Bluebird by Theresa Martin

After visiting Glenview Mansion a couple of weeks ago, I could not stop thinking about Theresa Martin’s artwork.

It is a combination of everything I Love and dream about.

I am now the proud owner of “Bluebird” and could not be more pleased! This piece spoke to me the minute I saw it!

*************

I had THE most exciting mail day yesterday.

Theresa’s amazing art piece arrived, the Lovely birds nest pin that I won, a wonderful Mona postcard swap with the talented Sandy :)……and as if that wasn’t enough fun, three Art Technique Yahoo group ATC swaps arrived as well.

Now that’s A LOT of art mail all in one day!

“Each day offers us the gift of being a special occasion if we can simply learn that as well as giving, it is blessed to receive with grace and a grateful heart.” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

 

Jeweled Elegance

A beautiful gift arrived that I won from the talented Heather over at Jeweled Elegance. It’s a special birds nest hairpin with three precious little fresh water pearl ‘eggs’. For a better view of this Lovely piece be sure and pop over to Heather’s blog.

The pin came wrapped in pretty green tissue, tied with a golden ribbon….with a elegant black and white flocked card.

Thank you SO much Heather for such a fun and sweet giveaway. I do indeed feel most fortunate to be a winner. I am also in Love with the card you put it on…..Edelweiss have a special significance to our family

 

Sunday Postcard Art: Birds

Another fun challenge over at Sunday Postcard Art!

 

Theme Thursday: people with wings

Theme Thursday is all about People With Wings, a really fun challenge theme!

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” ~Denis Waitley

*****Happy Independence Day to All*****

“Declare your independence of all fear-based limits.” ~Alan Cohen

 

Bee Spotting

Back in June when we attended the Western Loudoun County Artists Studio Tour, I snapped this photo under the roof of an out building that held one of the artists’ kilns.

With the help of telephoto I was able to get in pretty close. There were bees flying around, not too many….

For lots of really interesting bee sightings……do visit Karen at her fun and artistic Beelieve blog!

I really like bees and have always been intrigued by them.

I think it would be fun to make something arty with a bee theme…..

“Every saint has a bee in his halo” ~Elbert Hubbard

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway.” ~Mary Kay Ash

 

Misterioso Mona: Sunday Postcard Art

The Sunday Postcard Art challenge is Mona in Art.

The talented Fatma is the guest artist this week.

I glued an old brittle player piano music sheet (I just had to buy these rolls and this is the first time using any) to a 4 x 6 inch piece of watercolor paper, inked it with a couple of different inkpads, stamped on it and added Lovely Mona’s face, along with her headpiece.

It says “mysterious” in Italian on her head!

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

 

Art & Soul Vintage Metal Deck Card #9

It’s been a while since I’ve posted another of my Metal Deck series. Note the different effects achieved using the Modern Options Rust product. This one ended up just rusty with no other colors like others I created at the same time.

I like the golden threads with the word “tears” tucked inside the bottle. Fun idea having a ‘message in a bottle’.
the back is collaged papers (some of my fusion paper towel), butterfly sticker, gesso and goauche. The ribbons are some of my hand dyed ones I have used before.

“The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” ~Emily Dickinson (American Poet who has been called the New England mystic, 1830-1886)

 

Glenview Mansion Art Exhibit

Is it possible to have too much fun…………well, some days it can almost seem like it.

My sweetie took the day off on Friday for a couple of reasons. I had the good fortune a week or so ago to stumble upon Theresa Martin’s blog. I could not have been more thrilled to find out that some of her pieces were being shown at a gallery within driving distance. Her artwork, along with two other artists, is being shown during the month of June at the beautiful Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD.

Theresa’s assemblage pieces are everything I Love, admire and dream about! The grand old house that houses the exhibit is a very special venue indeed! It was a real thrill to get to see her pieces up close and personal. Each one is just SO special! Yes, I’m a big fan!

We enjoyed the art exhibit very much and got to take a stroll around the sprawling property and gardens as well….a perfect beginning to a Lovely day!

 

Land of the Thunder Dragon

Next we were off to The Mall in Washington, DC to visit the 42rd Annual Folklife Festival.

The three features this year are “NASA: Fifty years and Beyond”, “Texas: A Celebration of Music, Food and Wine” AND the reason we were visiting: “Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon” or as it’s also been called “The Last Shangri-la”.

