The First Child of Christmas

Antique Christmas Card
...artist unknown...

My suitcase is out and clothes and gifts are being stacked around it...awaiting the final packing for my flight to New York on Christmas Day.

Christmas is a special time of the year. There is excitement and anticipation in the air. Children have sent their list to Santa and kitchens smell of cookies and breads. Decorations are in place and the tree lights twinkle in the night. Little ones and adults alike can hardly keep their hands off the presents as new ones are secretly added daily.

Family and friends gather, talking about old times. Ribbons and paper clutter the floor. Little ones run around playing with their new gifts from Santa. All the while 'new' memories are being made and new traditions are begun that will be carried on by generations to come.

In this commercialized era it's important to remember why we celebrate. To take a moment to thank God for His gift to us. To remember what it must have been like on that first glorious day when the Christ child was born. To remember the First Child of Christmas.


The First Child of Christmas
His hands were soft, small, and red,
on a crisp morning in Bethlehem...

His hands were strong, calloused, and scarred
as He fashioned a new chair for home...

His hands were confident, gentle, and firm
as He touched the sick and the lame...

His hands were broken, bleeding, and bruised
as he gave His life away...

His hands are reaching out to mankind...drawing and
beckoning,
and holding us close to the heart of God.


May you feel the touch of His Hands where ever you are this Christmas season.

Best wishes for a blessed holiday.
Marsha

Does Your Art Have Value???

...Old Glory...
Original Drawing, $655

Could you, for example, pay your bills with your art? My local news station aired this story and I chuckled in disbelief. It took some searching...but I found the complete story, and then laughed out loud!

Times are tough, money is tight...this is definitely taking 'creativity' to the next level.

I'll say no more. Read on to see how one struggling artist handled his problem of an overdue utility bill. see his correspondence with the utility company below...guaranteed to make you smile.

_________________________________

From: Jane Gilles

Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,

Yes please.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Attached

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?

Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response

Thank you for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

Regards, David.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realize with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb omission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

I understand and will definitely make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Attached

________________________________________

Final Thought: My Visa bill is due next week...wonder if they would accept an Original Drawing. I could send them Old Glory...I figure it would be an over payment of $125.80. I would actually have a credit on my account.

Who knows, maybe CEO of the company owns part interest in a basketball team. What do you think?

_______________________________________________

To give credit where credit is due...I found this article on http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847
____________________________

Links:
Website ...Marsha Robinett Fine Art
The Extraordinary Pencil...blogspot
My Squidoo ...Drawing Techniques

Weekend Chat Line..."When life preempts art"

...Wine Country...

From me to you.
It's the 'holidays'...sit, relax, and enjoy a glass of wine.

In the art world the words 'Working Artist' indicates an artist who makes their living from their art. I've never heard a phrase that applies to the rest of us artists who work a regular job and have to carve out 'creative time' from their busy schedules of 'job' and 'family'.

I'm certain I'm not alone here...but many times my cherished 'creative time' just gets pushed by the wayside. The month of December has been a perfect example. The last drawing I did was the portrait for my grandson. Ever since then, LIFE has just bombarded me. As if preparing for my trip to New York for Christmas wasn't enough, if you read my last post you know 'my friend Henry' is being replaced and I've had issues with my fine art printer.

My printer has been replaced (under warranty) and my new computer has been ordered...a custom built model from Wibben Computers, a local business here in town. They have the most wonderful 'same day service' for business when there are problems. They consider me a business even though some days I question how true this really is!

I wouldn't really say loosing my creative time makes me grouchy...but it certainly brings feelings of 'absence'...you know, when something or someone you love is missing from your life. There is a real void. I almost feel lonely. It's hard to explain.

So I ask...During this time of the year do you find you have less time to work in your studio? If so, do you feel it effects your emotional health? Are you a 'working artist' or 'an artist who works'?

The "Chat Line" is open... Remember...when you share, others are blessed.

_________________________________

Things have been a little quiet here on my blog and will no doubt remain so until after the holidays. I'm counting the days until I leave for New York. I haven't hugged my daughter and grandson for over a year...and lots to do yet before I fly out on Christmas Day.

I still have prints to make and package, packing to do, gifts to buy, and of course there are those two other jobs I work at other than my art. You see...I am 'an artist who works'.

Sincerely,
Marsha

Links:
Website ...Marsha Robinett Fine Art
The Extraordinary Pencil...blogspot
My Squidoo ...Drawing Techniques

A Week of Silence..."Henry has been sick."

Last week was a week of events for me...not all good. My trusty computer, which I named 'Henry' when he arrived in my home almost 5 years ago, started acting up last week. Actually, there had been signs for awhile that he wasn't feeling well, but I ignored them. 'Henry' had become stubborn when searching the internet and when doing everyday tasks would frequently scream for more memory. I thought he was just being difficult.

The diagnosis, after a seeing the 'specialists', is that 'Henry' is just old and tired. The Doctor told me that 'Henry' was just maxed out and needed to be retired in favor of a new model. The 'specialist' made a few adjustments so 'Henry' could properly execute his tasks for the moment...and the new model will be arriving perhaps yet this month or soon after the first of the year.

Well....this certainly brought on decisions that I hadn't been expecting. 'Henry' and I had become good friends. We understood each other and until most recently worked well together. I don't blame 'Henry'...he's been a faithful companion these past few years, and I understand that he's old and I'm asking much more of him now than I did in his younger years.

As a result, I've had big decisions to make in a short period of time. Henry is a PC...and I plan on staying with a PC. It's been the question of what operating system to get that has caused the biggest issue. I'm currently running Windows XP and I understand support for XP will cease in 2009. Vista, as we all know has had it's issues. There is supposed to be a new Windows 7 released in a year or two...I cant wait that long.

In between Henry's visits to the Doctor we did a few Google searches on Vista vs XP. It sounds like Vista has leveled out some what and that most of the issues have been with it's use on computers that didn't have enough memory to run it properly. The consensus of the 'experts' seems to be this. If you have a good running computer, wait for the release of Windows 7. If you need to do something today...get Vista. Knowing Henry's issues, I'm not in a position to wait for the new Windows 7....urghhhh! So, I guess it's Vista.

Hope Vista works well for me...it seems to be a HATE IT or LOVE IT situation with most people in the forums I visited. I guess if I hate it, I can always step back to XP. I will keep you updated.

Enough of this...'Henry' and I are going to color correct the high resolution scan I had done of the portrait I did for my grandson so he can give prints to his family. The large format printer that I use for my fine art prints was my other issue this week. We're not even going to go there now..perhaps another time.

Today's technology is soooooooooo beyond most of us everyday people. When it works, it's BEAUTIFUL. When it has a glitch, it just makes life miserable!


Links:
Website ...Marsha Robinett Fine Art
The Extraordinary Pencil...blogspot
My Squidoo ...Drawing Techniques

PS...make a point...leave a comment