9 x 12 in.
I’m in a show opening here in L.A. this Saturday, August 2nd! Titled
"get the lead out", the opening reception is from 7 - 10:30 pm at Black Maria Gallery.
With many deadlines arriving at once this past month, I only had
time to submit one piece to the show, and here she is Ruby and her
feathered friends. The show features mostly the works of many talented
artists in pencil. Since detailed pencil drawings are not my present
style, I was still invited to submit a painting accompanied by a sketch
that lead up to the painting.
I realize that you might not actually know how I arrive at my
designs, so this is a good opportunity to share a little of that
process with you, also one of the main intentions for the theme of this
particular art show. As it turns out all of my paintings begin in pencil,
sometimes with a rough, very loose sketch in a sketchbook and sometimes
with the same loose sketch right on the wood panel. I tend not to want
to invest a lot of details and time into a sketch. I’d rather invest
that in the original painting. If you look closely at any of my
originals you might see hints of pencil peeking through the paint. Many
times the pencil lines become part of the what creates the personality
of the characters. Not something I can plan, it just happens. It’s just
how the mediums choose to combine on that given day.
So here’s my sketch below. Flip through any of sketchbooks and
you’ll find them filled with simple line drawings like this one. And
above you can see the finished painting which includes pencil, conte
crayon, acrylic and paper.
It looks like a fabulous show, featuring a great collection of
talented L.A. artists. And might I also add in continuation again of
last Friday’s topic regarding art. My "cute" painting is in a show
accompanying many styles of art, including a wonderful piece of a
skeleton with two heads. So you see, we can all co-exist combining to
make for a very eclectic and compelling show.
I’m not yet sure if I will be attending the opening this Saturday,
but if I do maybe I’ll see you there! In the meantime, you can get a
sneak preview of all the pieces right here.
happy creative thursday to you!!
...almost forgot to tell you that I have added "we all flock to Ruby" over as a print at Etsy.
4 x 4 in.
Today is turning out to be quite a creative day. I intentionally set
it aside to get some painting done, and I’m happy to report that the
creative juices are flowing. I’m wondering if maybe the earthquake
literally shook some things loose. Maybe it’s that little reminder that
life is precious and half of what we worry about is pointless, that we
should just enjoy ourselves more. Honestly in the last 10 days I’ve had
enough reminding of this concept to last me a bit. I get it. Really I
do. Ever since the news about David, life has been feeling momentarily
more delicate. I forgot to tell you that surfing was a bit of a scare
for me on Sunday. I had a good time, especially the coffee and
breakfast part of the day, but let’s just say I was held under the
water a little longer than I would’ve liked when a set of 3 HUGE waves
appeared out of nowhere and crashed right where I was, which caused my
leash (the plastic connector between your ankle and your surf board
that keeps your board from flying off without you) which in this
particular instance I would’ve preferred that it fly away without me
attached. The leash tangled itself in several loops tightly around my
ankle and when the wave hit, my board yanked me under water, forcefully
dragging me by my ankle. I think the rush of fear kept me from taking a
deep enough breath and when I finally came up for air, I didn’t think I
could’ve stayed under a moment longer. I did what you did when you fall
of a horse, I got right back on the surf board and went out again. And
all was fine until I came in and due to another powerful wave, the fin
on the bottom of the board nailed my upper thigh, where now I have a
black (there’s no blue in there) bruise the size of a lemon. At least
it hit the most "padded" part of my body. And luckily I surf with boys
who sympathized with me and then reminded me that this kind of thing
comes with the territory and getting pummeled by waves "is not really
too big a deal". That’s when you realize that we girls don’t always
learn how to take a "fall" the way boys can. The waves and I have since
made peace and I still LOVE my surfing. You decide in life that it’s
worth whatever "risk" to do what brings you the most joy. And I decide
to go in the ocean and I decide to live in California, big waves,
earthquakes and all. It is still SO worth it. All I’m saying really,
the point of this long paragraph. Moments like these can really make
you feel ALIVE ~ and I’d much rather feel ALIVE than AFRAID. I GET it.
