Unity Santa Fe and The Artist's Way

I added a little color to this with water color pencils. I don't really know how to use them, but its just seemed handy, so here you have it!



Rather than retell the story, I am sharing the letter I wrote to an incredible group of friends back in Texas.

Hi ladies!
Today I attended Unity Sante Fe. I was very teary as I sat there alone without my friends surrounding me. It was my first twinge of homesickness. I thought how odd it is that I have known you all such a brief period but it seems like I have known you forever. I looked around and wondered if I would find new friends in that room. I wanted you to know that I think the world of you. It was a special time at Unity Church of New Hope! Also, as a reminder of the special times that are created at your church, Cindy Baker and I donated that giant clock you may see sitting around. The time we had there with you was wonderful and life changing and we want that clock to be a reminder of that. I hope you continue to make the most of every minute!

Now, I am dying to share this with you! I am joining the Artist’s Way group at Unity Santa Fe in October. It is being led by….drum roll please…..JULIA CAMERON!!! Needless to say, I am totally beside myself!!

I hope your Sunday is wonderful. Please try to stay in touch and come visit us in Santa Fe!

Good thoughts,
Lisa

p.s. I decided to start sketching in church again and posting the sketches. It's so good for this girl's ADD. Hopefully, the speakers understand that it actually helps me concentrate on their every word.

I used an almost-out-of-ink ballpoint on raggedy piece of paper. Please forgive how out of practice I am at sketching, scanning, posting. Notice I have moved beyond the "blind in one eye" excuse. No worries, I have a list of excuses that will last way beyond this blog!

When Pigs Fly

According to Wikipedia:
"When pigs fly" is an adynaton, a way of saying that something will never happen. The phrase is often used for humorous effect, to scoff at over-ambition. There are numerous variations on the theme; when an individual with a reputation for failure finally succeeds, onlookers may sarcastically claim to see a flying pig. ("Hey look! A flying pig!")

We have hung this grinning, flying pig in our home for many years. He is now hanging in our Santa Fe Casita courtyard, making me smile and validating what some see as impossibilities. Make pigs fly!

Daily Creations

Since I declared so publicly my plan to create something new (hopefully daily) I thought I had better document when I actually do get my hands dirty. Our Casita requires creativity just to find a place to put things. I got some cheapo shelves at Goodwill and am playing around with turning them into something interesting. Here is the beginning of that process. After a few layers, I'll post the end result. I've started on some other white (shabby chic looking furniture) that I brought from Texas. We will see if I can turn it into something more Casita like. If not, it is going to Goodwill! I am getting very good at saying "Adios" to things that just don't suit me anymore.

3 x 3 s

Want to know what 3X3s means?

Okay. A few years ago, I had been beat up and beat down and so had my niece. We were jobless and depressed and had a hard time putting one foot in front of the other.
So, niece #1 and I committed to each other to share, via email, a system we called 3x3s. We wrote three simple lists daily to each other.
#1-3 Things we would accomplish
#2-3 Things we would do that were fun
#3-3 Things we were grateful for

Seriously, if you have ever been depressed, you know that these lists can feel insurmountable. Sometimes, getting out of bed, getting dressed, taking a shower were seen as great accomplishments.

Having fun lists. Really, we are pretty fun girls. But, in those dark days we struggled to find fun and had to rely on each other to figure out what might bring a smile to our faces. There were days that eating a pint of Hagen Daz was the fun thing and we praised each other for it! Well, that’s ALWAYS a fun thing, right?

Gratitude lists—we knew the grand importance of that component. But, sometimes we were saying things like “I am grateful I got to clean the cat box because it means the cat is still alive.”

The 3x3 system works. When I feel a friend is in that dark, cobwebby place, I invite them to play along. It ALWAYS works. Sometimes takes a few days. Always brings light to the darkness. You don’t even notice that you have stopped playing anymore. Life has simply returned to “normal” and is once again joy-filled. If you ever want to play with me, I am thrilled to do it. We will both be lifted!

