Living with Art

I don't know about you...but I love sneaking a peek inside of other's homes...I'm always curious to see how other people build their nest...and especially other creatives...its intriguing to me to see how the artistic personality reflects itself in one's surroundings...

Seth Apter is running a new series...Living with Art...that lets you take such a peek...in his own words, he describes his intention...

When we see art posted on the blogs from our community, by far the majority of times it is a cropped picture of a particular piece. We don't often get to see pictures of the art in the space where we actually live. Hanging art. Art on the walls. Art over the couch. Art leaning on the bookcase shelves.

Living with Art is about showing and seeing art in real life settings. Every Thursday I will be posting a series of images shared by creatives showing all of us just how art is displayed in their spaces. Each participant is opening the door and inviting us all into their surroundings.



I'm delighted to be one of the featured artists today...along with several others...plus there's a link to view the past features as well.

Seth has long been an avid art supporter (as well as a fabulous artist in his own right!) This is one more example of his willingness to be the glue that helps to bind this online artistic community together...please pop over and take a look...www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com

taking a little detour

I've been participating in Kim Klassen's BeStill52 course...its a combination of still photography with reflective moments...to actually practice being still...quieting your mind and body...to listen to your inner rhythms...

Last Wednesday's exercise had a prompt to use some bunting in your vignette...I didn't have any bunting...and with my crunch schedule, I didn't want to make any bunting (though it probably would have been a good still exercise) so wondered how I could adapt...

I recently pulled this old board out of a corner of the garden...I recollect it had metal casters on it at one point...which I removed and now are attached to the low cabinet in my front hallway.  Re-examining the board, with its long, thick jute rope hanging on one end, I decided to clean it up and bring it inside for a photographic background...

As I set up on my dining room table, I grabbed the old tape measure laying nearby...the idea of the prompt was to have something in the background which would add some visual interest...I improvised...taking a detour with the bunting idea...

My neighbor's camellia bush is blooming so I snagged a stray blossom...
which was already wilting...picks up the faded red ink stain on the board...

Looking for something else to play up the pink...a few vintage bingo cards...

Finally...just focusing on the wood, the measuring tape and the dressmaker's shears...

This for me, reflects a picture of stillness...weekly exercise complete...

Joining the group over at Kim's Texture Tuesday...
all of my photos were edited with kk texture carmel...

A shot of spring

Though I am a little tired of the gray winter days here...I'm counting my blessings...I don't live in Boston...my sincerest regrets if any of my readers do...I can't imagine dealing with all that snow...my heart goes out to you!

So couldn't we all use a shot of spring...a bit of a bloom...to remind us that warmer weather is on its way...

I have a new series of Petite Prints in my etsy shop...some with a burst of yellow, others with a pop of pink, 
still others with a haze of blue...

Order up a few of these prints...stick them up on a wall...a little washi tape will hold it...someplace where they will catch your eye...send off one or two to a friend...who doesn't like to get a surprise in the mail...

And to make it even more enticing...I'm offering free shipping...from now until March 1st...
just enter the code SPRING2015 when you check out

and here's hoping that we'll all be seeing blue skies and green fields soon...

For the price of a story

Last Friday I spent the day with one of my oldest friends, Sue...celebrating her birthday, we went exploring...right in our own backyard...

We drove up to Anacortes, a small town on Puget Sound that is surrounded by water and forests...

After scoping out the northern park for future hikes and camping locations, we enjoyed walking main street, poking around the shops and eating lunch. One last stop before we left town was the local marine and hardware store...Anacortes has an active marine industry - both fishing and boat building/repair...the store was in an old wooden building, close to the pier and filled with modern gear as well as old relics...it was the old relics that drew my attention...












The striped straps immediately caught my eye...with those corroded metal shanks, I just had to have them...
I picked up a blue stripe and a green stripe one...they may show up as straps on an artist smock...

There were boxes of cotton boot socks...essentially light cotton footies that I assume would protect your foot before you put on heavier socks and then your boots...?  One of the boxes was empty...except for pieces of string and the labels that had been on the boot socks - it seemed that the labels had been loosely tied on and eventually lost from the original socks. Being a sucker for typography and ephemera, I loved these labels...especially with the red number indicating the size...I grabbed up a handful along with my striped straps...

The weathered men at the front counter look like they had just come in from a morning of fishing...but were pleasant to the two of us who obviously had no boat for which we needed supplies.  As I laid down my wares, I figured that they would laugh at me for wanting the discarded labels and include them for free with the price of the straps...but the one gentleman called over the owner to ask for a price...

