sssshhhhhhhh... it's a secret

We spent the weekend in celebrational fashion as today is my birthday (now officially older than dirt) and we did all sorts of fun things! I took three hundred photos of poinsettias for that new commissioned painting I'll be starting, visited the Workhouse Art Center at Lorton for the first time (and met as many artists as I could), went to dinner at Bugaboo Creek Saturday night.... and then Sunday we went to Great Falls to be near water, took a Sunday drive, and came home to relax for the evening. So much more detail to come but I have a birthday to celebrate today:)

This past year has flown and when I look at all that has happened in that time span I am truly humbled. Hard work and focus have been, and will continue to be, the name of the game..... with time to re-charge batteries and keep creative juices flowing. Life is very good.

having a little fun

November's tablescape in the studio is all about having fun. Zolo parts are waiting in bowls for building, and several critters are already completed to show off the possibilities. Zolos can be found in lots of Museum Stores and I am always looking to add to my collection as they are just good creative fun. Do you know a child who should get a gift of Zolos this year?

painting sand

A fellow artist stopped by my studio yesterday and said this shorebird painting sure is taking me a while.... and it has been on the easel for a VERY long time, although I have not been working on it with all the class demo pieces, side projects and five months of working on the art center fundraiser that has eaten up my time.

Being back and work and focused in the studio makes me tremendously happy and now the progress will start to come, even as I work on that new commission piece. For a while I will jealously guard my time and resources so that I am doing what I love, and what I need to be doing.

Happiness is...... paint under your fingernails.

signs of life

I got in to the studio early yesterday to move some art around and to drag out the REALLY BIG LADDER to adjust my spotlights. It was a very rainy day and the perfect day to settle in and work on the shorebird painting. This month's tablescape is simple with bowls of ZOLO pieces set out for people to build and play with.... they have been a hit already.

You know you want to come and visit........... I'll buy lunch.

a lively moment or two at Art After Hours

This month's Art After Hours featured musicians and some dancers (one of whom came into my studio to "act out" my pear painting:) and they livened up the galleries with movement and laughter.

a new commission

Some collectors have requested a new commission for their brand new home, a really bold poinsettia painting that will be the second of four seasonal paintings to hang over their gorgeous, newly-built fireplace. I can already see the painting, very boldly cropped and richly colored.... time to get references and start sketching. I wonder if I can get a plant at a garden center this early in the season?

Think red!

it was starting to feel like "an act of god" day.......

Geez Louise.......

We were cleaning the house yesterday, standing there speaking to each other when there was a huge boom right outside our windows. Oh no... transformer... in the dark. All the neighbors flew to their windows and porches, as did we, and vacuuming and laundry were no longer an option. A call to the power company and we got back to doing what we could do without electricity.

Then, I kid you not, I was standing on the step stool and Virginia was handing me something, and I started to hear water cascading... and I thought the guy upstairs must be watering his plants on his patio as we had the sliding glass door open so that we could hear when the power truck came. Virginia walked toward the kitchen and realized that water was cascading down from the ceiling, which could only mean either a burst pipe or a washer related accident up there. Trash cans, pots and pans, vases and bowls were pressed into service to catch all the water cascading down from numerous spots. It was now a torrent of water and Virginia went upstairs to knock on our neighbor's door to no avail. He was not there. Virginia next went downstairs to let our neighbors there know that although we were trying to catch all the water coming down, that a leak in their unit was possible as well..... apartment dwellers know that water always travels dooowwwnnn.

Three calls to emergency maintenance went unanswered and I got creative about how to get help as our complex was just recently bought out by a new management company. Chasing through the phone tree I finally figured out how to leave a message that might just get some attention, and before long a man calling himself the regional manager was on the line. By now so much time had passed that the water was slowing down (what could that mean???) and he was trying to find a maintenance person. This man was very nice and wanted to help, and gave me his cell number when I asked so that I could check back with him. In the meantime our neighbor came home and realized that his washing machine hose, which he had disconnected from the sink when the power went off (right before he left for errands), had fallen down and the entire contents of the machine had drained down on our heads. He felt terrible and Virginia assured him that sometimes this stuff just happens (don't think about the rule of threes....)

I called the regional manager back and let him know that the water had slowed to drips and that with our neighbor home we know knew for sure the source of the leak, and he said that he would send someone out first thing today to check on all the damage to our ceiling (oh it's a mess). In the interum he suggested that we not use the kitchen light (through which water had been cascading) and I told him I thought that was a very wise suggestion considering how the day was going.

Within a couple of hours the power truck had come and gone like the cavalry (we love those people), fixing two transformers, and our washing machine was once again churning (to wash all the towels that mopped up water) and the vacuum was vacuuming, and our Sunday continued on almost like nothing exciting had ever happened.

Look at this GREAT picture today! My friend Georgie lives in Australia and is a tremendous photographer, and the image seemed perfect for this post!

a love of textiles

For as long as I can remember I have loved fabrics and textiles. When I was young my mother sewed many of my dresses and I got to go along to the fabric shop to pick out patterns and materials. We never had a lot of money when I was a child, but I certainly had some pretty whimsical dresses. There was a purple gingham I will never forget.

When I set up my own household I sewed quilts for our beds and looked for wonderful tablecloths that my kids and I could use to dress our dinner table in different ways with a variety of plates, glasses, and salt and pepper shakers.... and there were even some tablecloths for the small table my children and I set up out on a leafy plant-filled porch to eat outside with candles on a gentle warm evening.

Life is much, much simpler now and that love of textiles appears in my love of scarves. Winter scarves and wispy scarves and wraps for a summer evening... and when we travel some sort of scarf almost always follows me home. Some friends have also given me scarves (how did they know???) and I treasure them. When I look at the scarves instant memories of travel and people are right there at my fingertips. Recently a wonderful lady that I know knitted me a hat and scarf to keep me warm this winter, from yarn that she picked especially for me. I have already worn the scarf on chilly days and everyone is drawn to it and wants to feel the nubbly yarn.

Happiness is.....................