A Day at the Beach

Took Max to Half Moon Bay on Thursday. I was hoping the weather would hold out for our trip and miraculously we had sunny skies! I've had Max since I was 12 and he lives at home with my parents. I don't get to see him so often, but he will always be my baby.  MJ took some film of him running around. Hopefully she'll send it to me so I can post it soon. Isn't he the cutest?!?

Arts Benicia Show Opening

Went to the opening of The Art of a Community exhibit at Arts Benicia tonight. I was so happy to have found this arts organization in my somewhat nearby neighborhood. Although I live in Vallejo, I find myself on First St. in Benicia far more often that any downtown Vallejo street. 

I spent an hour or so looking at the work of 180 different artists. I was pleasantly surprised by the vast range of mediums. Being especially into book arts right now, and as always, anything precious and delicate, I was drawn to this altered book by Karen Hatzigeorgiou.  While butterflies are not my favorite motif, the all white frames of these paper insects cast shadows on the book. They leap off the page only to be suspended, unmoving, yet flickering in the light. I like how the forms create other shapes, constantly changing and shifting in its environment. To be honest, there were so many people, I didn't get a very close or intimate look at any one piece, but I was happy to have spent my night there.  The show will be up through most of March, and I will like to see it again, without the buzzing crowd.

New Workshops

I am happy to announce I will be teaching workshops out of my studio at the Napa House. Check out the Napa House Blog for a class schedule!!! Coming up on Sunday February 22nd, I am offering a class in image transfer techniques for collage and paper arts. I will also be creating a Spring Schedule of new classes at the^workshop in Berkeley shortly. I have a renewed sense of purpose after the past few weeks of not wanting to even be at my house, let alone making anything. I hope to kick of the new year in February since January wasn't a proper send off into 2009. Hope this surge will last!!!!

Sticky Sushi Rice

Thanks everyone for all the support!  It helps tremendously!  I will be posting more regularly now. The last 10 days or so I have been hiding out at my boyfriend's restaurant and so I haven't been home much. Good stuff to come..

Went to Ichiban Kan (my favorite japanese dollar store) and bought these plastic molds for making rice balls and sushi. I made the girls avocado sushi for diner and they had cucumber rice flowers and hearts for lunch the next day. I had so much fun making them. I even have a little bird shape to try also. 

A Collection

I am a collector. It's in my nature.  I appreciate old and worn things, throw away things, miniature things, things that tell a story, things that I can tell a story with or through, and all these things end up a part of my space. I love to scour the thrift stores, antique shows and flea markets for unusual objects. But I am lucky enough to also have friends who sometimes collect on behalf. This little numbered bottle set was given to me by Ellen, a friend and co-owner of the^workshop in Berkeley. She said now she has a "Courtney" spot in her home of things she might find in her travels that no one would appreciate but me. I am so lucky to have such friends!

I'm not sure what I will do with these once I've put them in order. Undoubtedly fill the tiny vials with something... 

We'll just have to wait and see!

A Picture A Day

My picture for today is of a fox I met this afternoon at Ardenwood Farm. I've been going to this farm since I was a child, picnicking with my grandparents spending lazy summer afternoons under the eucalyptus. I would pick tomatoes in the fields during the summers and carefully select plump orange pumpkins in Autumn. As an adult, I have returned to enjoy the beauty of this park with friends. I was there today with MJ and her family and met this wild red fox. I was so taken with his beauty! He lounged like a farm cat on the picnic benches. It was incredible!

He was so cute, I had to share.

a room of one's own...

One great thing about my new house is my studio. It houses all my paper, my art supplies, my mac and is a place where I spend most of my time.  Here are some quick and cursory pictures of a few elements that make up a this magical space. Above, paper slippers hang from picture rail moulding. 

Thin red shelves display etchings from artist Carlos Pileggi, as well as magic lantern slides, photos of my boyfriend when he was little, and other tiny offerings.

One of my best finds, an antique thread cabinet. The tiny wells in each drawer now contain my button collection, all arranged by color. Its silly, but any time I open a drawer in this cabinet and see rows of ruby reds and pinks, or greys, silvers and blacks all lined up, I am instantly happy.  I don't think I'll ever shed the amazement of seeing things arranged by color, a fascination started when I was a kid, by arranging my colored pencils in "rainbow order."

Check out the pic below ...

This is a follow up picture of MJ's handmade caddy she made for her beautiful prismacolor pencil set. She has the same obsession I do. haha! 

The Chair: Revisited

So this was posted on Apartment Therapy and received 27 comments so far. Wow! People really hate this chair! Some had really harsh things to say and others had some really good and funny comments. I must say its weird to be fully critiqued  on design aesthetic when this was a 24 hr job. I find the whole thing hilarious! In the end, I am happy with the chair and hated the other fabric, although there were many on apt therapy that loved the before! And for the person who thought I should use velvet on the back of the chair... I did! Thanks for all the feedback!

I love it! I'm keeping it just how it is!

What do you think? A design dilemma...

Painted my living room wall a persimmon color and am adding the brown stencil motif. I had originally wanted to create an all over pattern but am really liking the asymmetrical stripe. I especially like it because the fireplace is off center to the wall so it helps to fill the space. Should I leave it as is?                                

Another trip to one of my favorite shops, Filthy Gorgeous in Walnut Creek to check out their holiday goodies. As always, the store was beautifully merchandised with unique and wonderful items, both antique and antique inspired. The staff is friendly and I always find something inspiring and reasonably priced. These pics were hurriedly taken with my iPhone and don't do them justice, bit I highly recommend Filthy Gorgeous for unique finds all year 'round!

Thanksgiving Feast

Yesterday was spent preparing an Indian Feast. My boyfriend, Aaron, and I elected to spend the holiday together...just the two of us...and it was perfect!  We made samosas with several chutneys (including a cranberry chutney), chana daal patties, curried pumpkin soup and plantain curry with basmati rice. We drank homemade Chai throughout the day and finished our evening with ginger creme brulee. I think we'll do this every year. Its nice to have a day to ourselves before the rush of the Holiday Season. 

We made party crackers today for our house warming tomorrow night. The girls were occupied for an hour and did a great job making them! We used toilet paper rolls, filled them with candy then rolled them in crepe paper. The girls used a sticker to seal the paper, then they tied the ends with baker's twine. It was a fun and easy project and they turned out so well! The rest of the afternoon was spent doing other arts and crafts projects and cooking, but I think this was the success of the day!

Halloween Hi Jinx

Went to Rachel's annual fancy dress Halloween part last night. I decided to be a witch, MJ was a bat and her boy, Dusty, was a psycho killer (but his costume resembled his own sculptures more that anything else). I made these popcorn treat bags. I printed the mouth graphic on the front, and "Eat Me"on the back. I made 4 different kinds of popcorn: butter and salt, Parmesan, chocolate and orange peel, and Cajun spice. They were pretty cute!


Found these shoes at the thrift store and added the orange tissue paper bow. I was surprised how comfortable these were considering I do not wear heels. I kept them on all night without incident! I love Halloween!