Studio Practice

Paul and I share a space in a factory mill in Fall River.
We are so lucky our floor mates are more family than friends.

For the last few months, my daily to-do list has been a little overwhelming, with the selling of the church and looking for a new place. During the week, when I'm Ms. Virgo Listmaker it all seems to work. The battle with anxiety, sadness and self doubt seems to hit me the hardest when I stop. And most particularly on Sundays, in my painting studio. I've been able for the most part to keep the place pretty sacred. I've promised to keep the space free of the computer, only make calls to and from the studio and checking emails (yes and occasionally Facebook) only on my lunch break. Stopping and emptying myself to paint today seemed especially challenging and it took me a few hours to figure out why. Art + Commerce. We're preparing for an art and antiques sale at the church the weekend of Feb 9-10, and I'm sorting through old drawings, paintings and lots of collectables, trying to put a value, a real price tag on it all. I've always said it's almost impossible to sell your art at the same time you're making it. Two totally different parts of your brain that seems to fight with each other. Recognizing it today made me fall in love with my studio, my process and work in a new way. A few postings back I wrote about the illustrator Tove Jansson and her wonderful children's books. This quote is such a good reminder for me to keep certain "creeps" out of my studio. -
"It's the right evening for a tune, Snufkin thought. A new tune, one part expectation, two parts sadness, and the rest, just the delight of walking alone and liking it. As he settles in to compose, he is disturbed by a small creature, a "creep", which rustles out of the undergrowth, declares its admiration for the famous Snufkin, asks him a lot of questions and demands attention and comfort. Meanwhile, the tune, which until then was forming itself out of the noises of the forest and brook and the slow revelations of the season, disappears. Snufkin has to wait for it to come back".
-exerpt from "The Spring Tune" part of the Moomin series
The photos are my early valentine to the place and tools I have a crush on. 

I've finally learned to love cleaning my brushes.
And I buy more expensive ones less often.

Sometimes the rags are just as beautiful as the paintings.

I work with natural light but a few paper lanterns make
the place cozy the last hour of the day in the winter.

A doctor friend gave me a pile of white surgical gowns
that make great painting smocks.
A little eccentric looking, but they cover everything nicely.

Oil bars, gigantic crayons, really.

Lots of enamelware and cigar boxes 

My favorite Swedish teacups my friend Pat gave me and a pic
of my pal Bruce, patron Saint of Art Elves.

I have also learned to embrace "setting the table for the muse"
Getting all those white empty surfaces
ready gives  me a little flip flop of excitement. 

Mad for Plaid

Just an itty bit is sometimes nice.
Found on Anthropologie

Just a bit, or a lot, of red plaid always gets me through the winter. A favorite memory, still clear for me, is my grandmother in her wool plaid Pendleton jacket raking in her fall garden.  Below are some of my recent favorite plaid finds, an ad I did in the 1980 something, a little sewing project I just completed and of course Ms. Viv the Queen of plaid. Has anyone seen a nice pair of red plaid clogs that need me?

Found on Etsy. Pia Barile has lots of lovely wrist warmers,
unfortunately these gems have sold.

Coat with a lot of fun detail from Omiru that can be purchased at Urban Outfitters

I have a few of these I store paper treasures in. Found on Etsy here.

A Pinterest find which is unfortunately untraceable

From a MAC Cosmetics ad

Love this. Origin unknown.

An ad I did for Gant in the mid '80s,
before Photoshop, using some very very old school methods.

 

 

This little collar was last weekend's easy sewing project. I am in love with the simple Japanese sewing books you can find more and more of. I got this pattern from Shape Shape by Natsuno Hiraiwa.

A heavenly symphony by Vivienne Westwood, an artist who knows how to work her plaid.
Here's a wonderful film interview of this revolutionist.

So so fun

I'd love to do this. Please someone in NY do it for me! Brilliant Ann Hamilton

I get a little more Swedish around the holidays

My dad's family is Swedish and my mom's folks comes from Nairn, Scotland through Prince Edward Island. I love what they've passed on to me from both cultures but I do get particularly Swedish in the winter and around the holidays. Simple tree ornaments are a special love of mine and Swedes do it so well. Here are some sweet ones you can make, buy or just admire that seem influenced by Scandinavian design.

My special friends at Beehive Kitchenware have a
wonderful assortment of ornaments.

found on gwen elliot's flickr photo stream

lino prints by mangle print found on flickr

found on crafty juice via pinterest

Lovely crocheted ball found through calico&co

Sweet little dala horse found at
PoppetsByGill on etsy

kissadesign on etsy sells these
pretty paper polish stars

juleker knitted balls, pattern found at arne&carlos

Holiday Printables

Some fun colorful printables for holiday gift giving.

From eatdrinkchic

From lovevsdesign

From Rebecca's misc

From lovevsdesign

From sassandperil

From gathering dust

My drug(s) of choice

Landscape No. 12

I'm not fond of apologies from bloggers concerning their lack of posts, but I will say I've had a few good excuses this fall for being quiet. Some travel, lots of design work, putting the house on the market, and looking for a new place with the purging and packing associated with a house sale, has left me little time for much else. But I would shrivel up and die if I didn't sit in front of color once a week. I've become a Sunday painter and have just finished 20 paintings to launch in the world. Thank you Charvin paints for providing me with my drug(s) of choice; Celadon Green Deep, Pouzzoles Red, Intense Lemon Yellow, Opaline Green, French Blue Violet, Julia Pink, Provence Blue, Light Linen, Deep Shell, and Diamond Orange. You make me so high it lasts half way through Tuesday. To see all the newbies you can hop over to my flickr page, here.

Landscape No. 16

Landscape No. 6

Landscape No. 14

Landscape No. 9

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.