lazy days

Summer has always been a hard time for me to get creative. But, I'm realizing that the more I make, the more I can't live without making. It seems if I go too long without creating something I get very cranky. (Have I said that before? I think I have. I think I need to say it A LOT until it really sticks!) July has been a little rough for me because little j has been around  and big J has had to work so I've been doing a lot of the child care/ entertaining, which leaves little time for me to have some creative space. The other thing though, is that I need to get use to the idea that I can ask for time and then take that time when it's given. That takes some getting use to for me. 

These are from summer activities with j. 

An impromptu Andy Goldworthy

 Our favorite hangout this summer

Summer again

How did it happen so quickly again! Here's some pics from the last few months as summer has rolled in.

A quillow made for a friend. It's a quilt that folds up into a pillow. I was a bit resistant at first because it didn't seem like something I was interested in doing but once I started I really enjoyed making it.

 J doesn't like to have his picture taken anymore but agreed if he could have a brownie. done!

 When I was little, my family went on a vacation to Rockport MA for a week during the summer. It was a magical place for me and my sister, in part, simply because we were on vacation and we didn't do a lot of that. My mom had taken us to the local library where we got to choose an embroidery pattern for our jean jackets. This was mine. I remember making it and the pride I felt when it was done. Pretty cool that J likes it!

J is around for most of the summer so it may be hard for me to make stuff. My hands are itchy, not literally. I just need to be making things and it feels bad not to be creative. This week j is in camp so i have a little time for me.I'll check in at the end of the week. Thanks for sticking with me.....

phew!

That was an insanely fun weekend! Here's a sample of some of the stuff I was showing. more to come!

yellow!

not my usual post but

This 16 year old girl is kind of my hero. I've been following her blog, style rookie, for awhile and continue to be be blown away by her introspection, her willingness and confidence to be herself and speak her mind and her views on society. ( Not to mention that she's a total bad ass!) I wish I knew her when I was growing up because maybe then all these demons wouldn't be fighting so hard to keep me from being me. Thankfully, I have her now to look up to.

Perhaps this is particularly relevant to me because I'm showing again at Beacon Open Studios. I've given myself a lot of time to make work and still, I'm having a hard time. So much of what I've been thinking about is the idea of being seen and how much I don't want to be. Kind of hard when you're putting your history up on the wall?  Tavi seems to make it a point to be seen. In her clothes, her attitude.  And not just  because she likes fashion but because everyday she expresses herself outwardly so that nothing seems to be hidden. Even in her awkwardness she's accepting of who she is. Is this the new face of girls? I really hope so!

some food stuff

A friend of mine asked me to take some food photo for a website she's creating for her business, Meals by Margot ( no relation to me!). I'll be taking some more for sure. It got me excited just thinking about still lives.

GREENS

 ORANGES

spring!

So random stuff....

A gift to myself of a day in the city looking at art. This was the post office tunnel.

The cat sitting in the warm sun. Her eyes are the same color of the Jan Groover photo above her head!

 Some seagulls that will catch bits of bagel mid air if you throw it at them

 And, the lovely Karen at Echo in Beacon is selling  some off my bags! They're canvas with painted bottoms, making them durable and waterproof. The yellow and grey i the background is a backpack that doesn't have any hardware on it making it super light so you can weigh it down with your stuff.

 This one is a hold all wallet.