Yay! Book Deal!

I'm so excited to be sharing this great news.
I'm writing a how-to make paper hats book. The hats will be
geared for children made by adults, based on all new designs.
Each hat will be made from recycled material and antique ephemera.
Paul has built a cute little pop-up studio in our tiny barn
and I'm matching up adorable children to my hat designs.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation Part 2

Hannah Noah, newly weds, Santa Cruz, CA

It wouldn't be summer without a wedding. Our trip to California was in part, to see my dear friend Hannah, marry her wonderful Noah. I asked Hannah this spring how I could contribute to the rustic, elegant, bespoke event she was planning. She requested something I'd never done before- a paper cake that a cupcake could sit on top of. Paper hats, collages, even clothing I've done but never a cake. She left the design, color and style completely open to my inspiration. Checking out her beautifully curated Pinterest wedding board, I got a feel for what she was attracted to. For materials I settled on an old Benjamin Moore color chip set. Inexpensive, abundant and perfectly graduated colors to build my version of an ombre cake. Photos by Paul Clancy

Thank you Mr. Benjamin Moore

I started with trimming hundreds of paint chips
 to create flat bottomed "petals"

I then stitched them together, carefully butting
the edges of each petal.

I arranged them in four tiers, starting with a
 small light cream top (big enough to hold her cupcake)
then a soft green and blue layer,
then two deeper blue/green layers
 and ending with a large "chocolate" bottom.

I also made hundreds of white, cream and chocolate
" mushrooms".  A simple circle, with a slit to the center.
 Pulling the corner on each side of the slit together,
I glued them with a dab of hot glue.

The cardboard base of each layer I made
fashioned after a basic hat box design.
Using templates that were available
(cereal bowls, odds and ends) I traced
two circles the width I wanted each layer.
I added a 1/2 inch to each circle and cut out.
 Then all around each, I cut tiny slits from outer
 edge to traced circle and cut.
They became the tabs I used to glue it all together.
Straight strips of cardboard cut
to the size I needed with
penciled guides for gluing became
the walls of my cake layers.

Even though I carefully packed and shipped the
cake unassembled, there was a little repair
I had to do when I got there.
The hundreds of mushrooms hid lots of sins.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation Part 1

Great summer. 

Writing a posting after being AWOL for 2 months feels like putting on new school shoes after a summer of flip flops. A lot of family visiting, some great projects professionally to work on with Paul, setting up a new sewing room and going to the San Francisco area for a beautiful wedding and to see old friends kept us going at a lovely speed.

First I'd like to introduce you to a new client that had us shoot some of the most beautiful, well thought out gardens I've ever walked through. Kathy and Chris Tracey of Avant Gardens in Dartmouth, Massachusetts hired me to design their logo last winter. Logos are one of my favorite things to create and the process with them was one of my favorites to date. They can design and build a garden for you, sell you some of the most rare, uncommon and delightful plants, inspire and instruct with their blog, and offer you a walk through one of the loveliest nurseries you'll ever visit. Client crush big time. 

Below are three collages of some of their work Paul and I captured. For general info their site is http://www.avantgardensne.com  To see more of the photos you can visit my flickr site here. 

Bruce Michael Winn 1959-2012

Holding an object in your hands often makes an abstract idea real. I lost a dear friend recently and it wasn't a reality till I held the bookmark for his memorial service in my hand today.

Bruce Winn had the biggest and strongest hands I've ever seen. Which made perfect sense because he was a ceramics artist. He worked in clay with a textile designers sensibility. Lush, intricate patterns rippled over his thick, sexy slabbed clay. His love for asian color balance and William Morris pattern was evident in all his fine art and production work. 

