Here are 2 more pages from my swatches book. I created these 2 pages with my dear friend, Shanna in mind. Like the lotus, Shanna's beauty is found in every place she is.

I have been truly blessed with many friends! And throughout my life, I have met several special persons who continue to have a BIG part in my life and I carry them in my heart always. But Shanna is in a category all to herself. She is the most special, spiritual, and kindest soul I have met. Shanna radiates a quiet dignity. Recently, Shanna left to start a new journey that will take her to several countries over the course of the next 2 years. First stop, India, where she was born and lived for many years.

Here I am with another dear buddy, Donna and Shanna on the last day of the 2009-2010 school year. Donna and Shanna took me out to dinner to celebrate my promotion (again!) to principal. It is hard to believe all of the things that happened in a year! And it is hard to believe Shanna is not going to be working with us anytime soon. Safe journey...

Here are some more pages from my swatches book. It seems as though it has taken me forever to finish this little book, but in actuality, I finished most of my pages in a 3-day period. But sadly, I have had no time to work on any new art in the last month. We are 3 weeks from our opening and pretty much most of my time is now focused on getting all of the last details taken care of so that I can open my school.

I worked today and it looks like I will be working the next 2 Saturdays too. Today, I felt like I really knocked out a BIG chunk of work. And right now, I feel good about a lot of things going on in my life!

Maybe if I can make another BIG dent this week @ work, I can carve out a little time to make some new art. I only have 4 pages left in my swatches book and once I am finished, I plan to make a few for some very special friends and maybe some to sell. The swatch books are going to be great therapy for the new principal!

Thank you for the interest in my collage packs. I have sold all of them. I think I have made a dent in my studio! All of the collage packs will be going out in Monday's mail. Once again, thank you and especially to Kelly, my dear friend and fellow artist, and who I swear I need to hire as my agent!

During the last 2 months, I have gotten an opportunity to see some terrific movies. My husband and I try to do a couple of movie nights @ home each week. This past Friday, we saw "Rabbit Proof Fence", which is based on a true story. These movie nights are more than entertainment for us; these films all deal with the theme of social justice, or I should say, injustice. As we get closer to opening school, I want to give our students many opportunities to learn and discuss about injustices just like what happened to Molly Craig, her sister, Daisy, and cousin, Gracie, the protagonists of this movie. Without giving it away, this story truly is a testament to the power of the human spirit.

July and now August, have been incredibly busy months! We are a month away from opening the new school and there are SO many things that still need to get done. I feel as though I am 8 months pregnant and ready to give birth soon! Absolutely no time to make art or to do too much of anything other than work! However, my blog needs a jolt and some fresh artwork before my 7 "followers" desert me for good! These pages are from my swatches book that I started in Kelly's "Swatches" class, early in July.

I have enjoyed tremendously working in this little book and I am 4 pages away from completing it. Once this book is finished, it will be time to re-visit my love journal, which has been as patient with me as my blog followers!

If you like my pages, particularly the decorative papers I am using, fyi - in my quest to keep cleaning and minimizing the amount of supplies I have in my studio, I have made up some packs again. These packs are different from the ones I usually sell because they are just made up of paper - all kinds of paper: decorative, colored copies of some of my favorite images, foreign language magazine and newspaper pages, and other bits of ephemera. These packs are in a gallon sized Ziploc and are pretty stuffed! I am selling them for $25 (including shipping). If you are interested in purchasing 1, email @ millan0206@yahoo.com .

Lastly, this little swatch book's theme is a celebration of women. All kinds of women ...