Take a stroll through the Moonshine Fine Art Gallery Below!

Take a stroll through the Moonshine Fine Art Gallery Below!



Thursday, November 17, 2011

Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa Claus is coming to town!

       Im here!!!  I bet you all thought I lost my blogging compass.  In a way I sort of did.  The story that I am sticking to is this...months ago I hollered at my son to not spill his cereal that he was teetering over my laptop. The bowl was filled to the rim with milk and fruit loops and it was rocking back and forth in what seemed like slow motion as I yelled "nooooooo"!!!  Due to the fact that he must have some kind of good luck on his side he didnt spill it.  Five minutes later, as my kind of luck would have it, I spilled my glass of milk all over the keyboard.  It was touch and go as I performed a delicate operation with tweezers, Brawny and a blow dryer.  My G & H keys fell victim to my clumsiness.  So to make long story short, it is a pain in my fanny to type and then copy & paste my missing letters.
       I should really steer clear of technology but I wanted to post my latest artwork.  The Cowboy Santa is 18x 24, pastel and is sold but I am working on getting prints made of him.  If you are interested in a print Facebook message me "Ho! Ho! Ho!"  Much of the art in my on-line gallery are for sale so if you see anything you would like please contact me. There is still time to order custom art and have it delivered in time for Christmas.

     Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S...Dont forget to find Moonshine Fine Art Studio on Facebook!

Friday, June 3, 2011

"I could do great things if I weren't so busy doing little things!"

     Summer finally managed to arrive in Michigan...kicking and screaming.  We've had enough rain to make a grown farmer cry.  But the good Lord takes care of the world and we've had a steady breeze for the last several days.  Everything is finally drying out and the farmers are beginning to get their crops in. 
    I used my rainy day time to create a Facebook page for Moonshine Fine Art Studio.  If you check it out and click the "Like" button I'd be eternally grateful.  I have some mighty fine friends who have done it already and I'd love it if you did too!
    I've also had time to finish my children's chapter book.  There is a funny thing about being done with a creative project-- every time I call it good and done, I go to sleep and wake up with something to change, add or do better.  I'm sure that I am not the only artist to find imperfection in everything they do but it sure does feel that way sometimes. 
     I am at the point of tidying up my manuscript and writing my query letter.  Then I will send it out to publishers with the hopes of it being published.  My fingers (and toes) are crossed.
     The main character in my book is Liberty Lil, a young lady who knows exactly who she wants to be when she grows up...the President of the United States of America.  Nothing can stop her except her own insecurities and the announcement by her rival that her dreams can not come true because she's a girl. Lil doesn't take the news very well and lands herself in the principals office.  With the encouragement of her best friends, Josey and Scout, Lil runs for class president.  Though she is the perfect choice, her opponent shows Lil that politics are never easy. 
    Along the way, kids will learn about America's history and it's politics as well as life lessons too.  Liberty Lil is a funny portrayal of the insecurity we all feel, friendship we all want, and misjudging people, which we all do. 
     I'm still working on the illustrations for Liberty Lil...when I am finished, I will post her image.  I have a magnet on my refrigerator that reads "I could do great things if I weren't so busy doing little things."  Certainly the things that keep me from creating art and writing are not little things by no means, but I do wish there were more time in the day to do it all and money to fund it.
     I find that when I publicly post what I have rattlin' around in my brain it helps me conquer my procrastination condition.  If I tell you I'm going to do it then I will get it done, but if I don't...well...it stays rattlin' around in my brain and never gets done.  Simple as that!
     On a different note, my latest artwork is added to the bottom of my blog.  I did a caricature for our local FFA chapter which my son, Marcum, is a member.  It was auctioned off to benefit the members at their year-end awards banquet.
     I just glanced at the clock...I have to go!  My husband will be home soon and I should make it look like I've done something besides write today.  I make him sound mean, but he's absolutely not.  Just the same, I better go do a few dishes and holler at the kids to quit arguing.

Take care! 
-Christine
(Artist for Hire!)
   
   
    

Monday, April 25, 2011

       Hey all!  I hope everyone had a great Easter. My husband and I spent the morning tag team parenting.  We had one boy volunteering at church making breakfast and the other sick at home.  My husband, we'll call him Eric, went to help at church and as my daughter and I left for church service he came home to be with the boy who was sick.  As luck would have it, about noon, an Easter Miracle (as my mother called it) occurred!  When it was time to go to grandmas the sick boy was healed and able to go to Grandmas to fish, go cart, and frog spear his way through the day!  But as all good things come to an end, so do Easter Miracles...Monday morning school was a 'no go'!!!
      Fever, cough nor tummy ache will keep me from putting three kids on a bus tomorrow morning.  It is the end of April and the Vermontville Maple Syrup Festival is fast approaching.  This is the weekend that I have to laminate my schedule and keep it in my back pocket so I know where I need to be and when.  Boy Scouts, Dandy Lions, Church and 4-H all have me running.  My daughter has also been chosen to present flowers to the Maple Syrup Queen and she is also running in the princess pageant.  I somewhat envy those who high tail it out of town this weekend.
      Who am I kidding?  I haven't missed the festival in all my years...and that's a lot of years!  Even the year I had the Chicken Pox, Grandpa Marcum loaded me up into his old Ford and found a place to park where I could see the parade.  No rides, no games, no friends to run with.  I still bare the scars of that weekend...and I have a few from the Chicken Pox too.
     While I have been spending much of my time writing, I have to switch gears back to getting some drawing done.  I have committed myself to donating some art to the local FFA chapter.  I should be committed because I only have a couple of weeks to get it done!  I'll find the time.
     With that wrote, I better get at it!  See you all at the Festival!

