on the "Bloom of the Rose" or Fading Beauty and Richard Wright wins the Turner Award,

"Beauty is only ever truly valued when it is desired,

Not possessed, just admired,

When not attainable or when it has past.

The beautiful don't know they are until last.

The fragility of beauty is its certain death,

It rests upon a numbered breath." - Vicki Bower



Being 40, I have been entertaining my newly stimulated brain with some mortality-type internal convos lately.


I saw this wonderful artist, Richard Wright, with his gorgeous gold leaf wall painting after he was featured in guardian.uk for winning the £25,000 Turner Prize Dec. 6th. (Click here for that article.) The fact that his gorgeous, luminous gold leaf painting is so.... mortal, really struck a nerve in me (I have left many a mural in my wake and sometimes miss them like old friends).

Here also is a link to the telegraph.uk article with a title I really love, "Art Is Beautiful Again," where there is a video of the artist Richard Wright himself introducing his work.

Seahorse Original Painting

A beautiful seahorse cavorts with an ethereal jellyfish in this one-of-a-kind original painting on repurposed furniture panel. Click on the picture for the listing on Etsy.com with more detailed pics.

The seahorse's fin and "mane" are a metallic copper that perfectly complement his many soft green hues framed against the azure of the ocean. Being this is made from a side panel of a cast-off dresser drawer, the dovetail at the top was perfect to suggest some choppy little waves at the water's surface. This is done in acrylics and sealed with a clear finish for durability. It is ready to be hung by a pretty royal blue satin ribbon that is double-affixed to the back.

This measures a little over 7 1/2 inches wide by 14 inches high and the wood is 1/4 of an inch thick. This ships Insured via Priority Mail with a Tracking number free of charge in the United States, and for a small fee elsewhere.

PHOENIX FLOWER necklace of Recycled Paper and Staple with beads

PHOENIX FLOWER necklace is of recycled paper and staple with beads.

I used a brass or copper heavy-duty staple I took out of a box, bent it with a cool little tool I have, mounted it with beads (the green one is made of paper), and topped it with a vintage flower button. It is accented with wooden and vintage plastic beads. All rough edges are safely and tightly turned in for happy wearing!It is on a silver box chain, 20 inches long.

It is shipped Free of Charge via First class in the US and for a small fee elsewhere via Priority Mail with a tracking number provided. "Phoenix Flower" rises from the ashes of a landfill and flies safely to you in a pretty aqua giftbox :) .

Daisies - Thanks Debra! FreeCycle Rocks...

So I am a gardening freak without the funds and have resorted to all kinds of (legal!!) methods of acquiring my greenery/rocks/mulch from MAJOR hiking and climbing with backpacks of stones to pooling funds with the neighbors.

We have managed to cultivate a really pretty little yard for ourselves in our little corner o' the complex.

So I was checking my mail the other day and read my FreeCycle daily digest (oh YES!!! Google "freecycle" for the yahoo group near your area and JOIN!) and saw a nice lady who was looking to share her plethora of daisies. Being that daisies are one of my favorite and definitely my daughter, Denise's, favorite flower, I grabbed a few neighbor kids and my two big ones and we trundled off to Athens, with buckets and shovel a-jangling.

Meeting Debra was an experience in itself.... this wonderful, bright and sunshiny bundle of energy and exuberance had an infectious light heart and such a warm, winning way. My 6' 3" son towered over her, shovel in hand and helpfully followed her direction as we thinned out the myriads of daisies that were enveloping her other flora. "Wow, you can see my LILIES!" she sang out, and joy spread across her face. She explained that she was from what I call "The City" (NYC) and had moved up here to get away from the blacktop and rush and into the country and lovely pace of nature.

Ms. Debra Braiman told us she is a Massage and Aroma therapist who uses essential oils, which I'm sure is just heavenly! Her email address is akamai412@hotmail.com and her company is Young Living Essential Oils and she would be happy to answer any questions on the subject and YES she STILL has MORE daisies...

Ray and I are hoping to get married next summer and I am shooting for 100% handmade, except his suit, and these are an investment in next year. I am planting them around the perimeter of the yard and hoping they come back in time for a wedding next year, where I will bring them up to camp in Ticonderoga where we're having the ceremony.

OF COURSE I HAD to take pics of my balcony packed with daisies.... Don't worry, they'll be planted by nightfall... I also have a 4+ mile walk planned in 1/2 hr :) ....

Have a great weekend... enjoy the daisy pics... Vicki

mmmmm.... Art and cars ..... (in a Homer Simpson Drooling moan)

I am an artist, but also a "car chick"... this means that if it has to do with cars and even the slightest bit artistic, I am in my glory.

Every year I attend car shows and drag my friends or family along, blithely trotting alongside me, trying to figure out why I "ooh" and "aah" and trying to act interested.

Then I saw the ULTIMATE TV Commercial. Well, ultimate for me, anyway. BMW took a roadster and ALOT of paint and BOY am I jealous of the guy that got to drive!

I always wanted to know how to weld, this article is great!

How To Weld ... Learn How to Weld By Welding!

WhatHerFly Surreal Original Watercolor

"WhatHerFly" is a pretty purple girlie butterfly in the colorful summer atmosphere...This painting is in watercolor and measures 7.75 x 11 inches.




This is shipped ready for your frame and comes to your door in sturdy packaging via Priority Mail with a tracking number.

