Serenbe

So this weekend JT and I went on our anniversary trip to Serenbe, some 1000 acres of farmland with a guest house and private cottages set against a backdrop of horses, chickens and goats, walking trails, a small lake, rolling countryside and just downright peace and quiet. It's only 40 minutes south of Atlanta, so you feel out of town, but can zip right back to reality in minutes (that part is a little sad) But after the required decompression time, it was just a lovely place to relax and do nothing. We felt far away, and that was certainly the goal. February is not necessarily the best time to be here, but it was tranquil and very laid back. I do want to come back and see the wildflower fields and walk to the waterfalls. It was pretty cold, so more time by the fire and less time hiking around! Dinner at The Hil in the community nearby was outstanding. Organic food and delicious wine hit the spot. A place to remember.

Forever listen from your heart

Paula is listening to a little Poulenc, and losing herself in that musical trance. Have you ever had that moment when you're listening to the most profound music and it entrances you until the very last note is played and then after wards it echos in your head for a moment, and then it's gone. It actually feels like listening from your heart.






















Listening to a concert pianist play live is the most unbelievable experience. I'll never forget seeing this Belgian guy play Rachmoninav effortlessly, it was simply enthralling. I think the piece lasted 20 minutes or so and when it was over I realized that I hadn't moved or barely breathed the entire time. I was simply mesmerized, and it's not often we get to feel like that.

Sightseer-a trip to Paris

Hello love bug! This little turquoise Volkswagen beetle makes you smile, eh? Another piece in my "er" series. A collection of works using the theme of words ending in "er" The travel pieces will become more frequent only because I have oodles of reference of all the places we visited in the first decade of our marriage (yikes, scary when it's put that way!)






















Being a sightseer in Paris makes for some easy visual play since there are SO many incredible sights to translate on canvas. The Eiffel Tower is not one of the more beautiful sites, because it's always mobbed with people. And to tell you the truth, when we were there we didn't even go up o the top! It was evening, we enjoyed the view, and then went to drink wine and eat some amazing French food, tres bon! I really miss being the jet setter, but don't miss the actual "jetting" part. Planes are freaking me out these days, so I'm a land lubber for awhile. And would not mind cruising around in a a little blue bug either.

A little love bird mobile

A little metal love bird. I did similar version of this for an ornament exchange party in December and it was such a hit I decided to make some more. I'm going to try to sell these on Etsy, but in the meantime, I'll just make these and give them away as gifts!



















I've been using metal sheets purchased from Michael's, but checked out the hardware store and found metal flashing for MUCH cheaper. I just need to find the right gauge in order to cut it easily and make holes. So stay tuned and I hope to make a whole slew of these!

Listener: mixed media painting

So I needed to jump start a new series of work using a ink transfer technique I've been doing quite a bit. I decided to do a play on words and illustrate a series of paintings based on words or phrases ending in "er"























The lone image of a white deer on a textural background of joss paper and French music gives an interesting impression. Animals are great listeners, they have good hearing, and that helps! But they also are very aware and alert to everything around them. It's interesting to reflect how hard it is for most of us to listen, really listen, and be mindful and aware of all the beautiful things around us everyday. Appreciate, have grace, be present.

Dragonfly original spinning mobile

After many hours of thinking, fiddling around with my dragonfly drawing color schemes and finally, when I actually assembled this (it didn't take too long) and THEN figuring out how to photograph it with my SLR in Aperture Priority mode (seriously people).
























I finally assembled this original dragonfly spinning mobile that spins and delights in a window or corner of a room. For more information go here. I'm working on some origami pieces next, stay tuned.

Her Dress, original charcoal drawing

I've had this piece for a LONG time. Her Dress, an original drawing in charcoal on Rives BFK paper, was dug out of the archives, put in an Ikea frame and is now hanging in my house! The original is posted on Etsy.






















This one might be hard to let go, but I'll be interested to see if anyone likes this one as much as I do.

My dear-love card

I agonized over this one too much today. A simple concept should result in a simple implementation. Not so much with this one, got too picky, changed a bunch of stuff, and then went back to the original. Sigh, sometimes it's good to trust your gut on the first try!

Heart all a flutter

A little gem for Valentine's day-I just posted this one in my shop for $10. I think I will do a few small pieces to give a variety of images at that price point as well as an opportunity for customers to buy in 2s or 3s or create a group. We'll see. In the meantime, I won't be letting go of the original anytime soon, It's just gorgeous to look at, I must say :) I'm just drawn to shiny Joss paper, that's all.

New drawing in Etsy shop!

This is a gesture drawing from my collection of life drawings on paper. The image was drawn from life in one minute using charcoal on newsprint. The image is available as a print in varying sizes. Contact me for a quote! Click here for purchase information online.

