American Robin #3

A snapshot of yesterday's progress on the new, large oil painting.

All the background is finally blocked in.
Now, do I go straight for the robins or start working on the leaves? The birds are the juiciest bits, so I better save those for later - when I start getting bored with the whole mess.

Orchids in the Storm

Just for a minute let's get back to beads. This is, after all, Belvedere Beads isn't it?

A raked focal bead of Cim's Gelly's Sty pink, Double Helix Aurae, a bit of goldstone and clear.


It's still snowing here - 100 continuous hours of precipitation and counting.
We try to keep flowers in the house this time of year - it really helps with the cabin fever. Right now I have a stalk of satiny pink and pale green orchids. They were one of my favorite gifts this Christmas. They still scent the whole dining room - two weeks later.

Our forecast for the next five days?
Snow - every day.

American Robin #2

Still blocking in the background.

Sing along with me, "Ooh, the weather outside is frightful..."
It better stop snowing soon, we are just buried.
I am supervising an open torch session for beadmakers this afternoon. All I can think about is that before I can drive to More Fire Glass I am going to have to dig out my car, again.
Blowing and drifting snow - blows.

I wish, I wish, I could just curl up in my studio and work on my painting, maybe even get a little quality knitting time in.

Little Sprout & Rosebud

Oddly, two of my favorite hats from the holiday craft sale season were left unsold.

Little Sprout & Rosebud - hand knit wool hats.
They'll each fit a 2-7 year old with a nice stretchy circumference of 16."
Have at them, they're now in my Belvedere etsy shop.

American Robin #1

Starting a new large canvas is always daunting.

It seems like a good new year's idea. The plan is to document my progress here in my blog, and on facebook, in order to keep me moving. The big ones can be tough to keep beating on daily.

This is a scan of a page from Audubon's birds of North America - American Robin.

I doubled it, and flipped it this way -

and that -

settling on the second for my layout.


I've begun blocking in the shapes and obliterating another painting underneath that was not going so well.

Please note my new studio chair on the right hand side of the photograph!
It's one of my favorite recent estate sale finds. I'll talk more about it later, but for now let me say that those are American Eagles all over it.

Dutch Baby

We had a snow day yesterday - bitter, wicked winter. A good day to plink around in other people's blogs seeing what they're up to. Andrew Thornton had gone somewhere and had a Dutch Baby for breakfast.

A Dutch Baby? I hadn't made one in years. What a perfect treat. I padded downstairs, got out the Joy of Cooking and sure enough there was a recipe.

Viola!
Not nearly as pretty as the one he was served, but trust me it was delicious and my family thought I had magical powers as they watched it poof it the oven.

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

Apparently my fortune cookie is a gateway to understanding the universe.

Imagine

Just try and picture, in your mind, what the next 100 years will bring us.

The End

Standing here on the edge of another old year I feel vaguely sentimental. Nevertheless, I am ready to dip my toes into the warm promise of 2010, the next 365 days of mystery.

I've put a bottle of swank pink champagne into the fridge and am waiting for the clock to tell me it's time to pop that cork. I love opening Champagne - there are few things that are as much fun, eh?

We ought to do this or that, and we ought to go partying here and there tonight, but I am feeling cold. A snuggle of warm blankets and a pile of even warmer little black poodles are luring me to stay at home this New Years Eve and be a party poop. Maybe just a couple of sparklers in the front yard is all I need to say goodbye, and goodnight, to 2009.

Have fun tonight - whether it be loud or quiet, solo or with a monstrous mob. Be happy, be well and be good to yourself.

Love Is In the Air

Here in the beady little sweatshop, even tho Christmas is still a burning memory, Valentine's Day is lurking right around the corner.

For Cupid's holiday I am bringing back an old favorite - an off mandrel heart with a hole in one of the lobes for stringing. A deceptively simple looking bead, it can be a real booger to make.

But, with each one my technique is getting more solid and there are fewer, and fewer, hearts that look like ruptured amoebas.

Valentines Heart - Tongue Pink and Cim's Sangre glass on a red silk cord.

MaMa's Got a Squeeze Box

It was oddly romantic - we swapped Hohners Christmas morning.

That thing wedged in his mouth it's called a "Trumpet Call" harmonica - an overly fancy instrument with five brass horns attached to the harmonica body. He's been wanting one since, oh, the minute he saw his first one.

You know you've been married a long, long time when you give each other (without any planning or hinting) matching Christmas gifts.

That's me with my new Hohner Concertina. The object of my secret desire for years and years. I adore musette and tango, but I am not at all musical so this ought to be quite the wild ride. So far the dogs seem to find my playing fascinating rather than painful. A good sign.

Isn't it lovely?

Krampus

Once upon a time Krampus was Santa's dark companion. While Santa was merrily handing out presents to the good children Krampus was beating the naughty ones with birch sticks. Or even worse, hauling the really rotten ones away in the basket on his back to later drop them into the pits of hell.

At some point Santa and Krampus parted company and Santa began threatening bad kids with the less drastic "lump of coal in your stocking" punishment.

Here's hoping that Krampus did not come to your home and that your babes are safe and sound and gently coming down off their sugarplum highs.

Krampus, black poodles, glittery copper pine cones and magical (amanita muscaria) mushrooms on our tree.

A Sewing Explosion

It's a sweet, cheerful Christmas sweatshop in my dining room.

Yeah, we're making oodles of gifts. That's Miss Margaret on the other side of the table. She's making aprons with her great new Hello Kitty sewing machine. That's Kiki sitting in my spot.


A second pair of fingerless gloves with birds - I sold the first pair in an unfocused moment and had to re-create them.