So today, for me, it goes like this:
A (Accomplish):
*Empty those last two boxes from the move
*Wash clothes after dryer repairman comes
*Take stuff to Goodwill—okay..have Charles take stuff

F (Fun):
*Yoga
*Mexican Food for 1st time in 64 days
*Zozobra event—burning of Old Man Gloom! It’s a Santa Fe Thang


G (Gratitude):
*I am grateful that we followed our hearts to Santa Fe
*I am grateful for the windows and doors being open with a breeze coming in
*I am grateful for walking home from my gallery gig in the rain. How romantic and urban it was walking from the Santa Fe Plaza to our Casita a few blocks away!

3x3s—it’s simple-it works. Join in anytime! (You don’t have to be depressed to play!)


p.s. Linka encouraged me to try to paint BIG after I struggled with the tiny, detailed stuff I used to do. The painting on the blog is my wild and juicy attempt at big and abstract.

Blog Reborn in Santa Fe

My poor neglected blog. There were a couple of years that I was passionate about daily sketching, posting the inane drawings, photos and goings-on of my daily life. I learned so much from the process and from the many artists that I was dedicated to following. I made friends with many with whom I still stay in touch. Thank you for reaching out, wondering if I had fallen off the planet when my postings ceased. Most know that my creative side was diverted in a very big way to my now dearly departed Mecca on Main. The website is now down, too, but some of the photos that document that very impactful part of my life are on Face Book. I am Lisa Adams Reed over there, if you have not already “friended me”. Mecca was an artist’s collective with art studios, gallery, an event place, a café. We also offered art and yoga classes. It was an all encompassing and life altering experience for me and for many others. I could digress into that rich chapter and probably will refer to Mecca along the way on this blog. For now, my point of this post is to say, I am going to breathe some life back into “How I See It”. I’ve been loving Face book, but find I need a place that is bigger and can expand into other things.

My new posts will be flavored differently. For one thing, I have pretty much given up the sketching that I was enjoying so very much. It began when I was all consumed with Mecca. THAT was my creative outlet and took up every waking moment (and my dream life, too!) Then, a few months after we opened Mecca, I woke up with no sight in my right eye. They said it was permanent blindness caused by a stroke. Docs don’t know it all, so I thanked them for their opinions and went about the business of healing. I did regain some peripheral sight and THAT matters since it helps me with balance and other important things like that. I rarely fall down—and that’s a good thing! Nevertheless, I have allowed the incident to limit me and my ability to put pen and paint on paper. I know I can get more vision back and with practice can create something with the one good eye I have. So, you will see some of my attempts to express myself creatively on this blog. One thing I already know is that the blogging world is one of kindness and encouragement. If you know me, you know I am sensitive and critical of my own stuff, so I thank you in advance for not being too hard on me as I get rolling again!

This chapter will pick up in Santa Fe New Mexico where Charles and I moved on August 28, 2010. My journaling will include much more than any art I might create. It will be about my authentic journey through this world and some of the things that I am passionate about. Those things will always morph from one idea to the next. If I have a fear, it is that I will miss an opportunity to experience something new. It is a pretty bad case of ADD which I happen to enjoy quite a lot! Some think I should not start something unless I have finished the last thing. Don’t look for some magnificent completed project from me. My daddy said it’s the journey that is fun and that is where we learn. The finished product isn’t the point. Worrying about uncompleted projects immobilizes people. I just want to try lots and lots of things. I may not end up loving them all or committing to any of them. But, I sure don’t want to miss a chance to give something a whirl.

Some of the things I want to get onto paper (blog) with words, photos, or with paint or pencil are below and not in order of priority:

My favorite things
Things I want to do/try/see
Immersion into New Mexico
Good times with from family and Friends
Hiking/camping
Small Space Living
3x3s (stay tuned if you don't know what this is)
Playing with mixed media and collage
Furniture painting
Sketching-keep your fingers crossed :0
BIG Abstracts
Photography
Yoga
Artist's Way
Books I like
Marketing ideas for small businesses
Cooking and Eating for Energy/Vitality/Longevity
Adventures of Yao and Mo-the Wonder Dogs
Spirituality/Reiki/Meditation/Prayer
The most intriguing people I come across

p.s. Thanks, Anna! If you had not asked me to create something for your dorm room, I would still be making excuses! Give me a chance to get my creative legs under me and I will send you something created especially for you, from my heart. Aunt Lisa

Sketchcrawl at Mecca on Main!

