i'm waiting for my paint to dry...

a crazy long day in the studio today....painting and sanding and staining...and yes, more rain...ughhh, but things will work out....while i was painting i was thinking of movie sets and t.v. sets that i'm familiar with...the places that i have memorized to some degree, for they are in need of a game board or two on the wall...

do you remember that set from the farrah facett movie? i think, oh what's his name, oh he's so funny too, oh chevy chase, i just love him, anyway i loved the movie and i can tell you the set; from the layout of the house, to the furniture, the net on the wall that she would put treasures in that she would find on walks on the beach with her son...

i can tell you other sets; seinfeld, brothers and sisters, big bang theory, closer, the new diva show (that sure is a good show!), along with other movies....for when i'm taken to these locations, i memorize the sets, the colors, the moods that are created to maximize the movie...

so now that i've said that: i'm looking for 'set decorators', these are the people that would pick my game boards for their shows or movies....i've had this idea for years and years, but always come to find myself banging my head against the internet wall....so i thought i'd shoot it out to you...maybe you can pick up on this dream of mine and run with it....and here are two names for you who do amazing work:

Bryan John Venegas

Beth Rubino

so why am i passing the buck? well as i said, i've had this idea for years, but i've never gotten anywhere with my research...and as 'they' have said - put what you want out there, and you may just have a chance...

but there are thousands more - so if you have the chance, find them, tie them down, and show them my site:

http://www.dallisongameboards.com/

a reprint...

i was thinking about other artists today, and wondering how they are holding up during these times...it reminded me of a blog post that i did back in february, so i decided to re blog the original post....just a reminder to all of us how fragile day to day life really is, how quickly an entire group of people can, sadly, just fade away...

the wild dance of the American artist....

it's all around us...job after job is being cut from companies...people are scrambling right now to make ends meet...a shortage of food at the food banks...people loosing their homes, children having to drop out of college...groceries going up higher and higher....yes, it is everyday now...but honestly artists saw it and felt it more than a year ago...

artists have always been a vision of our society...the ones that would jump off a cliff to see how it will come out...a brave and unusual sort of person...perhaps a person that can't understand why you wouldn't jump with them...but as prices began to go up more than a year ago, artists were having to pay so much more for their supplies for their craft that they were forced to shut down...add suppliers closing too, just makes for added problems...costs of renting booths to sell your work is unaffordable in these times, stores that carry your work are closing...magazines that promote your work are closing....the promotions of 'the arts' in many states is falling rapidly...

yet you are trying to swim in circles at the least and stay out of the quicksand...

yes, it is happening to the American artists....slowly and surely artists are closing...thinking that this is the time that they must fall into line and be a little practical with the future, maybe do what their parents had always told them to do long long ago when they announced that they were going to be an artist...go back to school, and add to the already huge market of people applying for jobs...

over the summer i saw a new site in my own area....a potter had set up a table in a parking lot selling her wares...this was the first time i had seen anything like this before, anywhere. a sign of what is coming i'm afraid...many artists have gone back to school for a future 'career', some have taken on 'regular' jobs of any kind...both being forced to end their craft altogether...many spouses of artists have lost their jobs and the art is all that is supporting their family today...

i would dare say that an artist lives month to month...or at best season to season...for they are not in the "creating" for the money, they are called starving artists for a reason...they go against the grain of what is considered 'practical, good common sense", they are doing it because they can - making a living on what their imagination feeds them...what has been done for 100's of years before them...what today is called an entrepreneur...

and as 'flighty' as an artist may seem, within that mind is not only an inventor but a researcher, an accountant, a web designer, a shipping company, a marketing person, a photographer, a writer, an office manager, secretary, chairman of the board, housekeeper and goodwill ambassador to all....a person who wears many many hats, no wonder it seems like they are confused...

so when you are out there shopping for this and that...take to mind the American crafts person...pick up that card to send to a friend that is handmade...buy that jar of honey on the side of the road instead of from the store....think in advance of upcoming birthdays and holidays and order a piece from an artist....good chance you are paying their electric bill...

and what about me? well i'm hanging in there like i always have and will...for i am a knowing dreamer with a strong mind of determination, things will always work out...but i do know, one day there will be less of 'us' and we will be harder to find...but we will never disappear altogether...

