The water is high.

It's tornado season.  This one is named Hermine.  I woke up this morning only to discover 1,000 sq. feet of my studio in a pool of water.  Most of the day was spent mopping, water vacuuming and emptying buckets.  Never mind the show deadllines and work that must be produced and photographed on time.  At the end of the day with my schedules all off, I just gave up and dedicated the eve to Hermine.  The waters in the Trinity River are about to crest at the levee where we live.  If they run over we are flooded.  If the floods are high enough we lose most everything.  My husband asked me, what is the one thing you would take with you?  I said the cats.  He responded with that's not a thing that's your soul, what

thing

would you take?  All I could come up with is, my nippers.  Then, which ones?  All the things are replaceable I decided.  No thing is that important.  So, I abandoned my pretty flowers for the State Fair and dedicated my time and creative energy to a project one of my students started based on the Artist Trading Card concept.  Rebecca Collins wanted to trade mosaics with her classmates and designed an ingenious method for doing so.  You can check out her blog at

http://www.mosaicswap.worpress.com

.  She has enrolled our class into making 3.5 x 2.5 inch mosaics to trade in early November.  The theme is Day of Dead, or the color orange.  I've been a bit jealous over the fun they have all been having while I slave away at my deadlines.  Tonight, with the rise of the water, Hermine's passing through my neighborhood, and the possible flooding, I just gave up all the worries and decided to have a bit of fun.  So, here's to Hermine!  My first ATC mosaic.  Made of marble, smalti and millefiori on plywood with tinted thinset.