More about Small

Here are a couple more of the pages of "Small" which I finally was able to scan. More to come. Yesterday was overfull with things to do, art to show and people to talk to. But what fun! The second art esprit podcast will appear next week - interviewing one of our gallery artists -
Ashley G! Coming soon...
The word for the day is ... sip ... as in another cup of coffee, a fine singlemaltwhiskey, or just take a little because you are not sure!

Plantings

More flowers into the babybathtub. This summer I wanted to see orange - marigolds with red nasturtiums. The silver dusty miller will serve as a nice foil to the group I think. Our "adopt-a-spot" garden is in too. The sculpture I have been making is not quite finished but when it is you will see a shot of the "spot" here. Busy day with a client showing some of my favorite artists work to them. Keep your fingers crossed. Soon a new public building may be filled with some inspiring work!
The word for the day is snooze ... as in the most loved button on an electronic device.

A Small Story

Here is the first illustration for my handmade book called "A Small Story". Ink drawings on colored recycled backgrounds of failed paintings. I love to work on random bits and pieces to create something new. This is the beginning. The whole book will be about 6 inches wide and four inches tall. I don't use pencil first, just dive in and see what happens. It's all about Small.

iced coffee time again

iced coffee time again, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.

what an absolutely wonderful weekend!
sigh!

hope yours was too...

Davistudio's Mala Meal Project

photo by maryanne davis
Breaking into the weekend away from the computer because this is far too exiciting to put off.
Please go read here about Maryann Davis and her latest project. Art making a difference. I love it! She has been asked to be part of a conference called the 5th International Symposium for Digital Earth
You rock MAD!

Ullabenulla

enchants us all at her etsy shop again! Click here to view all the new jewels Ulla has created!

Portrait Party

darryl in watercolor 8x8 inches
Rama Hughes, an illustrator (who is just fabulous), started a blog called Portrait Party. I thought ...how intriguing! Based on a tradition in his family, people get together and draw each other and share the drawings.
We do love our drawing here at home and of course we do it rather daily at our work. I thought why not?!
So Darryl and I swapped photos and tried our hands at it. At the same time, I had some of my children art students try it too. Next week my advanced adult painting class is trying it.

Here are my drawings of Darryl, (I did two, one in watercolor and one in mixed media) He did two of me too and posted them here.

I showed you my one eyed Rainer I painted a few years ago ... and of course I have a painting he did of me a couple of years ago. I just have to scan it and show it here later. We draw a lot together and the girls often join us or on their own take turns drawing each other. It's fun and a good way to spend time together.
Heading out for a relaxing weekend filled with gardening and family. I hope you all enjoy yours!

The word for the day is obvious -- DRAW! (just do it)

Salamandra Glass

DSC_6577.JPG, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.
A new blue rondel from Salamandra Glass. Now at the shop! $68.
Here are some other shots of George at work - I took them last spring as I caught them at work one day... one HOT day
.

Flying hearts

Mary Stanley makes these little beauties out of tin, fabric, and beads. They are in the jewelry section of the shop and truly adorable little pins, signed and numbered by the artist. I have to photograph some more of them but for now there is a "start". Each one is completely different.
Fabulous Thursday here. Time to safely plant the rest of the "provisions" in the garden. Calling them merely seeds does not bring the correct homage they deserve.
The word for the day is ... smile. Just do it.

Solomon Seal

solomon seal, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.

Everything you need to inspire you can been found in nature.
Often in your own garden. My solomon seal is blooming!
The word for the day is ... look, as in unexpected places, under the leaf and deep inside yourself.

Spring in the Valley

spring valley 6x6 inches, available at the shop.
It is high spring here in NH (finally)... here is a little encaustic painting of mine for today. It's 6x6 inches and full of blue sky, just like here today. Hope this finds blue skies for all of you too!

The word for the day is smooth - like silky friends, like felted wool (thank you dear Annica for this trade!) and your hand over an encaustic painting.

Public Art

Beautiful Monday! Sunshine is finally dotting our landscape here in New Hampshire after what seemed like endless days of rain. Welcome sun! My posts will be shorter and maybe even just photos in the days to come as my plate runneth over with good stuff on my to do list... To name three:
Daughter Grace is graduating very soon from high school. I have two public art pieces which I am working on. One I have designed and will be making with a special group of children and adults for installation in a local hospital. It will be made out of baltic birch, heavy watercolor paper and inks and paint. The second will appear in an outside location a few blocks from our gallery. It will be a free standing sculpture! All I have at the moment to "share" is a rough digital sketch of the first piece. That should keep you wondering! I do promise detailed photos to follow.
Enjoy today - go see what all those interesting people in my sidebar are up to! >>>>>>
and get yourself outside too ... isn't this the best time of year?

