Where the road meets the sky

I have returned home once again, just as I have for the past thirteen years, from a long Thanksgiving weekend out of town. The magic of South Texas always proves to me, over and over again, just how beautiful this world is.
Especially in a place you might least expect it.Each morning we woke up early,
hours before the sun peeked its head through the mesquite trees.
While it was still dark outside and even the jack rabbits and cotton tails were sound asleep deep in their holes.
We bundled up in heavy coats, and drove up and down the hard red clay hills.
This is a feeling like no other. No words can explain it.
It is here I see the brightest of reds.
Crimson reds.
Found in the rising of the South Texas sun,
and later that day in the wings of hundreds of butterflies we found feasting on the abundance of Texas wild flowers.
Rare this time of year.And, there are the browns.
The sure sign of the first freeze.
It comes much later here.

I love it here. I can breathe in, and I can breathe out. Pure, fresh air.
No expectations. No hurry.
I love it here.

But then, once I am home,
I am looking forward to a Suitcase Sale in San Antonio.
Ahhh, I love it here (too).

{Echo} Week 3 - abundance:light

This week's Echo prompt: Abundance.

I chose abundance:light.
Abundant and so very important in my life.
Something I take for granted.
Color would no longer exist without it.
What a bleak thought.

It helps me find my way.
The Brenham House B&B
Brenham, Texas
September 28, 2009

It brightens a dark spot.
Excess
Warrenton, Texas
September 26, 2009

It helps me share a beautiful day
with one very bright light of my life.
Excess Field
Warrenton, Texas
September 27, 2009
And, as always, visit the originators of Echo:
Chrysti and Susan
for (more) abundance.
You will be blessed.
Addition to post:
The collaboration can be seen here.

Warrenton Antique Week Day One

I am often asked what kind of jewelry I design. I have had to think about it before I could answer. I have said more times than once.....(especially this last year),
I deconstruct and reconstruct vintage jewelry.
Often I find myself first deconstructing a vintage piece, most often a rhinestone necklace, bracelet, brooch or shoe clip. I then begin adding and/or subtracting gemstones, pearls and crystals, charms, chain and relics, lockets and vintage findings,
constructing to my heart's desire!

I love scanning Etsy, perusing local antique shops, visiting favorite vendors at antique and quilt shows, AND occasionally happening upon an estate sale.....often times with my daughter. Yep, she too has the bug. No, not looking for vintage jewelry, but for just looking.
That is where it all starts you know. I can see her now in my mind's eye last September during Antique Week.

She is my spotter. Making that second sweep through a tent is a critical job.
And, she is good at it. Really good.You never know what you might find hiding in just the most tiniest of places.
Perhaps a lovely old tin sitting unnoticed on the end of a dresser.

How about these? Could I possibly use a pair of children shoes?
Or, how about this lovely old jewelry box?
Perhaps a new prop for my display table.
I see so many stacks of Mexican sugar molds.
This was a first, rising out of an old washtub ....just like the one my grandma (Josie) used.Layers of lace piled high on silver cake stands. The lace, $8-$20,
was a little too pricey for me.
I looked further. There is always the next tent.
I find two of these. Stuffed full of lace. And, in a vintage mason jar.
Two for $25 or one for $15...why did I just buy one?
Now on to the good stuff.
That will have to be Day Two.
(Texture credits go to: les brumes)

{Echo} Week 2 - decorate

diane / lani

It never ceases to amaze me how a prompt, in this case through the camera lens, can be interpreted so differently by each contributor. I must admit that this week was quite a surprise. Each of our photos so different, yet so very captivating side by side.
The second week of Susan's and Chrysti's bi-weekly prompt, through the lens of their camera, is decorate.
Lani began our collaboration by sending her picture for decorate:offering. She has more to say about it here.
My contribution is one made up of several layers. Much like adding layers of decorations to an area of my home during the holidays, or outside during different seasons of the year; my pictures were all taken in Santa Fe, New Mexico this past March. I walked Santa Fe that week, camera in hand, snapping hundreds of photos.
More details on what makes up each layer can be found on my flickr.
Want to take this ride with us? Details are found here.

