people that can't sing exactly that.

We hide our real feelings, or, apparently, many of us eat our real feelings to spare those of others. We fill our lives with so many activities, and then need to fill them with other activities to alleviate the stress that we're under. We hate the actual wars that go on and spend endless hours manipulating electronics in virtual war games.

We need to know the news at every given second, and with microblogging, we don't seem to question the credibility of the source. We can't leave the house without knowing the weather prediction for the day and we accept those unreliable predictions that seem only marginally better than bursitis in a shoulder. Secretly, we all wish we could have the weather person's job where we could make mistakes over and over again, and it was considered acceptable. News flash: life, in general, is not an exact science; humans are quite fallible.

There are, of course, parts of life that are pretty wonderful and, honestly, I find human foibles and flaws far more interesting than the more perfect aspects (whatever the heck those are). On those days where real life just doesn't seem enough to clear the senses, I can fall inside a book or a painting and gain new perspective. I know tonight's melancholy and cynicism can be attributed to the evils of caffeine and insufficient sleep. I can hope that tonight will be filled with a restful sleep...and tomorrow will start anew first with a big wet kiss from buddy, Crash. Definitely one of the few parts of morning that I enjoy. To bed. To sleep.

socially inept?

Now on Twitter, too. Look for ElectriKolor to follow...

30th Annual Holiday Craft Boutique

Been hanging out on Facebook...

and en plein air...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15291&id=1649853106&l=3d2ae30ebb

: )

More sailing...

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I think I'm done. Now all I need is a good title.

Sailing through February

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Drat, it seems that I can't get an animated GIF to work here or on Facebook. The set of images above represents the progress I've made on an oil pastel piece that I've temporarily titled "Sailboats", which I've also been featuring on my Facebook page.

Whooping Wade

Here is "Whooping Wade", an 18 x 24 inch oil pastel painting on a canvas panel, finished earlier today. This is one of three images that I'm hoping to have on display at Overture Center later this year as part of the Mount Horeb Area Artists Association.

I've been cited for blog neglect...

...or should have been.

Rather than dash everyone's holiday spirits, I went into hibernation for a few months. Great for the artistic creativity, and I was able to pass the holidays--plus there have been plenty of opportunities to play in the wintry weather.

The snow has been piling up again this year, and just before the second big snowstorm of the year, a lovely little snow blower joined my arsenal of home and garden tools. Whew! It's saved me hours and hours of labor and offered some abominable snowman moments. No one tells you that some days it really doesn't matter what direction the exit chute is pointing, the wind tends to whip it right back at you or over the path you just cleared.

Another clipper is headed our way over the weekend. After last week's sub-zero temperatures and -40 wind chills, this week has felt downright balmy--and it's just approaching 32 degrees!

My latest online adventure has been getting bamboozled into playing on Facebook. Friends out there anywhere?

: )

29th Annual Holiday Craft Boutique

Again this year I'm showing pieces at the 29th Annual Holiday Craft Boutique, a home show out in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin that my good friend Stephanie Funck alerted me about several years ago. It's a good way to get the jump on fun holiday shopping without the crowds.



Jan Dorner opens her home for three successive weekends to a group of artists who provide a broad range of art and craft items for the holidays and gift-giving throughout the year.



Snowmen. Reindeer. Dried and pressed flowers. Dolls. Wreaths. Soaps. Glass work. Hand painted wood. Ornaments. Purses. Handwoven Baskets. Baked sweets and treats. Quilted pieces. Garden stones. AND much, much more.

The show is open from 10 am to 5 pm
• Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 28
• Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25
• Friday, October 31
and from 10 am to 3 pm
• Saturday, November 1

Map your way to 829 Davis Street in Sun Prairie.

Some of the proceeds from the show go to The Empty Stocking Club.

New Website FINALLY Launched!

I've been promising it for months, and here it is! I'm proud to introduce the new ElectrKolor.com, which contains online shops for photography and sticky note packs. No need to visit another venue to shop!