Spring Break, Rockaway Here I Come!

Rockaway Beach, here I come! This spring break, which starts tomorrow, my family and I are going to spend 4-5 days in this Oregon, ocean side community. Rockaway has lovely antique shops, locally owned candy stores, and a multitude of adorable cottage style homes. Sometime during this trip we'll visit some family friends who also have a beach house. The center point between our beaches just happens to be Pacific City, a town with a HUGE sand dune and a Delicious family pub. The pub is called The Pelican Pub and Brewery. Often my parents will order a glass of the house brew, a pizza, and watch from the restaurant windows as Jojo and I climb the monstrous dune. naturally, the allure of food brings my sister and I back to the Pelican for a slice of pizza and the family atmosphere. I'll be gone for a week, compiling sketches, photos and stories for all you guys, so enjoy your spring break, I wish you all a relaxing week.

~Sarah

Twin Rocks at Rockaway Beach.

Areal view of Rockaway

A picture of one of my favorite antique stores in Wheeler, a city 20 minutes from Rockaway.

A small update on some of the neat things we sold at the yard sale.

I LOVE this gnome! It reminds me of the silly "Roaming Gnome".

A beautiful 1970's Avon bird cage styled perfume bottle.

Some sweet vintage blue, yellow and orange pillow cases.

Turn of the century christening dresses for babies.

A little lamb, just in time for Easter.

These are some new plants I'm rooting. a succulent and a cherry tree branch/ sprouts are the next hopefuls for my garden.
Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Curiouser and Curiouser..

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

As some of you may know, I can be a furious reader. I once read a three hundred paged book in a day and a half, and no, it wasn't a Harry Potter or a Twilight book. Instead I prefer to read books like The Far Pavilions, World's End, and a mish-mash of books that take place in Asia, and other far-away places. Not only do I enjoy classic Novels, I also have a love for classic fairytales such as Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast and the like. These stories are rich in descriptions, wonder and have a quality that allows one to easily give them a new spin. Although most people are familiar with the Disney versions, I know I am, I have also read these in their original forms. I believe that making stories into movies is a wonderful way to preserve them for generations to come, but in the tricky process of transferring written word onto a flickering screen, much of the story's original integrity can become lost. Take for instance, Peter Pan. In the Disney version the ever-young boy loses his memories of England life simply by staying in Neverland, and other than that he has a terrific memory. In the original book, by J. M. Barry, he constantly forgets who Wendy and the others are. On their way from England, he often flies ahead, then turns around and in that split second, forgets entirely about the other children and who they are. In Beauty and the Beast, The beast is the sympathetic character, and Beauty is a vain girl who can't see past his monstrous facade to the handsome prince trapped within. All this said, I have a real love of reading rich literature, and so the idea of becoming an Illustrator has always appealed to me. Naturally I tend to paint these fables, and one of my favorites is Alice in Wonderland. My latest version is pictured below, and will soon be on my Etsy site as prints.

The March Hair is in the

foreground, to his left is the Caterpillar and farther

back the Hatter takes a pause in between sips of tea.

Can you see the Cheshire Cat?

In my version, I had the March Hair wear a mask. I think it adds charm.

The Hatter

The Caterpillar, and his, uhm, smoke.

The checkered floor is a challenge to paint, but well worth the effect.

The Cheshire Cat hidden among the smoke.

The painting is only half way done, but its getting there slowly.

On Monday I took a walk with my Grandpa and my Sister, along the river. It was gorgeous out! 60 degrees, sunshine and the promise of spring in the air. My sister was lucky enough to find a dollar nestled in a pile of rocks near the path, maybe its leprechaun luck from Saint Patty's Day?

Don't forget to wear green!