Please join us for the 24th Worldwide Sketchcrawl. This is the third one hosted by Mecca on Main!
http://www.meccaonmain.com/

I am so crazily proud of this place, I can barely contain myself most days! Stop by the site for more information on the sketchcrawl, art classes, studio space, yoga classes, MECCA CAFE and and and...!!!

Hope to see you there tomorrow afternoon!
Lisa
meccaonmain@gmail.com

Classes at Mecca on Main

Be sure to follow the progress over at Mecca on Main

If you are in North Texas, you are gooing to want to stroll down Aubrey's Main Street and wander into our place. Take a look at the classes and find one to sign up for!

Hope to see you there!
Lisa

My Baby-Mecca on Main!

I never stop sketching, but have not taken time to post anything due to my latest passion. If you have not seen it already, please stop by to see what has kept me busy lately.
http://meccaonmain.blogspot.com/

Unity Church of New Hope

I call this "Visualize Landscaping". The church has just completed an addition but we have not gotten to the landscaping yet. So I painted some in!

I sketched the picture of our church as white elephant gift for a church Christmas party. I was happy that Reverend Ellen ended up with it. Makes sense, huh?! She has also asked me to turn it into note cards for our bookstore and to be used as thank-you notes. I photoshopped this handlettering out and added some with a lovely font and there ya have it!

I'll post a photo of our little church when we get the real landscaping!

EDM #2 Draw a Lamp

At this rate, I will never get through the Every Day Matters Challenges! I have been doing them, but better get them posted! The long arm lamp is on my art table: the other is headed to the garbage due to a crack in the glass :-( Maybe I will break it into pieces and use the glass for something mosaic-like. Nahhhh. Not likely.

Maira Kalman : The Inauguration. At Last

I know, I have been a bad bad blogger! No excuses, just no posts!

I promise to get some of my January sketches posted and will be back on the blogtrack real soon. Thanks to all of you that sent me notes wondering if I was still among the living!

This beauty was sent to me by my bud TQ and I just loved it. Enjoy!

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/the-inauguration-at-last/

I WON PURPLE PENS

Since I was reading deprived by the Artist's Way, then distracted by Christmas, I neglected to acknowledge the abundance that came my way!

I was truly "needing" some supplies and got some! My son and DIL got me a great new sketchbook which I am already filling with EDM challenges.

On top of THAT...I was generously rewarded by http://biggaydragon.blogspot.com/ for answering correctly "Purple People Eaters". She sent me 5 awesome new purple pens that I am loving so much! I DO have a Big favorite. Let me know if you simply MUST know the one I love. There is nothing quite like new art supplies, is there??

EDM #1 plus Yao

I am starting from scratch with the Every Day Matters Challenges.
Number one is "Draw a Shoe" (so I drew three!)

Take a look at Yao snuggling with one of them! I sacrificed the goofy comfort so my puppy could have a new "friend"!

Art in 2009 or Never Say Never!

Last January, I had just started sketching and blogging and wrote this:
http://lisalou-graceart.blogspot.com/2008/01/art-goals-i-dont-think-so.html

And this year, I have a list of artistic things I want to do and learn as long as my arm! I am not calling these goals--since I am apt to find more new things I want to try and will abandon some of the below. So be it. The list just gives me a blueprint to follow if I veer too far from feeding my creative spirit. Well...that's the Way I See It

Ideas:
Explore Artist Co-Op idea
Join VAST (Visual Art Society of Texas)
Continue Artist's Way Cluster
Continue in SmartFlix University http://smartflix.com/
SmartFlix.com How-To DVDs
House Portraits
Pay it forward--nieces, church, blog buddies, friends

Journaling topics:
Gratitude
EDM
People
Nature
My homes
Yoga
Texas
Sketchcrawls
Favorite quotes

Practice:
Figures
Faces
Trees
EDM challenges

Take classes:
Photoshop elements
Digital photography
http://smartflix.com/

Experiment with:
Bigger pictures (not just sketchbooks)
Ink
Pens
Brands of paint

Get inspired:
Read art books
Visit museums
Classes from http://smartflix.com/



Spend time with my artist friends learning what they do:
Cyndi and Rachel-quilting
Cyndi-Illustration
Rachel-design
Martha-sketching, journaling
Diane-Glazed Enameled Copper
Cindy-Illustration
Linda-Oil Painting
Gretchen-Watercolor

