JEN KELLER ART

Well it looks like the last of winter has left us and we are in for warmer and greener days ahead (fingers crossed!) Though its lucky for me that I got to spend the last few weeks of the Minnesota bitter cold back at my old stomping grounds in the Bay Area.  Soaking up sunshine, seeing friends, and cherishing special family time. For one of my recent projects I was lucky enough to be commissioned for a Save-the-Date and   Invitation combo for a dear friend of the family who was having a 70th Birthday Party during our visit to Northern California.  This woman is an inspiration to everyone she meets - a breast cancer survivor and currently kicking more cancer butt and consistently beating the odds.  Her philosophy? "I'm too damn busy to die!" I love it. Now this amazing lady had some very special requests.  She wanted three birds to represent herself, her husband and her son on the Save-the-Date.  She wanted something simple with a little bit of p...

I just finished the one of the larger chapters about the Plains Natives in the Native American Book for Nomad Press .  It was really interesting and fun to do. Winter Count - Type of Native American calender and/or history record  Being from Illinois, I have a sentimental attachment to this part of country.  Growing up, the Plains Native Americans were a part of my own local history.  Since then I have learned so much more, but I still have a great deal of affection for this region. War Bonnet - Number of Feathers represent good deeds done by the wearer.  For a warrior it was for deeds in battle, for a chief it was for deeds done in he community.      So here are a few images from the lengthy and fascinating chapter on the Plains Native Americans.  Even with some of my prior knowledge, I still learned more about the details of their culture, games, and lifestyle.  Pretty interesting stuff! Smoke Signals Native A...