« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
We had another delightful class yesterday at Tinsel Trading, playing with flowers, paper, ribbons and a collaboration of inspired art-ness. The sun was out. The sidewalks were in full bloom with people sightseeing and shopping, turning their faces to the sky like hothouse daffodils anxious to open. And of course, my favorite shop windows were popping with playfulness and color too.
Just when we start getting all excited about the warmer, sunnier days, they turn grey and cool again. That's spring though. Can't count on it to stay the same any day. And really, I'm grateful that it isn't flooding or blowing us away. Church sale season is just around the corner and it's a good day to think about donations. Plenty here to pass along. Love that feeling of dropping off a big box of things that just want to go there, disappear into the church hall stacked high with other bundles of good intentions. On the way home I will congratulate myself for donating, getting it out of here. And begin counting the days until I can go back and buy it all again.
Someone donated these little glass flower picks one year. There were 2 boxes and I only bought one. Now that was silly. First of all, they were a set of 12 and I broke that up. Secondly, they are so pretty and unusual, what was I thinking! Of course, I have no idea when I'll be serving drinks that require these fragile stirrers, clinging to the edges of delicate glasses with their tiny glass hooks. That's what they are, right? Maybe I should donate them back....do you think the other box might be returning too? Then someone might buy them anew and throw a big fancy party for 12. A lawn party with drinks in heirloom crystal glasses where these sweet stems could decorate the rims as they were meant to. Waved in the air like little floral batons to conduct a musing anecdote. And then rest on hand-embroidered cocktail napkins, freshly starched and ironed for the occasion.
Nah. Maybe I'll put them inside a little shadow box. Someday. If nothing else, they deserve way better than a safe spot at the back of the drawer. At least the front. Like I said, time to fill those boxes for the church.
I'm catching up on some things here in the studio and so thought to tell you about this today. While Dede was here a few weeks ago, she took us to Broadway to see her sister perform in this. Amy Morton is a member of Steppenwolf, the legendary company from Chicago, as is the rest of the cast, all here on a Broadway tour that has been extended through October. August: Osage County was absolutely fabulous, riveting and everything that has an exclamation point after it or is in bold type above is true.
I was so proud of Amy and the brilliant performance she gave. If you are in NY or coming for a visit, get tickets and plan ahead because it is a sell-out house every time.
Isn't it amazing what is inside a camera after a week away, 973 images suddenly fullblown on the screen like a drive-in movie? It feels as if I'm off on a whole new visit there. I had no idea that so many images were related in ways I would just discover now. Does everyone think that kegs on the street and marble carvings are connected somehow....or is that only me?
It was a sweetly relaxed and sunny Easter here. Maggie, Andy, our friend Jane and I stayed on at the table laughing and telling travel tales. Maggie and James recently returned from a vacation to Austin, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. Maggie's stories were perfect counterpoints to ours- hilarious encounters with cowboys and critters. And it even looks like we are unwittingly drawn to similar sights, mine in Ireland (above) and hers in Texas (below). Although it is pretty amusing that the kegs would appear in my collage because I have never liked the taste of beer. Maggie, on the other hand, ......
well, I must say, she has a well-trained eye for detail.
That's my girl! xoC
Everyone has asked me if I was inspired while away in Ireland. Of course I was. But I was surprised that it really was not by the usual things. More than anything it was the dramatic simplicity of life.
We spent most of the week in the country and everywhere I looked it was an ancient landscape where the past absolutely insists upon the here and now. In the way that the daffodils return to bravely stand against gale winds, the lambs born into rocky fields full of danger, the cobbled walls just high enough to hold their place, but not so high that a shepherd couldn't climb over, the peat bricks stacked and drying in the sun. It was lovely and humbling.
I was inspired more than anything just to take care. Revere the past. Cherish its traditions. Knit them into the present with careful, loving stitches.
That's what I'll be thinking about tomorrow for Easter. A simple day where the past lives here beside our present, mindfully pushing us to look ahead. Hoping you have a day like that too, wherever you are. Happy Easter, welcome the brilliant miracle of spring.
Whatever peace I know rests in the natural world, in feeling myself a part of it, even in a small way. May Sarton
First day of spring!
With all the excitement of the trip to Ireland, once again I forgot to post about my upcoming class at Tinsel Trading in NYC on March 29th. Unfortunately, their site isn't being updated so if you would like to attend please call 212-730-1030 or email Terri to make a reservation. We're making posie holders like the one above- and having our usual casual, fun Saturday crafty afternoon.
Also, lots of you wanted the instructions or kit for the felt tote I designed for the last class and I never got around to it. There is a very cute one over here that you can make. We even like the same colors and materials. Love her big flowers and she has felt scraps for sale too. Happy spring everyone!
Our first day there we headed straight from Dublin airport down to Kilkenny...you know, 6 am, jetlagged, what else would you do but rent a car and drive off into the misty dawn- on the wrong side of the road? Andy had the entire day mapped out and have to say he did a perfect job not only with itinerary and events, but also behind the wheel. I'd forgotten that he took a Mario Andretti road course somewhere once and he was all set up for this. The Irish roads are terrifyingly thin and the speeds are insanely fast. (The racetrack was a fitting place to begin our adventurous week.)
Me? I took the back seat counting crows and sheep out the window and Mo rode shotgun. FYI- a GPS is essential...worth every euro even when she ditches you on a bog cliff road in the middle of scenic nowhere. Eventually she gets you back on the route after a bit of sidetracking. We became very accustomed to her curt though calm British voice announcing, "Recalculating." We learned to love Roundabouts.
Wish I'd known that this would be the only sunny day for the next 6. It was blustery, as they say, and dramatic and very exciting at the racetrack way out in the countryside. Gowran Park, Kilkenny.
The betting stations were perplexing and intimidating. I finally figured out that these big carpetbags were "purses" - the betting cash goes in there and the winner gets the "purse". The contents anyway.
We put our money on The Pride of the Yankees. Naturally- he sports a number 1 on his saddle blanket.
These horses don't just run around a track and call it a day. They have to jump over hedge fences- about 6 times!
Our horse came in last. He looks kind of bummed I think.
We didn't see the inside of any purses.
Watched the scene, felt the track buzz, enjoyed the local color, froze my hands in the wind, but it was very thrilling. Something about horses- always does that to me. Cooler than rock stars.
As we headed to the car, a smiling man asked Andy if Mo was his daughter. Yes, she is. Is she a princess? Yes, of course. An Outlaw Princess? Sure. Okay then, I'm placing a bet on that horse next race. Um, you know our girl's a winner, but our horse just came in last, so I wouldn't go betting the ranch on it. Oh. Well then, thanks.
And I have no idea how Outlaw Princess did in the next race. With a name like that, she sure had a lot to live up to. I bet she ran as fast as she could. Good enough for me.
Butler House Garden, Kilkenny
Happy St. Patrick's Day from the studio desktop again. Home at last from a true adventure and trip of a lifetime with Andy and Mo as we criss-crossed the greening countryside of Ireland. Not sure how to put it all together, the images and miles still a little jumbled in my head, popping up like spectacular calendar pages here and there.
I do know that the Irish and all their excited visitors are celebrating today, and that I am too- though a bit more quietly with a mug of coffee, the parade playing in the background. Right about this time yesterday, I was in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin standing beside the tomb of Jonathan Swift, listening to the choir practice before services. Amazing.
Home, home, refreshed, inspired, and feeling very lucky for so many things- mostly those right here inside our own little green nest. xoC
Erin and John Paul's living room. Elegant, peaceful...and thrifted.
Recent Comments