Endless appreciation for my life every day.
And that’s one reason why I’m especially appreciating painting in my
studio today (no waves and hopefully no earthquakes at the moment)
I’m working on paintings for an upcoming show and this tiny girl
appeared. I am calling her Helen. And the title of today’s painting
began as "My name is Helen" and then I was listening to my party
shuffle on ITunes, (I’m a big song "shuffler") "The 59th Street Bridge
Song" by Simon and Garfunkel came on and suddenly Helen was "feelin'
groovy". And she needed a little yellow apron with flowers to wear in
her grooviness. I leave you with another excerpt of the lyrics from the
song that inspired this painting.
"Life I love you, all is GROOVY."
(original is sold)
We’re just FINE!
Ok, as I’m sure you know the news tends to sensationalize a bit. I
don’t think that I was in the strongest part of, but I DID feel it. And
this being my third earthquake, I have to say it was rather exciting.
Really, you’d almost have no idea an earthquake had happened as I
continued my errands out in Los Angeles today. I kept having to ask
people "did you feel the earthquake?" and most did and some people
didn’t feel a thing, and some people looked at me like maybe I was just
a tad too "enthusiastic" about the experience. If you’re not a
Californian, I think that you have to realize that people here are used
to them, and those who’ve been through them before, especially the big
Northridge quake in 1994 (which I was not here for), don’t panic over
these kinds of smaller quakes.
The funny thing is that I was at lunch with my new friend, Amber.
I had planned on introducing you to Amber here on my blog, just not in
conjunction with an earthquake. But ten minutes into meeting each other
for the first time, we shared a salad and an earthquake outside at The Grove.
By the time we realized what was happening, it was over, as is common
for earthquakes, usually just lasting a few seconds. We did both look
up at the huge two-story glass windows we were sitting by ~ wondering
when and if we should move away from the glass that might break above
us. But it turned out not to be a concern, and we calmly went on with
our lunch, after our adrenalin rush settled down.
And it turned out to be such a great lunch and visit. This is yet another story of a friend I’ve met via the internet. I "met" Amber through Etsy when I bought some of her beautiful wood creations, the sweet little houses in the photo above. Amber’s other identity is Woodmouse.
She makes the most charming wood toys and sculptures. I instantly fell
in love with her house series and could literally line them up
endlessly in my home.
When I bought the houses, Amber asked if she could sculpt some of my
characters for me in wood. She often takes on commission pieces. And
these are what she came up with. Aren’t they fantastic?!!! I LOVE them.
I think she did a perfect job capturing the spirit of lewis, olive and
oscar. I brought them home with me today where they now happily reside
in my studio.
All I can say is Amber is as sweet as her creations. An
entrepreneur, (she has quite a few accomplishments under her belt that
she is incredibly humble about), a stay at home mom, a talented artist
and another thoughtful, lovely creative spirit who I am excited to say
shares the same city as me ~ as this way we can have more in person
visits, hopefully minus the earthquakes. You can learn more about Amber
over at her blog, and purchase her creations here at her Etsy shop.
And...psst...she let me in on an exciting secret today, and all I will
say is if you fall in love with something at her shop, I’d probably buy
it right away!
so great to meet you Amber!!!
(and those of you in internet land, thanks for checking in on me ;))
On the heels of Friday’s post,
I just want to say that to be able to add joy to someone’s home,
especially the rooms of the little ones ~ this is one of the reasons I
do what I do.
One of my early and now fiercely loyal Etsy
customers is Mandy. Recently she sent me photos of her sweet little
girl, Meta’s room. Mandy was putting this collection together last
year, just before Meta arrived. There’s nothing better than actually
seeing your art hanging in someone’s home, or as I always like to call
it, viewing art in it’s "natural habitat". And connecting with Mandy is
another reason I love what I do. Mandy is one of the nicest people I’ve
"met" through the internet. Her emails just spill over with such a
genuinely joyful spirit, it’s infectious. She has been and continues to
be such a wonderful customer. I can’t thank her enough for all of her
support.
