Sunday, March 15, 2009

It's Showtime!

My custom made skirt is finished! It is simply fabulous and the pictures do it no justice! I commissioned my friend & seamstress artist extraordinaire Guenevere McMahon to make a unique article of clothing that I can wear to my art shows and using a blend of vintage & batik printed fabrics, she has created a bright colorful and one-of-a-kind wearable work of art. Check out the appliqued sacred heart details...it's so me!
If you have the time, please check out her etsy shop. All of her items are handmade with incredible attention to detail. The purses & bags are completely her design and you won't find anything else like them. Thank you Gen!

Here are a few new works for San Antonio. I have been so busy working for the Bernalillo show creating my lower end decoupage items, but I've felt a strong urge to paint nuestra Senora. So here are a few:
The first one is my traditional Dolorosa in black in gold. The second one I was really pleased with how unique this retablo it came out. Here I have all the components of her dress painted as separate pieces throughout the retablo. The last retablo has a bit of inspiration from spanish colonial styled retablos with lots of vines and pomegranates.

And on a personal note...I've lost 24 lbs. since starting Weight Watchers on January 18th! Sometimes it's so overwhelming thinking about how far I have to go...but I realize that I just have to put it into perspective and take it day by day. Learning how to pace myself has been hard. I have up and down days...last night was a really tough one but I managed to stay on program. I'm still on program today but I've wanted to stray off. The one thing that keeps me from doing that...is the fear that I might not get back on program if I do. I might be able to get back on program immediately, or it might take me years. I wish I could say that it was about self control, but I don't believe that self control has a thing to do with weight problems. Food is an addiction. It's not a choice despite what many people believe. Nobody wants to be fat. It's true that I choose to make bad food choices, but I feel that I am drawn to make those choices by a physical/emotional need. It's no different than being an alcoholic or a drug addict. And in some ways it's a lot more painful. Society tends to be more forgiving to the drug/alcohol addict, but fat people are scorned and looked down upon because our addiction is much more visible. Trying to stay on program is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

4 comments:

GlorV1 said...

That's a beautiful skirt. Enjoy wearing it. Congrats on losing some pounds. Tomorrow I am going back to curves and exercise for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. When I was doing that I felt much better. Beautiful work and a beautiful skirt. Have a great week.

Tricia said...

Wow, I love the skirt! And the retablos are just amazing. You're a truly amazing artist and you should be very proud of your gift. AND you should be proud of your weight loss progress as well. I understand everything that you're saying and it helps to know we're not alone.

Carolyn said...

Ohh La La Very nice skirt! I love the mixture of fabric and the design of the fullness at the bottom! Very cool!
Your Paintings are gorgeous! And Pomegranates with vines around the Guadalupe is just amazing! I love them all!
OH MY GOSH!! I AM SOO PROUD OF YOU!! 24LBS. IS AWESOME! I just joined Weight Watchers I am on my
2nd week. Thursday will be my 3rd. The first week I did HORRIBLE! That weekend I had 2 parties, one for each day. I ate, I had beer, I had everything they had to offer. SHAME! So when I went to weigh in, I only lost a pound and a half! ughh the horror. Anyway I was happy it was still a loss. It just inspired me to do better this week. I was better but still not the best to my ability! So lets see the results on Thursday.
It is hard if you stray off. I found that the first time I joined I was really gung-ho! I lost a lot of weight and then stopped the program. Then I thought I can eat this and that little by little I gained it allll back! I started again about a year ago and then stopped going. I didn't even loose very much. Now I started again and it is HARD. But I'm going to try my hardest.
Christina always says that not only is it an addiction but the worst kind. When a drug attict is trying to stay off the drugs or an alchoholic has stopped drinking they stay away from bars and stop going around people they used to "use" with. But you have to learn to live around food your whole life! I can't explain it as good as she can. But I totally understand and live with the burden as well. Especially when you grow up and live around everyone who cooks (including myself) mexican food, italian food... I don't know how to cook healthy, but with weight watchers I proportion my servings.. very hard! Sorry to take up all this space and babble on! Well it is very early and I gotta get the kids off to school.
Keep up the good work! Stay strong!! You can do it!!

LuLu Mypinkturtle said...

Bonjour Pam! Your skirt is AMAZING! Beautiful! And I was looking at your latest art pieces, especially your blue and purple and mauve and azul creations and it took my breath away! Gotta get myself one of your altars one day. Have a great weekend! LuLu