something creative to do this weekend

June 3rd 5:00 - 7:00pm FREE Demo/Book Signing
Come on by the Art Bar where I'll be making an appearance along with Traci Bautista, Linda Woods, Karen Dinino, and the publisher/editors of Stampington & Co.
Instructor, Traci Bautista, has her very own book coming out this month COLLAGE UNLEASHED and will be teaching a Weekend of Workshops
Friday, June 2nd 12-5pm The Graffiti Wall Hanging
Saturday, June 3rd 9:30-4:30 – doodle.PAINT.pLay! Painting and mixed media collage techniques
Sunday, June 4th 10:30-5:30– Messy Patches Art Book

Hope to see you there Saturday night...
The ARTbar Studio & Gallery
209 N. Broadway
Santa Ana, Ca 92701
714-558-2445
www.theARTbar.net

tree of life

Some things to think about...

Meet Mister Jumbo

Here I am with Mister Jumbo...(I don't know his real name) but he will always be Mister Jumbo to me. He was a character in a 'Danny Thomas Show' where Linda (that was me) talked to her parents about her friend, the giant that she met at the park. Danny and Kathy thought he was an imaginary friend and didn't believe me...but it turns out at the end of the show...that Mister Jumbo wasn't an imaginary friend at all...he was real...a real giant of a friend...

This episode was very popular when it aired so songwriter Bill Jacoby and I wrote a song about Mister Jumbo and I sang it on the album that I made when I was 7 years old..."Angela Cartwright Sings"...

Sit back if you will...and clear your mind of 21st century fodder...immerse yourself in the innocent and golden years of television where Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Milton Berle made us laugh...when Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley filled the airwaves...read if you will, the pure and simple lyrics of this ode to Mister Jumbo...

Mister Jumbo, Mister Jumbo, he's a nice big man I know,
Mister Jumbo, Mister Jumbo, ten foot tall from head to toe,
When he lifts me on his shoulder, I feel like I'm ten foot two,
He's the strongest, he's the tallest, giant that I ever knew.
He wears a magic coat of red and his pockets are filled with toys,
with peppermint sticks and jelly beans for good little girls and boys,
If I live to be one thousand, I am sure I'll never know
Any giant, any nicer than Mister Jum---bo.
When you meet him, when you meet him, tell him you're a friend of mine
You will love my Mister Jumbo and you will also find
That if you've been oh so very good, he will be good to you
and you will love my Mister Jumbo, and he will love you too.


When life loses it's magic and childlike charm...Just think of my friend Mister Jumbo...And you know you will just have to smile...

ps: It has just occurred to me as I look at these pictures that I am wearing a mini skirt! Long before Twiggy and decades before Christina and Beyonce...this is not a childish flouncy dress with perky petticoats...but a mini dress that one might see Paris in...

yesterday...and today...

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary...30 years...Here is my husband Steve and me in London on a bench in Hyde Park. We were able to take the most wonderful honeymoon...treking through Europe at the beginning of the journey of our lives together.

Here we are 30 years later...

I commissioned artist extraordinaire Claudine Hellmuth, to do a family portrait of our family as my gift to Steve to celebrate our 30 years. We're still sitting on the bench...(see the original photo taken 30 years ago on the bench beside me?) but we have our kids Becca and Jesse, and our pets Peyton and Kachina that fill out our lives now. Claudine did an exceptional job of capturing our family and creating a memory of this moment in time. Everyone just loves it. I found the perfect place to hang it today.
If you are interested in Claudine's commissions check out her link...
Claudine Hellmuth Commissions
Thanks Claudine...we Love our family portrait!


Earlier in the day we had gone to see 'DaVinci Code'...the critics are crazy...and the hoopla ridiculous...hello...this IS a Hollywood movie you know...and it's a really Good movie...I read the book ages ago and thought Ron Howard totally captured the essence of the book and all it's intensity...right on Ron...
Ronnie sure has come a long way from the days we spent together on the Desilu lot where we were in adjacent stages shooting "The Danny Thomas Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show" (did you know Andy Griffith's show was a spin off from an episode Andy & Ron did on our show? (I wonder what was so funny to us when this shot of Ron & me was taken...)

