Birdsong & Blooms

Tonight is opening night! The paintings have been hung and I am ready. My solo exhibit will officially begin this evening at 7:00 as part of the First Friday Gallery Hop in downtown Winston-Salem, and I'm pretty excited about it! Fifteen pieces are in the show and are for sale... all small works, many 12 x 12s, some 8 x 10s and a couple 6 x 12s. And as the show's name suggests, each painting features a bird or flowers, as is appropriate for the dusky aqua blue walls of Imagine Flowers, a gorgeous little flower shop filled with fragrance, lovely vases, and all things pretty, related to flowers, of course. These pieces will hang for the month of June, and with luck, I'll make a sale or two; at least I sure am hoping so... fingers crossed.




Here's to a good show and to a sale or two... or more! Stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday: Early One Morning

Wordless Wednesday: Garden Flowers

Sunlit Sunday

Last night when I climbed into bed, it was still snowing. It'd been snowing on and off all day, sometimes with a little sleet mixed in, sometimes hard, sometimes gently, but it was definitely a grey, stormy day through and through. Though I was hoping for some clearing so that the full moon would shine and light up the night, that didn't happen... not until some time in the middle of the night.

This morning dawned cleared and cold... about 15 degrees when I got up at 7. What was the first thing I did, after dressing? Go outside in the ten-inch snow and try to get a few photos. So here you go...

Looking into the woods towards the lake...

Moore's Wall...

Our heavy-duty brake-rotor windchimes...

Amd just for a little artistic measure... a black and white...

Of Leaves and the Artist's Soul

As an artist, I am inspired by the colors of each season and as my husband remarked last fall, I am a "seasonal" painter. I tend to paint the colors of whatever season we are in. There are exceptions, of course... always exceptions to the rule... and sometimes no rules at all! I think this seasonal color palette of mine works its way into my jewelry as well. I don't typically pay attention to the Pantone colors for the upcoming season; instead I work with what I see around me, the colors of the earth and woods and sky in the current season. So here are a couple of new necklaces in the more subtle shades of winter... a little simpler than I usually do, but I kind of like them... what about you?

I'll be listing these on Etsy today.

The Soul of the Artist...



Whisper of Leaves...



Downtown Train...

Ah, the Joy of Curating!

Creating treasuries on Etsy is a very popular thing, and I must admit that I truly enjoy it. Finding a fabulous item that inspires you, or just using a color scheme or theme and then collecting other items to coordinate or help create a special feeling... well, it's just plain fun, and it's really its own art form. And it's a great way to showcase your favorite Etsy artists, teammates, friends, or sellers.

Here is the treasury that I posted last night. It features some of my favorite artists, friends, and teammates for Project Embrace.

And here are other treasuries in which I am currently featured.
Sunrise Watchers by Waterrose

Etsy for Autism by SandysCapeCodOrig

Ice Crystals by sisterstreasure

Once Upon a Time by SweetHeartStudio

Forever Spring by cyndiesmithdesigns

Tuesday's Treasures: For the Love of Dogs

We have been dealing with our sweet hound dog Bruschi and his seizures for about 15 months now. On Friday we had a very bad morning with six seizures between 5:15 and 7:30 am. These, of course, wore him out, but us as well. He wasn't able to get up on his feet for another three hours, and even then he was quite wobbly and had lost the ability to see, or at least the ability to process what he was seeing. He spent Friday afternoon through yesterday evening at the vet where she could monitor him while increasing his meds. He had a relaxed evening last night here at home, though it seems he is having to reacquaint himself with his surroundings and the routine. This morning he is resting comfortably on his dog bed, not far from the woodstove.

Since my focus of late has been on our sweet dog and the love and trust found in the bond between human and dog, this week's Tuesday's Treasures focuses on canines. As usual, you can click on the link to go directly to these Etsy shops. Hope you enjoy!

Black Lab and Angel Watercolor by watercolorqueen....

A very cool sculpture by Middleburg...

Retro modern print "Be Good While I'm Away" by kerrybeary...

One in a series of Shelter Dogs photographs by susansabophotography...

And finally, another cool sculpture, "Spirit Dog" by Kuzniart...

Until next week, hug your dog, cat, spouse, or friend often... and remember to buy handmade, shop Etsy!