A mom to Jett and Meta (in the photo above), Mandy is also a fellow
entrepreneur. She owns an adorable online shop featuring clothing for
small children, called Night Owl Baby and a gourmet popcorn business with her twin sister in Indianapolis called Just Pop In.
And are you challenging yourself as an artist?
It was not my Friday morning plan to write a long blog post, but I couldn’t help myself. I was over at Holly’s blog this morning and saw a post she wrote yesterday, about the recent tea towel show
I was in. Within the comments is a very interesting discussion going on
in response to a comment from Pippa Rex. And I felt compelled to share
it here with you and also offer up my thoughts on this subject, as I
was one of the artists in this show with bears and birds and cuteness
in my creations. And really you might wonder about this yourself in
regards to my style of creating and also in the art world in general.
It’s a really wonderful topic and another reason I love blogging so
much, because we get to have these kinds of honest and insightful
"talks" with one another in such an open forum.
So here goes, a very long post for today. The comment from Pippa Rex:
"Now I am not just talking about these tea towels but I have to
finally say this as you finished your post by talking about the risks
taken in the art world. Does it not bother you that most of the "art"
posted here and on other design blogs is all the same. It seems to me
that there is an awful lot of silhouette trees and birds, childlike
drawings of little girls and bears etc and they are all done by various
artists. I guess that I think that there is little risk there. I read
your post about how peoples houses are all becoming silimarly decorated
(How many "Keep calm and carry on" posters can this world handle? I
feel the same is true of this "art" world. When did art stop being
controversial or at least personnal. Is this form of art really not
just craft?"
My response:
"Hi Holly ~ thanks so much for sharing and Maya, again thanks for
inviting me to participate in this show. I am truly loving this
discussion via the comments. So thanks to, to Pippa for bringing it up.
Since I am one of the artists of the show and you can clearly see my
towel in the images above with both a bear and a bird (and good lord,
another owl!) on it and cuteness just dripping from it, I feel inspired
to share my thoughts here.
The funny thing for me is that a) I never thought I would make a
living as a painter and b) I never at all thought about letting
"cuteness" especially with animals be my subject matter. In fact one of
my favorite stories to tell is that my photography teacher in college
told me once that "cute doesn’t sell". The style that I presently work
in developed all on its own. I just remember trying to paint a
character for a show theme a group of us had almost 3 years ago now and
that was so much fun, it inspired me to go further, and challenge
myself with creating characters, because it was something I didn’t
think I could do. Then through the process of daily painting more and
more of them literally kept appearing in my paintings.
It was like a creative faucet had turned on and it couldn’t stop.
And I would ask myself the same question, "I mean really, can I paint
another bear or a bird?" but the truth is I couldn’t help myself. And
looking back at my childhood and what I created even then, the
attraction to cute has been there from the beginning. And every time I
try to push myself in a new direction, it feels forced. So these kinds
of childlike drawings embodying a certain innocence, joy, hopefulness,
simplicity~ they represent the truest part of me right now at this time
in my life.
From a small business perspective, it is convenient that these
themes are trendy right now. I have even been asked by galleries to
paint them because they are "what sells". And I have to be honest and
say that as an artist who makes a living with their art, I am always
walking that fine line of, "is this my true inspiration and is this
something that will sell?". So there is a part of me that wants my work
to sell because I love what I do so much and I want to keep doing it,
and there is a part of me that is always trying to challenge myself and
ask the questions you are asking, especially because I pride myself on
not making decisions based solely on financial survival, and most
importantly I also want to keep growing as an artist. Somewhere in the
middle is where my creations find their voice.
I am also continuously influenced by the art that inspires me and am
often interpreting and incorporating what I see in the world around me,
into my own art. I do think that while we see a lot of the same themes
as you mentioned with "birds, animals and childlike drawings" in art
and featured in the world of design and design blogs ~ there’s a reason
that it is received so well. I feel that there is a present theme of
happiness, and beauty among many of the artists creating work today,
and I think people are in search of more of that in their lives and
this kind of work, and the design blogs that feature it are reflecting
that back to them. It happens to be the art I personally collect,
because I too want more happiness in my every day. And I when I look
around my home and feel uplifted by what I see, it feels so good. When
I travel the internet and visits beautiful blogs like this one, I feel
good. It’s that simple. I just want to feel good more of the time.
