I take (too many) pictures of flowers, clouds, sunrises & sunsets, then upload them to the “art” laptop my husband bought for me. Then I use an “Art Program” to colorize & manipulate them into multiple designs.

When I found “SHUTTERFLY” could print my designs on just about ANYTHING… I made several books for my mom as gifts.

When I (or my sweet husband) can afford to—I would also put my designs on puzzles, decks of cards, memory game cards, greeting cards, pendants, luggage tags, Christmas ornaments, poster-sized prints, placemats, mousepads, magnets, notebooks, mugs, cups, shot glasses, bottle openers, coasters, tiles, pet bandanas, folders & different types of small fleece blankets.

A few blankets didn’t turn out right (was off-center or had a fold that became a big white void) they let me keep them & I turned them into coats & toys! I was only able to afford 2 duvet covers (before they discontinued them) that I turned into a poncho, a dress & a 60’s style outfit with bellbottom pants, shirt, headband & purse.

This set of pictures took me well over 8 hours to do… If I had a faster computer, I could probably cut that time in half. To date, I have over 4000 images! I try to put in at least an hour a day to decompress, calm down & relax.

Sadly, my father spent most of his life leeching off of others & his attitude was “Hey, if they’re STUPID enough to let me get away with screwing them over & over… that’s on them.” He was my biggest bully—some family members insist he loved me “in his way” but I never saw that.

He would always take away any art/craft stuff & give it to my sister or other people’s kids. He tried his best to turn me into a strong MAN—but I’m NOT. I’m a WOman.

Thank God my MOTHER loved me. She would buy me dolls & dad would give them to my sister or throw them away. Mom put up with it for 8 years, until one of my teachers assigned the class an art project using “Pinhole Cameras” that were printed on the back of cereal boxes.

Mom bought the 3 rolls of film & since dad “insisted” on taking me to work with him where he cheated on mom & I took LOTS of pictures! All of which ended up being handed to the principal who called mom & me into her office.

Since mom worked as the school librarian, the Principal told her they would help her get a lawyer & suggested she uses my photos. Having proof of his infidelities, mom was able to divorce him & the fact that ‘I’ took the inappropriate pictures of him with other women, gave mom instant custody of us.

Once they were separated, I got to have crayons, paints & keep gifts others gave me! I’m so grateful I had her to keep dad from killing all my artistic inclinations.

I have permanent damage to my left arm, shoulder & back from all the times dad yanked me up by my arm & dragged me around. He also damaged my neck by constantly smacking me in the back of my head demanding I “Pay attention! You’re NOT the pretty one—you’ll need to learn how to fix things yourself!”

WORST DAY OF MY LIFE—after their divorce; sis & I were playing in dad’s back yard & the neighbors started mowing their lawn. I didn’t get up fast enough & dad yanked me up by my arm (dislocating it) dragged me through the house, stripping my clothes off & screaming at me the whole time.

I heard my sister call our mom & minutes later, I heard mom banging on all the windows trying to get his attention. Then, the sounds of glass breaking as mom put her fist through the back door, the bathroom door bursting open & gasps/screams from mom & sis when they had seen what dad had done to me.

Mom wrapped the shower curtain around me, ripping it down & telling sis to “Get a blanket for her!” She took us to the nearest hospital. He had used a plastic pot scrubber & scrubbed so hard the doctors & nurses thought I had been burned! They called the police & wanted mom arrested for abuse, but when my sister & I told them dad (who was working as a Fire Rescue Tech at the time) was the one who hurt me, suddenly the police just left.

Dad talked down to mom (even though she NEVER said a bad thing about him) and constantly lied about her to anyone within shouting distance. We endured years of abuse at his hands, did hard, dangerous, jobs with him, then took care of him when he got cancer! I took care of my mom for years after she fell at work in 1995 & suffered a catastrophic injury that put her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. After mom died, I took care of her 2nd husband, Dan, for 4.5 years & all that work has added up to a big, fat, NOTHING toward my social security work record. SMH.

Do you see snake heads too?

BEST DAY—the SECOND year I entered the Iosco County Fair! I entered 66 items & won a whopping 54 ribbons! One item—a set of “Freeform Pottery” figures (Mom swore they wouldn’t let me enter them)—ended up winning the First Trifecta (1st Place, Best of Show and Gold State Fair Ribbons) in over 40 years! Then; when I entered it & 10 other 1st Place items into the Michigan State Fair, it was “accidentally” broken into small pieces but I was able to rush over, glue it all back together & it won a SECOND “Best of Show” & my other 10 entrees won additional ribbons too!

I entered ALL of the State Fair’s daily Baking/ Cooking contests that year but I only got one Ribbon—the 3rd place for my “Pecan Pear Pie” & the recipe for it ended up in the last Michigan State Fair Cookbook. They made one really big error though—they accidentally omitted a VERY important sentence… “Prebake crust for 15 minutes & let cool for 30 minutes before adding the filling.” You have to do that or the bottom of the crust will be raw.

SECOND BEST DAY—Marrying JEFF! I would LOVE for him to see my designs on T-shirts, dresses, gowns, long coats, beach towels, umbrellas, body pillows, pillow covers, sheets, king-sized blankets/ comforters, gift wraps… heck, I think they’d even be awesome printed on cakes, bar/side/coffee tables, rolling trays/papers, shower curtains, window clings, lighters & what about car wraps?!?

An Explosion of Angry Pink Bears

My art display wall

My artwork display wall front & back

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