1760 sundayhouse

Hello, 2009! Thank you, 2008!!

 

Welcome, 2009!  Thank you for everything, 2008!  This year has been incredibly good!  It allowed me many beginnings... some scary, some exciting, some head-on, all needed for growth and maturity.  And for as long as we're in this world, I say why not?  Why resist the gifts that are to come?  Why stay in a place of fear in the name of comfort?

As 2009 comes, I look back at 2008, and smile at how wonderful it has been.  How grateful I am!  2009, I welcome you with all my heart and my art!  May I learn with every step, and with every lesson, may I be big-hearted and wise enough to heed whatever it is that I need to learn and pass it on.  From the Sunday House and the world, cheers to you!

Sweets for the Sweet!

 

Just as long as the season almost calls for an indulgence, I've found a few places that answer the call.  Above is Anna Mae's counter in Joplin, MO.  A small bakery on 20th Street, right across from the Joplin High School, this serves treats galore, from freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the morning to chocolate chip cookies and decorated sugar cookies.  A welcome addition to the Joplin treat scene!

 

Here is another indugence:

 

The Sprinkles Cupcakes in Laguna Beach hit the spot for both design and sweets during my recent trip to L.A.  With beautiful interior architecture, great graphic design:

 

and cupcakes to die for, I can't help but profess my love for the place.

 

I couldn't help but wonder if "sprinkles" is the new way to spell "heaven!"

Stuffed-- A Gathering of Softies

 

Remember this post?  Imagine my surprise and delight when I got Stuffed in the mail. My work is featured in it, and it comes to us from the lovely folks at Stampington and Co. or Somerset Publishing.

 

Above is a sneak peek int my page.  A cake party for Sophie!  This issue's Stuffed also has my Favorite, Danita's work:

 

It is a huge honor to be in the same publication as Danita.  She is my version of a rock star, one whose work I've admired for year, a person who doesn't let her talent go to her head, not to mention all the accolades and success she has met for her creativity.  I've always loved her ladies, quiet, with the most beautiful and expressive facial expressions.  I want to grow up like Danita: prolific, down to earth, sensitive and powerful.  Being in the same magazine as her is my best gift this season!  Thank you, Stampington and Co., Jenny Doh, Christen Olivarez, and Kellene Giloff for the fantastic opportunity!  I am very grateful!  ANd to you, dear readers, Stuffed will be out on January 2009...  March over to your favorite bookstores for it!

 

Sunday House Gifts for the Season

 

'Twas the night before Christmas, indeed!  It actuall took a few nights before Christmas, and how I wish that I started in June!  No matter, gifts made in time from the Sunday House.  The studio was crazy, and I had such a fun time.  There's something about making things for the sheer enjoyment of it, rather than for the purpose of selling it online.  One of my wishes for 2009 is that I embody the same enthusiasm and attitude that I have for making personal gifts, as for making the things in my etsy store.  That even if I will not know who gets to take my creations for etsy home, I'd still be as free and as intimate with the work, as when I make things for my loved ones.  Here are a few samples:

 

A babushka doll for my sister, Maria... hand emroidered with her initials "MR" on its tummy, with a hand-painted face.  She came in a papier mache box embellished with a hand-painted ornament and decorative papers. 

 

A shadow box for my other sister, Nina... painted, silver-leafed and antiqued by hand, this shadow box holds two snow children, made from vintage wooden spools, and wrapped in batting and glitter.  Their faces are hand-painted and hand antiqued.  They gaze at the stars and promise on another, "I believe in you..."  It sure makes a big difference when you're all you've got in the world!

 

This is my first experimentation fusing doll and painting and collage together.  It's for my Tante.  It now has a utterfly fluttering along, buzzing the words, "I think of thee... My thoughts do twine and bud..," a quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  Because it is comforting to know that we are remembered, especially on cold seasons like this one. 

 

Then, there's this big painting... bigger than my usual.  This actually started out with an existing canvas from Hobby Lobby.  Ofcourse, I layered it with lots of decorative paper, modeling paste, and stamping textures.  The final touches were three doll heads made from paper clay.  I had a lot of fun with this project!  I am so glad I went big this time!  A photo of my mom from when she was eleven years old finishes the piece... Indeed, Our Mom is a Piece of (Art) Work!

 

Here she is... and here we are... three girls...

  

And finally, my favorite project this Christmas gift-giving season...

 

This is Mati... I like her because I like her face, but then again, I think I like how awkward this object is... not quite ornament, not quite pillow... not exactly a painting... she just is! 

So, with this, SUnday House wishes everyone all the gifts that are brought on by the holiday season: lots of love, happiness, faith and truth for everyone, with all things merry and bright and all the comfort and joy added to that!

Christmasing

 

There were all sorts of lovely Christmas preparations this year!  My favorite was the preparation of the church altar in St. Peter's Cathedral here in Joplin.  We decked the altar out in poinsiettas of various sizes.  It was lovely!  An angel stood by our side amidst the Christmas lights, watching close by:

 

Paper Doll Ornaments for the PikaPackage December 2008

Here's a sampling of the ornaments I made for the PikaPackage December 2008 round. I made twelve one of a kind ornaments, using a variety of decorative papers, my favorite material, doilies, a charcoal pencil, and some pastel for their rosy cheeks. A papier mache reinforces them so they don't flimsily flutter along. I had so much fun making these, I truly hope that people hop on over to Amy's shop for the packages.

Argemone, My Bloomsbury Keeper

    I love it when I get a present, and it's something that I've been wanting for so long, but just wasn't able to justify the purchase.  Then, as if someone knew exactly what I was thinking, I miraculously get it as a gift!  such is Argemone, my Bloomsbury Keeper.  Argemone came with my room mate from her trip to Craig in the UK.  These Bloomsbury Keepers are made by artist Zena, from Chichester in West Sussex.  A fellow etsy seller, Zena's shop is named after the Bloomsbury Group of the Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, and Vanessa Bell fame.  A lot more Bloomsbury Keepers are waiting to go be loved in warm homes like mine.  Each one stores secret treasures in his/her pocket.  My Argemone watches over me in my studio.  She is a winter muse of sorts...

1760 Sunday House has been picked-- The Pikaland Pikapckage Project

    To say that I am thrilled to be in such lovely company in Amy Ng's Pikaland is an understatement.  The Sunday House is one of 24 featured artists in her PikaPackage Project, a curated collection of prints, cards and all sorts of artistic ephemera, hosted every two months, benefitting Amnesty International.  Here is a sampling of the work that is in this month's PikaPackage.  Number 8 is mine: a small assortment of Sunday House prints and one-of paper doll ornaments.  To read more about this, go here.

Also not to be missed is the zine that Amy so lovingly puts together.  For more images of other art that are in the package, head on over to Pikaland's Flickr Page.  What are you waiting for?!?  Head on over to the Pikaland shop.  This comes just in time for the art lover on your holiday list!

Image Credits go to Amy Ng of Pikaland.

Winter Reveals Itself...

 
This past Sunday morning was the last day of November, and without any hesitation, the snow fell.  It all cleared by Tuesday morning, but again, I am at a place where I marvel at nature, and how it never stops to remind us of the temporal nature of our existence.  Winter is the season that makes me retreat... I almost always dreaded it in the past!  But this year, it gently made itself known through this first snow fall.  There is indeed nothing like waking up to a view of bushes slightly covered in a blanket of snow.  It didn't stay, but it surely will come back.  In the meantime, I am grateful for the cozy comforts of my home studio, in which I feel safe to explore, draw, and take part in creation:

Some things that happened this past weekend:

A glittery, sparkly mess to grace the shop soon!