I often feel that "controversial" art is from a pushed place of the
mass idea that somehow "art isn’t good unless it’s controversial".
There are artists for whom controversy is their true voice and you can
tell that it’s genuine and compelling and interesting. In the same way
that artist’s who paint sweeter, less controversial images are either
faking it because it’s popular, or it’s also their true voice. Either
way I find that genuine art in any form speaks to most people. And
really in regards to taking "risk", ANYONE who is willing to create
ANYTHING and share it with the world....now that is truly RISK. Every
time I put something I make out into the world, it feels risky to me.
Every time I wonder how will this be received? Even writing this
comment, I wonder. And then I remind myself that however it is received
is ok, and that all I am asking from myself is that I be satisfied with
what I put out into the world. I really just want to keep creating from
my heart and let that be what continues to call me forward.
Which, in closing I have to say that translating my style and my
characters to a tea towel for this show, was challenging and so much
fun ~ it opened me up to a whole new world of creating that I am just
at the beginning of. "
The photo above is me painting at my grandparents home in Germany,
when I was 15. I loved it then, and I love it now. And you see I’m
painting roses. :)
3 x 2 in.
It was time for some new tiny ones. I photographed these today,
arranged on my "to do" list. Mostly the week has been filled with a lot
of the "less than fun work"combined with an obviously lower spirit than
usual, but today my spirit is resurfacing and I knew it was time for
some creativity. So painting preceded to happen right on the "to do"
list. And now back to the list.
You can find these tiny originals over at Etsy.
wishing a happy creative thursday ~
6 x 8 in.
My second post over at the new blog! This painting was a special
gift for Sean’s brother Kerry and his wife Gabby. This is their
adorable, and oh so sweet daughter Saoirse (pronounced Seersha ~ a
beautiful Irish name) who just turned two this month. I painted this
from a photo taken of her just last year. I thought you would enjoy
seeing this little cutie and also seeing a very different painting
style. It’s always fun and challenging for me to mix it up a bit with
the painting process.
I have to say I’m already excited about my the capabilities and ease
of my new blog platform, my new, new blog platform as of August 10, 2008....so I’ve got big plans...always big plans...:)
I meant to say on my anniversary post, that I never imagined blogging would be so much FUN. I *heart* blogging!!!

4 x 4 in.
Today is a very special day. It is my official two year anniversary of the Creative Thursday blog. So I’m changing the tone back to joy today, and I thank you immensely for all your kind comments and thoughts from yesterday’s post.
This is my chance to tell you again how much I appreciate all of you who visit this blog and to those of you who comment so frequently, that I have the pleasure of knowing a little more each time I hear from you, you feel like my extended circle of friends.
I still can’t begin to express in words the joy I feel when I create these paintings. And I feel so lucky every day to live this creative life. I will repeat what I wrote in my daily painting email today ~ Creating these paintings and sharing them with you is a highlight in my day. Thank you for continuing to join me on the journey.
(original is sold)
If you know me personally or have been following the blog for quite a while, then you may know that I was married before, and the first 11 years of my adult life were spent along side Art Haedike. I don’t mention it much, as it’s personal and between us, and this blog is mostly about my creations and my present life experience over the last two years now ~ but my marriage was a wonderful one in so many ways mostly because of the person I was married too, yet life sometimes still manages to take us in different directions. I am however endlessly grateful for the time we spent together, and also for the Haedike and Landess family, who made me feel a welcome part of their family from the first moment I met them.
Yesterday, I learned from my ex-husband, Art, that his brother, David, passed away unexpectedly on Friday. He was only 32 years old and leaves behind two children of his own.
