A little Segue....

I have to admit, this is a little guilty pleasure....I've been at the sewing machine again.  The potential for creativity when making fabric bags is endless.  I've started with a few simple ones and plan on making a few more with embellishments in the weeks to come (just to get this out of my system!).  The wool bag is so late in the season that I'm early.  But I had planned on making a bag out of a wool sweater for some time now and it just seemed to come together now.  I particularly enjoyed doing the embroidery.  The other two are just basic bags for going to the market (in style).
Almost forgot to mention they are available at the shop on Main Road, here in Hudson called
Seconde Main.

Almost daily....

This one was done on a 1/4" birch faced panel.  I do like these wood surfaces rather than the stretched canvases when painting this smaller size (6x6).  This one was also done alla prima (wet into wet)  but needs the energy of the juicier brushstrokes.

Green Apple Teal Bowl
6 x 6 Oil

Me and My Shadow

I might do more of these simple paintings using the beautiful papers that are available.  Yes, that's right, the background pattern is collaged onto the wood substrate, sealed and then the painting added.  I prefer not to think of it as cheating as much as being clever.  I think it just adds a bit of complexity to an otherwise simple image.

Me & My Shadow
6" x 6" x 1 1/2" cradled wood
SOLD

On the way to something good...

....a salad maybe?   

Eventually I will be organized enough to actually paint a food group that alludes to what was being made...

Encouraged by the looseness of the last one I launched into this next painting but even I can see that I began to tighten up again.  But that's okay.  I really like this one and I'm developing a sense of how to start to achieve the desired results.  This is also a "fact finding" mission!

The Start to Something Good
6" x 6" Oil on Wood Cradled Panel

                             

Getting There...

Okay, now that I've started my third small format painting,  I'm curious to try different substrates to see what effects I can achieve.  Stretched canvases I already had on hand, but I hadn't painted on the wood

cradled panels with oils before (only acrylics for mixed media pieces).  I'm liking this!  This is more like what I've been trying to achieve.  But at this stage, I'm not yet in my comfort zone.  Pre-mixing my key colors also helps with the spontaneous brushstrokes.

Chrysanthemum and Green Apple
6" x 8" Oil on Wood Cradled Panel
$80.00

In search of a brushtroke....

Another little 6x6 oil painting of tangerines in a silver footed bowl.  Would you believe the reason behind

these little 6x6 canvases is so that I can explore methods and hopefully loosen up a little bit.  Eventually I would like to learn to stop the blending and "nitpicking" in favor of gestural brush strokes (as much as one can gesture within a 6" x 6" space!)  But for now this is like my safety net.....More to come in the days ahead.

Tangerine in Silver Footed Bowl
6" x 6" Oil        

Back to painting......

I'm never very far away from my easel anyway but I haven't posted new paintings for awhile so here is a little 6x6 oil painting...  Seeing it here, I can see there is a little tweaking to do here and there....

Blue Pot with Tangerines
6x6 Oil on canvas

More silver core beads...

I've added some new copper and brass beads to my new silver core glass beads and assembled them into a bracelet.  The possibilities are expanding!  The addition of embossed bead caps provides more opportunity to add embellishments to the already beautiful colors of the glass.  In the photo you can see two of the brass beads with the addition of a sterling silver (ss) divider that I have faceted to catch the light.  To the left is a silver bead with three free spinning sterling rings and to the right is a section of silver tubing with an overlay of fine silver that also moves freely.  Although the glass beads look beautiful on their own, the addition of these spacers adds to the uniqueness....and they all work with Pandora and Chamilia line of

bracelets too.

                              

Etsy Treasury!

It's always nice when someone picks your artwork to showcase and I was so honored Jill Rosoff in this treasury of watercolors on Etsy.  Her shop is RosoffArtworks on Etsy. (a pretty terrific watercolor artist too).

CuPcAkEs.....!

My daughter had the enviable job of photographing these cupcakes (my photos are below, hers are way better) for a client with just such a business.  I played lighting assistant (ahem).  It was very hard to photograph, edit, post and wait for a response from the client but after a hearty approval, we were

free to consume.....and they were goooooood.  I may even paint some of them....And if you're in the area, you may want to consider ordering from http://www.gateauxkatiecakes.com 

and these are some of my daughters photos from that session - waaay better.....

Back at my torch.....

PuRe CoLoR ThErApY is what I needed this morning and this is the result.....each color of each glass bead is melted onto a steel mandrel in various layers and designs, cooled in a controlled manner (annealed in a kiln), cleaned and sorted and ready to be incorporated into jewellery.  I start with a plan
but segue into many more.....

An order for fifteen of these hearts and a crayon colored necklace with one of my sterling silver
hand made chains.  I feel better now.... : > )

More In and Around the Studio...

