Book Reports: "Wild Feminine" by Tami Lynn Kent and "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

It's been a while since I've written about books that I like. And there have been many since the last time I wrote a book report....but I have time and energy right now so I thought I'd tell you about the two most recent books I've read!

"Wild Feminine" is by a Physical Therapist who specializes in the pelvic region of the female anatomy (I can hear all male readers drop out now. It's cool; I don't hold it against you). I checked it out from the library even though it normally is not a book I would be attracted to....Too drum circle-y and girly-woo-woo. But you know what I've realized/admitted to myself - and am proud of? I totally dig girly woo-woo! And my physical/spiritual health has been of predominant interest to me after a tumultuous past couple years that included crisis's of the health persuasion. Anyhoo, be prepared for TMI - after the birth of my daughter, I pee. When I would prefer not to. You know, sneezing, coughing, jumping, running, dancing. My doctors all say the same thing: kegels. I hate kegels. I always feel like my eyes are bulging out. But I decided to commit to kegels and bought a DVD about strengthening the pelvic floor and this book seemed like a good compliment to this endeavor.

There were a lot of interesting ideas in "Wild Feminine" that really made me go "hmmmm". In the author's opinion, we are spiritual/creative beings living in form, and if you are in a female form, that creative spirit lives in your "root" - your pelvic bowl. And if you aren't loving and caring for your pelvic bowl, it manifests in physical issues and "energy blockages".

And I have to be honest. I have never focused my attention on my uterus or my ovaries or my....you know. Even while pregnant. The whole area held as much interest to me as my gall bladder. I just took it for granted....as I realized, I do my whole physical self. I'm entering the age, though, where things don't just "work" anymore, and I no longer have the luxury of taking my body for granted. But I really appreciate experiencing that....because it made me realize that I was very much cut off from parts of my feminine self, and if you are a person who understands "chakras" - cut off from my second chakra. (I'll let you research that on your own. Don't need to digress off into Indian Health care and spirituality.)

A very cool "aha" moment (to quote The Lady Oprah-ness), is when I realized how much I was cringing over my daughter's obsession with all things pink, princess, make up, glitter....and she's FOUR. I came of age when feminism meant rejection of these things, because to identify with princesses was to subscribe to the belief that women were weak and needed to be "saved" by a prince, and happiness was defined by marriage and a castle. But that is only one aspect of the many meanings of fairy tales....and femininity. I LOVED fairy tales and princesses when I was little, too. But I shut that part of me down when I believed that I was sold a bill of goods about what it meant to be a woman, as defined by fairy tales and the culture at large. But what if you re-claimed that Princess Archetype? What if it's ok to love beautiful things? What if it's ok to think that you are beautiful? And what if there's much, much more to fairy tales and femininity than the simplistic Disney message of Prince as be all and end all? (Think "Women who Run with the Wolves". There's an oldy but a goody) As long as you don't completely identify with appearances (see book report about "The Power of Now"), enjoying "girly" things is....fun. For both females and males (see, the men already exited stage left in the beginning so I can say that). It feels like such a relief to admit that I like princesses too! (not overly fond of pink, but give it time....)

Anyway, I think this is a book worth reading not only for women with health issues in that *ahem* region, but for any woman who wants to expand their perception of what it means to be a woman. It's definitely changed in the past 10-20 years, and I think it is also important for us as mothers to get more clear on the feminine for the sake of our children as well as ourselves. And there's a chapter on "v" massage. Can't miss out on that.

Ok so the other book I've recently read, and I am SO behind the times on this one, is "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. I've tried in the past but could never get through the first chapter. I guess I wasn't ready for the ideas contained therein. But I have become one of THOSE people....the ones who have a sticky note on every page denoting an interesting passage or sentence. I'm still digesting the ideas, but I have to say....Oprah madness aside (my husband on some sort of principle will buy no book that has "Oprah's Book Club" stamped on the front. Personally, I think she has picked some gooders in the past....but don't tell my husband)...the book really resonated with me! So here's the gist of it.

We are not our thoughts. We are not our brain. We are not our stories. Everything we have used to define ourselves - is probably not our True Self. The brain is a tool to get through this world, and part of the way it does this is that it created and ego-self-image. This ego self image is everything we have gone through in the past, every sad/hard story, every good story, the things we have, the roles we play, the jobs we have...

