Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Container Garden

A few friends have written and asked, "HEY! How does your garden grow? Where are all the garden photos this year? Honestly i am finding myself way behind schedule this year in just about every way. But i am catching up with myself day by day! There IS a container garden in the works, and here are a few photos i took just the other day.

As you step outside my back door into the dog's yard, and look to the right, you'll see my tubs with tomato plants and basil. (and Zinnia standing guard as always!)

We have some wee tomatoes forming on the plants here and there, but it will be a little while before we are picking and eating them. I hope this year we don't have to deal with the late blight we got hit with last year...


I am finding tho that i am dealing with another kind of blight...It's a little Jack Russell tomato plant eating pup named Rubin! So all the tomato plants are caged and various booby traps are set up to keep him from jumping into the tubs to dig them up!

tomato in the making....

This is not a very good picture but a while back in the early Spring i was at the market, and saw this wisteria in tree form! I couldn't resist it at the price they were asking. It was spindly(still is) but healthy and i planted it in the corner of the dog yard where it gets full sun. I am hoping i can keep it trimmed so that it remains in tree form and on the smaller size, to give the dogs some shade and add beauty to the yard.

When i first brought it home it was in rough shape, but i trimmed it up and there is a lot of new growth forming already!


From here if you turn around and face where you came from, you'll see the tiger lily bed, which the dogs have fun running thru and trampling...Maybe next year it will be less exciting to trash by the JR pups!


If you follow old Gipetto here (who just turned 17 on June 12th) you'll see more tubs and buckets of tomato plants and basil too...

Little Honey and the bins...

And here is my big bin full of lavender i planted last year after i lost the tomatoes to the blight. Only 3 plants made it thru the Winter but they returned to give me some lovely lavender flowers. I hope to dry the cuttings and make some sachets. The tomato cage laying in the bin is to discourage Rubie from jumping in and playing like he has his very own sandbox to dig in! Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll be updating these photos soon!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Bunny Love

I've been busy making bunnies! I bought this pattern from Barbara Prime's Fuzzy Mitten Etsy shop and i LOVE the little bunnies that have hopped out of my yarn bag while working with it.

The little lad on the left is Silvan (we call him Silly for short) And the little lady on the right is Goldie. Both are knit from a nice soft, fuzzy acrylic yarn and stuffed with polyfil.
Their faces are hand embroidered and i crocheted their clothes, so they have no small parts to come off and cause problems for little ones
So these little buns are safe for folks of all ages! Goldie is practicing her curtsey here...(I thought you would enjoy seeing their cute little tails ;)

Silly and Goldie are a bit floppy and squishy and so comfortable when hugged. They will be waiting in my Etsy shop, ready to go home with their new families. Hey! Maybe YOUR Family!!!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

A trip to the Garden Center

A few weeks ago we all piled into the car and took a ride out for lunch and to visit a local garden center
We shopped a bit after lunch and GG (Lola's Great Grandmother, Honey) bought her this beautiful flower crown
Here's Lola with her Mommy, Carly
When we got to the garden center, the flowers were so lovely that Lola had to go and sniff each and every one she could reach
all the while eating her lollipop

To the side of the garden center there was a beautiful koi pond


Lola could have stayed there all day just watching them

What a beautiful day we had....

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Pictures from The Marketplace Gallery Elemental Show

Ok, so i showed you the photos from the 4 Generations Show at The Paper Sparrow in the previous post. Now here are some photos from the Elemental Show at the Marketplace Gallery!

These paintings were very big, tho you can't tell by this picture. The artist is Laura Meyers and she lives in New York City. I liked these paintings very much...

There were many other paintings by various artists all around the gallery, and i was able to take a few pictures, but ran out of space in my camera...(next time i will be sure to download my previous shots before going out to take more...)

This painting was one done by the gallery owner, Samson Contompasis. It's huge! He also had some beautiful fused glass wall hangings and i bought one for myself...(more pictures to come)

And here are my paintings. Sam gave me a very generous space in this show. (Thank you so much Sam !) It was wonderful to stand back and watch people look at my work. One of my paintings sold that opening night!

This little girl and her Mom enjoyed the show and i was happy to see they liked my paintings too...

