Tattoo Towanda

Today I'm working in this Antique Feed store ledger from 1907.

Throw a little bit of clear Gesso on it and secure it here and there with masking tape and it's good to go. 

Half way through this spread I realized that this was one of the many faces of Towanda.

Happy Towanda Tuesday!

Towanda, Queen beyond compare...

Urban Dictionary definition: 

Towanda

A word used to express extreme excitement while doing something crazy. 

Origin: Used in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes"
Evelyn: (while intentionally bashing someone's car) TOWANDA!!!!!!!!!!
and if you haven't seen this movie... well you should.

Welcome to the first Towanda Tuesday hosted by yours truly. 

It is my hopes to bring you a short vid of artistic means every Tuesday to inspire.

In true Towanda fashion I have no set direction, just throwing it out there to the 

Queen beyond Compare 

and letting her work her magic on the weekly.

All in unison now...
TOWAAANDAAA!!!!!

And the Winner Is......

Thank you so much for participating in my giveaway you guys!
Means so much to me! 

Wish I could give you all spaces in this workshop because it's going to be amazing! 

Congrats to Ronda! 

Please email me at handoverheartstudios@gmail.com  as soon as you can with your email addy so later this week you can be emailed all the details!!

For the rest of you please note enrollment starts tomorrow with earlybird pricing please check it out! 

I hope to see you all in Spectrum 

Spectrum: BLOG-HOP GIVEAWAY !

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 IM TEACHING IN SPECTRUM  

And I'm giving away a free spot... woohoo Blog Hop Giveaway !!!!

Spectrum is an online Holistic-Creative workshop going on its third year, and organized by Hali Karla of Hali Karla Arts. Spectrum 2016 will be guided by 20 NEW featured teachers and more than 20 returning contributors offering a variety of workshops, inspiration and invitations - all intended to empower, nurture and celebrate your innate creative expression, healing journey, and personal development!

What I am Offering this year in Spectrum...

Good Medicine: The Art of Falling Apart

<>Come get Good Medicine with me while we explore the art of falling apart into the bones of a deliciously messy, inky, drippy art journal page. Starry eyed with song lyric and lines that tear at our insides only to medicate us back together again. Charting territories of emotion where words pull & tug at you, and where line and color caress & lighthouse you home.
Come fall apart with me.<>

 Here is how to enter my give-away:

1. Follow me on instagram: kitty_o_hello 
2. Post a picture of yourself with a caption of your favorite lyric from a favorite song & note the band! Want to elaborate on why this lyric does it for you.. go for it! I wanna know! Simple or artsy/filtered however you want to do it up is up to you! You can layer the lyric over your picture or put it in your post description!
3. Hashtag : #kittysbloghop and make sure you tag me @kitty_o_hello

Not on Instagram?

Share this blog post on any social media platform & leave me a comment here and tell me a favorite lyric & note the band! Want to elaborate and tell me why you love this lyric so much.. go for it! I wanna know! 

I will announce the winner of my free Spectrum pass here on February 1, 2016 - the same day pre-registration opens for Spectrum 2016!

Pre-registration for Spectrum 2016 officially opens on February 1, 2016 (and the program will begin on May 2). So be sure to bookmark this page (or link) - so that you can check back to see if you win the giveaway here or sign up just as soon as it goes on sale.

About the Give-Away:

All of the new teachers are playing along - and quite a few of the returning contributors volunteered to join in the fun, too - so there are over 30 chances to win a free pass!

13 January:
Hali Karla http://www.halikarla.com/blog/

14 January:
Andrea Schroeder http://www.creativedreamincubator.com/blog                

Angelique Arroyo http://schoolformedicinewomyn.com/

15 January:
Bebe Butler http://www.bebebutler.com/

Beth Morey http://www.sheofthewild.com/

16 January:
Briana Goetzen http://www.orangespiralarts.com/

Carissa Paige http://carissapaige.blogspot.com/

17 January:
Cat Caracelo http://catcaracelo.com/

Catherine Anderson http://catherineandersonstudio.blogspot.com/

18 January:
Chris Zydel http://creativejuicesarts.com/

Effy Wild http://effybird.com/

19 January:
Elloa Atkinson http://www.elloaatkinson.com/

Grace Howes   http://www.redbarn-studios.com/

20 January:
Gretchen Miller http://www.gretchenmiller.wordpress.com/

Kara LC Jones http://motherhenna.blogspot.com/

21 January:
Kelly Johnson http://www.wingswormsandwonder.com/

YOU ARE HERE >>> Kitty Oppegard http://handoverheartstudios.blogspot.com/  

22 January:
Kristal Norton http://kristalnorton.com/

Lisa Hofmann http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com/

23 January:
Lisa Wilson http://www.beingbreath.com/

Lucy Pearce http://dreamingaloud.net/

24 January:
Malini Parker http://www.maliniparker.com/

Meghan Genge http://www.meghangenge.com/

25 January:
Melissa Harris http://www.melissaharris.com/

Michelle Turbide http://michelleturbidestudios.com/

26 January:
Petrea Hansen-Adamidis http://www.arttherapist.ca/blog

Rachael Rice http://rachaelrice.com/

27 January:
Robin Hallett http://www.robinhallett.com/

Shelley Klammer http://intuitivecreativity.typepad.com/

28 January:
Suki Ciappara Ka'Pinao http://sukihealingarts.com/

Tara Leaver http://taraleaver.com/

To learn more about the details, including all of the contributors and workshop offerings for this course CLICK RIGHT HERE. 

Enjoy the blog-hop, good luck on the give-aways, and I hope to see you in Spectrum in a few months!

On account of being Raw...

photo credit:

@thebabecollective  on instagram

The weather has been stormy in California, gray dark and cold. It's winter after all but we aren't used to that on this side of the earth. Especially with the thousand year drought we've had over here.

It's been playing with my moods a bit. Artists have been known to be a bit moody.

I like to say "raw". Not because I don't like the term moody. I just think "raw" describes the state of being so much better.

Raw indicates that the whole body is involved. It's not just an emotion. When I am raw it is a complete state of being. Everything that comes into contact good or bad hits me and it's raw.

Could be very good for art... could be very good for curling up in fetal position and sleeping.

I saw this picture recently on the inter-webs and it really spoke to me.

When you're doing that deep down and sometimes dirty work it can be a bit lone wolf lonesome at times. You sometimes need to create your own stars in the sky so to speak to get through the darkness.

I wanted to blog today, not really knowing what I was going to say. Didn't' really have a direction. Just wanted to share this image with you all... whoever is out there...whoever might be reading. 

If nothing else for myself to get it down, get it out.

I think I might create a story board of sorts, get all these images out of the computer and into my life, the ones that pull me through and inspire me. The ones that rip out my guts and remind me that being raw is what I came here for. The ones that make me remember that being alive is all the senses all together at once. To remember that being inspired doesn't mean that you sit and wait for the aha but you just show up and make your mark.

Open your windows loves. Paint a star in your dark sky if you have to... ask for help if you need it.

Suntsaa <3

Suntsaa means love in Native Shoshone Language