Unexpected Gifts

Greetings!  Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer! I couldn't resist interrupting my blogging break to say hello and tell you about a giveaway I won recently.

A few weeks ago, my blogging friend Lorinda from Everyday Endeavors alerted her readers to a giveaway hosted by her friend Jennifer at Jennifer's Story. Being longtime friends, Jennifer had asked Lorinda to make some artwork for her giveaway, and Lorinda made 4 postcards, which I won!!

They arrived tied with a pretty ribbon:

Each one is beautifully crafted and I love them all!

I'm always inspired by Lorinda's work and her enthusiasm for learning new techniques. I'm delighted to own these pieces of artwork by this lovely mixed media artist. Thank you to Jennifer for this giveaway and to Lorinda for creating these beautiful postcards. Lucky me!

                 

Ready For Summer?

It seems impossible that Summer is just now on the horizon. After a very rainy Spring, trees and all things green are extremely lush and full, as if it were already the middle of July. A real perk for us  New Englanders has been a recent block of perfect days, with sunshine and cool breezes. Open windows and the sound of birds chirping have had the cats stationed at screen doors and on window sills, alert to any wildlife or neighborhood "outdoor" cats who might pass by.

                                                                                      Original Cut Paper Art by Judy Hartman

I've been seeing so many beautiful photos of flowers and gardens on blogs from all parts of the country and other countries, but it is just recently that I've noticed my own perennials coming into bloom.

The lilies are bursting out,

while the hydrangeas are timidly showing a few blue blossoms.

Original cut paper art by Judy Hartman

Soon, the whole

 bush will be brilliant with periwinkle flower balls,

and I'll be gathering some to put in my mother's milk glass vase - a summer ritual.

Paper Collage: "Joy rises in me like a summer's morn."

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I finished up the paper/painted collage I was working on back here. I'm not thrilled with my lettering, but was happy with the result of writing on tissue paper with a permanent Micron pen, tearing the edges, then being able to incorporate it seamlessly into the collage with acrylic medium. That will be useful in future attempts!

Speaking of future attempts, as I've mentioned before, I've recently been considering the direction I'd like to take with my artwork. I had been receiving newsletters from one of my favorite art quilt and mixed media artists, Lesley Riley, and recently signed up for a one-on-one coaching call with her. Lesley helped me to see where my strengths lie, gave me the validation I needed, and encouraged me with solid, workable advice. Now to get to work!! (Actually, I have been doing that!) You can read more about what Lesley has to offer in the way of coaching and classes here, sign up for her newsletter, or listen to her podcasts on Art and Soul Radio.

I'll be taking a break from blogging, from now until July 1, when I'll be back with a new blog design and some new work.

Hope you have an enjoyable first day of summer on Thursday, celebrate all the beauty nature is pouring out on us, and manage to find some time for creativity. I won't be posting, but I will be checking out everyone's blogs and seeing what you're up to! Take care...

Still Organizing!

I feel like I'm going to get the BB Award - Bad Blogger!! My mind has been all over the place lately, and I've been doing some serious purging of "stuff" in my studio, having felt stifled by the disorder in there for some time. Do you find that to be true in your life? As a visual person, just seeing a pile of unrelated items  distracts me terribly and pretty much wipes out any creative leanings I might have had at that time. I'll admit it, I'm not really a very neat person, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm a hoarder. Well, not like the folks on TV who have newspapers piled up to the ceiling and mice making nests under piles of junk!! But I do find it hard to let go of fabric and paper, yet don't have enough room to store it all, so that presents a problem.

I don't have many huge pieces of fabric, since I use fabric primarily for appliqué, so I had started rolling pieces up neatly, categorizing them by color, and putting them in drawers, for which I had made dividers out of foam core. When I looked at what I had done today (and there is a lot more fabric to organize), I realized that even these pieces need to be edited to make room for more! I need to be ruthless! :)

It is a gorgeous day here in New England! I was outside in the yard this morning, trimming some straggly bushes and pulling some weeds. I'll probably go out later to do errands, but meanwhile I'll be turning out boxes of fabric and making decisions about their contents. It is very satisfying to see good results, and I'm hoping to take pictures of my { CLEAN } studio at the end of all this!!

What are you up to today? Doing something creative?

Fabric Sketches

I've been distracted and doing a lot of thinking lately, and one thing that has suffered is my blog! 

I'm ready to make a tour of my favorite blogs tonight and catch up on what everyone is up to!

This is a little fabric sketch I made a while back, and I'm thinking about concentrating on this style for a while. I had used the same method on this picture of my daughter Kate:

I never did finish up the painting challenge for May, but I'm happy that I was able to try painting again after being away from it for so long. I'm feeling the need to focus on one thing and I'm going to be making some changes on my blog. 

We had the most gorgeous, sunny and cool day today - windows wide open, curtains fluttering and a really invigorating breeze threading through the house. I did some good cleaning and organizing, but I'm feeling it tonight! It sounds like we'll be having some heavy rains this weekend, so it will be good to stay in and do more straightening and purging of "stuff". I have several bags in the garage ready for the Salvation Army. Feels good to create some space. Tomorrow I'll go to our library book sale, but will try not to overindulge!

I hope that you have had a good week. Thanks for stopping by to read my blog, and have a great weekend!