I learned that the Oswego Company was a local institution that manufactured these socks, Oswego once being a prominent family in town.  As the socks were packaged up for shipment, a couple of the workers, who were women, included hand written notes with each order. Through the years they heard back from some of the men - one was in a prison in California, another a fisherman in Alaska...I could see that I had ignited a spark...and could easily have received an earful of local history...but in the end, was charged a little over a dollar for a dozen labels which I cheerfully paid.  As we walked down the street, back to the car and the trip home, my friend expressed surprise that I was charged anything at all...and I explained, that I paid for the pleasure of the story...willingly...

learning to find the light

One of the downfalls of living in the Pacific Northwest is that winter can be gray...and long...
which makes taking photographs challenging...both in finding the spot where there is light as well as finding the time of day that makes any such photography worthwhile...

So I've been embracing the shadows as well as the light...I've found that the best light comes through the north facing window in my kitchen...directly behind the sink...so the small area to the left of the sink...before you knock your head on the upper cabinets...is the best spot to take photos...

Trying to capture that nuance of dark, moody photographs...pretending that it was a conscious effort to avoid shooting in a bright, sun-lit atmosphere...

edited with kk texture plaster squared

I picked up these daffodils...just starting to burst open...

Less than a week later...they are bolting...

edited with kk texture plaster squared

Swapping out the backgrounds also helped to elicit different moods...so many possible tweaks and variations...

Other photo fun I've been having...recently learned that prints of John James Audubon's Birds of America paintings are available for free download...one of my favorite artists...his precision and execution are incredible...
find all the prints here www.audubon.org/birds-of-america

I just had to play...
original print

My composition - "Birds on the brain"
overlay of one of my photos of birds in trees with 2LilOwls texture...

Joining the group over at kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...why don't you stop by...

Liberate your Art!

This is the first year that I am participating in the international postcard swap called "Liberate Your Art".  Created and coordinated by artist Kat Sloma, it's an opportunity to get your art out in the world and in return, get original art mailed back to you.

In Kat's own words, here's the idea behind it-

• To encourage artists to learn how to reproduce their artwork. Many people create original work, but don't take the next step to reproduce their work to share. I would like you to learn how easy it is to create the postcards if you haven't done this before.

• To encourage connection between artists of different mediums from around the world.  Regardless of the medium we create in, we are all artists! I believe we have more inspiration for creation as we explore diversity in art and culture. Personal connections between artists enhance our art.

• To encourage sharing of art with others. If you love to create but have a fear of sharing your work, this is a safe way to start. You can get your work out there in the swap, even without your name attached. Sometimes taking that little step is enough to push past long-held fears!

• To give you some fun, happy mail! There is nothing better than visiting the letter box to find some wonderful piece of mail, is there? For a few weeks, you will receive pieces of art and encouragement from your fellow swap participants in the mail. It's just plain fun!

Last Friday I got my postcards rounded up and mailed out to Kat...I even embellished the envelope with a little creative touch...

It's not too late to join in if you are interested...the deadline to get your art postcards to Kat is March 14...

get all the details on participating here...

Because really...don't you just love getting real mail...so much better than bills!

Floral inspiration

It's about this time of year...when the holidays are long over...
that winter just seems so ...so...unwelcome to say the least...

I really shouldn't be complaining...we've had little snow here...its just so...un-green!

Looking ahead to the Vintage Market in late March where I'll be a vendor, finds me seeking floral inspiration...


Recently discovering a stash of vintage seed package labels that I had misplaced fueled my inspiration...
let me walk you through it...

Step one: rejoice in the fact that after searching for longer than I can remember, I found these vintage French seed package labels...

Step two: find a few old painted boards...the crackled pink paint on this one was perfect...I sawed it in half...

Step three: unearth rain gauges bought last fall on clearance...swap out glass gauge for test tube...

don't know yet what I'm going to do with the calibrated gauges...any ideas?
















After gluing each seed label onto a board and sealing the entire board with a coating of wax, I nailed the metal tube holder at the bottom of the board.  The test tube was a hair wider than the original glass gauge but gentle persuasion opened up the metal clamp just a little bit more...enabling the test tube to be held snug in place.  
Two more nails and a length of wire at the top of the board comprise the hanger...

Add the stem of your choice and its ready to hang...

I just used whatever painted boards I had on hand...but you could color coordinate as you like, using new boards painted your color choice...sanding the board and the edges before you glue on the seed label helps to give it that distressed look...

I like them grouped together but a single board could brighten up a sliver of dark space...






















I checked online and the company I bought these labels from years ago still has them available for sale...and they swear that they are not reproductions but the real deal...find them online at www.simplyfrenchvintage.com

A simple stem in a simple vase...the hope of spring when we need it most...

Joining the Vintage Inspiration Party over at Knick of Time...
because doesn't everyone need a little more inspiration...