A NEW ARTIST ...

At our recent family gift exchange I was the very fortunate person to receive this lovely piece of artwork made by my great niece, Libby. It is constructed with small pieces of scrap wood and painted. Libby tells me the name of the piece is "Carrot Boat Going to Ireland On The Ocean". I absolutely love it and it will have a place of honor on my studio wall. Miss Libby, please continue to do these creative things and do them often. You have the good fortune to be born into a family of many creative people and it looks like you will be carrying on the tradition. Way to go Libby!

THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS ...

... was the Second Annual Holiday Family Gift Exchange! Since holiday baking is a passion for me, the buffet table was heavy! On this end of the table you can see the family candelabra holding court over many kinds of cookies, a cheese stand and a tower of mini gingerbread cupcakes. On the other end of the table is a mountain village of lighted ceramic buildings, tiny trees and people. Here we have fresh fruit kabobs, meat, cheese and chili empanadas and Ricotta cheese, spinach and bacon empanadas.

I had so much fun putting this all together! We also had wine and coffee and water for the children.

After we had finished eating we had the "Secret Santa" gift exchange. It was so nice to see the care that each family member took in selecting just the right gift for their recipient. And of course, the hand made and imaginative gift wrappings were fabulous!

The children sat around a plastic tablecloth to eat and pretended it was a picnic in December. During the week that Erin was visiting, she made friends with Buttercup. Here they are sharing a meal.

Three generations !

I am already starting to plan next year's event. It was so wonderful to have so many of the family able to attend. I am hopeful that one year, my sisters who live far away will be able to make the trip. Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

A SIMPLE WAY TO LIVE ...

The following article, written by Laura Coblentz, was printed in a recent issue of a local newspaper called the Albion News. It is a regular column titled "Amish Country" and discusses current happenings in the local Amish community. I was so taken by the information, its sweetness and simplicity that I thought you, my readers, might take away similar feelings at this time of thankfulness and reflection. "Thursday the ladies had a combined sewing for both districts. They assembled 50 baby bundles. They had 10 sewing machines humming all day. This is what goes into a bundle: one comforter, two receiving blankets, six diapers (cloth), two pairs of rubber pants, two onesies, two sleepers, one towel, two washcloths, one bar soap, one bottle and two pairs of booties. These are all wrapped in a towel closed with safety pins. Each lady was to bring two bars of soap along. Mose Troyers and Emanuel Erbs were in charge of the sewing but Martha Fisher was in charge of the bundles. They also quilted two large quilts." The article continues with information about the coming and goings of various Amish families, who is visiting from out of town and who is leaving to visit elsewhere. Sometimes I am quite drawn to this simple way of life.......strong in family congregation and gatherings for singular purpose.

BETSY AND HER FAWN BUTTERCUP ..

Here Buttercup is trying to see into the kitchen while Mom keeps a lookout.

Everything is OK so she can concentrate on the corn.

Now it is Betsy's turn to have a bite also, while still keeping a close eye on the woods.

Meanwhile Buttercup just keeps eating. Today they were here at 5am, noon and 4pm. We must be the best place around! I expect we will see them later tonight also.

And still this little beauty is so curious about the glass door and the shadows she might be seeing beyond it. She has snow on her nose from poking around in the snow for food.

It's a good thing we buy dried corn in very large bags!

KEEPING BUSY WHILE IT SNOWS ...

"ELISE" ...

16 x 20 Canvas board. Acrylic and oil pastel.

OUR CURRENT STATE ...

Isn't it just so beautiful!

IT IS NOW OFFICIALLY BOOT WEATHER ...

Of course, you do need one for each foot. But you knew that.......

IT CAME UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS.......

The silent rain of winter......

"HAROLD" ...

An exercise in creating a face with character. It is 11 X 14 stretched canvas; acrylic and oil pastel.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY READERS....

SHORT UPDATE ...

Our black squirrel came back this morning for breakfast. His name is Monty!!

A SIGHTING AT ARBOR VISTA ...

I have NEVER seen a black squirrel! This one showed up this morning on the porch outside the kitchen to eat sunflower seeds dropped by the little birds who live at the bird feeder. I did some research and found the following from Wikipedia: "As a melanistic variety of the eastern grey squirrel, individual black squirrels can exist wherever grey squirrels live. Grey mating pairs may produce black offspring, and in areas with high concentrations of black squirrels, mixed litters are common.[1] The black subgroup seems to have been dominant throughout North America prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, since their dark colour helped them hide in virgin forests which tended to be very dense and shaded. As time passed, hunting and deforestation led to biological advantages for grey coloured individuals.[2] Today, the black subgroup is particularly abundant in the northern part of the Eastern Grey Squirrel's range.[3][4] This is likely due to the significantly increased cold tolerance of black individuals which lose less heat than greys.[5] Black individuals also enjoy visibility advantages in denser northern forests." The report further states that the black squirrel is quite rare, 1 in 10,000. I think he is just beautiful!

