superkids

With the new Superman movie coming out it reminded me of a photograph I had taken of my kids many years ago...Jesse loved wearing that cape and Becca felt pretty special in her supergirl outfit. Remember this was taken before Photoshop and CGI even existed...pretty good eh?
Talk about an icon that has lasted through the ages.

a milestone

My son Jesse turned 21 today.

It's hard to believe...how quickly time has passed...
I couldn't be prouder of my boy...

the circle of life

Tomorrow I'm putting on a shower with a friend of mine for a friends daughter who is having a baby. I can't believe this girl graduated from grammer school in the same class as my daughter Becca. Now they are both out of college...making a life of their own out in the world. There have been marriages of some of Becca's friends...and now there are babies. The circle of life...
With Fathers day approaching in a week...I thought this picture might be appropriate.

The baby hand in this picture is of a girl who has babies of her own now. She was the first baby to be born in my circle of friends. It's always been one of my favorite images that I've taken...even though it was taken many years ago.
I've added a few new links on my website to some of my altered trading cards and some chunky books I've been a part of and you'll find some other odds & ends stuff. Check it out if the muse moves you...

artful outing

The ARTbar in Santa Ana was bustling last night...Downstairs artists were submitting their work for possible publication in Somerset Magazine. Lots of Stampington & Company people were on hand for the Live Jury Art Recruitment and Seminar.
Upstairs, Traci Bautista, Linda Woods, Karen Dinino and I were signing our goods.
Traci was signing her just released book 'Collage Unleashed'...It showcases the most popular trends in collage, altered art and journaling...I just picked it up a few days ago and will enjoy exploring it's colorful and creative pages. Traci was so gracious and interesting to talk to...

Linda Woods and Karen Dinino, authors of 'Visual Chronicles' were also there. It was fun to meet and talk with them. I Love their 'I AM ART' t-shirts.

I enjoyed talking with everyone who dropped by and was happy to hear artists enjoy using my Artist Papers and Transparencies in their artwork. I also had a visit from Jolene, (an AC blogger)...Anita who works at Stampington & Company and is always so sweet to me when I come to visit, and Jeff...who took these pictures so I could put them on my blog...




The ARTbar has grown to include a bigger store upstairs with the workshops taught downstairs. Wish it was closer to where I live...but it is definitely worth a drive out to Santa Ana now and then for a visit.
So it was an artful outing for one and all...and a fun evening!

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.

wishes & dreams

'wishes & dreams' chunky book swap

a plug for my sis...

It may look like my sister Veronica is knocked out from her moving into her new house... but it's really a shot from the 'CSI Crime Scene Investigation' that is on tonight, April 27, Channel 2 at 9:00pm PST.
Many people don't know Veronica is my sister...check out her website when you get the chance.
www.veronica-cartwright.com

change is hard...

I'm kinda sad today...I've been helping my sister, Veronica, move to her new house all morning. Loading up her belongings in the big moving vans, sorting through the bits and pieces that didn't make it into boxes, helping to keep her calm amid the flurry of moving men.
13 years my sister has lived next door to me. I'm grateful for that. Some people don't even have their sisters in the same state as they are. But it's still hard that today...she's moving away.
She's not going far...but you still have to get in a car to drive there instead of going through the side gate we had put between our properties. We called ourselves Ethel and Lucy...and now things will be a different...and I'm just kinda bummed out that Ethel is moving to a new place she will call home.

Change is hard...

spring has sprung!

I had such Easter finery when I was young. The lace, the petticoat, the matching handbag and easter bonnet. I think I'm about 5 or 6 here, definetly looking forward to the Easter egg hunt that is sure to follow.
sigh...I really had the Easter spirit in those days.
Last week, I decided at the last minute, I would fly to Denver,Colorado, rent a car and drive to Fort Collins. It was actually raining when I arrived at the massive Denver airport, and I took the shuttle to the rental cars engulfed in snow flurries. After renting my red car, my brother (who used to live in Colorado) had told me to head for the mountains...only problem was, I couldn't see them...but I survived, and headed to Fort Collins only to find the sun coming out once I reached Longmont. The sun continued to stay out for the rest of my visit. I wanted to visit Fort Collins so I could take Celine Navarro's class that she was teaching at 'Timeless Creations'. I also wanted to meet my email pals Sarah Fishburn and Tiffini Electra X. Sarah and I have some projects we have been working on, and I really wanted to meet her in person. It was like we had known each other for years. It was fun to meet Tiffini also. She had created some of her fabulous bottlecap jewelry with my photographs for my exhibit, and she had done such a terrific job.
Here's me with Sarah, Tiffini and Celine


'Timeless Creations' is a terrific store. Christi has it stocked with tons of art supplies and the lastest in altered art...so I was in heaven. I had a great four days, playing with paint, exchanging tips and ideas and being warmly accepted into Sarah's wonderful family. While carving stamps into erasers in Sarah's kitchen, Celine was watching 'The Sound of Music' in the other room. She had never seen it before so I bought her the DVD, the one that has us speaking in French as well as English, so she could take it home to her family in France. We had a blast.
I have a list as long as my arm of things I need to get done. So amid deadlines for this and that...I am helping my sister Veronica move to a new home, and trying to find time to make some art. Veronica is on 'CSI' on the 28th of April...she plays a mother-in-law from hell. I can't wait to see it...hope you'll tune in too.
Wishing you all a happy Spring and Easter.

smart cat!

Kachina...my cat with attitude!