About Mikhaila

Mikhaila will be driving soon. Soon came much faster than I was prepared for.

Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. ~Erma Bombeck

My daughter . . .
Her smile is full of sunshine
Her laughter pulls you in
Flight is her dream
Books - her other world
Art is in her blood
Music in her soul
Christ is her friend
She fills my heart with joy!

About Mikhaila

Green, Red, Blue, Yellow

Think green

Love Red

Feel Blue

Shine Yellow

Green, Red, Blue, Yellow

Mikhaila's Art

My daughter was worried that I would write evil things about her on my blog.

She's weird.




























I would have trouble writing anything bad about my kids! They're amazing! She's amazing.

Here are pictures of some of her paintings - also amazing!
At 15, she already has a signature style. Wow!

Mikhaila's Art

FOOD is ART!

I like to eat food that is created by people who approach cooking as an art.





The process, the textures, the colors, the flavors, the presentation – it’s an art! My problem is that I have a tendency to appreciate it more than I should.














Eve's Island
Oil on canvas
30" x 40"








On my quest to eating better, exercising, and simply taking better care of my health I have tried to keep an open mind and learn more about my body (inside and out). Oh, I listen to what others have to say about what they do to take care of themselves, I read books, articles, and try to make sense of what the media reports on the latest concerns.

What I’ve determined from all of this is that we are each similar in many ways – mainly, we need food to fuel our bodies, and keep us alive. But we are also all so very unique in our genetic make up, chemistry, physical build, and lifestyles that all of it needs to be taken into consideration when we are trying to do what’s best for US.















My next determination is that we each need to research how we differ from everyone else in the world. A Doctor can’t tell you, and neither can your loved ones. Only you know your body better than anyone else, because you live in it, and you feel it. So, the best thing to do is pay close attention to what it’s telling you.

"The burden of food-related ill health measured in terms of mortality and morbidity is similar to that attributable to smoking.... The vast majority of the burden is attributable to unhealthy diets rather than to food-borne diseases."

— Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health


About a year ago, I had a good friend tell me about a book called, “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo. I found it to be an interesting theory and approach to optimized health. However, you need to know what your blood type is. I’ve discovered in my communications with others that very few people actually know their own blood type. I didn’t know mine. So I made the effort to find out what my blood type is and then I read the book. I discovered that my body responds to certain foods just as the book said my blood type does. Amazing! It explains why, and how our body is affected (short term and long term) by the foods we eat based on our blood types.
I've known for years that Chocolate and Caffeine have an adverse affect on me just by paying attention to my bodies reaction to them (fibroid cysts, and migraines). I knew this even before any doctor told me.

And I love Chocolate - what a bummer.
But I stay away from it.

I always wondered why one diet works for some people and not for others. Now I know, it’s because there is no one diet that addresses our individual chemistry make up, food intolerances, lifestyle, etc. We have to make the effort to learn about our own bodies, and pay attention to what it’s trying to tell us. Then we have a choice to make, we can choose to do what we have learned is right for our individual selves, or ignore them. Making those discoveries in the first place is an ART worth mastering! Of course, the next ART is figuring our how to eat right for yourself, when someone else in your household has a completely different blood type with different food intolerances, and concerns. Whew! Good luck!

"What we do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all of our tomorrows."
- Alexandra Stoddard , author, interior designer and philosopher of contemporary living

FOOD is ART!

'Kiss' Goodbye

There are some paintings that mean a little more to me than others, which makes it that much harder to part with it.























At the Fountain Hills Fine Art & Wine Affaire a woman came over to my booth and we struck up a conversation about motherhood (and grandmotherhood), and before I knew it she said, “I always wanted to decorate a room around a piece of art”, then she pointed to the original painting of ‘Kiss’ and said, “I just bought a new house, and I believe that’s the piece that I’m going to decorate around.”

‘Kiss’ was one of my favorite pieces. It hung in my own living room for only a short while last summer after I finished it. I’m glad it found a home with someone who appreciates it enough to make it a centerpiece of her home. That’s pretty cool. Congratulations Gail!


“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss

'Kiss' Goodbye

Pillow Talk – “a” solution

“An inconvenience is an unrecognized opportunity.” - Confucius

Affirmations are more powerful than I ever imagined.

