Angelas Diner

Karen Neff has a wonderful touch with watercolors.  She’s a fellow artist at the gallery, and I spoke with her last month when I sold one of her oil paintings.  A couple bought the oil painting, and I found out that it was their very first original artwork purchase!  They said they had prints, and such, but Karen’s painting was their very first original work, EVER.  When I told her the story, she said the fact that her painting was their FIRST pleased her even more than me telling her she sold work.  When you work in the gallery, it’s considered courtesy to let an artist know that you’ve sold something so that they can either replace it, or … So, this month, Karen had a wonderful fantastical watercolor of summer dreams.  Take a look, and see if you can get lost in it - my photo is rather bad, but I think you can still capture the feelings conveyed in the work.

So, yesterday I mentioned that Alyce Trebra had a painting hanging this month that I adore.  It’s the center painting in this group of three.  Art Ballelli did the top piece, and Alyce did both of the others.  Alyce’s use of color in the center one just appealed to me.  You know how much I love purples - and the bluff seems to reverberate with them.  Take a look, and if you are in the neighborhood in Westerly until June 26, you should GO and SEE IT in person.  Seriously!

Not only did I plant pots this weekend, but when I gallery sat on Saturday I saw some incredible pots by Deb Dear.  What interesting shapes!  And I love the simple glazes which let the shapes SING. Take a look:

These are in the June show which runs until June 26.  I’ll be posting some more pictures from my gallery sitting over the next few days.  There is one painting by Alyce Trebra which I completely love — the colors really appeal to me.

Since today was so warm, and I had so much gardening to do, I decided to stop and buy more plants and spend even more time gardening.  I wanted to go traditional for the front this year (that’s why I started so many marigolds and zinnias) so I have pots with geraniums and petunias.  Here’s a close up shot of pots, can you see C3PO and R2D2 down in my garden there?  I got them years ago at the flea market, and they’ve been out front ever since.  a small geeky touch!

I love posting stuff on Craigslist.  Today, I’ve been cleaning out and rearranging my jewelry studio (also known by my family as the Craft Room, and it’s lately been the Crap Room.)  I went to Ikea yesterday and got a bookshelf and a desk….and I’m getting rid of a pine shelf and moving the loveseat out too.

Anyways, so Mark and I made the bookshelf, and I moved all the books over to it.  That left me with a pine shelf to get rid of.  I posted it on craigslist, and it was gone out of my driveway in 30 minutes.  30 MINTUES!!! A lady in a green minivan stopped and put it in the van, and I noted the time.  Went back online to see when it hit CL, and it was EXACTLY 30 minutes from when I had posted it!

Here is a pic of it - I deleted the post, since I’m a considerate free item lister….this made my day!

I’ve decided to knit myself a sweater.  This is a big deal.  For a few reasons.  First, I don’t generally knit things that have to “fit.”  I knit hats, scarves, half of a sock, that sort of thing.  I DID knit sweaters for the kids when they were small, but that is easy stuff - little kids don’t care if a sweater hangs a little crookedy.  OH, I have knit some tiny sweaters for friends who are having babies too - and they come out fine.  Again, it’s the “kid” thing - they don’t have to be perfect because you know the baby will just puke on them, and they’ll have to go into the wash.

So, for me to knit myself a sweater, well, that’s an adventure.  I was inspired by a sale.  There’s a great yarn site, Elann, and they had a sale on yarn so I got some. Here’s the yarn swatches I knit:

I just scanned them, didn’t feel like getting the camera out.  So, after I bought the yarn, I went looking for a sweater pattern.  THAT was an adventure.  I pored over the free patterns on Knitty, looked at Berrocco, Bernat, all different sites.  NOTHING caught my eye that used yarn in the same weight as this one.  SO, on the way to the gallery last weekend to work, I stopped in a yarn shop in Charlestown, RI near Rt. 1, where Rt. 2 hits Rt. 1.

Got a book:

AND found a great little raglan pattern:

So, I’m good to go!  Did my swatches last night to check my gauge, and now I know I have to go out and buy bamboo needles in size 10 and size 8 since I only have metal needles in that size (and I hate knitting on metal needles cuz my stitches always slide right off!)

We’ll see how long this takes me - how often do i make anything for myself anyways?

OK, so not completely wordless because I have to explain this first! I read a blog, Pinch My Salt, where she posts “Wordless Wednesdays” and I love them.  Ok, so I can’t be a complete copycat, even though I am most definitely a fan of alliteration.  these photos of my work were taken by my husband - it’s cool how he is experimenting with different backgrounds (my favorite is the slate!) to show off my beadwork.   ENJOY!!!  (click them and they get bigger!)

Sitting on the back porch working on a really different bracelet (for me anyways.)  Listening to WGBH’s A Celtic Sojourn, then folk, then assorted CDs.   Here’s where I’m working:

Now, here’s a closeup of the work itself.  I’m working freeform brickstitch with different sized seed beads that circle around one of my lampwork beads.  The colors of the seed beads echo and mimic the colors and shapes of the enamel areas within the bead.  I want this to be a wide freeform cuff, and it’s well on its’ way here:

THEN, on me…….

Wow.  WOW.  I worked in the gallery yesterday and when I walked in, I was just blown away by the talent, by the art selected for this month’s Regional Show.  If you have a chance, you need to get yourself down to Westerly to see this show.  I’m posting a few pics here of my work and some larger shots, but to appreciate this show, you have to get down there!  I’m working in the Gallery again on Sunday May 24 - during the Memorial Day weekend there is an outdoor art show, Virtu, going on in Wilson Park across the street.  That would be a great weekend to visit as well!

My oldest was on the SECOND PLACE TEAM in RI for Academic Decathalon yesterday.  And today her picture was on the front page of the second section of the ProJo…. fun!