An update: sadly many of my artists friends have closed their studios, at least temporally in search of jobs...other 'to be' artists have put their dreams on hold, hoping that one day there will be better times and they can do what they love, adding their dreams to our American legacy...

www.dallisongameboards.com

kiva.org

well here we go again, i was repaid my loan from kiva.org....so my little one and i sat and looked at all the entrepreneurs that were requesting loans for their businesses, from all the way around the world. it is really amazing if you think about it, i can loan $25.00 to somebody in a country that i have never visited...i can loan money to people who have a dream and will become dream catchers in perhaps a matter of days - given this chance by others from around the world, with simply $25.00 at a time. today we decided to loan to Radwan in Lebanon, who is in auto repair....he needed some tools, and as an artist i myself know how important it is to have the tools that you need to do your job. so here's to you Radwan - work hard and have some peace of mind.

some days kiva doesn't have any loan requests for just one reason - the world is so generous in fulfilling loan requests....but today there are many asking for loans across the world...just this week alone over 19,000 loans have been made, over 1.5 million has been lent; a loan given every 12 seconds...WOW!

here is their link if you want to check it out: kiva.org

flash mob...

ok....i admit it i'm obsessed with finding more flash mobs out there....i will eventually find a link to contact one, for it's only a matter of time before i head off the mountain with my girlfriend to charlotte and join the mob...

this is in stockholm -




www.dallisongameboards.com

a day in the life....

well really, a half of century of a life...

here's how it all began...there was once a little girl, a town girl, you could say... she played the piano, took strolls to the drug store with her girlfriends for floats while reading the latest magazines...lipstick and pin curls was she...

there once was a boy, a farm boy...he played football, was a life guard and jumped from the high dive...

they fell in love and they did what their parents didn't want them to do...get married....



within 6 years there were 3 babies .... cathy, beth and diane....





over time they left iowa and moved to the tropical paradise of the gulf of mexico...from farmlands to beaches, a child's paradise...

this was the old unspoiled florida....where shoes were not a must...where the roads were dirt and you could dig up sharks teeth...this was the time when you swam through canals and jumped off of bridges, when your hair was knotted from the salt and the water...where we were brown and free...

i cannot remember an age that i wasn't ready to take off...i would say that it kicked in for good by the time i was 12, wanderlust...but i paid my dues, did my time, and the moment i could - off i went....





and went and went and went...houston, birmingham, san diego, chicago, dallas, finally settling in boone 12 years later...

so today i find myself thinking of the now famous 'bucket list', after all 50 is the halfway point to me....hmmmm, so much needs to be done....so i begin my list...i will give myself 25 years for all of these things to happen...for i'm not a rusher of life...and i want to keep my wanderlust dreams....

see the cranberries pulled from the beds

swim with a dolphin and a manatee

watch the turtles lay eggs and watch the babies hatch making their way to the water

stand on the cliffs of the northeast

go to fiji

hang glide off the dunes of the outer banks

see the wild horses

milk a cow and hold a piglet

sleep in a tee pee and a tree house

take honey from a hive

go to africa with my mom

write that first novel

hold my grand babies...and great grand babies....

my site: www.dallisongameboards.com

saturday music show...(turn it up!)

a great way to start the day.... i hope you enjoy this... john clarke classical guitar....

the race is on!

have you ever noticed at the bottom left side of my blog is a flag counter? i added this to my blog awhile back stumbling upon it on some one's site...it's one of those freebies that you can add....so then i, being me, started to become neurotic about gathering flags from around the world and blogged about it once asking for every one's help in my flag gathering game....! and you let your friends know, for i had some new countries added!

today i noticed that the race is really on between

Luxembourg

Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.

and France, only separated by one person....

Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations. Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent years, its reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999.

oh my....i feel like i'm sitting at a track waiting to see the outcome...pretty thrilling...

i have had 70 different countries hit the blog...that is pretty amazing considering how big the internet is and how small of a world i'm in...

i only get a 'point', so to speak for newbies though....once you've been counted, that's it i'm afraid....

so let's cheer them both on....yep, it's the little things in life that are such a thrill!

country living's website...

to my surprise, one of my clients emailed to tell me that my game boards are featured on country living magazines website...thanks george! the home featured is in the new york hudson valley, circa 1830. the owners wanted period pieces for their home, which makes it so wonderful to view...so enjoy!

here is a direct link to the web page, and the featured home is shown towards the bottom of the page under the heading: American Antique Furnishing - "Appropriate period furnishings fill this 1830 home."

country living magazine

and while you are on their site you can sign-up for email updates...they always have wonderful homes, ideas and goodies to cook!

to view my game boards, here is a direct link: dallisongameboards.com

i'm just fallin' for this 'flash mob'.....ever since i found the sound of music performance in belgium, i've been hooked...what a wonderful world we live in, especially if you are lucky enough to fall upon the flash mobs....

