It’s blowing a gale over here.
Winds of 90 mph in places, our bay tree was sent flying last night.
As the wind whips through the eaves and round the house, I am holed up in my attic office working away on my new creative business venture which I will share with you here very soon.
So very exciting – I hope you will be inspired to get involved!
I was doing some sorting in my studio today
and was shocked by the number of spools of ribbon
I found tucked away.
Baby blues and scarlet reds, French beauties and English lace.
I must have sneaked them in when I wasn’t looking.
What’s in your secret stash?
***
PS I also love paper. Do you?
In this penultimate post about my recent trip to the US, I want to share some images of this captivating city. There is an incredible air of possibility about this place, and so much to feast your eyes on…
If you are a fan of NYC, what is it that draws you to it?
Living the NYC artist life on a stall with Jenny (Overallbaby), Dolores (Marikit Deisgns) and Louise (Dream, Inspire, Create) at Atlantic Antic in Brooklyn – I could get used to this!
Hidden galleries,
wine in my glass,
laughter in the air
When was the last time you walked barefoot in the sand?
Other posts from my recent US adventures:
New York part 1 (NYC people)
New York part 2 (My kind of city)
Squam Lake
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson always has something thought-provoking to say, and this excerpt from a talk at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) is no exception. Love the way Cognitive Media have made this talk visual too.
What do you think? How would you change education to get more children to use all parts of their brain, and develop what they are truly good at and have a passion for, so that when it comes to working they can do what they love?
So excited to bring you this interview with artist, author and illustrator extraordinaire Claudine Hellmuth. Claudine combines photos, paint, paper and pen into quirky, whimsical-retro collages that she calls Poppets®. Claudine has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and she has developed her own signature product line with Ranger Inc (how cool is that?).
Artwork courtesy of Claudine Hellmuth
Claudine has written three books and three DVDs about her techniques, and recently taught a techniques e-course ‘At Home with Claudine Hellmuth’ (which I took and loved) Originally from Orlando FL, Claudine lives in Washington DC with her husband Paul and their very spoiled pets. Today she talks to us about Martha, commissions and her creative business life.
Artwork courtesy of Claudine Hellmuth
About The Author (me): See profile. Loves travel & adventure, people, making stuff, tea, hugs, sunshine, books, chocolate, laughing, bare feet on sand.
The Setting: Each chapter is set in a different country – at over 50 chapters so far this is a long book.
The Characters: Some characters in every chapter (family, friends, lovely man), others pop in and out, bringing fleeting glimpses of other worlds.
The Plot: Young girl heads out in search of adventure. Meets many strange and wonderful people, falls in love, sends many postcards.
The Twist: You’ll just have to keep reading to find out…
This attempt to sum up ‘my life as an open book’ is my response to the Hello Splendor’s blogcrawl, as it’s my turn. I am passing the honour on to Sam at Today’s Nest. Check them out and back-track to find more open books floating out in the ether. Or why not try it for yourself? It’s harder than it looks, especially if, like me, you limit yourself to 20 words for each answer.
Joining in Cathy’s self-portrait challenge for Blogtoberfest. Not a huge fan of having my photo taken (especially by me) but this one is quite fun – took it in Cape Cod a couple of weeks back, having caught the sun out on a long bike ride.
How do you feel about taking your own photo? Do you get self-conscious? Do you see it as a way of getting a photo you actually like?
***
For more self-portrait bravery from Blogtoberfesters see here.
There was a lot of laughter on this trip. In my last post about Squam I just wanted to share some of the (many) lighter moments.
Travelling to the retreat in style…
You can imagine our faces when Leroy and his mobile home rocked up to pick Louise and me up from the bus station. Not quite the shuttle we had been expecting, but we were delighted to find it filled with tea and biscuits and friendly new faces.
Wondering how apt it was that my cabin should be down this road…
Feeling lucky to share a cosy cabin with such wonderful ladies (Nina, Sylvia, Jayne, Kirsten, Brittany + Steph who is not in the picture.)
Getting lost in the forest in the middle of a torrential downpour late at night with six girls laughing madly (our cabin was called ‘Wayonda’ for a very good reason). It looked something like this…
Admiring the work of fellow artists Andrea and Jess at the Visions of Squam exhibition at Mocha Rising in the cute nearby town of Centre Sandwich.
Thank you Squam Lake for having us, and thank you Elizabeth for bringing us together.
