HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL FRIEND, BUFFY!

Aaahhhh!

A Lazy Susan - who says art work is just for the wall? Take it into the kitchen or use it on the table. Functional and fun!

This is my beach. This is where I go to regenerate. This is my sanctuary. I have been going to this beach since 1968. It is the beach which I measure all other beaches. I'm sure you have a place like this. . .I believe everyone needs a special escape pod.

At home, my escape pod is my studio. But when life hits that breakneck speed, and I feel like I just can't make it another day . . .this is where I go. I love to watch the storms in winter; I love to hear the waves constant rhythm; I love to smell the salt in the air.

Some of my best artwork is created at this beach. I walk through the door of our family beach house and my whole perspective changes. I feel the stress fall away and my creative brain jump starts.

And when I walk on the beach, I go back to my childhood and rock hunt. I can't help it. We used to look for agates - that was the treasure. Now it is sea glass and smooth stones. Sea glass is so hard to find now. I remember when we were kids, we thre the sea glass back - afterall, it was just glass. I mourn all the blue glass I tossed back. What was I thinking?

I love the look and feel of beach rocks - I have a whole collection of them. When I need to feel connected to the earth, I hold the rocks and rub them. There is power and magic in there simplicity.

Now for the advertisement portion of this post. At the end of the this month on the 25th of April I will participating in an Independent Sale called the Irvington Artisans Market. This is a show of some wonderful, talented and eclectic artisans. I participated in this last August and did some early Christmas shopping because of some of the wonderful, unique items that were there. This show will have the theme of Mother's Day. Yes - Mother's Day will be here before you know it and it would be wonderful to surprise your mom with something different - wouldn't it?

This show is held at the historic Irvinton Tennis Club in NE Portland. It is set in a wonderful old Portland neighborhood, in a great space. Check out the blogspot to sample a few of the participating artists and see all the details.

http://irvintonartisanmarket.blogspot.com/

Come and purchase one of my new vases to put those Mother's Day flowers in, or a custom mirror or plaque with a special message to convey your gratitude for Mom. I hope to see you there.

As a follow-up to the children's rocker . . .it has found a home. Here is sweet little Kacey Olivia, age 3 1/2. A few weeks ago, Kacey's mom visited the blog and saw the picture of the rocker. The last line of the post said that the rocker was "waiting for a little girl to rock her baby". Kacey's mom told me that was all that it took. She realized Kacey needed it to rock her baby. I understand Kacey has been spent many hours rocking back and forth sharing the love of the chair. Here's to many years of rocking Kacey . . .

Last week I posted the beginnings of a farm themed chair for a client in Washington. They wanted a chair that would reflect their life on a farm for the past 20 years. It's turning out pretty cute. There are a few more details left and then it will finished.

Another custom order - this chair will have an Asian theme. It will be paired with a large mirror (still to come). A few of the main colors have been laid in and this shows a few blocks where symbols and Asian themed images will be painted.

This shows the beginnings of some of the images - a bird, a kimono, some Chinese symbols and their English translations. Of course no details have been added yet - it will look entirely different by next week, but the basic foundation has been created. I'll keep you posted on it's progress.

And finally . . .what do you do with those clear glass, nondescript vases that flowers are delivered in? Evidently alot of them end up at GoodWill. I've always liked the lines of these vases, but they are so . . . boring! But not anymore. Coated with black first, and then a variety of colors laid down for the base. Then some three-dimensional detail. Finally, some sealer to give it a smooth finish and to protect all the color. It can be used to put in some fresh flowers or as a bright spot of color on a mantel. Come visit me at one of my sales this year, and you can check them out for yourself.

I have been working like crazy lately - and will continue to do so. We have some wonderful sales lined up for this next year. This weekend, we have finally had a taste of spring, with sun and warmer temperatures. Seeing the blue sky and feeling the warmth of the sun did a lot for my phyche. I welcome the spring - bring it on!

Projects in the works -

On a recent beach trip I did a little painting . . .It was nice to work on a canvas. I haven't painted a canvas for quite a while. This was a reflection of sharing the joy of music -

I began with a blank canvas a while ago. Many times when I am painting it drives me nuts to leaves puddles of unused color on my palette. Acrylic paints dry rather quickly and can't be rehydrated like watercolors - so they are "wasted" if you don't use them. So I started painting splotches of the color on a blank canvas. I had no idea what i would do with it - just that it would supply me with a great background for something. Then I laid in the vines and such. I wanted to do a tribute to my daughters and the love of the piano that we share . . .and this is what I came up with.

This is a new chair that will be donated to the Mt. Hood Community College Foundation Auction in April. I love the idea of donating a piece to benefit a good cause - and providing some worthy student the opportunity to better their lives through education is a great cause.

This is the beginning of a custom order for a family in Kalama, Wa. Living on a farm for 20 years, they wanted a chair that reflected that life. I have just begun laying in the pattern - I will show you an update in a day or two to see how this is progressing. A cow, some sheet, a pig and a few sunflowers . . .not many details yet - but there will be soon!

So many projects . . .so little time.