Bruce and his husband Mike, were clients first and friends immediately after meeting. Talented in so many ways, one of Bruce's best art forms was picking friends. Interns from over 25 years ago are still part of the family of artists he's nurtured with Mike. The choices he made in friends showed the most in his last year of life. When hearing the news of his cancer a steady stream of peeps made their way to his sunny bedroom in Tiverton to help, hang out, quilt, read, eat, and paint. While holding court a floor away from his kitchen, Bruce knew it's inventory and took care of guests as he always had. "I think there's a few more slices of banana bread left" or my favorite "I think Grey's ice cream doesn't close for an hour. Chocolate would be nice with the orange zest cupcakes"

My times with him in the last few year were underscored with his gratitude. Whether we were reading, drawing, or watching Glee he often turned to me and said "Thank you so much. This is so wonderful to be together. I love you"  He taught me many things but maybe the most cherished, is artists have to create to feel alive. Even when they are knocked off their feet. And creating things for friends to see, hold, taste and enjoy may be the best reality we have. 

His memorial celebration will be held February 12 at 1:00 on the first floor gallery space at 1 West Street, Fall River where Bruce, Mike and many of us share studio space.

Bruce, Mike and a few pals were patient models for us at shoot in the church, just after Bruce was diagnosed. So happy we have these to share.

Going for a Double Wide Studio

I've loved the painting studio I've been in at the Fall River mill on the Swansea River with my pals at Roseberry-Winn Pottery and Beehive Kitchenware. But a space 2x's the size has opened up and Paul and I are setting up a large, shared studio to make our art in. Here are some pictures Paul shot of my latest work and space. So excited about our next adventure together and I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Pics of Trafford's Restaurant on Warren's Waterfront

Here are some views of the new restaurant I designed in Warren RI. The art on the walls is by both Paul and I.  There's a complete set to cruise on my flickr page here. And I've pasted a few highlights below. Try and get over there this summer if you can. Reserve a table upstairs for the best view and make sure you try Trafford's oysters or his lobster bolo sandwich.

Pssssst... Trafford's is having a soft opening tonight

Yes, the much awaited (quiet) opening of Traffords happens tonight. Paul and I have been there the last few nights installing over thirty pieces of art and sampling some of the amazing food Trafford has dreamed up for the menu. It really is a spectacular place with three views of the water (upstairs and down), two bars, one on the waterside deck, lots of friendly zippy staff and of course the genius of the Kane family. Bill, Maggie, Trafford, Heather will take the lead with lots of help from part owner, Russ Gaudet and bar manager, Jeanne-Marie Manning. I'm always amazed at how talented the whole family is and all members pitch in. As his dad stained a bench, his uncle installed a bar tv, four year old William handed me a level just when I needed it last night. I promise lots of picks from Paul but if you want the real thing with a great sunset and an incredible bite or two, head over to 285 Water Street in Warren tonight.

Beautiful Decay

My sweetheart, Paul Clancy, has new work at the Candita Clayton Studio in RI. The show, Four Thought, is comprised of work by Allison Paschke, Agata Michalowska, and Graham Heffernan. Paul's photos often find the beauty in the natural decay of architecture. Sometimes I can see loss in the beauty and sometimes hope. This particular collection of work has special meaning because his subject was the antique yacht club in Edgewood, RI and the caretakers cottage next door. The cottage was the last house he shared with his children and wife at the time. In February of this year the yacht club was struck by lightening and burned to it's pilings. Paul and I visited soon after and went into the cottage that the yacht club was renovating. It was my first time in this home that meant so much to him and his first time in 8 years. It was humming with volunteer workers and had already been stripped to it's antique lathing. The huge loss of the yacht club caused the group to focus it's efforts on what they could repair, the cottage. The photos are on raised boxes and the sculptures are made from dumpster retrieved lathing. This work, Shaw Avenue Cairns, is Paul's response to the past and present of those structures. I do have a major crush on this man and his art. Here's a link to Greg Cook's article in the Phoenix. He likes Paul's work too. 

Almost Time for Braids

I've been longing for a lot of warm weather niceties lately. Eating most meals in the backyard, pedicures you can show off and braids. I'm a sucker for braids dangling below ears, twirled on top of the head... one long one down the back. I don't know, can I still pull of braids? I found these wonderful hairdo drawings by artist Lauren Levy. I'd love to see these blown up to a few feet across for a salon. To look at more of Lauren's work you can go to her flickr site here.
First photo is one of Paul's. I've never had the back of my head loved so much. The following are of Lauren's art.