Art in the Garden Party

celebrated each spring in May

at Summerland Cottage

with the sun shining

the birds singing

,

flowers blooming

Lorenzo portraiting

{sweet Beth }

Jonathan plein aire painting

Mary pasteling

friendships formed and rekindled

thank you Julie for driving so far to be part of the fun and sharing your new book

always a good time !

and for more fun check out the video here

and snaps from last year here

Purple Irises

Inspired by Tina's post found at riverfront vintage

" Vintage Inspiration "

and loving the vibrant colors and stylized graphic design of Vera Neumann

I search the studio for a bisque ware dish

and create a new design

The iris's history is rich,

dating back to Ancient Greek times when the Greek Goddess Iris,

the messenger of the gods and the personification of the rainbow,

acted as the link between heaven and earth

I am inspired by the story I read on Vera's bio...

She was the first person to put print on a bed sheet.

She was the first person to bring bright colors to the table.

She was of the belief that fine art shouldn’t just be for the wealthy.

It should be available to all and it should be incorporated in everyone’s everydays.

By having Vera linens in your kitchen,

it puts a smile on your face while you’re doing the drabbest duties.

Vera had the philosophy that you should change the art around you

every once in a while

because you soon stop seeing it.

Grateful for shared inspiration !

Pinkalicious

I was asked by Tasha Anderson

to share something

" Pinkalicious "

.

so here you have what I would call

" Pinkalicious "

My latest rosebud vase created with clay

and bits of cotton fabric dipped in slip

then fired with lots of pink glaze

completely covering the sweet vase !

Brown-bagging it with style

.

This is taking " brown-bagging it " to a whole new level !

with Ralph Lauren's Cliffony sheer drapery fabric 
and Kravet trim samples

This is what you will need

lunch bag. .scrap fabric...misc. trims ..plastic lid.. glue . sewing supplies

and time on your hands!

( or you are put on hold for several hours while your DSL service tries to resolve ongoing issues

and you happen to have these samples and remnants from client's files cluttering your desk )

. . . five months later . . .

I am happy to share it in this treasure trove of fun and inspiration

Somerset Life Magazine

with some fellow creatives.

Thank you to all involved at Stampington and Company

for giving each of us the opportunity

to inspire, delight, teach, encourage and be a blessing !!!

.

Ralph Lauren inspired choker necklace

I've always been a fan of Ralph Lauren and his design sense.

He has a classic timeless quality to his designs that I am drawn to

So when I came across this choker necklace in his

2011 spring collection runway show

* * * * *

my imagination sparked !

I had a fabric swatch in front of me for a clients window treatments

and a pile of fun jewelry bits and bobs

( yes, I seem to live with little piles of creativity throughout the cottage )

folding the fabric on the bias gave me a more interesting pattern

and the swatch was just large enough to fit a neck size

my excitement with the possibility builds !

I know I may be odd this way but it is how my imagination works...

Bits of chains are laid out for visual, and the fun begins

needle and thread, glue and wire cutters are rounded up

and the actual design begins to take shape.

Want to see what I ended up with and the cost nothing ?

.

Annual Garden Party

is just a few weeks away,

so make a note to yourself and invite a best friend along

on an artist date

come enjoy fresh inspiration, great art, fun and camaraderie

water color from last year's party by Sherry Ford

590 Cedar Way, Laguna Beach

You can view a snippet about last years art in the garden party here

.

May Day

As the sweet tradition goes...

the small baskets are often homemade and filled with flowers or treats.

They are usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps

or hooked over the handle or knob.

or in this case the door knocker

The basket giver rings the bell and runs away

May Day Basket created with heavy card board and paint sample cards

by cutting them in thin strips and weaving them in and out

in a basket weave design

then wrapping the handle with additional strips.

Easter Greetings

.

.

Published in Altered Couture

.

read more about the top here

and a second article on page 135

fun embellishing of a little wool hat with vintage lace edging

with a removable magnetic flower pin

GRATEFUL TO BE INCLUDED !

Spring Flowers

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose

I would always greet it in a garden."

- Ruth Stout

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is.

And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want,

but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!

~Mark Twain

Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul. ~The Koran

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~Claude Monet