So what is the True Self? Eckhart calls it "presence" or the "observer/watcher". How do you re-identify with this self? Being present NOW. Because the past and future are illusions. Ok this all sounds pretty esoteric but seriously, give this book a try. (And he can explain it a whole lot better). It was personally interesting for me because I tend to be a worry wort, and it has some very practical suggestions on how not to let that aspect of my ego/brain take over. One of the bigger things I gleaned from the book (and watching the beginning of the webcast on Oprah.com) was that I was starting to identify with my lack of serotonin production; ie: my anxiety disorder. I was starting to make it part of who I was/am. Eckhart's suggestion, which I am putting into effect NOW is to no longer talk about it. I had the experience; it has lead me to where I am, but it does not define me. This will be a challenge for me because I love to share aspects of my life and to listen to others, and I think to share things that others are reluctant to talk about might be helpful. But I've become too identified with it. So, bye bye story.

This is one of many practices I would like to try in order to quiet my "monkey mind" and find the stillness where True Self resides. Another thing I found quite fascinating is that I am a practitioner (? not sure if that is the correct term) of the I-Ching. The philosophy and advice that I have gathered from this ancient book has helped me through some very difficult times. But often I've felt lost by some of the terminology that the I-Ching uses - and I feel like "The Power of Now" explains much of what the I-Ching has tried (and tried, and tried) to convey to me.

So if you feel like some great spiritual reading, both of these I found to be riveting and I will be adding to my personal library.

(Other awesome books of this genre - "Broken Open" and "The Seekers Guide" by Elizabeth Lesser).

Two New-Old prints in my Etsy Shop!

"Passiflora" Digital Art Print on Cardstock

(Original artwork done in chalk pastel)

$25

"Fear" Digital Art Print on Cardstock

(Original artwork done in chalk pastel)

$15

New items for sale in the "Attic" section of my Etsy shop! You can read about them and buy them HERE.

New Old Painting at my Etsy Shoppe!

"Let us Love Dogs"

16" X 20" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on Canvas board

$250

You can view it HERE.

Hello, my blog!

Oh dear neglected blog, forgive me for my infidelity. I now spend more time on FB. It is just so hard to post in more than one place. And Twitter, forget about it. That account will probably never have any action.

It's simply this: I have a larger audience on FB. People read and respond. I TRY to post in both places, I truly do. Because you were my first love, oh blogspot blog...my first confessional, my first gallery, my first place to rant or share or whatever.

I promise I will never give up on you, and always post my art shows and things I'm working on....but you just won't be as cool as you once were....full of my interests and photos of my life.....until I have more time. And honestly, don't know when that will be. I hope someday.

That said, I wanted to share a couple art things: I've added some older work to my Etsy shop...cleaning out the studio for when we move to our new house in Langley next Spring! So go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/karinart. I will be adding sporadically over the next few months.

The other piece of news: I will be showing in the Rob Schouten Gallery in Greenbank next August - YAY! However - this is not a threat, just information for you, that means my prices will double. So if you ever wanted to purchase any of my work, DO IT NOW. You will also help me with an art related goal I have for next year. Will share more if it works out!!! It involves international travel, intrigue, and hopefully an even BETTER artist (me) coming out the other end of the experience. Support me! :-) Maybe I should add one of those annoying paypal buttons to the blog so you can just straight up give me cash. mmmm, cash.

I have no art pictures on hand to share, so the above photo is my daughter, Lulu, and our Irish Wolfhound, Oskar (aka "Grom Grom", among other monikers). Oskar, unfortunately, has been diagnosed with a bummer form of cancer so please send healing thoughts our way for my dearest fuzz fuzz. Or cash. Just kidding. Sort of.

About my Friends: Lisa Lamoreaux and Jennifer Phillips

"Late Afternoon" by Jennifer Phillips

"Little Tree Charm" by Jennifer Phillips (available at her Etsy Shop)

"Sweet Melody" by Lisa Lamoreaux

"The Shape of Silk" by Lisa Lamoreaux

I said I was going to post weekly on my friends, which totally jinxed me. I should never promise my time like that, it's not like I'm single white female with no kid and all kinds of time just for the taking. I live on a new schedule these days which has been hard for my super organizer self to accept: spontaneous time. When I have a sec time.

So I have a sec and I am devoting it to one of my oldest friends, Lisa Lamoreaux and one of my newest friends and Lisa's studio mate, Jennifer Phillips.

