cheeeeeese

Where is the yacht? Shari we are ready for the Mediterranean!

garden

a sign for the deer

our lovely kale

the glory of morning

mustard mix

entry to the garden...trellis...with morning glory, gourds, thunbergia, moonflower, and cardinal flower

Happy Birthday Grandma

happy birthday mom and grandma!

renzo and i cant wait to see you and be on the farm!

eating cheese, and sitting on the grass with zeek.

running around the farm and getting dirty.
(he is really good at it)

we love you!

art is due

its been a while since i posted anything art related. i figured i would show a peak at something i am working on. the medium is sewing patterns pasted on board and then drawn and painted over. i am really enjoying this format, and will be re-working some of the older "unfinished" work to fit this style.

i am sure it will look different the next time around but i am going with a horned theme.

progress

the last couple of weeks we have been trying to finalize our garden so its deer and varmint proof. it takes alot of work to build a garden from scratch! it has been very rewarding to see the transformation take place.

i built this fence and gate in place of the old one that was rotting and falling over. i used a jigsaw to cut all of those little pieces out. this entrance is right outside our back door, very convenient.

a view from just inside the gate...the old grapevines are in the forefront.

we haven't finished planting everything...but what you see here are our trellises for the scarlet runner beans. and in the front some calendula.

a bigger view of the layout.

there is still a bed in the middle we didn't make up...we are considering a small waterfall/pond.

a small little bed with nasturtiums.

here you see our yellow tomato bed...under a little white wigwam.

this chair used to be our computer desk chair. it had a hole in the fabric...so i cut it all apart and reconstructed this chair from old wood i painted on and have been saving.

Look how long he got in the last few months? Six inches, easy.

He loves his new pair of Keens.

Yep. Even loves them more than wearing clothes.

Here is a bench that Nyjah and I made on Saturday. It was fun...it will go great in the garden.

The seeds have sprouted....thats half the work right there. A little late on some of this stuff, but will find a home soon in our new garden.

renzo to the garbenzo

just in case you were wondering...yes he is getting big! can you see how goofy he is? i love it. he is also exhibiting his smarts. as he observes he then tries to mimic. it is amazing to watch. he watches me clean and he then tries to copy. he is already using a fork and spoon. and wants to help keith using all of the tools. i found his handiwork after looking in the newly constructed garden bed and seeing all the nails he "helped" push in.

he thinks its his sombrero.

garden from scratch

this year we are focusing on self-sufficiency. this concept obviously includes having a garden space. so for the past couple of weeks we have been starting to make our garden beds by digging out soil and laying in rodent and gopher wire. this is a HUGE task to begin...but also very necessary. after we get our beds built we will bring in more soil to amend and then put in a deer fence.
some of the beds have straight lines...and curvy. we have recycled some decking keith got from a job and will be using that for the straight lines and rocks for the curvy lines.

ren has been out with me every day playing and digging in the soil.

trying on dad's hat.

work party with becca and mitchell...progress on two beds.

nyjah and shiloh helped out all day...moving dirt in and out of the beds and being dads assistants.

ren ren helped too.

he would sit and observe keith and then try to do the same later...it was so fun to watch.

the ruffians...in red.

keith expaining the necessity of the wire in the application to the beds to ren.

swim day

the past few days here in california have been pretty hot. yesterday morning i wanted to take a dunk in the swimming hole down by the creek. i challenged whomever would come with me to dunk for three cookies. well the water was cold, but nyjah and i did it and shiloh made it up to his shins.
we came back to the house and i pulled these tubs out and made little swim pots for everyone. it was such a nice day to enjoy the water and the sun and the feel of summer coming soon.

morning with lorenzo

its been a while since i've caught up with lorenzo in photo. this morning he just looked so darned cute with his squinty eyes and all of his yawns. of course he loves the morning with all of the light coming in and the crystals we have in the window to make rainbows. he is growing sooo much. his new fondness with walking is so fun to watch. he feels like a pro now...especially now that he picks things up and carries them WHILE he is walking. you should see his face when he does this...you can tell he is so proud of himself. he is growing up so big...and his intelligence is fun to watch change and grow. my favorite moments are when we look at each other and he smiles so knowingly...there is an understanding and connection there that cannot be bought.

