CYBER MONDAY SALE!

 

From now until 10am on 12/2/2014, you can get 25% off any order over $100 in my shop. This includes ALL of my original paintings! What could be a better gift for the holidays than an original piece of art?

Art Blog Hop!

This blog post is part of a series of posts called an artist blog hop. Think of a blog hop as blogging "chain mail." Someone links to me and I have to link to another, and each must find another art blogger. All of us must answer the same questions about our creative process.

Thanks to Miriam Schulman for asking me to participate.  You can visit her blog to see her responses to these same questions, along with some beautiful, fun and inspiring artwork.
Here are the questions we are answering in the Art Blog Hop:

 

1.  How does my creative process work?

My creative process can be very sporadic. I can be inspired in the middle of the day or dead of night. I usually have to grab the closest snippet of paper available to jot down whatever is floating through my mind--even if that means stopping in an aisle of the grocery store! My scribbles range from poetry to sketches and both can become featured in my paintings.
Because I have young children, this note taking helps me to "freeze" my idea until I can get at least an hour by myself. There are certain aspects of my art business that I can do with my kids in the studio with me, but painting is not one of them! I need good music (typically jazz or roots/folk), plenty of room and complete isolation (with the exception of my schnauzer). A cup of tea or wine helps to get the gears going as well.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

 To tell the truth, I sometimes have difficulty expressing to others just what 'genre' my work should be assigned. I love poring over collections of antique wallpaper design in the library, exploring with my children in our back woods and viewing photos of the clean sparse environs of Scandinavian home places. I take all of these elements and mix them together in my work to create a fresh but familiar aesthetic. My portraits can be thought of as traditional, but my larger scale canvas pieces give a shot of color and elegance that is not easily classified.

 

3. What am I working on?

Right now I am working on adding varied products to my shop that feature my images. I'd like to expand my audience and by offering physical, utilitarian and portable items I'm hoping to draw a new crowd to my shop that might not otherwise visit.

4. Why do I create what I do?

 I've always been compelled by some force within me to create. My expression has taken many forms over my life--theater, written word, painting, singing, guitar playing. It gives me an incredible level of peace and passion when I am able to momentarily abandon my responsibilities and lend my talents to a blank canvas. I take various elements that I encounter in my daily life and blend them to create something I find beautiful and enhancing to most interiors.

Let's keep hopping!

I've chosen the young artist, Jennifer Ou, to continue the hop. She counts her recent travels to Italy as her main inspiration in her paintings. You can find her blog at http://jenniferslifeadventures.blogspot.com/ and enjoy her lovely work in her Etsy shop here https://www.etsy.com/shop/JenniferOuPaintings.

New Blooms

Brilliant, purple clematis

New blooms are popping up all over the place! From the vegetable garden to the flower bed, our property is awash in painting inspiration. Have a look!

Snow pea blossoms

Blackberry bushes

Can't wait to taste these blueberries.

Hooray for little squashes!

Raspberries--my favorite fruit!





Amazing amaryllis I got from my grandmother's yard.



We also got to pick some strawberries at a farm that's not far from our house. They didn't last long!

 Until next time....

Peace be with you!

Planting Seeds...

Back in March, the kids and I began planting seeds indoors in preparation for the new growing season! It's so exciting to plan the garden and start what will result in lots of delicious veggies during the hot summer to come.

 There's nothing like getting your hands dirty--and no better anti-depressant than sunshine and helping things grow!

 

Sadly, our beloved black Labrador retriever passed away last fall. It was heartbreaking and I still miss her very much. We decided to add a new member to our family not long ago, though, in the form of a beautiful blue Doberman puppy. Meet Lucy--

 

Of course, it is now May and flowers are popping up everywhere around our place! Get a load of the snowball bush next to our front porch.

 

There is some beautiful purple clematis growing on a pyramidal trellis right beside it. I'll get some new photos of the developing garden, too, soon!

 

I also want to direct you to the wonderful folks over at DiaNoche Designs. They have been carrying products featuring my artwork for about a year now. The results are fabulous! They offer a huge array of artistic home décor including shower curtains, pillows, illuminated wall art and much more.

 

Primavera Shower Curtain

 

 

Ease on the Reef Duvet Cover

 

 

Peace be with you!

Biscuits and A Couple of New Works...

About once per month I like to make a big batch of sweet potato biscuits for freezing. It saves money, time, and my sanity on school mornings. It's always so nice to roll out of bed and pop some little, frozen circles in the oven and then, twenty minutes later, we're all enjoying fresh, homemade goodness. My monkeys like to help out with cutting them....

 

We also picked up a large mess of turnip greens at the farmer's market. We cooked these nice and slow with some onion, garlic and vegetable broth. Delicious!

The best part of making the biscuits is tasting them!

I also got to work on some new paintings! They are now available in the old Etsy shop!

The Readers

Spring in Violet and Gold

 

Peace be with you!

 

Snow Day!

After a long hiatus, I bring you these lovely photos from our Snow Day of January 2014!

Peace be with you!

Halloween Decor and a Bit of Home Cooking

Last night we had a delicious dinner that was incredibly simple, but satisfying.

 
Dried pintos cooked in the crock, homemade cornbread and sautéed cabbage with garlic. This meal is in the monthly rotation at our house not only because it's cheap, but it's nutritious and tastes like home. I know it's usually simple food, but I love continuing my heritage through cooking. When my husband, kids and I sit around the table that I ate on as a child, I think of the many hands that made this same meal throughout the lines of my ancestry. How many of my great-great grandmothers concocted these same dishes to fill the tummies of their babies? My maternal grandmother is from Mississippi and her family has resided there for a number of generations. Cabbage, beans and cornbread have been staples in the South for centuries. It's funny, though, because authentic Italian-American style spaghetti and salad create the same feelings of nostalgia for me--my paternal grandmother was an expert at "making gravy" as she put it. These smells have the power to hurtle me back years into my childhood--and give me a sense of comfort and connection with all of the strong women of my family lineage. It's part of my identity....it's so important for we humans to have a sense of belonging, isn't it?

 

I've also been reading this great book by noted vegetarian cookbook author Nava Atlas. I'm a fool for historically tinged recipes. I love reading all the little snippets from aged archives that go along with each entry. Another incredible book in this vein is 1000 Years Over a Hot Stove by Laura Schenone. Really fantastic reading.... 

 

We've also decorated our front porch for Halloween! The kids love doing this every year and I have to admit, I do, too. I have fond memories of constructing scarecrows out of my Dad's overalls and flannels.....so that's what we did.

Our friendly little ghost is just some scrap white fabric dotted with a black Sharpie and thrown over a store-bought scarecrow gal we already had.

 

I think I spent a total of $5 on the whole she-bang.

My littlest two and I collected large, dead branches from our back woods to grace either side of the door. We made hanging bats out of black Duck Tape.

Plastic spiders and webs from the Dollar General down the road (it's the only store within 3 miles of our home).

Dollar tree ravens from last year's Halloween.



Not to disappoint, we stuffed some of Daddy's pants and flannel shirt with some old, plastic trash bags (yes, I'm one of those weird people who stockpiles tons of those grocery bags).  His pumpkin head was bought 6 years ago--ha!)

The kids wanted to show off their fruits of their egg collecting for the day. Lydie's not so sure about our new friend yet.

 

Our oldest little guy also ran a two mile race to benefit his school. He did a fantastic job and we were SO proud!

 

 

Till next time.....

 

Peace be with you...