supplies

What says fall more than new school supplies? These are my grown-up versions of Mr. Sketch smelly markers. Aren't they pretty?

Penmanship

(photo, Laura Condouris)

One thing that has been super fun about helping out with my little sister's wedding... discovering the world of calligraphy. Oh my. What a world of prettiness out there! A couple of favorites are Laura Condouris (trial by cupcakes is her etsy shop), and the lovely Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.

(Photo, Anna Bond)

I've been practicing pen strokes for my very amateur effort. There is something so old-fashioned and satisfying about sitting down with a little jar of ink and a calligraphy pen. I would love to really learn how to do this properly.

some Wanderings Coat works

We've got some wander-worthy characters for the Wanderings Coat in the works. Voici Wolfie, le gourmand, fat and content with his scrumptious meal of poor little Red and Grandmother. Watch for more to follow. And yes, the coat pattern will be ready within the next two weeks, just in time for the cold winter winds.

Mary Cassatt inspiration

I love Mary Cassatt. When I was growing up my mom had several prints of her paintings around our house, and we'd go into the city to see her paintings at the National Gallery often. They feel like old friends to me. Recently I was looking through a book I have and came across this gorgeous silvertint, on the top. Brilliant, isn't it? And very modern, I think. I love everything about it: the perspective, the composition, the way she let a little color creep in to the picture, and most of all that connection between the squirmy child and the mother. Inspired by Miss Cassatt I've been trying to make my own mother-child drawing to paint (that's me on the bottom, in my pj's). I've been working on my little sketch off and on, and decided to post about it today to hopefully motivate me to work a little harder... maybe one day it will make it's way onto a canvas.

nativity

This amazing painting is by artist Brian Kershisnik, who we've mentioned before. It is 17' x 8' and I would LOVE to see it in person. Mary looks so real, and Joseph so exhausted...surrounded by all those angels. Amazing!

Christmas card idea #1

Last year I made a little book of our family's top ten collections: various stacks, piles and other groupings of noteworthy ephemerae. (I changed our name on this page to remain incognito). I printed the pictures on heavy white paper, and the cover on pale green letter paper from www.papersource.com. As the book was fairly substantial, I actually got out my tool box, and used my handy drill to make six holes through the center. Then I stitched it all together with pretty string, using a heavy needle.

This is a picture of my husband's favorite collection: his ipod tunes. (I don't know if you can see them well enough on the computer, but some of them are really hilarious: Tiffany, "I think we're alone now" (yes he grew up in the eighties!) and the history of the Vikings. Yes, this sums up his well-rounded personality!

This was actually the #1 collection: the sock graveyard, full of discarded stinky socks and underwear. (I'm sure most of you have one of these collections in your house!)

This was my then three-year-old's bedtime collection: her favorite stuffed animals and books.

I have seven more pictures of our collections, but alas it would make far too long of a posting. This was a really fun project to make: the kids loved thinking about their various collections, and I loved sketching them. What are your family's favorite collections?

double luck

Lynne sent me two amazing packages last week. Along with many other beautiful surprises, there were two beautiful handmade linoleum-cut prints on heavy textured paper. She also made this stylish little dress with its two pretty buttons on a white squared yoke. It is made of a heavy woven fabric that should wear really well. Everything was packaged so beautifully; it made my day. Talk about luck!

woodland room

I just finished this little Red Riding Hood bed for H. I bought the bed frame at that same amazing estate sale where I found the cool chairs. The bed frame was originally an unattractive orange colored finish. I painted it white, then slowly, slowly have worked on the woodland scene. H.'s room was originally linen white, but I decided to make the bold move of painting it green. I was inspired by Hilary's son's green room(www.weewonderfuls.typepad.com). The table is used for changing the baby and folding laundry. The table cloth is an antique French linen sheet. (I'm crazy about these. You can find them on ebay.) The washer/dryer are hidden away behind the white linen curtains. What you can't see in these pictures--I'll post more later--are the tiny white balls sewn all over the curtains. That was a bit of a painstaking endeavor that I accomplished during car drives to the beach this summer. The dresser was originally a cherry-stained filing cabinet that I painted white years ago. The lamp is an ebay find.

H.'s bedroom is in the top of the house with distant views of trees and woods all around. It's so lovely. I think a woodland bedroom fits perfectly in this space.

on shoes

I fell in love with this fabulous pair of stripey ribbon shoes at Target. I bought them a size too big as there were only two pairs left in our store. With a comfort insert inside, they fit just fine. It's always a pleasure to find such a sweet item at such a great price.

The lovely orange ribbon shoes in the second photo are a pair from a painting in the Metropolitan Museum. Wouldn't they make a lovely pair of shoes today? I wish I knew how to make shoes, for I would make this pair. Imagine these orange shoes with some fun stripey tights and a short sassy dress. Adorable.

