Monday, July 18, 2011

Update



There are just some things in life that are important and some things that aren't...and I'm pretty sure it's different across the board. I've let some things take precedence over others to the point where I have been engaging in behaviour that was never all that important to me. I've never spent much time documenting my life and certainly not with pictures. Journaling was more my style, and I didn't share that stuff with anyone.

This blog has not challenged me, rather it has allowed me to be lazy and post about things I've done over the weekend. I started this blog to document my work and inspiration, that's all. Have I done that? Nope not really. Do I regret it? Nope not really. We all stray sometimes, but it can help for when you are off your path, you can see it more clearly.

So after much thought, I've decided to quit trying to participate in something that is not natural to me and focus on the things in life that give me goosebumps. I'm working on cleaning up this place, along with other websites I'm on. Long story short, this blog is under construction.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Remember that Weekend with the Cats and Mai Tais?

This past weekend was kind of a "lay low" type of weekend. Jt and I drove to my storage unit in order to get rid of a loveseat that has been sitting in there for a year, and Sunday I worked at the studio. So yeah, it was a pretty chill weekend, but the weekend before that was a bit more eventful. My new 40 hour a week job makes weekend adventures even more important than they were before. I can only remember this life as Emma for a short period of time, so I want to make the most of it!

Let's begin with cats. Jt and I found out late Sunday that there was a cat show up in the North Georgia area. We quickly got in the car and took a little road trip, only to arrive with 30-40 mins to look around. This is the second cat show I've been to and the first one was much much better. I specifically went to find some toys for my kitties, but had no such luck. I think I'm just going to have to buy them online. However, we did see some cuuute kitties while we were there.

This little lady looked like such a princess. There are more pics on my flickr of course.


I loved these guys, snuggling together. The tan one is a boy and the darker one is a girl. They were so sleepy


I didn't take too many pictures because most of the cats were not what I would consider cute. They just didn't have much variety at this cat show, slightly disappointing but all the baby kittens made up for it and road trips with JT are always fun.

The day before was not filled with kittens, but still a good time. The 1st annual Rockabilly Luau occurred and I invited some of my friends to come along with me. Despite the weather, I still had a lot of fun. The music was great and the drinks were fruity!

mai tai extravaganza



Sadly, we got rained out.

Can I just say that I really like the dress I bought for this event?! I admit, I wasn't too sure about it in the dressing room, it's a bit girly, but I loved the print and the cut. I felt like I was wearing a vintage tablecloth/napkin...I guess to some that doesn't sound appealing but I'm a big fan. Hahaha! I was so happy to spend time with my friends I don't get to see very often and seeing my hoop instructor was an added bonus. That girl is such a wonderful teacher and has great spirit. Wow, just looking at the pictures makes me miss my friends. I'm truly grateful for them.

Well, my eyes are starting to hurt, yeah I'm not used to staring at a computer 8 hours a day so I'm still adjusting to that. Other than that, life is grand and we go to the beach on Friday!

Have a great night!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Pirates and Katy Perry

So two events have happened that I've yet to talk about, one being the local Renn Fest and the other being a Katy Perry concert. Now let me just preface this post with a little tidbit of info. I've never been much of a documenter; I kept a journal when I was younger but that was it. I have a few photos from high school and even less from my first years of college, it was always the last thing on my mind. Cameras were never a big part of my life and just recently I began taking pictures. Honestly, sometimes I don't feel comfortable just whipping out my point-and-shoot and most of the time I experience the moment without even thinking about documenting it.

Yeah so that's why the Renn Fest does not have too many pics to go along with it. I was just having so much fun with my friends.





The Renaissance Festival is a local fest that only last a few months in the summer, but what fun! This year was exceptionally great because I went with my red-headed friend, Marcy, and holy cow those people loved gingers. We got at least 3 people calling out to us, "Fire goddesses are welcome here!" and "I love you, gingers!" It was hilarious and even more so after a few beers, haha. We visited the archery booth, the pirate ship, leather booths, a glass and metalworkings booth, and various other shops with herbs and candles. I spent most of my money on food and drink, but I did buy a small bag of loose tea. It was a good day full of merriment and good company. You can find the rest of the photos here, yeah yeah I know, not too many to show.

