and the angels cried....

i will never forget... the world changed on this day.... i remember i was in the safety of my mountains with my toddler at my knees... after days of pain and confusion i designed a game board called the prayer... i put my heart and spirit into this piece...to me it signified the things to be thankful for...i new i had to do something positive i was falling deep into a state of sadness....

this is the piece that i wrote...i chose not to mention God by His name, for the reason that i believe that all people around the world can share this one prayer...

let me see the beauty in the unnoticed

keep me nourished and sheltered

let me not be fearful of the

constant movement

of life

but be assured by the moon

and the stars for the tomorrows

let my heart be

loving and compassionate

my hands strong with

truth and faith

and my direction

wise

amen

davey's garden... happy birthday

working

his way

through the steps

sometimes having to sit still

to wait for his turn to move

forward

other times

jumping

ahead

s

l

i

d

i

n

g

by the obstacles

making his own special way

to the bloom of his center

dancing to not only a different drum

but to a whole marching band

of his creation of his

own life

this is my late summer son

with beautiful hands

how can it be?

my oldest sons 24th birthday arrived today. it will be the only time in our lives where we can double his age to reach mine... it is a time where you remember your youth, what it was for me to be 24 myself, where did i live, where did i work? who was i way back then...

and holding him for the first time, how little he was, wrapping my dreams around him like the soft blanket that kept him warm....stirring the lioness in me to keep him safe...knowing nothing would be able to hurt him if he were in my arms...

i'm very proud of who he is...i would chose him for a friend myself if i were to meet him as a stranger. he's highly intelligent, brave, makes me laugh, kind and has a loving heart. he works with the elderly in a home and says the best part of his day is talking with them...never have i heard him say he hasn't had a good day at work or that he is tired, he loves people and loves his job.

at heart, he is a musician...he composes music in his own code, never learning how to read music. he plays by ear, and i haven't heard an instrument that he couldn't play by just listening to somebody play it... it was just a few months ago when i spotted a piano on the side of the road with a "free" sign. i stopped by his place to let him know and he and a friend drug that piano home... i wasn't even aware that he played the piano, but he does. his music isn't at all what i would've guessed he would write, (not at all like the annoying music he listened to in his teenage years), it is more like movie scores with depth...intricate instruments woven throughout a piece...

after all the years of dreaming (what i find were my dreams) for my children...the peace that you find when you see your children happy with who they are, what they do and who they have as friends is really all a parent could wish for. it's not where they live, what they have, or how much money they make, sacrifices have to be made for those things to become who you want to be or to use the gifts that you have. my hopes and dreams for him were totally changed throughout our relationship, i finally realized, he does know what is best for him.

make a wish baby....

saturday music show....

i'm a girlie girl...

i've been doing some thinking lately on what it is to be an artist and what ones perception is of me while talking over the phone... i've been told countless times that my voice sounds like a child, perhaps it is a reflection of my heart...

i thought i'd take some space and give you an idea of how it all works in my studio... it is fun, it is a blast actually, and i wonder how i am able to get away with having so much fun at that four letter word, "work".

my home is set in the appalachian mountains and it is on the side of a mountain, i am up in the trees so it feels that i am living in a tree house....wonderful old maples, oaks and poplars surround my studio, and most often a breeze is blowing.

in the morning as i climb down to work i'm instantly picked up with all the colors, from game boards to purple, fuchsia and chartreuse walls... i browse for some fun music and dance around a bit, (my dancing "technique" is quite original i will admit) but it is my greeting to the day... my area is divided into 2 sides...and i dress accordingly... tomboy or girlie girl...

one being the fun side, painting, writing, phones, music, ideas after ideas... the other side is the dirty overall side, woodwork, sanding, stains, fumes, dirt and grime...the very serious side...

my fun side is the pretty side with girlie things surrounding me for after working on the dirty side it's nice to be reminded that i am a girl and like the frills of it all...and i get to dress up!