Lisa and I met in Bellingham in 1992ish. She was the manager of an awesome woo-woo store called the Crystal Dolphin, which I applied to work at 3 times before they accepted me into their fold as retail peon. Lisa saved my bacon when my boyfriend at the time and I broke up, who I lived with- and I needed to really, really, not live with anymore (oh, the huge mistakes we make as youngsters. So many mistakes in that package - and yah, I know, all kinds of lessons. blah blah blah) - and Lisa asked if I wanted to move in with her. Joy! Lisa is 5 years older than me and I IDEALIZED her. I felt so honored that she actually WANTED ME TO LIVE WITH HER. (Later I learned she totally had second thoughts. Not personally about me of course, just giving up her personal space. That's what I tell myself anyway).

Anyway, to make a long, long, long story short we have been friends and friends with complications and friends again (and complications, and friends, etc etc) since then. She has been pivotal in my life in many many many ways and is basically family. She is also a talented artist, as you can see by the artwork of hers I posted above (You can purchase these pieces at The Art Study in the University Village).

Jennifer is a NEW friend that I met through Lisa, as a fellow bridesmaid in Lisa's wedding. I don't know her as well, but the brief time I spent with her I knew that we would TOTALLY get each other and if she didn't live in Renton (Renton? really Lisa and Jennifer? RENTON?), we'd be hanging out and stuff. She is also way talented in the art department and I hope to someday have another random, spontaneous sec to get down to their studio and learn art secrets.

Please visit their sites:

http://lisalamoreaux.com

and

http://jenniferphillipsart.blogspot.com/

to learn more about them!

Old Painting made New

"Baptism"

24" X 24" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting

copyright Karin Bolstad 2007

SOLD

I did this piece in 2007, and I thought I had posted it somewhere on this blog, but apparently I didn't. So I don't have a "Before" image, only the "After" - but basically what I did was add birds and more detail to the dress and the moths. It now belongs to one of my favorite peoples here on Whidbey Island.

About My Friends: Andrea Walker

Hello all.

I am trying to post more on my blog - I've always enjoyed it, until my life got all busy and stuff, not to mention Facebook, where I now tend to post more. Well I think my blog is still a worthy place to write. So I decided to add a new weekly post about my friends that have websites! If you'll look to your right, you'll see I have links to them in the sidebar. But you may not have clicked on them so I am going to introduce you. We will just start at the top and work our way down.

Andrea Walker and I met initially at Seward Park, strolling our babies and I was walking my Irish Wolfhound, Oskar. We then joined a walking around Seward Park mother's group, which maybe we both attended twice? But we stayed in touch because, well, we liked each other. We then found out we had a common friend, Maija Fiebig (also listed in the right sidebar) who was my studio partner in Georgetown at the time. Maija actually knows everyone, it's very odd. But we'll discuss that when I get to the "M's". Andrea and I also did some fun girl's night's without the kids - and then I moved to Whidbey Island. That's where we found out we had another couple of common friends, Sarah Rosselet and Chris Allen. (Who also are friends with Maija. Of course).

Anyway, Andrea is an extremely talented Seattle photographer. She photographs food, people, landscapes, growy things....and has a great blog you can visit to see more of her work at http://andreajwalker.tumblr.com/

Andrea is not only talented, but just one of the most engaging and charismatic people I've ever met. She's one of those people who exude this "energy" that just makes you want to hang out with them. It's like happy dust or something.

So that's Andrea.

Next week, we'll meet Kim from Bouncing Wall!

Dreamy Places: Victorian in PA and Turkish Cave House

I heart the NY Times Real Estate Section. Here's some pics of two houses that caught my eye:

First, this Victorian is pretty freakin' cool:

WHAT: A five-bedroom, two-bath Victorian

HOW MUCH: $517,000

SIZE: 2,666 square feet (not including the enclosed front porch or the third-floor artist’s studio)

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $193.92

SETTING: Located about 12 miles west of Philadelphia, Media is a compact town — about 5,400 residents in less than a square mile — with several buildings, like this house, dating to the mid-19th century. A shopping-and-dining street has a 1920s performing arts center and a regularly running trolley. The commuter train stops about two miles away; the ride to Philadelphia’s central station takes about a half-hour.

