Small landscape views of National Parks

 National Parks are all the rage right now, advance reservations just to enter America's National Parks are being required for the most popular. At first my reaction to this was a little sad, however over time I've come to appreciate that this is for the best to preserve those sacred lands. And, I'm even more appreciative that we have a Native American leading our National Parks.

While the joy of standing in these beautiful lands is thrilling and spectacular, I can't help but feel as if I don't want to hasten any decline in quality of our national parks. I've got my 'bucket list' of parks I still want to see-North Cascades, Lassen, Yellowstone, Picture Rocks-it goes on too. For now, I will simply enjoy zooming in with Google Earth and seeing images on the the NPS website. 

With those lovely images I can see, these prompt me to paint more landscape style 'bookmarks' on Arches paper. I have a huge lot of Arches remnant papers that were part of a bigger project from my former employer at the art supply company. Most watercolor artists are aware of the pristine quality of this paper, so any remnant big enough to paint on is worth saving.

And I'm not limiting the images I paint to just American parks either. Australia is another country with outstanding and wild national parks. For example, this image is of King George Falls.

This is a remote and incredible dual waterfall that is only accessible by flying or boating to it!

Acadia National Park is also on my bucket list. This is one of the parks requiring advanced reservations, and it's also over 3000 miles from where I live. For now, I will indulge in photos that others have taken and recreate this beautiful place.

Discovering indie sewing

Sewing is a skill I often take for granted. Years ago I had experimented with sewing my own clothes, but grew frustrated with the lack of desirable patterns, patience, and money! Fabric is expensive, and takes patience and precision to come up with a quality finished product. While cruising Etsy for general sewing patterns recently, I discovered how many designers are selling PDF patterns for garments that are actually fun to wear. This led to me finding independent sellers of fabric targeting these fashions, and I made a goal to begin sewing more of my own clothing. My first choice of buying garment fabric online is Sewing Studio. This shop is local to me and doesn't have a store-front, but the quality is outstanding.

One of my favorite designers is Sew Liberated. The patterns are easy, functional, versatile and fun to wear. I first purchased the Schoolhouse Tunic because I like the bohemian look. The first tunic was made with a batik fabric. I wore this tunic shirt in Jerome Arizona, a cute little western town high up in the mountains of Arizona pictured with my older kids below.

The second one was made into a dress meant to wear with tights. I used a lavender cotten gauze fabric for this one, and it turned out very well. I love how it matches my foxgloves in full bloom.

Another designer I'm obsessed with is If Kim Wore Clothes with her whimsical styles of comfort and feminity. I chose the Ashley Dress which was very simple, and I can wear this over a long sleeve top with tights in cooler temperatures. This dress was sewn using a light blue linen fabric.

While patterns can look gorgeous on the screen, the choice of fabric is of course essential to make it worth the effort and patience to sew your own clothing. Although the cost and patterns of DIY clothing can be more expensive then buying clothing at your local big box clothing retailer, the feeling of wearing something made by your own hands is one of the best. I love that I can custom make my own clothing in the color, fabric and style I choose.

Back to beading

 Before I was a knitter/crocheter, I was a beader. I spent hundreds of dollars on beads each month making my own jewelry, giving them as gifts, adorning other trinkets. My favorites are semi-precious stones because of the heavy feel of wearing beautiful tiny rocks as jewelry. Not commuting to an office over the past year had led to my old beaded necklaces sitting in a drawer for months. Pulling them out and appreciating the beautiful stones gave me inspiration to re-vamp them into new works.

The first one I re-created was a rhodonete, hematite, rose quartz necklace. The shiny metalic appearance of hematite goes well with the translucent rose quartz and matte rhodenite. I added larger round rhodentite to this new necklace to give it more length and variety in appearance. 

The second necklace I recently re-created was an iolite and blue lace agate strand. Very small labradorite and moonstine pieces were added to lengthen and refresh this one.

I have a couple more that will get makeovers soon, updates to follow!

Sleeping under a rainbow

 A full two months in the making, this king sized bedspread reflects my love of rainbows. As a kid, to see a rainbow was very special occurence for me. To this day when I see one, it feels like magic is in the air. When I had the opportunity to purchase a huge lot of various colors of acrylic yarn, I knew instantly that I would turn it into a some kind of blanket. 

This turned out so delightful, and I'm looking forward to sleeping under this rainbow tonight. 

😊💜💙💚💛💓

Amethyst Amulet

 I love to make these, but the major challenge in that is threading the needle! These are very tiny beads (size 11) going on to DMC thread perle cotton size 8. Once the beads are loaded on using a Darice bead spinner, it becomes much easier. 

The beads are an iridescent purple with a faux sugilite resin teardrop and round genuine amethyst beads. I've made several of these in the past with the needle threading being my major inhibitor of making a lot more. I'm hoping to sell these at a local artisan craft booth nearby as they make great necklaces to carry your favorite trinkets or crystals in.

The Glow of Ms. Etna

 Sometimes I'm amazed at some of the stories of my Sicilian family ancestry, how they came to America in the early part of the 20th century, the traditions they still carry on, and the pride of their heritage. The DNA test I took claimed I have 24% Italian in my genes. Whether that's accurate or not, I'm definitely of a Sicilian bloodline, and I think it's pretty cool 😊

What I love about Sicily is the blend of being a desert yet so fertile with citrus fruits, grapes and plumerias. Visiting Hawaii a few years ago, the scent of plumerias were everywhere and it is one of my favorite floral scents. I'm surprised plumerias grow in Sicily because I think of that flower growing in a more lush tropical environment. Blood oranges are also a thing in Sicily, and those are delicious. Sicilians grow the best tasting lemons too. And of course wine is another gift from this volcanic island.

This abundance is due to the rich fertile soil from the volcanos nearby, particularly the active Mt. Etna. In this painting, I refer to her as Ms. Etna, and the glowing flow of her lava and plumes of ash contribute to this soil. I also imagine standing at a market in Catania, indulging in the beautiful colors of this magical place.

Painted on 10x12 canvas board in gouache, fluorescent acrylic and other mixed media.

Calla Luna

 On a 6x8 canvas board, this is a mixed media of gouache, ink and watercolor. The full moon goddess shines her gentle light over the hills of Big Sur California, sprinkling her magic over the delicate Calla Lilies. In the distance, the turquoise ocean reflects her light.