the dirty side has my stained and torn aprons, tools and boxes...and once a tomboy always a tomboy.

i am a big one for sparkle, so if there is glittery things, i must have them to hang all over the studio, or wear, tasteless is not in my vocabulary when it comes to glittery things...dinosaurs, birdcages, artwork by wonderful artists as well as my children are placed here and there, collages, books and a wedding cake topper, boxes of "things" that i will make something with someday....a mantle waiting for me to mosaic with all my odd things, old doors, antiques, baskets and lots and lots of black...and always flowers...

it is my happy place, an open book for those to see who i am inside and what i love... a peek into the many personalities that a woman carries inside of her, i'm conservative yet wild, peaceful yet high strung, love high fashion, as well as bohemian, love city shopping but get a kick out of big lots...mexican or fine dining...i'm not comfortable being in the middle, either extreme is just fine with me....

my loves are children, family and friends, seasons, birds and glitter...flowers with fragrance, and all people...chocolate chocolate chip ice cream, turkey pulled out of the oven, cheerwine floats... being a girl...

my love of people leads me to linger and talk knowing that each and every person has something wonderful to share with me, a permanent place in my heart or mind, that i will look back on.... i love teenage boys and their over sized bodies and undersized minds... loyalty, honesty and integrity...., my beagle jumping allover me in the bed, making me laugh in the morning light....driving the mountain roads just to see whats on the other side...music and old trucks.

it's sooo hot.....

part of the country is flooded, part of the country is suffering a heatwave....it seems that whoever i talk to their state is suffering from weather...

we have been caught in this heatwave, schools are canceled, power flickers from the drainage of the town...one can only think of the cool water or snow...a cool movie theater for the day, which restaurants have a/c....a draught is upon us, restaurants may be forced to switch to paper plates, we can't spare the water...

so i've added a cooling video... sorry to my texas friends, i know you don't want to see more water...

i was raised on an island, so surfing was a part of our island life... we would love to hear that a hurricane was moving in, to us, that meant waves... having surfers in the family, now passed down to the younger generation i thought this was a fun video to watch since i can't be there myself to watch my nephew....

sara's art....

www.portraitsbysara.com

a new addition....my sara

i have a new addition to my studio.... sara bell... sara has taken on the insane task of organizing my work and home life....well, i do wish her well... but i'm finding that she can be quite bossy around the studio areas... after just one week she has been creating a notebook of all the designs, measurements and colors that i use on a piece... for 12 years now, this process was something that was always "new" whenever i sat down to start a piece... and yes, i think her way will certainly work much better... she is eyeing the shelves and i can see her mind ticking away... hmmm....

sara and my family go way back to when she was renting a room next door going to college for her design and art degrees... i remember her racing her car up the driveway just like it was yesterday. she soon became an accepted part of our daily life helping care for my youngest, running errands, doing dishes... we were so sad when she graduated and left the mountains, back to her coastal life style...

but she just missed us all to much and returned after her internship was over... we snatched her as quickly as possible, after all who loves to play on the floor with children and animals more than her? eventually she started to swing her life from our home into the studio, helping here and there where needed... and now, she is in the studio part time throughout the week....

sara is not only a gifted organizer but she is an artist as well... so this opportunity was perfect for her, she is able to continue with her highly sought after paintings... her work carries the coastal views of her childhood, fishing boats and the sea... she commissions paintings of clients homes, college portraits and pets... i've included a link to sara's site so that you can take a peek... after all, if we keep her busy in "her" art, then she will be able to afford to stay with me!

check her out at... http://www.portraitsbysara.com/ christmas is just right around the corner...

painting painting painting

i've been enjoying the week of painting...i think i have used or mixed every possible color...and yes, that does include purple....racks and racks of game boards in their final stages will be moving over to make space for another group of game boards...it is a constant process, as some are being painted, others are drying, while yet more are in the woodwork stage...