INSIDE: Built circa 1865, this house has been renovated piecemeal over the past 19 years by the current owner, who widened doorways between rooms to open the space and stripped several walls to expose raw brick. The house retains its original chestnut woodwork in the foyer and hardwood floors throughout. On the main level, both the living and dining rooms have fireplaces. The family room, which has French doors that open onto the back deck, was a recent addition. The current owner put his own touches on several rooms: the kitchen, for example, has handmade cabinets built from antique furniture, with custom stained-glass panes; 1840s tiles in the backsplash; and a center island built from part of a church altar. There are three bedrooms on the second floor, and two bedrooms on the third floor, the former attic, one of which is used as an artist’s studio. The second floor also has a small kitchen, left over from a time when the house was a duplex.

OUTDOOR SPACE: There’s a back deck and a yard. There’s also small front yard and an enclosed front porch.

The second one is a house in Cappadocia Turkey

I won't print the whole article, just show you the pictures. Click the link above if you want to read about it!

New Show: Prima Bistro, Langley Wa Sept 30 - Dec 31st

Hi all!
I have a new show coming right up - in fact, too darn fast. I had grand plans of having a full new group of 11 paintings done for my show called "The New Normal: Chapters". Well, I got 6 done - good enough! I plan on painting the remaining 5 and getting them up at Prima as soon as possible - since I have a whole 3 months that I get to hang there! Well not me personally, ugh, morbid. My ART that is.
I'm really proud of this group because it's the first time I've had a concrete theme and also my artwork and my style has been steadily improving - with a special thank you to Jane Richlovsky and her classes at Pratt on color and how to put together a group of work, and to Irene Perez-Omer who taught a class on how to "write" a traditional Christian Icon that profoundly influenced both myself and my artwork. I'm not actually Christian, but that did not matter - learning about the tradition and symbolism and prayer and meditation that went into each icon had a definite effect on how I now approach the easel.

The group of work started out with a very simple theme: women and books. But when I started the group, my father suddenly passed away from a heart attack - and the paintings changed. Instead they became a reflection of the stages I am going through (the "chapters") on how I am trying to adjust to not having him in my life. Thus, the New Normal (I stole that phrase from my friend Chris. Hope that's ok. But as soon as I heard it - it was like "yah - that's totally what I'm going through - figuring out the new normal".

For those of you who cannot attend the show personally, here are pictures of the 6 I have done so far.

"Mourning"

11" X 17" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on cradled birch panel

$350

"Respite"

18" X 24" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on cradled birch panel

$525

"The Good Mother"

18" X 24" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on cradled birch panel

SOLD

"The Good Wife"

11" X 17" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on cradled birch panel

SOLD

"Good Friends"

18" X 24" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on cradled birch panel

SOLD

"Checking Out"

18" X 24" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting on cradled birch panel

SOLD

(enlarge any of these by clicking on them to get the detail - this specific one is kind of cool because I used grass to weave her hair and stuffed fabric for her quilts, and the dog and cat are my actual dog and cat, Oskar and Stella)

In all of the paintings except "Checking Out" there are vines with thorns, which is a symbol of my anxiety and sadness. "Mourning" includes pieces of the newspaper obituaries my father was in. The snow symbolizes death, and I'm not sure where the Stellar's Jay came from, other than they were around screeching and yelling at about that time."Respite" was about a trip to Kauai my husband and I took soon after my dad passed, and in it you can see that though the woman is crying, she is reaching for the white rose - symbolically reaching for happiness again. "The Good Mother" is about coming back to my daughter (who is no longer an infant, she's 4!) through the grief an anxiety - also about what it means to be a "good mother" and how confusing and hard that is. "The Good Wife" is about coming back to my husband - and how confusing and hard that can be, not just with suffering a painful loss but as a parent trying to reconnect with your spouse! "Good Friends" is about how I could not have gotten through this past year and a half without my friends (you know who you are!). "Checking Out" is how even though I need to go forward and "rejoin" my life, there is a huge part of me that just wants to hibernate and hide.

As I said, there's still 5 more brewing in the studio. I hope you can come and see the work personally if you are in the area!

Karin

The New Normal

Hello, World!

I haven't posted anything particularily deep or personal in a long time - for some very good reasons.

First of all, this blog is both personal but also connected to my art website so I've often been torn between how much to share - is it unprofessional to give out information that you would share among friends? Second, how much do you share not only with people that may or may not be your clients or patrons/esses but the general public? Is it self indulgent and what is the word I'm looking for...exhibitionistic? In my life, I don't hide much. I don't feel uncomfortable sharing aspects of my life, painful or ugly or wonderful or plain mundane - just as I LOVE hearing others' stories. So maybe it doesn't matter if I share with the WHOLE WORLD (or the fraction that stumbles upon this blog). And really, everyone shares everything nowadays, my small bleat of personal hardships will more than likely get lost in the noise. In other words, big whoop, Karin.

