Of Summer Bliss and Sew Many Blessings

Has it really been over a week since I've popped my head in here?? I'll blame a crazy-busy schedule, some long overdue commissions, and a very warm summer - which has been beckoning me to spend a bit of time in the kitchen, finding new and creative meals which do NOT involve heating up the oven. ;)

I know many of you are in the same boat, especially in this latest heat wave, so if you have any nutritious and cool summer recipes to share, please do! My entire culinary repertoire of late has been smoothies and salads, hehe. More on that in a minute.

First, I want to share the latest commissions - the first a large sewing chest similar to an angel chest painted this past winter. This one is mice in shades of blue...

I had almost as much fun choosing the embellishments for the top as I did with the painting.

Another one of these sewing mice chests is in progress too (in a different palette) and will be up for grabs on Etsy very soon - hopefully along with a few prints, which are expected to arrive any day now!

Here's a sample of a limited edition print which will be available soon in an 8" x 10"...

I may need to keep one of these for myself. ;)

Then there's this teapot - sooooooo much fun! If you're wondering about the "Zzzzzz", it's because this piece is being sent to another artist, who will add a sleeping dormouse soft sculpture. How adorable is that?!

Work is also in progress for the upcoming Ghoultide Gathering, and excitement is building! I'll be posing more about this fabulous event very soon!

Finally, I have to share that a collector is offering a couple of pieces of my early work on eBay with a very low opening bid. These are tea trays painted around 2005, and you can find them by clicking here.

Now, back to *summer*! Lots of sunlight in the studio, and plenty of cookouts and casual get-togethers with friends; good company, good food, good wine, good music (well, OK, cheapish wine, but still not bad, hehe). Bliss. :)

Now about those recipe ideas. Please do share, and I'll share one with you too. This smoothie recipe has become a bit of a morning ritual for me, and is soooooo healthy (yes, I've turned over a new leaf - no more cakes and cookies from breakfast, hehe)...If you try it, do let me know what you think. The recipe is kind of vague, because I never measure...

Summer Smoothie

A cup or so of frozen fruit (tropical blend, mixed berries, etc)

A couple of good spoonfuls organic, lowfat or fat free vanilla yogurt (I use Stoneyfield Farms)

A combination almond, soy or 2% milk (I use vanilla almond milk) and fruit juice (cranberry, a tropical blend, etc) - enough to barely cover the fruit and yogurt in the blender

A few shakes of cinnamon

A tiny drizzle of vanilla extract

A tablespoon of honey

Blend until smooth, and enjoy!


That's about it for now. I'll be back very soon with that new sewing chest and details about the prints.

Until then, have a happy and *creative* week!

♥ Carolee

Crisp Cool Breezes

Well, OK....not really. Only in my imagination. ;)

It's actually sweltering here in Lancaster County, but imagination can be a powerful and magical thing, allowing me to travel from the oppressive heat of the studio to a soft, sandy beach, where a gentle, misty breeze is blowing in from the ocean...

It can allow me to fast forward a few months to autumn (my most favorite of all the seasons!) where leaves are turning, and pumpkins are ready to be harvested, and baked into muffins and pies...

It won't be long now, *sigh*...

Back in the real world, these two signs are up for grabs on tonight's PFATT Marketplace update (midnight pacific time) on a first-come basis. Oh - and the pumpkin sign can be personalized at the bottom. :) UPDATE ~ Both pieces are now sold.

More goodies are on the way soon, including several Halloween pieces! In the meantime, I have commissions to complete, and shipping to do, and the Ghoultide Gathering to prepare for, and, and, and....

Does anyone know where I can get some studio elves?!

Back very soon. ;)

♥ Carolee

Summer Fun with Halloween and Christmas, and Thoughts on Creating Mindfully

What's that, you say?

Summer and Halloween and Christmas don't go together?

Well, I suppose not in the real world, but this is most definitely NOT the real world (as my commuting, office working husband is ever so fond of reminding me, hehe)...

In this world, holidays are inspiration and cause for celebration 365 days a year!