It is at this point of the post that I am simply at a loss for words. The shock of this sudden tragedy is settling in and my heart is breaking for Art and his family. I can’t begin to put into words anything other than the fact that David was one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. So in some small form, this post is my way of remembering such a humble, gracious and beautiful spirit. I chose the photo above, that shows David on the right side, because it was a photo where David wasn’t posing and it happened to capture what I remember about him most ~ his soft, loving presence and his sweet smile.
I have debated whether or not to share anything regarding this here with you, but decided that I would ~ as we can never be reminded enough to appreciate our loved ones, to appreciate the life we are living, to slow down and live fully in every moment and to tell the people we love how much we love them as often as we can. It’s never too soon or too late to share with those close to us, how much they mean to us.
I also didn’t feel like I could post on my blog this week as if nothing had happened, because no matter how much joy I want to share here (and that is one of my main intentions with this blog), this is still an honest slice of my life, and at the moment my heart is saddened and reflecting once again on all that is truly important to me. Also for my family and friends who may keep up with me here at the blog, especially those of you had the chance to meet David, I thought you would want to know as well. So please send loving thoughts to the Haedike family and hug those you love a little tighter today.
4 x 4 in.
Can’t really tell on this one, who is taking advantage of the photo opportunity ~ is it the little blue bird or the baby bear?
Ok then, the concert on Tuesday night was so much fun that it exhausted me just a little. And let me just say that it was AMAZING when they sang "Fix You" (from their X & Y album) and all 18,000 people, myself included sang it back to them. What that must be like to know that your art, in this case your music speaks to so many people that they can sing all the words back to you at your own concert......
When you try your best, but you don’t succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can’t replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home,
And ignite your bones,
And I will try to fix you,
High up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth
Lights will guide you home.
(an excerpt from the lyrics to "Fix You" by Coldplay)
That last line speaks to me every time.
So I didn’t make it back here yesterday as I had hoped, but my heart was full and today I did manage to squeeze in a little creativity among errands and a trip to the dentist (my mouth is finally returning back to normal after the numbness). I don’t know about you but it really feels like summer and I think that the relaxation from vacation and taking some down time is still present, which is a good thing. I’ve been feeling tired and I’ve been giving into it. I’ve also in general been moving at a much slower pace and taking time, especially to visit and catch up with friends and I have to say it feels really nice. Which I have to take a moment to mention here, if you like wine and delicious food and a nice but not too pretentious atmosphere, and you’re here in LA ~ add a relatively new restaurant to your list to visit. My good friend Nancy made the discovery, and it’s called Tasca wine bar, on 3rd street in West Hollywood. As a business owner I truly appreciate any business that takes great care and pride in their business down to every last, tiny detail. And as a great lover of food wine, I’m happy to report that this restaurant is above and beyond in both of these categories, not to mention that our waiter shared the same passion for food and wine. He also let us take our time and linger, which in LA can sometimes be a rare phenomenon. So that' all here for today. I hope you had a good Creative Thursday. I’m off to keep the mellow feelings going with my favorite yoga class, with Coldplay blasting on my car radio I’m sure.
Also I want to leave you in particular with this part of those same lyrics ~
"But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth."
Whatever it might mean to you today, I say...........Go and try!!!!!
(original is sold)

6 x 6 in.
SO excited about this painting series idea I came up with today, I have little knots in my stomach. Did you know that I get that excited sharing daily paintings with you? I do. It’s like I’m a little kid who created something new and can’t wait to show it to somebody as soon as possible, (just ask Sean). And if he’s not here, ask the cats.
Speaking of Anthropologie...not only am I constantly inspired by that store, but I get excited every time a catalog shows up in the mail. In fact I’ve been saving them for a quite a while as a reference for painting ideas that pop into my head when I immerse myself in the pages, of a catalog for goodness sakes. What other catalog do you know of that you could actually "immerse" yourself in? Today, I decided to act on one of my many painting ideas, and then I thought it would be really FUN for me to do a series called the "Anthropologie Series". Now I don’t know for sure whether they will be painted one right after the other, but there will be a number of them and today’s is officially #1. This one also includes paper from a special remnant pack of papers (much like the sweet treats) I discovered at one of my favorite local stores, Soolip, which has some of the most creative and almost decadent paper and stationery selection.