{Echo} Week 1 - Emerge

Emerge:Beyond

My ever so talented Visual Poetry teacher, Susan Tuttle, and her likewise talented friend, Chrysti Hydek, have begun an artistic journey together as they explore a bi-weekly prompt (every other Wednesday), through the lenses of their cameras. The first prompt emerge. Their first collaboration is seen here. Visit Chrysti's blog to see their second. We are invited to play along (it's not necessary to pair with someone, but if you do, it is much fun -- just interpret the prompt through your own camera lens, post your photograph on your blog, and leave a link to your post in the comment section of either of their blogs.
I have collaborated with an artist friend, Lani Gerity Glanville, who took Susan's Visual Poetry class, along with me and 28 other artists. I love Lani's interpretation picture(the one on the right), which she said was taken in a butterfly garden. The pumpkin on the left, my way of expressing what emerges ~ beyond. (Click on photo for a larger version).
I look forward to seeing you there....through your eyes. I believe tomorrow is time for the next prompt!

where my heart lies

I love this heart I bought from my friend Stephanie Lee right before Valentine's Day. It has been fun to see where it will show up, as my husband and I leave it for each other in different little places.

It also has become a reminder just how fragile life really can be. Like the words in Mat Kearney's song Closer to Love,
"we are just one phone call from our knees".

When I read of the battle a Texas friend was going through,
my heart knew where it should go.

I ache as I know of the road she is walking. It will be a long and winding one. It is not a road I have walked. It is one my mother has walked as she has fought breast cancer.
My friend's name is Tina Wright.
She is battling colon cancer. A friend's note:

Dear Friends,
We are hosting a benefit dinner and silent auction for Tina Wright on October 29th near College Station. Proceeds of the benefit will go towards Tina's brave fight against cancer. We need your help and support to make this event a great success. Please let your creative juices flow and send us items we can use for the silent auction by October 28th. My address is: 3206 Von Trapp Lane, College Station, TX 77845. If would like to attend the event or need more information, please email carolyn.mccully@wwrd.com or call 979-575-6458.
Lovingly,
Carolyn McCully
Brazos de Dios, Harley Owners Group

How could I not respond to this? Could my heart really be that hard? What if it were me battling cancer? Maybe one day it will be.
These earrings will be slipped into the mail today.

"1920 pearls"
The pearls I used are vintage Japanese, bought from Sandy Schor at the International Quilt Festival a couple of weeks ago. They have the most gorgeous buttery glow.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
John 13:34

somerset memories

If only I could hold my sister's hands once more,
and love them and they me, I would.
diane

The latest edition of Somerset Memories made its way to my home just before October 1st. This is one of the very special perks of being published, I must say, is that Stampington sends a complimentary copy right to your door!
I was blessed by Jana Holstein, managing editor of the magazine, as she contacted me last June to be a part of the next issue.
Cabinet Card Sisters
was born on a day I was thumbing through a large stack of my family cabinet cards. What I began to see, were cards which included two little sisters in each picture.
How could I not be mesmerized by eyes like these?Or these?
I loved studying the details of their expressions. The dainty necklaces that hung around their necks. The types of lace on their socks and on their tiny dresses.
Even the bows in their hair intrigued me.I wonder did they have the same dreams as me?
If you want to know more, you must get the magazine. It is there I tell a little more of my story. And, how to create the soldered charms I made using these
precious family cabinet cards.As I blinked my eyes, and looked again, I realized we are all dreamers.
Some of us are just wide awake.

diane

layering and annual trips

Finishing the Visual Poetry Online Workshop with Susan Tuttle is like getting to the end of an ice cream cone, and wanting more.

The final week covered texture, including TtV, which stands for "Through the Viewfinder". I had much fun with it. Adding texture. Layering images. This class has indeed peeled back another part of the PSE world for me to see.

"on holiday"
In May of 1996 my daughter and I began taking what we call our annual trip. It has given us the opportunity to travel, and to go on several really fun trips~together. Some have been near. Some far. This one also included my mother, who came along with us to visit her sister and brother-in-law who live in Tampa, Florida.
My cousin was a gracious host at the beginning of the trip, taking us down to one of the many beaches in the Tampa Bay area. As she and I looked for shells, my daughter relaxed and read.
Later that week we went to Disney, and I must testify that Walt Disney really does know how to make all your dreams come true.
I don't care how old you are!

Textures credit: Susan Tuttle and les brumes.

"my man"
This layered project began with a picture I snapped earlier this year as he stood outside of my booth on this cold blustery day in March, at Art in the Park in Orange, Texas. In the background stands the W.H. Stark House, found in Stark Park where we set up.
I applied a layer using one of the many sunset pictures I've taken in South Texas on our wild game lease. I did a slight adjustment, but not much more. These two pictures worked perfectly together.
You can see more completed projects from Week 4 below.

"red buds in Ft. Davis"

"remembering granny"

"behind the settee"

This old settee stands behind The Brenham House B&B where my daughter and I stayed on this year's annual trip together. I live close enough to the antique festival to not stay in a nearby hotel or B&B like many people do who attend the festival. But, this was our trip for the year, and I am so glad we did. We loved it. The home was beautiful, the food delicious (served on fine china & crystal), and Susan and James Lopez were wonderful gracious hosts. I highly recommend it.
I promise I will share some of my festival pictures real soon.....

may your road rise up

Two things I have learned.
1. Wonderful old suitcases make for a good show.

