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.

Secrets + Transparency

I'm showing my work/art (and life) in a presentation for the AIGA at AS220 in Providence, June 11. Doors open at 6:00, me at 6:30, followed by a film about the multi-talented designer Herb Matter. Some of the topics I'll try to cover will be secrets+transparency, hearing voices and feeding imaginary friends. Tickets at the door $3-$5, depending on if you are a member.  I believe snacks may be available.

Not so mild tile

My collection of green pots on the mantle
16 OnCenter built for me at the church.
Roseberry Winn Pottery
and Tile wall of linen and butter.

Oh yeah, there were a few tears shed over leaving my beautiful Roseberry Winn tiled wall at the church. Mike and Bruce helped me design it, pressed and fired each piece, and oversaw the installation. I never tired of it's buttery color and how it looked with the mantle made by 16 OnCenter. I do see a few potential spots perfect for tile in the farmhouse. And Mike tells me he has plans in the near future for some tile design expansion, so hopefully, a collaboration will happen again. Here are some inspiring tile beauties I came across today on Remodilista.

From Exquisite Surfaces

Via Remodilista

From Purpura

From Made A Mano

Spring Bling

Photo by Sadie Dayton

Twice a year I get to design a catalogue for Swarovski's Touchstone Crystal and I get a little seasonally mixed up. I do the Fall book in Spring, and Spring in Fall so I am always seasonally challenged. I'm in the last month of creating Fall/Winter '13 and I should be excited about seafoam green, but I'm actually already giggling about Tory Burch's Klimt inspired, turquoise and burgundy line for Fall. But back to Seafoam green, which only comes around about 2-3 times a century; the model shots for the new spring/summer book were taken over two very cold days last November but thanks to an amazing team, with Sadie Dayton shooting and Joji Goto styling we found some sunshine.  Add in piles of bling with product photos by Ira Garber, the incredible retouching of Suzanne Dunkl, and styling by jewelry designer Troy Hines, the sparkle happened.

Photo by Sadie Dayton

Photo by Sadie Dayton

Photo by Ira Garber

Cover Envy

Wish I had done these. Dansk Magazine I love you.

Smells like paint

Finally the earth smells sweet again and I want to make lots of paintings of those smells. I have a new landscape series I'm working on. Poppyseed oils on linen, juicy, juicy hues. I'll be selling them at my studio sale this summer. I'm part of the South Coast Artist Open Studio Tour this year, July 20+21. If you've never been it's worth jumping in and cruising my neighborhood. Not only a beautiful drive, but so many artists to choose from. I'll be showing in my little barn in Westport. So mark your calendar. If you see anything you want to snap up early let me know. My art can be found here on my flickr site.

I love having my work around as it develops.
I like saying good morning to them, having lunch with them,
 and test driving them in different light.

For this series, the linen measures 14" deep x 11" wide
and each painting is about 8" square.

Mornin Rumi

"Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground".

-Rumi

Light That Makes Me Leap

Once in awhile I have insomnia and getting out of bed in the morning can be a challenge. But all Paul has to do is put one of his amazing cups of coffee near my nose and say "the light in the dining room is beautiful right now". I leap. This past weekend I made curtains for the first time in (30) years and linen was half price so we have a few new tablecloths, too. Don't be too impressed. I just stitched around the edges, washed them and let them fray. I found this DIY at TwoTwentyTwo helpful for curtains. I love that her mom came for the weekend to help. I called my mom while I was finishing mine, because the last time "I" made curtains she came for the day to help. She was happy I could finally whip up a few on my own.

Feather In My Cap

I love the Curatorium on Wickenden in Providence. Owned (and curated) by industrial designer, Matt Bird, the store and Matt are always a delight, a surprise and inspiration. It is very difficult to leave his store empty handed. There is something there for E V E R Y ONE. I'm working on a few cloth hats for two spring weddings and these parrot feathers might be what I build them around. Naturally shed, (please, please birdies drop a few more) they raise money for the New England Exotic Wildlife Sanctuary. He doesn't always carry them and they go fast. I also thought you would like to see the work of Olympia Washington artist, Chris Maynard. Hmmmm I wonder what one of his feathers would look like in a hat?

Did I mention they are reversible?

Mighty Lighty

After comparing our lists for most important features in the new place Paul and I found light being top priority for both of us. Having gone from twenty five foot ceilings to some I can touch on tippy toes, lighting has been a challenge. In a small, short place, every bulb has to work hard. Lower placement, paint with high luminosity, and as many reflective surfaces nearby seems to be where we are finding balance.

Livingroom has a long way to go before we are truly living in it.

The flex light. So fun from
YLighting.http://www.ylighting.com/droog-flexlamp.html

We had our heart set on this for somewhere in the house.
It's a kit by Logan Hendrickson, taking off on the
classic Potence style design. Pretty affordable in comparison.
I found this on Remodilista. Might be too eensy.

From my peeps in Scandinavia. Found here.
They know about making the most of the little light they have.

Wonderful reflections with only direct light. Found on Stylefiles.