Birds and Things

We're headed into Spring, or so I am told. So I have decided to start to post some Spring inspired pieces. Here is the first. Happy Friday!

More new work

A few new pieces inspired by the season.


Squirrel (sold)



New England Gothic



Manitoba Friends

I'll be at SOWA this Sunday 10-4. Come out and enjoy the art, food and fun! Only 3 Sundays left in the season. Don't miss out!

Birds in Trees

I guess I have been going through a "bird phase". These were done last spring. Bird song in the spring is so wonderful after the New England winter.







These pieces have sold but I will be offering limited edition prints and small waxed reproductions for sale at my shows and soon online in my etsy store.

SOWA this Sunday

I will be at SOWA on Harrison Ave in Boston this Sunday from 10-4 with my friends from Boston Handmade. Come celebrate handmade and find some one of a kind goodies! The holidays are fast approaching. Only 80 days until Christmas and Hanukkah begins in 57 days!

Here are a few more new pieces I will have on hand.


Birds on a Wire


Hyde Park Bunny


Poppies

New work!

I have been horrible at blogging and I am going to try to start up again. Summer was busy with the kids and I gave myself a pass on most everything. How many summers is my daughter going to be 4? and my son 8? So we had some slow summer days at the beach collecting things and building things and just enjoying time together. It really cements what is important when you turn your attention away from the grind that constantly pulls at you to focus intently on those you treasure the most. Listening closely to their ideas about things and their questions can give new perspective and a few giggles.
Anyway, I am here and still working at my encaustics. I have started to incorporate my own drawings and paintings, embedding them in the layers of wax. Here are a few.


"Together"


"Cutting Line"


"Mid-west Dream"


"Third Chapter"

Inspiration Don't Leave Me Now

Well, I'm just back from "vacation". It was the first time back to Florida since the passing of my mother-in-law and it made me reflect on a lot of things. It is amazing the impact that small gestures can have on a person's life - fancy soaps in the bathroom, beds made and towels laid out, home cooked dinners you don't have to think about, quiet conversations marveling on how the kids are growing, stories shared about golf and "life at the club" - I missed them all.

I'm finding it difficult to get motivated - I guess I'm having a bit of a relapse in my mourning process but I decided I would just try to make some small items to try out gouache in my mixed media. Family and motherhood are on my mind...

Before and After

Usually "Before and Afters" show improvement but improvement can be different things to different people.

My studio was once a lovely sun room.  It was my refuge, a "room of my own", where I could surround myself with my favorite things and indulge my obsession with Tiki.  The Christmas that my husband gave me my encaustic setup, I was so excited and couldn't wait to set it up.  I carved out a small corner by the window so I would have good ventilation and started to play.  
Well, a couple years later, I am completely hooked and my room has been transformed into a full time studio.

Just last week, I finally got around to moving out the remaining furniture and setting up some real work stations using tables that I was hanging onto (our old kitchen table and one from our photo studio).  I have been using folding tables to lay things out and plastic storage bins - not the most attractive, but someday I'll invest in esthetically pleasing cabinets.  The most important thing is that it is now a functioning space.  I no longer have to walk around the house mumbling to myself about where I left my scissors or ruler or...

I loved my old sun room and it was a lovely place to spend time, but I spend even more time in my studio and it's value is immeasurable.

Something Old Something New - Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to all! I've been reminiscing lately and looking thru quite a body of work.


Something Old
A photo I took of my husbands hand many years ago. We were testing some polaroid films on the roof of our studio. Ahh, the good old days...


Something New
This piece was inspired by my love of the French movie "Le Ballon Rouge". It's a classic!

Enjoy the day and cherish your friends and family.

Thinking Spring...

I am starting to dream of Spring. It is inevitable every year, after the holiday crazies have gone and the snow starts to look really dirty, I start to wonder how long it will be before the thaw. I actually got a glimpse the other day of an eager daffodil starting it's journey skyward just outside my front door. It's the closest one to the house so it's clock is always a little off - I guess we have that in common.

Bunnies, flowers and maps of places I wish I could travel to... these are a few of my favorite things.

Red Rider...

More new work inspired by my two boys - my six year old son and my husband (who never stopped being 6). They are huge fans of the movie "A Christmas Story". I happen to think the leg lamp is way ahead of it's time.

New Work

Wall Flower Series 1 - Joie

I had a bit of a tough start to the new year. We lost a very special person in our family. She was a rock. A woman with uncompromising grace. She influenced all those around her and since her passing I have come to see, yet again, that it is the small bits, the kind words, the pats on the back, the sharing of secret recipes and old photographs, the passing down of family stories that makes life worth it. She felt that there was nothing more important than family and she was the foundation of ours.
I was left flat after the holidays. I didn't know where to turn, what to do. In a bag of old wallpaper, I have found a bit to hold on to. My "Wall Flower" series will be in her memory.