Alrighty then, I’m also excited because I’m going to see one of my favorite bands in concert later tonight. Coldplay, LOVE them!!!! Truthfully, I’m enamored with almost every single song they play. Their music is often playing in the background during my creative time. In early celebration of a fun evening, I’m taking the rest of the day off. See you back here tomorrow ~ wishing you a happy Tuesday!
(click here to buy original)
*Edit* Creative Thursday, I don’t know how this happened again, but for some reason my comments were shut off. They’re officially back on! Oh Technology...some days, I tell you.
soma
buy soma
order soma
cheap soma
discount soma
buy cheap soma
soma online
soma order
buy soma online
cheap soma online
generic soma
buy carisoprodol
order carisoprodol
carisoprodol online
cheap carisoprodol
vardenafil
buy vardenafil
order vardenafil
cheap vardenafil
discount vardenafil
buy cheap vardenafil
vardenafil online
vardenafil order
buy vardenafil online
cheap vardenafil online
generic vardenafil
finasteride
buy finasteride
order finasteride
cheap finasteride
discount finasteride
buy cheap finasteride
finasteride online
finasteride order
buy finasteride online
cheap finasteride online
generic finasteride
sildenafil
buy sildenafil
order sildenafil
cheap sildenafil
discount sildenafil
buy cheap sildenafil
sildenafil online
sildenafil order
buy sildenafil online
cheap sildenafil online
generic sildenafil
sildenafil citrate
lasix
buy lasix
order lasix
cheap lasix
discount lasix
buy cheap lasix
lasix online
lasix order
buy lasix online
cheap lasix online
generic lasix
tadalafil
buy tadalafil
order tadalafil
cheap tadalafil
discount tadalafil
buy cheap tadalafil
tadalafil online
tadalafil order
buy tadalafil online
cheap tadalafil online
generic tadalafil
tadalafil citrate
propecia
buy propecia
order propecia
cheap propecia
discount propecia
buy cheap propecia
propecia online
propecia order
buy propecia online
cheap propecia online
generic propecia
soma
buy soma
order soma
cheap soma
discount soma
buy cheap soma
soma online
soma order
buy soma online
cheap soma online
generic soma
buy carisoprodol
order carisoprodol
carisoprodol online
cheap carisoprodol
vardenafil
buy vardenafil
order vardenafil
cheap vardenafil
discount vardenafil
buy cheap vardenafil
vardenafil online
vardenafil order
buy vardenafil online
cheap vardenafil online
generic vardenafil
finasteride
buy finasteride
order finasteride
cheap finasteride
discount finasteride
buy cheap finasteride
finasteride online
finasteride order
buy finasteride online
cheap finasteride online
generic finasteride
sildenafil
buy sildenafil
order sildenafil
cheap sildenafil
discount sildenafil
buy cheap sildenafil
sildenafil online
sildenafil order
buy sildenafil online
cheap sildenafil online
generic sildenafil
sildenafil citrate
lasix
buy lasix
order lasix
cheap lasix
discount lasix
buy cheap lasix
lasix online
lasix order
buy lasix online
cheap lasix online
generic lasix
tadalafil
buy tadalafil
order tadalafil
cheap tadalafil
discount tadalafil
buy cheap tadalafil
tadalafil online
tadalafil order
buy tadalafil online
cheap tadalafil online
generic tadalafil
tadalafil citrate
propecia
buy propecia
order propecia
cheap propecia
discount propecia
buy cheap propecia
propecia online
propecia order
buy propecia online
cheap propecia online
generic propecia
I thought I’d get around to creating something to share with you today, but it’s now the end of the day and other projects that needed finishing took priority. But I did want to pop in and say hello and leave you with a little something pretty on this summer Monday. Pretty, delicate roses seated on a beautiful tea towel from Anthropologie that I gave to Jan as a gift earlier this year. I know inspiration for my recent creations definitely found their beginnings here. It’s funny how things make impressions on us and we forget about them only until they reveal themselves much later in our own creations.

