Monday musings

Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their week! My day has been spent running a few errands and working very hard to get some more paintings done before Thursday's opening. Here's a few sneek peaks and some cute kitty photos for your enjoyment...

This is another snippet in the series of big canvases. I'm feeling very pleased with how they are turning out. And I'm really enjoying creating them.

 

 This one took a bit longer, but I think it's done now and I'm fairly happy with it. I'll sit with it for a day and see if I want to tweak it.

 This weekend consisted of a lot of yard work and the kitties helped (ok maybe not, but they sure are cute!). While we slaved outside our Mr. Butters enjoyed a lovely nap all tucked in with the blankets. And Sweetpea wanted in on the action once she saw I was photographing Butters. 

That's it for now, see you soon!

A very productive week

I have been working away at many projects over the past week. Making jewelry, painting some new canvases for the show coming up next week at The Orange Table in Scottsdale, AZ and starting to art journal again. Here's a sample of what I have been doing:

Detail and two page spread photos of the start of my first art journal pages in several years. Can't wait to add to them!

 Piece of a big canvas I'm just finishing up. Will post the whole thing when it is done.

Another fragment of a large canvas. A couple of quick finishing touches and this one will be ready to go.

And another piece, had a heck of a time photographing this one, but you get the general idea...

Will post some jewelry photos next time. Ciao!

Another painting for the show

I finished this painting a few days ago and am just getting around to posting it. I've been knocked down the past few days by a nasty cold. The kind where no air will penetrate your nose, you can't keep you eyes open and even your teeth hurt.

So anyway, here it is:

Not what I was expecting

I was planning on doing photos of a new painting and some work on a dresser I'm re-doing, but that seems so unimportant right now in light of the horror that was the Boston Marathon today.

My family lives on Cape Cod, so Boston is near and dear to my heart and I've visited the city many a time. My heart is bleeding for the victims of the bombing today and their loved ones. They started out their day today excited to be attending the Boston Marathon. Tonight some of them are dead, many are gravely wounded, many lost limbs and suffered horrific damage to other parts of their bodies.

I don't know that there's much more to say. I am stunned and deeply saddened by this tragic event. I will be praying for all of the people affected by the terror attack today, and I hope you will all join me.

Some yummy soup

Since it's asparagus season and both my honey and I love asparagus, I thought I would try a recipe for Asparagus rice soup. It was absolutely delicious, and got even more tasty the day after making it. So I thought I'd share the recipe with you. It's from Country Living Magazine:

Asparagus-and-Rice Soup

Ingredients

U.S.

Metric

Conversion chart

• 4 clove(s) garlic, crushed and peeled
• 1/3 cup(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cup(s) russet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 cup(s) leeks, chopped, 1/4 inch of white and all green parts
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon(s) coarse sea salt or kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 pound(s) fresh asparagus, cut into 1/3-inch chunks, plus more spears for garnish
• 1 cup(s) Arborio rice
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup(s) grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to taste
  
  
  
  
  Directions
• Sauté garlic with 1/3 cup olive oil in a heavy-bottomed, 6-quart pot over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until crusty but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add leeks and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add 5 quarts water, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon salt. Stir well, scraping potatoes from pot bottom. Cover, bring to a boil, and add cut asparagus. Lower heat to vigorous simmer and cook, uncovered, about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until reduced by a third.
• Add rice, bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat and season with pepper and more salt to taste. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 cup grated cheese. If desired, steam remaining asparagus and garnish. Serve hot. 

Visiting with old friends

This afternoon I had the good fortune to visit with one of my college suite mates and her husband. They are out from Rochester, NY visiting family here in Phoenix. I haven't seen her in over 20 years! We spent time catching up, talking about family, marriages, work, and life in general. It was a lovely visit and I'm so glad we were able to connect. It doesn't seem possible all that time has passed! She looked essentially the same as she did the last time we saw one another (when we were a lot younger!). I drove home with a smile on my face and memories of our college days roaming around my head.

Today reminded me about the importance of connection. To see an old friend after all these years is gift.  As I get older I am reminded more and more about the preciousness of relationship, and of our own lives. I try not to take it for granted, and am thankful for each day I have on this beautiful, chaotic, changing planet of ours.

In other news, I have been really cranking out the jewelry the last couple of days. Working hard on the summer collection; a marriage of chunky semi-precious stones, a mix of chains, and just enough sparkle to make it interesting. I will post photos once I take them. Right now I'm on a roll and it's all about production. So until then I will leave you with a couple of photos:

A basket of yarny goodness in the studio

A little corner of my studio

Some fantastic vintage fabric that I scored at a garage sale for 10 cents.

Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

A little of this and that

I'm sharing a little of this and that today:

A new necklace for Camp Hollyhock in Portland, OR:

A visit from one of my kitties while I worked:

The Buddha in my garden:

And the new painting in progress that I started on Friday:

Happy Monday, everyone!

Busy day today!

Well, it's just about quittin' time for me. I spent the morning doing some art business, then the afternoon listing jewelry on etsy. Here are some new pieces that are available:

New painting

I'm working on a few new pieces for an art opening I have at the beginning of May. Here is one of them, called "Namaste". It was not an easy painting, I struggled with it. Couldn't get it to look the way I wanted, so I just started drawing all over it. I'm pretty happy with it now...

The part that looks yellow over the flower is actually more a mellow lime green.

A new start

 After almost a year of no blogging, I am finally ready to begin again. New haircut, new life, new adventures to share.

I'm finally settling back in to life in Tempe, AZ. Lots of sun and beautiful days have been a treat. I've also begun to work in earnest on my dream of being a full-time jewelry and accessory designer, and artist. My partner has given me a wonderful gift; the gift of time to make my dreams come true. This is the first time in my adult life that I have the opportunity to focus full time on my art. I still can't quite believe it!

I also got my first smartphone and have been enjoying Instagram and all the other goodies that my phone has. It is already proving invaluable to my work.

So look forward to frequent posts sharing my new work and life in general. Cheers!