lots of artsy goings on and drawing happening soon!

Working on this wonderful fundraiser for the art center has consumed so much of my time over recent months that I am behind in the studio and lots of projects need catching up. Yesterday I finished most of the sketch for the shorebird painting except for the watery background, and I started to paint the little yellow stones on the beach in the foreground. It was wonderful to be painting again.

I had to stop to unwrap nine teapots that were never photographed (with a little help from a friend:)... and the Director of photography kindly taught me how to photograph them against a backdrop yesterday afternoon during my studio day. I couldn't stand the thought of them not having a lasting image on the art of tea blog. The pictures really came out well! Then I had to re-wrap them all and deliver them safely back to storage, which took most of the rest of my day.

Notecards for art of tea are printing and we drove to Hagerstown this weekend to buy beautiful ribbon that will tie up the little packets of cards all in florals and watercolory stripes. Virginia helped me find the perfect ribbons. I ordered large plastic sleeves to store prints in at the studio..... and right now I am emailing my contact at the printer to start the process of having some larger prints of my paintings produced that will be offered for sale in the studio.

I have ended the sign-up for the drawing for the free print of the Koi, and will be holding that drawing very shortly now. Stay tuned!

a coat for every season????

I live a really simple life, and sometimes I see examples of just how out of step I am with that vast faceless majority who is everybody else. Yesterday I set off to start my day in typical late summer attire (that involved sandals and leg showing) and as I drove through town center I realized that everyone else, it seemed, had some sort of light jacket/windbreaker/sweater on this morning.

It got me to thinking about the days that are drizzley, and everybody seems to have a rain jacket for that as well - and sometimes even boots. There are jackets for balmy late Fall nights, cold and rainy, freezing and snowing, Spring sprinkles........ Does everybody have a jacket for everything? Where do they put all these jackets? I wonder just how much of this is seen through the lens of living in this really wealthy county - a top money spot in the country - as life has seemed simpler in other locations.

Eventually my toes will get too cold for sandals (it will be a while yet) and I will switch to jeans rather grudgingly, and when it is really chilly I will wear my favorite sweaters (different colors but mostly all the same kind) and I have a coat for winter that is cozy and a new scarf that a friend made for me. Life is simple and really, really good.

skulls and crossed bones

The tablescape this month is a tribute to Frida and the day of the dead with lots of Frida mementos, skulls, hanging skeleton garland and beautiful pots from Peru. The garland came from a dollar store at the Delaware shore, the big rubbery skull from a shop in Rehoboth, the rhinestone skull (which reminds me of this) came from Michael's, and the GORGEOUS vase and vessel from Peru were purchased from a vendor at the Zoo's wonderful Hispanic Heritage Festival, Peruvian Trend Co. I just realized that my wonderful little felted skull brooches crafted by Jafabrit last year have to be added to the table, and they will be perfect.

Art After Hours

Art After Hours Friday was interesting coinciding with a beer tasting event for the library. I met some wonderful new people and handed out a lot of business cards. The sign-up for the drawing for the free imagekind print is coming to a close and the drawing will be held soon!

it's that time of the month....

.... when the tablescape in my studio changes. I have been collecting items for this tablescape for some time now, to honor the Fall holiday of Halloween (which also happens to be my son's birthday) and Frida Kahlo. I have some wonderful items to add to my tablescape, and Virginia very kindly picked up lots of chocolate for the candy bowl yesterday for me.

There is a large rubbery (and kind of bouncy) skull, skeleton garland, Frida Kahlo postcards, books, a wonderful piece of art with images of Frida, bowls from Peru and a length of cloth from (if I remember correctly) Uganda. I love changing the tablescape, and when I am painting I frequently turn to find people studying it and all the collected items that happen to be there.

a glorious night of mixed media

Last night was the first Altered States workshop and it went exceedingly well with lots of students and creative energy in the room. A fellow artist and friend helped me lead the class, and we work well together. The three hour class moved quickly and everybody got so much work done, learning and exploring new ideas and techniques. When I teach one of my main goals is to allow people to find their voice in the medium, and all the students went off in different creative directions from the start, which just did my heart good.

Late in the evening everyone visited the other students' workspace to see what had been created, and the energy was high in the room. Laughter and creative problem solving were everywhere, and I told the students that I could pretty well guarantee they would sleep well this night. I thoroughly enjoyed the group of women, and I hope they came away with some new creative inspiration to lead them forward. I thought it was a great night!

I hope that a good time was had by all!