~Sarah

A Work Space of My Own

I am infamous for taking over the house when doing an art project. Glue sticks on the floor, paint bottles on the coffee/dinning table, paint brushes in the kitchen and general chaos for my family when the question "where do we sit?" must be seriously considered. In light of my families' heroic struggle in living with an artist, I decided to cut them a brake and confine my projects to a specified place. Yes, I'm relinquishing my grip on every available workspace, and I'm now moving to the basement. Oh the sacrifice!
I have an empty corner in my bedroom basement perfect for an art desk and inspiration wall. The challenge is not finding the space down there, rather, to make it feel less dark and decrepit, and more light and creative. My family lives in a sweet 1940's bungalow with window awnings, a fire place and a basement. As much as I love my retro home, I'm not thrilled about having my art desk in an unfinished basement with nearly zero natural light. However, with a few tricks I've collected over the years, from the wonders of HGTV and DIY, I think this "Mini-Makeover" will turn out fine.

I hope you all realize how much I love you all by showing the scary before photos.
Yes, that's a mini Christmas tree and a sheet tacked to the wall, don't ask why, I honestly don't know.

After a strong vacuuming, taking down the sheet, and painting the walls a clean white makes it seem a billion times better already.

A job well done! I pinned-up/hung my favorite vintage postcards for inspiration.
The awful neon-green file cabinet is gone, replaced by some much needed negative space for opening my closet door.

p.s. Sorry about the blurry photos, my camera was having an off-day.

Stringing pictures up in an interesting way adds a artsy feeling.

Well, that was my Mini-Makeover and it didn't take any money since I already had the paint, string, cork boards and lamp. Tomorrow I plan on showing some of my latest work.

Stay crafty,

~Sarah

Vintage Finds

Hello,

A few months back my Great Grandma Bonnie passed, and I miss her dearly. Today my family and I went through two truck loads of her estate, and although it was sort of sad we made the best of it by thinking of it as a treasure hunt. My sister and I laughed and joked as we went through boxes and boxes of vintage pots, pans, comic strips, clothes, curtains, Christmas lights/decorations, family photos, projectors, furniture, video reels, and about a dozen cameras. You'd be surprised by how much one person can collect over a life time! We even found old Life magazines, Good Housekeeping magazines, and boxes of old records. With the sun shining and sixty-two degree weather, we sorted out things for a garage sale we plan on having. Of course, we'll keep things like ancient family heirlooms, and photos, but there are also piles of kitchen ware and holiday decorations which will have to be sold. I mean, how many egg slicers does one girl need? Or orange peelers! Right now my yard looks like a jungle or junk yard with all the boxes and "organized" piles. Whenever the neighbors ask whats going on, I refer to the mess as "Trailer-Chic".

Some old kitchen ware

My sister Jo-Jo poses for a demonstration for one of the numerous cameras

A cute apron and "Marypoppins" bag

We found a Charlie Brown hat. Jo-Jo was quite taken with it!

Some vintage Elves and newspaper comics from the 4o's.

Some baby shoes from the 40's or 50's

Jo-Jo and I found some amazing headphones!

After all the work, Jo-Jo took a spin on a dolly. Rascal, our dog, followed close behind.

A Contemplative Hatter

Hey There,

I just finished my latest picture yesterday!

I want to let you all know that I've had a Alice in Wonderland Series going on for a few years now. I wasn't taking the idea from the latest Tim Burton spin, although I'm excited to see that movie. Nope, I've all ways been inspired by the book, ever since I read it in middle school. The creative genius which inspires me is obvious throughout the book. What other story has a mean Queen of Hearts, a talking rabbit who is late, the Jabberwocky, "Twinkle twinkle little bat..", up is down, all ways are the Queen's ways, croquet with hedge hogs and flamingos, and mad tea parties.

How can you not get excited over it all? The very mention of such a classic fairytale gets my creative itch going.

A forest scene full of teacups, teapots, the Mad Hatter, and a smiling cat in the trees.

The sketch with some work begun.

The finished product!

The Mad Hatter sits on a gigantic teacup, contemplating something.

The sketch

Finished.

A lone, sympathetic character.

The Cheshire Cat, sits among the bows of the tree, watching our Mad Hatter.

The final drawing.

I used my silly kitty Malmer as a model.

I always imagined the Cheshire cat as a sly, slender cat, much like my dear Malmer.

The branches above the Cheshire Cat have a stained glass effect.

A look at the forest.

Before,

After.

Notice, that the Mad Hatter's teacup is over flowing into a stream, which flows into another cup and disappears.

One last tree close-up.