...i'm having a sale over at the sprout studio site; lots of treats marked down; some just for the month of may! also for all of may, my ceramic good luck birds on my etsy site are only $18! does someone need a good luck pick me up? a little lucky belly rub to the bird will bring that special certain someone some extra charm :) scoot on over and have a birdie fly away to a needed home!
xxx.
the inspiration never ceases to amaze me. it's so dreamy to have all these favorites in one place...it calms me to look at them and makes me very, very happy :)
we turned 12 on april 27th! 7 married, 12 all together :) yay!
...in 1997 (which is this photo) we took our first cross country road trip together in the original nellie vw bus - it was my first time west past chicago and i fell in LOVE. (well, with the mister & the traveling!) this is on the west coast up in oregon - i adore the west coast and especially the oregon coast - so rugged & breathtaking.
we never thought we'd end up out here in SF, but we moved here right after we got married in 2001. and we are still hanging on :) our ongoing dilemma is just how does one stay put in one of the most expensive, amazing cities in america on two artists salaries? (plus the art educator/free lance photo salary which really doesn't add up to a whole heck of a lot!!!) any tips on that? ;) do share!
i gave the mister a few little card and art treats for the a. day; i'll share them a bit later. on monday, we both had the day off, so we went down to the monterey bay aquarium - we had never been. i have a thing with zoos and aquariums and i'm sure you can imagine all my distraught captivity political thoughts that go swirling around in my brain (you did know didn't you, that my life's agenda was going to be to work with dolphins during my formative youth years?! oh yes, up until my senior year when i took a.p. oceanography and one - "we have to dissect what?" - i quickly became the 'illustrator' in the group. and then two - "we have to do what kind of math?" DRAT! i HATE math. boo hoo hoo....off to be an artist ;) i guess....sigh....as i curl up and read madeleine l'engle's -- a ring of endless of light"
for the umpteenth time and get lost in vicky's dolphin & boy world...)
so, yes, i have a thing for the sea animals too. it wasn't as disheartening as it could have been, and i did LOVE the jellies, but it's kind of hard to look at big fish & sharks swimming round and round and round and round...wouldn't you go crazy too?! oh, the penguins & sea otters were pretty darn rad also...
the drive down was beauteous & we had a fun time together...here's to many more years ahead for us! :) hoorah!
the other news is i'm finally finished with my k-8 students art show - the hugest event of the year that i put on - PHEW. i'll post photos soon. it's also the most rewarding night of the year for me :)
off to catch up on my sorely neglected sprout studio business; i have lots of updating to do. i've made scores of new glass necklaces just waiting to be posted - check them out in the next week or so.
happy wednesdsay lovies! (or muffins as mati likes to say...OR, i'm kinda fond of "poppet" myself!)
xxx.
i hosted a dinner pARTy on saturday night with some lovely bay area art ladies & bloggers. i've "known" some of these women for quite some time via their work & blogs, and have hung out with a few of them when time allows!
it was a super evening with lots of great chatter, musings, art talk, humorous conversation, and general good fun. i hope to do it again soon with them all :)
in attendance: diana, kelly rae, mati, shash, annie, lisa (ms dixie loo, my mister, a longtime friend and photo professor, & diana's niece.
yesterday was a great day of roaming the south bay salt marsh trails, and having a veggie Q with some friends.
hope your weekends were equally full of fun!
xxx.
...not feeling so well, painting doodles, preparing for my art show that is a huge endeavor (happens in 2 weeks - eep!), having 2, 18 year old boys in the house for a week, having a coming house guest in town for another week, thinking about summer trips, packaging sprout studio orders (always), wanting may to be here because i have spring/summer fever, having a bay area art ladies dinner next weekend, hosted a brunch this past weekend, starting up a book club, trying to squeeze in some downtime...& all those little bits & pieces of things & stuff that take up so much of ones free time.
but, during those teensy bits of free time i have been watching melvin goes to dinner & 2 days in paris -- both highly recommended. super witty & entertaining. and i have 3 books i'm reading - eat, pray, love, whale warriors" (the mister and i are reading it together), & blue like jazz ...i'll let you know how they come along.
hopefully all is swell in your worlds.
xxx.
mine came :)
did yours?
it's been spring break and i've been super busy hanging out with 18 year old boys! i'll post some stories or art or something interesting later!
getting right down to business: the spring fling winner 2 would be ms lovely lesley who's busily planning a wedding (yay!) & because i was feeling frisky, i pulled another name out of the proverbial hat -- so the next winner, would be the inspiring lisa s!
congrats sweet ladies, shoot me an email when you get a chance and i'll hook you up (at some point - katrina, i'm still a wee behind in getting yours out -- eep!)
