Friday, December 24, 2010

And that's what it's about...


Merry Christmas, you guys...will be back in a few days...

Friday, November 19, 2010

Flash Brindisi!

I’m in love with the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philly, near their convention center. Lots of stuff to see, to taste, to experience. I try to go there every time I'm in town.

But in love with opera? Not so much.

Until now.



Who knew that La Traviata could be so much fun? Oh, yeah, if you happen to go to the Market, make sure you stop by Delilah’s for some of that mac & cheese – the absolute best in the country!
Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Oh, My Hair!!

Sometimes I’m obsessed with my hair. Whether to flat-iron it, or twist it up, or curl it…I never seem to be satisfied with the way it looks. And I've found that my hair can be political – sometimes I feel like I’m more “acceptable” if it’s straight rather than in its natural state. People often tell me so. And way deep down, that irritates me, sometimes.

Lately I've been flat-ironing it - looks pretty good, actually, especially with the new cut. But yesterday I got caught in a rainstorm and all I could think about was getting to shelter - not to protect the clothes, but the hair...'cause it's not like I travel to work w/ a flat iron every day...and right now I'm working at a place where it's important to look "put together". Sheesh.

So sad. You’d think that in my 50’s, I’d finally be at peace with this whole hair thing…

But every now and then something comes along that reminds me that my hair is just great as it is – versatile, always wonderful, no matter the style and length…because I got it goin’ on like that!

Enjoy the vid…


Saturday, August 28, 2010

What I've been doing lately


I've been working on a few things...

First - remember that color class I wrote about a while ago? It was fun - three colors, four canes, and a lot of knowledge was gained! Lindley is a great teacher and very funny...and it was nice to hang around folks with the same obsession - if even for just a few hours...

Next - these projects are new and inspired by Laurie Mika - a mixed-media artist who works with polymer clay and found objects. She creates these AMAZING mosaic pieces...I can't get enough of her book "Mixed Media Mosaics" - so glad she created this how-to so the rest of us can learn!

Below are some photos of my first two attempts. I used acrylic paint inside and out. The polymer clay tiles were also painted, covered in Pearlex mica powder, stamped, or image-transfered. I even tried adding beads under a lil' resin. Tried sealing it all w/ a matte sealant, but found that it dulled my tiles made with gold leaf.

Hope you enjoy my lil' bit of eye candy!




Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A slight diversion -

Funny what you come across while windowshopping for new rides...



do.
dah.
dippity.

heh...back in a minute...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

No PolyClay Stuff Today!

Well...mebbe in a a lil' bit...right now I wanted to share a few blogs with you that I plan to add to my reading list.

First - one of my co-workers is married to a wonderful writer - his wife Kristenn writes a blog that I love reading. Tim and his family have to be one of the most

cutest

young families

ever...

especially the munchkins...their oldest and I happen to share the same birthdate...and the youngest - well, she's such a girly-girl!

Thank you Tim & Kristenn, for sharing all the wackiness - the blog's a joy to ready and it always makes my day!

The second blog caught my eye - first because of the name, and second, because of the subjects. mymilktoof is such a cute and quirky blog! I THINK that ickle and Lardee are made of polymer clay - not quite sure...but I found them this morning while browsing a clay site...I think I'm gonna add them to my reading list for a minute...gotta watch and see what they do next!

What have I been doing? Well, been doing clay, but not well, that's for sure. Oh, yeah, I've TOUCHED the clay, but I went "beyond the valley" with the tissue blade ONE TOO MANY TIMES. Here's what happened when I created a few canes, made a few sheets, and then started cutting on what I thought would be a nice pin or pendant...take a look at that thing in the center...



Yikes.

Word of advice. When they tell you not to play with sharp things when you're not fully awake and focused ...they're right. That woulda been one UGLY pin! Fortunately there's enuf cane to make another attempt later on.

I've also been working with beads and crystals - made these bracelets last week - two will be donated as door prizes for an upcoming event, and one is for the first lady of a Baptist church in Leesburg, VA:



Explanation: it ain't always easy being a Pastor's wife. Taking care of the man who's charged with taking care of God's people can be a bit daunting. That's why I try to make it a habit to honor the first lady of the churches who come to visit our congregation. I make these bracelets for them to show these wonderful ladies that I appreciate them and I cherish every lesson that they've taught me.