Like so many people, I too, had to learn to undo (or replace) a lot of verbal scars from my past. You know, all the useless, emotional crap that we cling to – usually unconsciously. The stuff that turns us supposed mature adults into little, reactive children.

I had an art instructor in college who approached art from an interesting perspective. He taught that a piece of art was simply a problem that we found a solution for. There are no ‘set solutions’ to the problem (unlike mathematics). Nevertheless, as artists, it was our responsibility to find a solution. I liked this idea of having no set solutions, just ‘a’ solution that worked. When I realized that I had reached a point in my life where my palette had been wiped clean and my life was a blank canvas I saw that I had an opportunity in front of me to finally take responsibility for my pain and self-care and find solutions to so many of my problems. Several years ago when I was part of a support group the group moderator brought a small book to class, and she would read one short excerpt from the book at the beginning of each session. The book is called, “The Language of letting Go” by Melody Beattie. It’s a book of affirmations – and daily meditations. Now, mind you, I was NOT the “affirmation type of person” who walked around saying things like, “I am beautiful”, and “I can do this”. I, personally, would feel silly doing that. But what I did do was go out and buy a copy of the book for myself. And every night when I climbed into bed I would read one of the daily excerpts, then I would lay and ponder about how my life reflected each of the “un” truths that were brought to light. It was what I termed, my “Pillow Talk”. The book became my personal twelve-step program toward recovery and reinventing myself. I never would have thought that a simple little book like this would be such a powerful tool in my life. But it was simply “a” solution.

There is another wonderful book that I read years ago called, “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, which I would highly recommend for anyone who is searching for a solution to their problem. I personally incorporated the “Artist Dates” from this book into my monthly routine. In the beginning I really had to force myself to do it, and I didn’t want to do it alone either. But now it’s just part of my life that needs no real effort.

Pillow Talk – “a” solution

Gypsy Life - BRAIN FREEZE!

We go where the work is.

Just got back from another Art Festival (Fountain Hills, AZ) WOW! what a beautiful place! I must admit, I like being able to go to different places and meet new people.

One of the fun moments at the show was when I decided to get myself an ice cold ‘Shave Ice’ during the hottest part of the day. When I tried to dig my spoon into the ice it began to fall over, so Greg suggested that I just bite into it. And of course…….I did. Instantly I got a BRAIN FREEZE! Just as I grabbed at my temples to find some relief before my eyeball popped out of its socket a nice gentleman, Tim, was walking right in front of me headed into my booth. He heard me blurt out, OH, BRAIN FREEZE! And he started cracking up!

So, I set up this re-enactment pose for his benefit, just to get another laugh out of him.





















Tim happened to be in search of something at the show to mend things between him and his 21 year old daughter who apparently weren’t seeing eye to eye on things at the time. I was honored that he felt my MiliGirl Notecards were the answer to his search. In fact, he has three daughters all together, so he decided to stock up and bought 6 cards. I feel for him – I do. I can empathize.

Gypsy Life - BRAIN FREEZE!

Transition

Reminiscing

As I’ve continued to search through old pictures to use in my blog some of the pictures put me into a melancholy mood, remembering some of the events, and people I met along the way, and the smells, and sounds that I experienced.

I came across these pictures (below) when I worked for an event production company. It was during a major transitional period for me. I can talk (or write) about it now with a sense of resolve. Now I feel like I have something to offer from that experience.

“Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.”
William Bridges

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
Andy Warhol

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
Charles Darwin

Transition

Smoke & Mirrors – Plan B

I just wanted to SLEEP!

Creative people are addicted to doing creative things; they have to be involved with something that feeds their creative cravings OFTEN! They’re like junkies that need a fix. But when I was going through my divorce I was so depressed that I had no desire to even so much as look at a paintbrush let alone do a painting. In addition to my depression I also COULDN’T SLEEP! I had gone about 6 months completely sleep deprived, and going stark raving nuts because of it – I wanted to sleep sooooooo badly!

So I put the word out that I was looking for a job where I could be really physical all day long, because I wanted to get so exhausted everyday that I could just go home and simply collapse into a deep slumber – then wake up the next day and do it all over again. One of my friends came through for me when she heard that an event production company was hiring people.