And now I'm going to be lazy and not write a lengthy blog about this, mainly because Miss San Smith already did a spectacular job of describing the night. We went for her 28th birthday and it was a major celebration...light up cotton candy, fruity drinks, and an explosion of candy confetti. Yep, it was magical and fun and fantastic! I've never been to a show like that before!




I'm so glad I got to share this wonderful experience with a dear friend. I hope she had a wonderful birthday, I think she did.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A little vintage

Whew, it's a been a busy few weeks. I'm changing jobs and working in the studio more so I haven't had too much time to be online. Lately, I only get on to check on friends and look for reference images regarding my little line of ceramics. I'm really excited about how things are turning out.

So onward to the adventures I've been having outside of work. A few weekends ago, JT and I spent some time at a local antiques shop, Kudzu. I love this place, such a great way to get inspired. There's something wonderful about old objects and their history.

This setup was fabulous. It totally reminded me of Mad Men. The frivolous side of me would love to have a room full of typewriters and lamps. Which reminds me, a long time ago I bought an electric typewriter from a flea market in North Georgia. I loved the sound and feel of the keys, but I only used it a few times before it broke.

Random case of rocks, another thing I've loved for a very long time. I don't know what it is about rocks but I loved them every since I was a little kid. My grandmother had a collection of rocks in her fancy display case, and I would spend so much time staring at all of them. She recently passed away and I don't know if they will be given to me. It was one of the few things my grandma and I had in common. She would go on vacations, bring home interesting rocks, and label them for display. I do this too and I only recently found a great display case for them.

One of my favourite things I ever brought to show-and-tell, from her collection, was this little sculpture of a miner and a donkey on a chunk of pyrite. For me, that was the coolest thing I had ever seen.
Whoa, this booth is crazy packed with salt & pepper shakers, and this is only part of it! I always feel nervous in this area...so many things and they are all breakable.

This happens to be my fav booth. I'm a sucker for mid-century modern kitchen accessories and furniture. I want to make my own line of cups and mugs inspired by this design later this year. Ack, I didn't even notice the horse illustration hanging on the wall! Oh well, another trip to Kudzu. There are more photos on my flickr account if you want to see some of the items in the booth.

Well, I gotta get back to working on ceramics. I'll blog a little bit tomorrow about Katy Perry and the Renn fest.



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Picnic Wedding!


Hooray for summer!! I so love this time of year...beaches, picnics, weddings, picnic weddings.
My friends from college, Adam & Megan, got married over the weekend in Aiken, South Carolina. Jonathan and I were fortunate to attend and share this event with them. It was such an adorable and relaxing wedding. I couldn't believe how many picnic blankets there were waiting for guests. I had a huge smile on my face the entire time.

The grounds once we walked in, complete with tables, chairs, and blankets.

The bride and groom finally relaxing after the ceremony and pictures. I love the "Just Married" banner they have hanging from the tree.

And of course, true to Megan's style, adorable jars full of strawberry jam for guests to take home. Jonathan and I took two, hey there were plenty left over okay. :)

Lots of other things have been going on but I couldn't wait to share these photos; oh and there are more on my flickr.

Yep so that's it for now. I hope I can share some upcoming projects with you guys soon. I know I'm an "all over the place" kinda gal, but I'm working very hard to get things organized and be more militant with my time. It's hard for me to turn down a night out with friends even when I have work to do. Just gotta keep on truckin!

Friday, May 13, 2011

A little bit unexpected

What an interesting week. You know how sometimes you have this idea of how the week is going to go. You plan which days you'll visit with family and which days you'll spend working on things around the house, and then poof....things happen and your schedule has to change.

Yep that's what happened but everything turned out great. My car is fine and my sprained wrist is getting better. I hurt it a few weeks ago and it turns out it's nothing serious. Physical therapy is helping out a lot and it's sooo interesting. I tend to get excited about new experiences so I'm like a kid on a playground in the PT room. I even got neon yellow putty to take home and strengthen my hand.