people ask me, what is my favorite part of the process....hmmmm...i really think it is just what i'm working on in the moment...because there are so many different processes and they are spread over several weeks, it's always fun to move on to a different phase of a piece...

i've also been drawing my limited edition piece and hope to have it up for you to see in a couple of weeks...the edition is limited to just 20....

we are all having the dog days of august....school continually is being canceled in the afternoons...it seems we are trapped in this heatwave....thinking of snow.....

locking down the studio....

yes, it's happened yet again...juggling, juggling, juggling... i am thrilled that last week is over and i'm starting a new week...planting zinnias in my garden which always reminds me of jennifer lanne's work (link to the left), (and check earth angels too, (link to the left), she just received a new shipment)...refilling the birdfeeders, which actually are for the squirrel family that lives in one of the oaks...and dug up some clay from the yard to make some clay art with my youngest.... still hot, but know it's much hotter everywhere else, so won't complain to loudly....and will finish up the evening with a cook out....

i'm shutting down this studio again for the week, have lots of catching up to do, many orders going out at the end of the week, and many more next week....school is starting this week so things will quiet down, that is until 3:00....

and my words of advice for the week, don't trust a cow, no matter how cute they look....(and yes, i am aware that this is a bull, but i have to admit....i just love a cowboy)

it's the saturday music show...

oh....what a week it's been.....i happily bid goodbye to it! sit back and enjoy the music show while you catch up on your reading...

featured artist at the primitive gathering....

how can it be, july already has come and gone...the excitement that the red white and blue brings marches in and marches on by....

happy to have august, however i feel that it gets a little short changed....back to school rush, dog day afternoons, new schedules, appointments...but it is one step closer to the fall change that will be here before i know it...crisp air again, colors to brilliant to describe and the beginning of the snowflakes...

i was honored to be invited by Primitive Gatherings to be a guest artist for the month of august....deena of sweet annie, researches, designs and puts the whole idea together into the wonderful final displays... as i know i am, you probably are too, always looking for other collectibles and artists that you can meet and collect their pieces... primitive gatherings is just that, a wonderful primitive group of artists... 36 to be exact....and their creations remind me of a time sitting on the steps of an old log cabin holding the doll that my mother had stitched...

please return their kindness and visit their site and their wonderful artists... i'm sure you will find something that you just have to have.

http://www.theprimitivegathering.com/
http://theprimitivegathering.blogspot.com//

another artist for you to see.... suzanne davis...

as you know i just love meeting new artists and to write about their creative process... not only do i learn so much about another field but i find that i am inspired all over again...and since we all work from our studios we can share the stories of work, family or our processes which gives us a lot to laugh about.... i was introduced to suzanne through an artist friend lana manis, honeysuckle lane, (link to the left), who i have featured on my blog before... and immediately i was taken with suzanne's work... the wonderful sense of the past merged with her own amazingly unique talent...as you can see her paintings bring thoughts of a time gone by, and suzanne explains her work in these words...

"Naive or primitive portraits have always been a fascination of mine. I am intrigued by both the subject matter and the artistic style. I admire the accessibility and lack of pretense in the work of these itinerant portrait artists of the 18th and 19th centuries who, like me, were often self-taught.

Portraits of children and their favorite toys or pets are especially endearing and enjoyable to paint. I hope that my art captures the primitive style while honoring the primitive artisans of the past.

portraits are just one of the talents of suzanne davis... you must see her floor cloths....i myself have ordered one and maybe another before the first one is done... i just love the color floor cloths bring to a hall, studio and kitchen, and the durability of using year round, even during the snows that winter brings....

you might want to pull out some of your own photographs and commission a family piece from her too...it will be a wonderful family heirloom, combining the past and the present for the future...

suzanne's company, pear tree designs, is celebrating a kick off with her new web site... be sure to browse through her pieces, and think ahead for gift giving, i know she books up fast this time of year... http://www.peartreeprimitives.com/

take a walk with me...

