New Year, New Art Project

So we will have a break from chemo, and hopefully the side effects will slowly start wearing off. I expected to have a lot of energy this week, but didn’t happen yet, so maybe next week. Since it is the second round, it may take just a little longer to get my mojo back, but it will come, so the next weeks are really something to look forward to. Whooo Hooo to being able to get the nasty taste out of my mouth, get rid of chemo burn and nose running constantly.

On the art front, I got one piece juried into the Glendale Arts Council Show.

Wolf Dream Catcher on Black Velvet paper, embellished with feathers, fur, leather and beads.

It is a Wolf Dreamcatcher, and will be there until Sunday, Jan 24th. The show is open daily from 10Am to 5 PM. It is at Sahuaro Ranch Park, 59 Ave & Mountain View, in the old packing building just North of the main building and rose garden.  If you live in the West Valley, you would really enjoy it, there are two rooms of great art. Speaking of Art, I have started a new project for the new year. Thinking of Christmas, I decided to make Hand Drawn Christmas Cards. If I do one a week , should have enough to send everyone on my Christmas list an original. They are 5″x7″ and will pop right into a frame, or can be matted and put into an 8″x10″ frame. SO here is a sneak preview of the first four cards.

On the pet therapy front, I got a couple of photos of Loki during our parrot therapy session. Thought you might enjoy! Oops, Loki is screaming, I mean Loki is calling me to do more parrot Therapy……Later!…..I am coming Loki……nuts, you want to be paid now…..I thought this was volunteer work……hmmmmm…

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Only five left!! Hummingbirds at the red fountain!

Splash Splash!

Whoooo Hooooo…. over halfway through the second round of chemo! Five left. I did the Rip Van Winkle/Sleeping Beauty imitation from Wednesday until Saturday Afternoon. You would think I would be rested by now, LOL.

More Splish Splash

The Arizona weather is amazing right now. We can open up the windows, watch all the birds and butterflies, and just enjoy life

outdoors.I caught a hummingbird playing in the red fountain this morning. Only had my IPAD, so the photos are a little blurry, but you can see why we enjoy sitting out so much. This is making me tired, think I had better go join the kitties for a nap!

Almost halfway!………Step Away From the Killdeer

Killdeer – Pastel Pencil

Next week will be treatment #6 – halfway! Only 3 more months to go!!!!  This resting week, I had a migraine Tuesday, but am feeling much better today. No nausea! Whoooo Hooooo! Back to the first New Normal, now maybe I can start having a good week in between treatments. The ole hair is thinning again, but it is taking longer this time, maybe some of it will stay. The Astivan tan is definitely back, so it looks like I have been to the tanning booth. Maybe a few field trips this week as I feel better! Art store, here I come!!!

Three of my pastel pencils are down to the nub, but still was able to work on the Killdeer. Think it is about time to step away from the drawing. Well, maybe a few more adjustments……I love killdeer, especially the fake broken wing act the parents do to draw you away from the little ones. And speaking of little ones, killdeer just have to be one of the cutest of the baby birds, they are just little fluff balls on long legs, with the greatest expressions. Now how am I going to figure out what to work on next. I have been going through my 30,000 reference photos and it is just hard to choose. However, I haven’t done a parrot in a while, maybe I can bribe the guys to pose for me. Hopefully they have forgotten about the wages issue and will work for peanuts again. Stay tuned……….

Treatment # 5………From Stilts to Killdeer

Killdeer

Welcome to treatment # 5 of 12……Whooo Hooooo, almost half way. Even though I have had a lot more nausea and filled a lot more barf bags it does seem like the time is going a lot faster. I had more good days last week, than I have since this round began. The CEA (tumor marker) count is still going down and was 75 at the last reading, Sept 14, down from 85 in August. Because this has been such a roller coaster ride, I got up the courage to ask the oncologist what we will have to do if the tumor marker count does not go down below ten this time. His answer was a resounding “it will” so don’t even go there. So I am happily bouncing along thinking during the nausea, the cea is going down, it is working, it is working. We are working the plan, its of good things will happen after this round of chemo! Traveling to see family, go to Alaska to photograph eagles, moose and bears, bird photo trips, more art…….

