Since Christmas, I have been keeping a watercolor journal. I have been stretching my paintbrush muscles getting ready for another holiday season. The unfinished painting of a leaf above was actually a photograph I took while on a walk after it had rained. The sun poked out briefly adding sparkle to the water droplets all around us. It was a magical moment, and I am eager to see if I can impart that feeling. Here is another journal page.
And speaking of magic, I will be teaching this summer at Artful Gathering, the online summer art workshops. I am finishing my class samples, which I will share here soon. I will be offering two classes, one of which will be Halloween themed. Watch for details soon and check out Artful Gathering.com.
The gardening season in north Florida is short, since we really can't grow much during the hot months of June, July and August. So I started early and decided to share some of the photos of our side yard, container garden. Fresh herbs are so much better, don't you think? Parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme...hmmm...I've heard that somewhere before!
I love this little thoughtful cherub. I think of our daughter when I walk past.
Tomatoes, lettuce, turnips and spaghetti squash are all planted in containers.
I planted these nasturtiums from seed! The flowers are edible too. Thankfully the squirrels haven't gotten them.
Our gargoyles stand watch out front amidst the azeleas. I am inspired each time I glance out the window and see the beauty of these plants. Enjoy the sights of late spring.
I have a collection of vintage China doll heads from Germany. Years ago, I won an ebay auction for a number of them and a sweet friend gave a bag of them to me. I am always trying to find ways of using these remants of the past in my art, and a spun cotton rabbit seemed natural. This little gem is currently available on eBay and will end on Sunday evening. Wishing you warmer days and bunny smiles!
There is nothing like a Christmas tour of homes to get you into the holiday spirit!
I belong to the Las Adelphas Garden circle, one of 10 circles made up of about 30 members each, and part of the greater, 300-member St. Augustine Garden Club. Each year, the club puts on the Christmas Tour of Homes, in which six historic homes in the downtown are decorated with fresh flowers and all sorts of Christmas cheer. A tea and boutique are also part of the tour - in fact I had to bake some four dozen cookies for it! About 1500 tickets are sold each year and it sells out early, this year was no exception.
Being a new member, this was my first year taking part in the tour. Not only did I help decorate a beautiful renovated 1920's home, I also got to tour the other five and even enjoy some cookies and tea!
It was a lot of work, taking about three full days to decorate and then another couple hours on the day of the tour working a two-hour shift at the house and directing people from room to room. But what a great experience!
The top photo is the moss wreath our circle created for the front door of the Gowen home, a beautiful historic house right on the Intercoastal and in view of the Bridge of Lions downtown. Here it is with all the decorations in place outside. I personally wired the greenery on the fresh cut wreaths that adorn the front windows. Actually, there was a group of us working on them.
Not only did we add the fresh greenery to the square wire forms, we added large pinecones to the backs - so they'd be beautiful from inside the house as well as the outside - but we also added pepper berries, little gem magnolia leaves, a green apple and a large, purchased sugar pinecone hanging in the middle. They were a lot of work, but so worth it!
Here are more pictures of the house our club decorated. I'll share some of the photos of the other homes in a second post. Stay tuned! In the meantime, enjoy the home tour!
The family room...
A close-up of the coffe table arrangement. Don't you just love those horse-tail pine needles!
The beautiful living room fireplace. You can barely see the stairs in the background, also adorned with fresh greenery thanks to our club members handy work.
This is their entry, pink roses and pink poinsettias, magnolia leaves and curly willow. Need I say more?
Wouldn't you just love this view for coffee in the morning?
Their breakfast nook...again a gorgeous view! And check out the neat jellyfish glass lights in the upper left corner. They are stunning!
The back door was decorated with all sorts of dried fruits, cinnamon sticks and small pinecones. One of our members dried the oranges, star fruit and orange peel. Just lovely!
Our traveling companions were 50 of my fellow St. Augustine Garden Club members, whom I recently joined officially last month. We learned much about what types of plants grow in the northern part of the state and what might work with what, we plan on creating, as a New Orleans courtyard in our backyard.
Afterward, we headed to lunch on our own and happened upon a delicious little restaurant, the Paris Bistro. We sat outside, had a glass of wine and quiche of the day. Then, we were awed by the world’s most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany. I just can't explain the beauty of the leaded-stained glass windows - many of which came from Tiffany's own house after it had burned, jewelry, paintings, art glass, and of course, gorgeous lamps. We had no idea what to expect, but I can tell you we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! On the way back, the bus load of us sipped wine and munched on cheese, crackers and cookies as the final capper to the day! I encourage you to take a local garden or museum tour. What creative inspiration it provides!
From June to August 2012, ArtfulGathering.com will be presenting TWO exciting semesters of premiere online video workshops offered by fabulous artists who are known nationally and internationally. We are all very excited to share out knowledge, skill, and creativity with you, and we hope that you will join us for this AMAZING annual online event.
Blog Hop with us for a chance to win a prizes from Jerry's Artarama!
Each week the faculty of Artful Gathering will be announcing a featured blog to visit.
You can hop along with us until the final destination blog is reached, and where ONE Grand Prize winner will be chosen at Random for a chance to win a $200.00 e-gift card from Jerry's Artarama!!!Two Runner Up winners will also be chosen at random for a chance to win a $25.00 e-gift card from Jerrys.
Each week I will announce the next featured blog for you to visit, and there you will find a new secret word or words that you will need to collect along your way from blog to blog. Once you have collected all the words from each blog you visit, they will work out to say a very artsy phrase. Here are the rules:
For your chance to win, you must collect all the secret code words and submit them upon the final destination blog in May. A random drawing will be conducted from those contestants who have submitted the complete collection of secret words!
Three winners will be randomly drawn. One for the $200.00 e-card to Jerry's, and two runner's up for the $25 e-card to Jerrys.
Remember to collect all the secret words. These words will work out to say a very artful phrase, and you'll need all the pieces to be eligible for the final prize drawings!
Our son was leaving the house and noticed a bird fly out from our porch. He noticed that it came from the area where we keep a wicker chair and where I have hung a concrete owl. The sculptured owl's wings are spread and it has two glass marbles for eyes. It was made to hold a votive, and the eyes light up casting an eerie glow over the piece.
Here, I used the flash on my camera and you can see how the eyes glow. Well being a curious young man, Trevor wondered what the bird was doing. When we first moved into our home, the overhead porch light had been left partially open and a bird had nested inside it. Of course, we were careful not to turn the porch light on for fear we'd burn what little babies might be inside.
But there was no open porch light this time. So after leaving the house several times through the front door and noticing the same behavior from this bird, our son decided to peek inside the owl. Lo and hehold, what do you think he found?!
You guessed it! A sweet little bird's nest complete with five dainty little eggs! You can't tell from the harsh light of my flash, but they are the loveliest shade of blue. Isn't it ironic that a small bird would choose to make a nest inside the sculpture of a carnivorous owl? I'll try to take pictures along the way, without disturbing the little darlings to be. What would be ideal is if I could snap a pic of the bird on the nest! It reminds me of our families and holding our loved ones close. Like the Mermaid Queen and her little mer-baby in the Under the Sea theater, I created and now have listed on eBay.
Precious moments like these happen everyday. All we need do is recognize and take a few minutes to enjoy them. Soon our son will be flying the coop on his way to college and our nest will be much quieter. I am cherishing the time we spend together. Remember, each day is a gift.
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