Queen Bee

I had this drawing in my sketchbook for awhile and never got around to actually working on it. I'm playing around with ink transfers on paper, which is a bit challenging because the watercolor underneath tends to lift up pretty easily. If I let go of the imperfection of this technique, then some nice "happy accidents" occur with interesting texture and overlays of color.

New Shop on Etsy!

I finally got it together and put up a shop on Etsy. It showcases prints and original artwork (coming soon) for sale. Artwork is available to purchase of mixed-media works on paper and canvas. This is good for me, because I do a lot of personal work that goes into a drawer and doesn't get seen by many people. And it will help me to work on my fine art side, maybe work on getting a show...who knows? But it's just time for me to get my work out there and break out of the solitary studio where I crank out illustrations and design for clients all by my lonesome, sniff :)

The Good Things List

I was inspired by a "good things" list by Penelope Dullaghan awhile back and thought since I haven't posted anything regarding the new year, this would be as good a good excuse to write down what I'm thankful for and be a cup of overflowing optimism. I'm not very good at new year resolutions, so instead, maybe I can look back on this list next week, month or year, when I'm grumpy or impatient with my kids, yelling at the insane drivers on 285 or eyeball rolling any of my husband's air-brained antics:) and be inspired by these good things:

The Good Things

-the beach and all the wonderful and amazing things that go with it
-that it can be 70 degrees in January like yesterday
-my cat gives me unconditional love and is a great security blanket
-Marly, 2 1/2 saying "no, I want a piece of you!"
-finally knowing a mechanic who will not rip us off-and even fix our car at cost this time!
-Karina is attending the amazing Friends School
-discovering another level of creativity through my 5-year-old
-having an almost completely purged basement with a space carved out for my studio!
-my neighborhood, my dear friends
-book club, and all the wonderful memories made so far
-martinis with olives
-being healthy, finally
-yoga, and more yoga everyday
-the farmer's market, so glad it's down the street from me
-Twilight vampire teen horror series, yes, they are so good
-lentil soup, black bean soup, crab bisque, shrimp and grits-yum
-chai tea
-starbucks coffee, and proud of it
-peonies
-juice plus vitamins
-going to lunch with a girlfriend ( I really need to actually do that soon!)
-connecting with friends and family through facebook

Assemblage

I met another fellow artist, Jeni Stallings this morning at yoga class (hi Jeni!) and was totally intrigued by her yummy encaustic, oil and collage paintings. Since my website is still under construction, I wanted to start posting some of my wire assemblage pieces that I was telling her about. Here's one of my faves. Cheers.

The shopping is finished and the big holiday of the year is almost here. The kids are excited about Santa coming and are watching holiday movies to pass the time. As I shout to them to the other room that they cannot have any more cmas cookies until the party tonight, I give in again. So I leave this post by saying Merry Christmas and officially sign off to spend more time with my kids, and counting down to a big martini at the Cmas eve festivities tonight!

The Time Traveler's Wife

The artist, Clare, in this book had an intriguing edge as it related to the time traveling character, Henry. Her paper assemblages of birds and a direct comparison to Anselm Keifer, one of my favorite abstract artists, was a great connection. Clare was driven to creating beauty in her work much of the time with her final dark bird creation at the end of this tragic story. An amazing piece of fiction with visually rich metaphors and symbolism-lots of good stuff for making art!

Wondertime

Outside it is frosty and crisp. Some of my favorite things I see out a window or walking up the sidewalk are simple things added over the years to the landscape. Everything is so beautiful anyways in black and white, no? And with the high-contrast of winter, it is almost a must to see all of it this way.

O Christmas Tree

Last night was the annual lighting of the giant holly tree in downtown Avondale Estates. We have gone every year since we moved here (5 years!) And it is magical every time. The kids are definitely in to it, but I have an adult love affair with it as well. I love singing Christmas carols, sipping hot cider and munching on Krispy Kreme donuts (yes, so decadent!) It has been really cold every year so far, and this year was no different-37 degrees! But the sky was clear, no wind and it felt so, so Christmassy! Seriously, in Atlanta, it is hard to come by sometimes. I really do miss the holidays in MI, the snow falling, the beautiful snow-covered landscapes, drinking coffee by the fireplace. Just the coziness and hunkering down when the wind is whistling hard outside and the crackle of a roaring fire inside. Welcome winter!

Happy Red

How alluring is this number? So cozy and very retro inspired.

On paper

Experimenting with my favorite element of collage-old dress patterns. I picked up a few packs of these from the antique market and love how this stuff layers in so many interesting ways. Portraits are becoming a bit frequent and the simplicity of line and color.