Speaking of art, I am continuing my love of pastel pencils and have started a Killdeer family drawing. I love the babies, and the broken wing act the mother does to keep you away from them! Also, I posted on Facebook and Flickr the Super Moon/Blood Moon photos I was able to stay up for during a particularly bad bout of nausea. You can click on flicker on the lower right side of this page which will take you there or click on my Artist page on Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/Arlene-Powers-Art-23414012357/timeline/

This is chemo week, and I am about to Rip Van Winkle, so back to you when I wake up! Stay tuned for more bird/cat and art supply adventures.

One year Cancer Survivor – Stilts about finished

Black Necked Stilts
Pastel Pencil

I just realized the other day, that I have survived cancer for one year, even though I am still in treatment, it has been a year. So I am going to celebrate this and continue the fight. A toast to surviving!*!*!*!*! This round has been tougher, but that means I just have to stay strong and continue the battle. Have been dealing with more nausea this time and the chemo burn has already started. Still have hair for now, and the tan is starting, so celebrate the silver linings! Thanks so much to everyone for the encouragement and support!

During this resting week, I have the Stilts almost done, photographed them over the “Chickadee” frame to see how they would look as a diptych. Hope you like them!

Don’t forget most of my paintings are on my website, http://www.arlenepowers.com if you want to take a look around. The pastel drawings have not made it yet, but will add a section when I am feeling a little better.

The “New Normal”

Buffalo Dream Catcher

Four weeks on Tuesday from the surgery date and I am almost recovered. Energy levels are up and only a little bit of soreness. So almost to the “New Normal”! Monday will be the first blood work since March, so we are waiting very un-patiently for that test result. This will pretty much define the “New Normal” and give a baseline for the chemo markers after surgery. I will post as soon as we get the results. It is usually two to three days after the blood is taken, since they have to send it out to a lab.

To the left is a photo of the Buffalo Dream Catcher. It is leather with the watercolor ground, then watercolor and colored pencil. Na ner na ner na ner to the guy at the store where I bought the leather, LOL. Watercolor and colored pencil do work pretty well on leather with a little help from the watercolor ground.

We got up at 4:30 AM today to get to the Botanical Gardens at 6:00 AM to get some photos before it was too HOT. Left there at 8:00AM sweating. It is supposed to get up to 107 degrees today. Pretty soon it will be too hot to even get up early to go anywhere (except maybe the mall which has fabulous a/c). This too shall pass! When we are crying about the heat, remind us about the wonderful winters without snow and ice, LOL! We may hibernate for the summer. At least will be staying in the A/C as much as possible.

That is it for now, stay tuned for next weeks blood work results………. it is time for a siesta,……….. it is WAY too hot to type……….Even the parrots are quiet…….the cats are asleep as usual…….. Too hot to draw…….definitely time for a nap.

Recovering….latest projects

The recovery from surgery is progressing. Each day is a little better. The three week check up is scheduled for Wednesday and everything is looking good. There is still some soreness and fatigue, but that is part of the “New, New Normal”.

My yard is full of birds. We have been putting out seed blocks, suet , thistle and of course the hummingbird feeders. The fountain is attracting a few birds, but not the hummingbirds everyone else seems to have. Because of the massive seed consumption, we have learned how to make our own seed blocks. Hubby gets the large bag of seed at Costco, and we make and put out two blocks a day. I think those guys would eat more if we put it out! SO far we have seen house finches, sparrows, Abert’s Towhees, Curve bill thrashers, Gila Woodpeckers, cowbirds, White Wing doves, Mourning doves, Inca doves, grackles, verdins, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and Black Chinned Hummingbirds. They are really fun to watch, there are always little dramas going on. I am very surprised at the White Wing doves, they are very aggressive and chase the other doves away from the seed. I had always heard how peaceful doves are.

Here are photos of the latest Dreamcatcher projects. The third of three “black and whites” is a wolf.  Then I bought a couple of pieces of leather to try it out. Here is the first of two, the baby Great Horned Owl depicted in “Whooo R U?”. Had to learn a lot about leather to do this project. I used a ground first, then did the owl in watercolor and colored pencil. You should have seen the guys face at the leather store when I told him I would be using colored pencil. He looked at me like I am mentally challenged…..he said acrylic or leather dyes will work best. If you are a normal person, that would be true! But he had no idea that I wanted to try the new Daniel Smith Watercolor ground to see if it would really work on leather. As you can see it works really well! So what if one person in the world thinks I am crazy, Ok, well more than one…..but we won’t go there!  I am going to check to see if there is a product to stiffen it a little more, otherwise, I am very happy with the project and am trying to decide what to put on the second one! If you saw the Raven Dream Catcher, the very first project, you will notice that I have improved and refined. There is definitely more feathers and beadwork along with the placement getting better. Of course, I could not drive yet while working on the raven, and had not thought of getting beads before the surgery. But they can always be added later!