Art Trips:
Envision 4 a year with Gretchen and Martha and who knows who?!
Participate in Worldwide sketchcrawls http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

Post Reading Deprivation

There are so many things I learn and enjoy from blogging and especially the Every Day Matters group. Thank you for the dozens of passionate responses about whether to read or follow the Artist's Way plan! Your support and kind comments the past year kept me engaged and your talent has taught me so much!

When I decided to follow the Artist's Way Plan, of not reading for one week, I knew that I would NEVER neglect personal emails or my job hunt. Yes, I am a blog lover--addict perhaps....yeah..for sure. But, I just love seeing what the folks in this EDM group are creating and I so enjoy reading about the lives of the bloggers I subscribe to around the globe. What an education it has been for me. Art, geography, history, fantasy, spirituality, politics...you name it.......your sketches feed my heart and soul and I won't ever stop following along with your lives and everything you create.

Sooo...I put the books down after peeking the day I received them. I figured since I am facilitating the Artist's Way Cluster, I should at least follow the program. Although difficult to understand how not reading books on art could help me unleash my creativity, I decided to give it a chance. My nose would grow if I said I stayed completely away from reading my favorite blogs. I scaled back by at least 80% but just couldn't bring myself to abandon the great pleasure of viewing your art every day.

Some things I did this week that may fall under the creativity umbrella:
Took a jewelry making class with my niece (early gift to her)
Bought all the makings for another niece's ballet scrapbook
Made my DIL a necklace and some earrings for me
Painted my bathroom
Replaced outlet covers with something prettier
Mowed the yard;raked the leaves;planted some pansies
Hung new house numbers
Made a pebble mosiac window sill in the shower
Got two pictures framed and hung
Rearranged the Living Room to accommodate the new TV
Bought three new lamps and got rid of one
Finished shopping and wrapped them up
Made huge vat of chicken and dumplins and took some to friends
Made a list of art projects for 2009
Some other terrific things that have happened this past few days--
Got an offer on the California house (after 9 months)
Got two job offers!

Who knows if the above would have happened with or without the rules of the Artist's Way. What do you think?

Now...back to sketching and posting and READING..

Happy New Year!
Lisa

To Read or Not to Read?

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses to my high class dilemna--
whether to read my awesome new books or follow the Artist's Way
direction of "reading deprivation" for one week. Then, read on to see
how I weighed your input and made my decision.

I got many comments on my blog and some direct emails--all strong
opinions from people I honor and respect and much appreciated!

Here is how it shook out:

Take a peek then get back to the Artist's Way Commitment- 2

Just look at the pictures! 2

Do both-read and keep creating- 2

Do the Artist's Way program but don't do the reading deprivation
week. It won't change anything..has no affect (hmmmm..how do you know
if you didn't do it?) 4

Belly Up to the Book Buffet (Peg's words
http://waterblossoms.blogspot.com/) 17

Stick with the Artist's Way program- the reading deprivation is worth
it.. It's only a week and worth the creative pay-off...major break-
throughs, keep your commitment, follow-through etc. 15
(Most of these comments came directly to my email-concern over it
being the "unpopular" vote)

AND, here is what I did >>>
I PEEKED, I LOOKED AT THE PICTURES, I READ!

Now, in order to keep with my commitment to the program and the
people in my Artist's Way cluster, I start my reading deprivation
week.

Stay tuned. I'll see you in a few days (yes, blogging is reading!)
Lisa

What would you do?

My Artist's Way group is on the chapter that calls for reading deprivation. I am already terrified by this assignment, even though I have no doubt it has value. To add insult to injury I got the most delicious shipment from Amazon today. My California Berkeley Bad Girls Book club friends, Diana, Martha and Cynthia gave me a gift certificate for my birthday and I ordered these books...