The other reason I haven't posted: since about the end of 2009 my life started to get very challenging. Let's just say I got lost. Do I share those challenges? Because they are hard and ugly and painful. But then I think, maybe it would be helpful to others? Or is that just an excuse for my exhibitionist side. Don't know.

But anyway. I am writing now so I suppose I have already made my decision - I will tell you a little of where I've been and where I am now.

Lord where to start. I guess I'll just cut to the chase: mid 2010 I had I guess what you would call a nervous breakdown. I was suicidal-ish and spent a week at Overlake Psychiatric Hospital and a week as an out patient and since then spent a lot of time with both a psychiatric nurse and a psychologist. How did I get there? Well, turns out I have an "anxiety disorder".

I've always been a sensitive soul, and in the past I've been diagnosed with mild depression, exacerbated by the fact I lost my mother to cancer when I was 18 years old. But over the past year + I see now that it was more that I had anxiety that lead to depression. So what is anxiety? We all have it, I just have it in excess. I have a hyper-sensitive nervous system, and my brain does not make enough serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood. My fight or flight process is activated much faster than a healthy one - leading to excessive worrying, negative doom like thoughts and self image, paranoias, and difficulty trying new things. Growing up it manifested as social anxiety, excessive blushing, and a desire to isolate. I also had a severe paranoia of driving! I didn't get my license until I was 20 years old and it still took a few years to be able to feel comfortable behind the wheel.

So I've had this "condition" in a manageable amount through out my life, until a series of events happening in close time proximity to each other basically shorted out my nervous system. That's probably not the medically correct description but it is what makes sense to me. I had a child - wonderful, but exhausting on both body and brain; my daughter suffered some health issues (she's fine but they were very stressful at the time); I and my family moved; immediately after moving we left the country for a 3 week visit to my father in Norway that included some stress about my father's declining health; we returned to a bird mite infestation of our house that forced us to move out for a month; more issues with my father and fear for his health; and then what was the "tipping point" for me: I found out I had precancerous cells on my cervix. This is highly treatable but my ability to regulate my fear response was gone and I started to have pretty much constant anxiety, especially because my mother had died from breast cancer. This was exacerbated by the fact that my bladder suddenly started to hurt - hurt A LOT - which was later diagnosed as Intersticial Cystitis - incurable. So I decided to go on antidepressants, which in the past had helped in other situations. I went on Zoloft because I was still nursing. Didn't work. Made it worse (though helped with the bladder pain). I suffered for a month waiting for it to work but things got worse and worse. I started having burning sensations on random parts of my body and severe back pain - all which lead me back to the internet where I self diagnosed all kinds of horrid things. Finally I decided to switch antidepressants to Celexa, which had worked in the past - and weaned my daughter so I could take it. However, I was started on what turned out to be a much too high a dose for where my brain was at and within a day went completely nuts. It was horrific. I ended up in the emergency room and the next day begged to go to the hospital. I was so afraid that this was my new normal and I couldn't accept it, didn't want it, would rather be dead.

This was the best thing that could have happened to me, and my family. My in-laws drove out from Montana immediately to help my husband with my daughter while I was gone and to help when I came home from the hospital. My drugs were re-calibrated with the help of the hospital psychiatrists and then my psychiatric nurse, and with time -about 4 months - I was no longer having daily anxiety. I changed what I ate and incorporated more exercise into my life (ZUMBA!) and follow many anxiety reducing practices other than just the medication. I started to feel like I wasn't in the dark forest anymore - though it was tentative hope.

At this time my father, who was spending the summer in Norway, returned home deathly ill. He had diverticulitis which had resulted in a complication called a fistula, which required surgery. He had lost 50 lbs in 3 months. The surgery was relatively routine but unfortunately he was of a 2% group that had the surgery go awry, which lead to a month in the hospital and rehab. He came out of rehab and went home for a week, in which time he became deathly dehydrated and had to go back to the hospital. At this point, my brother and I decided he had to live with one of us. My brother currently was remodeling his home - so that meant dad would come home with me.