i'm off to the woods for the weekend to accompany some restless middle schoolers on their graduation retreat.
have a lovely weekend friends!
popping in to say i'll draw another winner this coming week (got a little busy there) on wednesday or thursday, so stay tuned!
other quickie news: went to see the ditty bops at the freight and salvage friday night; LOVED them! so darling, cute & fun. the gal they played with, jesca, had an amazing voice as well.
saturday i spent alllllllllllllllll day in the studio with paper ephemera flying around me working on some collages and some new necklaces. made this amazing dish again from orangette, the spiced eggplant (the recipe is just a post or two down right now) -- but this time (because i made it last week with eggplant and it was divine) i used butternut squash in place of the eggplant -- just as yum and deee-lish!
this morning i did my hour session of yoga (sean corne; she's terrific if you are looking for a good home dvd to do). and now, i'm off to the studio - i'm kinda bummed i'm losing an hour but excited for the extra light in the evenings. i have a friend coming over mid afternoon for a tea and scone break from the collage madness. and tonight, i won a pair of tickets to see slim cessna's auto club at 12 galaxies! we've seen them a handful of times and they are amazing. one of my favorite live bands for sure. hooray, and thank you KALX ;)
have a terrific day and good start to your week tomorra!
xxx.
i feel like my friday flickr faves today is pretty reflective of my mood lately. i've been trying to slow down more. be more peaceful, aware, conscious of being...centered, calm, quiet. i like that these faves reflect that seeking of restoration...it's a nice path to be on and nice path to try to follow. i plan on having a lot of down time this 3-day weekend. you?
& the folks who so freely share their loveliness:
1. winter whites, 2. a few things, 3. rainy day tuesday, 4. ghosts, 5. ., 6. winter, 7. oh snow!, 8. little yellow flower, 9. This Area, 10. Untitled, 11. Untitled, 12. Untitled, 13. ., 14. one kind word can warm three winter months, 15. cut the bonds with the moon, 16. reflecting, 17. Untitled, 18. somehow, someday, 19. holiday fog, 20. happy, 21. ginkgo!, 22. winter berries, 23. Winter decor., 24. a forest, 25. B&W #16, 26. Untitled, 27. Untitled, 28. Untitled, 29. No Tree Two, 30. Untitled, 31. Wilson Lake, 32. soft tree, 33. a gentle hum, 34. ., 35. Morning air, 36. evening
so, i did slow down last week - you? somewhat because of that killer cold that is going around finally snagged me and made me slow down. humph...
i had a chance to read the entire nytimes, which i never do - my favorite sections are always the arts, travel, and the magazine. finished barbara kingsolver's "animal, vegetable, miracle" -- so so good. a must read. and we had some fun down time reorganizing and rethinking our studio live work space. which resulted in a trip to the resource center and inevitably ikea (which we all know is not slowing down) however, we have a grand scheme, and i think it's going to work out well!
we also went to cirque du soleil's kooza - always entertaining. saw the diving bell & the butterfly; highly recommended. had some drinks at a few different bars around the city & stopped into stella bakery, in north beach, where they make the most authentic cannoli's i've tasted. it was a good week.
we were also super busy in the sprout studio though for a new update coming soon. pictures above...
how were your weeks? do tell...
hiya everyone -- this coming week is national slow down week, january 13-19th...check out adbusters for their little cartoon illustrating such: drink a tea, smooch your lover, pet your dog :)
i'll be signing up to do more of just that. would you like to join me? i'll be back after next week to catch you up on all that i slowed down on.
xxx.
i've been w/o the internets for quite some time now since the big ole storm knocked it out. but it's been good in that, what you don't know is brewing, is better sometimes way. like...orders? can't check them! blogging? no way w/o the internets! email? nope. surfing the web? nah, that's out too! and the mister's phone went dead after i spill in the drink-shower. so it's been real quiet. and really, very nice.
i've made some blogging/webby/posting decisions which basically revolve around me taking more time for me & pursuing my creative habit. (*not* just sprout studio product making, but art making too - hence the new "art & LIFE" category under my new site) i want to make more, look more in an inspirational way -- but not in a "omg they (whomever 'they' might be) are so much more prolific/creative/industrious/intuitive/better than me way", compare less, view less blogs that eat up my time. i'll be narrowing my list to the left there down to an even more slim blog list - just the ones i'm really interested in -- more of the peeps here in the bay area that i'd like to keep up with and be part of my community. (like shash & mati, whom i went to the MOMA with over the break - & had such a good time with).
i want more time for me, to do new things in this amazing city (that gives me sunsets like these? holy gorgeousness!!) & want more time to be a maker of art. i have so many ideas and feel behind all the time with no time to actually create. so that's a priority moving to the top o' my list.
