Choi to the World

Tangerine Tango with me?

The color of 2012...Tangerine Tango. That of course, is per the world's color authority -- Pantone. I love it! I love orange. With this year's, and next year's colors I was way ahead of the trend with that color combo for my 2004 wedding ;)

Luminous Clementine

I found this little ditty on Pinterest and had to immediately try it. I have a crate of clementines so off I went. I enjoyed some pomegranate and of couse, an orange to the golden glow of the peel. No candle no wick needed, just the orange and olive oil. How to?

There was also a tutorial i found on Pinterest about taking photos of Christmas trees. It was written from the DSLR perspective which I don't have. So I tried out my own version of the tips with my point and shoot. I turned off all the lights, switched it to nighttime mode, steadied the camera on a book (or use a tripod) and shoot. The shutter stays open longer to let in the glow. I love how the light highlighted the pattern in the glass plate. Viola! Now I have to try it on our Christmas tree if we ever get one. Here we are 2 weeks past our supposed closing date still waiting for the all-clear to move into our lovely new home. 

 

A July to November

I had to conjure summer while in the throes of late autumn.

It was time for the annual PABA calendar. A collaoration of over a dozen local artists here in Rochester, NY as a fundraiser for the Printing and Book Arts Center at the Genesee Center for Arts and Education.

All I had to do was think about this past July for a few minutes and then it all came back to me. We had rather impulsively decided to put our house on the market a good eight months before we planned to, and we were in the middle of a heat wave. Recalling the blistering work trying to prepare our house for the market, then I remembered the sprinkler....

I have a 2-year-old and everyday I have the pleasure of seeing the world through his big browns. This July was particularly hot and dry where we live, and despite having the coolest blow-up kiddie pool this side of the Genesee River, my little tot's preferred method of fun and cooling off was via sprinkler. He'd pick it up and spray me, the house or anything else he thought needed some wet relief. The only green in our lawn was the patch where the sprinkler was. Blooms of every color were possible thanks to the times I could get it out of his sweet dimpled hands and into the garden.  It was a thrill watching my toddler squeal with delight as he darted through the spray, it brought relief from the heat and created explosions of summer color all around us. That sprinkler was our July fireworks.

Gosh, I love that sprinkler.

Postscript: All that work was worth it, we are moving in 6 days. A pretty fast turn around from thinkging about selling to actually selling, buying and moving -- 4.5 months. We'll be celebrating the holidays in our new home, yay!

Afloat over Letchworth Falls

There is an expression "when balloons go up", that is meant to describe a serious situation or impending trouble. I suppose that phrase could describe the state of my blog. But life has been anything but blue. On nearly a whim my husband and I have decided it's time to find a new home. We were planning on starting upon that journey in the spring but on our anniversary I guess we were starting to get a bit itchy --it has been seven years afterall -- and nearly impulsively decided that there was no better time than the present. So now one heat wave, two storage units and lots of elbow grease and $$$ later I am living in a nearly empty picture-perfect house that doen't seem so small now that the trappings of our life our gone. Those trappings however are our life and we are waiting things out until we can be reunited again.

So here after almost two months from that decision we are showing our house, shopping for another one, and had a fantastic vacation in the lovely Letchworth Park, where one of my lifelong dreams came true.

So when this balloon went up and I with it I look at it as nothing short of a harbinger for good things to come. I may need to get out my ruby slippers to help find our way to our new home.

Art will endure whatever axe is wielded its way

Whether state governments follow Kansas' lead in the decision to take away funding for the arts or not, art will find a way. But what hurts my heart is the message it sends. Art is not important, it is expendable, not essential. I think that creativity is one of the most essential things to our humanity. Since people were people we have expressed ourselves through visual communication -- images, storytelling, dance, music. It is nearly as primal as the need to eat or reproduce. Art and creativity will thrive despite a public funding vaccuum. We have been able to create images that have endured millenia with the most basic of tools... take a look.

 

(I am in love with the giraffe at 1:20 in.)

Beautiful, isn't it?

6 x6 2011

 

Going Underground for Mayday

My nose has been to the grindstone preparing for Mayday Underground 1 week from today! Thankfully my absolutely stunning husband who had this week off took home and baby duty the whole week so I could get into my rabbit hole to do some work.

I don't have nearly as much as I hoped--I always think a day will be more productive than it is. I'm a hopeless optimist--what can I say? But I will have so much more than if I relied on a few sleep deprived hours at night to get things done. I have some new designs and some old favorites to share at the show. The sketch book is brimming with ideas which I'd hoped would all be debuting at Mayday but alas that is not to be. I am trying to stay mindful and present to life, slow and steady as an admired artist just happened to reflect upon today. If I could be one fifth as prolific as she is I'd be thrilled, yet I am contented because I had this extra time to be present to my work, not relying on fits and starts. I keep working and I am seeing results. My baby will only be little for a small while so I'd rather spend time basking in the glow of his smile and be a witness to his learning and growing, creating and blooming. He is my greatest work, much of my inspiration and purpose.

So are some debut photos of some unforgettable fellows and a shadow box all aflutter.

 

 

postcrossing letters, SMAMP!

It has been another early morning for me. Since 3am... My eyes are heavy and with the help of earplugs I'll try to slumber through the little birdies' delight at the new day. Before I drift I thought I'd share the particularly intriguing results of my sleep-deprived pre-dawn surf.

It all started at the Letter Writers Alliance. Seemed like I should be a member since a large part of what I create are enablers and encouragers for hand written snail mail postings. I am not sure now how I got there but one thing lead to another. 

I then found myself on an intriguing and anonymous blog requesting, "Send Me A Million Postcards". Which then led me to the postcrossing site. How I didn't know about all these before I don't know, but I LOVE that there are lots of people out there who like and long for real mail like I do and that they are using our modern technology to enable and preserve an analog way of keeping in touch the post offices around the world should be thrilled.

 

Inspiration and ideas aplenty....

time to create is few.

I'm trying not to get down about it and just do what I can. I have so much on my plate right now that I wonder how I'll ever get done. I am excited by my plentitude of ideas. I am however; a bit ovewhelmed by them I fear, because I sometimes feel stifled by it all and I am not working.

The little time I have to create is frittering away.  I am allowing it to happen! What is wrong with me? I have a show in 36 days... I HAVE A SHOW IN 36 DAYS!

I have had several nights where I couldn't sleep and HAD to get up and sketch - for hours! It was thrilling! I was excited! I felt like I was bursting and I still do -- but it is like I am afraid to take the leap.

This happens to me and as much as I am aware of it I just let things get in the way anyway. I am my own obstacle.

Ok, I am going to stop writing and give myself an assignment, I'll be back with the result, hopefully soon ;)

House with a view, neighborhood pops!

The inspiration.

The result.

The whole neighborhood.

A brilliant realtor from Minneapolis contacted me to make these to be used as invitations for a Wine & Cheese open house to market the house for sale. It's my most interesting project to date. I loved creating these and would welcome such a project again.