Patience, longsuffering and graciousness are not always my strong suit. Many of these women have been great role models...and hopefully, when I grow up, I'll be able to be like many of them.

Ciao for now, bebe - this weekend I go to my poly clay play day in Annandale - I'll bring back something pretty!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Confessions...

Confession number one:
I'm kinda sucky at this blogging thing.

("Really?" you say? "Nahhhh, you're too hard on yourself...")

No, really. I KNOW I'm not (ahem) timely about postings. But I'm gonna try harder. I found Facebook a few months ago and let that take over as my way of "expressing myself" - but I'm trying to get away from doing that too much. Find it's just a lil' bit wierd. But I DID manage to find folks on-line that I haven't heard from in a LONG time, so that was pretty cool. Since the last time I posted I also went on a cruise with my mom's side of the family - awesome time, complete with lots of laughs, great food, and a wicked sunburn...oh, yeah, and a new found respect for the ocean and the blessings of being able to live in this country. God's been REALLY good to me.

Confession number two:
Good thing: I have my "play space" back - both kids moved out this spring, and I was able to set up the (ahem) "studio" again. Glad for that. So's my husband - all of my junk is in one room again...

Bad thing: I miss them. The kids, I mean. Despite having not enuf room here for four adults to peacefully coexist, I miss having them around - the laughing, daily conversations about life in general and common interests have been relegated to maybe weekly conversations by phone, or the occasional text message. And my husband has NO INTEREST in watching certain TV shows with me...

Which leads me to Confession number three:
I think I've become a Gleek.

I blame Carma.

Started watching it with her when she was here. (She got me wrapped up in Grey's Anatomy, too..) I used to get irritated with her taking up all the DVR space with her Dance recordings...and I've now managed to do the same with my weekly recordings of Glee. I feel slightly ashamed that I watch it...but it's o so much fun!!

Besides the Madonna episode, this is my favorite clip this season ...




Confession number four:
I've not allowed myself to play with clay too much lately. Here's a few of the things I've managed to create over the winter...




The pendant is faux jade - made with translucent clay and green embossing powder. I used a mold of a moon face and squared it off with a blade... and finished it with a sterling bail.

The apple earrings are my first experiment with miniatures - made from a tute in The Polymer Clay Cookbook by J. & S. Partain - just chock full of lil' goodies! I saw clay minis in person last October at the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Show in NW DC last October and was intrigued - how could one create something so small? Now I know. My apples aren't as small as what I saw at the show, but you know what they say...how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice...

Finally, I may have mentioned before that a poly clay artist I met in Baltimore a few years ago told me the best way to get over any creative slump and "lasso" the Muse is to occasionally allow for a poly clay play day with others. So on the 19th of June, I'm taking a class in Virginia from Lindly Haunani - one of the craft's recognized experts on poly clay and color. What will I end up with? I'll let you know. I'm excited to get a chance to play, soak up some poly clay knowledge, and make something pretty.

Ciao for now...

Sunday, January 3, 2010

¡Amo Nota!

I love acapella music.

Those that know me well, know that I have a high appreciation for the human voice heard w/o the benefit of instrumental accompaniment...there's something transcendental about voices blended in perfect pitch and harmony - one of God's gifts to all of us, y'know...

Take 6, Rockapella, and my all-time favorites Sweet Honey in the Rock are all wonderful examples of acapella groups whose music I admire greatly.

In December NBC aired this week-long special called “The Sing Off” featuring acapella groups from around the country.

Cool.

So you know I’m gonna watch, right?

Carma and I watched that Monday evening, interested in what the groups had to offer – the first one up were these guys from San Juan called Nota.



By the time they finished singing I straight up in my chair and told Carma “Well. THIS is gonna be interesting, huh?”

OMG!!!!

And they only got better throughout the competition ... each performance just blew me away!!

In the end, I was so glad that they won - looking forward to their first album. Here's to a long and happy career!!