Welcome!

Welcome to my new space! It's completely unfinished and under construction but I wanted to share this new journal location with you now. No longer will I be blogging at my blogspot blog so please update your readers. Sometimes I start a new sketchbook or project with each birthday and since I turned a year older over the weekend, here's my new journal space! For years I've wanted my portfolio site and blog to be in one place and I have finally done that. So thus begins the website rebuilding process!

 

My handmade cloud costume

Usually for our preschool costume party I borrow something from one of the other teachers, and for the past several years I've been a scarecrow. Not sure what got into me but this year I decided to be a cloud.
So I found some cotton fabric leftovers stashed away. After washing it I splattered the fabric with watered down acrylic paint. After it dried, I ironed and cut a scalloped edge. The wispy scarf is a remnant of cheese cloth from when I made my own damar varnish for oil painting. The tulle came from who knows where. For the rain drops I painted dark blue paper with silver and blues and then cut them into shape. They also have a few silver sequins for sparkle and a layer of clear contact paper on both sides for durability. Silver cord ties them to the hem of the "skirt". You can't see the rain drop strand in my pony tail and silver ribbons but they're there. The porcelain cloud pin is made by Kylie Johnson.
Since I'm not someone who sews, the fabric is all held together with two safety pins, three velcro tabs, and a little fabric glue. I'm calling it good.


In other news:
My new letterpress Personalized Note Sets are in the Blue Sparrow Press Shop! And there's free shipping on orders of $50 or more on anything in the shop when you enter coupon code OCTBDAY.
Plus Blue Sparrow Press has its own facebook page now. You're invited to go like it. (:

Enjoying lately

Enjoying the gomphrena, autumn joy sedum, zinnias, and marigorls before we anticipate our first frost this week. Plus acorns and crunchy leaves to walk through are everywhere. Autumn is around us for sure.

So I've been taking alot of pictures (see just a few here) and working on personalized stationery designs for Blue Sparrow Press. And I'm happy to be a new guest contributor at Poppytalk doing a column called Sharing the Process. See how Maria Roth of Hold Handmade makes these beautiful felted bowls. Just stunning!


Life is full

 

Life is full. While it's been quiet here, I have written here a little, and here, and a little here too. I have been taking pictures, printing, teaching, going to the art museum, visiting with friends, discussing new ideas, working on new projects, walking, going to the lake, baking cookies, enjoying garden salads, riding bikes, noticing the autumn leaves are changing quickly and... how about you?


Film in review [no. 2]

Since today is the last day of summer, I chose a few summer shots. All taken in the evening while riding bikes. 

A little inspiration from my week: 
+ I made these zucchini pancakes. Instead of parsley I used thyme. (Thank you for the link Shari, they were yummy!) 
+ Movies: Georgia O'Keeffe and a Hitchcock classic, Spellbound. 
+ The poetry of Jane Hirshfield, The October Palace. 
+ Yesterday afternoon, our sedum plant was buzzing with activity in the late summer sun. Swarms of honeybees, bumblebees, tiny white, yellow, and buckeye butterflies, moths and three monarchs. I clicked away with my film camera.