#reverb12 Day 10: Your greatest risk?

What was the greatest risk you took in 2012? What was the outcome?

A "Uniquely Yours" workshop in my home

I think my greatest risk was to agree to lead the two sewing groups I started in January 2012. Leading the group was not the risky part but leading a group and doing workshops of techniques I knew nothing about. It was suppose to be a learning experience for me along with the others. And I said up front I was not going to teach but to facilitate the group only, As it turned out I had to figure out the technique we were going to learn, then teach myself how to do it so I could in turn teach the group. Then mid way through the year I changed our place to meet because of the interference of customers and lack of respect, from the owner of the shop, for the fact we were having a class not a gab fest. Then , because finding a place to meet where we did not have to pay out a lot of money and could make messes was impossible. I could not find such a place so we started meeting on my home which meant I had to move furniture around, set up tables and host the group once a month. That was very hard.I did learn a lot during the year but it was not as I envisioned it to be. Very stressful and very time consuming. I can only say I am glad now it is now over as of the last workshop in December. Now I can move on.

#reverb12 Day 9: Your favorite book?

What was the best book you read in 2012, and why? (And by "Why?" I mean: Why did you read it? And why was it your favorite? Although these answers could be one and the same...!)

"Mexican Cross"
Encaustic on plaster 

Plaster on burlap

I did a lot of reading last year, more then I have done in the past few years but nothing memorable that I can think of. I can't even remember the authors or names of the books. I know I read a lot of spy novels and crime novels but I am hard pressed to be able to say why other then it was a nice diversion from what I had been doing. I didn't have to think...just read...
I also bought a lot of books and magazines on art and sewing and read all of them at least once and I have a list of books to purchase from Amazon now as soon as I can make up my mind on which one. The one I had the most fun with was a Michael DeMeng book on assemblage. I love reading how he manages to put so many strange and weird things together and have them turn out so interesting. I did one assemblage in his style and love it and have one more of that type in mind to do soon.

Plaster with melted crayons

Plaster on stiffened muslin  with acrylic paint

Another favorite of my books that I bought and read is a book on plaster art. After I received that one I had an art retreat with Ellen and we spent several days playing in plaster and making messes.This is the art that came out of that 3 days of playing and making messes. I love each and every one of them have them all hanging on my walls.


I was very happy with the Michael DeMeng art project I did and will post a photo of it later when I find it.

#reverb12 Day 8: Your most important relationship?

Ex Votos
A shrine celebrating the avoidance of a disaster
 do to divine intervention.
In this case a train wreck in India  where no one was hurt.

Considering the idea that nothing lasts forever: what was the most important relationship that you fostered in 2012? 

How will you continue to nurture it in 2013?

Wow, that is a hard question. My very most important relationship aside from the one I have with myself is with my husband of 56 + years and then I would have to say it is with my art. It took me so many many years of excuses, explanations and fumbling with words to finally be able to say, "I am an artist." Since I was finally able to say it, and say it out loud if asked, "What do you do" I have explored so many different facets with my muse that I can only say now I am so very happy that I finally 'know' that.

A tribute to the men who lost their lives
 in the BP oil spill in the gulf of Mexico

I have done some techniques using encaustic s, a word I didn't even know the meaning of when I first read it,I have made some art dolls and quilts, I began and ended a sewing group, worked with Michael DeMeng type of art, taught myself how to use water color crayons on cloth and many other techniques. There are so many techniques I have tried and right now I would be hard pressed to name my favorite. Usually the favorite that I love is the one I am doing at the time I'm asked, "what is your favorite'.

Start of a page for my  first watercolor class

In the coming year, if all goes well health wise and otherwise I am going to continue pursuing my interest in all art mediums and especially watercolor  I am going to work on drawing and journaling and perfecting the use of watercolors in ways I never imagined by taking the class Life Book 2013. 

How will I nurture my art passion? I will just keep on exploring and enjoying.

#reverb12 Day 7: What will you take with you?

What's the one thing you want to take with you into 2013?


There are a lot of things I want to take with me into the new year. I have explored many new types of art and have enjoyed setting up not just one but 4 studios to work in because of that exploration. I now have a sewing studio with a nice comfortable place to sit and read, draw or just watch the birds that like to play at my window. That is where I get many of my new ideas for art projects or sewing projects. It is where I can work on the computer and put together the necessary project list for my classes I take or teach. It is a place where I can watch new 'how to' videos. It is a place to daydream and sometimes I even do some sewing there.

My other indoor studio is what my hubby calls my 'project room'. Here is where I store my myriad of art supplies, my fabric for sewing, my ephemera I have collected over the years and has a window that lets in wonderful light and a lovely view of my garden with some of the yard art visible I have a tall table in there with a comfortable stool with a back so I can work sitting or standing. I have a smaller table as a secondary work space, shelves to store all my hundreds of books, books are a weakness of mine, and stacked file holders for my art and sewing magazines, another weakness right up there with books.
One night, actually it was the wee hours of the morning, when I was trying to burn the edges of pages that had encaustic wax on them and I feared I would set the smoke alarm off I had an idea to set up a 'smelly' studio. I created it on one side of the garage for the work I like to do that creates a smell and smoke/fumes I do not want in the house, like burning fabric or paper and many other smelly projects. This is where I have done most of all my yard art and where I work with Ellen when she comes for an 'art retreat' since we do a lot of smelly or messy work.

