Summer joy

                                     
                                           Happy 4 th. of July

 
     I have red poppies in my garden for the 4 th.  
 

     How festive they look in the kitchen .....

     I've made potato salad, fresh string bean salad
     a roast turkey for our dinner under the fireworks.....

   
     Wishing you far and wide, celebrating or not,
     peace and joyfulness all summer long.
     Happy days ~ victoria

Santa Barbara to Carmel

     Greetings,
     This is the special place I go every year
     for retreat...... about 30 ~ 35 artists .
    We create, share ideas, teach.......It's 5 full
     days of complete pleasure, rest, and inspiration .....

     There are 22+ acres of secluded oak covered, creeks, trails,
     orchards, and vegetable gardens ... they feed us organic foods
     and we fill in the rest.........

     I like to sit here with a glass of wine
     before we head off for our evening meal ........

     Everybody has a large table to spread out
     the piles of supplies we've brought ....
     Everyone seems to be doing something different
     and we all get inspired from each other.....
     I like making large sheets of decorative papers
     to turn into, books, cards, paper beads, and so much more.........

     I've made handmade paper books using
     a japanese stab binding stich to put them together.....

     This year I also made crepe paper flowers, it was
     just for fun, they turned out quite beautiful .

     We made these books, my cover was done
     with water color and oil pastels .........

     Using the clay faces I made at home
     I incorporated them into small projects.....

     It was a marvelous time with people I admire
     and enjoy being around, I can't wait until next year.....

     Returning home it took days to put all my stuff
     away and get ready to drive to Carmel for a dear
     friends 80th. birthday party....

     The decorations, beautifully prepared foods
     and old friends made for a magical party.....

     On my way home the next day I wandered down this
     road to take in this spectacular sight......
   

     What a sight,  invigorating................

   
     Hope you have enjoyed the views
     I wish you, happy creative days.............. victoria

Coming and goings

   
     Greetings,
     It's been a busy several months......
      I've taken a few small excursions,
     had my 65th. birthday with family and friends,
     finished up projects and started new ones,
     worked allot in our garden, and enjoyed a glorious spring,
     Let me share with you............

     I traveled up the coast on my way to San Francisco
      to visit a dear friend in Berkeley......... route one

   
         Living in a very small seaside village going to
         the big city is truly a exciting adventure........

     Had lunch here, so peaceful after all the traffic......

     Met up with friends on the way, and before I knew
     it was time to come home ..............

     Back down the coast on a new, almost completed
     bridge and huge tunnel clinging at the edge of the
     Pacific ocean, such a feat ........

        Almost home now........

     Back at home, remember this frog ? he's been fired
     and found a spot in my garden in a small cement pond .......

     I'm kinda delighted with him !

     The leaf bowls fired and found homes for as well ......

     They look so luminous with a little water .....

     This one I especially like and blends so beautifully
     with my smaller paintings .......

     I was very happy to finish up this larger painting ......

     And quite satisfied with the way it turned out,
     What do you think ?
     I'm off to a artist retreat in Santa Barbara next
     week and will share all the excitement
     next time, until then, BE GLAD....
     Wishing you happy days,      victoria

Spring decoration

     
     I love decorating for Spring, over the years
     I've amassed all sorts of eggs,
     dyed, painted, wood, glass, and natural ones .
     You can see them inside and out, I rarely put
     them away

     These glass ones I adore, and have lots of them
     all over the garden, when the sun hits them they
     illuminate like fire opals .......

     I collect nests as well, they also can be found
     all over the house year around, I especially
     love them under a glass dome .......

     These are actually gourds I covered with paper layers
     I recovered from a old, falling apart japanese screen
     given to me by my friend Gayle, I decoupaged,
     then added  metallic powders, and sealed with a acrylic
     coating...... they look beautiful for rustic outdoor
     table setting, however will not hold up in wet or
     damp weather ..
 

     These egg shaped turquoise nuggets
     I enjoy in my studio, the dark veining is
     strikingly beautiful, don't you think ?

     This spectacular ostrich egg was hand done by my
     friend Annie, the other five are painted wood I bought
     in Russia...... this grand bowl is perfect to display my
     growing collection .......

     These sweet little ducklings I've had for many years,
     yes.... stuffed ( natural causes I was told ) are always in a
     spring arrangement on my kitchen counter...

     This beautiful painting of eggs and turquoise pot
     was done by my grandmother, It hung over our
     dining room table when I was a child, I bring it
     out front and center in the Spring months ...........

     Spring in Yosemite...... I will be going next month for
     9 days to assist Annie Lawrence artist workshop, I'm so excited !
     We will teach from 10 ~ 2 each day, then have the rest of the day
     to do our own art, explore, and take in the majestic scenery,
     tremendous water falls, raging rivers, and blooming dogwood......
     I will take plenty of photos to share with you  .
     Hope you have a few eggs to put in your nest this spring ~
     Wishing you happy days,         victoria
   

     One of my yosemite paintings 2011
  

California dreamin

Spring so soon ?

Sun is out 70*, bulbs in bloom and more on the way .

When other parts of the country is buried in snow here in

California we are looking for rain, shall we get a few

drops more it's hard to say, difficult to wish for more

winter when it's so splendid .

     We have many pots of bulbs and add to them each year .
     It may be brief, but the enjoyment is so worth the wait.

     Last week
     we drove 5 miles inland to a ranch high on a hill
     to pick oranges, lemons and tangerines, the air was
     sweet with the scent of citrus, I parked in the vineyard and
     we hiked down with our buckets and bags .

   

          The fruit trees beginning to blossom, the hills blanketed
          in green velvet, such a gorgeous sight .

     The trees were bursting with ripe fruit we filled
     our bags heavy with the bounty......

     I stood at the edge in awe of the beauty....
     just beyond those hills lies the pacific ocean .

     Back at home we empty our sacks and delight
     in our good fortune.... this is juice, marmalade,
     and of course peel & eat,
     with plenty to share.........

 

     Meanwhile I've been busy creating in clay,
     I love these loose bowls, when glazed I think
     will be wonderful with a floating camellia.......

     They sit drying in my studio window
     like waves of ruffles ..............

     
     I'm getting silly......

     I'm getting frilly.......

    .........and sillier yet,  I've never known a craft
     to be more calming and addictive, I've been spending
     hours in complete joy making senseless FUN.........

   
      All the while this painting I sketched out
     two months ago sits waiting to be worked
     on..... I'll get to it eventually, right now
     I'm living in the moment
     doing what feels good .
     Hope you enjoyed a few moments in my world ..
     Wishing you happy days ~ victoria