4 x 4 in.
I’ve been wanting to paint a koala bear for some time now. I just couldn’t seem to get them the way I wanted, but these two have won my heart today. This mama and her baby bear will also be living over at Etsy as a print, because I think they would make an especially nice match to the pandas! No little anecdote today, just wishing you a very happy friday. And if you are in the Cincinnati area tonight, the opening of the Mad Tea Towel Party is happening! At Nicholas Gallery, 23 E. Court St. Cincinnati, OH, from 6 - 10 pm.

There’s my tea towel at the bottom, waiting to be hung ~

wishing you a happy weekend too!
(original is sold)

A big chunk of inspiration on my trip, was found on a visit with Jan, (Sean’s step mom, who we absolutely adore!) to the Pincushion Boutique in Davis, California. As you may guess from the name this boutique is all about sewing, and features a selection of fabrics that was endless, each one more fabulous than the next. The good news is that one of their specialties are these "sweet treats". Each one is a thoughtfully packaged, color coordinated combination of 8 fat-quarter cuts of fabric, neatly folded and bundled, tied with a pretty ribbon and labeled with titles like, "Ah-Refreshing", "Bug’s Eye View" and "A Carriage Through London". Sweet treats they are indeed. I couldn’t choose between them all, so I brought home 5 bundles, and the best part is that every Thursday, they list new ones for sale on their website. So if you don’t live in Davis, you can purchase them too!! Oh, have I mentioned how much I LOVE the internet?
And the other part of the story that I want to share is that this idea for the "sweet treats" was born out of a slow time at the Pincushion Boutique’s old store location. The Pincushion is a family owned business with 3 generations of women working there. I had the pleasure of meeting Mary who is the daughter of the founder. Mary’s mom came up with the idea of the "sweet treats" because in the summer time when all the students leave town (Davis is home to the University of California, Davis) their business slowed way down. They needed a way to generate a little extra income and "sweet treats" it was. Now a huge seller, Mary even designs quilting patterns using the fabrics and sizing of the sweet treats as a base.
I wanted to share these with you because a) for my creative sewing visitors, the fabrics are gorgeous and b) I know that some of you may worry about these "slower" economic times but the truth of the matter is that people make money in every kind of economy and those that succeed even when times appear "slower" are those that use those times as an opportunity to create something new, to solve a problem for themselves and/or their customers. Since I seem to be leaving little anecdotes in my blog posts these days, this is one for today. And tomorrow (it’s still Wednesday as I post this on the California Coast time), on a Creative Thursday, head on over to sweettreat.com and pick up some fun fabrics. I can’t wait to show you some creations these have inspired for me just in the last few days! All this talk of sweets... I am now craving some dessert. The lemon bars Erika made are calling me, so I’ll see you tomorrow!

soma
buy soma
order soma
cheap soma
discount soma
buy cheap soma
soma online
soma order
buy soma online
cheap soma online
generic soma
buy carisoprodol
order carisoprodol
carisoprodol online
cheap carisoprodol
vardenafil
buy vardenafil
order vardenafil
cheap vardenafil
discount vardenafil
buy cheap vardenafil
vardenafil online
vardenafil order
buy vardenafil online
cheap vardenafil online
generic vardenafil
finasteride
buy finasteride
order finasteride
cheap finasteride
discount finasteride
buy cheap finasteride
finasteride online
finasteride order
buy finasteride online
cheap finasteride online
generic finasteride
sildenafil
buy sildenafil
order sildenafil
cheap sildenafil
discount sildenafil
buy cheap sildenafil
sildenafil online
sildenafil order
buy sildenafil online
cheap sildenafil online
generic sildenafil
sildenafil citrate
lasix
buy lasix
order lasix
cheap lasix
discount lasix
buy cheap lasix
lasix online
lasix order
buy lasix online
cheap lasix online
generic lasix
tadalafil
buy tadalafil
order tadalafil
cheap tadalafil
discount tadalafil
buy cheap tadalafil
tadalafil online
tadalafil order
buy tadalafil online
