Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday early. It was the 3rd. I turn 33 on the 6th. It’s a Tuesday birthday this year. My sister took me out for the art crawl in Waukesha. Join me on my journey. We started by stopping at the most popular cafe in Waukesha, The Steaming Cup. I had a beef fajita melt. I like a little kick lately. I had a decaf iced coffee. Donna Lexa Art Centers put one of my paintings there. I walked right past and didn’t even recognize it . It goes with my dress! The texture is something different for me. The story? DLAC had a canvas that was already textured and I took to it with my tools, although I forget what tools I used. This means a lot to have my art here because it’s my ole stomping grounds.
Yesterday was the art crawl in Waukesha. We stopped by Almont Gallery and looked at the different techniques and prices, to get ideas. My teacher at DLAC is named Rose. She had wonderful art at the Almont. We didn’t take pictures there.
The picture above is Celebrate Art.
It’s a gallery across the street from the bus terminal. I used to go to AllWriters , which is a few studios down from this gallery called Celebrate Art. In fact, Kathio Giorgio, the woman who makes AllWriters possible, is who introduced me in person to the two ladies on the left. I met Dawn and Stef on Facebook in August and Kathie made the in-person introduction. We are fast friends. Dawn even bought what we have come to call The Banana Girl and another called Tulip Surprise. Both women are so kind. I can’t wait to repay them somehow. It is such a cute and cozy gallery. Make sure to visit Dawn and Stef when they open their doors next.
Maggie bought me this at Celebrate Art and it’s now on my fridge. Gives me ideas. I want to start a collection one day of other people’s art, like Dawn has done with my art. It’s a start. I picked the bananas because she bought my Banana Girl.
We went to a brewery I can’t remember the name of, a thrift store for artists called Sparks and Scraps, to Allo Chocolate for ice cream, and got appetizers at People’s Park. We kind of forgot to take photos at this point.
This angel in the above photo is my cousin, Alyssa. She bought this painting through Arts for All WI, where I sell much of my art on their website.
If you want to snag one, visit the page.
https://arts-for-all-wi.square.site/shop/zelda-bean/CZA4XFAFXCAOYUNXSXIWU5WI
I told her the story of the painting. I painted this during a time when I couldn’t paint. Writing came easy, but not art. I was bored and needed to go abstract. I was hanging on to realism. I was about nineteen. This is oil and I’m not sure of the size. Then my grandma was in the hospital for shingles over Christmas. I sang Shingle Bell Rock and gave her this painting. It stayed in my grandparents’ house until they both passed. Until the very end, Grandpa told me to sell it. I told Alyssa to keep this one for our family to enjoy.
Why was I with my extended family? Maggie, my sister, was making plans to deliver the painting to Alyssa and my cousin ended up saying, “Hey, there’s a LoveMonkeys concert happening down the street, wanna go?”
Essentially, the only thing cool about my dad is that his brothers and him knew the lead singer of the LoveMonkeys growing up.
This is my other cousin with her precious daughter. We had a good conversation while watching the band. I told her she was part of one of my first memories. I remember meeting her as a baby and felt like a big sister. Good memory.
Alyssa dancing with her three youngest.
My favorite memory of the show was when a song by Barenaked Ladies came on called Brian Wilson. It’s a song about Schizophrenia, which is what I have. One of my favorite movies is about Brian Wilson, who had Schizophrenia. It’s called Love & Mercy. It was a full-circle moment.
I’ve been through a lot. I did so much better on this wonderful day, in my head. I know why this year was better. I’ve been listening to the Bible in my sleep almost every night. Bring God into your life and respect His signs. Your whole world will change.