Ice in my heart

So here it is, December 31st, the last day of 2008. Over-all, this has been a happy year, but I am very excited to see what 2009 will bring.

In order to enjoy this last day of a year that has seen Audrey's first birthday, my first craft show, the meeting of many dear friends and fellow artists, we decided to go out with friends and have a nice afternoon at the outdoor ice rink.

Now, out on the prairie, where just the day before it had been around 60 degrees, our ice rinks are more the man-made sort. In fact, this was only the second time that I had ever skated outdoors-- and I used to be what you'd call a 'rink rat.'

This time was special though, because we got the littlest pair of skates available and put them on little miss. And wouldn't you know it--- she loved it! I think now she wants go by Audrey Yamaguchi ;)

I carried her weight ofcourse (and I would only recommend holding a child on ice if you are very steady on your feet) but she glided and marched and was fearless.

We even got to see the beginning of a spiral...look at that posture! Beautiful!~

You may or may not know this, but once upon a time I was quite obsessed with skating and spent the majority of my time on the ice. And ironically, it led me to meeting my husband-- who was a friend of a friend I met through skating. I guess its no wonder Audrey has taken to the sport so....It made her possible!

So now that I am in a warm fuzzy skating mood i thought I would share a few of my past skating paintings with you:

The painting below was actually our Christmas card last year. I had JUST started playing around with mixed media technique, and this is actually done with watercolor on watercolor paper. Sort of amazing to see how things have changed and evolved with my art simply by looking at this....

Anyhow....I hope the new year brings you much happiness, opportunity, love and friendship. Thank you for being a friend here on my blog, I do appreciate every visit and comment so much. I hope you continue to come back in the months and years to come....There are more, so many more paintings to make and share and love!

Happy New Year~