Thursday, March 24, 2011

Show & Tell

This video displays more of my jewelry and art, as well as other crafts designed throughout the years such as paintings on bottles, large rocks, cherry wood and slate. The bear was not chiseled by me but I painted it for a friend who requested it. One craft I enjoy making are greeting cards made by copying my art work onto card stock paper. The artwork, mostly watercolor ( some acrylics) depict Adirondack and holiday themes and are then packed into assorted or duplicate sets of six to be shared with friends or shown at holiday craft fairs. I have personalized them also to suit various occasions. This video is titled "Show & Tell" because some of the items show the beginning process of my painting and how it plays out in my eyes on the canvas until completion. It can give those interested an idea of how I work to create the image desired. The large painting of the man fishing is one of my first art works so you will notice it's a bit rough, although a special "favorite" of my husband's because of the "subject" matter. It was painted on old fiberboard to be thrown out and embellished with birch branches to cover the ragged edges. This painting depicts the three of us relaxing on a spring day and is a reminder of years ago when Jessi was young.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

ABOUT ME

I have three adult "kids", two grandsons, and one granddaughter. They all live several states away so life has become much simpler and our big house (with our two cats, Sam and Ladi Di) is an empty nest just waiting for their visits. My husband of almost 30 years has been my biggest supporter,a wonderful father to our kids, my best friend and soulmate. He always encourages me to be the best that I can be and because of that, I feel I can accomplish anything I set my heart out to do. I don't think I could ever have attempted to create the things I do if not for the inspiration received from him and the rest of my incredibly talented and amazing family. Each one of my children possesses a quality that I strive to emulate both artistically and creatively. They make me proud every day with their ability to achieve their desires and goals and make the world a better place with their presence. I am not quite sure how I got so lucky to have such sensitive, beautiful, bright,intuitive, and talented kids, but they make my heart smile just knowing they came from me! As for my 88 year old mom, my beloved deceased dad and brother, and all four of my sisters, I simply couldn't EXIST without them. They have taught me so much about myself and help me learn valuable lessons everyday just by my knowing and loving them. I am a "younger" retired nurse who was enticed to leave my job of 28 years in a busy hospital due to severe arthritis in my knees and back. I spend my days honing my craft, painting with watercolors & acrylics, searching antique stores for old and unique beads full of pizzazz and past memories so that I recreate them for a newer generation. I love creating art out of old be it painting or jewelry.
I hope by reading a little about my family and my passions, you will have learned a little more about me. Anyone that knows me personally is aware that there is one thing more important to me than anything in the world...they are who gets me through the days, they are who inspire me to be who I am...they are my family, who I love with all my heart!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Little Girl's Fantasy

Some little girl's love to wear jewelry just like their mom's and I have had a few friends ask me to make some..One design in particular is a tiny charm bracelet with my friend's grand-daughters initials on it along with birds, flowers, little bugs, and her birthstone in swarofski crystal..It's something her Nana can give that she will treasure now and hopefully, later.








Art Work Old And New







































Some of the art I like to do involves painting on old windows, antique, old vintage bottles, nice pieces of wood found and anything pretty that can be recycled. I take great pleasure out of seeing what I can do with something that is ready to be taken to the dump or a beautiful piece of driftwood, a lovely smooth rock or anything from the earth. I first noticed an old window at a tea house when I was visiting my daughter's college town. This lovely merchant had it hanging on her wall with some beautiful flowing daisies and sunflowers on it..behind the glass was just the lovely wall color in a light peach color. It fascinated me and she allowed me to take a photo of it so I could try it. Lucky for me, my mom was redoing her kitchen and having these gorgeous latched paned windows removed much to my chagrin. It was the perfect time to try painting flowers on them so I adopted them along with the memory of where they used to hang. Since then I have hunted for more old windows and love the look especially since they don't hide the paint on my walls that I hate to cover up. Please check out the slide show of some of my work.