so i still had a few dollars left on my free itunes card (won a la blingo! yeah!) and browsing for music kept leading me to albums i already had. (does that ever happen to you?) stumble in caroline. if you love dreamy female vocals with a hint of ambient electronica like i do, look no further. i found her. an enchanting, supernatural brilliance from toyko. and according to her label’s website, there’s no samples used! dozens of live acoustic instruments – pianos, harps, bells, guitars, strings and hand drums…and doesn’t that make it feel even more magical. i’m so infatuated. perfect summer traveling music, daydreaming and sketching poolside.

& an amazing image from anna ura, reminds me of driving late at night. being in the city. ready to change the world. see more here. found via the beholder.

i’m in spin mode over these paper botanical sculptures made by jude miller. part of floral beauty is somewhat tragic since they have such a fragile, fleeting life. but i love how these little pretties won’t ever wilt. so delicate and tiny, i would love to try making something similiar to these soon.

we had a long to-do list today, but with the mercury rising so suddenly this weekend, we mutually exchanged understanding glances and all suited up for a couple hours at the beach. now mind you…i’m usually the type who likes to have everything done, house all clean, all stuff out of my mind before i go play. but when we came back home i felt so relaxed. guess it’s more productive to let go first sometimes!

there’s a bundle of new earrings in my shop tonight. i really felt like orange today! i was unusually finding myself drawn to the warmer colors in my bead stash…maybe it’s all the sun!

and something wonderful! i won an itunes gift card from blingo baby! (: for doing nothing, haha! i love it. my newest playlist was instantly taken over with singer kate havnevick.  just in time too, i was wearing out imogen so bad.
join blingo with me and (& as susie says:) “we’ll go see a bad movie together.” *giggles*

for those of you who patiently waited, here’s a better peek at my newest paintings.  something about the idea of healing this way felt very symbolic and i think it’s something that women naturally respond to. helping to heal. i always cringe when i see the trees in our neighborhood spliced in half to make way for electric pole lines. but somehow, the resilient creatures that they are, they seem to manage with adaptability and perseverance. which is totally fascinating. and familiar. hmmm, kind of like humans.

for a closer peek: mending one, two and three.

morning: start the day off right, vans organic waffles toasted hello kitty style & topped with natural peanut butter Mmm.

afternoon: somehow finding myself back at the beach, summer weather comes early here.

pack up a finished commissioned piece for kristen, hoping she likes it…

late afternoon:water the blooms in the garden, getting giddy over the little tomatoes already getting plump on their vines and pinching off some basil for tonight’s dinner.

evening: whipping up an asparagus tart and dessert. my favorite zucchini bread fills the house with the scent of mixed spices, clove and cinnamon. slathered in butter, nothing comes closer to heaven dissolved on my taste buds.

late evening: reading, some housework, catching up on the days events with tall dark and handsome. and finding max asleep on his bedroom floor. kisses and tucking the bed bug in and tomorrow is already on the horizon…

oh hello! i have just a moment to share some things!

first, a new album by lovely design (which i’m planning to fill up with my gushing impressions from tuscany:) from my gift-giving tall-dark-& handsome. i love it!

and some blooms from my garden, which have lasted forever! sometimes i want to live in a treehouse, because then i could be outside all the time. but until then, i crave fresh flowers scattered in little bouquets throughout the house. lovely.

and some little mini paintings. i think they are a nice result of a painting a day! i haven’t been as diligent in posting all of mine, but i’m still at it. and did you hear? the new watercolor moleskine is out. check out amanda’s magnificent paintings in her new one.

and another lovely…a wool felt handmade book from jess, the artist behind seedpod books and art! i have had this in my wish list for so long, the other day i panicked thinking it would disappear and click click at the checkout buttons! not only is it more beautiful in hand, but jess sent along the most gorgeous extras. one of her first gocco prints of her trademark seedpod (shes a natural) and mixed media piece, a phrase printed on tiny stones and sewn with threads. to be framed soon! everything jess creates is so calm and sweet, her colors and her nod to nature has me swooning.

this is one of my latest pendants, she’s a sunset muse. currently there is just one are two lovely customers in line for a custom design, if you would like one, just give me a hollar! i love the challenge of fitting the teensy details into the design and even better is making you all pretty!

i’m so in love with this image by artist melanie moore (found via filtered magazine.) some of my favorites from her site are stranded, exude & taken by hidden places. so magical! they all look like they could be paintings. i love it when photography pushes that limit on reality and plays with your eyes in that realm. lots of other brilliant contributions in issue no. 9, next time i plan to submit.

and yay for the wonderful new kiddley by claire & co! this new site idea couldn’t have come with better timing, max is so ready for preschool! we’re really excited to try out some potato people, but i think we’ll have to wait on letting him get behind our digital camera. since the last one had to be replaced because he decided to give it a “bubble bath.”

unless, of course, they have googly eyes and can draw on the sidewalk! we’ve been enjoying some time outside today, at a nice slow pace. i’m so excited to eat from our garden! late afternoon was spent eating lunch at my new favorite cafe sitting underneath the umbrella table and reading a new book. the best part is the food is delicious, the atmosphere casual but lovely and it’s only a few paces from my house, next to a playground and the library. perfect! places seem to come and go lately in our little historic district, but i am going to make this one a keeper!

so…i’ve been working on a new painting for a friend, and i’m so tempted to show a bit before i send it! should i? or make it a surprise? you tell me!

i thought i would finish off this week (that went by far too quickly!) with a painter whose wistful, beautiful stories are so very easy to fall in love with. i can’t remember how i found her work, but i’ve had an eye on catia’s frost print for a long, long time. it’s sensitive, poetic landscape of what i see as a mother & daughter hand in hand seems so full of emotion to me. is it the essense of the wind above the flowing strands of hair? the innocent stance of the little girl wearing fuschia? or the ghostlike figures walking in the lonely cityscape behind them…the ethereal atmosphere…the…the…sighhhh.

(all i know is that it speaks to me and i want it for my collection!) isn’t it a perfect gift for mother’s day too?

make sure you look through every single page on her site to gaggle over her handmade mini books (so beautiful) her editorial work and her children’s press work. everything in her shop is limited editon, so i hope i don’t regret sharing the love with you all…kidding! well…

i’m headed out to a long overdue visit to the library! max is ready to play with trains and i can fit in some drawing on the poofy, over sized stuffed animals for a while. hope you all enjoy your weekend and celebrate your mum!

every once and a while someone’s visual artistry comes along and i feel the need to bring out the big guns and use every artist’s secret weapon. the trade and barter system. it’s one of our biggest secrets. and i try not to use it often, because there’s always that insecurity that the other artist may not be as crazy about my work as i am about theirs. thankfully, that hasn’t happened yet, exhale of relief, knock on wood. and i have to be careful, because we artists aren’t always able to afford swapping work. enter brett harrington. he just has a way with his camera that makes every shot look like a nostalgic painting, like the afterthoughts of your dream last night. and would you believe that i don’t even know what mr. brett prices his work at? and i don’t want to know! because to me, they are priceless.

the photographs above are making their way to my front door, but i couldn’t wait until they arrived to mention him. i’m far too excited. these were shot with his medium format russian camera, and developed with what he calls a special “magic juice.” don’t you love secret weapons and magic juice? you can view more of brett’s work here. brace yourself for beauty. and i’ll be sure to show you my whole collection when i get them framed up on my wall.