Thoughtful Thursday

Clouds before the storm the first week of February 2015
Reminds me of Joni Mitchell singing her song
"Both sides now"  from 1969 album, Clouds.

The new light of a new year

if you don't take down that  little 3 foot tall pencil tree, that little Christmas tree in the corner, a little voice whispered to me the other day, you will have a grand  place to put your bracelets and cuffs and pins and watch upon so that the  dresser drawer does no longer hide them. While i am  mostly an earring wearing  person and feel glasses are quite enough jewerly already for me, i upon occasion i like to don an arty cuff or bracelet or i might need to keep tack of time and as find it was somewhat  fussy for me to haul out my cell phone when half the time the light outside is so bright i cannot even read it. i have a watch with a band of simple brown leather  

reminding me of my days as an equestrian.

The  simple horse ornaments i made this last year speak of horses of our dreams
in colors not usually

 assigned to ponies and horses that we ride or groom or feed and love.

Blues and lavenders and aquas came off my brush and onto the basic muslin shapes of a flying  horse or one that has been freed from its rocker.They are about 6 inches in length, stuffed firmly. After the paint is dried, some ancient embroidery floss is stitched into show flowing manes and tails. a hackamore bridle and saddle blanket come last, that is how i rode in high school. lastly, i added a

hanging loop because i can always park my horse on a door  knob now. 

Today the clouds were amazing, tomorrow i must post them.

wednesday without words

Wednesday without words

This  orchard is a winter bloomer,

The fragrance apparent only after dusk indicates to me the pollinator might just be a moth!

the fragrance is heavenly, clove like spice .

wordless wednseday

Merry Christmouse to all and a good night!

Mmmmm, tasty morsels said Ruby the cat......

These cookies were brought to me by a friend who had all of us in stitches.

 i shared them with those who we partied and feasted with this holiday season. 

Thank you Pat for spreading good cheer with you creative arts!

and i watched as an acquaintance bite one of these tasty morsels in half

with the tail still to go!

May you all

                       be well, see well and taste all the fine flavor of the season!

aloha, Sonja

are you getting ready?

Christmas is coming
 and some of us are getting ready to gift by making things of wonder.

i wonder why i sometimes get ideas so late in the year. i still have some things i started in a Christmas past that i am putting on finishing touches,
 perhaps ideas that had not fully hatched until now.

 Each year for the past 16 years i have given/sent out invitations to my studio to those who have purchased my work along the way, at Haleiwa Arts Festival and other local venues. It goes out by snail mail. hand written hand made like the ornaments i fashion all year long.

i made a painted  fabric cat ornament for a friend's granddaughter.
She gets an ornament each year that mom or daughter or she  picks out. this is based on a black and white cat.. i hope i was able to channel what the cat looks like
all though i can't recall the name of this cat.
 ...we shall see!

Christmas Cactus is starting to bloom just in the nick of time!

 The angel  below

is a re purposed flag from a friend that keeps me in faded glory flags.

 i love this one as the stars are embroidered and old lace looks at home with the faded cotton. 

Mz Liberty has a flannel snowman ornie tucked  up under her arm.

Long may she wave!

the last willie melt snowman pin hand carved by DH is painted 

 wears the other end of the torn strip of RWB fabric.

it is the last one  until i can convince him to make another.  

excuse the blurry  "bullet"  Santas below

 that are standing in tennis shoes while they dry and then go on to the next step

 getting ballast in bottoms before  more paint and then gluing them on a slice of trees from past trees.

This sight  made me laugh as i found shoes a handy way to keep these dudes upright

 while i watched paint dry. 

the recent full moon set.time to get up and greet the day!

 
What are you finishing up beside that cold cup o coffee?
be well, see well,
 sonja

Thankful for giving

i am grateful for sunsets 

and

 for all the small details nature shows me daily

  when i pay attention between sunsets.

some times i carry a camera to remind me of what i have noticed recently. a tidbit of the essence that slowed me down in the first place to take a picture.

i am grateful for paint and muslin, bolts of it and that i am comfortable with a paintbrush in my hand.

grateful for friends, clients that become friends and the people i have not yet met but will meet through the work i do, the color i ad to fabric and grateful for the ideas that come pell mell to me to transform the cloth into something that was not here before. i am  grateful many times daily for smart hands and good air to breathe and eyes that take it all through brand new eyeglasses of increased strength. i recall friends i have known and am grateful to shared the air with them; some are missing and some are gone.  i am grateful for the art pals i have made the last 8 years that share and support imagination and  whose amazing pieces,small treasures really, land in my mailbox doing so make me happy and the post office a more colorful place if just for the moment. 

be well, see well,

aloha, Sonja 

Ruby Ruby Ruby

Ruby the cat posing in the yard on chair arm with  black orchids.

she must investigate all that goes on in the yard when she is not snoozing somewhere.

