Road trip

At home

Pretty colors

I like yummy colors. I just finished knitting a Xenia cowl, here it is soaking in the sink.
The yarn is from Wonderland Yarns, it's called Mad Hatter, and the color is Melon-Jolly. Yeah, I need a job naming yarns and colorways.

Did you see them??

The Perseid Meteors

 This is a map of local light pollution. I was able to drive out toward Canandaigua, into a yellow area. It was partly cloudy between 1-2am.

I saw about 20 big ones in an hour, with dozens of teeny tinys in between. Some of the big ones had red and green tails, and I saw 2 at once, too! It was better than fireworks: all natural, organic, and no crowds.

Yep, that about says it all...

Mr. Blue Heron

Posing on a pier.

We saw LOTS of these cormorants sitting in a dead tree on one of the islands in Irondequoit Bay.

Working on a ceramic mural with Annemarie Zwack

Patrice, Mame, and I went to Richford, New York, and got to work with this wonderful artist. We helped finish tiling a wall on an outdoor park pavilion. We worked mostly on the top right corner (that's Patrice on the ladder and Annemarie Zwack on the left), and Mame built the railroad tracks in the lower right corner.

This project was planned by the artist and the community, and used children's drawings and ideas. The kids and others made tiles of animals, local plants, fish, the river, and a large tree with a tire swing. They started this mural in April, 2016, and as of Sunday, some of the grouting was in.

It's a very special piece of art, and I feel privileged to have helped a bit.

A new sketchbook journal in the making

While Joe was here, I cut off some black jeans of his so he could wear them as shorts. The black denim pants leg formed the beginning of the cover of the new journal. The inside cover is a pile of scraps I sewed together.

Sasha says

Look mommy! I'm a bunny! See! Don't I look just like a bunny? Come on, a bunny! Really!

Summer goodness!

Kayaking on the bay

Looking for my painting mojo...

I cleaned and rearranged my art table, so now it's too tidy and I don't want to mess it up. This is a problem.

My sister inherited the family green thumb. I gave her that violet almost 10 years ago and it's still alive and flourishing.

Lost without Pinterest

I'm practicing painting and copying things I like from Pinterest. This Swedish designer, Stig Lindberg, made pottery in the mid 20th century. I thought this would be easy to paint. Ha ha Ha ha ha!  Later: I agree with Wise Woman Emie, if you want perfect, take a photograph.
(Still crawling up the ladder of recovering from perfectionism....)

Messing around with paint

I just cannot stick to painting real things. This was inspired by a fabric quilt I saw on, you guessed it, Pinterest. 

Yuccas in bloom in the North country

These plants seem to be thriving here in the north. Maybe they're from the cold desert. It's a mystery.

I'm a paint addict

I'm still having trouble painting letters. But this kind of painting takes a lot of practice. I do love my art supplies!

The Pinky Swear has made it's debut!

Thanks to Emie, my painting class friend, our cocktail has the perfect name!

The PINKY SWEAR!!

Thank you, Emie!!

We invented a new cocktail

First, muddle 6-8 ripe raspberries in the bottom of the glass, then add half a glass of blush wine (I just pick an artistically appealing label), then add berry flavored sparkling water. Voila! We couldn't decide on a name, so we are open for suggestions. Framboise Fizz? Razzmatazz? Pinky? 

My friend Anna joins in a silly selfie.

She made bruschetta from heirloom tomatoes; delicious!

It was a lovely summer afternoon, we talked, I knitted, and we stayed out until the fireflies appeared, and the mosquitoes sent us indoors.

Highly Recommended!!

I just finished a 4-week class with Mary Ann Moss. Click the pic to get more information.

A Scarf Is Born

I went to Darn Knit Anyway, a wonderful yarn store in Stillwater, MN, and came out of there with a kit for a scarf for my sister. It's their monthly Maker's League project, called Shawl With No Name. The yarn is Cerro, by Classic Elite, something I wouldn't find here in Rochchacha. Don't you just love starting a new project?

The Mighty St. Croix River

Seen in Stillwater

My sister took me to the Franconia, MN, sculpture garden

Big harvest today

I'm no calligrapher

I used a stencil for this alphabet, and, umm, it looks stiff and stencilly!!
I'm going to keep practicing lettering with a brush, and we'll see how it goes.
Wait, where did I put those rubber stamp alphabets...???

Seen at a Feeder in Fairport, NY

More melon

I just couldn't stop painting. 

Splish, splosh, I'm painting in gouache!

So, I'm really liking the gouache look. The colors are so juicy and intense.

This Month's Favorite Art Supplies

My 3rd favorite: Holbein gouache. Second favorite: Winsor Newton.

My best favorite so far, is M. Graham. But I'm saving my pennies to get some Schminkes to try.

Happy Father's Day!

Some of my 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students made these origami shirt and ties for their Father's Day cards. They were so cute!

Spelling, schmelling

I'm having fun with a new online class from Mary Ann Moss.

We had a Special Ed/English as a Second Language Picnic

This is Fartun, the hula hooping champ!

I bet you don't get mail like this!

Getting Musical at School #4

My friend Miss Clayton always lets the students play her instruments. They love it!

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