OMG

I have been waiting 4 long years for this...

Today is the day...well it may not be the day I see it, but sometime this weekend I will be sitting alone in a darkened theater with my 4 best tv friends.

yes....I took the show THAT seriously.

YES...I used to say that my bubs was totally my "Mr Big"

Yeah....I'm that person, that obsessive fan. Am I proud of it, no...not really, but I am certainly not ashamed.

I just with some of you were a lot closer so that we could go out and drink Cosmos and see the movie together.

xoxoxo
j

survey says

Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
YES

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
deleting hate comments from my flickr account (lucky me).

Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you?
keith

Last restaurant you went to?
um...does Dairy Queen count as a "restaurant"

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Keith

Did you have an exciting last weekend?
no

Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes

What do you spend most of your money on?
bills, and art supplies

Where were you at 1AM sunday morning?
sleeping in bed

Is there a secret you’re hiding from your parents?
nope

Do you like yourself?
Yes...but there are parts of my body that I don't like

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Yes

Who is someone you wish you could fix things with?
um, my Father, but it's too late

Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again?
Dancing

Are you an emotional person?
YES!!

What’s something that can always make you feel better?
food, new clothes, sleeping, xanax...lol

Did your parents spoil you as a child?
No

Do you still have pictures of you & your ex?
nope

How’s your heart lately?
filled with love (AWWWWWWWWWWW.)

Are you a cuddler?
only with my bubs and my pup

Will this weekend be a good one?
probably not

What do you want right now?
ice cream and sleep

Have you ever gone nude/streaked in public?
nope

Who hugged you last?
bubs

Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing?
Yes

Are you a kissable person?
I hope so

Has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you?
yes...many people have actually (again...lucky me)

What is your relationship status?
Married

Who was the last person to come to your house?
Jeff

Any summer plans for 2008?
maybe someone will visit me....other than that save money for a trip to PARIS!!!

Whats on your schedule for tomorrow?
Etsy, walk the dog, love my bubs, see our friend Lee, have ice cream

The last song you heard?
Square Pegs theme song, by the Waitresses

What do you think of love?
love lifts us up where we belong...where eagles fly....or something like that.

Do you still talk to any of your ex’s?
nope

What’s the connection between you and the last person you texted?
I don't text

Do you like someone?
you mean "like" them??

Have you ever kissed someone whose name started with an S?
yes

How’s your life lately?
not bad...some parts are down right spectacular.

Have you ever dated someone longer than a year?
yes

Have you ever loved someone so much that it hurt?
yes, very much so

Are you happier single or in a relationship?
I'm happiest in the relationship I am in, I would rather be alone than unhappy with someone else.

The Other side of Sleep-ville

Hello Dear Ones...

yes, I am alive...sorry for the hiatus but as some of you know I was awful sick last week with the flu.

yup, only I get the flu on Memorial Day weekend, and the first beautiful weather this city has seen since the fall.

So I spent the week with a really high fever and the worst sore throat possible. I did a lot of shivering and sleeping, lots and lots of sleeping. I combined the sleep regime with a healthy dose of watching bad "weather disaster" movies (you know how much I like to "theme it up), drinking my body weight in juice, and watching part of season 1 of "Square Pegs"

Which by the way...f-ing rocks, I remember watching it when I was a kid, and now it's even better, sure it's actually terrible, but in a good way. Though I admit to having a weak spot for any kind of "teenage" show, seriously, 90210 and Degrassi are the best!

So anyway, that has been my life, bad tv, good naps, combined with good tv and bad naps.

All said, I am better now, I knew I just had to let myself get through it, and sleep was the only way.

So, those of you who are waiting on orders to be shipped...I am so sorry for the delay, they will all be shipped out today.

So...........................now that the talk of sickness is done, how are all of you?? I have been trying to keep busy with more of my 500 pieces series. I had done a lot of work preparing ephemera and painting small papers before I was sick, so I was still able to start piecing things together while almost bedridden. It was a great way to keep getting a little work done without having to spend the hours standing up at my art table....which I have been away from for so long it feels...I am longing to get back to painting on canvas again, but at the same time I think some of the newer pieces are some of my best ever.