In all the years we have lived in this area we have only been to a handful of the annual Folklife activities. Each year is different.

Summers in Washington DC can be really hot and humid, but that doesn’t seem to stop most people! There was a huge turnout. (On average there are 25 million visitors to the national mall each year.)

To our way of thinking…..how many times does the Kingdom of Bhutan (pronounced bOOtän’) come calling!

Bhutan has also been called “the last place on the roof of the world”.

One of their guiding principles is their “gross national happiness”.

This temple was built with very ‘vintage’ looking handmade tools right here on the mall. You can see the famous Washington Monument in the background.
The craftsmanship and artistry are just breathtaking. I wonder what will become of this building come July when the festivities end?

Placing environmental concerns and spiritual wellbeing over rampant capitalism sets this country, just half the size of Indiana, apart .

Here is someone spinning yak wool.

A blacksmith/bladesmith created intricate swords and knives. He worked side by side with a silversmith.

A monk chanting blessings for all.

A sand mandala in the making….

There were wonderful performances and here you can see a lady in native dress. We seem to have lots more photos of Bhutanese men for some reason.

We enjoyed a juicy slice of watermelon, even at the risk of getting all drippy and sticky, it was very refreshing in the heat.

We had an amazing adventure, both days, full to the brim with new sights and sounds and we took oodles of pictures.

 

Tagged by Pauline

Pauline in Malta (now that is a place I would Love to visit!) tagged me, so here goes:

Where was I 10 years ago:
Vacationing on Margarita Island in Venezuela

5 things on my to-do list today:
-Make Art

-Send pics to Moss Hill Studio to enter the messy art table contest, I got my times mixed up and missed the deadline by 19 minutes. My hubbie thinks I stood a good chance of winning too!  Oh and it was a wonderful prize!!!

-Go to the market

-Take a walk

-Watch a movie with my honey

Snack Food I like:
fruit, chocolate, seaweed snacks, kettle cooked potato chips (the folded over ones are my favs)

If I were a billionaire:
I would travel the globe, have a home by the sea and one in the mountains, support various charities and visit Pauline on her private island

Places I have lived:
Germany, NJ, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia

People I want to know more about:
If you’d like to play along, leave a comment and we can all find out more about you as you answer the questions

 

Peanut Streusel Pie

Jeweled Elegance is having a fun giveaway. Pop on over for the details.

I am joining in for a chance to win a wonderful handmade creation.

So here is my sweet treat recipe to share.

My Mom has been making this pie since the early 1970’s and it’s always a hit with no leftovers.

*PEANUT STREUSEL PIE* 6-8 servings

1/3 cup peanut butter

¾ cup confectioners sugar, sifted

one 9 inch baked pie shell

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 egg yolks

½ cup sugar

2 cups milk, scalded

2 Tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

Blend peanut butter with conf sugar until mealy.

Sprinkle 2/3 of this mixture in the bottom of the pie shell.

Combine 1/3 cup flour, ½ cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in top of double boiler, stir in scalded milk.

Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, add egg yolks and butter. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat, add vanilla.

Stir and pour on top of crumbly mixture in pie crust

*MERINGUE*

3 egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ cup sugar

Beat egg whites until stiff; add cream of tartar. Mix sugar with cornstarch. Add gradually; beat until stiff. Pile on pie; sprinkle with remaining peanut butter crumble mixture. Bake in 400F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until delicately-browned. Cool before serving Enjoy * Enjoy.

 

Artists Studio Tour

Over the weekend, my sweetie and I headed for the countryside.

It was beautiful weather for being out and about.  The humidity was low which makes a huge difference in the comfort level here in Northern Virginia.

The 3rd Annual Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour gave the chance to visit lots of wonderful and inspiring spaces along with the opportunity to see artists at work. It was such a delight to travel down country roads one would not normally travel on.

We got to see these amazing sculptures, by John Raymond, using wonderful rusty found objects.

Another artist, Carmen Howell, did paintings and welded modern rusted pieces. When she first went to art school back in the day, they told her she could not weld……well, she remedied that!
Beautiful earthy tiles and sculpture by Eric and Linda Trueblood. Isn’t the mandala tile pattern amazing! It was so rich and stunning underfoot.

