My Show "All My Love Unto You"

 

Good morning friends!  It's been a while since I've done a blog post.  I truly don't know where the time goes.  Honestly!  We're in April!  What?  All is well here.  Ramping up the art making activity in the studio again, since I reorganized.  I just did a little studio tour video if you'd like to take a peek.  You can find it over on my YouTube channel.  

My show, titled "All My Love Unto You" is now over and came down on the 1st of April.  If everything goes as planned, I'll be traveling to Storm Lake this weekend to pick everything up and bring it back home.  THANK YOU to everyone who made a purchase!  We'll be getting those to you soon.  Also, THANK YOU to everyone who came out to my meet and greet a few weeks ago!  What a fun day!  

Here are a few pics of that day....so many bright, happy faces!  So nice to meet all of you!  

Had Fun Teaching Colorful Heart Grids!

 

Hey pals!  Here we are in mid February already!  How are you?  I just looked outside and there's another light dusting of snow out there.  It makes everything look lovely again, but that stuff is dangerous too....it hides the ice that keeps melting and re-freezing.  I took Butterbean for a walk yesterday and was toodling along, ever so confidently, and BOOM.  Went right down on my butt.  Surprised by this big sheet of ice that I somehow completely missed.  SIGH.  Fortunately, no injuries, and thank goodness for giant padded coats, right?  I won't be so cocky when we go out today.  (and by the way, as I type this, she is giving me the stink eye to get moving....so I'll keep this entry short.....ha!)

  Last week I got home from a fabulous New Orleans trip with my cousins!  We spent a long weekend together, right down in the French Quarter.  So much inspiration, good food (oh yes, the foooooood!), and fun times.  The air travel left something to desire....delays and cancellations.....but all in all, a great time was had by everyone, and we are vowing to get together every year! 

Thursday evening I had a great time leading some fun ladies in a workshop....we created the colorful heart grid canvases over at Threads in Cedar Rapids.  Just in time for hearts day. So much fun! 

Big thanks to all of the sweet gals who joined me for that workshop.  It was a hoot!

Crowning Glory Exhibit with Gae and Yellow Lab Snuggles

 

You guys.  How can time both drag and fly by at the same time?  (I think I say that a lot, so my apologies if you are paging through the blog....ha!) I think that's the nature of January.  And winter.  At least there's a glimmer of sunlight at 5pm nowadays.  That helps!  But these frigid temps.....BRRRR.  It was 30 degrees on Saturday, and we all but ran in the yard in our knickers!  (not really...we aren't that crazy) Winter does give one some perspective, I reckon.  

Well, in case you were wondering, and I know you are....we are all still ticking along.  We are adjusting to the new normal of being without our chocolate boy, Bosco.  We picked up his ashes on Saturday and brought them home, along with a paw print, eternally pressed into clay for us to keep.  I held it together until breakfast, then cried into my coffee.  SIGH.  Callie Mae (our young yellow lab) is a balm for my broken heart, though.  She seems to know exactly when I need a snuggle or a kiss.  She's a little angel in fur, that one.  We're gonna make it.  

I did get out on the town last week, and BOY was it what I needed!  A little burst of inspiration with my pal, Gae.  We visited the Crowning Glory exhibit at the National Czech and Slovak Museum.  HOLY MOLY!!!!  Eye candy.  Just stunning.  The intricacy of each headdress was just jaw dropping.  So much detail, texture and color!!!  Some of the headpieces dated back to nearly the turn of the last century, and to still be in such beautiful condition was amazing.  I'm definitely inspired to incorporate more sparkle, beads and stitching in my upcoming work.  Here are just a few of the pics I snapped....enjoy!  If you're a local, do try to stop by and see this exhibit.  It's so worth it...and you'll have to avoid the temptation to put one on and try it on.  HA!  We were seriously TWITCHING to keep from touching everything.

I mean, really.....can you even?  I would love to go back and review the security tape just to see all of the gasping and ooooohing and aaaahhhing we were doing.  Ha!  Absolutely tons of fun, and it just got our creative juices flowing.  I'm ready to stitch and bead!  Aren't you?  Which one is your fave?  

