"Easter Bear" Update .....

These are the foot prints the Easter Bear left the other night.  Apparently he did return last night although we did not hear him.  He managed to drag off up into the woods, about 100 feet from the house, the very large vinyl trash can with lid,  in which we had a 40 pound bag of corn we use to feed the deer.  He dropped corn along the way and left the can, but managed to take off with the bag containing  most of the corn.   I am now tired of the Easter Bear .......

 

 

 

The Easter Bear Came ! . . . .

   .....'cause that's how we roll in Northwestern Pennsylvania. 
 I wish I had a  photograph of this fabulous beast but it was almost midnight last night and quite dark on the porch.  I was not going to go outside and introduce myself so you will have to use your imagination.
He (she?) was very, very big, and black, and  had what looked like a soft and silky coat.  When he stood beside the double wide french doors ( 6 feet wide) leading onto the porch, he easily reached from one side to the other.
He made a total mess of the two bird feeding trays as he ate most of the sunflower seeds foolishly left by our birds.  Happily it is close enough to Spring that we can repair, and put away these feeders, as the Easter Bear will most certinly be back if we don't.  He wandered around on the porch, looking in all 3 of the french doors and sniffing the handles.  I wonder if he could break through those glass panes if motivated enough?  I was anxious I admit! 

I don't know a lot about bears, but I can guess that the hibernation period is over and these beautiful beasts are hungry!

 

" If you go down in the woods today, you better not go alone ..."



My Brand New (old) Jeans!

 Recently I saw a pair of jeans online from a high end department store in New York.  The price was insane.  I looked at them closely , and decided I could create a pair very similar for no money, as I already had the jeans and the paint.  It has been suggested ( in a gentle but firm way) that perhaps I have gone a bit batty here in this seemingly endless winter.  Maybe.  But, these are my new most favorite jeans!

The Process . . .

This is the week.  I am putting together all the art pieces that will be hung in my first solo exhibition in April!  The photograph above shows some of the pieces that are still needing screws and wires.   Roy has made the stretcher bars for all of them ( he is the best! ) and I got them stretched and stapled this week.  Now I need to make sure they have no mistakes on them (like thin spots on the painted edges, etc).   I want them to be as perfect as they can be.  I will be writing the title of each  piece on the back as well as signing them.  Then, I just have to keep them safe until time for the installation!  It is amazing how much work goes into preparing artwork for a public showing.  Creating  the pieces is the easy part!

Junk Mail Art 3/7/2013

Junk Mail Art 3/5/2013

Junk Mail Art 3/4/2013

 

I invite you to take the Junk Mail Challenge!  Using ONLY the junk mail that came in your mail box today, create a piece of artwork!  After you do, then throw the rest of it away.  At least there will be a small amount of landfill that has become something lovely and art has appeared where there was none before.  How cool is that?  This would be a great project for children stuck inside due to weather concerns, or children home and sick, but bored and restless.  A nice by product of this  project is they are not plugged into some techno appliance!

How many ways can you love a resale shop ?

 Today we braved the 20 degree temperature to browse in our most favorite resale shop.  For my local readers, you know this place!  Yes, "Walker's Buttons and Bows" in Cambridge Springs !. I found this dessert set; four plates, four cups, four saucers and one platter.  They are stamped in the clay on the back "ITALY", and are hand painted.  I love these!  I also love the price of $9.00 for the entire set.

 

On a previous outing I also found this beautiful, and very large, shallow bowl.  It actually measures over 18 inches across!  My memory tells me it was $5.00.

It has a special place in the middle of our very long harvest table Roy made when we lived in New Mexico.  It is made from vintage barn wood and accommodates a large seating!

 

I wonder if my interest in brightly colored flower dishes has anything to do with the fact that we are all quite ready for Spring here.  Probably .......