Day 5: You & me.

Side of the road junk piles: my car magically stops at every one I see. I found a box of kitchen-ish stuff one day this summer, including a handful (or armful!) of these wooden platters. They had a shiny finish on them, so I flipped them over and sanded them down to the bare wood. (So this is actually the back of the platter.)

  

And as everyone knows, I am OBSESSED with swirls. So I thought I would take that concept and run with it. I'm getting all sappy and sentimental as my love and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We're making lots of changes (including possibly buying a home together this year) and I envisioned this hanging beautifully in our new bedroom. Or someone else's. :o)

Finished size: approx. 10x14"

This painting style got the creative wheels turning in my head. If I painted a monotone design in a dark sepia tone, it would look woodburned-esque. (And I'd stay burn-free!) Hmmm...that idea will probably make the cut this month. Onward! :o)

Last call for hoop making!

Before I hit the road for Asheville and right after the New Year, I will be featuring a final hula hoop making class. This one's on location at The Studio in Laconia, NH and will run from 1:00-3:00 on Sunday, January 3rd. The cost is $15.00 and you will come away with a homemade, sparkly, swirly, twirly hoop of your very own! Space is limited in the class, so please e-mail me at veggieartgirl@gmail.com to reserve a spot!

Mardi Gras, part one

So, in sticking with the Mardi Gras theme of "Riches to Rags," this is what I came up with from my pile 'o random junk I got from Goodwill. Kind of a Madonna meets Punky Brewster meets Boy George thing going on. But the skirt was fun to make and swirled around when I spun. :o)

I met up with Jen, Jeri & Kim at the Thirsty Monk, for a couple pints o' porter. Mmmm. Just enough brew to not really know it was as cold as it was! :o)

The Mardi Gras parade went all through the city, and ended in Prichard Park.

Me: "Hey man, I love your costume! It's kind of like Alf meets the Wuzzles. Do you know who the Wuzzles were?"

This dude: "Sure do. I'm a Fervert."

The colors, the music, the energy...it was all so alive!

Drummers in Prichard Park--made for some sweet dancin' and hoola hoopin' tunes!

The sun was shining bright, but it was still a pretty brisk day--a good one for dancing!

Woot! Woot! Look at my skirt and my beads!

Beads, beads, everywhere! (My BFF Anna would have had the time of her life!)

So this dude was like, "give me your camera so I can take a picture of you, so you can prove you were here. Don't worry...I'm a professional." Haha!

A parade display for Budha Bagels on Merriman.

Post parade, I went to an after party at the Grey Eagle. They had a tradiational cajun band and cooking. And thought the food lines was awfully long, it sure was tasty-- fried green tomatoes, red beans & rice, shrimp gumbo...mmmm!

This was the queen of the ball-- she made her entire dress from old plastic bags!

Weee! It was so much fun! Did I mention that I love this place?

The livingroom is done!

Here are pictures of our new livingroom! After finally getting the wall color right, sewing the curtains and finishing the faux-finished wall and swirly tree mural, it has all come together. It's such a happy space to walk into now. The red chair, we decided, was better in it's natural red leather state, and looks beautiful against the sea foamy tinted walls. The punch of primary colors add some funk to the room-- the red chair, a huge yellow floor pillow, and that super awesome vintage blue chair in the corner (that Cheyenne got for $25.00!) Note the cool mirror on the wall-- a Pier 1 Imports clearance rack find, that I painted the vines and flowers on to make it coordinate with the room. And check out the artwork hanging above the TV set-- those are 4 cheap-o placemats from World Market, that we just grommeted and hung with hemp. Light some candles, pour a glass of wine, and the room makes for a super cozy sitting!

Can I has cheeseburger now?

Halloweeeeeeeeeeeen.

Well, it wasn’t the usual Halloween craziness this year, but it was a fun one! I recycled an old Rainbow Brite costume I made a few years ago, and added a few embellishments to it. I wound up drinking one too many #7 drafts at The Seven Barrel Brewery in West Lebanon, where The Brain Police was playing, and I met up with an old friend from high school. But first, I made sure I checked it with my buddy, Little B, to scope out his sweet Batman costume (whose picture I naturally photoshopped onto a cool background). And my friend Chainsaw…check out his ‘Slim Kyle’ duds…very impressive. I love Halloween.

Brrrr.

