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Art-By-Mel-DA

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Hey folks! I walked away from here for some much needed down time from online stuff. This place can definitely be overwhelming. I've been busy with life in general and dealing with some physical issues because I did something stupid, lol. At any rate, I'm planning to slowly get back to hanging out a few times a week and posting when I have time to make stuff.


Finally got a decent computer to replace my old beast. The computer I had been using just didn't cut it. Now I get to play with iRay, which is a whole learning process. But a fun one to be sure. I'll never catch up on all the deviations posted suring my absence, nor am I even going to try.


I do have to say thanks for all the faves to my images even through I've not been around.


Hope this note finds you all well! See you soon! Mel

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Happy Holidays!

1 min read

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful holiday season in whatever way you celebrate!! And the very best for the new year!

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Hello all.

2 min read

It’s been a while. I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying life.

I took a break from Facebook after losing our Great Pyr, Hugo. And when we lost our little Puggle Mae in June, I just walked away from online period. I needed time to heal from losing all our critters, having lost Harry our kitty the year before. I had no inspiration to make any art at all (other than a few commissions).

But, it is summer here. And summer means flowers, herbs and veggies in my little garden. So I spent the last couple of months working on our little yard. I made a nice fire pit area for those cool nights and the coming fall. I basically worked on some of the projects I had been wanting to get to for a while now. It helped me deal with my grief. I have more projects I want to do, like some more work on my fire pit area, but some will have to wait till next summer. I mean our property is over 100 years old, so there is stuff that needs to get done inside and out.

Firepit

At any rate, I’m working my way back here, back to online in general. Maybe not Facebook, but I do have Twitter, Pinterest, etc. I’ve had some computer issues too. I had to reinstall Windows because it became corrupted, which meant I had to reinstall a number of programs. I could not even use the backup (disc image) for Windows. Nope. Had to completely reinstall it, which might have been a blessing in disguise since it seems to be running far better now.

So I’ll be working on catching up to some degree. I’ve seen some artists have like 40 submissions, so I’m thinking I won’t be able to get to them all. But I’ll work on catching up somewhat.

And there might even be the first real flicker of inspiration I feel inside. It’s been so long, too long. Months and months too long.


See you all soon!! Mel

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Silence

3 min read

Apologies for my absence, my staggered presence over the last few months. On June 5th we said farewell to our last companion. It was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever been present for.

Mae was a Puggle with so much spirit and heart that I’m not sure how her little body contained it all. She was only 10 when she passed on, taken from us all too soon by an extremely aggressive inflammatory mammary cancer. She was diagnosed in the beginning of April, and right up until the morning we took her to the vet for that final farewell, I was doing everything I could to help her including daily palliative care. That meant rounds of meds and herbs used on people, as well as morning and evening care and changes of the bandages used to cover the open tumors. The vet, whose one of the best I know, could not even do surgery because there was not enough skin to close.

It was exhausting to look at that every single day. I knew deep down what the end result would be, but I still tried and kept my emotions in check fearing she would pick up on them. And Mae was the very best dog she could possibly be about it all. She knew we were trying to help her.

Mae did not deserve this end. No one does. I spent much of last week either crying or plunging myself into client work and other projects. Anything to keep busy.

We lost Harry, our cat in November 2019. He was nearly 20 years old at the time of his death. We lost our Great Pyr Hugo this past November at the ripe old age of 12 ½ years. And now Mae is gone too.

But I’m far from ready to bring another dog or cat into our lives. I’m still mourning the loss of the two best dogs we ever knew come to grace our home and fill our lives with joy, laughter, unconditional love and at times frustration with the levels of stubbornness they both shared. And Harry, well I just cannot imagine another cat after him.

So I will keep close memories of Hugo refusing to come inside in the coldest part of winter. His big gentle heart, his protective urges anytime we approached a stranger when out walking. The time he walked by our dining room table and swiped my son’s entire large Italian sandwich right off the table without even a pause in his stride.

I will smile when I think of Mae and her love of pillows and blankets, and how much she enjoyed snuggling with all of us. Her love of walks and her dedication to squirrel duty when out in the yard. I mean someone had to protect us from all those squirrels, right?

And last but not least, Harry. He was terrified of the outside, but he loved to hang out on the front porch with me when it was warm out. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word and the official greeter when people came to the house. He was not strictly a lap cat, but he loved to be close all the same.

The silence in the house is deafening. They are all dearly, deeply missed.

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What's going on with DA?? I have barely any new deviations in my list for the last few days. Like maybe 3 or 4???


So either DA is finally in its death throes after all the insane changes or they really, really f'ed it up this time. It's even possible that many people threw their hands up at once and quit...

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