These  orchids are in bloom July, August, and still in September and are a native of the Philippines. They smell like honey to me. 

 trichoglottis brachiata

they attach to the mock orange tree and put out roots that twine around the branches.

these  amazing orchids have been in bloom almost 3 months.

I inhale sweetness of nature daily and water them as well if there is not rain.

they really are more  ruby or Merlot in color to me.

Last week i had that hankering for sauerkraut.

But the can i had in pantry had to be returned to the market as it had started to leak,

the metal was somehow compromised so i was actually smelling it when i passed that cabinet.

While at Food Land

i spotted a colorful red cabbage which i brought home recalling that recently i had seen
 a lovely blog that had a recipe for it with beautiful photos as well.
link
  http://kitchenvignettes.blogspot.com/2012/09/ruby-sauerkraut.html
here is another link
http//www.gardenbetty.com/2013/06/ruby-kraut-and-why-its-so-good-for-you/

it is really so easy peasey because i waited about seven days, i opened my jewel of a jar and heard the fermentation sealed air pop. i took a forks worth and raised it to my mouth only to find that
 i had salted it way too much!

Washed, chopped, bruised, salted, sealed

 and wait.

and wait and wait    

i will be making Ruby kraut again very soon,

 this time paying attention to get the proportions of salt to amount of cabbage used balanced.
Perhaps add some other veggies to the mix.

i also need to get new rubber gaskets for the mason jars i have.
Not all was lost, 

 i managed to rinse out the brine and am almost empty of jar at this point.

i really enjoy the crunchiness of my first batch of  homemade Ruby Kraut!
 perhaps i will make
another batch today as i may be pleasantly hooked.
(and they look so lovely waiting on the window sill)

be well
 and may your food be  tasty and colorful.

sonja

2014 Haleiwa Art Festival

Come out to the

Hale`iwa Arts Festival 17th Annual Summer Art Fest
in historic Hale'iwa Town
www.HaleiwaArtsFestival.org

July 19 and 20, 2014   

Many Juried Visual Artists, Musicians, Singers, Dancers, Cultural History Tours, Student Art, Art Demonstrations, Fabulous Food Vendors, and Children's Art Activities will all be featured. 

 Admission is FREE.

Celebrate the arts at the

Hale`iwa Beach Park

Saturday July 19  10 am to 6 pm 

Sunday July 20  10 am to 5 pm

If you arrive early Saturday morning , you will be treated to 
bagpipers strolling through the grounds!

my booth  is  #115 

near the water, first aid, and info tents

at the front of the festival,

where we are very colorful !

aloha, Sonja

Oh the fair, HI HO, the Haleiwa Arts Festival 2014!

With only a month to go (or less) before the big white tents are up

at  the Haleiwa Arts Festival
July 19 and 20
www.HaleiwaArtsFestival.org

 and 

artisans fill them with the colors and ideas of our imaginations for you to see and touch and consider,

the studios are humming. mine sure is.
  I am finishing up a few requests as well as new works.
There is always a quilt that needs finishing, that final hand sewing that has been
saved for quiet time in a chair under a shady tree.
 On sunny days,
I am painting up fabrics for my projects and always have some to share at the fair for those who see the possibilities in them .

here they are drying in the sun  on the lawn with my toes showing.
Below,
this is second drying of the  fabrics
after heat treating and washing and now shining on the line .
 See how the sun is shining through on the way to sunset on the piece on far right?
i love the surprises i get when i work with these humble fabrics and paint.

Haleiwa Beach Park is the fair site 

62-449 Kam Highway, Haleiwa

(with war memorial near entrance)

my booth is at front of the  fair 

#115

 near info and first aid tents.

July 19 and 20      9 am to 5 pm

May your days be colorful!

Aloha, Sonja

Happy June 4 !

Here it is June already!

  I have not posted recently or arted  lately either
 because we were moving and all the stuff, stress and strength and stamina

that

      THAT TAKES WAS A  BIG huge DISTRACTION.

Not making something  artistic out of little tends to makes me a bit crabby as well. 

We have been moving /moved our selves  up the road, and stuff and lastly Ruby the cat, who's paws we buttered  first night so she would not dash back to the old house.
I feel a new leaf turning,
towards downsizing and determined to be less pack ratty from here on out!
 i have been not making art therefor feel more airhead than ever. Can't find things for all the boxes and DH decided to add a roof to insisting deck to rain shelter and shade,and to move fridge and shuffle cabs about  in the kitchen in the middle of move,
 (i wondered why he did not return one day for more boxes without topsis...).

so there are tools, and sharp things and extension cords, and sawdust, and  mucho confusion among boxes  about of kitchen and deck, as well the place in general.

