p r i n t M A N I A

                                              

my new book



My sweet husband bought me this great book by Lotta Jansdotter for Christmas! Lotta Prints: How to Print With Anything From Potatoes to Linoleum. I  read it the other night and actually finished it! Now I'm having a blast cutting potatoes and printing on paper, canvas and my bedroom curtains!



prints on canvas



detail of curtains

practicing on paper

first page in my new sketchbook



Now can you see how easy it is for me to get distracted in a day? Sooo much to do and so little time!

chatter

cotton rose (c) samos 2010

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Now that the anticipation has come and gone I'm feeling that sense of ...what should I do now? I want to start some resolutions early like:

•  start doing yoga again regularly
•  take more walks
•  read more books
• try new recipes
• plant those bulbs (if it's not too late)
• rearrange the art studio
• finish remodeling the living room

The list goes on and on as I'm sure yours does too. But I am also feeling a sense of ease, if that's the word I'm looking for. It's this feeling of taking my time and not rushing into anything. It seems like we're always in a hurry to do this and that. Why? Is it so important that we let our lives pass us by without taking time to smell the roses, even if they are made of cotton?



daisy (c) samos 2010



handmade vs store bought

I don't know about you, but I love making gifts. I read something the other day that said one of the top ten worst gift ideas was something handmade. I couldn't believe this! With so many creative and talented people in the world, you would think that the ones that don't take part in their creative side would appreciate a handmade gift from a friend or loved one. I know I do, but that's just me. 

 I made gifts for most of my family. There were just a couple that I bought for. And if I were to buy some more, these would be my choices.



betsygrace

 

carriedawaybags



paperplanet



So what do you like? Handmade or store bought? I'd love to hear what you like.

 Until next time... Have a wonderful day!

f r o s t



morning gifts (c) samos 2010

 I've always been a morning person and one of the benefits is that you get to see early morning frost on cold wintry days.

frost

Also called hoarfrost or white frost, a covering of minute ice needles, formed from the atmosphere at night upon the ground and exposed objects when they have cooled by radiation below the dew point, and when the dew point is below the freezing point.



frost (c) samos 2010




pine frost (c) samos 2010

 

happy friday from the cool gang

If only they knew what I was really doing with their pictures...don't we have the coolest dogs ever? I just love them so much! Somedays Lexi and I like to play dress up, but she's thankful that I was in the mood to play digitally today.

venezia (c) samos 2010

Here is a new mixed media painting that I finished this morning. Venezia is part of the travel series I'm workin on. I took one of my old photographs of some gondolas, did a photo transfer, painted, stamped and collaged the canvas. It didn't quite turn out the way I had envisioned, but I guess I could always do another one. I have plenty of pictures to work with. Although I believe Amsterdam will be next. I've been thinking about that one for awhile and have the image picked out already. Do you have pictures of your travels that you'd like as a keepsake on canvas? I'd love to paint one for you!



Have a wonderful weekend!

cool finds

kiwikake

lightexture

bodylure

The Perfect Christmas Tree

David and I went hunting for a Christmas tree with my dad up Bear Creek this weekend. I haven't been up there since I was a little girl! It is so beautiful. Anyways, the weather was perfect, sunny and calm. We went traipsing through the woods, each tree looking better than the next. I wanted a smaller tree than we normally get since our living room seems to be getting crowded with furniture and our new stove. David found the perfect tree! And of course the one my dad picked was a beauty too. It was a lot of fun, even crossing over the beaver dam.

The ornament exchange has come to an end, but not without the joy of collecting ten new ornaments! I made three different ornaments: a Xmas tree, a joy bell, and a heart snowflake. I sent one to each person on the list. In return, women from all over sent me beautiful, handmade ornaments that now have a home on our gorgeous little Christmas tree.

I just LOVE it!

European Travels

prague (c) samos 2010

The other day I mentioned that I was taking a walk down memory lane and thinking about all the places I have been so fortunate to visit in my travels. Then I was thinking about all the new paintings I could do in honor of these memories that I don't ever want to lose. And that's just what I did! Well, I started anyways. Sienna and Prague are the first two and there will be more to come!

sienna (c) samos 2010

green teapot

Here's my second teapot too! Green as in "greenware", not the color, although that might not be a bad idea!

short and stout

this is my first teapot and it's definitely short and stout...

the past few days i've been thinking about all the places i've traveled to and the memories that are so easily forgotten if you don't recognize them every once in awhile. so with that in mind, i have a few new ideas for some paintings that will be created in the next day or two. i can hardly wait to show you on wednesday!

Sew, Sew, and Dreams of Kissing Under the Mistletoe

I love making Christmas presents! Especially for my nieces and nephew. In this day and age where materialism has consumed almost everyone, I like to bring the simpler joys in life to our young ones. (Even if they really don't "get it"). I have been waiting for it to snow since that is my favorite time to sew. But since it's already the first week of December and no snow at our place, I decided to give in and break out the sewing machine anyway. I have two pillows done, two to go and then a couple of stuffed bears to make.

Last month I signed up for an ornament exchange that Jennifer at the JRU Studios hosted. So far I have received five of the most beautiful, unique ornaments I've ever seen! I love them! It's such a treat to get a little piece of art in the mail!

peace by jill metz

1.joy tree by anita kropf

2. christmas bird by diana mulder

3. quiet strength angel by cindy fort

Tomorrow is the Holiday Show at the 3rd Street Gallery in Westcliffe. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by the opening. It's from 5-8pm. I have six pieces of pottery on display.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! See you back on Monday!

Bright Lights, Big City

bright lights big city (c) samos 2010

Next month I'm going to enter a juried show where buildings and cities are the theme. I've been toying with some new ideas. But the one that I really have stuck in my head involves a large masonite board that could turn into a mixed media painting. We'll have to wait and see...

Here are a couple photo transfers I did last night.

twin cities (c) samos 2010

its looking up (c) samos 2010