Welcome to Ambrosia Arts Of Virginia. Doesn't look like much right now, does it? Please be patient and give me a little time to learn to use blogspot to its fullest. It should suit my plans better than frappr has. (You can visit the old blog here: http:///frappr.,com/sherrydofva )
Who am I? A bibliophile, quilter (regular and crazy), writer, amateur artist (no formal training) dabbling in collage, ATCs, altered art and, more recently, digital collage and scrap booking. I'm also a native of Virginia (my father's family has been here since the 1600's), wife to my high school sweetheart, mother of a 29-year-old son who is an artist now studying radiography, Nonna (Italian for grandmother) to an 8-year-old grandson, a loyal friend, liberal Episcopalian, and alumnus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). You can call me SherryD.
I've been a union job steward for the communication industry, spent years in customer service, wrote training materials and instructed employees in the communications field. I've spent time processing health insurance claims, then moved on to handling worker's compensation and subrogation issues as well as dealing with physicians.
I found my niche at VCU where I did research on depression, taught sociology, and - my favorite - taught composition. That's what I seemed to be best at, but life intervened and after completing two Masters degrees and starting a Ph.D. program, I had to give it up and regroup.
For the last four years I've been forcibly retired. I developed chronic fatigue immune disorder syndrome (CFIDS), fibromyalgia and a number of other chronic pain conditions. My job became managing my pain and health care issues. Well aware of the benefits of the arts, I began writing more and shifted my interests from more physically demanding arts and crafts to those that require less physical energy but still are mentally challenging and spiritually uplifting.
That brings us back to this blog. While I plan to share my art, thoughts on and living, it is also my small way of giving back to the creative on-line community that has been so sustaining these last years. The following will give you some idea of what to expect, so you'll know if you want to visit again.
Informative articles about artists and merchants you should know about.
Each week I'll be interviewing or reviewing an artist or artist/merchant. Why? So that others who may not know about them can discover them. Many have small businesses which can be a very tough game. I hope that my little articles will bring them new business while providing my readers with wonderful products, new contacts, and inspiration. Beside purchasing from the merchants I introduce you to, you can help support the artistic community by telling others about them. If you can recommend someone I should write about, please send an e-mail to SherryD at ambrosiaartsofva@yahoo.com or leaving a comment here. Coming up first is an article on Scrapbookersplayground, one of my favorite places to play. Following that, I'll be writing about a digital artist I've come to know lately, Jay Eliot of Alabama Stone Thrower Designs. In the works is also an interview with Candee of Mermaid's Cove. So please check back often.
Writing Prompts
For those of you who love to write or journal, there will be weekly writing prompts. I must make a little disclaimer here, however. I've collected thee prompts for years and do have all the references somewhere. However, when I was teaching I wrote most down on 1" x 1." pieces of card stock and dumped them into a container so that I could mix them up for variety. Not enough room there to write the references. So unless I draw a prompt that I wrote or one whose author I know for certain, I won't be stating where they are from. If I should post any that you wrote and you would like them removed, just let me know. I hope these will be useful to you.
Other
These will be comments on books I'm reading. Please feel free to respond with your own comments and make recommendations for books you just loved.
I'll note any sites I've come across that I think you might find interesting, note great sales I come across. If you are an artist.merchant and want me to post a notice for a special you have going, let me know.
And since I'm just learning to design digital scrapbook and collage papers and elements, I plan to provide occasional digital freebies.
Thanks for reading! Come back soon.
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