The painting is of the Raymond children and was made ca. 1838 by Robert Peckham. It's a beauty isn't it? The faces are incredibly realistic and finely worked. My son was wondering why the girl had short hair. With a change of dress she would look stylish today with her short hair and her amazingly lovely orange shoes.

the smell of paint

I recently finished teaching a little series of art classes to the coolest family ever. (Number one, because they happen to all be amazing, hilarious people; number two, because how neat is the mother of teenage boys who goes and finds an art teacher so her family can take art classes together in the evening? What a great way to live.) Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite paintings they made. The still life is by Marla, the mother's, from the night we learned about Cezanne, and the portrait is by Matthew, age 14, from our self-portrait night. Aren't they fabulous?

possibilities

I found these paintings on velocityartanddesigns.com I love the color combinations and the expressions. Wouldn't they be adorable in a little girls room? I picture grey walls, charcoal Flor carpet and a soft, handmade quilt, pieced with grey flannel wool. Wouldn't that be lovely?

the pensive one

Here's a painting that I've been working on for some time now. I started it at the beginning of the summer and slowly, slowly worked on it until it was completed. The bird is a Baltimore Oriole, a male. He is staring off into the countryside (inspired by an amazing painting I found in SOHO). The nest holds three little blue eggs. The bird is positioned near the edge of the painting as if he is posed to move right out of the picture plane, suggesting an indifference to the nest, perhaps. Though his proximity does suggest some sort of connection.

I LOVE the frame. It's an antique inherited from my kind mother-in-law. It's the sort of frame that elevates anything held within its edges. A scribble painting would look lovely in it, I think.

paper magic

My brilliant, creative friend Marcia made this beautiful paper cut-out collage. She based her images on a painting by Brian Kershisnik, an amazing Utah artist www.kershisnik.com. I love her color palette and the tender expression of the mother and father. Notice the butterfly paper hidden behind the trees. Marcia is able to make beauty out of an ordinary old thing. Apparently the paper used in the collage came from a stationary set from Target. Way to go Marcia!

I think that paper collage has many interesting possibilities...

the sock graveyard

I recently returned home from a month-long trip away to find many new additions in my house. The first was a huge mound of socks piled high in the bedroom. I laughed about it to my husband. "Well, at least they're clean," he responded.

I also found an enormous mess of laundry lying pell-mell all over the three-year-old's room. (That too was clean!) And there was more rotten food in the fridge than you can imagine.

Another surprising addition was a mass of gnarly weeds growing in every corner of the yard--making our house look a bit like the Herdman's.

The least unpleasant addition was a new flat-screen television.

What can a woman expect when she leaves the house for one month in the care of a busy working man!

some boudoir cheer

Since I've been visiting my parents, I've been working on some colorful little paintings to brighten up my mom's room, which she jokingly calls "the boudoir." This is a very functional, multipurpose room--study, craft room, sewing room, t.v. room and now even napping room. (This is my favorite room to work in as well. At the moment, my sewing, painting and other projects are strewn across the tables.) The walls in this multifunction room are white, the carpet beige, and there is no decoration or ornamentation. My mom says: "I'm beyond all of that; what I want is function." Though still the same, it doesn't hurt to add a little cheer on the walls. When I finish all the pictures, I'll have to post them hanging on the walls of the very practical and now beautiful boudoir!

P.S. I can't wait to find out what Lynne's mysterious creation is.

portrait of the three-year old

Here's a painting I just did of the sweet, crazy little 3-year old in my life. I have a wall downstairs that I'd love to cover with painted portraits of our family members (if you've ever seen Lauren Child's great book, The Princess and the Pea, there are amazing little portraits on the wall throughout her illustrations. I don't think I can post a picture of that because of copyright(?)). Anyway, I used egg tempera paints, which are a lot like watercolor, and new for me. I think I still need to varnish it...

corner of my house

This is a sketch I did several months ago of one of my favorite spots, my sewing closet. As we live in a fairly small house, I don't have room for a sewing room or a craft room, so I use a closet. This closet is in the family room. When I want to sew, I pull out my fold-up camp chair and plug in my machine and away I go, with my knees tucked under a card table in the closet. Most everything I need is in this little place. It reminds me of our first Manhattan apartment with its three by five closet kitchen. I couldn't really use the stove because it was tucked too far into the corner, so we ate a lot of food cooked in the crock pot. The fridge was just a little bigger than a microwave; the stove the size of a small dishwasher. There was no dishwasher, only a tiny metal sink.

I drew this sketch in pencil. Then I outlined it in pen and colored it in Photoshop. I highly recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements. I love it. It only costs about $50 and is well worth it.

It's amazing how a cluttered, unromantic corner of one's house can look so important when rendered in a drawing. So get out a pencil and sketch a corner of your house. We'd love to see what you create. Maybe my closet/kitchen held a hidden charm, waiting to reveal itself. Who knows...

Man with a Cat

This is my favorite painting by my favorite artist, Cecilia Beaux. It is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. (Although the last time that Lynne and I visited, it was on loan to another museum.)

I love the realism, yet not too realistic style of her paintings. She often uses bold swaths of color that break up the values and add texture. I love this man's ear and his nose. There is a streak of hot orange which attracts the eye.

When I observe her paintings, I have the impression that each stroke was an act of pure genius, applied with great vigor and spontaneity. This was perhaps the case for many of her brush strokes. Though as I read about her life, I discovered that she labored over each inch of her paintings with great intensity, often redoing an area several times. This gave me hope. Maybe much of a great master's work is simply that, work--intense strivings, desire and trial and error effort.

Papa and Maman at home

I found these posters at an outdoor market in Dijon. These were didactical posters used in schools during the 50's (I think). I love the second one with the papa who has returned from work. I love his French mustache and beret. Notice the old stove and hot water heater above the sink. Some French families still have these. This looks like such a peaceful, clean domestic scene. Where are the random legos, stuffed animals, and library books littering the floor? What a dream to even have the dad home for dinner time.