surprise auction on eBay

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Last week, during our family Thanksgiving celebration, a friend in Germany emailed me some surprising news. He'd been involved in my painting years there and wanted to alert me. An old 1981 exhibition catalog from a group art show called "American Artists in Berlin" (Amerikanische Künstler in Berlin) was being auctioned on eBay. That show had featured 6 young American artists then living in Berlin, including Lynn Bowers, Jimmy Clark, Gary Rieveschl, John Schuetz, Christina Viera, and me. In the eBay bidding window was a two-page spread from the catalog, showing Jimmy Clark's pottery and one of my paintings (both a bit cut off).




Since my painting career preceded the internet access we so enjoy now, you'll realize what an unexpected glimpse this was to see a work of mine online from almost 30 years ago. My large paintings were very colorful, as were the works of the other artists included in the show. But the exhibition catalog, funded by the Amerika Haus in Berlin, was printed in black and white, an indicator of the expense of mounting shows before artists could help their own publicity using home printers and a free and expansive internet. The critical reviews were printed in both German and English, adding another expense.





I didn't bid on the catalog, but I should have. Although my own copy resides somewhere in my archives (I hope), my youngest son wishes he had known in time to buy this one. Growing up in my peripatetic studio, nevertheless he had missed those early years of my career. Already it's hard to remember which of my paintings were in that Berlin show. The large painting shown on eBay was "Femme Nue." I think there was a huge painting called "Berlin Boogie." Another painting, "The Odd Couple," was purchased by the State Department. I hope my records show who bought the rest. I do remember how young I felt then, exhibiting next to Lynn who also had his New York studio, Gary who made vast Lifeforms following his Harvard/MIT studies, and Christina who was probably at RISD when I was but had already exhibited in Greece, Great Britain, and Italy. :)

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rainy day in december

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It's raining again. Several times already, our lawn care company has cancelled leaf removal and mulching on our acre of leaves fallen from our trees, the neighbors' trees, and all the leaves blown down our long driveway from who knows where. So today they did the job in the rain. While I was laboring over writing kit instructions for the a class I'm teaching soon, they brought in leaf blowers, a mulching truck for the leaves, a truckload of mulch for the gardens, and various pick-up trucks. Parking them up and down the driveway, they made sure I wasn't leaving the house.

So with the rain coloring the day gray, I returned to my computer to edit photos for my instructions. And photographed, in the dim light, my supplies for another project waiting patiently for completion. And remembered I still haven't unpacked my Silver Bella swaps and class projects. And the dining room tree is the only one trimmed so far. Outside, the men shouted back and forth about heavy leaves and mud and how soon could they go home.




We always need the rain, I guess. But the weatherman says to expect more snow here this winter than during recent years. I'm so in the mood for a white Christmas.
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little angels all in a row

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I've lots of blog catching-up to do after a busy couple weeks. Here's something that went into the mail this morning for a swap up north at Danielle's. So happy to be sharing the holiday spirit!




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blessings to you

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Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you!

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off to silver bella

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It's Silver Bella time again, so I'm finishing up swaps and gathering supplies and packing up my red slippers for Omaha. There's just time to slip in a couple peeks at some of my swap offerings.




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autumn banner tutorial

Lovely requests for a supply list or project instructions for my Autumn Banner have prompted me to share a quick tutorial here. There's still plenty of time to make this project while the leaves fall, right? Originally, I made this seasonal banner to hang from Halloween through Thanksgiving, so the pennant colors include black, white, orange and gold. You can substitute more autumn colors to suit your taste. Add photos of your ghoulish ancestors or your cute kids to the glittered frames and hang it above your Thanksgiving buffet.



First, here's my supply list. A few items are custom or vintage, but you can easily replace them from your own stash.

• 12x12" paper Graphic 45 Renaissance Faire Collection "Masterpiece" (double-sided)
• 12x12" paper My Mind's Eye The Spider's Web "Haunted Parlor" (double-sided)
• Jenni Bowlin Scalloped Banner Set Large 6" (4 pennants)
• Jenni Bowlin Border Stickers Black
• Jenni Bowlin Chipboard Buttons Old Time Photos
• 7Gypsies Metal Page Edge, Lace, Antique Silver
• Maya Road Velvet Puff Flowers, Orange and Cream
• May Arts Ribbon, 1+1/2" wide black/cream stripe (30")
• Martha Stewart deep orange glitter (I mixed mine from 3 shades of her glitter) and glue
• Martha Stewart glow-in-the-dark glitter
• Baker's twine, black/white (for small spool, Layer Cake Shop)

• Mini cupcake liners, black/white striped (Layer Cake Shop)
plus:
• Chipboard pennants (3) cut with Stampin' Up Pennant Die (or substitute Jenni Bowlin Banner Set Small)
• Chipboard frames and hearts (3 each) cut with Stampin' Up Pennant Die
• Upholstery fabric chrysanthemums cut with Sizzix die (Joann's fabric)
• Thread and needle to gather ribbon flower
• Vintage rust seam binding
• Vintage charcoal grey seam binding
• Acorns and dried statice
• Black/white photos, small


With your supplies gathered, the first step is to trace and cover the 4 larger pennants with Graphic 45 patterned paper, using and alternating both sides of the paper. Add Jenni Bowlin border stickers, including at paper seams, using the striped sticker background, too, if you like. Ink edges of pennants as desired. Glue an orange velvet blossom to the bottom of each scalloped pennant. Use a crop-a-dile to punch 2 holes in the upper corners.