It turned out to be one of the best jobs for me during that insane period of my life, because it killed two birds with one stone. I got to “work out” really hard all day long and get my "creative fix" by creating a bunch of temporary smoke and mirror fantasies for businesses, weddings, concerts, and outrageously expensive parties. I got to build and tear down tents, stages, climb up and down ladders to decorate for fancy events, and build all sorts of crazy props like faux rock walls, and giant 5’ tall Christmas Ornaments.

I remember when my boss gave me the assignment to build a 10’ tall Faux Rock Wall that would be light enough to transport in 4’ wide sections (with only two weeks to build it). My first thought was, “Is she Crazy? It can’t be done!” But then again anything during my “Year of Divorce” that kept me working long hours so that I could sleep was just fine with me. So… with no idea of how I would make a fake rock wall in two short weeks I said to my boss, if you give me the money for the supplies to build it – consider it done.




























All of the crazy projects were great for keeping my mind off of all the negative stuff that I was dealing with in my personal life, plus I got to work with an awesome crew out in the field. I didn’t get paid much, but in every other way it was just the right medicine that I needed to put me to sleep.















Occasionally we got to attend some of the parties that we decorated for, too, which was a nice perk. It was nice to have something fun to do – especially since outside of work was so dismal.

The Rock Wall got rave reviews. Each stone was hand carved out of Styrofoam by me and a whole crew of workers who had never done anything like that before, either.

Boy, when I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, called "Obos Moment - painting", that rocks had become increasingly prevalent in my life since my separation, I hadn’t even thought about the fake rock wall being part of that scenario until just now. Too funny!






I even got to use one of my paintings “Mother & Child” in one of the rock wall displays above the fake fireplace mantle at a big Holiday Party.










Ironically, it was sort of strange building things and breaking them down everyday. I thought about that often when I was working. I couldn’t help but relate it to my marriage. In those 15 years of marriage we had built so much together – businesses, homes, our family, and so much more. On the outside it looked great ……… Smoke & Mirrors. Yet it seemed that it all came down in a day. One reeeeeeeally looooooong, sleepless, horrible, painful, seemingly endless day. I’m glad that day finally ended.


Interestingly enough, All of it……”ALL OF IT”… everything in my past, in one way or another, prepared me for today...
Plan B

"The most successful people are those who are good at plan B." James York

Smoke & Mirrors – Plan B

Walkabout - Mexico

Calle Colon Cobblestone Streets

Calle Colon
Oil On canvas
by Melanie Banayat

I like to take my camera with me most places in case I come across something interesting. On one of my many treks through the village in Ajijic, Mexico, the cobblestone streets on Calle Colon were being torn apart and rebuilt stone by painstaking, backbreaking stone.

"You can see a lot just by observing"
- Yogi Berra

Most of the men were not large men, but some certainly had some amazing bodies. I chose to paint these two men because of their beautifully defined arms.

I was amazed at how hard they worked and the long hours they put in each day. It took them a month or so to finish the streets around the town square.

I decided to position myself off in the distance a bit so I could just zoom in on the workers without them taking notice. It worked for a little while, but inevitably someone would always look up and see me, then clue the others in on my presence. And, of course, the "muscle man" poses would proceed. I would just laugh, signal to them that I was done, and walk away.

The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one."
- Oscar Wilde

Walkabout - Mexico

Beyond the Box - 3rd eye

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. (Eight-year-old)









Going through each day with tiny injections of spontaneous creative living helps to bring joyful laughter into life. I find it easy to do whenever I'm around my kids. They call me weird, but they always seem to join in for some reason. Hmmm?

They have a way of keeping me from being too serious all the time. It relaxes me, and allows those creative juices to flow. Their unconditional love is so refreshing and inspiring!














They're growing so fast; I hope they will continue to let themselves be silly with me, as they grow older - in fact, I hope they let themselves be silly, and creative, and think beyond the box throughout their entire lives!

Beyond the Box - 3rd eye

Obos Moment - Collections

Why are we compelled to collect things?

On one of my hikes last summer I picked up this rock along the path. There's nothing particularly special about this rock. It's a pretty normal looking rock. But I liked it for some reason. So I placed it in my pocket and brought it home. I had a bunch of smaller, polished stones in a platter back at my house and placed this stone in the middle of them. It didn't match the others. It was huge in comparison, and dull, and full of holes.