-Christine

Sunday, April 3, 2011

I'll have the Linguini!

      Hello All!!!  I am having a hard time thinking of things to blog lately.  Is it possible that I have already spilled all of my knowledge out for all to read?  Yes...It is possible!     
      I have been writing a lot lately, excluding my blog.  Over the past couple of years I have been working on my writing skills by going to A Rally for Writers held each spring in Lansing.  I have always felt more than unworthy to be among writers.  I have always maintained the thought that wearing a cowboy hat does not earn the title of  'cowboy'.  But still I go, learn and try to  improve.  While commas, word structure and adverbs are still a mystery, I will draw from my literary hero, Nancy Drew, and solve the case of "the inexperienced writer".
       I had the opportunity to have the first ten pages of a manuscript I wrote read and critiqued by an editor, Teresa Crumpton.  I'm sure if Teresa were to read my blog she would be in editors Heaven.  Meeting with Teresa gave me validation as she loved my book and said "The story voice is fabulous. This is what agents, editors, and readers love."   This validates what my husband and mother have thought all along!
     I haven't much else to say so I thought I might add a little poem I wrote after a little elderly lady read a poem at last years writers rally.  I was inspired to write the following poem:




I’ll have theLinguini
by Christine Gardner Terpening


She read a poem called “Linguini”
Although she didn’t write it
Boy could she recite it
She was little and frail
This woman of seasoned age
Her voice bubbled and cracked of Italy
She read these words with passion…
“Lightly oiled, stuck to hips
Lavished with sauce, Kisses and fettucini”
Her voiced dropped low
“Rubbed, twining and braiding, cappellini
Lovers and Little neck clams”
Her voice climbed high
“Glistening, formagio, pinched,
Romano, twirled, vermicelli, long and smooth”
It was almost too much to take
We all shimmied in our seats
We tugged at our collars
Lips were wet and hungry
Our swallows we choked
And when she was done
We all needed a smoke!



    

Monday, March 7, 2011

Where have I been?

    I just have to say "it has been a long winter"...and it's not over yet.  Event after event has kept me from blogging the past couple months and I have been reminded of that often from a loyal reader.  I've had busy kids and a few deaths of loved ones and friends loved ones but one in particular that has kept me in a funk lately.  My horse, Moonshine (of Moonshine Fine Art Studio), passed away on a chilly Sunday morning in February.  I was fortunate to be with her and hold her while she passed.  As hard as that is I've had movies playing in my head of all the amazing things that horse and I did together in our youth.  She was 30 years old so I can't say it was totally unexpected but I love her very much and she will be greatly missed.  It certainly wouldn't be Heaven without horses and now the best is there!
    On a much brighter note, my sons, Marcum 12 & Dillon 11, became proud Shepard's of a bunch of little lambs this January.  They saved their money from 4-H and their ewes from the past couple of years and purchased a flock of ewes and a ram.  The lambs were born in January so they will be big enough for their local fair.  I was so proud of them as they pulled their first lamb together from the mother.  Many more followed.  I spent many nights sleeping in the barn as to be there for any middle of the night births.  Cold would not be a strong enough word to describe the barn conditions those nights but thanks to good friends and family I had electric blankets and a good dog to get really cozy with.
     I have done a little art in between wrestling season, lambing, scouting and everything else that my 3 children have been into.  Most recently I produced a portrait for an Eagle Scout ceremony.  I have posted pictures below.  Due to the fact that I'm not all that computer savvy, one picture is really big and one is really small.  It was presented locally in my home town and well received.   Eagle Scout, Zachary Siple, was very excited to receive it. 
    Both my sons are scouts and have made it their goal to receive the same rank and my daughter, Josey, is a Maple Valley Dandy Lion.  That is a local club of little do-goodin' girls focused on learning and fun while serving their community.  My  Boy Scouts are busy collecting sap from the maple trees.  The sap is running as fast as a kindergartners nose and keeping up during a busy schedule is next to impossible.  I must have super scouts because they are getting it all done.  The rewards will truly be sweet!  I know...that was sappy!
    Well...I better git!  Take time from your busy life to do something fun and selfish and I will try to do the same!  God Bless!    -Christine