A DETOUR INTO FANTASY.......

I have no idea where this came from. I have never considered fantasy subject matter in my art. It may have had something to do with the fact that I created this the week I watched "Avatar". When viewed in person there is much to ponder!

This is a 16 X 20 stretched canvas, unframed. It is a mixed media piece of acrylic, oil pastel and some paper collage. I have titled it "Candlelight Dinner".

IS THERE A GUERILLA (knitter) IN OUR MIDST ??

Apparently so!

For more information please see below:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, graffiti knitting, guerrilla knitting, or yarnstorming is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk. While yarn installations – called yarn bombs or yarnstorms – may last for years, they are considered non-permanent, and, unlike graffiti, can be easily removed if necessary. The practice is believed to have originated in the U.S. with Texas knitters trying to find a creative way to use their leftover and unfinished knitting projects, but it has since spread worldwide.[1] While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing is almost exclusively about reclaiming and personalizing sterile or cold public places.[1] Dave Cole is a contemporary sculpture artist who practiced knitting as graffiti for a large-scale public art installation in Melbourne Australia for the Big West Arts Festival in 2009. The work was vandalized the night of its completion.[2] The movement has been said to be "changing the face of craft" as stitchers are more and more frequently being viewed as fibre artists.[3]

So, go forth my friends and make a corner of the world more colorful!

A PERFECT BIRTHDAY ...

The perfect gift from Roy, a DVD I have wanted for a Very. Long. Time. From the jacket: " On a warm September night, Andrea Bocelli came home to Tuscany to sing to the people of the ancient city of Pisa. The Piazza dei Cavalieri was the historic setting for this momentous outdoor event". After an afternoon of Bocelli, we went to dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. Yes, the perfect birthday. Thank you Roy! Some day I will spend my birthday in Italy. Until that time, this one did quite nicely!

WORKING IN MY NEW SKETCHBOOK ...

A study in profile and draping fabric...

Hoping to some day draw the perfect nose, or at least one that doesn't look like a foot..... This is a plant trying to flourish in my dentist's office. I don't know what kind it is.

This is "Ella", one of the primitive dolls I made some years ago.

A wall I photographed on our trip to Snow Farm.

A male hand.....I kinda like this!

IT'S CAKE O'CLOCK !!

Seriously, I think this really is a picture of me in my former life! It really is all about birthday cake.

SO......YOU WANT TO MAKE A PUZZLE ?

Of course you do, I heard you say so just the other day. And making a puzzle is easy. There are many ways to do this but this is how I made mine. Begin with a piece of Masonite board cut to whatever size you want. I chose a piece that is 12 X 14 inches to accommodate the image I wanted to use.

And speaking of the image, I used this painting I created several years ago, of a lady turtle traveling the world. I used Mod Podge to adhere the image to the board, after I spray painted the edges a bronze metallic. After it was completely dry, I covered it with two coats of water based polyurethane to seal it. I also spray painted the back side of the board a dark green. Then it was off to Roy's shop. I felt it was necessary to put his brand new scroll saw to use! I had drawn random lines on the back for him to follow in making the individual puzzle pieces. It worked great! (what a sweetie he is).

The pieces are shown here in a random assortment. Then I had to put it together. Not that easy! Even though I painted the image and designed the puzzle, it was hard. In my defense, I don't really enjoy the adventure of jig saw puzzles. I made this one as a Christmas gift so I don't ever have to put it together again, right?

The next step is to sew a draw string bag to put the pieces in. I think it might also be a good idea to print off the image on fabric paper and adhere it to the front of the bag. If not, it might never get assembled!

So, go forth and make a puzzle. If you don't have a scroll saw, find a friend or neighbor who does. Perhaps a plate of cookies will get your puzzle cut for you!

MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE lll

Wood base 12 X 12, assorted papers, paper beads, found object, acrylics. and plaster for texture.

STRETCHING, LEARNING, TRYING: MORE PAGES FROM MY SKETCHBOOK....

ROY'S PROJECT...

For some reason, the builders of our home did not fence the entire porch. So, all of the light colored pieces were added this week. Looks a lot better to me! Now we just have to stain it to match the existing railing. Good job Roy!

MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE ll

Wood base, 12X 12, handmade papers, found objects, cheesecloth, acrylics.

MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE l

Wood base, 12 X 12 . Handmade papers, found objects, polymer clay, acrylic, handmade beads, bone and tissue papers.