and thinking about lists, i've been diligently trying to try loads more new recipes this past year as one of my unspoken resolutions of 2007 - and i think i did fairly well. i'll post a list of yum new foodie things i've tried and recipes later. the food thing on my unspoken to do list this year is learn how to make bread. and then do it. :)
i do love me some flickr though, so hopefully the blog pare down will result in more art time, and i can still get my flickr fix in.
do you do resolutions? i just kinda do a mental one or two...my neighbors decided to "commandments" - now that's heavy duty commitment!
hope you are having a lovely week. i have been :)
xxx.
hiya everyone!
so i'll be participating in the poppytalk handmade market coming up! i'm very thrilled to have been asked to be part of it :) check out sprout studio here when the market goes live :)
happy new year everyone! this is the last sunset over san francisco in 2007. pretty stunning. so glad we caught it.
here's hoping for *peace* in 2008.
xxx.
...hope everyone's holidays were fantastic and that your new years will be safe, festive, & most of all, let's all hope for peace. i'll be posting here again after the 1st - i'm enjoying my down time and know you must be too :)
xxx.
*jenifer
i've been busy in the studio this week prepping for next year already. i made a bunch of these little good luck birds for my etsy site and my sprout studio site.
i am so looking forward to a whole bunch of down time this coming week. photos of holiday goodness to come...
xxx.
and if not friday or saturday, come on out on sunday! i'll be celebrating my last show of the season as well - hooray! i'm super tired and ready to just deal with my sprout studio site and not expend the amount of energy shows take for me!
hope i'll see you at one of these if you are in the bay area!
xxx.
this FRIDAY eve is the holiday cheer reception - perhaps i'll see you?
xxx.
we are having a little holiday sale at shash's home. please come visit us if you live in the bay area. yummy glogg & fun company & treats to look at and eat! :)
hope to see you!
xxx.
the gratitude list that will never really be finished:
...my mister, my dixie loo dog, great neighbors, my family so far away, fresh flowers, yummy food that i can eat when my ibs isn't flaring up, living in san francisco because i love it so, inspirational art viewings, long coastal drives that clear my mind, down-time (isn't everyone grateful for these?), art friends, blog friends, business buddies, old time friends, bff's, new friends, and friends since ages and ages ago...
...my job teaching kiddo's art, my home, music, new discoveries, old discoveries found, long walks by the water, quiet times, raucous times, settled times & simple times...farmer's market runs, flea market runs, jogs by the bay, biking into work, smiles on strangers faces, watching strangers laugh to themselves, people watching, baking in the wintertime, drinking tea in the afternoon...
...long cross country trips, european travels, planning long trips (hello alaska here we come summer 08), a pleasant glass of unwinding wine, watching dixie run at the beach, thrift store shopping, thrift store scores (even better), laughing with my mister, watching films that move me, dancing around like a silly girl with dixie when no one is home (!), feeling gratified and satisfied with my small sprout studio business...
...i suppose i could go on & on...but i'll stop...it's your turn to add the list :)
thanks to all that peek in here on occasion and see what's doin' with me...i'm grateful for you too.
xxx.
yay - sprout studio was featured on modish this morning -- i love jena's blog & i love selling in her modishoppe too. sweet jena wrote up a little post about ole sprout studio. thanks jena!
and here is a little photo of the landing page to add to the site goodness post! thank you so much for all the well wishes so far :)
don't forget to come by three fish studios saturday in dogpatch for a little holiday shopping & treats!! it's 12-5 and it's #610 22nd st -- up on the 2nd floor and in ste 243! there are at least 5 or 6 other wonderful artist/designer/makers, so come visit us!
and if you are in l.a., i know where you'll be on sunday - felt club of course! see you there too :)
i scored just a few of these super cool little metal boxes - the design is on both side. i have birdies (my fave), sunflowers & butterflies - but only a limited number. i <3 them very much.
all these birdies are from an old discarded bird fielding book from the library. i love their soft colors & delicate feel. and the birdies are so cute!
this has been my world as of late - the holiday season always seems to be soo busy. i become a little production bee with the week after christmas being my secret reward to chillll.
let's see - it's been a bit since i've posted. i've come & gone to the rare device opening; super fun store & yes, i wanted wayy too much in there. i'll be going back to shop for sure. (photos on flickr) i was able to enjoy the company of shash & mati again that evening - such sweet ladies.
over the past weekend, between frenzied making/photographing/cataloging/inventory-ing etc...for shows and the *new site* (i'm sooo excited for it) we also went to see annie & eric's studio right across the way from us. annie is super cool, chill & fun to hang with. i'm looking forward to doing her little holiday show in two weekends.
