I am a great pie baker, my specialty, Coconut Cream.

But Uptown Girl...
 

To forgot to mention that wonderful talent for painting that you enjoy and have perfected. The eye for depth and detail that makes your paintings look alive and your husband proud.

SMOOCH

As an artist I make a good mechanic
 

This is what my teachers in school told me. I learn the skill but have no talent.
I attended a boarding school that specialized in the arts, during which time I got the addicted to learning new crafts and such but am not really good at any.
I do stained glass (mostly foil technique)
Mosaics made out of tile; have done coat of arms for a friends entry etc.
I was taught how to weave and do textile design in school.
I have also done large sculptures out of wire and concrete. And have done a miniature of a kinetic, I would love to create full size but don’t know where I would put an 8 foot high out door piece, plus I don’t think I have the balance perfect yet it keeps stopping.
Wood block prints.
Oh and we have remodeled 5 houses.
My husband laughs that when I have nothing but time in retirement how much space will I need and have I figured the cost of these hobbies into our budget? I love doing this stuff but none of it is very good,

<a href="http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/sschuler1/?action=view&amp;current=backbendcassie.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/sschuler1/backbendcassie.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

My talent lies mainly in musical theatre. This photo was from the last project I just completed. I played the role of Cassie in Chorus Line at the Savanah Center. I am currently in rehearsals for Oklahoma, which will be at the Savanah Center in April. (tickets just went on sale today!) I am playing the role of Laurie.

Here is a clip from a show that I did last year:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gOim17Rvo[/ame]

<a href="http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/sschuler1/?action=view&amp;current=backbendcassie.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk279/sschuler1/backbendcassie.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Ooops.....still don't have the hang of how to post pictures on here!

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/k...bendcassie.jpg

OK, I'm determined to figure this out!

Wow! So much talent here in The Villages -- we all shine in different ways.

Thanks for your kind words and questions, duffysmom, redwitch, jebartle and uptown girl. To answer your questions, I will be painting the mural outdoors before it gets too hot. I'll be using acrylic paints. The subject of the 4.5ft x 16ft mural is a winter scene (that should keep me cool) and will feature snowy hillsides & different types of trees in the foreground, higher hills with some snow-covered cottages in the midground, mountains in the background, the light will be coming from the rear as the sun has just set behind the mountains, and the sky will go from golden to coppers to violets to midnight blue with just a few stars twinkling way high in the sky. The mural will be used behind an elaborate Christmas village on display from November to February every year. Below is a photo of my painting area outdoors (no room indoors). Mr. K9 likes to be anonymous, so he's been blurred out.

http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/...muralframe.jpg

If you're interested, I'll post more pictures as a Work In Progress. My plan is to start on the project this weekend, dependent on the weather, of course. Fun, fun, fun! :a040:

Fabulous sschuler! I don't think my body could get into that graceful pose in a million years! And your acting/singing . . . wow, wow, wow!

K9...you paint too???

Which one, the girl or the boy K9???

People are so wonderfully versatile and so wonderfully wonderful here.

Mrs. K9 paints. Mr. K9 is a fix-it-all, golfing, nice guy.

Why don't you show us some of your paintings, Gracie? I've heard how beautiful they are. Post them on this thread!

...

Here's my contribution:

• I speak only one language... Engrish, but I speak six kinds of it!
• I used to play a brass instrument without a mouthpeace, but gave it up many years ago when the mice in my house formed a union and got mice from other states to join in a strike!
• I learned Morris code and obtained an amature radio license. However, when I found out that it took electricity to operate a radio, I had to give it up so I could continue to save $$$ to replace the out house.
• I was a committee person in our local Liberal Party at one time, but I never attended a meeting, didn't know any of their members and never even met any of them either. (belive this or not, all this is true)
• I learned to play the accordian as a kid, but gave it up when I developed an uncontrollable impulse to repeatedly say "a-one-er-ful, a-one-er-ful and ran out of beer for playing the beer barrel polka!"

Kidding aside, I really did play a number of different brass bugles from no valve w/slide to 3 valve in a number of marching drum & bugle corps. I also played the accordian as well as the tenor saxaphone, in both marching capacities and stage bands. Unfortunately, I gave them up many-many years ago. Besides I never was professional material! http://smileys.smilchat.net/smileys/music/trumpet.gif

K-9,
She's Awesome!

Hi Sue,
I'm so glad I finally got to hear you sing for the first time. It won't be the last!! You're terrific!

I bet you are better than you are giving yourself credit for, Trudy. And if not, who cares! You enjoy it, get something out of it and love it enough to continue. Some of my stuff is less than stellar also but I still am driven to create something.

I think back about all the teachers, experts, etc. who insist that things must be done their way. How much creativity was stiffled because of their attitudes? Some of us live to color outside the box and lines.

I read about a nationally known quilt instructor (Quilt Magazine) who kicked a student out of her class because she, the instructor, didn't like the color choices of the fabrics the student has chosen. The student, bless her heart, refused to change the color choices and the teacher kicked her out of class. Are you kidding me? How small minded can you be? It was the woman's project, she was going to have to live with it, why did it matter what fabrics she chose to use?

I hope you go on creating whatever it is you desire for as long as you can.