You'd think this would cause me more anxiety - instead it was a RELIEF. I finally didn't have to worry about what was going on or if he was taking care of himself because I would be there. So I took care of him, with help from my family and visiting nurses and the doctors and surgeons. He started to put back on his weight and was going to go back into surgery to have an iliostomy reversed. Then we were going to continue his regime of weight gain and strengthening - and had made the decision that he would move to Whidbey and live with us or near us. I was very happy about this. But it was not to be. On February 24th, he laid down for a nap, and had a heart attack and passed away. He was 67.

We had the memorial service in May and buried him in Norway this past month.

Where we buried my dad

The view from where my dad's resting place is.

So New Normal. Grief. Growth. I have so much that I have lost and gained, I cannot really tell you all. But I believe - I think - I have been through this current fire and I am on the other end. I am a new person with a new life and I'm figuring it out. We are still happy on Whidbey and looking to buy a house. I am resuming my artwork and my goal to become a kick-ass painter - and where that leads I'm not sure but I am very excited about the work I am currently doing. My daughter is healthy and happy. We have lot's of good good friends, old and new. I have connected deeply to many in my family and recognized their worth in my life - and plan on making sure that they stay part of my life, not distant. I don't know what I would do without my husband and my brother.

What else to say? I just took an amazing course on how to "write" Traditional Christian Icons, and so here is the result of that class.

Mary Magdalene "written" by Karin Bolstad

Thank you Irene Perez-Omer for a life changing experience - both artistic and spiritual (you can learn about her at iconarts.com). I'm very excited to see how it impacts my current work. I will be showing a new group of paintings in October at Prima Bistro in Langley, on Whidbey. The group is called "Chapters" and originally it was loosely themed as figurative paintings of women and books, but grew into the stages or "chapters" I've been going through since losing my father. I will give you one sneak peek of the first of these paintings. :-)

"Mourning"

16" X 20" Mixed Media Acrylic Painting

Karin Bolstad copyright 2011

Well that's where I am now. I am both thankful for where I've been and excited for where I will be going -whether it is challenges or blessings, for that is life. This month one close friend is getting married, another is engaged, and another will be having her first baby! These are all good signs! And Fall will be here soon - I adore Fall - and Scott and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary. Lulu turned 4 years old on the 18th....4! I cannot believe it! She is more beautiful, interesting, and dear to me every day.

Lulu with her new birthday pink guitar

I think that is a good place to stop. Phew, that was a LONG POST! :-)

New Show: Beck's Hair Artistry, Langley WA, May - July-ish 2011

My second show on Whidbey, at my favorite hair salon - Beck's Hair Artistry. It is also the premiere of my improved Petite Fleurs AND my recent price hike. Decided it was time after 6 years to up my prices just a wee bit. Learned a way to price my art from my artist mentor/teacher/friend, Jane Richlovsky - what you do is decide on a fair price for say your smallest work. Then ADD the height and width (framer's inches). So my 5X7's I want to sell for $150. So 5 + 7 = 12 and 150 divided by 12 = 12.5. So 12.5 is what I apply to all my other artwork - add each dimensions and multiply it by 12.5 - voila! New and improved prices.

Anyway here are some pics of the art hung up at Beck's cool space.

Doin' some work

My website (http:karinbolstad.com) is going to be less than perfect for a little while because I need to make some tweaks. I apologize for this. Tweaks always end up with something happening I didn't intend, then I have to figure out WHY it happened so I can fix it. And then the site isn't perfect for awhile. I hate that.

But what I'm up to is updating some of the images - some of my artwork I've gone back to and IMPROVED. yee. The sad part for you but happy for me is that it is time to also increase my prices. If you find something you like before I do this, I will honor that price but you better git hoppin' goes they are going UP.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Karin

I needed me some new music

I just went nuts and bought three albums via i-tunes -Sigur Ros, Glasser (thanks Alison), and Ruth Moody. Here's a sampling from the three. "Festival" I am dedicating to my father, Ragnvald, who passed away February 24th.

New Show: Island Framery 1/15 - 2/10/11

It's been a while since my art has been up and this is the first time I've shown at my new home, Whidbey Island! I haven't had a lot of time to paint over the past year, so these are the last few from my most recent group. Don't they look pretty on the red wall?

The Frame shop (http:islandframery.com) is in Clinton, and though it is a wee shop the owners are very charming and talented at framing. I hope if you are passing through, you'll drop by! The prices are very reasonable - just a little warning - the prices might be going up next group of paintings so now's your chance to purchase your very own original Karin Bolstad Artwork! :-)