So last weekend I was able to play around in the kitchen and I made two batches of velvet cake. I blogged about some projects I wanted to complete last week and found the inspiration from a fantastic picture on flickr. I wanted to make a velvet cake in a very saturated colour so I used neon food coloring. But I think I used a bit too much dye and I ended up with beautiful jewel toned cupcakes.

The first batch was a combination of pink and purple dye which turned out to be mauve. I added the star sprinkles to liven it up and while I was looking down into the bowl I couldn't help but think of a yummy galaxy. :)


The second batch was made with neon blue dye. I was able to get this really gorgeous teal colour...it's almost a dark green. I looove how these turned out and oh my gosh, the white chocolate cream cheese frosting was super delicious. The bigger pic is on my flickr.


I didn't have time to make the vertical cake and I think I will have to push that back till next week, but I do have some other smaller projects lined up for the weekend.

-I want to make a space inspired hair piece, think fascinator, for an event on Sunday. Eeep, I guess that means I don't have a lot of time. I already have all the materials, I just need to decide on a design and make it.

-Another thing I've been thinking about is my gocco printer. I bought that thing ages ago and have yet to use it. Since I've got beach on the brain, perhaps the design I come up with will be beachy and fun!

That's all for now, gotta get ready for a baseball game! Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Baking on the brain

So life has been super busy lately and I had a much needed hiatus, but I guess with summer coming up I'm itching to really start documenting all the great things that are happening.

April was a blast! Here's some of the things that happened:

Made some breakthroughs with hooping
Saw Sinbad live in the ATL
San and I saw Rooney and Eisley
Jonathan and I made some craazy puppets for an upcoming puppet show
Made progress on my little hideaway
Attended art shows and cookouts with friends

Whew, I guess I really never feel like I do enough but looking at that list, no wonder I'm so tired most of the time. And I'm already forming a "to do" list for the weekend. I really want to start baking again, however, the main issue is that I don't want all those goodies sitting in plain sight of me. Perhaps I'll take them to the studio for the other artists to devour. Here are two things that look incredibly fun to try.


Vertical Layer Cake! Isn't this so much fun?! I really love the colour combo here and Darla of Bakingdom has an excellent tutorial. You can find it here.


Ocean blue velvet cake, need I say more. I can't believe how saturated that blue looks! I'm gonna guess that it would just be a red velvet cake recipe and you throw in some blue food colouring. Hmm...I may be out of the classic blue but I know I have a whole pack of neon food dye. Adventures, ahoy!

Squeezing these baking projects into my weekend is going to be a challenge but I think I can do it.

Have a great night!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Going ons

Raawwwwwr, this post is not colour related. I've been waaaay too busy with other things...such as:

Sorry this is so late, work is keeping me busy and I have to finish a piece for an upcoming show at MINT gallery. It's entitled, Spirit Animals, and of course I had to spend a gazillion weeks researching what animal exactly fit my "spirit". I decided on something last week but I'm really worried I won't have enough time to do the entire thing out of clay. Honestly though, I'm okay with that. Don't get me wrong I loooove working with clay, but I consider myself a mixed-media artist. Something about combining various materials and objects makes me think of junkyards and flea markets full of history and forgotten items that were once cherished. Romantic, much? Yes I don't want to think of that stuff as just a bunch of junk someone bought only because it was on sale.

No progress photos as of now. Everything will be kept a surprise until the day of the show....well I'll give you one hint. The piece is called Typo.

Oh and the reason why I wanted to update...check out two more mugs I posted in the shop.

Next week I'll start with the colour series again, I can't wait to share what I've learned from this amazing book! Why wasn't this book suggested in college?!

Bye!

Friday, February 25, 2011

OOPS! I thought this posted yesterday!
Its the end of February, and its already feeling a bit like spring. Bright blue skies, sunshine that warms you all the way to your soul and wind. Windy wind. These are some of my favorite days of the year, bringing me back to my childhood, where flying a kite was one of the most magical things in the world. My inspiration this week is the wind, here are just a few things that make me smile and take me back to flying kites.





This pillow cover from sukanart is super cute!



I love wind chimes; their sound is so calming. These handmade chimes from gardenjewels sing to me.


Ok, I am ordering one of these shirts from trulysanctuary! It speaks to my inner child as well as my inner hippie!