Finished Garden Fence Picture

GARDEN FENCE Coloring Sheet PIF Pay it Forward

This is a digital copy of the original file of my Garden Fence drawing

You may have it for .20 to color yourself or share with an aspiring artist. If you REALLY love it, we will also have the original for sale; see our shop in the next couple weeks for the completed, colorized drawing.

If you buy this item, please upload your own PIF listing, or if you do not have a shop anywhere do something nice for someone!Of course, our watermark is not in the file you receive. You will receive a nice clean, high-resolution .jpeg file via email for your coloring pleasure :)

When you pay for this item, it is emailed to you (as soon as I am notified) as a digital file and you print it out for your enjoyment in the comfort of your own home/studio :).

I thought it would be fun if you show it to me when you're done. The 10th person to show me a colorized Garden Fence drawing will get a surprise one of a kind artwork sent to them via First Class US mail !!

Motherhood and it's ... ahem ''joys"....

Bear with me, I am parenting a very wonderful beautiful teenager who knows everything :)

If anyone has any encouraging words on the ordeal sometimes imposed upon parents which label is "TEENAGE DAUGHTER", feel free to share ...

Yes, I know, it's not forever... and I DO love her....

I read this on yahoo answers, it helped a little:
I am having problems with my teenage daughter and a boy she is dating, I dont know what to do.?

But we are beyond that. Anyway.... I think I'll do some coloring of a very special picture I have been working on. I'll post a picture and link to the coloring sheet of it that you can get for 20 cents :).

Crystal Silk and Steel Brooch made of 90% recycled materials

~ Crystal Silk and Steel Brooch shines, shimmers, and lusters with fiery iridescent color in a soft pallette of prism and glow. ~

It is fashioned after a miltary award/bar type pin, wrapped in pale pink silk and adorned with two iridescent chandelier crystals and a few found beads. It is all woven together with crocheted stainless steel, the pliant strength surrounding and protecting the fragile beauty within.

This brooch measures a little over 3 inches wide and almost three from the top of the crystal to the bottom of the small hanging beads.It will arrive in a pretty silver Ravena Relics gift box.This item is shipped US Priority Mail with a tracking number.

* Crystal Silk and Steel Brooch is made of 90% recycled materials *
This brooch is made of recycled cardboard packing, curtain, blouse, brass wire, and chandelier with new stainless steel wire and a found safety pin backing.This is One Of A Kind and no one else will ever have one just like it!

If you like the hat you see here, it is listed :http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=22750327

Artfire Has a new Look and so does my studio!

Artfire has been doing alot of work lately. Artisans can now customize their studios, add widgets, and a whole lot more I'm sure I haven't gotten to play with yet :)

Check it out when you get a minute...

"Hey, you dropped this..."

So I had four teenagers in the car with Ray driving us and we had just pulled up to a Cumby's (small convenience store) and the kids and I were parked facing the store and a cute white car parked in front while Ray ran inside.

A nice looking lady was in the driver's seat, opening a pack of cigarettes, and threw the top half of the cellophane out the window. I promptly jumped out of the van, ran to her, grabbed her garbage, and politely said "oh, excuse me, you dropped this," in my nicest voice possible and she smiled embarrassingly and took the garbage and looked away. I bounced back bubbily to our van, be-sandled, be-skirted, and unfettered and sat in my seat. The kids were just kind of surprised, yet proud, and perhaps even mildly embarrassed. I was happy the lady didn't just throw it back out the window.

Here's the kicker...

as they drove off, I smiled and waved as if I had just made two new best friends and her teen-to-20 daughter waved back a graceful well-manicured middle finger.... I blew kisses as they drove off. I know the mom felt a degree of shame, or the paper would have returned to the landscape... but what made me sad was the *indignation* of her daughter... the very same person who will have children of her own within a decade, and when grandmother, may remember the day when you *could* play outside....

send them love, please...

(btw, the picture is one I took at Dean's Mill in Ravena NY, 1 mile from where the lady decided to throw garbage into our world.)

Tangled Up In Blue Bangle of recycled materials with ribbon Crochet

This blue-tiful bangle is made of 90% recycled materials. The inital base is a piece of recycled aluminum foil, washed, and then wrapped with unwanted photocopies and paper mache of old phone book and then finished with a pink piece of recycled copy paper.
I crocheted pretty blue variegated ribbon yarn around it.
It is lustrous, shiny, very lightweight, and above all, Eco-Chic :). This is a great accessory for summer; unlike heavy plastic accessories, this won't make you sweat.

"Heading out for the East Coast

Lord knows I've paid some dues gettin through,

Tangled up in blue"

Bob Dylan

Walking

I've been walking lately. ALOT. Being an artist is a sedentary lifestyle unless you MAKE yourself get up and get going.

After I had my kids, I lost 87 pounds just from walking an extra 5-10 miles a week. Now that I'm 17 years older, and have to lose the weight again, I'm finding it's not so easy. I have seriously cut back on my food intake, but I DO miss eating what I want. So, I am hoofing it again.

I'm also using a really cool website for incentive. It's called MapMyWalk.com. I'll be putting an app that streams my latest workouts here on the blog, too.

Please send me big huge amounts of positive energy. I am very uncomfortable with my weight and would like to feel light on my feet again ...

I hope you check out the site. It tracks alot more than workouts. It also tracks your weight, BMI, heart rate,water intake, even morale!

Vicki