Happy Monday, friends.  Wishing you a cozy day.  -Dori

Good Night, Sweet Prince

Well, things have changed drastically around here since I wrote you last.  We had to say goodbye to our sweet boy, Bosco.  He was the bestest boy that ever was.  So loyal and true.  We woke up New Year's Eve Day, and something had shifted.  He was ready.  It was peaceful and beautiful and heartbreaking.  The house feels empty without him.  But we are doing our best to carry on, and are even finding moments of laughter when we talk about some of the silly things he used to do.  We are all better for being loved by him.

So, as I adjust to being a one doggie household, we are showering Callie Mae with extra attention and snuggles.  I think she kind of misses him a little.  Hard to say, exactly....but we'll go with it.  She has always been good at making us laugh....and she keeps up this daily routine to lighten our spirits.  Thanks, Callie.  XOXO.  More news from the studio coming soon!  I'm bursting with lots of things to share!  But first, I need to take down Christmas and get this house in some kind of working order again.  Much love, and thanks to all of you who have reached out with kind words about our pup.  They truly are members of the family.  

 

'Tis the Season for Rag Rugs and Towels by Every Door!

 

Good morning, friends!  Happy New Year's Eve, Eve!  We've almost made it!  As the final moments of 2021 tick down, I'm gonna sit over here with my coffee and egg nog and "be ve-wy ve-wy quiet" (Elmer Fudd) so as not to antagonize her into any last minute bursts of mayhem.  Really feeling like tip-toeing into the new year this time.  That is usually not my style.  I'm a bit loud, and a bit of a klutz.  I'm a pot banger, an off key singer and a loud "holler-er" across the streets when I say hello to the neighbors.  They always know I'm coming.  Hee hee.

(But seriously.......ssssshhhhh......let's not get 2022 all riled up before she comes in.  Let's be quiet, respectful, and offer her chocolate.)

Speaking of across the street, here's the current view outside my front door.  I really was out in the fresh air earlier, with the dogs and the shovel, but didn't think to take a photo until I removed all 15 layers of winter garb. Ugh....that's the thing about winter....it's so dang much work. 

That tiny looking person across the street is my neighbor Lon, doing his patriotic duty of keeping the driveway cleared.  He's thorough.  I'm not.  My approach is often, "eh, good enough."  So.....with the snow, pretty as it is, comes the annual dragging out of the rag rugs and bath towels by every entrance of the home, so we can mop up puddles and wipe down the doggies.  Fun at first, a drag by February.  Stay tuned for lots of grumbling in a few weeks.  I promise you, it will come.

Seriously though, we have much to be grateful for, here in the big yellow house.  Earlier in the year, our sweet Bosco, the old chocolate lab, got a cancer diagnosis....he has a slow growing mass on his lung.  It's a long story, but we thought we were going to lose him in the spring...but he's still with us.  He's still comfortable, enjoying life, eating his meals, taking short walks.  We are so grateful to have him still with us, and are soaking up every glorious day with him.  When it's time to say goodbye, we will know.  We've been down this road before.  Our "bright young thing", Callie Mae Butterbean Naughtypants, the yellow lab, keeps us on our toes.  She is just a ball of joy.  Always ready for a good time.  Always wagging her tail.  Always ready to snuggle.  (as seen above).

  

I'm thankful for my kids and my hubby who were a great support system while I found myself on the road again, attending art shows.  Hubby is my pack mule and navigator, the kids take care of the doggies at the house for us.  We were BUSY this summer.  I mean, wow!  Customers and collectors were so generous with their support, both in person and shopping online.  THANK YOU to everyone who supported my work one way or another this year!  I'm so thankful!  

I have some fun things in store for the new year!  Some new projects, big and small, and I hope to be more active online, possibly jazzing up the YouTube channel and doing some more online and in person teaching.  More on that soon.  In the meantime, remember.......

Cheers, Dori and the gang