this morning my young son and i decided we would go on a scavenger hunt... we found this site; geocache, which is so much fun. you type in your zip code and their are 'treasures' hidden all around which you seek out, a perfect game for the end of summer. when you find the treasure you replace it with something from yourself and leave your name behind... so off we went...

the chinese maple and big rock ended up to be at the farmers market... he found his treasure and replaced it with a small gold coin for the next seeker... we then headed over to the farmers market where the beans and squash were calling us for dinner.... after lingering and carrying our dinner we decided to take a walk in the shade....and this is what we stumbled upon...

one of those days...

we've all had them.... everything seems to take 3x longer than it should, as soon as you get something done you find you did it totally wrong... the child is hungry "nothing to eat", you burn the bacon, he won't eat the eggs, you are tripping over the dogs, but you can't toss them out because the roof is leaking and the roofers are here to greet you this morning... laundry is backed up, nothing to wear.... but to much rain, so the laundry drain will back up and pour all over the floor...

so i decided to take a walk.... my favorite path through the mountain with wonderful views and start all over again... i decided to go through the fence, since fences usually are for keeping things in, aren't they?

i sit in the pasture watching the cows and looking at the clouds... a nice break from the constant rain and the leaky roof.... i notice the cows are becoming quite interested in me and two of them start meandering towards me... well being a city girl wishing to be a mountain girl i just enjoyed seeing them lopping over to me (pretending that they were not out to get me) ... then one started to lop pretty darn fast and i wondered if cows do attack.... and they do.... i can say that i can still run pretty fast, faster than an attack cow that is if i have a good lead...

you may not believe this but i certainly do.... i've always thought cows were making plans.... drive by, watch them getting together, planning planning planning.....i've always told my sons that they are meeting, planning a birthday party....but i know the truth, they are not the big pretty eyed innocents that they pretend to be.... they are planning... they are planning their takeover....

saturday music show.... wynonna

last night i went to see wynonna... hard to believe she came to a little town like ours... it was a beautiful night in the mountains, the night coolness of the air, stadium surrounded by mountains, fireflies in the air and children running and dancing around the stage. she loves the children, she said she felt that she was being entertained and not entertaining...at the end of her moving performance the skies were lit with fireworks....and then a nice walk home...

she has always amazed me and i've always loved her. her spirit, talent and openness has always been shared with all of us. she is what she seems....searching, hoping, caring. you know when somebody is special...you get chills, tingles. she sang this song last night that i wanted to share with you. i remember the first time i heard it, the song crossed over from i believe the christian music charts to contemporary music...and was being played everywhere...i remember being moved to tears.

out of the kitchen...

it all started with the very last step of bringing the rest of my studio from the kitchen down into the studio... when i started a family i was determined to work at home....for 6 years i drug my work from the studio to paint on the kitchen table.... there were game boards leaning against all the walls in various stages down into the hallway...

i took the final step.... bring the computer from the kitchen and all the things that goes with it...

it would've been very amusing for you to watch this event. sara, my assistant, who floats from the studio up into what i call my other life, helps with kids, errands, doing the dishes and then finds her way to the studio helping with things here and there... well sara and i decided it was time to pull it all together...

how many times did we put those legs on the table, we will not tell.... and what the heck were those left over pieces on the floor from the bookcase? hmmmm.... but it's done and oh so wonderful.... when the phone rings, here i am.... when i need to print something, i lean and push a button... my early morning times of blogging are relaxing in my studio instead of the hectic "upstairs".

it is amazing that one can create a cottage industry in their home....combining their love of their work along with their love of family... i am certainly blessed beyond my dreams....

it's not even monday....but...

as you know monday is my favorite day of the week... stop the groaning... i just love a monday... to me it's a week of upcoming unknowns....opportunities, fun to be had, new friends, new ideas and then the always hopes of making my "upstairs life" more organized...

