Shaker Chair

today my good argentinian friend marcela is having us share our favorite chair.  being that we still have most of our belongings in storage until we find a "permanent" house, i wondered how i would go about participating since my favorite chair is actually a love seat covered in an off white matelassé slipcover by rachel ashwell.  but second to best is here with us, a black shaker chair originally designed by the amish in pennsylvania.
most of you know my love of folk art and this chair is a perfect example.  i truly believe common folk design the most beautiful things. when i decorate i choose things of beauty rather than monetary value and my house is also scattered with many handmades from artists all over the world.  our home is a blend, eclectic since we like to mix vintage with modern and whimsical always maintaining a sense of welcoming coziness.

 for what makes a house a home? first and foremost a home needs to look like its lived in, tidy yet messy, with a plentiful refrigerator, always a baked good or goodie somewhere, fresh flowers, hundreds of books, live music, and plants......lots and lots of plants and fresh flowers.

 and natural things....sticks and stones and seashells found while beachcombing.

 and handmades, my handmades everywhere.

 and collections of every sort honoring the past.

 and religious items.  this is my virgencita that i light a candle too every night.

 and chilean items i bring back with me such as this handcarved charango and bull horn canister.

 and birds ofcourse, chirping away outside our windows.

thank you marcela for letting us share a bit of our homes

Flufinness

after a terrible scare with the springs fire where we had to be evacuated from our home ans forced to stay at a hotel for a couple of days, things are pretty much back to normal.  may is a busy month; it is tatiana's birthday and richard celebrates a big one mid june.  so i've been in the midst of preparations, buying a piñata, preparing a raffle and games and getting estimates for catering.

clara's dress

i've also been working on setting up a reasonable work space for myself even though this remains our temporary home. we found the most charming shabby chest of drawers in one of Richard's old garages at hughes hill and i will finally have a place for my clothes other than a chair. 

funny how adapt to circumstances, i am perfectly content with the bare minimum as long as i have my art materials, plenty of coffee, access to netflix (i've been watching every english series ive missed) as i stitch away at a new series of mixed media dresses.

"memories of an english schoolgirl"

i'm totally enamored of several english mixed media fabric artists including gentlework and jessie chorley.  i had wanted to participate in one their coming workshops to take place in france but its absolutely filled up.
as you can see i have added one of jessie's signature bows to my birdie collage.

i love making these neo modern whimsical pieces, mixing vintage fabrics and adding a bit of whimsy by way of embroidery. 

hope your week has been creatively fruitful and happy and that spring has finally sprung; it sure feels like it's been late in arriving to the california coast.

hope to have more work to show you soon.

To Paint is to Love Again

among my love of folk art, ancient and new, is my love of religious art, especially the sacred heart.  i had always wanted to paint one having embroidered and appliqued quite a few so far and this is what i envisioned. 

it came naturally to me, except for the hands which I struggled with and even then they turned out strange since they were supposed to be cupped but I guess at least they look like hands.

spring has been slow in arriving here in california, even the strawberries are late and we never miss a week of strawberries.

its the light of spring I miss the most, being able to take nature walks and paint outside, so it has been a life spent mainly indoors of late, always with those English shows in the background. 

I have been trying to define what it is I want to paint, but when I begin the paintbrushes tend to do their own thing. 

 

like what resulted with one of my tags.  she had started out as a braided indian woman.  since april is poetry month and somewhere in april books are celebrated, I decided to make her bookish instead. I love how she turned out, one of my favorites so far.

it is funny how my romantic side comes out sometimes and others my love of whimsy, others my latin roots, yet others my british roots as you can see from "the may queen" below.

these last two paintings are reflective of the things i love: bottles and cups, tables and chairs, dried flowers, windows and of course birds.

lynne hoppe

 

inspired by lynne hoppe i have begun a small sketch book to practice in although it has fast become a catch all for pressed flowers and leaves and small clippings i find on my daily walks.

this was the first entry

practicing the hands

as lynne pointed out not too long ago on her blog

TO PAINT IS TO LOVE AGAIN!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tristeza

Una semana devastadora para Estados Unidos. Una tragedia tras otra, muy muy doloroso ver las imagenes, mas doloroso preguntarse por que, para que? rabia para quienes lo han permitido o perpetrado.
He estado pegada a la tele. Pr. imero fue el dolor por la Argentina, tantas amigas a quienes adoro por alla. Y casi al mismo tiempo la muerte de un gran companero de curso a los 57. Ahora Aquí, cerquita donde mi papa fue professor de socilologia en Boston. A que hemos llegado, Dios mio?
Asi que una semana de mucha reflexion e introspeccion.
Y dentro de mi metro cuadrado, una que otra criatura que reemplaza a los idos

Varios cuadros,una poesia, dos bordados y una foto

sigue el frenesi con mis pinturas y la verdad es que no se si seguirle poniendo empeno o dedicarme a otra cosa. y es que con tanto mixed mediatalento alla afuera le entran a uno las dudas. el problema es que lo paso tan requete bien en el proceso que sigo aunque quedo exhausta despues de cada retrato. Creo que voy a pintar mas naturaleza a muertas porque las caras de verdad son un verdadero parte.
de a poco voy descubriendo las/los artistas que me influencian. En mi proximo post les dare el respeto que merecen.