I'm surrounded!

I'm sitting here impatiently waiting for acrylic gel medium to dry on my next painting and reflecting on how lucky I feel to have had so many creative interactions today.

This morning I exchanged messages with my novelist friend Ron, who I've recently reconnected with after at least a dozen years. I've had the honor of previewing a few chapters of his latest work and will be designing a logo for his newly resurrected book critique blog. We're also planning to get together soon at a toastmaster's group he belongs to. Ron is quirky, funny, big-hearted and a fabulous writer.

Spent my lunchtime at The Art Institute of Chicago, perusing the Modern Wing and looking at some surrealism. It blows my mind that such greatness is literally accessible to me every day.

When I got home tonight, I listened online to a recent radio show featuring my friend Bob. Bob's another gifted writer, who hosts a well-known Chicago theater blog that has gained a wide following (he was recently invited to begin contributing to The Huffington Post). Bob's so talented, creative and full of energy.

Next, I visited the blog of a person who follows my blog, only to find out that he is an amazing photographer-- and apparently a hockey fan too! Sent him an email praising his work and eagerly looking forward to seeing more of it.

Finally, just got an email from my friend Dean with an attachment showing her latest painting. She is responsible for sparking my interest in card-making and she's also an exceptional pastel artist. She works primarily in landscape and wildlife and I am in awe of her talent.

Yes!! I'm bragging about my friends. Gleefully and with great appreciation for knowing them and having their inspiration fill my life every day.

Now, if only that gel medium would dry....

Patellarella paintings

So here they are.... these are acrylic and mixed media (glitter, crystals, surgical sutures!) on canvas (10" x 10"). I'm working on a ginormous one for class on Monday. Stay tuned!

thump thump bang bang

That's my right knee. After dealing with varying degrees of pain with it (due to my somewhat rigorous strength training program and running speedword I'm sure), I bit the bullet and went for an MRI last night.

Thump thump bang bang. I'm not really bothered by MRIs-- despite the noise and the claustrophia that can accompany "the tube." Actually, I find the process rather soothing. When else do you get to just lie there for 40 minutes and not feel guilty about not cleaning the house, working on the computer, reading or otherwise engaging in life activities?

Although I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac (why just have a simple sinus headache when it could be a brain tumor?), I honestly believe that this is probably just a strain. Still. John knows the folks at the MRI place and it's very easy to procure one, so I might as well be sure.

Plus, the images are so damn cool. I was thrilled to death when the technician gave me a CD with the pictures. They're otherworldy and quite dramatic. So I spent a portion of the day today playing with them-- printing them on the computer in a variety of sizes and I plan on using them in a collage for my art class.