after a long week of vacation i'm so thrilled to be getting down to the studio... yes it's quite a mess right now... seems to be the 'drop off' place for anybody coming through, so that will take some time getting some order on my work tables... and i wonder why their is a table on my work table... empty cups and tools that are not mine....hmmmm....

but i will feel great and ready to go when that's all in order... i just found some wonderful hanging lanterns to hang in my studio along with a huge wicker bird cage.... now where to hang that..... but after all the cleaning and decorating i will be jumping right to work from the very beginning....drawing...(even though it's not a monday)....

back from vacation...

ahhhh...gulf sands

i'm back from a very relaxing trip to my family. what fun it is to see everyone, to see my moms latest creations. how can somebody have so many beautiful quilts going on at the same time?, my dad and his beautiful garden that he has created with butterflies flying everywhere you turn and his fight against the deer eating all the beauty, my sister and her constant redecorating of her already wonderful home, my other sister and her stories of fishing, trips and nutty animals...my nephew on his way to being a painter and neice and her frantic but fun life raising a 2 year old, and then my little great neice, the 2 year old that grasps all our hearts....

what fun to see everybody and just take up where we were before, like time hasn't passed....the summer storms were amazing....as you can see from this photo...rainbows, lightening and blue skies all at the same time...

i came back rejuvinated....wanting to get right back to my studio and create....hopefully to breathe some freshness into my pieces and colors from the florida skies and beaches....the chance for me to come home and survey my own home and change things up a bit....to renew my home and garden too...

and as always, when i caught a glimpse of my first mountain top coming home, i felt safe and my breath was taken away....again....

off on vacation!

phew......

what a great feeling it is to see all the boxes ready to go to all of you....i hope you love them....and enjoy them as much as i did making them for each of you....

ahhhhh.....the pelicans

ahhhh...the sounds of the surf.... watching the pelicans, the last of the dinosaurs...

i thought i'd go ahead and post ahead today...tomorrow i will be finishing all those boards you saw drying outside, plus another rack full....

from each side of this country and many states in between boards will be shipping and flying for the next week to reach your homes...i hope you enjoy them as much as i enjoyed making the piece for each of you...

i'm off to florida for a week to spend with my family....i can't wait to see all of them...cannot wait to see the newest member of the family and my parents....my niece and nephew and sisters...beaches, and all the tourist things that you do only when company arrives...and all of moms cooking....i live to far away for my liking....

so i will check in when i return....a little more then a week....and i'll be drying boards while i'm gone...

saturday music show...(just a little early)

the scottish settled in this area....they said it reminded them of home, green and mountainous...

i call the music up here, mountain music...it is a form of bluegrass with a slant towards scottish, irish and folk.. it is an off shoot of the scottish music that was brought here. folk songs passed on from one generation to another, someone finally took notice that it might be lost for all time if not recorded on paper... dates of this music go far back...

it is difficult for me to tell the difference between scottish music and irish....and i believe that is because most of the music was carried from ireland to scotland. every year we have a huge festival where the scottish clans gather, play scottish games and music. kilts of every plaid are proudly worn by the clans...

the music is from one of my favorite bands.....clann an drumma.....i've seen them many a time and always look forward to their coming....our town made a warm welcome to these scottish musicians who afterwards said that they would be returning as often as possible... they are passionate musicians....carry their drums wherever they go and just start playing.... if it starts raining they just duck into a pub and keep playing...i thought i'd share with you something that is so common to me but might be very different for you...

patience....

as i'm laying the game boards down to dry amongst the bleeding hearts and lilies....it's a beautiful picture that reminds me of quilts... the pattern, the colors.

it's a peaceful time, the signal to an end... the day has to be perfect, sun coming and a soft breeze, the wind and humidity can ruin the finish.

