Sustainable Me - Space for Creativity and Backyard Bunnies

I have had this bird bottle for many years now, and in all of the moves and places we have lived - never once hung it up.  I lived in Williamsburg, Virginia for one year when I was 20, and I loved the Colonial area, and walking through the Governor's Palace Gardens. I bought the bottle on a return trip when as a family we traveled there to show our girls where we had once lived.  And for them to experience Jamestown, and Colonial Williamsburg. I do not know why I have moved it to so many places and never hung it in a garden.  Or under the eaves of the house. Maybe this says something about me not ever really feeling at home at the other addresses.  I do feel more at home here, and perhaps it is because I have had much to do with the choosing of the main properties and decor of the house.  It has also been a stable and calm period of life, and my children and I do feel comfortable and peaceful and at home here.   The bird bottle is supposed to attract...

Michael's troop built these birdhouses, and painted them as one of their Boy Scout projects.  They turned out great, and I'm so happy to finally have a home for it in the garden.  I'm so proud of Michael and all he has accomplished in his growing up years. We have seen, finches, doves, mockingbirds, bluebirds, scissor-tails, cardinals, black birds, and even a red headed woodpecker the other day.  It will be interesting to see who decides to take up residence here.

 Sun Wind Spinner  Hummingbird wind spinner  New bird house Tea Time   Sir Winston Queen Lizzie likes the picnic table - she can keep her distance from Winston!   I love these rattan containers that I found at Aldi's for $40.  They serve as seats also, and on Amazon the same product was $100  Butterfly wind chime - love hearing chimes outside, and this one is quiet but has a lovely sound A bunny visit as the sun was going down.  He saw Lizzie and didn't stay long - but I was delighted to see him.  I also saw a scissor tail, a finch, lightening bugs, and a red headed woodpecker.  It was a wonderful day to spend outside in perfect spring weather.  

   I found this project idea online somewhere - I can't remember where.  But I love it, and can't wait to build it.  I have always liked bottle trees, but I think I like this idea better. I had to begin again on collecting bottles since the move last year, so I thought it would take me a long time to collect this many for the project.  But a coworker had someone donate these wine bottles, and she offered them to me!  I feel loved!  Perfect timing for me.    I also have a friend that is a jeweler, and he says that a diamond bit will drill a hole into the bottom of the bottle without shattering it - I will for sure enlist his help for that part of the project. I'm not sure what I will build the frame out of - and I have thought of using a jute rope instead of the steel rods, and just tying the rope around the frame.  But I love the look of this.  And now I have enough bottles with what I have at home.  The donated wine bo...

I think it is fairly ironic that I am in a graduate program at TTU for an MAAE, and have reached a point in my teaching career that needs a boost before I completely burn out!   I totally love my graduate program!  It is certainly the right program for me, and I'm so thankful to be a part of it. The program has revitalized me as an artist, and it has been a huge motivation for me.  I love reading the books, creating art, and interacting online and in person with fellow students and my professors. I have taught art for many years both privately and in the public school setting.  I began teaching art in Gilmer, when my second child, Jennifer, was just a baby.  I had a private art studio that I began in my kitchen and then later built on to the house to accommodate more students.  Infant Jennifer was even my inspiration for my art logo for the private studio at the time.  I taught privately for about 20 years all together.  And was privilege...

I left my heart in Scotland - and I cannot wait to return again.  I have made two life changing trips to Scotland in the past five years.  One in July 2013, and one this past Christmas break of 2017 and into the New Year of 2018.  I have been fully certified as a teacher by the General Teaching Council of Scotland, and my certificate qualifies me to teach Secondary Art and Design.  Attaining this certificate was a two year process - and I was more than thrilled when I received my certificate this past November of 2017.  I also received a provisional certificate for teaching Primary - all subjects - if I wish to pursue that.  It has been uppermost in my mind - when do I try to go to Scotland?  When is the best time?  I will be taking two members of my family with me - so it is a decision that affects all of us.   I really didn't know if I wanted to pursue this project of an art studio and garden in light of leaving it in the somewhat...

 So.  Maybe I should have purchased that ton bag of pea gravel!  I do like the River Rock, but it is going to take at least 10 more bags to finish out this area for the firepit.   I brought home all of the cardboard from Sandy's house last Tuesday, so with what I have saved and what she gave me left over from the flooring for her house, I will have more that enough to put over the insulation in the art studio.   Since I already have the canvas for the walls of the studio, the only other supplies that I will need is perhaps some more potting soil, top soil, and  shopping for what plants that I want in the garden.  I think I have everything else needed. I even have the concrete and mold to make the stepping stones.  I am using a cake pan that I bought at Aldi's for the stepping stone mold.   Now I just need some time to get these things accomplished in the garden and the studio.    Waco is supposed to ha...