A thank you gift...

Today I put together a gift for a friend as a thank you to her. An avid horsewoman, I thought she might appreciate a decorated horseshoe to hang on a wall or use as a paperweight or accent decoration for a small table or shelf. I used an old horseshoe (actually a small one meant for a pony) and a vintage rhinestone earring, which I thought reminded me of a horse show ribbon in shape. I calligraphed a quote from Shakespeare, "Your heart's desires be with you," and attached it to the horseshoe along with some vintage seam binding and the earring. A quick gift, but one that I hope is a blessing to my friend. I know that she cherishes her time spent riding her horses and the peace and pleasure she finds while doing so.

Christmas Projects

I've been busy working on special orders for Christmas. Just finished an invitation design and calligraphed envelopes for a customer holding a special holiday party. She wanted the recipients to be able to hang a portion of the invitation on their tree, so I used antique skeleton keys in the design knowing they would be lovely on a Christmas tree, especially with the deep red velvet ribbon. The antique sheet music holds the invite and the key, which slip out to be opened and read. A touch of real German glass glitter adds some sparkle along the edge of the invitation flap. This all went into a white outer envelope with addresses in calligraphy scripted in black McCaffery's Penman's ink with a Nikko G nib.

Mixing up my holidays...

I wanted to wish you a happy valentine's day... such a good day to think of all those we hold dear.
I decided to include this photo of one of the Christmas ornaments I make, filled with antique buttons and a calligraphed word or name and embellished with a tiny antique bulb. I know I am mixing my holidays together just a bit, but thought this "love" bulb was somewhat appropriate for today. I have made many of these ornaments as custom orders for baby's first Christmas with the child's name inside and the year included on a tag wired to the hanger at the top along with the tiny bulb or embellishment. They are adorable with just a few old blue or pink buttons added along with the white and cream.

Projects, Process, Promise

I've been busy with a variety of commissioned art and calligraphy projects, from customized gifts for graduates to encaustic paintings to confirmation and first communion certificates for a local church. I love that I feel I learn from the process of each job that I agree to do. Each project also always shows me how much more I need and desire to learn. In other words, each job helps me to know how much I do not know.

I am excited about the promise of a great learning experience through a new e-course I signed up to take from artist Kelly Rae Roberts, called Flying Lessons. The course is about growing your creative business and promises to provide lots of great information and lessons designed to equip artists, particularly in the areas of publicity and marketing of artwork. Click on the button on my sidebar to learn more about the course.

Seeking beauty...

I have not posted in several weeks due to busy summer schedules. Hope that everyone is enjoying a wonderful summer. I thought I would include a photo of an old project which was a shower gift I made for our nephew and his wife for their bridal shower last summer. It is a mixed-media collage piece incorporating my calligraphy along with a section of a responsive reading text from an old hymnal and a variety of papers. Also included is a bit of Biblical text from Corinthians, which was taken from an ancient Bible that is literally falling apart. It is an amazing treasure given to me by a friend, because I don't have to feel badly about using pieces in my artwork since it is already in pieces anyway.

In addition, I wanted to share with you an excerpt from an article I read by Christine Valters Paintner. She writes, "Every person has an aching need for beauty; in beauty we discover the face of God." She further develops this point:

An aesthetic spirituality is one that recognizes this longing as a response to a call already issued, to an invitation always present in the world through beauty's presence. We are called to awaken to beauty, to see more deeply, to cultivate practices of attentiveness. We are invited to let beauty penetrate the heart, and to respond to it by creating further beauty in our own lives.

I encourage you to answer the invitation with a resounding yes!

Changes

It has been a while since I posted. My life has been extra busy lately. My daughter moved home early in May after completing her internship at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia and we were busy as she prepared to move to Denver, Colorado. She left yesterday with her dad for the drive out in her vehicle to get moved in and settled. My husband flies home on Friday. Needless to say I have shed many a tear in the last few weeks. I am excited for her in this new season in her life, but it is sad to see her go so far away. Often in recent days it felt as though my heart would literally break apart. I know though, that this is part of motherhood, and so I pray through my tears and hope the very best for her in this exciting adventure.

Meanwhile, I have been busy with work and projects. I've completed a variety of orders for individuals and a retail account. I had the privilege of completing a special gift for a customer to give to her mom for Mother's Day. She ordered a prayer journal and an anointing oil bottle. I used an old hymnal for the covers of the journal with calligraphy and collage work throughout, as well as some pages from the hymnal, old maps, and other treasures. I loved the idea that the hymnal cover had already been used for years in worship and adoration of the Lord and now will continue in use by this mother in her devotional life. I have included some photos of the journal cover and oil bottle in this post.

Love and Wonder

With Easter fast approaching, I thought I would share a quote from the book Entirety: Love Gives All, by Dana Candler.

"In Jesus' giving of Himself, the hidden plan of God's heart was revealed in the midst of time and space, and Love was the message made manifest."

I am absolutely filled with awe, adoration and gratitude as I contemplate this beautiful truth! May you enjoy the rest of this Holy Week and may you have a blessed Easter.

"Loose" script

I was playing around last night with my ink and a Leonard EF Principal nib and did some "loose" style scripts. It was fun and a bit freeing to not worry about straight lines and exact ascender/descender heights, etc. Here are a couple samples of what I came up with rather quickly. They are envelopes for a couple friends who also happen to work with us at Paperworks and More. I think there will be more of this loose "unbuttoned" style coming from my pen in the future.

Lock & Key

I thought I would share a photo of a collage piece I recently completed incorporating a very old lock portion of a doorknob set and an antique skeleton key. These elements made me think of the passage from Matthew about your heart being where your treasure is found, so I included that verse in calligraphy on the piece. This is for sale at our little shop, Paperworks and More.

Wonderful Banner

Over this past weekend, my husband & I attended a conference in Fairlawn, Ohio to hear Dr. James Goll, an author and teacher from Tennessee who ministers across the U.S. and internationally. The conference was held at St. Luke's Church and the banner in this photo was hanging in their entrance foyer against a brick wall. I thought both the lettering and the graphic were gorgeous and I loved the message it presented, particularly in this Lenten season.

Ideas

Today I had the pleasure of meeting with Sonja at Bloom Floral Designs about some orders she is going to have me do for her shop. If you are not familiar with Bloom and live in the North Canton area, you need to discover her work! She does amazing floral designs and all the gift items and displays in her shop are just wonderful -- very clean lines with a unique and "fresh" presentation. Her designs make most other arrangements out there seem rather old, outdated and "tired." It was fun to talk with her and come up with some ideas together about how she might be able to use a few of my art pieces. Quite frankly, I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to do these projects for such a creative soul as Sonja!

Since I am new to the blogging world, I am not going to try to actually link to Sonja's website, but her address is: www.bloomfloraldesigns.com

I'm also posting some photos today of some pieces I recently completed. These are little soldered collage charms with hand-done calligraphy used on antique bottles, some with vintage chandelier prisms for stoppers. They are great for bath salts, oils or to hold a stem or two of your favorite flower. The last photo is a small picture under glass with a velvet ribbon for hanging on the wall.