The Continuing (not quite condensed version)

It's been a while ... we are paddling as fast as we can tho!  You just would NOT believe how many posts I write in my head.  I hope to pump up the frequency on the actual blog now that the painting of the studio is mostly completed.  I have so much I want to share!

So, here's a bit of a tour on the studio redo.  I still have a couple of window casings to paint in happy vibrant colors.  Then, moving Paul's shelf and painting the wall behind it will be the final frontier!  It is such a happy place to work in and I am just over the moon with the changes.  Knowing I have a show coming up October 7th & 8th will probably get me in gear for work, work, work!  There are always projects dancing around in my head.  I'm so hoping I can get them all out into art in the next few weeks.  We shall see!  I have to admit, I LOVE the adventure and suspense of seeing what actually comes into reality and what remains in vision and dreamland.  I have signed up for a course in trying to get better at this from concept to reality business.  It's an e-course, thankfully.  I'm worn out from trying to get up and dressed and out to school and I'm sure the cold weather will NOT help me with that in the least!  The E-course just seemed like a fine idea!  I'll give details later.

  All the fun colored paints I got to choose! In.Cred.i.ble.  This window casing will be turquoise by day's end, if all goes according to plan!  This is the far end wall of the studio.

 The opposite side of the studio ... The entryway is on the right of this screen door (pink door frame there). This screen is what I use to display these little inspirational signs at the shows.  It fits beautifully in this room.  Color is my thing, as you can see, I'm sure.

 This is my supply wall, more or less.  My work table is in front of this shelf stuff, so I basically just reach behind me for glue, tile, glass, tape, on and on.  I still have to set up my tile holder that goes on top of the green shelf (glad I saw that) ...

 Tiles and glass every where.  Oh, and plates to be smashed.  Everyone I know brings me broken stuff.  I love it!

 More stuff - paints, ribbon, marbles, packing supplies, tool kit, assorted boards, and cushions for the kitties, of course!

How it looks with the work table in the shot ...

A little corner of joy!  A Tammy Brinkley print, my wings!,  vintage sewing machine case (& yes, I do have the original Brother machine that goes in it, circa 1978 or so - twas Janine's) a print of a kitten and a vintage watering can, all atop my grandmother's phonograph, which still works!

 A new find! Glass mosaic from Teresa Hollmeyer, TOH Mosaic Art on facebook.  Her work is incredible and we inspiring for me!  I hope to get to take a technique class from her soon.  She is in Charlotte, so not too far away.  LOVE her work!

The beautiful mosaic hangs over the sofa.  This is where my friends hang out and encourage me to do my best work.  This window casing will be purple by the end of this weekend.  Um hum.  Sure will!  Just as a side note, the fact that all 3 of my fur balls were in this shot is amazing.  The older boys on the sofa are not fans of the little fella in the window, and the feeling is mutual in the other direction!  I think the "baby" thinks he is bigger than he is and doesn't realize he could be consumed in a single bite by one of these ginormous felines.  Well, you know what they say, "dynamite comes in small packages".  I know a little something about that! ;-)
 

 My inspiration wall.  The only thing missing is Jenni Horne's work.  I have to hang her work in the living part of the house because that is where it belongs.  Might be time for another piece! Anyway, here on this wall are all incredible art pieces that I love and have been created by amazingly talented women and one young man.  Mystele, Lisa Ferrante, Chrissie Grace, Tammy Brinkley and even one piece by my grandson, Christian!  Also a picture of my parents, my man and I, and a few other sentimental things to keep my calm and centered.

 My cutting table for the journal fabrics, boxes of fabrics for journals and some other stuff I can't figure out what to do with yet.  Also, Tammy's Cricuit machine, which I have a very special love for.  And I am very grateful to her for letting me store it here so I can use it as much as I do!!!

Love this gold in person! So vibrant and happy!

 The boxes covered by blankets are filled with stamps.  The blanket is for the kitties to sleep on.  It's cashmere! The corner cabinet has sewing things in it and the boxes on top of it have journal scrap book paper in them, as well as scraps and scraps of stuff I use for them.  The white cabinet is for journals, filled with trinkets, hole punches, scrabble letters, patterns, stickers, and all sorts of goodies!  On top of it is stuff I'm still struggling with where to put.  The far left has the very corner of the window which I can see the mountain from when I'm working at the table, and the sewing machine is atop a desk right there.  The green is Antibes chalk paint! SO BRIGHT! (if you haven't used chalk paint yet, it's a must!) Just don't have a good shot of it yet. But here is what I do have ...

My beautiful view for inspiration and gratitude sonnets!  From the shot I had to take, you see the wires and the roof top, but from my seated position, not so! Just the lush beauty.

On the right hand side is one of the thread holders.  I have 3 for sewing machine thread and about 10 plastic bins of serger bobbins.  (I have a separate sewing studio upstairs.  Just not enough room in here for the big stuff)!  The iron girl with the umbrella blowing in the wind is something Paul gave me when we were first dating!  It goes on a little post and swings in the breeze.  The problem here is, we don't have a breeze.  We have WIND ... and she keeps flying away.  So I put her here in a "fly free" zone.  The water color above the journal paper stuff is a piece my daughter, Jennifer did for me when she was about 7.  I love the colors and the piece.  I have had it for a really long time (like almost 30 years).  Above that is a fairy house Beth sent me from the beach and a little bird cage. The fairy house is designed for wishes to go in through the door.  I just love it!

