Metamorphosis...

My husband came in from the garage the other day and told me to hold my hands out. I did...

He put these in my hands... It's a good thing I'm not squeamish! A shed caterpillar skin and the resulting pupa...  Here's what the pupa looks like up close...

The underside (top) looks almost as if it has a face and on the back (bottom) you can tell where it will split open...

Photo source: www.carolinanature.com

To reveal this! An Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) ... with a wingspan of 5 to 6 inches...

I've been working on an oil painting of a Prairie Warbler on gessoed purple scrapbook paper that looks like old wall paper. I'll post it when I'm done. But I thought I'd post a few of the backgrounds I've been prepping for other oil paintings...

Vintage sheet music adherred to 5" x 7" masonite and coated with with matte gel medium. After a few coats of the gel medium, comes a couple coats of clear gesso and then a final wash of clear gesso with a few drops of turquoise acrylic paint mixed in. Finally before it dries I wipe alot of it off with a paper towel. A singing bird will go on this background.

These vintage illustrated dictionary pages are prepared the same way, but are on 6" x 6" masonite, with the wash being green. I'll be painting Poison Dart Frogs on these.

Metamorphosis in progress... in nature... and in art...

Workspace Additions and New Art Supplies...

Well, I just had to do something with the only boring space at my desk...
didn't I???
I brought a small magnetic whiteboard from home...
It already had a bright green frame....
 

Friday's haiku is written on it... and yes those are button magnets!
 

I used double sided tape to stick the magnets to the buttons.
I think they turned out quite well!
 

 

Also got a colorful lidded water tumbler to fill up at the water fountain...
There's a  charge to fund the water cooler and coffee.
 I don't drink coffee and I use tap water for my tea!
 

 And what is this that Bruce! Of the Thicket! is minding?
 

A new plant... a little craussula (sp?) with pink edged leaves that I brought from home. I doubt the leaves will stay pink without the sun.
But it's pretty (and living) just the same!
 

I'm off today, because the Health Dept was closed due to Tropical Storm Isaac. 
The weather didn't get nearly as bad as we thought it would...
In fact right now is the hardest rain we've gotten and the wind gusts aren't much.
 

 

You can see the clouds, but the Italian Cypresses across the street are not bent over. And there have been birds flying around.
 

 

Most of you know that I paint with oils and chalk pastels and that I've not had good success with acrylics. That might be because I was using craft acrylic paints.
Well I got a 40% off Michaels coupon and bought some cheap artist acrylic paints to experiment with! They were just over $6 with the coupon!
 

 

There are 2 tiny tubes of each color in the bucket...
but I have acrylic matte gel medium to stretch it if I need it.
 

So I put my sewing projects away and got my brushes, palette knives and hard boards out and am going to start playing! I've always been so caught up in the details, that I've always painted realism.
I want to paint more freely... with more expressionism and flair...
Maybe some whimsy... I'm going to try! 
 

 

I've also started re-reading one of my favorite books.
It inspired a poem the first time I read it. I'll post it soon...
 I have to find the file or re-type it in a post.
This time, I'm hoping it will inspire some paintigs!

Where I Spend My Days...

For the past 20 some odd years (with the exception of about 6 months in the corner of a library) I've had fairly spacious workspaces. Whether they were offices (with windows, no less!), flairly large cubicles (the last 10 years with a wndow!) or a desk among others in a large open room... I've made them my own... made them all reflect who I am...

So I started a new job a couple weeks ago and my workspace consists of a beige "Cubicle." Cubicle? No... this is a desk with particians! Don't get me worng I'm not complaining... I like it very much... It MAKES me stay organized... no room for clutter!

This is my entire workspace... including a pinkish chair... It ain't all beige no more! The white basket under the desk is my bike basket, with my striped totebag in it, and the cardboard box under the drawers is for paper recycling...  Making use of every available space! You might notice I'm not using my keyboard tray. I have to keep my chair so high (and my monitor so low) otherwise I have to keep my held tilted back, to be able to look through my bifocals, which makes my neck hurt. I'm going to have it taken out.

This was before I got...

my new mousepad! It makes me smile!

Here is my desk top... on my desktop!

The little black mesh drawer set holds colorful supplies...

and provides a perch for Bruce! Of the Thicket! who holds my grateful heart... and a cute little planter (my Hobbit Jade Tree cutting isn't doing very well. I was hoping I could root it).

Between my phone and computer monitor is my IMAGINE mug, on the mug quilt I made when I first got my sewing machine... and a little crock holding my beaded teaball. The tea tins (Rose Garden Black and Jasmine Green) are in the top drawer with tissues, lotion, eating utensils, etc.

One the "back wall" as spacious as it is... I have a mesh file, my Food Safety Manager Certification card (the only credential I have that is remotely associated with the program I'm wokring in). Above the card is a photo (mounted on scrapbook paper and framed) of my grandkids, Austin and Ansley, taken by my talented daughter. She has a photography business... Brookshire Studios Photography-Design.



Next is a post card (mounted on scrapbook paper) of a watercolor by Colette Copeland of A Bird in the Hand. It's called "Hot Climate." She sent it to me among a few others for being so faithful to her blog.

