This Website, The Art, The Cards... are all the result of a special partnership that began when my daughter was born. The bond that exists between mother and child extends into our creative pursuits, coloring literally everything we do!

Any successful journey undertaken by two people requires understanding with an intuitive knowledge of where the other person is heading and AND a deep abiding trust that the designated path ahead is the right one. 

In choosing a direction for our creative journey, we needed an outlet, a purpose melding together BOTH of our talents. Thus P.M. art Studio was born where the alchemy of pencil, paint & paper (old school) merges with the magic of the digital age, graphic design and video transforming the mix into a unique, collaborative, artistic result.

It only makes sense with such a special union that the emerging product would be... well, totally ORIGINAL! So even though we use the same products: alcohol inks, glue, paper, paint, glitter (lots of glitter, only when necessary) what appears after the application is a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork. The artwork is then used as the impetus for a greeting card. Some works speak solely as Art Cards and others are embellished with sentiments and whimsy as needed. While this may sound simple and straightforward, be assured it is the opposite. Much wrangling, discussion, manipulation of pieces and parts go on (sometimes for days)... sigh... BEFORE a card is born. Other times, it just evolves naturally out of a pile (quite literally) and Viola, card done – no muss, no fuss! 

[aside: Slight detour... both here at the studio and in our lives. The reason for this artistic endeavor lies in the birth of my granddaughter, Isabella Kathryn. Many years ago a pact was made between Mariah and myself – should she have a child....... then whatever was happening in my life would be put on hold. Fast-forward, after moving to Alaska and marring my childhood square dancing partner (even have pictures), many plane trips (takes anywhere from 8-13 hours) back and forth it was only logical to move back to Texas. Note: Shorthand version of the story excluding all the angst, drama, emotional turmoil that goes along with MOVING (which was 5 days on a ferry, 5 days driving across half the country with a cat meowing the entire way and a nervous dog)! Animals survived unscathed.]

Back to the present:

"...no muss, no fuss!" is the exact opposite of what our lives are now with a quite active 2yr old who wants to 'help' with all we do.

All of our artistic endeavors are 'colored' by the presence of Izzy! She is a bit like a class 5 tornado at times ––– chaos and destruction but then the lamb of calm restore sanity and order giving us all time to create. To say that Izzy is a creative muse AND the source of consternation describes our relationship completely; one of extremes! Experiencing the world with a 2-year-old requires the skills of a diplomat, the quickness of a ninja-warrior, along with a sprinkle of magician thrown in for mystery. That mixture of roles will suffice on most days and MOST situations. As for the others, instant adaptability of the kind you would experience on a game-show where you must come up with the answer instantly before the buzzer blows is required! Keyword: adaptability!! All that practice comes into play in the approach to making artwork. Being flexible, looking for novel ways to solve problems requires an equally accommodating medium; anything and everything is used as needed. Diplomat, ninja master, and magician... all necessary roles we play daily – in life – in work – in play not only to survive but to thrive... then do it again tomorrow.