 Good news is am exhausted enough not to comment or complain tho questions some times are read as complaints.Oh well

                                      

Now Today  is DH b day, again
so i might like to bake some overly sweet cupcakes or make a card or something,
i collected  flowers yesterday from plumeria trees so i can string them up perhaps,

providing i can locate any of those creative supplies to do so.

be well,

 and stay put! Sonja

Color

Color, glorious color.

yummy without a calorie.

Do you need a boost of color this time of year?

i love color especially on fabric AND BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY POST NUMERO 100.

i am ready to share the wealth.

how about a fat quarter  arriving

 in your mailbox?

If so,drop me an email or comment here by March 25

 regarding 

What  your  favorite  colors  are  today?
Or  do you like warms or cools?

The sun is out today so i shall paint up some vanilla fabric into many glorious colors 

and if you are the lucky one, i shall send some your way.

Below

this is what a papaya looks like sliced a different way.
who knew?

stars are everywhere!

be well, Sonja

Quote collector that i am and post #100

Oscar Wilde often said words i can't forget.

 Words that rang a bell that still can ring. i ran across a new one today 

to add to my growing collection.

if you read my blog you will find some favorite quotes peppered down the right margin. new ones appear, some disappear or are rearranged as a pattern appears. 
Perhaps soon they will need their own blog!

"Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways."

Oscar Wilde
I came across this quote above on a blog i read recently, lo i can't recall which..
there are so many talented and artistic blogs out there just in the fabric
category!

Back in 2007 I made the post card below for an exchange with theme of quotes!

Boy Howdy, I'm in I said !!

with a childhood photo, 
fabrics, paints, button, machine free motion,threads and lace,
i brought into being this 4"x 6" postcard 

of what that quote meant to me at that moment and looked like.

  "Be yourself. everyone else is already taken "  O.W. again! WOW!!

I think i respond to certain quotes because of the kernel of truth and often  humor embedded in those few words that i hear.  I often find them to be a jumping off point for my imagination to leap into a project.  or a smile.

do you respond to quotes?

what are your favorites ? 

And as this is post number 100 

 and 

if you are a reader that might like a piece of my hand painted fabric, 

leave a comment  by Feb 28 and

 if Ruby the studio cat helper pulls your name from the basket,

i'll send out a  painted fat quarter of my choice 
or Ruby's as you can see above she is very interested in investigating fabric!. 
How's that for a helper !

have a great weekend !

Sonja 

Year of the Horse 2014

Happy Chinese New Year of the Horse !

Recently I found a photo of my very first horse, 
actually she was a Shetland pony 

Beauty
She was brought home from the local pony ride farm
in West Redding I think  
that I dragged my parents to many a  Sunday. I loved her even though she was old and shabby and threadbare, in some spots her hair was  very thin, especially around her withers. I recall she liked to escape from her pasture and was found out on the old Boston Post road more than once . But I was 6 and she was my first love.  

 and then forward 50 oddyears,
 my last horse, Lily who really was a beauty!
So not a bad span of many decades
of horse love..

Lily was my prairie home and ranch companion for 2 decades
Her Hawaiian name was Liokalani, horse from heaven in Hawaiian, but we mostly called her Lily. 
She now gallops in a part of my heart reserved for great unconditional love.
She was a real sweetie!
Speaking of sweeties,
here is one having a rocking good time!

2014 is the Chinese year of the wooden horse so in honor of this 
 i located an older photo of my youngest niece riding on a horse I designed and painted and my DH built and carved of wood . The rockers were made of beautiful Koa, a wood dear to the islands.The wood horse was painted in the colors of Lily as she was when i got her at age 5 when she still had lots a dapples.
 And now my niece's  little girls get the rides although the last time i saw this sweet wooden horse,
she was sans a tail. Perhaps that is yet another worn  and threadbare by love story!

It is almost February 14 Again,
so just  bring on the chocolate please! and  the hearts and flowers too!

here are some of the hearts painted 
and hand quilted recently by me 
 and finally sent out to my clients.
I do notice things take me longer to complete than usual
 and
even longer if I time them so i have to stop that, 
the timing!
and just enjoy the ride !!
i have  not posted in a while, not that i ran out of words, i have lots a those
  it is just that i had computer issues, 
mane ly with me!
be well, Sonja

Ruby's first Christmas, some flat angels and a winter sunset

 

 

What can  I do with strips of painted fabric and just a winkling  of AN IDEA

and A CHALLENGE?

why I can sew them together with joy! 

and cut out wedges

 

and make heads and wings and hair and

 call them flat angels and send them away to some of my art making pals

 

"Look, I found more fabric for you to paint upon!"

this is Ruby's first Christmas and it turns out she is very helpful in the studio!  

"later I can press it for you, while I sleep!"

said the kitty that snores.

peaceful dreams

 

Happy holidays to you and to all a good night!