Snapshots from my whirlwind east coast tour!

My work at Heidi Lowe Gallery

Heidi and me

I was so happy that I made it down to see Heidi and the show. My internship at Heidi's was by far one of my favorite summers ever, so I jump at the chance to visit! Her gallery is great, if you haven't been you really should!

Opening at Zuzu

duality

my work

Midori's work

uarts crew!

Allison and me

Its amazing that I worked so hard all summer to get ready for this show and it was over in the blink of an eye. I felt so happy to see family and friends turn out for the show,

and so proud for the chance to be a part of Allison's new gallery!

After spending some time with family and friends, I took a road trip with my friends Jill and Gene down to Asheville, NC to visit my friends Rachel and Alex.

Rachel and Alex's epic/inspirational back yard and garden

one of Rachel's amazing titanic inspired paintings

Alex in his studio at odyssey

here is a taste of what he is working on at his residency. check out his website for more.

Camping at the North Carolina hot springs!

the last stop on the road trip was the georgia aquarium,

for a little sea inspiration from the largest aquarium in the world.

...which actually turned out to be a madhouse of screaming children

note to self: low tide at carkeek is much more inspiring

I fell in love with beeswax!

These are some photos of my very first encaustic painting! A few weeks ago I took an encaustic workshop taught by my friend Stephanie Hargrave. I absolutely loved the process, painting with beeswax, pigment and a torch.... Amazing. (At times it really reminded me of torch firing enamels.) I am so excited to make sculptural encaustic covered landscapes for pieces of jewelry to nestle in!

And I have to say Stephanie is an amazing artist, a wonderful teacher and just an awesome person to be around, so check out her website for more information on the workshops that she offers. I will definitely be going back to her studio.

Tulips

Here are some photos from my recent trip up to the tulip festival. The endless fields of color were amazing! After Erica and I spent most of the day in the muddy fields, we went into La Conner. It was like a mini vacation, we got to explore the cute little town and enjoy good food, good drinks and good finds at the antique shops.
I have been looking for a printers drawer for my little odds and ends for awhile now, I found this one at Nasty Jack's Antiques. I also got this lovely dessert tray, it may become a jewelry display, I am not much of a baker. But I would love to see it covered in cupcakes and petit fours ...

Spring Cleaning

My last post about carrier shells made me think about how much better my hoarding problem is as an adult. When I was a kid and my mom would throw away a broken toy or set aside old clothes to take to the goodwill. I would pick through the trash or goodwill pile and sneak my stuff back up to my room. Sorry Mom. This made me laugh and decide that today was a good day for a spring purge. So I went for my clothes closet. I was pretty harsh this time, parting with some of my very favorite pieces from the past. But I realized that if it was my favorite dress 5 years ago but I haven't worn it in 2 years, what's the point. Its not doing anyone any good sitting in my closet. So maybe now it will have a new life as someone else's favorite dress. And it feels so good to fill up a garbage bag with clothes and haul it off to the goodwill... Well lets hope I get it to the goodwill before I start to look through it again.

quick and easy pozole

Now that I have more time on my hands Brandt and I have started cooking together again! Last weeks winning dinner was by far the pozole. I had been wanting to try out this recipe for awhile and we finally got around to it last Thursday. Our kitchen is conveniently located in the hallway of our apartment. We have about a foot and a half of counter space and a stove that isn't much larger. So if we can pull this off with some ease, then I am sure it will truly be quick and easy for those of you with a full size kitchen. Enjoy!

Oh, I also wanted to share my latest obsession, bento box lunches! A balanced meal that is so cute. This was my favorite from last week. salmon quinoa burger, mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus, broccoli and strawberries yum.

lovely weekend

Friday night Brandt and I went out to dinner to celebrate the success of my show and having my life back again. We went to Saltoro up on 143rd and Greenwood. I had truffle oil tossed pasta and prawns with a dirty grey goose martini. Brandt had the Sirloin, it was a little rare for his taste so I was happy to eat the bloody center. (I love rare steak.) For dessert we shared pots de creme au chocolat and nice glass of port. I have to say this was the perfect way to end two months of nonstop work and to start a three day weekend.