I have been trying to be good and update my flickr account with the new pieces, but in case you have no seen them, here are a few today on the blog.

enjoy

Petite Heights Sunday May 25, 2008

(please click on image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story-keith cousineau & jennifer gordon

new stuff

just pictures today....

these are currently in my shop!!

Petite Heights Sunday May 18 2008

(please click image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story- Keith cousineau and jennifer gordon

It's 8:04 am

It's 8:04am and I already feel as though I need ice cream, or alcohol....too early I know...

So far today I have dealt with a tiny sick puppy, yes he's sick again, you see he cannot eat anything foreign without getting VERY sick, so grass, a little dirt, a small piece of paper...all send him into a tail spin. This is not good when you have a lovely little puppy who has horrible OCD and must lick everything, even outside, hence the dirt and small rocks he eats when we go on our little walks.

it's breaking my heart, to see him feeling bad, his little puppy face.

I'm a mess.

So that's that...that has been my morning so far, not fun, not fun at all.

Anyway, I have some (what I think) is exciting news for my etsy shop...I have decided to do a new series, very much inspired by my friend Cat, you may know her as Artsy on etsy...well she has a series of "1000 pieces" all numbered, I think that is genius. I have been pondering doing something similar, you know as a challenge to myself. SO I thought about doing 1000 aceos, but wow....that seems like a lot, and I make aceos anyway, so it's not really different.

then I decided.

I have been working on the "new pieces" for sometime, the ones that are a mixture of digital and traditional collage, I showed one yesterday...and that is when it hit me. That is the plan....I am going to do 500 of them, all different all one of a kind, each will be printed just one time. They will all be 10x10 inches.

Because they will be printed once, they will be one of a kinds and original. Because they will be printed on archival and thick cardstock, it will give you a chance to own an original piece as a slightly lower rate than one of my traditional collages.

Exciting, huh?

Now, this does not mean that I will not be doing my traditional pieces anymore, this is just something new, something exciting. Once the series is done, it's done...there will be no more made in this size and style....I may move onto another size, I may not...you never know.

So with that decided, I just had to come up with a number...do I make 1000...? No, that seems like too many, I have slight ADD, and getting to 1000, well I am afraid I will grow bored halfway through...so, instead of 1000, I will do 500.

Now, they won't be happening all at once, I am a girl after all, not a factory...but expect to see them in my shop starting on Friday, I will list the first one(s).

SO there you have it...and the images today are a few more of my new 500 pieces series.

(yay!!)

When small business is not friendly to small business

please allow me to rant today....I need to.

So as you all know, I sell lots and lots (sometimes) of reproduction prints in my shop, some day I do pretty well. Now, I don't even own a printer, so I have my prints done at a local printing shop, this way I can get the highest quality images...now I get them done locally even though it is WAY cheaper to get them printed from larger "art house" type printers.

But....I go for the mom and pop places, I like to know my money is going back into my city, where I live, the place I want to flourish. There is something great about the personal relationships that you can build, I love calling my print place and having them know who I am, I like having direct connection to the owner, the person who is printing my work.

It makes me feel good to know that the hundreds and many more hundreds of dollars I spend are going directly to help keep a place open, to put food on the table.

Now, I don't spend thousands of dollars all at once, no, I spend hundreds and I do it it often. I sell limited editions and soon, one of a kind pieces that need printing. I print a lot, on a weekly basis at times.

So that being said I was pretty shocked when I was talking to my printing company about my latest prints (that are so beautiful it hurts me...so pretty), when mr print shop owner informed me that it was not really "worth their time" to have me as a customer anymore, that they preferred it if I printed at least 100 prints of each design.

well, that's just not me, I don't want to offer hundreds of each piece, I want limited quantities, I want them to be really special.

Now, I was shocked, it was not like I was paying next to nothing for the work I got there, they quoted me a price and I paid it...no questions asked.

Did I know I could get them cheaper from a bigger place, hell yeah...did it matter...no.

So here I am "dumped" by my printer for not being "big enough".

SO I spent yesterday calling and contacting all the local print shops in my town, again, wanting to support local.

You know what I found out....small places don't want to deal with small places. No one was even willing to give me a price quote on anything...not caring that I had 20 different designs that I wanted 10 prints each of...no, again I heard I had to do at least 100 of each design or they did not want my business.