And my favorite is my 'redneck studio'. I took the name from Ellen since she had a red neck studio first. She called her's that because it was a space on the side of her garage where the dog house sat. She worked on top of the dog house when she needed a table. I loved the idea of it so created my own with a piece of out door plywood on top of a set of saw horses. It is where I do my really heavy duty messy stuff like with concrete.This winter we hope to add a dry sink out there so I can use it to clean when working instead of up against the house with the garden hose.

So I will be taking all of my studios and supplies with me into the new year but the thing I will cherish the most and take with me are the relationships I have formed with new and old friends and the companionship of my wonderful husband who supports me to the utmost in all I endeavor to do. He is my biggest helper, supporter and fan and loves  everything I do. I can't even imagine life without him. Here is a poem I wrote in 2007 dedicated to him. It is so appropriate.

My Life, My Friend, My Love 

You are my reason for living,
my reason for taking a breath.
I made a promise to love you,
until we part in death.

Together we built a good life,
here on God's green earth.
Respecting each other's privacy,
knowing what each is worth. 

We have become one together,
reading the other's mind.
Memories we share over the years,
these are the ties that bind.

I will always love you
You are my very best friend 
If ever you would leave me 
my heart would never mend

You are my reason for living,
you are the reason I breathe.
I will love you always,
until the end of my days.

Darlene Sperber

#reverb12 Day 6: What did you learn?

Compare the “you” from the beginning of 2012 to the “you” that you are now. What new skills or talents have you learned or discovered this year?

I think the most important thing I have learned this year is to accept that I am an artist. Albeit not necessarily a very good one but an artist never the less. I enjoy doing most all kinds of art and trying new techniques and mediums. This I have always know but it is only recently that I have given myself permission to explore and make mistakes and enjoy the journey. Setting aside a medium or process if I am not all that interested or tired of it for the moment. Picking it up later if I decide to pursue it further or again.I know in order to be come proficient at anything it takes practice and for that reason I will not ever be proficient at any medium but I know I can't stay with only one or two ...It would become just too boring and mundane. I may never become rich and famous but I will have a lot of fun trying. And I will be happy because I am a mixed media artist. That has been my greatest discovery this year.

#reverb12 Day 5: What was your dream destination?

What was your dream destination in 2012 and why? 

It can be a town, city, country or region -- real or imaginary -- and doesn't matter if you actually got there or not!

 When I was invited to join the newly formed Florida Sew-society and to start a new group I thought what a great idea. It would give me the opportunity to do some of the interesting fiber art workshops that had been pulling at my inner child for a long time.. I have dozens of books showing and telling me all the wonderful things I want to do but have not taken time to do anything other then read them. One thing I have learned about myself is that if I commit to show or teach some one I will know how to do it by the time I need to show them. So my plan as the leader of the two "special interest" groups were to organize the workshops, then facilitate them and in the process learn the technique myself. I decided that the names of the two groups would be 'Unique Techniques' and 'Uniquely Yours'. The objective of the first group was to learn a new and unique technique each month and the second group's objective was to  use that technique in a unique  project.

So on the first Monday of January 2012 we had our first meeting/workshop. It went really well and we decided to make a "unique jacket" type article of clothing using all the various techniques we learned through out the year. Every one got their patterns together and worked out how to change them to make them unique. We just had our last workshop on the first Monday of December 2012 and I will say the year was not what I had hoped it would be. Now I am going to disband the groups and spend my time doing some of the things I really want to do instead of spending my month working out how to do a workshop, get the supply list out to every one and then be so utterly let down over the response.

So my destination this year was not to a place but to facilitate a successful sewing group, but by my standards it was not  successful at all. This was through no one's fault. We are all getting older, health issues come and go and all of us have too many commitments and we all have to make our list of   priorities. Sewing groups are way on the bottom of most of our list. This I understand but for my new year I am going to promise myself to do more of what makes me happy.

#reverb12 Day 4: How will you celebrate YOU?

How are you going to celebrate your self this festive season? 

How will I celebrate me? After making the life altering decision to "unplug' from all the crap emails I get in the way of journals and newsletters I am going to celebrate freedom. I can't begin to tell you how it feels to be free of all that information that was weighing me down. Now I can open my email in the mornings and read interesting things from friends, leave it for the rest of the day or answer it right off if I have time.  Then I can go about doing what makes me happy and know when I open it the next day it will not be loaded with trivial, repeating emails and newsletters. I will still get a couple of emails from people I would rather not get from but for the sake of hurt feelings I will continue to receive them and just delete with out opening.

I celebrate the very best life possible in the very best, with all it's faults, country on earth . I celebrate knowing that when I get up in the mornings I am free to do what I want with no repercussions. I will celebrate family, I will celebrate the talent I was born with and cultivate to the max. I celebrate the child I was as it made me the woman I have become. I celebrate me!