After a fabulous dinner at one of our favorite places, the kids joined us to watch Jack Bauer end his grueling day on the 2 hour season finale of '24'...The world is a safer place with Jack Bauer in it...oh that's right...I have to remember it's a TV show....It's going to be a long 7 months till the show starts up again...then again, 30 years sure has gone by quickly, so I guess I can wait another 7 months...

birthday girl!

Happy Birthday Peyton! 1 year old today...

it's spring alright

When I put the kettle on this morning...a very loud bird serenaded me from the garden… I looked out the window to find the troubadour...
Peyton couldn’t believe her ears and stood entranced by the melody…
It was a sign I guess…
Spring is really here…with a side order of summer…
I think it’s going to be over 90’today…

a toast to you Mum...

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of my beautiful Mom and me.
My Mom, who was always there for me...
she'd read to me when I was little...
and go over my lines with me...
she is a woman of high energy
and kindness
and beauty...
She has a dry British humor which I still love about her...
She's a tea drinking knitting fanatic,
who loves my Dad
and her kids
and I treasure her...
Happy Mom's Day to you, Mum...
and to all Mom's everywhere...

they just don't do it the same these days....

Well tonight I had a few laughs. My husband had brought home 'Babes In Toyland' that he had bought for me on Amazon. They have released the 'Shirley Temple Storybook Collection' on DVD...and many, many years ago I had played Jane in this production of Shirley's Storybook for television. I had forgotten all about the spider forest, Meantown, Shirley as the witch Floretta and that lullaby I sing to my brother, Michel Petit, in the jail cell (what a riot)...It starred Jonathan Winters, Shirley Temple, Jerry Colona and Joe Besser and they were colorful characters and my memories of making this production have all come back to me...It was 'Live' television and that meant there was no stopping for anything...and I remember a few things going wrong...like the mast on the boat was tipping over on us and the director kept telling us when to stop and start from offstage...Anything can happen when you do a show live, straight through from start to finish. I was about 7 years old I think and it was really funny for me to watch. I can't wait to have my parents see it...They just don't make television like that anymore.

hanging out...

Transparency ATC - 'couple hanging out'- transparency sheet-Cottage Garden 3 Stampington & Company Angela Cartwright Collection

I've been tagged...

I knew it would happen sooner or later...Peyton knew it...I knew it...I've been tagged...thanks Celine

In my fridge:
milk
eggs
Paul Newman's Lemonade
assorted veggies...cucumber & fresh roma tomatoes
empanadas from Trader Joes (I love Trader Joe)

In my closet:
my Crocs (my newest favorite footwear...I love how I can wear them to water the garden and not ruin my shoes)
A few new tee shirts with my art photography on them...I cut off the neck, sleeve and bottom bands, and I think they are cool all cotton tee shirts...
my leather coat....never get tired of it
assorted knitted scarves
my English chocolate flake stash for menopausal moments

In my purse:
my cellphone, newly charged
my ipod - with new music downloaded from 'Ashes & Snow' Soundtrack
my wallet with pictures of my family
Smith's rosebud salve for the softest lips ever
Udderly SMOOth handcreme in the tube...saves me from dry skin...the best

In my car:
licorice Altoids
"The Mermaid Chair" ...just finished reading it
water bottles
mapquest directions to the Riverside Art Museum
my lomo camera - (super sampler Black edition)

I tag...
Carol
Deb
Tiffini
Kelly
Tawny

paradox...

We live in a paradox of times.
I went and saw 'United 93' this weekend and it was a very powerful experience. One of my friends, Patrick St. Esprit, plays the military commander in the film. I remember when he went to London to shoot the film how he knew he was making an important film. It is cinema that makes you feel horrified, frightened, angry and sad...the effect gripped me all weekend.

In October 2001, after 9/11, I was in New York on business and found myself making the journey to Ground Zero where the World Trade towers had once stood.
It was eerie and quiet.
There were candles, flowers and alters and a heaviness hung the air.I had never seen anything quite like it before.

It felt like I was being embraced by a phantom church and I was standing on hallowed ground.
I will never forget it.
I was emotionally drained for a month.

Yesterday I went and saw the exhibit Ashes and Snow at the Nomadic Museum in Santa Monica. This breaktaking culmination of photographs and short films by Gregory Colbert, touches the heart of humanity and life. It spills the beauty and the mystery of it all and moved me to tears more than once.
Two different experiences that emotionally touched me in different ways...
Life is such a paradox.