Later that summer when I was getting ready for one of my art festivals I grabbed that stone and brought it with me. Why? I'm not sure. I actually used it to form an Obos in my booth during that show. Only a few people noticed the small stack of three stones on top of the table in my booth, and asked me about it. But ever since, I just keep it with all my 'stuff' that I take to my shows, so it's always there -- somewhere.

At my last show I found it among all my 'stuff' in a drawer, and during one of the slow periods I placed it on the ground in front of my booth and pulled out my camera to take a picture of it. Oddly enough it created interest from passers by. People would stop and look, wondering what it was that I was taking a picture of. Someone thought it might be some sort of living creature. You could hear people commenting to each other, and someone finally asked Greg what I was doing.

He just replied, “She’s an artist, doing an artist thing.” Hmmmm? I just chuckled.

Obos Moment - Collections

Today's Quote - Age

It matters more what's in a woman's face than what's on it.
Claudette Colbert, actor

Live each moment as if your hair was on fire!
Suzzanah B. Troy, artist

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.
Billie Burke, actor

Today's Quote - Age

Women - 'Girl Time'

Women – ‘Girl Time’

Ladies night is the best invention! Ok, maybe not “THE” best invention, but pretty darn close.

Carolyn & me -
hangin' out at Matt's Saloon
(dancin'!)




Actually, it can be ladies day, ladies weekend, or ladies whatever…. It don't matter! Women (girls) getting together with other women is ‘healing time’. It’s just plain good medicine for the soul! Ever since I moved here to Prescott, Arizona a year and a half ago I’ve been buried pretty deep in the trenches of my business. All work and no play is starting to take its toll on me. I really need to take time to find some female companionship. No hard feelings, Greg, but your giggle just isn’t the same as my chica’s – which is probably a good thing. I really miss my girlfriends up in Bend, Oregon, and down in Ajijic, Mexico. Email just doesn’t cut it. Phone calls don’t cut it. I mean, I love hearing from my friends, but it’s that energy of the group that makes ladies night …..well, ladies night! There have been some pretty amazing women who have inspired me, influenced me, and touched my life in ways that they many never truly come to realize. I’m particularly grateful to some very special women in my life that held me up when my life was touching rock bottom (Carson, Michelle, and Paulette). And other’s who welcomed me into their group when I was an outsider and all alone in an unfamiliar land (Dana, and Kristina). I guess that’s another reason why I pay tribute to women in my artwork. There is a lot of inner strength that women get from each other.

I need to move that matter up on my priority list in my life...
“Girl Time”!

“Girls just wanna have fu’ un!”

I love these pictures where I’m just hangin’ out with my girlfriends and having fun. I wish I could find my pictures with me and my girlfriends, Carson & Michelle, but I’ve moved so many times in the past 3 & ½ years that I have misplaced a few things along the way, including those precious pics. I know there around here somewhere!!!

Dana, Kristina & me in Ajijic







Me & my dear friend Barbara (my clothes shopping buddy! She has fun taste in clothes. She inspires me because of her youthfulness in her mid 70's!!!


Friends since 3rd grade -- Me, Vikki, & Gina
(35 years!) WOW! That makes us sound like were getting ....O...O... nah, no way!




Me & Tammy Friends for Life!




















Lorri, me & Kristina

Women - 'Girl Time'

Fine Art - Figurative

Oh my . . . She's NAKED!

"Half "
Original
36" x 36"


She is a vessel. You can see inside of her -- I rendered her this way in order to pose the question of how you view your own life - is it half full, or half empty?






The Human figure is a fascinating subject matter. I've been intrigued by the human figure ever since I was quite young (4th - 5th grade, maybe even younger). I was a people watcher. Always watching how people communicated their emotions with their body language, choice of words, or tone of voice. I liked sitting quietly off to the side of a room that was filled with people. Maybe that sounds weird, but you can learn a lot about people just by watching them move, and from their facial expressions, and mannerisms. I think it's cool.