An Illustrated Life (of course!)
by Danny Gregory
Where Wanderers Cease To Roam ( A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put)
by Vivian Swift
The Decorated Page
by Gwen Diehn
I am also doing daily drooling over a gift sent to me by my SIL, Gretchen..
True Nature (An Illustrated Journal of Four Seasons of Solitude
by Barbara Bash

So what would you do?
1.Stick with the program and deprive myself of reading to unleash my creativity
2.Postpone this week's Artist's Way assignment for one week so I can devour these books?

Here's another look at my temptations. What's a girl to do??

My Art Space

I always love seeing other people's studios and spaces where they create their art, so I thought I would share mine. This year we did an extreme downsize, so I lost the extra bedrooms (office/studio). Small space living has provided me with it's own creative challenges! This little space is set up at one end of our bedroom and actually works just fine.

With all my brushes, paint, pens and pencils right in front of me in my favorite containers. Three are from my collection of Cowan glazed pottery. I decided to actually use them rather than display them. The crackled glass container belonged to my dad who collected lots of different kinds of glass containers. An antique silver creamer for my favorite brushes was given to me by my antiquing buddy. I love the big yellow cup that contains my markers. My sis in law bought it for me while we wandered Napa wineries. It says "Wild Women on Wine"(yes, we were!) Some of my favorite things contain my other favorite things--my art supplies!

My favorite Director's Chair--a gift from my friend,Michael, when I got promoted to Director in my last life in the corporate world. Now, it is my Art Director's chair!

Thanks for stopping by my little art nook!

Wise Men

I sketched these wise men in church last weekend while Rev. Ellen talked about them. Kathryn played and sang "Try To Remember"....

Take 2 minutes to mellow out and listen to some pretty lyrics and look at some lovely pictures......

Yoga Elf (?)

Namaste and Merry Christmas to all of you!

Yoga in my heart

I do love yoga and so does this yoga girl........

Flowers in her hair...

Flowers Everywhere...I love the Flower Girl...(anyone remember the Cowsills?)
Indulge me by clicking on the photo to enlarge--or you will surely miss the flowers in her hair--and everywhere else :)

Nutcracker Mosaic

I got to see my very talented niece perform in the Nutcracker this weekend. Here is a little mosaic of some of the sketches I did in the very dark theater. I love doing this! Any tendencies toward perfectionism are down the drain! Please do click on the mosaic to see all the wonderful dancers from the incredible http://www.lakecitiesballet.org/

Butterfly Award-Cool Blog :)

Oh my Favorite blog buddy, Peg, honored me with this award! I tuly never miss a post of hers. She is The Most Original artist and inspires me with her art and thought provoking words with every post. Thank you BB (Blog Bud)!
http://waterblossoms.blogspot.com/

I am going to vary from the rules a bit. Rather than nominate 10 more blogs, with the expectation that they each nominate 10 more and recognize my blog on theirs,
I am going to give high accolades to genius Gabi http://gabicampanario.blogspot.com/
and all of his awe-inspiring Urban Sketchers.
http://www.urbansketchers.com/
To visit this site is to take an intimate tour around the world! I admire each one individually-- and collectively they are blowing the lid off of the world of sketch blogging!

Joey

My girl friend liked my sketches of Yao, so I did some quickly of her Joey. His legs are so short, when he runs he looks like a little bunny hopping along! (A very cute bunny!)

MarieAntoinette Award

It is always an honor to be recognized by one's peers.

Thanks so much Mark at http://paperravenbks.blogspot.com/ for giving me this award described as a "real award for real people"

I saw a debate in blog land that some people consider these awards like chain letters. It is my good intention to pass this on to other bloggers who I am particularly enjoying these days. It is up to you, if you want to also "pay it forward". Just know, I simply want to shine a light on you because I enjoy what you do. And, the way I have found some of my favorite artists is through others bringing blogs to my attention.

Here are a few folks that I am getting to know and appreciate.
Mark at http://paperravenbks.blogspot.com/
John at http://johnwrightart.blogspot.com/
Steve at http://splatpaint1959.blogspot.com/
Carol at http://drawingtelaviv.blogspot.com/
Steven at http://sketchoftheday.blogspot.com/
Timaree at http://freebirddrawing.blogspot.com/
Cris at http://crisinor.blogspot.com/


The instructions are to:
1. Please put the logo on your blog
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs
4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.
Again, nothing will happen to you if you simply accept the award and do nothing else!