it's a time where i can linger for a moment in the garden and take note of what is about to bloom, the black eyed susans and indian paint brush...where i'm becoming intrigued with the new colors that are arriving in my garden and where can i use those in my work.

the music drifts out from my studio, and i am reminded to come back in and move on to the preparation of the final stages that will begin tomorrow....

what i'm working on....

this piece was originally created in the 1800's...this will be added to my new collection in late august...it will be the second piece added to my limited edition collection.... if you love it, let me know and i will make a piece for you...

saturday... the day for some music (turn it up)

living in the appalachians, music is everywhere. banjos, harmonicas, guitars, fiddles and voices singing bluegrass, gospel and folk... it is as natural as one can imagine, woven into your ordinary day. friday night is music out on the lawn at the old jones house, or you can head out to the next town over and listen at the old drugstore. walking main street on the weekend you are bound to find a guitar player or fiddler playing on the sidewalk.

saturday is a wonderfully lazy day here... a celebration of an end of a week and time for being with your family. a day of choices... should i go to town and linger, hike in the woods, climb for a view, cook out while napping in the hammock or go sit by the river and read. there are so many choices in my paradise. so i think i will go to town and sit outside eating homemade pancakes at melanie's and linger in town to see what i can find....come home and nap, head to the studio to catch up and then down to the river with supper in a basket. i like to add some music on my blog on saturdays, something i stumbled upon or something that found me...however it happened i was moved by something new...so sit back and relax, it's just beautiful.

dog day afternoons....

it always happens.....this time of year i start thinking of snow.....i start thinking of where we could go out to eat....which restaurants have air conditioning...not inclined to cook or eat at home...the heat is unbearable....the humidity is setting in....i've never seen it this bad....

ok, well i admit is is around 72 when i do check.....but it's a very hot 72. i think of the days of half of my childhood being raised in florida....growing up on an island, dirt roads, searching for sharks teeth...the taring of the roads in later days, watching it bubble and poking the bubbles with sticks...feet hardened from walking on the hot roads....and never noticing the heat. i've noticed that with my own children, they don't get hot, you have to make them pause and water them down over and over and off they go....they don't notice the steam coming off the road after a short rain...when did that change happen in me?

i'm still thinking of snow....somehow it makes me cool down....

i wanted to take this week....

i'm locking the studio down for the week and won't be writing until next week.... and as you know this is not a blog where politics or religion are discussed....

but i wanted to take these last few days to look at the 4th from small town eyes to the eyes of war... from the simple joys of my family life that i'm blessed with to the struggles that other families are forced to endure, here in america and worldwide.... one day, there will be peace throughout the world....

a tribute to the soldiers....

boys will be boys

and i see....

girls will be girls

america...

take 6 singing

it's the 4th of july....

i'm ready for a long summer night...listening to music and playing with sparklers....

watching the people of my small town gather for what will be an amazing fireworks show....children chasing the last of the fireflies and smells from the grills....the 4th is an amazing time in our small town where everyone comes to gather, watches the small parade (where anybody can join), people come with their dogs, their families and eat ice cream cones as they watch the parade go by....children scamper for the candy that is thrown from the cars and are amazed still at the fire engine blaring it's siren...

it's a magical time that the town spreads out over nearly a week...several nights of firework shows...two parades and cookouts galore.....

a new piece....

i just love this board....i saw it more than a year ago and stuck the ripped up piece of paper in a basket....yesterday i was inclined to go through the basket narrowing down what new boards i will be practicing on in july....and i just keep coming back to this piece...it's just fun...i've decided on about 6 new boards, pieces that i've been wanting to make for years...colors that i love and what designs thrill me to think of making....combining the past with the present and the future again...

locking myself into the studio for the week....

as you can see....i have two racks of boards in various stages....yes, that's another one tucked way in the back.....i have checked the weather for the week and it isn't good for working outside....so i'm locking myself inside my studio so that i can take every opportune moment to work around this weather....so off i go.....so be back next week!

