Hello,

It was nice to see everyone at the family reunion.  Forrest put this picture on Facebook saying that he loves his grandma.

Today I entered my first juried art exhibit.  It is for the Handmade and Bound venue in Nashville that we went to last year.  I will be notified mid-August if I get in.  This is one of the few times that others will look at my creations and say if it is worthy...not my friends and family who, thankfully, have always supported my work.

She is made with a wire body with the lower half, tail and hair formed with felt.  She even has wire mermaid boobies.  She is leaning against 2 rocks which are wired between repurposed book covers, the top one watercolored to resemble the ocean.  The word across her face reads Beauty.  12.5 by 7 by 5

Her story of why she is holding a flower in type written in her tail.  It go as follows:

She went to the sea to see what she could see.
It was to the coast she headed.
She had a shell to exchange for a beauty worth the same
and into a fisherman she ran.
She flagged him down with a wave and a smile
then explained her request.
He was happy to swap a flip for a flop
for by his side was a bouquet for his bride.
Both were in awe with the beauty they saw
and each went happily on their way.

It is time for the Olympics.  We know a very proud daddy of a swimmer, Clair Donahue, who placed 7th in the final 100m swim.  Because of her making it to the finals she has been asked to swim in the prelems of the 400m relay on Friday.  Good luck to her!

Hearts,
Hil

Hello,
Thank goodness for the rain.  It will sure help the flowers perk up and sing.  These Black Eyed Susans were at a customer's house and they were singing loudly.  They also had Purple Cone flowers which are one of my favorites.

For this one I used a thicker wire to create the heart shape and torn book pages shaded with color pencils
for the filler. The shades fall from red to pink to gray and finally spill out with black.

This picture better shows the dimension of the piece. I had to figure out how to get the paper pieces to "fall" without having the bottom layer color covered by the next layer.  I knew if I used a glue stick I would be one big blob of small torn colored pieces of paper so I used small thin double sided tape squares to form the shape.I was able to manipulate each piece and place them inside the curvature of the heart to gain the dimensional feel.


Time to get settled for the evening.
Hearts,
Hil

 Hello,

I hope that you are able to stay cool while enjoying the sun.  It is going to be a hot week...I wish that I had planted my flower box closer to a water source because now I have to fill my watering can in the kitchen sink and carry it across the street to give the droopy flowers some pep.

We had a nice weekend camping.  On our way to the campground we heard that there was going to be mermaid swimming at the Aquarium and on Saturday we made our way into town and enjoyed the show.  What a wonderful was to spend our lunch with a front row seat watching the mermaids swim with the stingrays.

I am working on a wire and teal yarn mermaid who, if it works out, will be resting between two rocks jutting through the book-board.  She might have a story in her tail (like the whale) or may just be holding a book.  It depends on if she has something to say.

 This little lady was inspired by a picture that Vicki sent me from a ceramic piece she saw at Arrowmont.  Her hair is spiral curls that protrude out and is adorned with a vintage broach from a collection of jewelry given to me by Judy which belonged to Don's grandmother or great grandmother. She is about 12 x8 and was a bear to make sturdy.  She would tip to the front, add more wire, to the back, add more wire, front, back, front , back....She stands tall now but I would not whip her about to test her temperament.

Well, It is about time for my evening viewing of Bob Newhart before bed.
Love to you,
Hil

Hello,

Glad that you are back safe and sound from your travels to exotic (yes, I had to get the dictionary) North Carolina.  I am sure many giggles were shared with all who breezed by the Godmother and her Lady in Waiting while they held court.

This is what I have been working on for a couple of weeks.  We had some trouble getting the drip to do what I wanted with the first epoxy chosen...it dried at an extreme angle.  The second attempt never dried.  Finally, with help from the Home Depot guy, we used J B Weld and it held great.  The antique faucet was purchased from e-bay on line.  I knew we had a water book of some kind in the bookshelf and with some additional plumbing parts...Art.

Next week...A really cool wire sculpture.

Don used his magic pencil on the schedule and we have Monday (his birthday) off so we are going camping.  We were lucky...they had 2 spots left.  Not on the river but the weather looks great and a grand time should be had!!

Love to you!
Hil

Hello,

This is what I did with one of the nice evenings we have been having.  The road in front of the house is great for chalk drawing due to the lack of busy traffic.  The asphalt really eats up the chalk so I had to get a much larger box for the next one.

The second drawing was done this weekend and was fun top do because the neighborhood kids have really enjoyed it.  Two young ladies had a lengthy discussion about it and even took pictures posing with Mrs. Octopus. As you can see it is rather a large ...the flower box is 16 feet long.


Now I just need some rain to clean off the road so I can do it again!!