Beware the Ides of March

...as in, "Ide like THIS for my birthday!" (which is tomorrow...)

And I'm getting it! Yay! This fun necklace comes from this Etsy shop:

http://www.maisyandalice.etsy.com/.

Green Jeans Graces, II

Green Jeans Graces, II, a custom order for an etsy customer that I just finished sewing yesterday. A bit more colorful and flamboyant than the first GJG...

Have a colorful and flamboyant weekend, everyone! xo

Playground Love

Leafing through old photographs early this morning I came upon this one, taken in the summer of 1973. I am pictured here (bottom right) with my cousin Christopher and his first wife, Cindy, and my first husband, Tony (standing behind me). None of us were married yet - we were all still dating when this picture was taken. Recently I had cut the little black and white head (the third picture) out of a magazine and stuffed it in my image file with a mental note to make artwork someday about my youthful obsession with this classic form of beauty. Tony looked like an Adonis. I'm serious. To this day, he is probably one of the most perfect looking and beautiful young men I've ever seen. Add to that an aloof, mysterious sort of personality. I fell for that, hook, line, and sinker. I was totally obsessed to the point of addiction. I created a fantasy of who I thought Tony was based solely on his looks. How unfair - to him, and to me. My relationship with Tony ended after the birth of our son, Eben. Life, our relationship, and my perception of Tony, got real, and fast. I was in an abusive marriage. I left him. Sadly, I learned years later that Tony was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I heard that he'd had some treatment and was doing well for the first time in years, and then he went missing. He's been missing since the mid 80's, and is most likely deceased.

How set up are we to do this? To pursue an ideal? How many of you have had this type of relationship? I'm curious. This morning after I scanned this photo to add to one of my family albums on Facebook, I saw this video on Facebook, posted by a friend. It really hit home. Obsession, first love, longing, addiction, etc...

The Elusive Edward Hopper

Girl at Sewing Machine, 1921
oil on canvas

Moonlight Interior, 1921-23
oil on canvas

East Side Interior, 1922

etching

Evening Wind, 1921

etching

Self-portrait, 1903

charcoal on paper

You're all going to hate me - I have several new (to me) fabulous art books bought for a pittance from my favorite book store, that discount sale shelf at the MECA library. The images here are from one of these books - a sweet little hard cover titled simply, Edward Hopper, by Gail Levin, purchased for $2.

Levin writes:

Edward Hopper was a private man who chose to conceal his personal life. Shy and reserved, he usually preferred to hide behind a controlled public image of an independent, self-made painter, working in the narrow bounds of the American realist tradition without imposing on his art any intellectual or private content.

Hmmm...I'm only into it a few pages, but I think she may show us where he failed to hide! His work is so telling...

I chose to post these pics of a woman at a sewing machine because I've been at the sewing machine alot lately and with the full moon the past couple of nights I've been as restless as those women in the other two pics...

And what about that early self-portrait, drawn when he was 21? Simply Gorgeous.

Worried Love Release

A friend on Facebook told me about Chriss Sutherland's review in the Sunday NY Times, so I went out and bought a copy! It's a great review! Click on the image and read for yourself...

Congratulations to Chriss and all those talented musicians who worked with him to make it happen! Chriss gifted me with the CD - it's wonderful, I love it, and you can buy it here! Gotta love that cover! ;*)

Botticelli Venus with Birds of Paradise

Inspector Salvador Kitty...

Now he's checking to see if it works from a distance...

Whew. It passed inspection.

My latest fiber nude wallhanging, for sale in my Etsy shop, Botticelli Venus with Birds of Paradise, made from recycled upholstery fabric, trims, beads, and watercolor. These are so much fun to make. I'm planning on doing The Star next...

Yo, Picasso

Another amazing find purchased for little to nothing from the sale rack at the MECA Joanne Waxman library:

Picasso and Portraiture: Representation and Transformation, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. I'm sure that I will share more from this book in the future - it's fat as a bible and chock full of gorgeous images - many of which I am unfamiliar with. But for now, here are some of Picasso's self-portraits, along with a few photographs of the Bull/Man.

Damn, his work is powerful.