1760 sundayhouse

Peggy is the Ticket to Inspiration

Yesterday's Inspire Me Thursday word was "ticket..." The image above is my response to the word.  It is a devotional whose ribbon marker I had embellished with a peg doll from Goose Grease.  I think we've all experienced lethargic mornings, or even mornings where all of a sudden, there's just this gigantic pang of fear blocking all energy flow.  For some, it's mornings that are greeted with a mental list of to do that is the most debilitating.  I am not a stranger to those, and I have been consciously making the effort to wake up an hour earlier than wht is required of me to jump out of bed, wash my face, brush my teeth, throw on clothes, prepare Momo for the day and jump in my car, heading for work.  I've found that this extra hour is my ticket to an inspired day, my ticket to my sanity, owing to the extra time that I've carved out of my day to have a conversation with God.  A bunch of books are on my bedside table, with at least three devotionals on hand.  I am gifting a very nice lady with one such devotional, and I've given her Peggy, the bookmarker with it.  She started life as a blank peg doll from here.  I had glued a wider piece of ribbon to the book's original ribbon marker, and tied hand-painted, and hand-embossed Peggy onto it.  I think she's hanging pretty snuggly, looking confident with that ribbon that looks like a chicly-wrapped scarf, don't you? 

 

So, to all of you, a wish goes out for your own tickets to inspiring, confident, vibrant and joyful days ahead.  Here's a tip: a little Peggy bookmarker to remind you to pick up that devotional, journal, or whatever you need to get to that space at the start of your days may help. 

 

Of Peg Dolls, Music and Jewelry Boxes

 

I've had these blank peg dolls from Goose Grease for quite sometime now.  I have been waiting for divine inspiration to hit, and here are a few experimentations...  The one pictured above is a jewlery box for my sister, Nina's 30th birthday. It was inspired by santos in virinas, a piece of aesthetic that I grew up with in this part of the world, where some say, we may as well be South Americans lost in Asia because of the heavy Spanish influence on our culture, but another post on that.  For Nina's gift, the idea was to capture some of the santo aesthetic, but to make it fun and free-spirited.  After all, in her 28th year of existence in this world, she dared to dream, and for that, my heart proclaims me to be the proudest sister.  There are 30 punched out butterflies, from a page of an old dictionary, stuck to the piece.  The box was from Michael's, burnt, stamped and embossed with patterns, then painted, antiqued and laquered. Here are other views:

 

and...

 

For Mothers' Day, I was so inspired by these, I just had to try my own version.  I used the same boxes from Michael's and much of the same techniques.  The music box motion was from here.  I wish they had a better selection of songs.  My mom's box plays "Ave Maria."  Here are some views:

 

and don't forget the rear:

 

The good news: I may be including some of these ideas in a shop update soon! 

Craving

  Shaded by her lacey hat, she contemplates the flying cupcakes and maybe a trip to Florence...

This is my first attempt at Illustration Friday... Yey!  Well, last week's topic was "Craving," and we all know how it feels, but hopefully not for so long unsatiated.  Wishing everyone cupcakes and trips to Florence to quench some of life's cravings.  Enjoy!

Calm Bursts of Color on a Tornado Night

 

It's a stormy night in Janis Town, and I have been comforted by the calm bursts of color in two artists' work, Pretty Little Thieves and Christina Romeo.

Here are more from Pretty Little Thieves:

 

"Captured"

 

"You May Know Them"

and these, from Christina Remeo:

 "Screen"

 

"Today"

and

 

"Instance"

There's something about the simplicity of these, their colors, and the economy in expression that makes these pieces evoke a certain sense of calm and serenity.  I love the crimson sewn lines in Christina Romeo's pieces and the small gestures with watercolor on Pretty Little Thieves's work.  I won't over analyze these.  I'll just leave them as they are and were perhaps always meant to be.  Sometimes, there is so much more power in silence, and these pieces evoke that well.  Looking at them in etsy provided me with so much calm tonight.  I hope they do positive things for you, too!  Good night!

Chocolates, a Puppet Book, Michelangelo and Della Robia Blue in Tulsa

 

Fueled by a craving for Whole Foods, practically everything in it, and low on my Vosges Chocolates Habana Organic Candy Bar and Everyday Shea Lotion (no winter should be without it) supply, and not wanting to drive three hours to Kansas City, we ventured out an hour or so west to Tulsa, OK last Saturday.

I showed my sister the Philbrook Museum, an art enclave nestled within 23 acres of gardens and sculpture walks:

  It was my second visit, and I paid particular attention to the Italian Renaissance Room this time, where I found a piece by the workshop of Lucca della Robbia.  Just to see a certain shade of blue, I wouldn't mind driving an hour and a half!  An added plus were the special exhibits, a very interesting juxtaposition of rooms with Italian Renaissance drawings from the Prado Museum, From Carracci to Michelangelo:

  

and Peggy Preheim's Little Black Book body of work:

 

At the end of the day, I did get my Everyday Shea, but the Vosges Chocolate bar was nowhere to be found.  I will need to remember them when I go to Chicago soon, but I found these choclate-dipped blueberries from Kokoa Chocolatier:

At the Barnes and Noble, I finally got my copy of this:

 

More on this fantastic book here. 

Finally, I'd like to share with you the work of Audrey Eclectic, Tulsa artist and a mom who sells her art in etsy:

 

She was so generous about giving me her Tulsa to do guide in an etsy conversation.  Thank you very much, Heather!  You are so kind to share with me.  I hope to make it to one of your art shows soon! 

The verdict on Tulsa: definitely will be my get away town from now on.  You will be seeing more of me for sure!

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

  

Now it can be told that S finally tied the knot with C.  This is a mixed media encaustic piece that I made for their wedding present.  The two had a long distance relationship that spanned four years, survivied multiple perilous journeys across the Atlantic seas, a bar review/exam, abstinence from car races and many more sacrifices... the stuff that true love is made of!  They had always maintained their long distance relationship, and never had they once lived in one place, save for the twice yearly trips each would make for a week or two to each one's homebase.  It doesn't sound that hard in this age of skype, e-mail and webcams, but weekly, I'd see these letters to C from S on the office receptionist's desk... envelopes were always addressed by hand in S's fancy cursive writing.  I can only guess that they share the same long hand in the letters themselves.  There's a certain vulnerability to revealing one's hand-writing.  It tells so much, and is a much more immediate view of a person, especially today, when all communication can be made so fast.  The act of actually picking up your favorite pen, writing your thoughts out and revealing all the nuances of each curve, dot, line and dash seems to be an act of love in itself.  The piece above was made from vintage letters and postcards, charcoal, wood, acrylics, oil pastels, beeswax, gold dust and Japanese vintage tiles I found in India weeks before they finally sealed the deal.  A tribute to their letter writing to each other, I have written the words "ever after," on the piece, multiple times, and carved the phrase, "happy ever after happy" in beeswax.  Seems like it was always meant to be!  Congratulations, S & C!

Somerset Studio Gallery Summer 2009

 

This was the surprise that I found in the mail today.  I am a fan, but not a subscriber, so I wondered if it may have been a mistake that they sent it to me, until I flipped through the pages and found this:

 

on page 40.  Remember this post?  I've even forgotten that I made them! The three sleepy sisters have made it into the pages of one of my most favorite magazines!  I am thrilled!  Thank you, Somerset Studio Gallery!  What a fantastic opprotunity! 

I am not sure if this is out in your favorite bookstores yet, but if you get the chance, go and puruse through this.  There are lots of paper doll ideas, projects inspired by Marie Antoinette, and many more enchanting pieces made by kindred souls.