HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

     Here is how you set up for Christmas dinner in Florida. Clean up the lanai, put up an extra table and we are ready for 9 people at our house. We were lucky to have our sister-in-law, our daughter and her family plus our daughter's in laws with us. We truly enjoy the company of all these people in our lives.  Also it was  our son-in-law's birthday on December 25th which explains the birthday balloons and streamers in our table set up. Poor fellow gets swallowed up by all the Christmas festivities each year. 

     Our ham was great and all the dishes brought by company was superb with a cake and ice cream to polish off the dinner. After dinner we went out on the front lawn to shoot off string in a can for each of the kids. That was the end of the grandma surprises.

                             
     As everyone picked up their presents and food dishes we said good bye and thank you for another good memory. OK, I did have some really burnt on pans to deal with the next day but soaking helped and I pulled out the old white vinegar on a slow simmer to get the petrified chards off of the cookware.

Hoping your holiday was a joy for you.

     HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL.

      The festive part of Christmas season is truly for children. In the past I have decorated and undecorated trees until the thrill was gone from holiday embellishment. Later when we moved to Florida we bought a nice artificial tree but the effort of retrieving and putting it back in the attic became more of a chore. We ended up giving the tree to our son and his family to brighten their holidays.

     So this is what I have resorted to; decorating the chandelier! String a few beads, hang a few ornaments and magically we are ready for Christmas.   Nothing says Christmas like beads and bulbs over the honey ham. This year the whole family living in Florida are coming to our house, that should be fun.

#1 call the cleaning ladies
#2 shop for the food
#3 keep it simple and ask others to help
#4 cook, serve and enjoy
#5 everyone goes home, we are tired (in a good way) so feet go up and the TV & PJ's go on:)

I may not be setting the art world on fire but I have a good life full of family, activities and friends.
I am blessed.

Invitation to look at my web site.

     It has been  six months since I had my web site designed and put on line. My friends love it but that is like your mom saying; " good job!", so I wanted to ask your opinion of the web site design and which painting  you like best and hopefully why.

     Please vote for the painting you like best.

I will send a small daily painting as a thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts to the first person who responds.
A contest where you have nothing to lose. :)

If you don't care to share your name/ address etc., just send your opinion so I can keep on making progress on my artistic adventure.

www.koseroriginalart.com

IT TAKES AN ART VILLAGE

I am so proud to work with these two ladies on the Development Committee helping the Cultural Council create our very own Arts Village within downtown historic Vero Beach.

 The Concept:
Local community people with ideas, energy and commitment are working together on a plan to revitalize the Downtown Vero Beach Arts District by creating a Cultural Arts Village.  Between the railroad tracks and 20^th Avenues, the Edgewood neighborhood, together with the businesses in the Arts District between SR60 East and West and 18^th Street, will offer complementary creative environments:  one for living, working, and selling, the other for cafes, restaurants, and small businesses.

We envision an inviting shaded street scape that supports a diversity of complementary economic events and activities:  residents, small businesses, arts, art galleries, health and wellness, restaurants, and related events.  The neighborhood will reflect principles of retrofitting rather than redevelopment by maintaining a view to preserving structures, street layouts and motifs that are important parts of this area’s heritage and sense of place.  

This village arts concept integrates a variety of activities for walking, biking, meeting, gathering, working, selling and living.  The abundant green space will host gatherings such as book festivals, food festivals, music festivals, art and craft festivals. An amphitheater will provide home to music events, film, lectures, plays, book and poetry readings, and more.

The Village concept will pull more activities back to the downtown district, contributing to a comfortable, appealing, walkable environment, where people can spend time meeting, shopping, eating and working.  A cultural arts center will include an arts and culture information center together with meeting and gathering space for small events.

PUSHING A PAINTING

       Finally I am beginning to recognize that "feeling" when I am painting just to paint and not to create. It is a "I don't really want to do this or just one more layer of paint will make it gorgeous or I'm going to finish this even if it kills me" feeling.

     The above still life morphed into:

                                                   Then morphed into:

Lesson  learned; I am not a flower still life artist, more is not always better 

and give up on this one!

Don't push a painting, either it flows and you know what your next moves should be or put it away until you understand/ see/feel what the painting needs to complete it.