Take this piece (a sneak peek at tomorrow night's PFATT Marketplace offering!)...It was created "mindfully" (something I've been experimenting with lately). You can click on it to make it larger:

(UPDATE- SOLD)

To explain the whole "mindful" thing, a couple of years ago I purchased a book called "Knitting for Peace". It's basically all about the tradition of charity knitting, and was the first time I'd read about creating something while meditating or praying for the person who will be receiving it. I was hooked. (I've completed two prayer shawls now and am working on a third)

And it got me thinking - if I can do this with knitting, why not with art?

I mean, sure - I think about my subject. And I try to set the right mood while I'm painting...I brew tea, I light candles, I play inspiring music. But it's not usually a conscious meditation.

So what would happen if I were deliberately mindful of the feeling I'm trying to convey with a piece? If I'm wishing, praying, meditating - whatever you want to call it - for a specific intention as I paint? What would it do for the art? What would it do for the recipient? Would it make the piece more special to them, more treasured? What would it do for me? Would it feel like even more of a blessing to create it, to send it out into the world?

It's of course a positive way to create anything, whether we're painting, cooking, gardening - whatever. And I think it does improve both the process and the outcome - not to mention doing wonders for the soul as we create.

So this piece was created with peace in mind. With the blessings of the season, and a world without turmoil. Peace, serenity, beauty...those things were the focus, and I hope I succeeded in conveying them. :)

TODAY'S piece is another story entirely, and the focus is just on whimsy and fun: "Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble"....a magical, whimsical Halloween footstool....Stay tuned.

I'm going have another go at mindful creating over the weekend though, with a piece about the blessings of hearth and home, and perhaps another about cats. I'll try to post the progress. :)

That's about all that's going on, except for the boring, mundane stuff like grocery shopping, which I'm also doing this weekend.

Oh! And cooking, which is NOT so boring and mundane. I'll be doing a bit of that this weekend too. In fact, I'll leave you with one of my favorite summer recipes, a very simple fruit salad. Soooooooooo simple you don't even have to measure:

cantelope pieces
fresh blueberies
a good squeeze or two of fresh lemon
finely chopped fresh mint

That's it - mix it up in a bowl - instant, refreshing summer side salad or light desssert. ;)

I'm off now!! Back again soon....

♥ Carolee

"Living Seasonally"

The first time I heard the term was when we joined a local CSA farm many years ago.

The concept of appreciating each season for what it is, living in that moment, enjoying each season's bounty and being in tune with the planet's natural cycles is certainly not new. It's the way we were meant to live. Or should be.

But in this age of easy accessibility - where we can enjoy tropical fruit in the dead of winter, and arctic, air conditioned temperatures in the midst of summer - it's pretty easy to lose touch with the seasons. And probably moreso for those of us whose work always seems to be a season ahead; spring and summer are spent thinking about autumn, autumn is spent thinking about winter, and so on.

So yeah....where the work is concerned, I'm immersed in Halloween and will soon start thinking about Christmas. But where life if concerned, I'm trying to keep it all about summer now....

Harvesting lavender from the front walkway and hanging it to dry...


Cooking with fresh basil from the herb garden...


Sitting outside at night enjoying the pond's waterfall and frog songs....


Then there are summer concerts! I just love listening to great music under the stars (looking forward to Susan Werner and Richard Shindell on the 26th)...

And while we're on the topic of music, it too changes with the seasons. I know I'm seriously dating myself with some of the selections, but if look to the right and scroll down a bit, you'll find a playlist with some favorite summer tunes. ;)

The upcoming fourth of July weekend will be spent painting, of course, but I hope to take a break for a cookout at some point. To be honest, I'm not big on the flagwaving thing (nothing against it, and am probably prouder than I've been in a long while, but just tend to think more globally), and have come to dislike fireworks for the way they strike terror in the fur-kids...but I'm ALWAYS up for a summer gathering with friends. :)

Summer is also the season of productivity, of taking advantage of longer days and more natural light, which means painting, painting and more painting! This is the latest work in progress - a wooden ornament chest for storing Halloween treasures.

I'll post photos when it's finished.

In the meantime, I wish you all the blessings of summer, and a happy, safe and *CreAtIvE* holiday weekend!

♥ Carolee