2. Special pieces make their way home with special people.
My fourth year at the St. John Vianney Bazaar was a huge success!
Thanks to you my faithful family and friends.
I leave you with my favorite Irish blessing.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Remember the Give Away?

Another picture I took in Warrenton under an open air pavilion. Dolls seemed to be the subject of many of my photos this year. Oh, so sweet....yet somewhat haunting.
I will have more to share with you as I continue to work in Photoshop with Susan Tuttle.
See our class photos in the VisualPoetry Online Workshop flickr group here.
Texture used above from one of my favorites: les brumes.

Thanks for sharing Susan!

(Meg....please contact me with your address).

EX-CESS Field

The festival was more than fun this year, as I had two extra days of it. In a row.
And, with my daughter beside me!
I don't remember the first year I went to Round Top-probably about 16 years ago. I was naive about it all. I didn't even know about the booths in Warrenton. But, many years of experience has taught me what to do, where to go, what to wear (& definitely what not to wear), the best time to go and way more than I can tell you here. But, with all that said, I still have much to learn and know about what is called Antique Week(s) that occurs in/around Round Top & Warrenton, Texas twice a year.
Yes, it is like everything else in Texas. Huge!CLUTTER

What a cool store. Very chic. Very nicely done. I took many pictures there. I have been using several in my now second week of Susan Tuttle's online Visual Poetry class.

I must say, it is without a doubt, one of the best investments I've made this year! I am thoroughly enjoying the projects. Susan has done an exceptional job in designing this class, beginning with the very usable instructions for each project, to step-out pictures, great examples, videos, an art bar where we can meet online, comments galore, AND the Visual Poetry Online Workshops flickr group. If you are thinking about taking her next class, don't hesitate. It will fill up quickly, and rightly so.

I just love this stack of vintage blankets. I took this picture at Clutter.
I used the Diffused Light Technique Susan taught us Week 2 Project 2.

I used the technique again on this picture I took of a huge vintage card catalogue that was sitting in an open air building just the other side of the area they call EX-CESS Field. Another must stop. In this field, of course, is a large store call EX-CESS. It is an area full of various dealers in stalls, loaded down with all kinds of goodies.

One stall had a group of vintage crowns. Breathtakingly beautiful. This one was priced at $$$. I took a picture instead!

I used the Diffused Light Technique for this Week 2 Project 1. However, it was done differently than Project 2. And, after I finished, I decided to add texture~thus the second photo. Love it!

With all these great pictures and techniques I'm learning in Susan's class, I also found out via my friend Catherine Witherell, that LK Ludwig was beginning an online Point & Shoot Journaling class. Now I have a way to keep my technique pictures from Susan's class, by using them in a journal class taught by LK. All online. GREAT!

I met so many wonderful people at the festival this year. I have so much more to tell you. But that will have to be another day!

I Am Thine

*Vintage sheet music I tucked and glued inside the top of my daughter's memory box*
***********************
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
Quote taken from a fellow artist, Nina's inspiring blog.
What a beautiful quote ~ really! What a "freeing" quote ~ really!
I have been living life. Busy with my jewelry. Busy with my full-time job in downtown Houston. Busy designing/re-working my studio/office.
(Thank you my dh for such a wonderful birthday present!)
I have a full life. It is a good life. And, for that, I am thankful.
This past Monday I began the online workshop, Visual Poetry, with the talented Susan Tuttle.
I have had Photoshop Elements 6 on our home computer for 2 years come Christmas. I knew it was time. Time to learn more, and from who else but Susan?
Each week we have 3 projects, and will so for 4 more weeks. I am basking in the possibilities of what will come of this. Jewelry pictures ~ yes. I have many. Life pictures ~ many more! Of course, I will be sharing. Your comments mean so much to me. More than you know.
So, if you are out there, lurking, not commenting OR commenting....well, here is your opportunity to let yourself be known (to me). I am having a small give-away. The gift will be a surprise. Yes, you won't find out what you win until you do......
(Drawing will be October 7th at 7 pm CST).
Note: I am on my way to Warrenton tomorrow. I have posted about it here many times. I will be there for 3 days~straight! And, with my dd.
Heaven for sure.
******************
More photos from the Visual Poetry group are here. I am thrilled to share!

And, oh yes, I have been designing some new pieces.
"Tulip Treasurers"
"Rhinestones & Crystals"