When I was in high school, I used to borrow-steal this beloved vintage tennis (cricket?) sweater from my dad’s closet. It was and remains the perfect sweater. It’s both nostalgic and classic, a perfect memory set to the soundtrack of Footloose, Breakfast Club, Flashdance and Pretty in Pink. My paintings are nostalgic. And sometimes funny […]
Kindness
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop Even though times are wrought with anxiety, sadness, worry and fear, there is profound kindness happening all around us. I see it or hear about it every day. It’s the tiny to the huge. The big tip the stranger leaves for the restaurant […]
Peace be with you
What can I say that you haven’t read, seen, experienced or felt already? Not much. So I’m just here to say hi, send a hug from a far and staying connected in the way I know how. I’m exercising a bit. Walking outside. Puttering. Starting projects I can’t finish. Emailing, calling and texting to stay […]
Top 10 Designers to Watch in 2020!
Hello from that equally slow motion and uber revved up time warp between trade shows. It’s a time where coffee in the morning is extra luxurious and slow but orders also need to be filled pronto and the day is planned strategically. I’m between Atlanta AmericasMart and Las Vegas Gift Show and appreciating every minute. […]
XO Stationery Stash
It might be less than two weeks into the new year but in the retail world…guess what is virtually tomorrow??? That’s right, Valentine’s Day! Just in case you’re the stash-that-perfect-card-away-for-the-right-occasion variety (you’re in good company), let me introduce you to a few new designs in the XO category. I’m headed off into the season of […]
Shipping in time for Christmas!
Hello and happy holidays from the studio! Are you painting? Holiday cookie baking? Shopping? Making your own Christmas decorations? Yes to all of it. I’m a big fan of things or experiences made by hand or small businesses and love the personal details that often accompany it. I have a small and sweet collection of […]
Bonjour (and April in Paris)
What is it about Paris? Other than everything…for most everybody…? For me it represents history, architecture, culture, the arts, the dedication to a life lived in the small beautiful details. The people watching. The air, the color, the river, the romance, the food, the coffee, the fashion, the freedom. I’m not alone. It’s been many […]
Oil v. Acrylic Part II
Hello from Atlanta, GA! I’m in the swing of trade show season but wanted to follow up on my painting experiment. First and most satisfying result: I finished the 30 paintings! No small feat when life happens, days turn into a few days into a weekend into…oh shoot, it’s Christmas! But I stuck with it, […]
Oil v. Acrylic
Somewhere between now and March 3rd (which is when Madame Blog here tells me I last posted) I have been slowly, quietly, nervously experimenting with a new medium: oil paints. I decided to conduct a 30 day challenge for myself: 30 paintings in 30ish days. I didn’t quite make it, I think I got to […]
Pretty in Pink
This post if proof that role of artist-business-blogger-marketer-shipper-packer-traveler-sales is one role too many. If I had remembered and was organized enough, I would have posted this BEFORE the Pretty in Pink Art Reception…not a day and a half AFTER. Ooops. (Event on Friday night was lovely, it was pink, there was cake, wine, lots of […]
Asking for Help: Part 1 Our Pack
Hey, guess what took me 40+ years to learn? It’s ok to ask for help. Help comes in all varieties, the serious kind, life transitions, relationships, family, career and health. Those are the biggins and somehow it seems easier or more acceptable to reach out during those times. For me, it’s the not so dire […]
New Cards & Hello from Atlanta
Hello from Atlanta, GA!! Trade show season is in full swing! It’s that time of year for a new greeting card launch (yay!!!), lots of travel, hotel rooms, airports, booths, seeing customers in person and meeting new ones. I’m extra excited this show because I have a dozen new cards to show, have them in […]
San Francisco/Bay Area Trade show
Hi friends! Indie Market Bay Area starts today! San Francisco and Bay area retail buyers, come on over to Point Richmond for a beautifully curated trade show. Sunday-Tuesday, 10-6pm at the Craneway Pavillion. Gorgeous building, view of the bay and a unique and lovely assortment of wholesalers there. Carpe Diem Papers is there with elizabethW […]
Carmel Open House!
If you’re in the Carmel or Monterey area today, come join me at elizabethW Carmel for their Five Year Anniversary Party of their retail location on Ocean Avenue. There will wine tasting with Carmel Road, a trunk show with the famous pillow people Catstudio, my new collection of paintings, apps, giveaways and a raffle for […]
Peaks & Valleys
I like to break out of my painting habits. Occasionally. It’s true, I like what I like, have a wheelhouse of subject matter, like most artists do, but there is a secret silly joy in tackling an unknown genre. For me, it’s landscape. It’s a few other things too but I’ll save that for another […]
February
Yesterday I was scheduling coffee with a friend and a few appointment errands coming up and I had to turn my February day planner page over to MARCH. March? February has been a recovery and restore month. Recovering from the cold-travel-flu sandwich, the over extending, the trade shows, the workshops, the family and friend visiting, […]
