July 31, 2009

What a difference a week makes


The guys with the big equipment are done and have left. Now I have to do something about making a lawn out of all this dirt.
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The backhoe operator was a master at making a rock wall with big stones and sculpting the yard slopes. I could have kept him busy for longer but I ran out of rocks. Most of NH is full of rocks in all the wrong places.....
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Not my place.... it's lots of sand very few big rocks.

July 28, 2009

House Moat & Studio Spaces

A very wet Spring & Summer told us that we needed to do something to keep the basement dryer than a swimming pool. In comes SR Jones and a big CAT to dig out the foundation, seal coat, insulate and put in a drain.




The project got dubbed "the Moat". A weekend of heavy rains and we had a real moat! Friends suggested a draw bridge ("clapper" operated) as well as an art installation with 10,000 little yellow duckies. Others thought we should try and entice the gator, supposedly spotted in Pierce lake (down the hill from us).

Yesterday they got the big ditch filled in and are doing grade work around the house. Sigh, now I need to figure out how to reseed a whole yard's worth of sand and hope grass grows again.


Studio Space Quandary
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My current studio space is an irregular triangle with a cathedral ceiling. The furniture was what I kept from the big house when I moved in 9 years ago. It's also a bit bigger than what I'm going to have in the new house.

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The new space is what used to be the dining room. It has open access to both the kitchen and living area. I know it's an opportunity to reorganize and clean out, but .......
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Change comes harder the older one gets. I've worn out my tape measure trying to figure out what will fit where and I've not yet come up with anything that I think will work. The biggest question is how to make a separation from the living room without shutting out the natural light. Or rather how to hide the mess that is usually my studio?

Any creative ideas would be welcomed. I'm stuck right now.

July 18, 2009

Art Bead needed

I've had this project sitting in the background for a couple of years now and have not come up with a focal bead(s) to finish what I see in my mind.




I love the colors in these birds by H.G.L Reichenbach. Several years ago I purchased 6 mm dotted black & white glass beads that when crocheted into a rope remind me of the rooster plumage.

What I have not been able to find is an Art bead or beads in the red, yellow and maybe blue colors that would compliment the crocheted rope.
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It needs to be big, bold and bright. It (or they), along with the black & white rope need to give one the feel of the rooster in colors.
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I could use one large center bead or a center bead and two slightly smaller beads in glass or polymer clay. Large holes (8 mm to 10 mm) would be a plus but are not necessary.
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Is anyone up to the challenge? I'd need digital submissions if you think you have something that would work.

July 9, 2009

Pattern & Color

This moth was waiting for me in the bathroom this morning.... What a beautiful pattern and colors. It reminds me of painted velvet. I never thought of using those colors together and will have to try it for a freeform bracelet sometime. I can see the blue fans running throughout the bracelet.




On the house front... I've been working on walls as it's been almost non-stop rain here in New Hampshire. I'm still having fun finding out what previous owners did. The Master bedroom yielded 3 layers of wall paper. The original green sprigged paper isn't too bad. I don't care for wall paper so it'll all come off, the walls patched and then painted.
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One of the back bedrooms is almost all painted. I was sort of surprised at how the colors played off of each other. Three walls are a soft gray and the back wall another color. I first tried the mustard color and really didn't like it with the blue and gray. I think the soft sage green will work as the windows on that wall will overlook lots of dark green leaves in the summer and fall colors just before we leave for Arizona.
I should have known I'd get color reflections as I use bead colors in combinations that play off of each other all the time. Not only colors, but finishes.
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We're supposed to have two days without rain, or at least a small chance of rain. That means I can get back outside and maybe get a little bit more done in the yard. I still have Iris and day lilies to move so that digging contractors don't kill them. I'm gradually cutting back brush to a yard line that is easy to care for and pleasing to the eye. It's fun to have my hands in the garden dirt again.