cheap tadalafil online
generic tadalafil
tadalafil citrate
propecia
buy propecia
order propecia
cheap propecia
discount propecia
buy cheap propecia
propecia online
propecia order
buy propecia online
cheap propecia online
generic propecia
soma
buy soma
order soma
cheap soma
discount soma
buy cheap soma
soma online
soma order
buy soma online
cheap soma online
generic soma
buy carisoprodol
order carisoprodol
carisoprodol online
cheap carisoprodol
vardenafil
buy vardenafil
order vardenafil
cheap vardenafil
discount vardenafil
buy cheap vardenafil
vardenafil online
vardenafil order
buy vardenafil online
cheap vardenafil online
generic vardenafil
finasteride
buy finasteride
order finasteride
cheap finasteride
discount finasteride
buy cheap finasteride
finasteride online
finasteride order
buy finasteride online
cheap finasteride online
generic finasteride
sildenafil
buy sildenafil
order sildenafil
cheap sildenafil
discount sildenafil
buy cheap sildenafil
sildenafil online
sildenafil order
buy sildenafil online
cheap sildenafil online
generic sildenafil
sildenafil citrate
lasix
buy lasix
order lasix
cheap lasix
discount lasix
buy cheap lasix
lasix online
lasix order
buy lasix online
cheap lasix online
generic lasix
tadalafil
buy tadalafil
order tadalafil
cheap tadalafil
discount tadalafil
buy cheap tadalafil
tadalafil online
tadalafil order
buy tadalafil online
cheap tadalafil online
generic tadalafil
tadalafil citrate
propecia
buy propecia
order propecia
cheap propecia
discount propecia
buy cheap propecia
propecia online
propecia order
buy propecia online
cheap propecia online
generic propecia

6 x 8 in.
Did I mention that my closet fell apart? Yup, the bar that held up all my hanging clothes fell right before I went on vacation and to be honest I haven’t had a chance to fix it yet. That and I’m a renter so I’m having issues with the idea of fixing it myself, which my landlord seems to think is appropriate. That and I’d rather paint. And the point of me telling you this? Is that yesterday when I was gazing at my colorful array of clothes neatly hanging outside of my closet on a temporary garment rack, I noticed this pink and orange and red color combination on one of my skirts that instantly inspired this painting, new character Serena and all. You see! (I remind myself) there’s inspiration in every experience if you just take a moment to stop and notice or in today’s soon to be overused, but still so true vernacular, "be present".
(original is sold)
Serena is now available as a print over at Etsy.

I think... We’ve returned from a really wonderful vacation visiting our families in Northern California and Oregon. This is a self-portrait of a reflection of Sean and I standing on a deck overlooking a valley in Ashland, Oregon having wine and listening to a jazz band play a Miles Davis compilation on one of those glorious summer evenings, where the light lasts forever and the air is soft. It was in fact SO nice to be away, that what we are calling "re-entry" back into our regular lives has felt harder than usual this time. It’s probably because it’s the longest time we’ve been away from it all in a quite a while. We also had hours upon hours of thoughtful and inspiring conversations about life, with people we love coupled with generous time and space to think about what was, what is and what’s next. But it may also be because we saw our dream house in Oregon, and now we’re beginning to wonder if the heart of Los Angeles is really the place we want to call home. So if anyone knows of a piece of property like this, here on the West coast, with rolling hills, horses, a vineyard, and close proximity to the ocean, a farmer’s market, and an Anthropologie, please let me know!

In the meantime, I hope many of you had a fun, fireworks filled holiday weekend ~ I will say that among many things, the vacation definitely delivered by re-freshing and re-inspiring all things creative. In fact I have so many ideas up my sleeve, I can’t wait to share them with you. I’ll be back soon with some of the newest creations and as of today, I’m officially glad to be home and ready to go back to work!

7 x 5 in.
And happy 4th to those of you here in the states!! Today’s painting is a painted illustration on paper with acrylic, pencil and colored pencil. Just a little something different.
(click here to buy original)
« June 2008 | August 2008 »