Stephanie Hargrave's art sale for Haiti was on Sunday. When I got there at 11am it was packed with art and people. I am so happy to say that the event raised $16,000.00 for the earthquake victims in Haiti, and there are still donations coming in!

Usually I am kind of bummed to go back to work after a three day weekend. But I love my new job as a nanny so much, that I was actually really happy to go back! Both of the babies are laid back and super cute. Their parents are pretty great too. It is so nice to have a job where I always feel appreciated. I feel very lucky to have found them.

Tonight I am heading to my "How to Start and Run a Small Business" class. I plan on sharing any useful information that I learn. So be sure to "follow" my blog if you are interested.

HAITI FUNDRAISER/ART SALE

Conrad Chavez, Photograph

Stephanie Hargrave, olive 2, encaustic 25x17 with poplar frame

Britt Freda detail of 'Remembering Sweetness' - an acrylic on panel, 30x10

Cynthia LaRowe, photograph

Kathy Berg, oil on canvas board, 11x14

Jesse Young - photograph 26"x20" framed

Art Sale / Haiti Fundraiser on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14th

11am-6pm at 3234 California Avenue SW in West Seattle

Please pass this information on to anyone who would like to buy fine art and

help earthquake victims in Haiti at the same time.

ALL proceeds will go directly to Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, or Mercy Corps.

Buyers will write checks to these organizations directly.

On sale: oil, acrylic, and encaustic paintings, mixed media works, ceramics, fine art photographs, jewelry, linocuts and more by 46 artists.

Donating Artists:

Ann Kendall, Ann Marie Meredith, Britt Freda, Camea Davidson, Carla Davis, Carol Pierce, Conrad Chavez, Cynthia LaRowe, Diane Culhane, Frances Smersh, Gail Howard, Garric Simonsen, Gini Lawson, Holly Haynes, Jan Flynn, Jesse Young, Joelle King, Juan Alonso, Julie Biggs, Junko Yamamoto, Kamla Kakaria, Kathy Berg, Kelly Lyles, KT Grisez, Lara Swimmer, Layne Cook, Leah Kangas, Lonjina Verdugo, Marcos Lewis, Marita Dingus, Melinda Hannigan, Mike Lawson, Pam Keely, Paul Rucker, Rachel Illingworth, Rickie Wolfe, Sally Ketchum, Sandy Glass, Sarah Savidge, Shaun Doll, Stephanie Hargrave, Stephanie Tomczak,Sue Danielson and Theresa Neinas.

be sure to 'give your love to Haiti' this valentines day!

a beautiful day for lovely crafts

The sky was so clear today that I almost forgot that it is still January in Seattle. So I spent most of my morning walking around the neighborhood. I finally remembered to stop in this cute little shop on greenwood that i have been eyeing since it opened around Christmas. I was expecting it to be just that, a cute little shop, but I walked away very impressed. Assemble gallery and studio is a thoughtful craft gallery, studio workshop space AND a cute little shop! Their shop not only has handcrafted functional objects, but also lots of books on indie craft. It makes me happy to find places that encourage people to work with their hands. So check them out on the greenwood/phinney art walk, take one of their workshops or just stop in and take a look.

i hope you all have a fantastic holiday!

a girl on a mission benefit

friday december 11th i'll be at the jewel box theater to support my friend denise doherty and her show a girl on a mission tv. its a great show where she interviews all types of artists from the seattle area. check out her blog to see some of the interviews. come out to her benefit this friday at 10pm and see some great bands (including the guns of barisal!) and a burlesque performance, there will also be a silent auction (with a piece from yours truly) and a raffle. hope to see you there!

a fond farewell

today was my last day of teaching. i was really sad to say goodbye to all of the kids and the other teachers, but i am so excited to spend all of my time in my studio now! all of the kids made me lovely going away gifts and i wanted to share one.

elliott (age 5) said to me "i know you are leaving us to go make jewelry, so i was thinking you must really like jewelry." he made me this wonderful necklace and a matching bracelet.

another thing that i wanted to share today is that the hcj project has added indulge to their list of upcoming exhibitions. and they put an image of my work on their main page! hcj is another really great resource for jewelers. if you haven't already checked it out you should!