i had visitors....

cassie and her mom paula made way here from southern indiana....i'm becoming quite fond of the indiana people with visits and mail....i must go visit, their genuineness, thoughtfulness seems first nature....after hiking up and down mountains, visiting the wonderful town of ashville, they headed my way....and what fun that was! thanks for coming you two!

a cool morning walk....

believe it or not....at the end of my walk i met a flute carver....what's the chance of that one? spoke to him for a long time, he new the carver of my flute....and i explained to him that 'just awful sound coming from my flute when i hit the last note', with a smile and a chuckle he gave me a lesson to take home with me...maybe one day he will stumble upon me playing my flute....

i hope to one day play so beautifully....(turn up while you browse)

i will learn to play....

i think i must have the best husband....the most awesome....(that word is really over used, i know)...but he brought me the most beautiful hand carved native flute....there is something about the native american music that haunts me....and i am so attracted to the flute if i hear someone playing when i'm out in town....maybe it is in the earth and boulders here in my town, it is cherokee country, and this town will always carry the history in the trees and on the earth....

i am determined to become a wonderful flute player....and i hope everyone in my life can bare with my practice...and as i researched this music i found so many songs that i will be able to learn and groups that i can actually join to learn more.....so i'm off to yet another wonderful thing, and i hope it will bring joy and peace to those around me....it's just the most perfect gift somebody could receive, and it's small enough to carry with you on a hike, or down to the river....thank you honey....

just thinking....

i recently came across this info. in an article about a recent auction that was held. it amazed me to see how the game boards of the past have increased so much in value....it would be quite something for me to hold one of these pieces in my own hands, admire the work that was done, the colors that were chosen, the tools that they must have used to create this wonderful piece. and then to find a way to adapt some part of this to my own design, my own tools and colors. i am moved by the work of the past, the heart that went into it... and one day, i've been told my boards will be sought after, collected and auctioned off for amazing prices...i hope that to be true, since the numbers are small that i can create, and it would be wonderful to think they would be passed down generation to generation, hung on a wall, or a treasure to found in an attic one day....

There was also strong interest in the game board collection of Selby Shaver of Dallas, Texas. This auction featured over 50 of Shaver’s boards; additional examples will be offered at Skinner’s October 28th auction. A favorite was the polychrome-painted heart game board that garnered enough competition to require 12 telephone bidders who vied with a host of other absentee bidders and many in the audience. It eventually sold for $18,400, as did a polychrome-painted Parcheesi game board. Nearly all of the game boards in the collection exceeded expectations, further demonstrating the widespread and ongoing interest in game boards from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Skinner sold several from the folk art collection of Peter Brams in February of 2001, including a Parcheesi board that tied the existing auction record for a game board, selling for $46,000.

come for a visit...

what a week it has been in the studio.... stacks and stacks of boards drying on the racks, it really is a beautiful site. i always grab a piece of paper and start jotting down what boards look wonderful with other boards, in hopes that someday i will make myself a set...hmmm...

and then boxes everywhere, rolls of bubble wrap and notes i've made stuck everywhere, what goes with what and to whom it needs to go to. shipping is probably by far the hardest day at work, no mistakes can be made, it seems i'm always a little 'short' of space.... but when the boxes are all packed and labeled it is such a great feeling that everyone will receive their pieces in a week. this week boxes went to virginia, california, maine and ohio...phew....and i do so much enjoy your calls or emails after you received them to hear that the piece arrived safely and where you decided to hang it.

and after the country living article i've had many visitors to my studio....which is always so much fun to meet people face to face...and next week i will have more from indiana and virginia...you can't beat a stop in the appalachias in the summertime. so come and visit, see what i'm doing and enjoy this little town...