then came last week; first thursday art hopping night, meet up with a favorite student who is now a freshman, work on site, work on site, work on site!
friday night we had a dinner party get together over in sausalito - way too much wine for this girl (she paid for it though later that evening with her sad IBS acting up. sigh.) but it was a way fun night of raucous laughter & conversation. i work with great teacher ladies and their mens are just as awesome.
saturday was another all day strapped to new bean bag chairs nursing my feeling-not-so-good belly & knocking out more stuff on the new site.
and yesterday, well, yesterday was that scene up above. crazy-ness.
and for some reasons, orders have been kinda slow, but not this weekend - crazy! i guess everyone just realized in cyber shopping land that the holidays are coming.
i'll post a few more photos from the weekend and some sneak peeks of goodies for the new site today.
hope all is well in your land - sorry i didn't have enough time to copy & paste all the linkies i wanted to share with you. maybe a little later...
xxx.
...the newest idea to come out from sprout studio creative mind mining. actually, it's not that new, we've wanted to do this for a while. these are the first testers. they are pretty rad - my art on skateboards is pretty thrilling. the mister has skated forever, so this is pretty natural progression/fusion. what we really want to do is scope out some wood shapers/makers that can carve/cut some "old school" more surf-y related shapes and screenprint on those ourselves - &/or find local peeps we can work with to transfer my illustrations onto boards... lots of ideas brewing around this one.
these will hopefully will be nailed down, and figured out so i can offer them up on the sprout studio site. there will be a new section titled "life & art" where these would fit in nicely.
on another note, i went with mati to the sf creative biz women's meeting at design within reach hosted by grace of design sponge infamy. it was very rad - loads of other lady peeps i knew were there: charlie (of typewright), annie (wexford girl), leslie (feisty elle), diana (one black bird), lisa c & rena (rare device), barbe (saints & sinners)....& about 100 others! it was amazing, & hot, & inspiring, & crowded, & super cool to see so many powered up women! grace was terrific. i feel a bit more charged up in general - it was a goooood meet up & i had fun with sweet mati! (thanks for going with me!)
tomorrow night, mati, shash, the mister & myself will be headed to the rare device store opening - excited to see the digs & excited to see kelly lynn jones art. i've long admired her work & am really happy to be able to see it in person. yay!
hope all of you are doing well.
happy autumn vibes to us all. :)
xxx.
after a particularly tough day in the studio (still hammering out new sprout studio website details) we headed out last saturday night to lisa solomon's curated show at blank space gallery in oakland. it was a small space, but just right. lisa's work was fun to see in person & i enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere that was generated from the 'drawing a day' aesthetic of pieces. i didn't get a chance to say hi to lisa, she had lots of peeps buzzing around her, but it was enjoyable to be out in oakland, which for some reason, we just don't get over & out to enough.
check it out if you get the chance!
..some personal & difficult family biz has sprung up unexpectantly...i'm going home for a bit & will be taking a break.
...life is too short, too vibrant, too amazing, too heartbreaking, too stimulating, too overwhelming, & too TOO a lot of the time.
take good care my friends...
we got ms dixie loo's feetsies in this one too. had super fun participating in feet week. i hope shash will host another one soon again :)
outside adobe books after lisa's show. new sugar shoes. :) i'm glad tomorrow is friday - anyone else?!
outside lisa congdon's show at the candy store. we were lucky enough to score one of her pieces; i'll post about it tomorrow! :)
off i go on my silly wicked witch of the west bike -- only one brake works, it's nice & rusty, the gears clunk like crazy and only switch sometimes when they feel like it. but i love my bike and i love riding by the bay in the morning to work -- it's kinda quiet for the first little leg, and then on the embarcadero there are a million & one runners & scooter-ers, & "real" high techie bikers, and grocery cart pushers & doggie walkers....& little ole pig tailed me riding along :)
i love posting feet week photos - thanks for hosting shash!
actually got the fall slippers out today; it's been super warm, but tonight, a wee bit chilly!
more for shash's feet week. although, this is sunday, not monday. i do have one for today to load up here...i might be behind schedule here in sprout land though.
participating in shash's feet week photos. i don't really know when we are starting, but bunny slippers on a saturday morning seemed like a good opening! :)
up early this morning, more production in the studio & checking things off lists. had to shake off the overwhelming/ennui/wan/too much too do feeling i felt threatening to overtake me...but i got up, made coffee (when i normally have tea) so now i'm on caffeine, GET IT ALL DONE buzz...hopefully it will stay with me for a while.
seeing good friends this afternoon whom we haven't seen in a long time, hopefully getting plants tomorrow with another friend, and getting to meet up with said shash, from up above, on monday! these are my treats in between feverishly attacking that list :)
more later friends!