Frozen Falls

While I was getting back into the rhythm of band practice yesterday afternoon, my husband took a little trip about a mile down the road from our house to the Lower Falls of Hanging Rock State Park. Since we've had about a ten-day long freezing cold spell, it was no surprise what he found there.




This is a lovely spot where we, on rare occasion, have enjoyed a bit of skinny-dipping during the warmer months. Here it shows the essence of winter. The good news is that at the end of this week, we are supposed to enjoy temperatures in the low 50s! Hallelujah... so looking forward to that!

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!

Just in time for a last-minute mailing for holiday gift-giving, this giveaway will be up and running through next Monday night, December 14. I will announce the winner on Tuesday and mail the package out that day. Here's what you can win!

Blue Moon... necklace and earring set. The deep-shades-of-blue necklace features a 3/4 inch cabochon of lapis, framed in sterling silver, and accented with a beaded strand of lampwork glass, sodalite, various faceted glass beads, sterling silver, and tiny cobalt blue seed beads. It is just a hair shy of 16 inches in length. The earrings feature matching beads and hang from cobalt blue niobium earwires, 1 1/2 inches from the top.




Here's what you do... visit my Etsy shop (see link at the right), choose your favorite item, then return here and leave a comment telling me what your favorite item is in the shop. You can earn an extra chance if you are a follower or by becoming a follower of my blog, by becoming a fan on my Facebook Fan page, or by purchasing something from my shop. A maximum of two chances per person is allowed.

Please be sure to leave your etsy shop name or your email address so that I know how to contact you if you are the winner!!

A Weekend of Art

Wow... it's going to be a busy weekend 'round here... full of artful happenings.

Tonight is the opening reception of Winter Showcase, an all-member show for the holiday season at Associated Artists in Winston-Salem, NC. It's going to be fantastic, I know, because I was there in the gallery on Tuesday helping to set up and I got a preview of all the fabulous art and gift shop items for sale! Along with the jewelry that I keep inventoried in the gift shop, I will have two paintings in the show. These are part of my Women in Seasons series and are named for women in my community of local friends.

Emily in Twilight Snow, 2009, is 24 x 36, and named for the mother of four children, the youngest being born in May of this year. She is the most natural mother I have ever met...

Julie's Spring Dance, 2009, is also 24 x 36, and named for one of the most jubilant, colorful, and vibrant women I know...


Also this weekend is a holiday bazaar at my little community church where visitors will find not only my jewelry and my smaller paintings and photographs, but also scrapbooks ready for personal use, notecards, ornaments, handknitted and crocheted goods, artwork by another fantastic artist, wine glass gift sets, custom-made knives, baked goods, gift certificates for local music lessons by two fabulous musicians, and lots more. This takes place on Sunday afternoon. Here are photos of a few things I will have for sale:

Aztec Morning... necklace and earring set...

Stormy Weather earrings...

Winter Roses bracelet and earring set...


And in between these two events, I will be with the band, working once again on recording and mixing original songs! So there will be little time to slow down, but it's going to fun, festive, and inspirational, and I'm looking forward to each part of the weekend.

And... one last thing... I am entered in the November Challenge on the Etsyveg Team blog, and I would love your vote, if you haven't yet voted. Click on this link to see the entries and vote. Thanks!

Hope you all enjoy a fabulous weekend as well... and if you're local, come check out Winter Showcase and our Holiday Bazaar at Danbury Community Church!

MY DESIGN WAS CHOSEN!

Yippee!! Time to celebrate! I posted back in September about the Art Unleashed fundraiser to benefit the Forsyth Humane Society. Click here to see that original post and find out about the fundraiser. I'd entered two designs this time around, and I just learned that one of them was chosen! They picked Scout in the Garden, and I am so excited! The design was based on my cat, who likes to lie around in the garden when I am working the dirt and weeding and planting, and on the flowers I grow and the scenery around my home. For the last fundraiser in 2008, I'd painted a dog sculpture, so this time it will be fun to do a cat... they are not quite as big either!

Here's the design I submitted and what I will follow once I pick up my form.



Forms and bases should be ready for pick-up in early January, so once the holidays are over, I'll be busy with this project. Stay tuned... I'll post images and descriptions as Scout in the Garden develops.