A Nice Surprise!

My painting "Autumn Woods" was just featured in this Blog. Thanks Friendly Brown Blog!

What's New?

Well, there is a whole lot of new things goin' on around here. First of all, i finally brought the van down to The Paper Sparrow to pick up my most special birthday present from my daughter Kate. Last Summer we had the good fortune to meet a local artist, Lorraine Bowen. She sells many of her delightful paintings at my daughter's shop. Anyway, i happened to go to her website, and saw a painting called "Ox" and fell in love...(I love anything bovine, but have a special soft spot for soft brown cows with those big sweet cow eyes...) When i told Lorraine that i especially loved that painting she told me it was big...but i had no idea HOW big. (Here it is, sitting on my couch, waiting for me to make a final decision on what wall it will be hung) Well, months went by and my daughter told me she had a special surprise for my birthday. When she dragged this big square package wrapped in brown paper out of the gallery space in her shop i had no idea it was the Ox painted by Lorraine. This truly was a big surprise! Katie told me Lorraine and her Mother were both a little sad to part with this painting. But i hope seeing it in my home will make them feel a little better. It is a well loved addition to my growing art collection! Not real sure where it will go yet, but i am down to either a nice sunny yellow wall in the sun room, OR center stage on my warm, cocoa colored walls in my kitchen. (Somehow i can't help but feel this little Ox will be happier in the kitchen...but we'll see...) When we do decide where it is going, i'll take another picture of it in it's official home space. Thank you Katie! Thank you Lorraine! I LOVE it!

Another new member of my doll and teddy collection is Ned, from Teddy Bear's Wednesday ~ Jess McCoughey. This little guy is a little more "portable" and will also be a much loved addition to my home. Thanks Jess! So happy you have an Etsy shop now! Keep makin' those teddies!
These are two of my Mother Earth paper dolls. I take copies of photos of women i support thru Kiva.org and make little paper sculptures of them, to raise awareness of the fantastic job Kiva does. I am making these to display at The Paper Sparrow at the next Troy Night Out, where my Mother and I will be the featured artists! It will be the first Mother~Daughter art show at the shop. We will be showing our matted and framed paintings ~ mostly watercolor, and a few acrylics and collages... You are all officially invited to attend the show opening on January 30th, 5:00 till???
And i'm still baking that bread! Here are two loaves of french boule cooling on the rack... yum!

On the needlework front, i finally made a slightly more complicated sweater. This one and the little hat to match will be given as a gift for a newborn baby girl who has just become a part of our extended family!

And this little sweater/jacket is a basic beginner's sweater. The colors don't show up very well in this photo(i truly need a new camera) but it is a nubby yarn with shades of pink, rose, raspberry, grey and white. I used a vintage mother of pearl button to close it at the neck. I still need to wash and block this little sweater before it is ready to go.

And last but not least, i am ALMOST done with my first mitten! WOOHOO! It is actually my umpteenth try at mittens.... The first few tries i tore out the cuff twice because of mistakes in the ribbing. Then when i was finally half way thru the first mitten, my puppy Pollyanna got a hold of it and decided to play tug of war with her sister Zinnia with it...That was discouraging... Anyway, all i need to do is finish the thumb and i have one mitten down, 1 more to go!

I am very proud of my stitches in this project. When i first started knitting, my stitches were all over the place, but i am finally pulling it together. Again, the color is washed out of this shot but it does show my neat little stitches...(again, i really need a new camera ...) So, that's it for now...Time to start a few new projects(and get that second mitten done!)

Newest painting- "little sparrow"

Watercolor and pencil on watercolor paper

New Painting

The Marsh

acrylic on canvas

I managed to cram this 11" x 14"canvas

into my 11" x 12" scanner, so some of the image got cut off...

Here it is again, photographed on my wall...The photo came out a bit darker than the original painting...(I think i have just as much paint on my fingers as i do on the canvas!)

New Paintings

I finally broke out my new acrylic paints and started playing with them today. Before this i was strictly a watercolor girl, but i find that acrylics can be used much the same way as watercolor and give a more textural effect. These paintings, done on special paper, are a little more abstract than i normally paint, but i had so much fun painting them...

Used to be Sedona

Fall Into Summer

Wind Swept The Trees

I have been away from painting so long...I am going to try to do a painting at least once a week, if not more... My Mom and i have a Mother-Daughter show at The Paper Sparrow in December/January, and it is high time i get started!

Black Feathers...

When i was a young girl, i used to go and visit my Aunt Mary and Uncle Jack in the "country" (which sadly is no longer the country, but suburbia). She shared with me her love of crows and since then i have a huge respect for these very intelligent and illusive birds.

I love these birds...Can you tell?

Great White Egret

Muddy Water

Blue Heron

I love to see these beautiful birds down by the river near my home. Every once in a while i see them flying low over the road while i am driving. They have a spectacular wingspan and trail those long thin legs behind them...Just beautiful birds...

Works in Progress....

Well, after i finished all of the projects we had planned for my daughter's shop,The Paper Sparrow, i took a few days off from crafting. But in those few days i took a good look around and saw how many things i had started and then just sort of fizzled out on, or put aside for more important projects. So, it's time to get to work on some of my personal projects, like.... The loom dolls...embroidering the faces on the guinea pig dolls and stitching their ears on. And that new loom doll that looks like it wants to be a lamb...And there are always baby hats to finish and trim out with buttons or crocheted posies...

Then there is the wall piece i started for my granddaughter Lola, who loves the song: "Mary Wore Her Red Dress" by Raffi. And the sock and glove doll ideas i have as well as my beanbag patterns....

Not to mention the paintings that are already started on paper, as well as the ones i am formulating in my mind....Doesn't it seem that there are not enough hours in the day sometimes???

Homie

This was a special order painting of a beloved bird who flew to Heaven all too soon....

New Painting

A Chickadee..my favorite bird at the feeders

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring...It's not the prettiest of days, but it's Spring none the less. It is very chilly out there (38 degrees at this moment) and very wet and overcast. Still, I love this time of year. My favorite seasons have always been Spring and Autumn. I always have this feeling of excitement and anticipation, of good things to come. Actually, the Winter this year wasn't so bad. Still i look forward to it's end. I love my little gardens that have been with me for all these years we have lived at this house. I am anxiously waiting to see what will come back up after all the construction going on here these last 3 years, and what we have lost to wear and tear. Regardless of all the mess and construction, i see little blades of green pushing up thru the muddy ground...Little snowdrops, bluebells, and tiger lilies pushing thru. No matter how many times they were stepped on, or had debris piled on top of them, they never seem to give up. A good example for us all....

Today i hope to get some heavy duty Spring Cleaning done around here. With three dogs, and a wheelchair with heavy tire treads, and all that mud, you can imagine what kind of work needs to be tackled! I also hope to slip up into my studio to straighten up there and get some work done for my daughter Katie's store, and for the upcoming fundraiser my Sister Sandy is running in April. I need to finish up some dolls i started for the shop, and make some jewelry for the tea/fund raiser. Oh and finish up the baby blanket, and the baby hats, and the loom knitted guinea pigs for the grand-nephews who will all be at my Mother's house for Easter Egg decorating on Friday morn.... Time to get to work!