"As Trevor observes: it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can just seem that way, depending on whom you do it for. " From the movie and movement "Pay It Forward"

Christmas Card

You may recognize this house from a post I did on October 5th.
My neighbors liked it so much, they asked me to do a Christmas card for them.

Also, wanted to congratulate them on being recognized in Texas Monthly http://www.texasmonthly.com/. They have a restaurant in Celina that was noticed as one of the top 40 cafes in Texas. I can vouch for that. I love those fried pickles at Lucy's Cafe! Way to go, Krys and Steve!

* my photos are lousy--they really look better in person. Please click on them to enlarge. I really must learn Photoshop!

Yao the Dog

We had our first cold snap today and I got cozy. I listened to the "Disappearance of the Universe" on CD and sketched my crazy puppy dawg before heading to the Denton Artwalk and celebrated church lady, Linda's birthday.

Yao---what an energetic character. I adore him AND he drives me craaazzzy!

Oh yeah---Yao likes to blog, too....can you tell? There he checking out Capt.Elaine on my birthday! http://captelaine.blogspot.com/

November Celebrations

November is probably my favorite month! Besides my own birthday, I can name more than a dozen people that I love who were also born in November! These cakes are for each of you--I sketched them while eating lunch with my Sher and Aunt Janice. The cakes were looking oh so delicious in the case of Creatia's in Duncanville, Texas. Since I have already celebrated with three cakes this year--I passed on these!

Jessica, Gretchen, Aunt Janice, Mikel, Beth, Diane, Linda, Pat, Brian, Donna, Tom, Little Daniel, James, John ...I'll add the rest as I think of them! My 56 year old brain tends to accidently delete important information!

Ohh..and I realized today that I started blogging a year ago, too! Happy birthday to all of us!

Ino'z Where you are

Yes, it's true...that is the name of this place and how it reads on the door. My sister, Nancy and my best sketch bud, Martha, and I started part 2 of the World Wide (Austin) Sketchcrawl in Wimberley, Texas. We had our first meal at Ino'z. It really says on the door "Inoz where you are". Yeah...it says that! The outdoor seating was lovely...by the creek and next door to our B&B.

Quaint yes? AND, Iknoz where you are!

Chick-a-dee in Wimberley Texas

I squatted in the lane to sketch this little shop in the adorable little artist's town, then joined Martha http://www.trumpetvine.com/
while she did her version. (she is working long hours and will post soon) Nothing like a slow day in Wimberely, Texas...eating, shopping, sketching, talking....ahhhhh!

House Portrait

My friend asked me to paint this for a Christmas gift, so I did! I hope the recipient likes it! It is a really lovely home in Krugerville, Texas--a couple of minutes from me.

Southern Sunrise Bakery

We have a new bakery in our little town of Aubrey, Texas. Delicious goodies and a very nice family running the place. It is located right next to the largely abandoned Main Street Building that I previously posted http://lisalou-graceart.blogspot.com/2008/10/aubrey-texas.html We want to make sure these entrepeneurs are a big success!

Santa Fe O'Keefe

Santa Fe OKeefe, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

The museum was closed for renovations when we visited---yeah really, it was---didn't they know we were coming?! But we were able to visit an exhibit about Ms. Okeefe and watch a video. Here is a sketch of the enthralled viewers. I had to post this one, because my friend, Diana--with the spikey hair on the right looks so cute!

Santa Fe-Canyon Road

This tree was so perfectly trimmed, the trunk looked like a plaster sculpture. After all, it was the grand art street--Canyon Road!

Fall Leaves in Wimberley Creek

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." Stanley Horowitz

These leaves had fallen and floated like a beautiful mosaic in the creek behind the "Salty Chicken" Bed and Breakfast http://www.texasvacation.com/waterprop/34-waterprop/117 (where we stayed following the crawl) the http://www.sketchcrawl.com/ in Austin. I'd like to paint them, but love the photo too much to consider messing it up! I hope you will click on the photo to ENLARGE and see how pretty it really is! The bright blue is the really and truly the reflection of the sky. The bright white light is real sunlight--I did nothing to alter this photo--nature in action!!