The Parrots and cats have been VERY quiet lately. I wonder what they are up to? Hmmmmmm……….if I find out, you will be the first to know! Stay tuned!

Step Away From the Drawing – Post Chemo Update

Pastel Pencil on Ingres

The finch pastel drawing is done de done done! And he is spoken for. Will be winging his way to his new owner soon! He is so cute, I decided to paint him too, so stay tuned!

No blog last week because I was too busy getting pre-op tests done. Everything back so far is looking good. The tumor markers in the blood work are down to 28, and should take a good drop again after surgery, leaving them in the range we are looking for….under 10! The tumors have all shrink and some have disappeared. The chest x-ray was normal-like anything in my life is normal, LOL! So next week should be the new normal, then the following week, medical appointments almost every day, then the following week…..surgery. Hopefully I will be able to make some progress or finish the painting before surgery since I will be in the hospital for 2-4 days and the recovery is expected to take about four weeks. Most of the chemo side effects are disappearing. The chemo tan is fading, my mouth is burning less, the nasty taste is gone, energy is back and my hair is GROWING back. Woot Woot!

In the meantime we will get to see my daughter, Melissa, in “Barefoot In The Park”. Since she is playing the lead, we are looking forward to a great laugh! A group of friends will be attending, so we will probably hurt from laughing and will be in great company!! We will be spending a weekend in Flagstaff, with a side trip to Bearizona. Then will spend a weekend in Sierra Vista photographing any bird that will hold still long enough. So stay tuned for photos! Until we tweet again!

Schedule…Finch WIP

Finch – Pastel Pencil

We met with the surgeon Friday and the surgery is scheduled for April 28th – with lots of testing until then. Colonoscopy, pet-scan, blood-work, lung x-ray and several other appointments. Fun, fun, fun! At least I will be feeling better for all of this. It gets better each day as the side effects from chemo slowly disappear.

The weather is so gorgeous now, we spent a lot of time today on the patio with the parrots and kitties. We only let Dante out when we are out, so he slinks around the yard acting like we can’t see him. He hides in the bushes, but one loud sound and he is back inside where it is safe. Loki ran around on her branch and flapped her wings and had a great time. The little guys just preen and enjoy the sun.

This week, a little finch is the subject of my pastel pencil WIP. He was so cute standing on the bird bath, he was hard to resist. Everything is pretty quiet now, so he should go pretty quickly! Stay tuned!

You Know – Last Chemo….Foxy Progress

The Last One!!

Whooo hoooo! Chemo Over! The last treatment pretty well did me in. Last week I was feeling “Happy Crappy”…..our new phrase for the time you are happy it is over, but feel too crappy to celebrate yet. The mouth sores finally made an appearance after 23 weeks of being told, I would probably get them. The nausea lasted until Monday. Yesterday, the nausea pretty much disappeared, so am left a little tired, but recovering rapidly now. The awful taste in my mouth is SLOWLY disappearing and I even have a little bit of energy. This too will pass, as every day is a little better and soon will be back to the REAL normal – not the NEW normal!!! Of course the tan will disappear, and I have to curb the eating habits, but hey, it is better than chemo! So next month is full of tests and appointments to get set for surgery sometime in April. Stay tuned for details.

The therapy kitties and parrots are all doing their jobs. Loki is getting very spoiled having me home all the time. She will not let me have a phone conversation without interrupting by yelling “Hello! Hello! Hello!” or screaming until I finally walk over and let her into the conversation. She knows – even if I am in the very back of the house, hiding in the closet – when I am on the phone. Her hearing is extraordinary.

Pastel Pencil on Black Canson Board

Yesterday, I finally had a enough energy to do some art therapy, so here is the Fox almost done….Oh no there goes the phone…….Ok Loki, just a minute and you can say hello……where are my earplugs?