In College, when I was 18 years old and still quite naive, I took my first Life Drawing class. All I knew when I got to college was that I wanted to take as many art classes as I could! It didn't matter what the classes were -- if it was art - sign me up! I thought that "Life Drawing" meant drawing live plants, or people in costume, etc. My first day in class I was so excited and nervous, because the class was full of students that were "older & older than that!" They all looked as if they were seasoned artists. They were already set up and waiting patiently at their easels when I arrived. I, on the other hand, stumbled into class, searching for an empty easel, and struggled to get set up (looking at how all the other students were set up in order to get set up properly). Then the instructor walks into the classroom, looking oh so sophisticated and interesting. She explained that we would be doing 30 second sketches, so make sure you have your materials ready. Then out walks the model from the dressing room in the corner. She hops up onto the center platform and removes her robe. And like an idiot, my mouth drops open, my eyes just about pop out of my sockets, and I stood there looking around the room to see if anyone else was just as shocked as me. . . . . Nope. I was the only one. (OH MY...She's NAKED!, I thought to myself). DUH! I think to myself now! The next thing I knew, the model was in a pose, and changing into a different pose every 30 seconds. OH MY GOSH! This is nuts! I love it! The energy was rich, paper was crackling between each pose as the students flipped to a new blank 24 x 30 page of newsprint, and my heart was racing.

I was hooked!

I was told over and over, during my years in college, that the human figure is one of the most difficult subjects for artists to master. Yet, I was drawn to it like pencil to paper. Now, 25 years later, I still never bore of drawing & painting the human figure. I like to paint contemporary figurative oil paintings, especially of women and children. I suppose it's because I am a woman and I understand the heart of a woman far more personally then a man's, and since I'm a mother I guess it was pretty natural for me to want to paint children.

I enjoy the process so much that it makes this journey worth waking up to everyday!

Fine Art - Figurative

Blah... breathe

I've been so stinkin' tired lately. Exhausted. Too many things going on at once. I don't really thrive on that sort of thing. And I don't care to wear the 'hectic life' like a badge of honor. I prefer a simpler, slower paced lifestyle. I know that some people don't really get that in this day and age. I think we, as a society (world?), have forgotten how to slow down, and not be rushing through every day like crazed maniacs. I get to feeling that some people feel guilty if they aren't doing something to "earn their keep, or make a difference" every second of every day. I think I'm caught up in it.

OK then. I'm done griping.
So........(deep breath, sigh).......On with my day . . .

Blah... breathe

My Kids - Budding Artists

I believe that creativity in kids comes so naturally to them. All they need is materials to work with and the freedom to create what comes to them.

My son

created this
painting
when he was
9 years old.

I often meet people who tell me their children are artistically talented, but they know nothing about art themselves and aren't sure how to encourage them. So I share with them what I do for my kids. I always keep a few boxes, cabinets, and drawers, full of art supplies, crafts, recycled items, wood scraps, and tools. Yes, they even have their own cordless drill, bits, screws, etc. And if you can, invest in good quality supplies. For instance don't buy paint brushes made with plastic bristles, because that will only result in crummy looking art! Also, don't hold your kids to following exactly how something is done in an instructional art book or craft book. They're kids - let them experiment! 'You' may want them to create a masterpiece that you would be proud to hang on the wall and show everyone that walks into your home. But keep those thoughts to yourself. I know it's hard, but don't try to tell them how to "fix" their painting if they didn't ask you for your help or opinion. The only expectation you should have is doing your best at keeping those boxes full of stuff they can create with. It's an investment, but wouldn't you rather they be painting and creating art then getting into something like sex & drugs. I say, thumbs up for good art supplies!!

My Kids - Budding Artists

Life - Determination

"When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen... Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose."
(Steven Pressfield)


One day as I was walking through the village in picturesque Ajijic, Mexico I walked right next to this gorgeous cat (gato) – almost brushing up against her with my shoulder, because the sidewalks are barely wide enough for one person. She never even acknowledged my presence; she was hyper focused on her goal (the bird perched at the top of the bars that covered the window just a few feet above her). I quickly pulled out my camera.








Later on when I looked closely at the pictures on my computer I couldn’t help but think how we humans can be much the same in our pursuit of something that we want “really, really bad”.

Sometimes we can be a bit “Obsessive Compulsive” about it. But I suppose that's what it takes -- even if only for a period of time.

I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.
(Henry David Thoreau)

"However depressed I may be I am not in the habit of giving up a project without having tried everything, even the 'impossible', to gain my end."
(Paul Gauguin)
















The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit.
(Mark Twain)

Life - Determination