I love the little porcelain chickadee in this painting.  It is part of a salt and pepper shaker that I picked up at the local library that runs a rummage sale every Saturday morning.  I keep telling myself that I can skip

going but then 10:00 a.m. rolls around and I run over in case I miss something like this that will make an 

appearance in one of my paintings.   One of these days I will put together another blog with photos of  the neat things I've found.  They truly are my treasures.

I become so easily distracted when I'm searching for a component.  Just looking at the containers of left

over bits from previous projects and collected demos and experiments (like etching for example) and I become mesmerized.   It's like opening up a treasure chest and just appreciating the strands of gemstones and pearls (okay snap out of it....what was I looking for?)

In and Around the Studio....

     The following images are some photos of various projects I've been working on.  The silver lined beads I am the most happy about.  I've always enjoyed using the glass beads in my designs but even more so now that I've taken the time to learn how to line them in silver and sometimes brass and copper.  The addition of embossed caps gives them a whole new look too and the opportunity to really get creative.  The image below is neither bracelet nor necklace but simply a few of my first beads waiting to be put together.  They fit all the European style bracelets such as Pandora, Chamilia and Troll.  (Gives me an excuse to buy the gorgeous silver beads to go with  my own).

     In the depth of winter, I love to knit whenever I can.  It's funny how flowers keep cropping up in my work no matter what materials I happen to be using.  The ones on the right are going to have the beaded centers as well.

My winter garden grows.....

These "scarflettes" are available at the new boutique on Main Rd., Hudson called Seconde Main.

I return to my blog with a heavy heart.  The passing of my mother the third week of January has left me with sadness.   I want to return here and continue posting but didn't feel I could forego mentioning that.  My blog is an extension of myself and to have glossed over that would have felt unrealistic.  As someone recently told me,  I should dedicate my creativity to her memory and her love will be my catalyst.  I will return to posting this week.

Welcome.....

visitors from The Altered Page!  A view of my work space and the sketch books I've worked on is pictured on Seth Apter's blog today.  If you haven't visited his site, make sure you do and bookmark it for future reference because he always has wonderful projects and people to showcase.

My  own sketchbook project for this month was to finish the moleskin book that will be submitted to the ....."Sketchbook Project"....   I started within my comfort zone which was to pick up my paintbrush rather than a pencil but once I had a few painted pages I gradually pushed myself to sketch more.  If I had an unlimited amount of time to work on this one, I'd have added color to each page to unify the project but I'm just happy I have something to submit within the deadline this week.  My theme was "In Flight" and on several pages I quoted from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Robert Louis Stephenson.  A nice side benefit from working on a project with a deadline is the research that leads to pleasant discoveries, in this case, a beautiful work of poetry I otherwise may never have read.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well I'm sitting here thinking that I should be writing something profound for my first post of the new year, and that seems intimidating so I will simply post two links.  The first one is an inspiring rendition of
Auld Lang Syne by Sissel
http://www.ine-pps.nl/
and the second is a link to an artist's website that I've just discovered and want to share with you.
I'll put the link in the column to the left too.
http://www.makingamark.blogspot.com/
Happy New Year everyone!

Latest Pieces to be added to Etsy

The dragonfly bracelet has a bit of beach history to it.  A beachcomber's bracelet with stones washed by the sea, green malachite for the seaweed, a wooden bead to represent the driftwood and a bit of crystal bling for the treasures beachcombers hope to find and finally the sterling silver dragonfly that is an ever present feature along the sandy beaches.

This one measures 7" with a lobster claw clasp. $45

A three-in-three sterling silver chain, a faceted
oval stone and a faceted quartz heart with a flurry
of crystals and pearls in between.  7" with a sterling silver lobster claw clasp. $60

Last Commissioned Piece of the Year...

Silver and crystal and pearls....faceted stones and embossed initials....

I couldn't help it.....

A Christmas package arrived and I was good for about two days....and then I caved.  I opened the cardboard box thinking there would be a wrapped Christmas package inside.  But the packaging gave me a hint as to what was inside. (A Jim Shore collectible)  Thinking it was a Christmas decoration I went ahead and opened it and staring back at me was this wonderful frog.  What was truly amazing was that I had

just this afternoon finished painting an adirondack chair to be auctioned off in the Spring in benefit of

the VON (Victorian Order of Nurses).  They belong together!  They couldn't have matched any more perfectly.  So now I either have to paint myself another chair just like this or bid on it myself!

Ahhh, Christmas shopping......

The problem with getting Christmas shopping done early is that you inevitably see improved versions of what you've already bought and probably already wrapped, which is what happened to me this week.

So back I went to return one package and buy another and pick up a few other gifts along the way.

But it wasn't all hardship!  Picked up my daughter for the weekend and passed by this Gelato counter

that is new at our mall.  I have to confess we didn't have any this time but took pictures instead.  Next time I will make time and budget my calorie intake for this!  

On the way home (adding to the sensory overload) was the winter scenery on our road leading into

Hudson....(a great place to live around Christmas time).