Sickness and grief.

We missed church today because the little man is sick.  An cold, I'm pretty sure, but his asthma has really been bugging him.  I gave him an albuterol treatment as prescribed by his doctor, but it actually made it worse.  About 10 minutes after the treatment the area around his mouth turned blue and he started shivering. The lips themselves were not blue, and his fingernail were pink, so I decided to wait and see what would happen.  He's sleeping right now, and his respiration rate is slowing down.  I found an online stopwatch that would help tremendously with that, because we don't have any analog clocks in the house.  I'm going to keep an eye on him through the night.  If he doesn't get any better I'm going to call the nurse and see what she says.  

So today has been a pretty lazy day. I mailed out cards Friday for two swaps, and I have two more swaps on the schedule, but I've been pretty unmotivated. The shooting at Sandy Hook has just broken my heart.  My prayers and sympathies are extended to the families who's lives have been touched by this tragedy.  I cannot imagine what you are going through.  May God be with you as you move through the days ahead.

For anyone dealing with the loss of a child, grandchild or sibling, an organization I highly recommend is The Compassionate Friends Network.  There are 640 chapters in the United States.  There's probably one near you.  They also have online resources and a facebook page.  The Compassionate Friends Network has been  invaluable to me as I deal with the loss of my brother.  Grief is hard.  Don't try to face it alone.  

Peace

Shawn

Viva Las Vegas Stamps is an Angel company!

This is happy news!

I found Viva Las Vegas Stamps a few months ago when I went in search of a Mona Lisa stamp for a ATC swap I had joined over at AFA. VLVS has a huge collection of stamps.  Hundreds, if not thousands.  Searching their site I found that they offer several Mona's to choose from AND the Patron stylized bee stamp. I decided to purchase my stamps from them.

Let me say that I am not a stamper.  Well, I wasn't.  I purchased Mona because I needed her specific image,   and, not having a printer I needed a way to quickly reproduce her image.  Otherwise, all the stamps I own have been novelties. Not anything I needed, but little images that I liked.  A soccer ball, a cute strawberry, my name...things like that.  Then I began learning about mixed media collage.  I read articles, watched videos, studied art works and was amazed by what one could do with a stamped image.  So I've been increasing my stamp supply, which led me back to VLVS.

In the works is a series of postcards inspired by my hometown.  It's a tiny place with very little culture.  There's not a lot here for an artist.  I'm hoping I can help with that.  More on that later.  My hometown is a railroad town--built by and for the railroad.  So I went looking for railroad stamps.  VLVS has them!  I also bought a steampunk alphabet and number set because the style fits.

After purchasing my stamps, I wondered, could I use them to produce postcards to sell?  On their blog, I found a link to another blog: Stamp Out Stamp Theft.  This site is awesome because it helps get the word out about stamp theft and tells you how to avoid becoming a thief.  They recommend contacting a company and asking for specifics about their angel policy.  So I sent an email to DeeDee over at VLVS and she said:

"... yes, you can in fact sell items that have been stamped with our images. You cannot stamp, scan it in and print it out.. but as long as you hand stamp each one, feel free to sell them :)"

Now you know. So Yay!  Happy stamping to me, and happy stamping to you!

Peace, 
Shawn

P.S. What is your favorite use for stamps?  Do you have a favorite stamp?

Coming full circle...

Wow!  What a difference a few years makes. In the three years that have passed we fellow travelers have experienced a load of adventure.  A farming venture, the death of a (dearly) loved one, beekeeping, public school, new family members.  I could bore you with the details, but having a three year old boy does not allow me time for lengthy, detailed posts.

We have come full circle.  In the search for who we are, we have returned to our first loves.  Dan is again writing poetry, and I have returned to art.  I can only refer to myself as an artist in hushed tones.  Saying it out loud would invite ridicule.  Posting it on a blog probably makes it more open to ridicule, but it's easier for me to read criticism than to hear the critics voice.

So this blog is changing, as I am changing.  More focus will be placed on art, the process of creating art, the sharing of art, etc.

Thank you for taking an interest in the journey.
Peace.