i also checked in with my friends this week to see what they are all doing.... mary myers is overwhelmed with special orders.... lori ann corelis is working on her wonderful hares and collecting antiques pieces for the final touches, jennifer lanne has new paintings at earth angels and lana manis is working some new pieces... everyone is so busy! check out their sites and get those orders in....the wait is getting longer and longer!

what fun this is!

what fun this was to receive this photo of a customers collection just after they added a new piece....and as they said, they have room for plenty more...!

thanks for sharing this picture, and for everyone else send yours too and i will post them...

and you thought i was locked up in my studio....(music) turn up or down!

my babies flew the nest....

my babies flew their nest....after weeks of watching, listening, and admittedly tolerating them sometimes, they have all four flown away. so i'm feeling the empty nest....it's funny how quickly we can fall in love...and worry and want to protect...this is a picture that i took the day before they left...

country living....july

listen, read and enjoy....

I will be locked in my studio until monday....(a good thing) much to do, so turn up the music and read the earlier posts and browse the other artists sites listed... feel free to call me.....828-265-0977

baret boisson....all i can say is WOW...

you know how i just love love love to meet other artists...so much in common, so much to share. i was reading my new country living and i came across judi boisson's wonderful home, that's a big wow by itself....i know everyone knows judi, i can spot her work a mile away...but did we know she had an amazing over the top talented daughter? well often times the charms of creativity weave through a family and this family is no different...

baret...baret boisson is just amazing....her mom hooked us up, and immediately after receiving mail from baret i knew we had a likeness of heart... i noticed right away the words that she uses, the openness to new friends and the honesty and reaching out were sparks that i carry in my soul too, and we were immediately best friends.

her pieces are awesome, her talents are endless....from commissioned paintings that are so fun and heartfelt to her ceramics (both shown above) which are conveying 'real' feelings and speaking words that she believes...as i do too...(a ceramic piece was shown in country living july issue too), she is truly an american folk artist, with the inclusion of being self taught.

i myself will commission a piece from her....a wonderful 'real' painting of my boys...i know for sure that she will put the heart and soul into the piece and we will feel her with my boys...

and isn't that funny how we met....country living's, tisha leung, found me....i found judi and judi hooked me up with her daughter...things are just meant to happen, aren't they? be sure to look over her site, (listed to the left)....and i know you will appreciate her talents too.

women in art...(has music)

country living....29th guild member

today i just received my july issue of country living magazine. i've been excited, worried, pretty much everything, waiting to see this article....and i'm really happy with the turnout... (i fear, however, that i'm much older and plumper than i invision in my own mind...!) just as soon as i learn how to scan and upload i will add it to the site so you can have a little sneak preview...but honestly, you will probably already have yours by then!

i couldn't resist this picture when i came across it....for you who know me you know i don't have a competitive bone in my body, am not vain (which my hubby would like me to have a little of that, and not run around town in paint clothes), and really do not take any bragging rights for what i do, i'm just pretty much happy go lucky and wish everything wonderful for everybody...

so i did have to come out of my shell a little to add this cheering photo....after all it really is a very big deal, quite an honor that country living hand chose me out of thousands of applications. i honestly didn't even apply, after all, i don't belong "up" there, i would've never had the nerve! so they applied for me, country living did, behind my back pretty much....so a very heartfelt thank you to tisha and the gang.

i just had babies....

finally....after the many weeks of watching my wren...they had their babies. days of building the tunnel like nest in my hanging basket outside the studio door, many more days of guarding and chasing me away when i went outside to sand...finally i can hear the chirp cheep of the babies. i climbed up over the basket to take a peek and screamed and jumped as one of the parent birds flew right to my face. i tried again later after checking and seeing no sign or hearing their mad chirps and saw one little bird sleeping with a very long yellow beak.

i don't know what is going on in that basket anymore....lots of movement, swinging of the basket as the parents come and go gathering and feeding...now i worry about their nest being built right above the cement patio, so tomorrow i will lay down some bubble wrap and a blanket so that when they do finally take flight they will land safely.