Sunflower III

This is Sunflower III.  The longer multicolored petals are paper beads.  The centers of the small flowers are copper-colored beads.  I had a lot of fun making the paper beads - and I got very sticky :-b!  I'm usually a mess in some way or other, though, and part of making art is cleaning up..


(Sunflower II was posted in July 1 in case you missed it)

Sunflower Series I

This is my first in the sunflower series - it is a watercolor and encaustic collage.  I just love Sunflowers!! They are so bright and cheerful all the time ;-)!  The encaustic gives the work a sheen which I also love.

Hot Air Balloon

This morning I dropped my son off at work and then turned around and came back home.  The sky was perfectly blue and the wind was so low it was almost  breathless.  As I came up the long hill to my last turn-off, I saw a couple of hot air balloons.  One seemed to be descending.  And it seemed to be descending right near the house. 

I pulled into the garage and ran upstairs, grabbed my camera and stepped out on the deck.  This is what greeted my eyes!

 This floating illusion of Oz was landing just across the street!  How beautiful! I would love to go for a ride in one.  It must be a lot like a sailboat - motion without sound - a totally ethereal feeling, but above everything instead of just above the water...

July 4th

With a Big Thank You to all who worked, fought, lived, and died for our independence.

We went to America The Beautiful Park and celebrated with highly creative art displays, music, watermelon - and other food, and beautiful panoramic views.  Nothing better!

The Music From Garden of the Gods

gluten free treasures

I was at the Chapel Hills Mall the other day and found a Delicious gluten free treat!  They have a new shop called "Wholly Crepes" (I didn't get the pun for a few hours).  They make a gluten free crepe on a gluten free crepe iron and they are AWESOME!!  The first time, I had the "Popeye" which has egg and spinach and their lovely "cream" - which is like sour cream but better - and it was luscious!  It was so good that I dreamed about it that night!  I dreamed I was getting another one.  They have two categories - savory and sweet.  The "Popeye" is in the savory category and indeed it is!

Then last Sunday we were at the mall again, and of course my first stop was "Wholly Crepes" - I got another "Popeye" followed by the most sinful apple-pie-like crepe topped with caramel and ice cream.  To die for!  They also have chocolate topped crepes and a creme brulee that I can't wait to try!

didn't win, but learned a lot!

I didn't win the Bernina Stitch It To Win It challenge, but I learned to make cloth paper. I learned that there are MILLIONS of techniques out there that I haven't tried! I would never have imagined putting copper sheets into a quilt!

I also took time out from quilting and started collage, including encaustic collage. This is really fun, and I set it up out on the deck out back. This way it is cooler and I can enjoy the birds nesting and feeding their babies, as well as the view of the eastern plains.

This is the 2nd in my sunflower series. So far I have 4. I really have enjoyed the sunniness of it and it was quite fun gathering things to put in it. The most unusual thing is an old VIN from a pre-70s vehicle that I found on the ground! How many collages actually have a VIN? :-)

I also will be opening my Etsy Shop "Irish Rose Needle Arts very soon.