Tie vintage rust seam binding through 4 large JB chipboard buttons. Through 2 small chipboard buttons, tie vintage grey seam binding. Tie one or two small chipboard button with black/white twine. Ink edges of buttons.

For the two scalloped end pennants, make a ribbon medallion: Sew a basting stitch along one long 15” edge of striped ribbon, gather tightly into a circle, overlap and stitch the ends together. Glue a large tied chipboard button to a fabric chrysanthemum, then glue the flower to a striped ribbon medallion. Glue the ribbon medallions to the center of each end pennant.

























For the other two scalloped pennants, staple a small dried flower sprig to the center of each pennant where chipboard buttons will cover the staples. Using single and double layers of foam adhesive, arrange the tied chipboard buttons over the flower stems. If you wish, add a Dresden gold foil cobweb to one pennant, or substitute another button with twine. You can also recycle fun "found" items, like the small “B is for Boo" flap that is an inspection sticker from a garment.





















(By the way, these photos taken back in September show the Halloween elements, like the dried black heather, black cat, etc. Since then, I've replaced them with more autumn colors. Sorry I didn't have time to edit the photos for better color quality . . . please click on them to enlarge for detail. )

Next cover the 3 smaller chipboard pennants with MME black paper. Glitter the 3 chipboard hearts and 3 oval frames. Fold the mini cupcake liners in half. Glue cream velvet blossoms to the folded cupcake liners, then to the glittered hearts. Glue the orange glittered heart tassels to two smaller pennants. Glue the glow-in-the-dark glittered heart tassel to the middle pennant (or glitter it orange like the other hearts).





















Carefully cut a 7Gypsies metal border in half. Remove the inner protective layer and adhere each half to the top of the orange-heart pennants; trim to fit. Trace a scalloped pennant edge to cut a Graphic 45 scalloped border for the middle pennant. Use a crop-a-dile to punch 2 holes in the upper corners.



Cover the 3 chipboard ovals with MME reverse pattern paper and/or black/white family photos. Using foam tape, adhere the photo ovals to the black pennants. Then glue the glittered frames to the ovals. Glue acorns above frames.

Finally, string the pennants together using the baker's twine. Tie loops in the ends and hang in the window or over the mantel until Thanksgiving.

Hope you enjoy making this Autumn Banner. If you have joined Kari's Year of Color blog, you can see Candice's smaller but similar Halloween banner there. If you send me a link in the comments section when you're done, we can all drop by to see your version.
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happy haunting

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playing musical chairs

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On Friday, with my friends Amy and Hope, I'll be driving to New York to join Charlotte in her autumn house wren studio session. I'm totally excited to participate in the special day she has planned for her cottage class.





Meanwhile, in order to make the trip following my back injury, I've been paying careful attention to the flexibility exercises my chiropractor has advised me to do, wearing my back brace as needed, and using the cold pack often to minimize the disk inflammation. Sitting is still a problem (MRI re-scheduled at the end of October), and it's much more comfortable for me to walk around than to stay stationary. Painting at my new lightweight easel is therefore easier than sitting down to do small-scale handwork, like stitching on my tardy Silver Bella swaps. Walking outside in the beautiful fall weather today was even better.








It's been interesting to evaluate the chairs in my house from my temporary weight-shifting perspective. How much attention do you normally give to the angle or depth of the seat, the curve of the back, or how firm is the front edge of the seat when you choose to sit? My chairs all seemed comfortable to me before. Right now, ironically, the least comfortable are my Eames chairs (not pictured), whose relaxed span is just too difficult to maneuver.











So I'm hoping that my being a model patient will pay off this Friday, when sitting in the car for about 6 hours will be my first big test. Thankfully, my car does have comfortable seats. But I predict more pit stops than usual, if only long enough to stand up and amble around the car before sitting down again.












By the way, in case you've noticed, I've had a medical excuse not to vacuum or dust for almost two months. How cool is that!!
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black and gold for autumn

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One reason I love the change in seasons is this warm color combination

pairing black and gold with the tang of orange.

Are you in the mood for autumn decorating?





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just sharing . . .

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Today my mailbox offered me some happy mail instead of the usual

junk mail that gets wadded up in there.

I wish I could somehow pay to prevent junk mail from arriving, especially the stuff from every insurance company and medicare provider (all of whom know exactly when I turn 65 -- don't think your privacy is in any way protected from those who can make money by knowing your data), investment company, politician (it's soon November again), and so on. Do you have any clue how many commercial ventures have you programmed in their data bases?

Trash cans full.

With no redeeming scrapbooking graphics.

But today is a happy mail day.

So I thought I would share the hand-applied greetings on these delightful envelopes that arrived from two real people.

Hi, Brin and Judy -- you made my day! :)

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