Lampwork beads by the talented Katy Stidley, with a chance to see how the glass rods are melted and transformed right before our very eyes. I did come home with a pair of new earrings and this beautiful dangly, which will make a Lovely necklace.
Sculpture by the talented Jeff Hall. This picture is of his ‘graveyard’ outside the barn. His wife, Liz, is an amazing jewelry artist, her pieces were singular.

There really is so much to tell and we only took in a fraction of the 30 artists participating.
One final bit of fun to round out our adventures was stopping to have a bite to eat at a little spot that used to be called the Fleur de Lis. It was upscale and a bit on the pricey side back then. Well, it’s been replaced by a Mediterranean Eatery now called Andy’s.

We spied this architectural piece sitting on the trash cans outside. We admired it and went inside and enjoyed a nice lunch. Coming back to our car we could not help but wonder if indeed this piece was destined for the trash. My sweet husband went back inside and asked the owner about it. Low and behold it was ours for the taking.
We just Love it as a decoration on our newly replaced grape arbor lattice. Now that’s what I call recycling, we were tickled to give it a new home!

 

My Mandala & an art giveaway

It’s been an exciting month over at Bluebird…1…2…3 monthly challenge blog.

Jean has put so much into the wonderful Mandala Challenge.

Be sure and have a look at the completed mandalas, all so different and amazing.

Here is mine. I began in the center and worked my way out. Several times in the last couple of days I thought it was complete. I would snap a few pictures and realize I wanted to outline something else in black Sharpie. I think it is finally complete and I am happier with it than I was in the middle of the process. It wasn’t flowing for me like creating a piece so often does. I had to walk away from it for awhile. Then the pressure of a deadline kicked in and there you have it.

Thanks to my new Layers of Color Art Stamps, I was able to get rolling again. It’s always so much fun playing with new stamps.

This song popped up for me today and I thought it was the perfect finish to my mandala project.

If you have a few minutes for a blast from the past, have a listen to this song from 1976. It doesn’t sound dated to me at all. There is even a cool modern video to go with it…..gotta Love technology!

Heard it from a friend, there is wonderful blog candy (an art giveaway) just waiting for you over at Retro Cafe.  Angels are at work….Kris’ artwork is beautiful, be sure and visit her at Retro Cafe Art Gallery.

 

Wednesday Stamper: Little Miss Sunshine

In addition to bare feet and ice cream, flowers and sparkling water, the theme of anything related to “Sunshine” made me think of this sweet little movie.

It came out in 2006.

Here is my little miss sunshine card with sunshine on her shoulders.

I used Judikins and Magenta stamps mostly, stamping on dyed paper towel and book pages.

Be sure and pop over to Mittwochstempler/Wednesday Stamper for lots of wonderful and inspiring eye candy.

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.” ~Morris West

 

Think Monday - Think ATC

The TMTA challenge is “Tickets”.

What a nice opportunity to use one of my saved film tickets!

I enjoy movies very much. Foreign films are my favorite, anything fantasy or medieval would also be on top of my list.

My ticket is from the film, The Other Boleyn Girl.

It came out earlier this year and was based on the 2002 Philippa Gregory book.

I used brocade fabric as my background and the image is from The Graphics Fairy.   Thank you Karen, can you tell I Love your images

 

Mandala….still in the making

OK, I really like the idea of making a mandala. I thought I would just breeze into this…..well, I am stuck. I created what I have so far with no real plan. That is how I approach most things I make. Maybe I’ll have an image, color, a quote or word that gets me started, but the actual making of it is never planned out…..it just happens. For me that is the fun of creating and playing!

I am not sure WHAT my hangup is??? Actually I want to kind of fill in some of the blanks and do not know how to proceed…..yet at least. Often when I ‘confess’ something like, “I don’t know what to do next”, it seems to open up something and I do know what I’ll do next……….let’s hope I would like to finish this. For loads of mandala inspiration and amazing eye candy be sure and visit Bluebird 1…2…3, the new monthly challenge blog.

An art friend, Alecia, gifted me with the most wonderful little white book so full of amazing quotes. I Love keeping it near me and opening to random pages.

“Yesterday I was not wise enough, today I understand, tomorrow I will do better? So man thinks and life goes on.” ~Hazrat Inayat Khan