A flash mob (or flashmob[1]) is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via social media or viral emails. The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms or as publicity stunts.







Paul Potts singt La Prima Volta für Flashmob in Oberhausen...

happy anniversary mom and dad...

yes, another year has passed for my parents...just kids when they met, and the rest is, well you know, history.... happy anniversary mom and dad, i couldn't imagine better role models for all of us!

happy 4th of july...

i wanted to share a few things with you for the 4th of july celebration...

i received this video from one of my sweetest customers in texas....and wanted to share it with you. if any of you are musicians or have one in the family, you know how that life is, and we do all we can do to get them out there and heard...
"This piece was produced by our nephew, Mack Hayes. Mack is a musician in the Houston, Galveston area. I hope you will take the time to watch. It will make you proud to be an American! Be sure and watch the credits." Dorothy....if you remember back a few months ago i introduced the new 'dorothy' checker board with the stars - this is THE dorothy...



and here is what matt says: "I have been very inspired by the courage of everyone in the current movement to stand up for America. Firm, bold, aggressive, and peaceful dissent has always been the hallmark of this country. For this 4th of July I would like to offer my video on YouTube as a salute to them and to all of our Military Veterans for whom we owe a debt that can never be fully paid. If you enjoy the video, please watch the credits at the end for a tribute to two special people and pass it on to as many people as possible."

i also wanted to share these photos with you that my mom sent to me and a video that my dad sent me that i think go hand in hand...for our soldiers in the middle east are seeing things that are so foreign to us....it would be hard to adapt under normal circumstances...

"In the north east of Iran at the foot of Mount Sahand in Kandovan,
the villagers live in cave homes carved out from the volcanic rock. The age of some houses is more than 700 years. One of the most extraordinary sights in Iran must be a visit to the troglodyte village of Kandovan, where people live in cave dwellings as their predecessors did over 1600 years ago. Historians have recently quoted specific geographical references in the book of Genesis as evidence that link the area surrounding Kandovan with the Garden of Eden. It naturally follows that the village of Noqdi, to the east of this Eden, must be the biblical land of Nod."

so many of my clients are part of a military family - whether they are the child of a soldier or the wife...i can't imagine the struggle that you must go through on a day to day basis even though we have talked about it, i think you have to live it to fully understand....so i pray your heart is at peace, your dreams full of hopes and your wait is short...

i'm reminded to rethink things

i'm again reminded to rethink my thoughts, my opinions, my beliefs that are touched by the loss of my own innocence. fears that have come with knowledge brought to me by newspapers, television and magazines, but not by the experience, the experience that would lead me out of ignorance and would include compassion and empathy....i was sent this video....it is powerful in being able to move the mind over, just a bit, to leave an opening of humanness that had been replaced maybe by falseness....




humanness always leaves hope for change in me... i'm reminded of a christmas a few years ago when i called my mom and asked what she was doing...she told me she was making cut out cookies - i asked her for who - she told me the prisoners...i was shocked, and asked her why she would want to do something for 'them'....she told me because nobody ever thinks of them, and they should have a christmas cookie...how often i'm left to ponder my lack of empathy and compassion for the broken spirit...

romantic homes magazine...

ohhhh myyyy....as i was going through my new romantic homes, august issue, there it was in full color....the bullseye game board...! i especially loved the title of the article - 'artist on board', fits my silly personality to a T making me smile. the photos of some of my favorite game boards spread over 2 1/2 pages with a thoughtful interpretation of how i arrived where i am today was written by joanna clay.

i have found throughout the years working with magazines for articles you get a really good 'feel' as to the sort of company they are....jickie torres, senior editor of romantic homes is so kind, open and warm; joanna clay, editorial intern, makes you feel welcomed and at ease during our lengthy interview... they are a company where the players of the 'magazine game' carry the name of their company with grace and ease....

be sure to look for the august edition of romantic homes while you are out and about....in the meantime, here is a peek....

to see more gameboard designs, here is a link to my site: dallisongameboards.com