Last is a prized print (also mounted on scrapbook paper) of a mixed media painting by Juliette Crane. It's titled Grace...

I really love my little workspace... It's very me and such a happy little place! It, my bike ride to and from work and the people I work with make going to work a joy!

Tuesday Tea...

Having my second cup of China Black this morning from one of my travel cups... The first cup was on the way to taking hubby to work. The second, I'm having while getting ready to go have my fingerprints taken for a background check. If I pass the check, I will be offered a job with my County's health department in the Nutrition Division. I have no idea why they need my fingerprints. The last job I had I dealth with regional and state water supplies... I would think that that position would be more of a threat than that which I am going for... But mine is not to wonder...

I finished this book last night. A good read for the art lover... Historically based novel about Berthe Morisot and Edourd Manet... A story of their love affair and the beginnings of Impressionism. Happy Tea everyone!

Please visit Kimmie to see what everyone else is up to today...

Mixed Media Letter Center and New Supplies!

I made this when I got my sewing machine a couple years ago... from a discarded valance, a piece of upholstery fabric, old sheet music, a vintage French dictionary page, vintage lace, scrapbook paper and lots and lots of buttons!

It has 2 pockets... one in front of the dictionary page and one behind the square piece of lace. I can see it hanging on the back of a door with letters and bill payments ready to be mailed... What? You pay your bills online and send emails instead of letters???? Well then... It will still hold those permission slips and report cards from school!










My hubby was cutting up old, worn out clothes for rags last night and presented me with some new art supplies!

A big ol' pile of demin scraps... already authentically distressed... I see mixed media art quiltlets in the future! Maybe some demin softies... more owl purses... etc...

And he came home today with the rear end ripped out of another pair... back pocket pulled right off!

IIIIII like it!

A Quick Hello!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Good food... good company... good times! I went to two different dinners... Great food at both... but I have to say... the absolute best thing I ate was my hubby's raspberry cheescake bars...   There're soooooooooo good... and there are still a few left. I've been keeping busy working on my new business venture. I will be heading to the Florida Estates Winery next weekend to hopefully sell some of my art and crafts, but I've not been making anything, as I've been concentrating mostly on getting this business going... There's so much to do!

Cool and Groovy Garden Party

This past weekend was my friend Lois' Cool and Groovy Garden Party. Every year just before the holidays, she invites her creative friends to set up in her garden to sell their goods. She sends out invitations and puts up flyers to bring the customers in. We have fun and entertainment and sangria and sell our stuff to wonderful people. 

She has hundreds of items she's made set up all over her house, porch and yard...

in her dining room... and bedroom...
Sorry, but all my pics of the living room didn't turn out :(





in the wooded lot next door... through this gate...

Sorry... can't remember this beauty's name, but here's her stuff!

We set up in the yard... Here's my stuff...

Brenda and Becky's stuff...

We had a wood carver the first day, but I forgot my camera. Entertaining neighbors come and put on a show. Of course they invited Lois up to play the tamborine with them...

It's always so much fun! This year I also set up a tea station for market research. You can read about that here.

This may be my last post for a while on this blog, as I'm really trying to concentrate on getting my tea business up and running. You can follow me at The Bohemian Tea House. I'm even considering just listing all of my crafts in my Etsy shop and only doing tea at events. I'll let you know when I get things posted there.

I'm sure I'll be participating in Tuesday Tea, either from here, or the tea house.



Thrift Store Adventures

So... of course while in Dawsonville, GA for my Aunt Marlene's wedding I HAD to visit her favorite thrift store! The Market Place Thrift Store just off GA400 is an awesome place! The ladies there are so nice and so very creative!

I love how they've painted and antiqued several of the pieces of furniture... like this purple desk and reupholstered stool...

and this wonderful green desk and the lamp with the cute, shabby, chenille shade...

The vignettes are so cute...
look at this old chair with the
ceramic acorn and orange shoes!

Artwork is everywhere... like this hunting dog painting...

rose and
duck
prints...

Isn't this red chest
and old door vignette
amazing?

And this old settee... I could see this in my house...

Of course I had to look for old teawares... I'm not sure what you call this, but it's a brass teapot, suspended in a sort of cradle over a burner to keep the tea warm... I was afraid to take it off the self to take the picture!

Old kitchen items...
an old mixer...

and canning jars
in a caddy...

Porcelain figurines... these have fabric dresses that have been coated with porcelain(?)! Aren't they beautiful?

Of course there were clothes and jewelry,
but I tend to focus on home decor items...
like this great purple dresser...

more bird prints and knick knacks...

Love this mosaic watering can!

Isn't this crewel work gorgeous?
My mom taught me to do crewel and floss embroidery...

What an amazing place
and the prices were great!

Being on a severe budget, I only left with some old cigar boxes to alter and a box of cute watch bands to make some cuffs from... but... as long as my Auntie M lives there... I'll be back! You can count on that!









The Market Place Girls are working on a website. In the meantime you can reach them at
marketplacegirls@gmail.com
645 Auraria Road
Dawsonville, GA
678-696-1435