Toto and the tinman

Here are two more paintings in progress.
Toto looks a little like Chickweed but I guess that is to be expected.

Scarecrow

Here is one of the paintings for the show. This one is my favorite so far but the one of the wicked witch may over take this one eventually. I'll post that one as soon as it is done.

Imagine my embarrasment when...

I ran over the lawn mower with the suburban.
I was running out in the middle of that big rain storm. It was coming down in sheets and I absolutely hate being wet unless I am swimming or bathing. So I was running to the car and totally missed the fact that Will had moved the lawn mower up near the house so it wouldn't get stolen.
I went forward and got stuck and when I felt the car not moving forward any more I backed up and went forward again. Only to get stuck again. In a car this big you don't feel anything at all and I just thought the wheels were spinning because of all the water. So I got out and this is what I saw.
I am so lucky that my husband thought it was funny. He has picked on me since the incident and I feel this will be a story I may not live down.

Roasted tomato and peach sauce

This recipe is for grilled chicken or a grilled white fish such as bass or catfish:
3 peaches chopped up
4 roma tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
2 inches square of havarti cheese
salt and pepper to taste

roast tomatoes and garlic on a roasting pan with a little olive oil at 425 degrees for about 30 mins until tan to brown on top and the garlic is golden. Put tomaotoes and garlic in processor or blender with3/4 of the peaches, havarti cheese and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. taste to make sure it needs no other taste....hint: maybe some rosemary if you have it fresh or cilantro if you are looking for a bit of pizazz. (I like it just the way it is).
Take out of processor and pour into a beautiful blue or green bowl to set off the wonderful peachy orange color and add the rest of the peaches. Stir.
We put a small portion of this sauce on the plate and spread it out under marinated and grilled chicken breast and left the rest in the bowl so people can serve the sauce themselves. It truly was one of the best sauces I have had of late and I will have it on hand in the fridge until the peaches are no longer in season.
Enjoy!

Sad news of the Sunflowers.

We usually grow sunflowers in this spot beside the house next to the peach tree. They were all coming up nicely and getting ready to flower and then....we agreed to babysit a puppy and a HUGE black lab. They have systematically torn down almost every sunflower out there. I did manage to make a pretty arrangement and we do have this one still standing. This is a volunteer sunflower that grew up right outside of the studio.

Another note:
I am working on a comission for a big vase with a coral reef on it and a mermaid.
These are the sketch tiles for the project.

Finished shoes

Okay here they are the finished Dorothy shoes with the witch's socks. I will wear both of them to the show to represent for each side. I actually always root for the witch because Dorothy is such a goody goody. Not at all like Alice who was defiant and curious and just a little mad. I do like Dorothy for some things though. Mostly I think its the shoes and the dog.

Dorothy is coming to town

Well the time is finally here and I am getting ready for the Wizard of Oz show in July. I plan to wear jeans and a cool black tank top and these shoes!
I am glittering them and here is the start of the glitter process.
I also am, among many things, doing a wall of floating houses featuring a scared and confused dorothy, and of course the bicycle riding witch.
I will post more pieces as they get finished.

look! brocoli!

Is this not the cutest picture ever?
This is our first of many brocoli that we started a couple of months ago. We ate it in a fresh spinach salad with grapes, snap peas, chicken, cheese, peanuts and to top it off ranch dressing of course! It was tender and delicious!

Blooming

Here is the camilla I featured earlier this spring that had bud on it. Isn't it glorious? Isn't spring the best time ever?
I am amazed at the fact that I used to secretly laugh at my friends and family who spent hours in their gardens thinking to my self, "what a waste of time." And now half of me and Will's convesation is about flowers, trees and the veges that are spurting up so quickly. I won't even get into the fact that I am a closet bird watcher and can be caught exclaiming at any point, " look at that bluebird! or I wonder what those vultures are circling?"
Who knows what other surprises I have in store for myself.

My newest

So today was mom and dad's drawing class and they did so good! We started with color washes in ink. We put color where we thought the objects would go. And then with pecil or india ink we started with one of the objects and put it in relation to all the other objects. Ultimately finding how wrong our first impressions of how things look really is. This technique also is very freeing because everything always ends up outside the lines.

Dad's Newest

Mom's Newest!

First Harvest

These little buggers are the first things to come out of the garden this season. ( We have had tomatoes from the front yard....which apparently is like having a old buick stacked up on cement blocks according to a neighbor of mine..i.e....we are rednecks...) Anyway, AREN'T THEY CUTE!
We have about 92,000 radishes all ready to eat and guess what, I hate radishi. They are so bitter and taste a little like dirt. What else can you do with them? I'm thinking about picking them all and getting some pretty ribbon to tie them into bunches. And then plopping them down on the neighbors stoops as a spring present. There has to be someone out there who likes to actually eat them.

Excuse the belly

My name in lights

We (me and a group of friends) have a show this weekend at the upstairs gallery and here is my name in LIGHTS!!!! Can you believe it? All of our names are in lights and there are 6 of us. But it just seems so cool to have your name splashed in red all down Battleground avenue for the world to see...or some of Greensboro to see. I made Will drive me down on the motorcycle to take a picture and it was a wonderful afternoon together. There is a bottle of champagne in the freezer for a toast to my show and Will's end of the semester and the start of summer.
Yay Summer! Get out those tank tops and birkenstocks.

More of the frame

I didn't finish yesterday but I got pretty far on the water and the birds in the tree. The frogs are coming along too and I hope to be done with this one tomorrow evening.
We'll see.....it always takes longer than I expect it to.

New painting

This new painting is on a frame made to house a mirror. My dad is making the frames and I am painting them. We are making them together and the proceeds will go to help pay for a dream trip to Italy. I need yo get busy if we are ever going to get to go.
This frame is titled spring and will have birds and frogs and some butterflies when it is all done. I plan to spend the rest of the day working on it and potentially getting it finished.

peony

Look T roses and peonies!

Here are my Flame roses that I started 4 years ago. I thought they would be all down the fence by now but alas....they are just seeming to get started. But aren't they gorgeous? And here is a small peony that I also planted 4 years ago that is also just beginning to give me flowers. This year I have 8 buds and last year I only had one! So I am super happy and constantly walking over to them to see each flower opening slightly more every day.
I planted a surprise gerber daisy in the front hosta garden that has a bud tucked down in it's leaves. I can't wait to see what color it comes out to be. I love flowers.

My 2 great students

This first one is dad's 6 th drawing with brush and ink. A still life I set up with 2 of my sculpture legs from the Alice show and some glass objects. It's amazing!
The second picture is mom's 3rd drawing with pencil. I love it and she worked so hard on it. They are both coming along amazingly and for being married 40 so years...they are so different.