I felt like I was going to throw up, I really did.

You know, it must be nice, to be able to turn down hundreds of dollars on a regular basis saying it is not worth their time.

Now....I am not suffering from delusions of grandeur, I know I am small potatoes, but I am potatoes nonetheless.

(oh, I like that...I am potatoes)

So...yesterday ended with me placing a preliminary order with a large print company with a "no minimum" requirement.

Did it make me feel dirty inside that I had gone totally mass market...a little bit, but that quickly changed when about an hour after I placed my order I got a personal email from a customer rep at said "big box" company, thanking me for my order, telling me I would have it by Friday and to contact them should I have any questions or concerns.

So anyway...hopefully things will go well with the new company, I will let you know Friday about how the pieces look...

wish me luck.

xxoo

(piece today is a new one, it's not listed yet, and I am not sure when I will list it...but I love it, it's a combination of digital and regular collage)

here's some pretty....

I think somewhere between having an artistic breakthrough and a breakdown....these new pieces (which a re limited edition prints) were born.

do you like them? They are still very new for me, I feel exposed and raw as they are not my "normal" style pieces.

so all you mommies out there, did you have a nice Mother's Day? I had a quiet day as my dear bubs was at work, but I did get a sweet gift and card from my puppy Scribble (yup, I'm one of THOSE people now). I spent the day watching Titanic and crying my fool eyes out, because sometimes you just need to cry while watching a sappy movie.

I also spent a good part of the day listening to tornado sirens and warning from the newsfolk that is was "time to get in the basement".

So all in all it was an oddball day.

I did get to have cake and ice cream though, which was pleasant.

oh....and I really, really have to give a huge (post) birthday shout out to Jody, who I adore!!! Love you birthday girl!!

Petite Heights May 11, 2008 {Mother's Day Part 3}

(please click on image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story- keith cousineau & jennifer gordon-cousineau

Petite Heights {Mother's Day Part 2} Saturday May 10

(please click on image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story- keith cousineau & jennifer gordon-cousineau

what's new?

Here are the latest Limited Edition Prints available in my shop, they are VERY limited!!! I hope you like them.

yesterday was a wee day off of sorts, filled with lots of errands and I will admit, some ice cream, and a dog grooming visit for my little Scribble.

I have to wonder, why a dog so small has such expensive hair cuts.

I think he watches too much America's Next Top Model and Project Runway with me.

he's very much a Petro-sexual.

Happy Birthday Daddy

today would have been my Dad's birthday....and truthfully it is a really hard day to get through, I won't lie.

the blending of good memories and the horrible ones of his long sickness all rush back to me, I feel myself sinking into depression a few days before and lingering there....this year though, my dear friend Cat told me to celebrate, to make it a thing, that is what she does on her Dad's birthday too.

so tonight....we are having a little party, just my bubs and me.

Pizza
Cake
Ice Cream

Happy Birthday Daddy, I still miss you.

Some Very Random Things

1- I always think Rhinos are extinct...I think it is because they look so much like dinosaurs, but I am always taken aback every time I see one on tv, there is a moment of shock...then I realize what I am seeing, and that I am a moron.

2- I sometimes blare classical music as loud as possible and I ballet dance through my whole house, I say ballet dance because I guess technically they are ballet moves, but I most assuredly do not look like a ballet dancer when I do them.

3- I talk to my dog, a lot. He listens too, very intently and I have caught myself saying aloud to him "I wish you could talk", and every time I say it I have a few seconds of slight fear that he will start talking....he has a very smart little face and it looks like he is telling me "I will, in time..."
Maybe I have just seen and read too many fairy tales and comics.

4- I saw Iron Man this weekend and have to say that as a comic movie it is one of the most flawless I have seen.

5- I think Shirly Jackson writes the most frightening books I have ever read, if you have not read "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" you must!!!

Petite Heights May 4, 2008

(please click image to enlarge)
art- keith cousineau
story- keith cousineau and jennifer gordon-cousineau

flying under the radar

look what's new in my shop....Mixed Emotions V.

sorry I have been absent on the blog, again....there are puppy and sleepless night issues. He's spoiled you see, and totally adorable and impossible to be mad at.

anyway....enjoy a glimpse of book 5.

xxoo