Let it Fly

to interrupt our regular programming....

Hey there :) I sat staring at my studio wall for the first hour that I was there on Saturday. A little overwhelming to have my first day there in two weeks I guess. So, as I sometimes do, I hauled out some old sketchbooks and leafed through hoping for some inspiration. I found this little girl...

After hour two kicked in, I did get those postcards done for the upcoming postcard swap at Hula Seventy. I decided not to mess with the finished product after all. Sometimes simple is best and I left well enough alone :)

We'll be hopping around visiting for the next couple of days while celebrating July 4th so I'll see you back here early next week. Enjoy the weekend where you are !

A day at the beach

Good Morning! I thought I'd share some photos of our day spent in Newport, Rhode Island last week. We visited a place called Save the Bay that my son had gone to on a field trip with his school last month. He came back with such an enthusiastic response that we had to go back this summer! If you are in the area this summer, you may want to stop in. The entire day cost us $45 dollars which included parking at the beach, 2 rides for each child on a carousel, admission for all three of us to a mini-aquarium on the beach (where the kids got to do a free craft and hold all kinds of tiny sea creatures), two frozen lemonades, a guide to New England wildlife, and a swim in Naragansett Bay! We packed a cooler with cold drinks and a healthy lunch and that's all we needed.

Here are some highlights.....

love the shapes in this photo :)

Did I mention that it wasn't even a very sunny day? Mostly overcast, but very warm and balmy. It made the day seem very peaceful and calm and every now and then some warm raindrops would fall to cool us off. Lovely, really.

and last but not least....a "framed" postcard from Newport ;)

I just now noticed that woman in the foreground as she is getting up from her seat and it's adding an element if silliness to this serene photo that is really making me laugh :):) As I've said before, I am easily amused.....;)

Feel free to share your "summer days" stories!

Have fun out there :)

Friday Archives

Another black and white drawing from the same "after college" days on Cape Cod. I'm starting to think about translating some of these into linoleum block prints. I think they could be pretty cool, especially in other colors. hmmmm.....

And here's one of my black and white designs that I would love to print from a block but it may kill me because of the tiny detail ;) It may be better suited for silkscreen? Don't really know. I haven't tried that yet.

I can see stationary, wrapping paper, fabric.......all kinds of things in this pattern. Again, I say hmmmmm....

REALLY looking forward to my morning at the studio tomorrow. I am wondering why I have been waking up at 2 to 3 am for the past few nights and being unable to go back to sleep. I think it may be studio withdrawal ;)

Enjoy your weekend!! and check out Loobylu for more Friday Archives :)

Cool Shadow

On the ceiling at the ice cream shop...............

:):)

Summer Food

Good Morning! Yesterday brought our second box full of fresh picked vegetables from the CSA we are a part of this summer. Beets, lettuce, yellow squash and fresh strawberries were just some of the goodies to be had this week.

It's times like these that I really appreciate Google and the ability to instantly find a recipe for beets, zuchinni, or strawberry/ rhubarb anything!

Another stop in yesterday's travels was one of our favorites.

Yum!

In other news, I woke up this morning at 5am for no other reason than my head was spinning with ideas for finishing those postcards I told you about. Once my eyes were open, there was no going back. Usually about a week into summer vacation I start to get restless for a studio day and I am there now! I have been working on a few things at home but there is nothing like that un-interrupted time when I can make a mess and try out some new ideas. Leaving things in limbo makes me very restless. But, I just secured myself some time this weekend to run off and finish the postcards so I think I can hold out until then :)

Hope you are finding all the time you need for your work and are enjoying your days......

back soon..

Summer rolls in

Good Morning :) Well we are off and running around here. The volleyball net is up in the yard, popsicles are in the freezer, the sprinkler has been dug out and cleaned off and we have started our pick-ups for the CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) we joined. Yep. It's summer.

I thought I'd just throw out a stream of consciousness summer list of favorites since I don't have any photos to show you today.......

Drive-in movies......cotton candy........sunsets........swimming........thunderstorms.......long hikes with no worries about where we have to be next.......water parks.........fireworks........baseball games.......family visits.........barbecues with friends.......cold beer.........warm days........bare feet........grilled chicken........baby birds hidden in the trees.......bike rides......puffy clouds........painting.........strawberry-rhubarb jam............vacation!.........horseback riding........driving with all the windows down and favorite tunes on the radio........tequila :)..................

Feel free to join in and create your own summer favorites list! You can leave it in my comments or put one on your blog and leave a link for all to enjoy :)

Back soon.........

 

 

They say it's my birthday.....;)

And they would be right! I'm blessed to have another year under my belt with lots of plans for the future and lots of gratitude for the past year. I have learned alot about myself this year and through this blog and I am looking forward to seeing where the next year takes me. Thank you to everyone who stops by here to visit and/or say hello and takes the time to share some of your own creative lives. I have really enjoyed getting to know some of you and visiting your websites and blogs and am still in awe of all the talent out there.

I thought I'd show you two photos of lovely gifts I've received for my birthday. It makes me laugh to look at them side by side because they pretty much sum up my personality, which is a cross between a flower garden and a hardware store :)

Hitting the road tonight to enjoy a birthday dinner with my dad :)

Enjoy your day!

Printing peek..... :)

Hello again..... I got a summer themed design together for the postcard swap I told you about and had enough time to draw, carve and print one day last week. I thought I'd give you a quick look at the resulting postcards.....

I hand-painted the backround colors for some of the cards and used cardstock for others. I'm not 100% sure they are done yet. My hands are itching to embellish, but that's not always a good thing. I think I'll look at them for a few more days and decide....

Wrapping up the school year with the kids tomorrow so my posts will probably get a little more sporadic until I figure out the summer schedule. But I will definately be here so come back and visit :)

Back soon.

Another Andrea ?

I had to post again.....the postcard swap I mentioned in a previous post is being run by Andrea over at Hula Seventy and it is cracking me up that she is married to a fellow named Ward because as you know, I am Andrea, and as you may not know, my husband's name is Ward!

Yes, I am easily amused :) I am on a little bit of a turpentine inhaling, caffeinated coffee high so please excuse my silliness.

Check out Hula Seventy for some fun photos and reading and also if you're interested in the postcard swap. Names are being collected until Sunday June 15!

Friday Archives

Good Morning! I had this painting stashed at the studio and thought it would be a good subject for Friday Archives this week. It's about 1 1/2 years old now and it's another one of those that I just picked up the brush and began. That seems to be a good system for me at times. My mind is constantly spinning and sometimes I think WAY too hard about the next piece I want to work on. To the point where I overwhelm myself with options and can't begin.

The only thing I can say about this painting is that I was thinking about bones. The idea of an underlying strength and solidity that supports everything that gets layered on top of it. No surprise that there are suggestions of female forms in there :)

Check out Loobylu for more and have a great weekend where you are !