The Rest of the Artists

Old Parking Meter

First there is Kevin. He has always been an artist! Kevin can make anything look great. Sometimes I just don't get his vision, but the end result is something I can be proud of. Well, maybe he did the work, but I'm married to the guy, doesn't that count for something? He has the gift of seeing the end result while looking at the rough stuff. I think his favorite words are "I could make that for a buck." I can't even count how many times he has slammed on the brakes to scavenge something on the side of the road. The girls used to be terrified he would find a dead body on the side of the road and we would have to deal with that before we ever got to our destination. The man is patient though! He has been collecting parts for a big cooker for about twenty five years now. So far, it hasn't cost a dime. I wonder what he will spend his "buck" on though!

Michala's Queen Sized Quilt

Michala, firstborn, had a dream to be a princess when she grew up. Evan came along and swept her off her feet.  Sorry Will, you just took too long.  Kate, Katherine, will have to do now! She seems pretty nice, best wishes on your upcoming wedding! Michala teaches High School Business courses now. And she is an awesome teacher! If you're lucky enough to have Mrs. McWhirter as a teacher, you know what I'm talking about! I tried to teach her to sew years ago, it was ugly. So when she came home with a pattern and some fabric, you can imagine my anxiety! She wanted to learn to sew and make a skirt! Three broken machines later, she had a beautiful skirt! Ok, to be fair, the machines were old and probably stressed by the years of inactivity. Next she wants to make handbags. Any pattern with sixteen pieces is probably not the one a beginning seamstress wants to tackle. And then she talks me into a quilt class. Like me, she jumps in with both feet and eyes tightly closed! Her first quilt is a queen sized masterpiece! More on this later.

Brenna's Mask

Brenna, middle daughter, the one we thought would go to art school! She does go to an art school, but is studying Fitness and Sport. She started playing Volleyball in Junior High School, Mrs. Carter was her coach.  Brenna dreamed of playing college Volleyball someday and currently plays for Millikin University. Brenna is super focused, super organized, super busy, always on time, and relaxes by being creative.  You could almost always see some of her artwork in a local school district art show.  This is the mask she created in fourth grade. It appeared in a regional show. Brenna recreates pictures with just pencil and paper. Amazing! I hope to post some photos of her drawings soon. As I was decorating the Christmas tree this year, I realized that Brenna is responsible for most of my handmade ornaments. I also love Brenna's fashion sense.  She can find the ugliest thing on the sale rack and totally rock it! I love that about her! She is totally comfortable being who she is.

Elizabeth, Lizzie, Liz, the singer. Now the singing photographer. Another artist at a young age. Elizabeth was born singing. She sings ALL OF THE TIME! Thankfully she has a beautiful voice! Put any music on and Elizabeth knows all the words. Growing up, she was a movie lover. We watched The Wizard of Oz over, and over, and over. Disney movies, old movies like Breakfast at Tiffanys, any movie, she was up for! The best times were when the movie theaters had freebies! You can't imagine how many movies we saw. another thing, she had great hand eye coordination at an early age. She would play Crash Bandicoot upside down! Elizabeth has had a love for photography since she was very young. Now she studies Digital Photography at the Art Institute at Schaumburg. Cool stuff! I may have to get written permission to show some of her work. I will sneak something in here and now though. Elizabeth also has fun with fashion, must be the sign of really creative people!

Riley's only job is to chase birds, bunnies, squirrels, and opossums. Oh, and be the cutest beagle ever!