I love Autumn SOOOO much--I hate to see it end!

Aubrey Peanut Festival

The Peanut factory closed up in the horribly hot summer of 1980 in Aubrey Texas. There is still a very down-home celebration of the peanut every year, on the grounds of the peanut factory. We live a block from there and it was fun to be a part of such a small town effort. It is like going back to a simpler time...

Here are a few sketches of the Peanut Festival by me (an Aubrey Nut!)

St. Michael's Santa Fe

This sketch had to sit with me awhile! I hated it before Martha gave me a few ideas about how to improve upon it. Isn't it nice when someone cares enough to give critiscim? The end result is that the painting was saved from the recycling bin!

There is something to sketch on every corner in Santa Fe! This is around the corner from Canyon Road.

Martha and Lisa Moleskine Exchange

Here is the second entry in the Martha- Made- Moleskine. We are calling our two person exchange "Our Favorite Things".
She started with the bunny planter http://www.trumpetvine.com/sketchblog/2008/07/29/moleskine_exchange_favs/
Then it was my turn. Our Berkeley Bad Girls Book Club went to Ashland, Oregon last fall and ate at the http://www.morninggloryrestaurant.com/(more than once!) It is a scrumptious place to spend a morning--and it became one of my favorite things!

This is a little bit of How I Saw It!

Photo included in Napa Guide!

I am the last person that should be included in this-yet I think it's cool! I am lazy when it comes to Flicker, so it's a fluke this was found by the Schmap Napa Valley Guide. If you want to see the photo- Click on photos at the bottom and you can scroll through the photos until you see the pink tree credited to Lisa Reed (moi!)

Austin Sketchers!

Sketchcrawl Austin Sketchers!, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

Here are some of the sketchers that joined in Austin. My sis, niece, Ed and Janet, Lara and Megan turned out for the first ever Austin sketchcrawl! Martha http://trumpetvine.com/sketchblog/ came all the way from Berkeley! We continued to crawl and I'll get those sketches posted in the days to come. A fun time was had by all!

Long Center-Thrill the World!

Sketchcrawl Austin Long Center, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

We were there for the Thrill the World '08: A worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson's THRILLER for a Guinness World Record
Hundreds of zombies gathered and danced in front of this building. I guess we weren't the only group gathering around the world! We didn't look as wild and crazy as they did---but we had just as much fun! I sketched the Long Center sans ghouls!

Sketchcrawl Austin Driscoll

Sketchcrawl Austin Driscoll, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

We spent some time admiring the beautiful lobby of the Driscol Hotel in downtown Austin. I sketched one of this many gorgeous light fixtures. I seem to have a thing for lamps!

Sketching Stevie Ray

Sketchcrawl Austin Stevie Ray, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

Austin is known for many things, not the least of which is the great music scene. There is a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn on the banks of Lady Bird Lake and we stopped to sketch him. Stevie and I went to Kimball High School at the same time. He played music with some old friends of mine so that gives me less than six degrees of separation from one of the greats!

Sketchcrawl Austin Capital

Sketchcrawl Austin Capital, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

From below looking up at the magnificent rotunda at the Texas State Capital. It is built out of sunset red granite and will take your breath away. Yes, it is true, everything is bigger in Texas!

Sketchcrawl Austin

Sketchcrawl Austin Grid, originally uploaded by Lisalou's Grace Art.

We did it! A group of us gathered in Austin for the World Wide sketchcrawl. We started on the steps of the State Capital and sketched for several hours, trekking across this great city, enjoying perfect fall weather. Here is some of what I put on paper that day.

World Wide Sketchcrawl--Austin Texas

A group of us gathered in Austin for the World Wide sketchcrawl. We started on the steps of the State Capital and sketched for several hours, trekking across this great city, enjoying perfect fall weather. Here is some of what I put on paper that day.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisaloureed/2989006927/

Meet Yao....

Forgive me. This is not a sketch. Indulge me, this is my sweetie pup, Yao (Ming). Yes, there are some insane Houston Rockets fans in my household!

I will certainly sketch him. For now, I just had to share the cutest face I've ever seen.