Studio Touring

Today was the first day of Cambridge Open Studios, an art studio tour that takes place every weekend in July. There are 250 artists involved and about 160 studios. I had my route planned, the map highlighted and notes written about the artists. I made it to 21 studios which I thought was pretty good considering I was pedaling like mad between the stops. Biking around the studios was the way to go though as parking is very limited.
Above is an artist who splashes on color. I loved her floor, as colorful as her canvasses.






As well as looking at wonderful artwork, I saw many vignettes in the studios that will make future paintings. I am really inspired to do more 'splashing' myself.



Studio Window



Sculpture in the Garden



This space was a garage until a couple months ago. It's now a beautiful, light-filled photography studio.



One of my favorite summer flowers is now in full bloom, the playful hollyhocks.



One of the artists owns this vintage triumph.



This photo looks all pixilated but it's actually the textured window.


Ann, the felt artist, bought all my leftover roving. Yeah! I won't have to haul it back. I used most of it up, but had about 4 lbs. left. She was quite happy to get some colorful bits.


I went to Richard Heep's studio twice, once alone and once with Houston. I thought Houston would be as captured by his photos as I was. We ended up buying his new coffee table book, 'Man's Ruin'.

Window Shopping

I love looking at window dressings. When I was a young girl I wanted to grow up and arrange window displays for a living. Shifting, rotating, rearranging, moving a smidge this way or that, coordinating colors and textures, shapes and sizes, all this seemed like such fun. When I see a shop that has gone to the effort of making an aesthetic display, I just have to go in. This particular shop always has pleasant arrangements.



I never grew up to be a 'window display artist' but I do get to arrange my yarn and props in fun ways. I also never tire of rearranging the furniture, much to my boys' dismay. Just when they get used to it being one way, I'm tired of it, and I enlist their help in moving the couch at a different angle.

Birthday Boy

Today is Houston's birthday. He's the younger guy in my life, by 3 weeks. I remembered I had this photo in a video (on my computer) that he made me for our 20th anniversary. So I watched it, paused it and took a photo of this old photo so the quality is not so good. But isn't he cute?! I'm not sure what birthday he's celebrating, but he looks about seven.
We're going to ride to a nearby village and have dinner at a pub. I'm making him a peach cobbler, with fresh, juicy peaches that I got at the market. His favorite dessert is German chocolate cake, but I'll leave that up to Seal. Seal?
So, Happy Birthday Houston! Cheers!

Going Home

Next week at this time we'll be home. This is the first day I've been able to say that in a long, long time. I am now 'farmsick'. As wonderful as England is, I still like Dancing Leaf Farm the best. I've lived there for 27 years (wow!) and it is where my heart and soul are. Our three boys, countless dogs, cats, sheep, goats, chickens, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, anoles, chameleons, hermit crabs, and an iguana (no snakes, I have my limits!) have all been raised here. Dancing Leaf Farm consists of a 1930's Cape Cod style house, a very useful barn/garage/chicken coop, a 2-story studio (mine, mine, all mine!), a garden shed, a large side field with a veggie garden and colorful perennial gardens, and a hopefully green sheep pasture out back. All this in just 2 acres. It also has the most gorgeous views of the Catoctin and Blue Ridge Mountain ranges, which act as the foreground for the setting sun. We host sunset parties when there's promise of a pleasant evening. We also have a full frontal view of Sugarloaf Mountain, which stands as a quiet sentinel over the valleys below. I never tire of resting my eyes on the Mountain. It brings peace to a hectic day. My clothesline is in direct view of Sugarloaf so it is never a chore hanging out the wash. I am truly blessed to live in such a lovely place and not one day do I take it for granted. I am a lucky girl!
I miss my girlfriends too. I am known to be a social butterfly and I need to flit about and see what my girlfriends are up to. What wonderful blanket Bev is weaving, what lovely landscape Tina is painting, what giant pod Susan is making come to life with her oils, what delicious fruit is in season at Cherry's, what nice thing Holly has to say, what amazing watercolor, necklace or purse Seal has made, what Judy has done to her darling log cabin, what nice thing Anne has done for someone, what Penny's doing on her farm at the toes of Sugarloaf, what stories Ann has to tell when she returns from Davis after 31 months, where Marsha has been on her latest adventure, what juicy gossip Maureen has for me, what quirky German translation Marion says, what's blooming in Peg's garden, what 'farmazing' trick Annie has accomplished, to what funny story Julie has to tell about her horses escaping, and last but not least, George. He's my best guy girlfriend. What color is your house, Jorge? And Kirsten and Nicole, the best helpers at DLF. And Jenna, my gorgeous niece who is as nice as her dad. I have a lot of catching up to do!
Then there's my newish life in Cumberland. I have a set of girlfriends there too. Beth and her amazing, whacky, wonderful, wild loft, Betsey with her sweet smile and taste for great art, Ann who is an instant friend, like you've known her your whole life (a fellow graphic artist, as is Beth), Susan, a perfect neighbor, Pat and Jerri and Meg and Gail and Mary and Jamie, all who I want to get to know a whole lot better.
And my boys. Aramin has been nice enough to take care of the farm while we've been away. It's not easy tending to 2 large dogs, 3 cats, 14 sheep, 7 chickens and a bitchy cockatiel, along with the mowing and cleaning (hopefully!!!). Garrett lives an hour away so will see him soon too. Forrest is only around for another five or six weeks, then he's off to Montana for his second year of college. So I need to get back and give them mom hugs and bond.
I miss all my girlfriend's guys too. Thought I'd better mention that!
I miss my stinky Taz too. He's been my favorite dog ever and we need to hike the mountain together.
In my last few days here, I have to get my fill of the beauty of England. But Maryland is drawing me back and I will surrender to its pull.

Red, White & Blue

To all my friends back in the USA, Happy Fourth of July! I rode around town today looking for things that were red, white or blue. There's plenty of red, some white, and not much blue. Even the sky isn't blue these days. Above is a store in the city centre.











This pottery installation is by Edmund de Waal, a leading British potter. Everything was white and very sparse. This particular installation was a large plywood box, nearly 10' tall with lots of white plates on different shelves. I believe this one had the price of £180,000!!!


White Dovecote







And to end it, we saw these Americans waving their flags. Jolly good! (Oh Say Can You See blue jeans and athletic shoes?!)

Java Jive

My friends know how I love my coffee. I don't drink much water (but coffee IS made from water) so my water consumption comes in the color brown. I don't nap, I just drink more coffee if I get tired. So when I found this card yesterday, I thought of me. (she even looks like me, if I had really straight white teeth, arched eyebrows, a perky haircut and wore pearls!)

Plastic is Forever

We went to an art opening in Ely, a nearby village, where an installation by Fran Crowe was on exhibit. Fran walked over five beaches near her home and collected 46,000 pieces of plastic, rope, and debris. She started last September, taking 4 large bags with her each time and filling them up until she couldn't carry any more. She also paddled out in a dingy to one of the beaches and filled up the dingy. Her website is: www.flyintheface.com
"According to a UN report, humankind's exploitation of the deep seas is "rapidly passing the point of no return. There are on average around 46,000 pieces of plastic litter per sq. mile of ocean worldwide, leading to the death of over 1 million seabirds and over 100,000 marine mammals every year due to entanglement or ingestion. Greenpeace recently discovered that there is a vortex of floating pieces of plastic in the south Pacific ocean larger than the size of Texas."of ocean worldwide.

This was my favorite piece, probably because of the color. I noticed there was no purple wedge.
This measured 8' across.


This large circle of rope is about 8' across.


Brushes


Flip flops and pacifiers


Lighters