This was one of my favorite pieces at the show. Sam's Mother Jackie Brickman is a well known local artist, and she made this Pegasus pony just for the Elemental show

I think she was lovely with her feathers, star lights, and a jewel encrusted breastplate... If you live in the Albany area, stop in to visit the Marketplace Gallery and check out the local art scene! There is always something new and exciting to be discovered!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Pictures from the 4 Generations Art Show

Well, it seems these photos are Way Overdue! After getting ready and working hard to hang the two art shows, we had a few revelations, a series of doctor appointments, the passing of a very important and much loved family Matriarch, and i sort of crashed. I am just now getting to posting these pics of the shows! First i want to say thank you to everyone who showed up and made our 4 Generations show so special!

Here is the wall my daughter Katie put up. She took some of her favorite photographs and printed them out on fabric, cropped them and hung them in embroidery hoops. Her wall was awesome!

This is Mom's exhibit. She had the most paintings to hang so she had the biggest wall. Her work looked lovely as always!

More of Mom's work

Here's my wall

more of my wall

And here is Lola's wall. And to top it all off, Lola was the biggest seller of the show! Yay!!!

One of the people who showed up and totally surprised Mom and i was my sister Nancy, who came all the way from Florida to see our show. Thank you Nance! We love you!
Left to right: Nancy, Mom, me

And here she is, the star of the show, Miss Lola, smiling for the camera with her rose from Aunt Nancy! The 4 Generations show comes down on Tuesday, but the memories are forever!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Marketplace Gallery "Elemental" Art Show!

I can't believe i haven't posted in so long...not since the Three..I mean Four Generations Art show at The Paper Sparrow.(Lola added a few paintings to the mix and she was the top selling artist at The Paper Sparrow on Troy Night Out! YAY!!!!) I have pictures to post and stories to tell, but in the last week, my sister Nancy has surprised us with a visit, things have changed and "stuff" has happened, and it has kept me away from the computer.... Anyway, tomorrow night is First Friday in downtown Albany NY, and so is the opening for The Elemental Art Event at The Marketplace Gallery on 40 Broadway... I've included a picture of the poster for the show, and LOOK! My name is on the poster! This is so awesome! I feel so fortunate and Blessed to be included in this special show. If any of you are local and looking for something to do on a warm and wonderful Friday night, come on down and see us! I'll try to remember to take pictures there too!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

More Paintings for the Art Shows

" The Newborn"
watercolor, pencil

"Quince"
watercolor, pencil

"Used to be Sedona"
Acrylic and ink on paper

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Two Upcoming Art Shows!

"Spring Bouquet"
watercolor, pencil

Things have been moving along here at the Robinson house...slow but sure. Bill is recuperating from his surgery and i am becoming more confident with our new way of doing things every day... We are still pretty much home bound, which works out just fine for me, because this upcoming Troy Night Out is a special one for me and my family. My Mom, my daughter Katie and i are all sharing space in the gallery at The Paper Sparrow on River Street in downtown Troy NY for the May/June show! Mom and i will be showing our paintings, and Katie will be showing some of her photographs, combining mixed media and fiber art.

"Pot of Pansies"
watercolor

I have to admit, i have been so busy making knitted and crocheted toys, rosaries and jewelry, my painting had gotten a little rusty....This upcoming show has made me dust off my paint brushes and get back to work! The name of our show at The Paper Sparrow is "Three Generations", and opening night for the show will be on Troy Night Out, May 28th. Please stop by and say Hi!

"Beat of my Heart"
watercolor and colored pencil

But wait! That's not all! I have also been invited to enter a few pieces of my work in an upcoming show at The Marketplace Gallery in Albany NY!
"Just a little green..."
watercolor, mixed media, collage

I will be one of many local artists showing their work at the "Elemental" show, opening on First Friday, June 4th. The show will hang thru the month of June. This will be my first time showing my work at The Marketplace Gallery. Thank you Sam for giving me this great opportunity!

"As Above, So Below"
watercolor, salt, pencil

So i have been busy painting and matting and framing pieces...deciding what painting goes into what show....It feels good to get my creative juices going again!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

The Little Baker

Here's my Best friend Lola the Baker Girl, helping me bake our daily bread.

She LOVES to eat "Gumma Bread" but this is the first time she asked to help me make it...


She shaped it

and patted it...

and sprinkled the seeds on top... and then it went into the oven

Now it was time to make more bread dough

She stirred the flour, yeast, salt and water until she couldn't move the dough with a spoon any more..and then came the fun part...

In we go, hands first! First, you have to taste it....

then "squish and push it"...

then taste it again! I think Lola is just like her Grandmother...she likes the taste of the dough just as much as the finished product! This is going to be delicious bread!