cloudy with a chance of beads

Due to torrential downpours and flooding in Philadelphia, I arrived at my first ever bead show one hour before it closed yesterday. This is not recommended. With no map and the minutes ticking away, I pretty much ran through the expo center. Serendipity intervened when I decided to slow down and stop at the first booth that caught my eye, they didn’t have what I was in search of (Thai, African and Indian antique and handmade beads) but when I asked the gracious shop owner if she had any suggestions, she pointed to a booth directly across from her and said, “he has what you’re looking for.” And he did. I could have spent an entire day happily sifting through his treasures, let alone the countless other booths that I never even made it to but there’s always next year. Keep an eye out for new creations in my Etsy shop using my gorgeous finds.
I heart Bead Fest 2011.

thank you

 

  growing in this city of concrete

 pushing through cracks in the pavement

a wash of pink fills my window frame

canopy of green overhead

thank you

thank you

thank you

 I left meditation this week and wandered back to my apartment through Central Park, home to more than 25,000 trees. As I walked I said thank you to the trees. A simple and heart-opening practice instilled in me by my wonderful teacher Raven Keyes.

tejase wrist wraps

 

 

New silk wrist wraps are in my Etsy shop today. These simple wraps serve as a reminder to live my most radiant life. Much like tying a piece of string around your finger so you remember to water your plants, this really does work. Looking down at my imperfect hands wound at the wrist with vibrant fuchsia, I’m reminded of the radiance and strength in my imperfection and that makes me happy.

matisse house

Henri Matisse, Pianist and Chess Players, 1924 

 

 Henri Matisse, The Painter's Family, 1911

 

The work of Henri Matisse has been a constant joy and reminder to me of the energy created through art. One of the many reasons I'm so drawn to his work is his use of repeating decorative motifs within his paintings. Matisse created pictures within pictures by depicting patterned textiles, wallcoverings and furniture in his interiors.

When I decided to undertake an extreme make-over on my old dollhouse as a gift for my niece, who better to look to for influence than Matisse. Each room of the tiny three floor home draws color and design inspiration from one of his vivid, ornamental paintings. So far, it’s the closest I’ve come to my daydream of sitting on the green chair in My Room at Beau Rivage.

pioneers of repurposing

My Fourth of July week was spent screen printing flour sack towels. I’m so thrilled to have a new set for my kitchen as well as offer them in my Etsy shop. I've always loved the old-world feel and look of flour sack. I envision myself and my customers using them, not only for their intended purpose, but also creating new end uses for this beautiful fabric. 

Originally woven to contain flour, oats and other dry goods, flour sacks were replaced by disposable packaging in the 1950s and this had a huge impact on the availability and reuse of the material. Prior to this modernization, during the Great Depression era, women stitched everything from curtains to underwear with the lightweight sacks after the rice or chicken feed had been used. Many producers even started printing the cloth with floral patterns in recognition of this movement in frugal ingenuity. How wonderful to be scooping sugar from a lovely natural vessel one day and buttoning up a dress made from that very flour sack only days later. 

carry me away

Several orders of supplies are being delivered to my door this week. I’m really looking forward to printing from dawn til dusk and experimenting with some new materials during the 4^th of July weekend! I worked on a few concepts last week including some totes…I never seem to have enough for some reason. This latest signature untold imprint bag will be sold on my Etsy shop starting today and will also be included as a summer gift with a purchase of fifty dollars or more. Visit my Etsy shop here.

mushroom beige

detail of Symphony in Flesh color and Pink: Portrait of Mrs. Frances Leyland by James McNeil Whistler

When I was 11 years old, my parents painted the living room of our old house Mushroom Beige. I still remember it today. The color of the walls changed with the daylight and the mood of the house. Some days it looked like lavender and others it was yellowy taupe with a hint of pink. In the evening it was soft grey and on warm summer nights it had a seafoam green cast. I wondered then and still do now, how one color could be so many colors and I marvel at the vividness of the memory that it holds. A whole world in a color.

wild flowers

    A wheelbarrow ride through Narnia with my magical niece in search of wild flowers (she as the Snow Queen and I as the reindeer, of course).