DIY Dish Designs

A couple of weeks ago I found a tutorial about designing porcelain and china cups, plates, and bowls...or whatever you want! It was a fun project...I hope to do more. I made a design for each person...and mine turned out to be a long couch (saucer and cup).
I went to the thrift store and bought a whole sack full of porcelain and china...for 5.00. So this project can be very cheap! Then I found the paint and pen (fine tip) at Michaels for under 7 or 8 bucks.
Clean the dish very well...let it dry. With mine I started to outline with the pen all of the images I wanted to draw. Then I let it dry for a few minutes before painting. When you use this paint (pebeo brand) it can be brushed on with different degrees of thickness...I used a light touch because I wanted it to be bright. Later I went over it again after it was dry. The last step is to let it dry for 24 hours and bake in the oven for thirty minutes at 300 degrees. The paint is non toxic and dishwasher safe...I dont own a dishwasher so I havent been able to test this yet. This project is great because even if you cant draw...you can write a thought or a word or a poem instead!

mischief

here is the goober eating dirt.

here is the goober with natali's undies.

acting silly.
here is the goober in the fridge.

sketchings

yes...a new commitment to sketching regularly....hoping to gain more fodder for illustrator and photoshop. this is a winter berry...beautiful in colors of red and yellow berries.

fabricky

i spent part of the day in tutorial-land trying to figure out illustrator, after finally feeling somewhat comfortable on photoshop. i put some random bunky words on a sign and realized it explains exactly how i felt today.
there is a new site online that prints fabric on demand... which means that you can send in your designs digitally and they can print it and send it back in a few weeks! it makes me so excited that i am making constant changing plans in my head for my debut as a fabric designer. more later....

Vintage Photos

i just came across a wonderfully clever site that lets you "age" your photos...it gives it the 70-80's newspaper photo feel. If you click on the link here it takes you to a japanese site. you then browse for a photo from your computer and click the button below. it takes a few seconds (and its all in japanese, but dont let that scare you) and voila.
i am hoping in the next few weeks to be a little more committed blogger and crafter. i spent myself on the last round of projects and needed a few days of rest. i have alot of new ideas so keep checking in!

one year

Lorenzo turns ONE!
this is what prompted me one week ago, to get my act together and create an experience for his first birthday. they say the first birthday is more about the mother, which i found to be true. but i think i really needed a full week of excuses to see just how crafty i could be. and let me tell you...by the end i felt as though i was vomiting color and design all over the place. and i almost felt nauseous by it.

here are the two stuffed animals i decided to make for him. becca got me this great magazine called STUFFED...its all about how to design stuffed animals...it was fun to try out this new medium.
if you havent guessed already my theme was ORANGE...not sure why, maybe just an excuse to enjoy a strong dose of color. look at the lovely girls in lorenzo's life!
yes i made a quilt too! he needed some extra warmth...so i made him a wee little one for his bed. i fashioned quilting frames out of used 1 X 1 pieces of wood outside and just set it on the floor of our living room.
keith and the boys picked out this colorful truck that actually helps him walk. we saw it in the toystore and he just took off on it all the way down the aisle...i laughed so hard at his cute little legs trying to keep up. i think this will give him good practice for walking.
well doesnt every one year old get the opportunity to eat their cake just how they want? this was a carrot cake sweetened with agave nectar...it turned out really great.

nyjah and shiloh and their cheesy grins.

keith and lorenzo at play

I finally figured out how to process and edit videos from my camera after catching this
great little clip with lorenzo and keith. i think you have to know sound effects to get lorenzo to laugh like this...i can only really do it randomly or with my tickle finger.

hesperides

this image is a sneak peak for a show i am contributing to at Sam Wellers bookstore in Salt Lake City. the show starts on the 16th of January and centers around Typography and the Art of the Book. i chose to display three new works on the subject of hesperides.
the Hesperides are the three daughters of Atlas who were chosen to guard the garden that Gaia gave to Hera. this garden on the edge of the world had a luscious tree bearing golden apples that brought immortality.
the subject and the simple drawings are a refreshing time away from painting and detail.

white white white snow

pure cheese.

here in utah the farm is white, like those old days when the plow made huge hills of snow that we could build snow caves in and build big troll snowmen and women. it takes living in california to really appreciate the beauty of this season.

for many years i thought i hated the snow....maybe because of its ability to make you stay indoors for longer than you wanted. i realized this time while visiting that when the sun is highlighting a field covered in white, it gives you 100 times the amount of light you would ever experience otherwise. for this reason and others i am willing to admit that i can appreciate the color white in winter.

mr snow.....(as mitchell would say)

an etsy christmas

every year we draw names for christmas and exchange our presents on christmas night. this year my brother decided to look to my etsy favorites for inspiration. it was surreal to open my gifts and see these beautiful items sitting there.
props to all the artists.

stellanova

a beautiful book on mobile making.

pomadour24

and this beautiful silk screened shirt including all of the poetic ways to list groups of animals....a bask of crocodiles, a murder of crows, a descent of woodpeckers...

xenotees

i am glad to be a part of all the artisans here on etsy.