#reverb12 Day 3: What do you really wish for?

Imagine a scenario where you only had one year left to live. What is one thing that you really wish to do that you just haven't had the chance to accomplish yet?

I would like to add: what steps could you take (however small) to ensure that you accomplish this thing in 2013?

What do I really wish for? I thought about this prompt and at first I thought what I really wished was to be able to live back in Washington state. I loved it there and planned, my whole married life, while living in Indiana for 28 years,  to move there when we retired. We did just that and worked for a while, bought a house built in the 1920's which I loved and enjoyed what I thought was the perfect place to be. Then things changed and the cost of living went through the roof. The roof we spent a fortune replacing since it had 3 layers, one being shake shingles and the other two of questionable materials. Actually we considered it 4 layers since it had a layer of moss covering almost the whole roof. Moss is typical in Washington but most home owners keep it under control. Not so with the previous owners who did nothing, including hauling off their garbage. We had bought the proverbial money pit in that house but it did not stop me from loving it. Unlike the homes built today it had such character  It was a "Craftsman" style home with 21 beautifully styled windows which we also replaced at great cost to us since we wanted to have them energy efficient but keep the style intact. We had different plans when we bought the home but as is common with the best laid  plans, it did not work out. We sold the house in January of 2001, packed up our house hold goods and put them in storage then headed out on our greatest adventure of traveling around the country and into Canada where we were on 9/11.

We ended up here in Florida and in March of 2002 we contracted to have a house built here in Citrus County. We moved in the first of September 2002. It is a wonderful house and I am not unhappy here but I think my heart will always be in Washington. I know that is unlikely ever to happen so I will quietly think about how it could have been but isn't. I will try to bloom where I am planted...

Now what I wish for most of all is to be able to enjoy the time I have left on this earth doing the things I love doing. Mixed media art which includes painting, drawing, sculpting, assemblages, sewing and making list for my ever so helpful hubby. He does all my grunt work after I get a project started. And added to my list of what I want most is to let Bob and I and my extended family and friends stay healthy. I wish for my faithful dog to get over his allergy to what ever it is and not have to be so uncomfortable scratching.

Mostly though what I wish for is to be more computer efficient so I do not have to spend so much time figuring out how to make something work.

In order to make all my wishes happen I will do some art each day, no matter small it may be, I will continue to exercise and get a few miles of walking in each day and keep feeding my dog yogurt. And as for the computer. I will just keep dinking around and eventually I will know what I am doing.

#reverb12 Day 2: Your most significant spend?

What was your most significant expenditure in 2012?

It doesn't have to be necessarily the biggest expenditure, just the one with the most impact.

What difference has it made to your life?

I am not much of a shopper though I do like the internet shopping so I have not spent a 'significant' amount of money this past year. I do think my most 'significant spend' would have to be 'time'. I have spent an inordinate amount of time working with a group of friends in a sewing group. I wanted to help them  step out of their box and do more unique and creative sewing. It has not worked out too well and after the workshop in December I am disbanding the group. I want to have the extra time to "do more things that make me happy." Working with my art, reading and writing makes me happy, and in between those three things I will exercise more.

Today's word...Obsession

My word for the day is 'obsession. I have become obsessed. As I was sitting last night trying to log all the food I ate and exercise/activities I did during the day and having just read all the medical/diet newsletters telling me the best thing for my health is get more exercise I realized I had spent 2 hours on my computer. Hours that I could have spent doing things I want to do or hours I could have spent getting more exercise. I know how much a portion is, I can read labels telling me how many calories I am eating, I know what "my plate' looks like, I have a good scale to weigh myself with and in 2 hours I can walk 6 miles. I think walking just 2 miles would be more helpful to me then eternal logging of information. My scales will let me know loud and clear if I have screwed up though I will have known it already. So as of today, I am unsubscribing to all the diet sites, medical sites and exercise advise sites. I will spend an extra hour walking or going for a bike ride, an extra hour creating some art or reading a book. Time much better spent rather then logging into a diet site...and if there is a medical issue I want to know more about I can 'Google" it...

#reverb12 Day 1: How are you starting?

The month of December is the perfect time to reflect on the year that has passed and start to manifest your dreams for the new year.Take a moment, close your eyes, take a deep breath and ask yourself the question: how do you feel...

... in your body? in your mind? in your day job? in your creative life? in your heart?


Today I joined the Reverb 12 so for one month I am going to write a blog on the daily prompt. The prompt for December 1st is "how am I starting". I started my month by getting started  making my grandchildren's ornaments having at first deciding not to do them any more. I have been at it for 36 years giving each one a homemade ornament each year. At first it was pretty easy with only two grandsons but then all of a sudden one day I woke up and there were 10 grands. Four girls and 6 boys. Now I need to do some big time planning ahead of time..not wait until 3 weeks before the big day. They are mini books made of polymer clay and in which I will write something in each one. Something that suits that individual grand... I have them almost finished and perhaps tomorrow I will get them all completed. Celebration!