And this, the final frontier, must be moved so I can paint the final wall (turquoise) and then we are complete! This all belongs to Paul.  He has moved his work area upstairs.  Hopefully we can finish this by the end of the weekend! But the man is working day and night ... we'll see!  YAY!

I am still trying to learn how to use the MAC. I do believe her name is Lucille if I am reading her history correctly.  That, however, is debate-able.  But I am calling her Lucille at any rate! She is such a lovely piece of equipment and I am quite smitten.  But it is different from the PC world and I don't think I know any kid who is available to show me the ropes.  I'm going to have to search for one of those and call him/her a tutor!  I have no idea how to get my photos into this process ... so I may have to switch to the PC. Good grief!

(I did, of course, switch for pictures.  But I did ALSO get some onto Lucille! PROGRESS!!  It only took about 4-1/2 hours to do this post!)

How do you like this groovy blue cast .... to address that subject ...
Photography class is going along with great gusto.  I am learning all kinds of things about my sweet little Canon Powershot that I've had for ages.  It's amazing how much information there is in a manual! Gracious plenty, I tell you!  Todd Bush (our instructor) is a very patient fella, and I am always very entertained by what he must be thinking by some of our questions.  He is a very talented and gifted and world known photographer and has gobs of work here in the area.  I wonder how I've taken all these pictures over the last couple of years without having most of the information I needed!  It's a fabulous tribute to the makers of point and shoots.  They manage to second guess the average user and make things "automatic" if you just don't want to know anything else.  Kudos to the many men & women who think in that vein and can write down information to help those of us who absolutely DO NOT understand that thought form! Thanks, you engineer types! Is that linear thinking that they do?  And if so, what is the thinking we artist types do?

Anyway, thanks to the authors of this handy little manual!

I was lucky enough last night to be available to attend a wonderful opening art show at the Avery Arts Council last night.  It's a joint effort between two wonderful women, Cindy Michaud & Fay Picardi, and it's called The Stones Speak.  It is an exhibit of art and poetry.  A wonderful exhibit so imaginatively displayed!  So, if you are in the area go to the Avery County Arts Council house behind the Hampton Store and check out the exhibit.  It's lovely, and it runs through the month of September.  And our very own Dan Greene was the musical entertainment last night, with his acoustic talent providing a perfect ambiance for the evening on the front porch of the Arts Council House.  (sounded fabulous, Dan!) What a delightful event.  The poetry reading was great fun, and meeting these two talented artists was especially noteworthy for me.  They are both as beautiful as their work.

Grinning Guitar Dan, who also broke out his fiddle!!

 Fiddle man, Dan!

So much fun to listen to and a perfect fit as we stood out in the Blue Ridge mountain air listening to the music that was created amongst these very mountains.

Fay, reading her poetry (sorry for the blurry shot)

The entranced group ... and Cindy, the artist, is sitting front left.  Sorry I was unable to photograph her face, but she and Fay were beautifully color co-ordinated.  And both filled with life and art.  Perfect!

Our precious friend and pottery instructor, Patti Connor Greene (website here) and her "improv girls" have their teapot show opening next Friday, the 9th of September in Burnsville at the Toe River Arts Council, 5 til 7 pm.  Go to see this show! These 3 incredible women are spectacular potters, and exquisite experienced teapot makers.  They all have such a unique individual style, each one being equally amazing!  I can't wait to see this show knowing the background of preparation.  For me it's been like watching a show come to life from the very concept of scribbled notes through the opening of the curtain.   It's the only way I can express the excitement I feel for them.  (see last post for the postcard of the event)

Speaking of Patti, she and Janine celebrated their birthdays in August, so here without further delay is our womens' night on the veranda to celebrate these two wonderful women and their awesome lives!

Janine (l) and Patti (r) - The Birthday girls!

Birthday girl Janine and sister Freddie Faye

 Girls' night on the veranda.  Some of them are hiding, but you get the idea.  Such goodness!  This is a table filled with good food, great wine, wonderful friendship, powerful women and more love than you can measure.  The experiences, stories, memories, giggles and tears that are tied in bundles inside these beautiful human beings are amazing.  I never understood my mom's special group of "girl friends" until the last 10 years or so.  Now I absolutely can embrace that gift.  Amazing women here.  l to r ... Freddie Faye, then there are the two Cindys ... Cindy (Scott) Preslar and Cindy Dooner (ladies, I hope I have spelled your names correctly), Beth Trott, Patti, who is very effectively hiding, and Janine.  And yes, we are indulging in chocolate lava cakes and cheese cakes, wine and other various forms of total decadence.  And we are all smiling!  Life is good!

So, off I go to paint a window casing turquoise and another purple, visit the art world with a bit of art, try to make a dent in the mountain of laundry, go to a celebration for the completion of Mark & Janine's construction projects and enjoy the Labor Day weekend.  My sweet Paul will be bar tending at an event at the Club and listening to a wonderful live band.  We try to enjoy ourselves, you know what I mean? ;-)

Blessings to all!