Being an Artist is in my genes

Isabelle K. Miller was my maternal grandmother and a huge inspiration to me. She was a strong woman, a talented oil painter, a savy business woman (when most women were homemakers), a loving and giving mother and grandmother. She loved her gardens, Garden Club, crafting and antiquing. All of the granchildren called her Nana. She signed her paintings I.K. Miller. She studied in Allentown at The Baum School with Jerry Quier and Queenie Stein for well over 15 years

    

She and my Aunt owned a home together in a small town near Allentown Pa. When visiting her in Pennsylvania I vividly remember being surrounded by her beautiful paintings. In the kitchen she changed the paintings seasonally, there must have been a huge magic closet full of her creations somewhere in the house! A picture with pumpkins for Halloween, turkeys at Thanksgiving (a favorite holiday always spent there with my cousins and my Aunt and Uncle), pointsettas at Christmas.... well you get the idea.

It looked like a fine art gallery in the downstairs hallways. The walls were covered with her landscapes, florals and still lives. One more beautiful than the next. All framed to perfection

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One of my favorite pictures with her was when I graduated from Syracuse University with a BA in Surface Pattern Design. She was so proud of me and the look on her face shows it. When I was freelancing in NYC I designed a morning glory pattern and when those sheets were out in the marketplace my Mom went out and bought them for her. They matched her bedroom perfectly as she loved the color blue.

All the beauty of her painting must have seeped into my bones, the inspiration was deep down in my soul. And now it's found a voice in my own paintings. I prefer to paint with watercolors but I have recently tried my hand at oil painting. I feel like she has guided me to this place and is cheering me on from above. Her entrepenurial spirit lives in me and when I pick up my brush I feel her stannding beside me with a smile on her face.

Momma By Design Blog feature (exciting!)

  I am currently a student in the Make it in Design online class the Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design. This fall while enrolled in Module one I met a talented designer Jennifer Speer in the Facebook group. She has a wonderful Blog called Momma By Design and she had graciously featured me this month. I am thrilled to share her post with you here...

http://www.mommabydesign.com/

My new studio member

I am excited to introduce my new team member, April.  She is a 2 year old Golden Retriever I just adopted through the Long Island Golden Retriever Rescue here on Long Island. She is a great team player, has an international sense of color and is loveable and furry! She loves to hang out in my office, take naps and occasionally walks on my designs, it's very cute!

Our beloved yellow lab Gracie had suddenly passed away in March. My heart was broken. My kids missed her tremendously. As my friend Bethe told me "you need some Doggie love". Boy was she right.

My friend Michelle saw a piece on the news about  Golden Retrievers that were being brought to New York from Istanbul Turkey. They needed homes and we needed a dog. So I went on the LIGRR website and to learn more about the "turkey dogs" as they refer to them. Took one look at April's picture and decided to send in an application.

A couple of weeks later I got a call. Was I still looking to adopt a dog? They told me April had hip surgery, she had a dislocated hip which they believe was that way since birth. She was spending her recovery time with a foster family. But if all went well with her post op appointment we could adopt her.

I took my son to go meet her. She was so sweet. She was very loveable and just wanted us to keep petting her.

She had to wear a cone, her rear right area was shaved and she had a big scar. She was going to need a lot of TLC. She couldn't go up any stairs, needed meds and had to be on the leash outside, no running. Melanie from LIGRR asked me "Are you ready for that?", my heart said yes but I was scared, could I take care of her? would she like us?

It was so emotional I didn't know what to do. I decided to take my daughter Hanna, there a few days later to meet her, then I'd make a decision. We walked down the stairs to see her, she came to greet us and when my daughter started petting her April began to purr it was so sweet. The decision was made later that day when I asked her what did you think about April and she said "Oh Mom I just love her!"

The call was made and a week later she was ours. She is doing great. She loves her walks and her leg is getting stronger everyday. Our house needed a dog and we found the perfect one for us.

The hole in my life and heart is starting to close up. I will never forget Gracie but if I can honor her life by giving sweet April a new home then my heart is full.

New Beginnings

Sometimes you just need a fresh start , a reboot…

I am an Artist, a Surface Pattern Designer and a Mom. Since the birth of my son I have been freelancing from home (he’s 16 now). It’s allowed me great flexibility to work and raise both of my kids, which was so very important to me.

In 2010 I started taking Watercolor workshops at my local library. I hadn’t painted since college. I forgot how much I loved and needed to paint.

After a heartbreaking divorce in 2011, I suddenly found myself needing to generate more income and I became bogged down with making $$$.

I was feeling very uninspired. In December 2014 I stumbled upon a website called Do what you love…..and WOW it has brought a whole new world of change and possibilities my way.

I am lucky that I love what I do but now had to figure out how to earn a living doing it.  My next discovery was B School with Marie Forleo. Even though I had no marketing or management training as an art major at SU and felt intimidated by the 6 week intensive online course, I jumped in with both feet anyway.

My aha moment came during the first module of the course and I knew what I needed to do. Rebrand myself, keep painting, launch a new website, blog, financially support my family through my craft and get my artwork into homes all over the world.

Marie taught us to take opportunities for your business even if you don’t think you are ready. Next thing I know I agreed to show my artwork at a local Artisan Fair and as well to design a room at the North Fork Designer Show house this August.

Along the way if I can inspire others to dream big and go for it.  I will be thrilled.

So join me on my journey as I share with you my process, my inspiration, my projects and my art through my blog and newsletter

Read my next blog entry for a sneak peek at my new Studio space…..