New Year

Happy New Year to all and good luck with your resolutions:) One of my resolutions is more painting in a new studio....I am also excited about launching a new website and blog and an Etsy shop to come near the end of the month. Stay tuned for more...

Some summer inspiration (it's been snowing here all morning)...Collecting shells from the beach in a Nathalie Lete bucket from Rose and Radish. You can also get her Robot design here

Recycling Illustration: Chris Buzilli

So when Christmas comes, one of my children uses newspaper to wrap her gifts. This week she lucked out. Chris Buzelli's illustrations graced the pages of the New York Times Sunday Style section and I was the lucky recipient of 2 presents wrapped in Buzelli!

Merry Christmas: Natural Ornaments

I love ornaments made from all natural materials.
Most of the ornaments on our tree are made of natural (paper, wood, wool) materials that have been hand-made by me. The top ornament is called a porcupine ball made from twirling tissue paper around the point of a sharp pencil. This is a very delicate, but beautiful ornament and worth the time it takes to make...around 15-20 minutes each. This technique was demonstrated to me by a woman from the local Polish community and it is a traditional Polish ornament. The folded paper white star is Pennsylvania dutch origin and of course there are plenty of origami ornaments. The wooden stars were made with coffee stirrers tied with waxed linen thread and/or yarn for variation. The wool sheep is my favorite. I will have to do some research to give you the source for this as I cannot remember...but i'll try. What a beautiful face!

Beekman 1802

Today I received the heirloom tomato seed packets from Landreth Seed Co. via Beekman 1802 Mercantile that I ordered. Their commemorative catalogue is wonderful and the cover is a repro from the original 1884 catalog cover. Inside there are lots of enticements "to all who have occasion to purchase seeds" from the company which was started in 1784 in Philadelphia. There is an African American Heritage Collection with recommendations from Michael Twitty, Culinary Historian of traditional African American Food Culture, a Patio Gardener collection, and a Children's Garden collection. Sprinkled throughout the catalogue are repros of Landreth's advertising posters which are little bit of graphic heaven and testimonials from folks who know, for example, that their bloomsdale parsnips are unsurpassed. While I am preparing for Spring, (to ameliorate the already too cold winter ) I did think that heirloom seeds would make great holiday gifts for gardener friends.

I also received an 1802 hand-forged Britannia fruit spoon made from "an authentic 18th century spoon mold and the alloy Brittania which was popular at the time that the Beekman Mansion was built" which is, aside from being a little sculptural beauty, a utilitarian burnishing tool for my printmaking. But it is so pretty it almost deserves to be mounted on linen in a shadow box frame. I think not yet...but someday.

O Christmas Tree

Our tree from the Owen's farm...I would love to visit Beekman 1802 in nearby Sharon Springs, NY for goat milk soap, goat cheese and more. Making lots of lists...a little progress on holiday linocut. More to come...

Poster Design

The poster design is fini. The Lab of O has a crackerjack design staff that handed me some edits that were right on. I am sure the exhibit will be beautiful. The GNSI members are serious about their art. I just love this group! So if you are in the Ithaca neighborhood, stop by the Lab of O and see the show. In January, Steve Kress who works for Audubon, will give a talk at Lab of O about the 20 species of birds whose numbers are seriously declining.

Snow is flying, cookies are flying out of the ovens, and wrapping paper and ribbon is flying through the air at lightning speeds. The days fly by...time flies away.

Tomorrow is dedicated to the annual holiday card. Sketches in the works....

In the spirit...

The snow was wonderful this morning. Just the right kind for snowmen, but too heavy for shoveling. This is the time of year I start knitting and sewing. Made these two gifts with socks, gloves and this great book.

Pulling Christmas out of the basement. Last year after the holidays, when prices were being slashed, I ordered this gingerbread house. It has been in a box in the basement all year. Today, I opened it! It was like having an early Christmas! Of course this is the no bake variety, but if you like gingerbread, here is the ultimate gingerbread website

I really love Scandinavian design. Here is some nice fabric. Here are some examples of the Stig Lindberg collection of fabrics from Ljungbergs textiltryck. He created these playful patterns in the 1950's. Nice.

Some more links.
legendary blankets from Hudson Bay....
LOVE Loop