A Piece Of My Heart

My six year old niece is visiting from Georgia this week. Let me just say, first of all...I absolutely adore her. When she was born she became a piece of my heart. I miss her when we are apart and I cherish every fun and wonderful moment that we spend together. I only see her about two times per year, but the time is quality time, for sure. I devote every moment we have together to bonding and doing interesting and fun activities. We make up games, create art, read stories, snuggle and chat. 

The most important part of our relationship is that we know how much we love each other and how special we are together. We are both artists, and for whatever reason, I know how she thinks. I know what she is going to say about things, before she gets the words out, because I understand how her mind works.

Last night after I read her a book about a baby dolphin she said, "Aunt Ally, It's not good that we don't live together. I wish we all lived at your house. I don't like not seeing you all the time." I have felt that was since the day she was born. 

She will go home on Saturday and a piece of my heart will go with her. I wish that everyone with a special and wonderful child in their life will take the time to create memories that they can both cherish for the rest of your lives. Fostering a bond and a loving relationship with a child is a gift that lasts forever.

Happy Spring Give-Away

I just love springtime! It puts me in the giving mood.

This Give-Away runs from 4/2/09 - 4/16/09 at which time the winner will be selected at random.

First become a follower of my blog allyjoyartistic.blogspot.com

Visit my online shop allyjoy.etsy and see which item is your favorite.  

Give the item a heart. 

 

Come back to this blog and write a comment at the bottom of this post about which item in my shop is your favorite and why.

One lucky winner will win an Allyjoy original.

 If your favorite item is a photograph, you will win a Fine Art Print of that image.

 If your favorite item is jewelry you will win a pair of earrings of my choice. 

I will select the earrings closest in style and color to your selected favorite item.

Please  select your true favorite from the shop to write about in your comments.

I look forward to hearing your comments

 and picking the 

Lucky Winner!

Dreaming of springtime

It was so lovely today! My daughter and I took not one, but two long walks in the sunshine. My son and I made driveway murals with chalk of giant happy eyes and paisley flowers. Days like this are a gift when sandwiched in between frosty gray days. I was in desperate need of inspiration this weekend, so we spent Sunday in NYC with my favorite aunt. She is my only other relative who is an artist and was my childhood idol. When she was only 16 years old she made a gorgeous drawing of Romeo and Juliet with a No. 2 pencil. This drawing is more beautiful than many of the famous works of art that we viewed at The Met on Sunday. She is amazing at creating organic forms with blended shading. I will take a photo of this drawing the next time I visit my 89 year old grandmother (who is recovering from her fall and hip replacement) and post it. 

I adore flowers, they are a huge inspiration for my artwork. I specialize in macro flower photography. I was so excited to see the Snowdrops blooming at the bases of the trees in Central Park. This means that my dreams are coming true...Spring is near...I can smell it in the air...I can see it on the ground...I can feel it in my heart...Spring is near