It’s freaking cold out today. And since I am heading south in ’09, I sold my Blazer (“Sherman”) with 4-wheel drive and bought a fancy new van for my travels. Today I fought the cold and wind to clean out the 5 plus years of memories from Sherman, and (aside from a box full of ancient treasures and an old, petrified hotdog) stumbled upon a pamphlet from the corn maze Larry and I went to at Moulton Farm in Moultonborough, NH. It’s hard to believe this was just last weekend—it was t-shirt weather, and today it is threatening to snow!
But that was sadly the last day trip for Sherman and I did want to post these pics to give a shout-out to Moulton Farm. Aside from an award-winning corn maze, they have everything there from fresh seafood to local, organic produce, to a yummy bakery section. Larry and I rocked a hot cider and an apple-struedel-something-er-other (it was delicious!), while walking through the corn maze…surprisingly a first for me, who grew up in the North Country. But between getting lost (oh yeah, we went all the way back to the beginning), the treats and the laughs, it was a fun time. Though I kept thinking David Bowie was going to appear out of nowhere in tight spandex with a crystal ball, or I’d bump into Hoggle, but maybe next time…
You can't get the full-on redneck experience unless you get your picture taken behind this thing:



A little Blair witch action:

The potatoes are speaking to me

Saturday was a great day that started off with one of those perfect mornings. I caught up on some sleep and didn’t roll out of bed until 10:00, feeling rested for a change. I made some chocolate cappuccino coffee. I put on my new favorite music mix, threw some homemade sweet potato fries in the oven (shoot me a line if you want the recipe!), and sat on my couch to enjoy my java as I watched the remaining orange leaves fall off the trees into the sun-glistened river. I got in some plant watering, threw in a load of laundry, and was feeling pretty accomplished; it had been a while since I had enjoyed a morning like this. And just when I thought that the day couldn’t get any better…ding!….my sweet potato fries were ready and THIS emerged from the oven! I think the universe was telling me to have a nice day.

An adorable thank you. :)

It really is the little things in life. When I delivered a custom work to a client a couple of weeks back, she smiled and handed me this decorated envelope, with this endearing note enclosed. It’s really things like this that inspire me to keep going with my freelance career and affirm that there are people out there who believe in me. Thanks, Zita! :)

Rumney Open Studio recap

Well, as promised, I have an update of the fabulousness that happened in Rumney this past weekend. We had gorgeous weather. Absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining, warming the air and illuminating the bright hues of foliage. It was breathtaking and inspiring, as I took the opportunity to drive around to visit all of the artisans in their studios.
And boy, what inspiration it was! Each individual artist brought something diverse to the table and didn’t disappoint. Polly Bartlett’s beautiful weaving was glorious in color and texture (and she made a delicious fresh spinach dip that I have to get the recipe for!). Richard’s pottery at Shanware Pottery was elegantly displayed in his bright, new shop, where the walls were adorned with the stunning works of Sarah Mazur. Mindy Beach offered a glimpse into her world with her figurative drawings, costumes, collage and color in her gorgeous second floor studio of artistic eye-candy. (She also had a yard sale, where I scored some vintage Tinker Toys and a plaster sculpted hand). Pat Giebutowski welcomed people to stroll through the sunny greenhouse (full of leafy, blooming plants) of her recently remodeled farmhouse to reveal a room of her gorgeous classical style egg tempera paintings (and offered up a sample of her husband’s delicious homemade wine, Pluarity Raz-yummy!) Terry Downs kept people intrigued as he walked you through the process of creating an etching, and displayed some of his spectacular works of local spots in Rumney. And lastly, atop Stinson Lake Road, at Moosewood, the Kings offered a glance into their creative world, with Wayne’s Photo expressionist images and Alice’s dazzling handcrafted jewelry. (My apologies Ed…I couldn’t make it to your place on Saturday, but I look forward to seeing your restored vintage instruments next year!)
It was truly amazing. Here is a sampling of some of the images I captured. I know—it’s a lot, but there was so much to take in and I’m just so excited to share! And I'm excited to work on this project again next year, so mark your calendars for next Columbus Day weekend!
Will you look at the weather? Weeeeeee!Richard's stunning glaze colors at Shanware Pottery...
More Shanware. Beautiful.
Wall mural in Pat's dining room--gorgeous!

The infamous homemade Plurality Raz...delicious when paired with a sharp cheese and dark chocolate

A sampling of Pat's work... Stone floor greenhouse and easel in the sun. What would be better than that with a cup of tea on a Sunday morning?
Learn from the master: Terry shows us how he creates his etchings
Steps in the etching process displayed on the wall

Mindy Beach's figurative hanging sculpture

Mindy's fun, hand-sewn quilts
Mindy's figure drawings--stunning!

Alice King's unique, handmade jewelry: