Artist Spotlight – Susan Ashley

During this past year another piece of gourd art spoke to me and asked to be taken home. While it has some similarities to my previous gourd art purchase, it also has some big differences. It has a wonderful applied patina that complements the other natural elements of the piece similar in this concept to my first piece. The gourd edge is woven with cording however, instead of being edged with pine needles. While the other piece is wonderfully wild, this piece has a more classical quality to it. The bottom of the piece is actually the top cut off of another gourd. Two stones, one attached to the stem end of the gourd to create a stable base and the other wrapped in cording to create a focal element for the piece echo the colors of the other elements.



I have watched the creators of both of my gourds work on new pieces and I have been totally fascinated. You have an opportunity to watch Susan demonstrate the art of basket weaving during the artist demonstrations that are part of the Arlington Museum of Art’s Mitch Wilson Memorial Festival of Trees. She will be the artist featured on Saturday, November 23, 2013. I think you will be as fascinated as I was watching her work.

In addition to the artist demonstrations, beautifully decorated trees and other holiday trimmings, the Festival of Trees contains the Happy Holidays Gift Store full of handmade items from local artisans as well as some vintage finds.

Where in the Metroplex will you find EclecticDesignChoices this Holiday Season?

About this time of year I begin sharing the locations of the different craft shows that I will be participating in case you want to see me and my work in person. This year I’m going to share a slightly different venue with you.

My alter ego to EclecticDesignChoices, 817ArtsAlliance, is partnering with the Arlington Museum of Art (AMA) to bring three different opportunities to local artisans and the public who like to support local artists. Two of these will also include opportunities for collectors and lovers of vintage items. Collectively, these opportunities are known as Happy Holidays Happenings. The Happenings consist of the Happy Holidays Gift Store, Happy Holidays Artisan Demonstrations and the Happy Holidays Gift Market and will be part of the museum’s Mitch Wilson Memorial Festival of Trees Exhibit.

EclecticDesignChoices will be part of the Happy Holidays Gift Store. The holiday store will be open during the entire Festival of Trees during regular museum hours. Several local artisans and collectors will have their wares available for purchase in the store which we will staff. This means that while you will be able to see my work in person for an extended period of time, I won’t always be there.

The Festival of Trees, including the Happy Holidays Gift Store, will open for the AMA member’s reception Thursday night, Nov. 7 but will open to the public on Saturday, November 2 and continue through Sunday, December 29. The museum is open from 10 am – 5 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays and 1 pm – 5 pm on Sundays. I hope you get a chance to check out the festive trees and Santa art on display during the Festival of Trees at the Arlington Museum of Art as well as the Happy Holidays Happenings.

New Photographic Art Images by EclecticDesignChoices

A couple of the new images that I took this summer really grabbed my attention and I knew I wanted to blow them up and put them on something other than just paper. I have printed a few photos to canvas previously, which has given me an opportunity to start to develop an understanding of what images are likely to look great printed on gallery wrapped canvases. One of my new dragonfly images seemed to scream, put me on canvas, so I did.

There is another substrate that I have never had my images printed on before

that I thought would be perfect for one of my new waterlily photos. I have seen some images printed on metal and I thought the reflectiveness of the material would lend itself nicely to one of these images. After working with a few of the waterlilies and their reflections I picked one for my first image to be printed on metal. I was very pleased with the results when I received it.

Both of these works will be available in the Happy Holidays Gift Store that will be a part of the Arlington Museum of Art’s Mitch Wilson Memorial Festival of Trees Exhibit from Nov. 1 – Dec. 29, 2013. I will have a couple of different sizes of matted prints on paper of these images as well. Come out and see them in person if you have the chance.

Time to Tuck in Some Winter Annuals

Seasonal color change always used to be a challenge for me. I couldn’t bear to yank out summer annuals that were still blooming their hearts out late in the year. However if I waited until they were killed by the first freeze, their replacements were more difficult to find and didn’t have a chance to get established before really cold weather, so they didn’t bloom much until spring. Thankfully now I know I don’t have to choose between a rock and a hard place. My winter color now gets tucked in without disturbing my summer annuals.

Here in North Texas we are still a little over a month away from our first average killing frost. Pansies, snapdragons, Johnny Jump Ups and dianthus can be found currently in nurseries. This time of year I like to buy them in six packs or 4” square pots. I find that I can tuck in plants this size without disturbing my summer bloomers. By planting my winter annuals now, they can coexist with my summer annuals until they get slimed by that first freeze. By then my winter beauties will have become established and add that needed color spot to an otherwise mainly dormant flower bed.

The photo above shows newly planted pansies tucked around existing Spanish moss rose.

Thanks for the Treasuries - September 2013

Two different Etsians and one Etsy team let me know that they had featured one of my items in a treasury during September. Three September Etsy treasuries, that treasury makers let me know about, included one of my creations. You can see a collage below of my items from EDCCollective that were featured during September. (Click on the collage to see a larger view.)

I really appreciate being featured by the treasury makers. To thank them, I have listed below (in alphabetical order) links to the 2 Etsy sellers that let me know that they featured one of my items, as well as an item from their shop that I like. You will also see information about the TexasFriendsTeam that also featured an item of mine.

Enjoy window shopping and please click on the shop links of anything that catches your eye.


CorkyCrafts
If you have a wine connoisseur who happens to appreciate hand made items look no further than this shop's wine-related products. They make the perfect gift!

GirlieGals
"It's a Bling Thing!", says this shop owner who offers you sparkle and shine at affordable prices.

TXFriendsTeam
Past, present and future Texans are welcome and encouraged to join this team. The only real rules of the group are to promote friendly, The TX Way, and be respectful to all who participate.

Critter Camouflage

Critters of all shapes and sizes, whether hunter or prey, can really blend in. Many critters have developed coloring that mimics the coloring of at least some portion of their surroundings so they can escape prying eyes. The female mallard duck blends into her nesting site. Many butterflies have undersides of wings that mimic leaves or dappled shade so that they “disappear” when they are resting with wings closed. I was surprised one evening last month to find out how well a raccoon’s coloration allowed it to blend into the dappled shade on the trunk of the pear tree that my dog had chased it into.

I did a double take recently when passing by an unused planter of mine. A Texas spiny lizard matched the contour and coloring of the coconut husk and mulch so well that I almost jumped with surprise when I realized how close I was to this camouflaged critter that I had not managed to see until I was practically on top of it. It is examples like these that make me wonder how many of nature’s wonders I pass by with absolutely no clue.

A camouflage expert that I have to be vigilant looking for in my garden is the tomato hornworm. These critters use their camouflage skills to avoid being seen by predators and gardeners alike so they can hang out and enjoy a good meal of pepper and tomato plants and fruit alike. Often I will see their frass to alert me to their presence before I see the caterpillars.

Share your observations of critter camo in the comments section.

Resistor Earrings for the Tech Geek

I'm excited to introduce a new geekery item to my EclecticSkeptic shop. The science, technology or computer geek will enjoy these novelty earrings made from resistors otherwise destined for the landfill. (The green angle to these earrings is an added plus.) I just happened to stumble on a lot of resistors that had been culled and would have been trash if someone hadn't understood that they could become components for jewelry making or other non-functional (electrically speaking) projects.







Two of the three basic colors of resistors that I have available are shown in this post. (tan and light blue) The third base color (gray) can be seen in my resistor earring listing in my EclecticSkeptic Etsy shop. I’m still playing with different styles and methods of combining the resistors with other materials. Each of the three examples is very different. Which is your favorite?