This kite pin from KathleenMarieKelly is made from recycled cement board. Its super adorable!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A quick etsy shop update!

I don't think I will be doing a colour post this week, I've got my nose buried in that color book I mentioned earlier and I've been working on our etsy site. So far I've added 7 new items...that's your cue to head over there and take a peek. :)

I'm working on my style with wheel thrown pieces and I'm pretty sure I know which direction I want to go in. There are certain things I get excited about making and that's what I'll be cranking out within the next few weeks. Not to mention, I've got an art show coming up and a series of sculptures I want to work on. Busy, busy times ahead!
Thanks for reading and have a super fantastic day!

Friday, February 18, 2011

National Drink a Glass of Wine Day

So I think February 18 has now become one of my favorite days of the year! Today is national drink a glass of wine day, and do I love me some wine. Now, I am not, by any means, a wine connoisseur. I don't inhale, swish and spit. I don't know aromas or all the other stuff. (I'm sure I just offended a lot of people, sorry). Merlot is my wine of choice, specifically white Merlot. Mmmmm. How bad is it to have a glass at 7:30 in the morning, I mean it is a national holiday, right? I will be a good girl. I will be a good girl.
To keep from offending the people who REALLY know their wine, I am going to focus on all the cute things to help celebrate this glorious holiday all available on etsy.

I adore the Keep Calm and Carry On posters, its phrase is one of my many mantras. So you know I had to pick this poster from PosterPop and they come in a ton of colors.


Aren't these GORGEOUS?! They are hand engraved from daydreemdesigns and I think they would make any wine taste a little bit better.

I really love the idea of wine charms, too many times I have lost my glass only to find it much lighter than when I left it. However, I have yet to find any I think are cute enough to hang around my beloved's stem. These charms from BijoDesigns are pretty darn cool though.
Re-purposed European coins?! You had me at re-purposed European!
So pull out your best glass, pour your favorite wine, put on some great music (I'm choosing Adele), and sit back. Here's to life and love and National drink a glass of wine day!!
p.s. keep in mind its drink a glass not a bottle :)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hooray for Buttercup!

Sorry this post is a day late. I've been bravely battling a cold since Saturday night and finally I can breathe properly out of my nose. Anyways, the recent weather and a lovely picture has inspired me to do some research on yellow.

photo taken by Sandra Juto

Is that shade of yellow a buttercream, buttermilk, or buttercup? I'm leaning more towards buttercup and I adore it. It's not a garish rubber duck yellow but a soft, muted sunshine yellow which makes me think of summer naps and cold lemonade.

Wikipedia has a very detailed article about yellow, but I felt a bit disappointed after reading it. There didn't seem to be much talk of its history and how people were able to get the pigments and dyes they wanted. And that's when my research started to stray and fall off topic. I couldn't find much specifically about yellow, or at least the info that I wanted to know. Thus dyeing methods and materials became my focus. I found this great post on how to dye clothes naturally, not something that I've been thinking about but definitely something fun to try. As with all dyes, it is better to use natural fibers as synthetic ones cannot soak up the dye evenly. So grab a cotton t-shirt rather than a polyester/rayon one to experiment with.

palette: light grey, electric indigo, buttercup, opera mauve

More browsing led me to book searches and this little gem. My colour theory lessons at the university were very limited...I think we spent one week making our own colour wheels...CRIMINAL, I know! Color: A Natural History of the Palette sounds right up my alley with all of the history, research, and cultural background that goes along with pigments and their sources. I'm sure I'll end up a blabbing pot of knowledge after I read this book...my poor friends will have to endure the random facts of pigments and dyes, or maybe I'll just post all about it here. :)

photo from Gardenista

Another great book I found is all about mushrooms and how wonderful they are for colouring fibers. It's written by Miriam C. Rice who is credited for "mushroom dyeing". Rice tossed a few mushrooms ( Naematoloma fasciculare) into a dye pot with wool yarn and ended up with bright yellow yarn. Both books are on my wishlist, although I'm not too sure where I will find mushrooms in the city. I guess I'll save mushrooms hunts for the weekends when I visit my family in North Georgia.

Oh and if you love colour and want to see more of the yellow, I added a few pics to my flickr favs.