Signs of Summer

mixed media on baltic birch 18 x 28 inches
here's my latest finished piece. So, I am squeezing it into an IF topic - "signs".
Note the shopping cart. It's a sign of how we get lost in the "shopping for things" and forget to view the free beautiful world - around us. Trite? perhaps, but lately I feel bombarded with "things to buy" and long to just putter in the garden.
Sign O' the Times at IF.
update - it's in the shop if you are interested... for the next three months i am adding a lot of my own work to the shop - sort of a "tag sale" if you will, work seems to pile up and it's that time of year....

Pretty Darn Swell's first group show!

and I am so excited that I could burst, as I am part of it! The show opens online on June 1st. I chose the Mayhew Program again as my charity, because it is a wonderful program making a huge difference in so many families lives. My print is "Wired" which is also in my banner right now. I am honored and absolutely thrilled to be part of this group show which also includes: Jenny Dupont, Milisa Mae Ganey, Byron King, Sean G. Qualls Johanna Wright, John Lytle Wilson and Ric Stultz too!

Searching for Stones

Another small (3x4 inches) postcard sized work inspired by picking the unending stones out of our garden beds. Where DO they come from?

trash duty

trash duty, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.

green wellies, monday nights, trash goes out late for the early morning pickup.
from the drudgery series. an endless topic.

Pink Bathtub - new cards!

Spring green peapods are the first of the plants in our garden to be planted and to pop up! How fitting to welcome springtime with a new peapod card from Pink Bathtub made just for us at artstream! Noelle carves these lino blocks and hand prints each and every one. Available, right here at the shop.

Retro-mode, flashback fever

You know the feeling - the one when you hear a song from the past, or see an image which launches a thousand memories. While thrifting last Saturday at my local thrift nook, I saw a pile of cassette tapes. Great music in a really bad format.
My "green" side wished there was something I could do with them. My creative side said, "but what?" My spring cleaning side said, "Back Away!" I have seen crocheted cassette tape, but the plastic cases were seemingly unuseful. No more! Here is the coolest thing since the return of pegleg jeans. Via designboom. Anything to reduce our plastic waste is all right by me. These are a sweet little side trip down memory lane, designed by Marcella Foschi, Italy. Found at the designboom shop.
Yeah, they are not cheap, but each one is an original, each one is made by hand, and each one is so useful!

from Wien - Amerlingbeisl

from wein - Amerlingbeisl, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.
These are coasters rainer and i used a couple of years ago on my birthday weekend in Wien ...
We were mapping out plans for an installation .... They have a website here which shows the place pretty nicely! It was so beautiful with the vine canopy...
I love the coasters and this beirgarten. If you are near Wien, you should drop in there!

Sarah Burns

makes beautiful sculptural soda fired pottery. Here is her "twist" vase. The little hole at the top of the vase makes it for me. Her work will be featured in a summer exhibition here with a couple of other artists. This vase and some of her work will appear in the online shop too. Stay tuned!
I hope everyone had a lovely mother's day somehow yesterday. We did at chez Schwake. It's good to be pampered!

Citrus

manshadow 3 x 4 inches watercolor on arches
"The big man left a shadow on the great citrus colored sign. It was a dark mark on a bright day"

(this is one of my twenty new 3"x4" paintings, more to come....)

Squeeze some more juice out of IF today - it's all about citrus.

Our new "wall" at artstream

I am loving this case which Adam Pearson created for us. The lights are not in it yet, but it has been fun to hang necklaces and small works in! He made the card racks too. I just love them... am obsessing a bit, but they are fun fun fun. Running around today to post off shop orders and enjoy the sunshine. You just have to do that once in awhile. Today is that day!

New Diana Fayt has arrived!

So beautiful so useful so giftable! Drop by the shop for more colors and work....

villa ATC

villa ATC, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.

one more quicky here...
squaky birds, lovely lake house, no sleep.
part of my drudgery series...

Nightwalking

nightwalk artist trading card

I like to make little watercolor drawings now and again. Negative space is so interesting. This is an illustration of why we don't own a dog. Love them, can't live with them. Somehow though it inspired me to think about and paint some of the more drudgery laden tasks...
More of my scribbles are over at flickr, if you are interested. They are in the form of artist trading card size. Ready to swap if you are!

If'n books and marks SALE!

Beautiful Jen Corace journals on sale over at If'n Books ... I love her work and these little journals are so handy. Just in time for all those graduation gifts coming your (our) way... Spiff up your own notes to self too! $20!

mingle

mingle, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.

Saturday night down in the fabulous Provincetown, MA on old Cape Cod, I had nine new paintings opening in the Bowersock "Spring Fling"group show. Couldn't go due to time constraints, but I heard it was a blast. If you are on the Cape, drop by and say hi to Steve. His work will be in our gallery this summer too!
Here is the link to the work and the details. Happy Monday everyone! It's finally truly beautiful here in New Hampshire and we are soaking up every lovely minute of it...

