learning

i think learning is a lifelong endeavor. you should never stop learning. there is so much to see and do and well, just learn!

i have spent the weekend with my sister and a friend of mine. we have been creating art all weekend. each one of us has perfected a process or technique. we love what we do and enjoy teaching others. so the first two days have been spent sharing. tomorrow we will take what we have learned and actually do something with it.



image transfer on painted background
with stamped images

 i was so proud of my first ever image transfer. and C enjoyed printing on her gelatin plate. i LOVE the iron on image transfer paper for fabric and paper. AWESOME!!! and Shari was challenged with her elevated shrine box project. i am still not sure if this piece is finished. every time i look at it i think ...wow! I did that....

you know it's good to learn and share and teach. we have had good food, good company, good music and good times.

so, never stop learning. never stop sharing your knowledge with others and most of all keep having fun while you do it!

oh happy day!

i have to admit that there is NOTHING like a sunny warm day in February.

i live in Iowa- where winter seems to LAST FOREVER! and winter isn't so bad except for

• the lack of sunshine
• below freezing temperatures
• wind chill

so today it is 60+ degrees and the sun is shining and the studio door is open and i sat out front on a step stool and ate goldfish crackers and soaked it all in!

in which we come to the last chapter where we have to say goodbye...

the "One World One Heart" blog event is now officially over. i am very glad i opted to participate. last night i printed off 25 pages of comments from people who stopped by this blog and took some time to get to know me...cut them into strips and then chose two....

so the randomly picked winners are Marilyn Studio 274 - she has won the wall piece
and Deirdra Doan has won the copy of my book

One World One Heart 2011

welcome!

i am laura comito, 2nd generation Italian American living in the wilds of western Iowa, USA. i've been an artist all my life and enjoy mixed media collage- i like to alter stuff. i'd rather go junking than shopping for clothes. i also design and create my own jewelry which feeds into my passion for vintage jewelry and i can't help but incorporate rhinestones into most of my work. i love to travel and actually made it to the village where my grandparents were born in Italy!  oh yeah- i also live with depression everyday.

thanks for stopping by and taking a peek around. leave a comment too! as a token of my appreciation i am giving away two items hand made by me to two lucky people.



page 1

 item number one is a copy of the book I published called "Outside the Lines"
my story of living and coping with depression through art and meds. all of the artwork is a series of collages from art papers, ephemera, bits and pieces of found objects stickers, rubber stamps and doodles.




item number 2 is a wall collage made from hand made papers, art papers, fibers, ribbon flowers and sculpy clay.

it's been nice getting to know you!
laura

i also write a second blog so please stop by and look around there too! Just click on the link and it will magically take you to my other place!               artworks and beads

~JUST ADDED~

if you are a cardmaker i was just gifted with an entire box of envelopes of many different sizes and colors. i would be more than happy to send you an assortment of 24 envelopes. in your message make sure you put ENVELOPES in caps- so i SEE it :) and i will contact you for your snail mail address. these are free- paying it forward....

the beauty of a woman

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years. ~"


— Audrey Hepburn

the blessings list

back in september i wrote about the bucket list - you know that list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. i am 49 years old- it has been bothering me that i will be 50 in 6 months...
FIFTY-(that's a scary number)
so i thought of all the things i want to accomplish and that got me to thinking how i got to where and who i am

right now
today

so i have come up with a blessing list- i have been blessed with so much in my life that when i focus on the hamster wheel of everyday living i forget...so here's my list

• a strong supportive yet at times annoying family and parents who gave me roots and wings
• lifelong friends - you know the ones you can call at 4 am and they will talk to you
• carolyne, kelsey, elizabeth and joshua
• cookies- the person who made the first cookie should be honored with their own national holiday
• the two men who have loved me enough to marry me and put up with me- both are uniquely special 
• the one who got away

so what have i done for 50 years?
dropped out of college,ran my own business,got married,had 4 kids,got divorced,published a book,got married again....

ok...but-



but....i have walked down Drury Lane looking for the Muffin Man

stood in Westminster Abbey~the sacred space of kings, queens, statesmen, poets, priests, hero's and villains

left a tuppence on the steps of St Paul's for the birds

walked up Edinburgh Rock and looked out over the Pentland Hills



on the terrace at teresina's house



walking down the street in Belsito, Italy



i ate tarallis as I walked the streets of Belsito, Italy- the birthplace of my family - and shared an afternoon meal with my cousin Teresina Porco and her family

i have stood among hundreds of butterflies and felt them landing like a wish upon my person....been moved to tears by the beauty of carolyne's voice as she sang...laughed in a sudden summer rain shower and celebrated it...used up all the pink sidewalk chalk with my granddaughter...experienced sunsets, moon rises, ocean views, and lazy lake days.... it's all good.



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