Have a great week!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Celebration of Mauve

Today I wanted to try something different, something a bit more focused. This entry, as well as the ones to follow will focus on visual inspiration though colour along with a little history on the mentioned hue.

While browsing tumblr, I found a few Marie Antoinette pics with Kirsten Dunst in this gorgeous mauve dress. And so began my hours of research on the colour mauve.

Now her dress is more of an opera mauve (rgb 183, 132, 167), which was first recorded in the English language in 1927. Oh but there is so much more to this colour. The colour itself was first discovered in 1856 by William Perkins, a scientist who was analyzing quinine (an anti-malarial substance) and later noticed a purple residue in one of the tubes. This residue, containing ailine, was refined, patented, and named mauveine before Perkins was 18 years old. It was one of the first synthetic dyes, as most fabrics at the time were still being dyed with natural substances.

Tyrian purple, the purple dye before mauveine, was very expensive to produce because it was made from the glandular mucus of sea snails, thus most royalty wore it. It was a deeper purple and sometimes referred to as imperial purple or royal purple.

The popularity of Perkin's discovery and it's affordability resulted in Britain's "Mauve Decade" during the 1890's. Queen Victoria wore the colour as well as Eugenie de Montijo (wife of Napoleon III), thus creating more hype for the hue. I'm not sure if Marie Antoinette ever wore it since it came well after her time. I guess I should do more research about that.

So what happened to the ever-so popular mauve? Well, like most things that spark a trend, the colour became overused and people grew tired of it. Also, William Perkins proved that there was a market for synthetic dyes and more people began to experiment; therefore more colours were created and made available to the masses.

And with that I give you some visual stimuli. Here are some flickr favs with mauve.


Friday, February 4, 2011

Friday Favorite

My favorite this Friday comes from a very personal place. As Emma said on Tuesday, our family is going through a very difficult time. One of my crafting idols, our grandmother, is losing her battle with cancer. Our grandmother is TRULY one of the most amazing crafters I have ever seen. Her skills range from sewing and crocheting to painting and wood carving, and seriously, those are JUST a few.

In honor of her and her amazing life, my sisters and I decided to create corsages from the fabric scraps that were hers. Since purple is her favorite color, I chose purple fabrics and made fabric yo yos. I adore yo yos. Not only are they absolutely precious and versatile, but they are full of history. Yo yo quilts have been around for a very long time, in fact my grandmother has one that belonged to her mother.
For those of you who don't know how to make a yo yo, they are extremely do-able. Check out Miss Bees Designs for an excellent tutorial on how to make a fabric yo yo.

I placed a button in the center of my yo yos and attached a pin back with hot glue. You could totally go crazy with these things, layering the yo yos making a sort of flower, adding feathers or tulle. Have fun with it. After all, that is what life truly is about. We love you, grandma.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Dreary Tuesday

Now I'm a summer girl all the way, but sometimes I enjoy a foggy afternoon. Buildings and cars being blurred out and unfinished make me think of an expansive world I will never see the end of. Plus, the chill keeps me inside and focused. It's just after lunch and I've already filed my taxes and now I'm writing this blog, wahoo!

I don't want to go into too much detail or depress anyone, but my family is going through a difficult time right now. Sometimes it's hard to stay positive but I truly believe moments like these help you to know and feel your own strength. They give you confidence so the next time the world seems to be falling apart, you KNOW you can handle it. Another thing that helps me is watching inspiring movies. No I'm not talking about Rudy...I lean more towards the documentary type. Here are a few I've been thinking about recently.

Waking Life-This is not for everyone, in regards to plot and visuals. The power of the human mind never ceases to amaze me, even when it creates a negative reality. The fact that it can even do that astonishes me.

Babies-Another movie that isn't for everyone. The movie can be slow at some points due to lack of dialogue and babies crying for too long; but it is super interesting to see the differences and similarities of these children. Here's a little interview with the director, Thomas Balmes.

Between the Folds-Documentary about Origami and the people who love it. It may sound boring but I loved the different attitudes these artists/engineers have about paper.

Visually inspiring movies help out too. These are a few of my favourites!


Have a wonderful week!