Queenthings by Jenny Vorwaller

on our front window now...

jenny's lovely colorwash earrings
We officially have Jenny's beautiful jewelry "queenthings" in the gallery now - coinciding with the opening of {un}Limited. Beautiful things afoot! Friday's opening had me scurrying around so I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked to - but I do like this front window shot and the parting shot right before we went home to "drop".

goodnight, sleep tight! nice and clean - notice lisa's lovely wall?
I had a lot of rest this weekend. We are usually unable to attend other area openings - so Sunday Rainer and I a quicky last minute trip to visit Deb at Nahcotta to see Rose Umerlik's show before it came down. It was wonderful to get out and see the show!
Deb also has some sweet Chilewich goods along with her usual lovely spread of Angela Adams rugs and home wares. If you are in Portsmouth - drop by Nahcotta for a peek at the next show too - Amy Brnger's "May Flowers" are blooming there now ...

Trees

a new mixed media piece 14 x 9 inches on Rives cover *click to enlarge*
In the woods, your only neighbors are trees.
Meet new neighbors at IF.
Off to the gallery to finish up the last touches for the opening tonight of {un}Limited!
Remember, if you can't come by - it's all online!
Hope to see you there... have a great weekend.

Thinking about Thursday

albina mcphail's tiny gems and alyssa ettinger's knitware porcelain.
When I was a child I always dreaded Thursdays. For the life of me, I can't now excatly remember why... but I am pretty sure it had something to do with extra Math on Thursdays and no art and perhaps private violin lessons too. I loved Wednesdays because we had art (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays) and orchestra (I loved playing with others because it made me sound like I was actually hitting some of the notes, rather than when I was playing alone!)
This Thursday has been a whirlwind. Moving and setting up the entire gallery space has been quite a challenge this go around. Guess it is spring cleaning or the fever to reinvent ourselves here at artstream - one. more. time. But I love it.
our new card racks which adam created for us. papercrane project crane between
sub-studios card and egg press!
Sure, it's a little out of control at the moment, with new fixtures and this cool new card system that I am loving (no room for ALL the cards so a sale is going on with them at the shop) but the smaller works are still all over the place and pottery and sculptures are still looking for a home. They will find it by morning, I can't rest until this is all done. The walls however look spectacular! Visit the flickr on my sidebar if you want a first glance. The shot above just shows a bit of one of the two front windows featuring Albina McPhail's paintings and Alyssa Ettinger's lovely knitty porcelain espresso cups! She was featured in Daily Candy today which just wonderful. Her work is stunning and we are so thrilled to carry it.
Off to move and ponder a bit more. See that mess behind the forsythia? Yup. It's gotta go.

Signs of Spring

signs of spring, originally uploaded by artstreamstudios.

The wild bush finally bloomed in our garden, so I brought some into the gallery to add color while we worked on the new exhibit. So pretty, so spring, finally. I missed May day this year. This makes me so sad in a way because when I was young it was one of my favorite holidays. Sandy reminded me of it late last night...
My mother would take us to a hardware store and we would buy an old wallpaper sample book. We would take it home and make paper cones with handles and glue lace and other embelishments to the cones. Then we would fill it with small candies, notes, top them off with violets and other small flowers from our yard.
She would then take us around to our friends houses and we would hang them on their doorknobs and ring the bell and - run!
It was so much fun. I really had every intention of making a few this year, but ah... time marched on. Here's to a wonderful month of blooming flowers and creativity!

{un}Limited fun

penelope dullaghan "spy"

ashley goldberg "smartypants"

lisa congdon "tree #4"

flossy-p "three piece"

Lisa Kirkpatrick "bonsai 2"
Today photos instead of words - patching/painting our large space (oh my oh my!) will take precedence over blogging time. Tearing down a most beautiful show is always hard to do. Extreme Textiles was one of our best ever. Thank you to Danny Mansmith, Leigh Pennebaker, Alyssa Ettinger, Kimberly Lyford, and Jeanne McCartain, as well as the viewers who came out of the woodwork to see this exhibition! It really was fun to curate and I am cooking up another textile show for next year already!
We need to spiff up the walls to make way for the amazing artwork which we will install tomorrow. If I haven't bored you to tears already with our excitement - let me just say one more thing ... this is one fantastic exhibition. The combination of work from these women artists just makes you want to go back for more. Photos on Thursday of the gallery. Until then, enjoy the photos and click around here for more information on individual works.
hmmm. I guess I did write more than intended!

Remember

remember 5x7 inches mixed media
No week is complete without making a little something for Illustration Friday. So here is my mixed media piece entitled "Remember". Two weeks ago we were able to snowshoe here in NH. One week ago we were at the beach. Do the birds remember where the food was? The flocks of seemingly puzzled birds we have encountered locally, encouraged this piece. Remember more at IF here.