From the Biltmore Gardens

So I took a week long road trip, camera in hand for much of the way (admitting that much of the way included lengthy hours in a car between sights).  Indiana to Florida (through Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia), then back to Indiana through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky again.

On the second to last day of the trip, we went to the Biltmore.  If you've never been, know that it is grandiose and impressive and worth the trip.  I was there for a whole day, including the basic home tour, lunch, the gardens, the shops and the winery.  I didn't see the museum, or any special tours, or all of the grounds, and I still felt like I rushed through it.

I'm just now uploading my photos, and they remind me of how beautiful the gardens were.  There is something so calming about taking a camera into a flower garden (or a conservatory).  Tonight I noticed so much more detail in the photos, and I'm in awe of the astounding creativity of God.  There are easily over 100 photos, and it's hard to decide which to post, so I apologize if it seems I've posted too many.  They are just too beautiful!

2-22-12

i really like painting fanciful flowers.

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four more.

10-10-11

the flower assemblage has now moved on to aceos!

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i'm still making flowers! i will be continuing this for a while.

do you have a favorite?

glitter and glee

i painted some rings yesterday, and also the tiny canvas above. it's only 3x5 inches. i'm thinking of listing some 3x5 flower paintings in the mirthmarket - it would definitely be a diversion, but i want to diversify more. i have been waiting for etsy to allow multiple shops on the same account for years now, and i don't really want to keep waiting! i used some of martha stewart's glitter paint on this flower. thank you for the glitter paint, martha. it makes me happy.

the third season of glee is now underway, and the premiere was great. i can't wait for the rest, particularly this:

brilliant. and such a better mother/daughter duet than "poker face", even if this is a dream sequence.

gleehab is an awesome resource for news, and all things glee. in addition to the video above, i saw this posted there, too. also brilliant, but in a completely different way:


there are some really funny shows on tv right now. "the middle" was left out of the emmy nominations, but i think it's hilarious. if i could embed a clip from last week's premiere, of the heck family camping and being forced to play a board game that just involved random pieces from the family board game collection (and a dirty sock), with rules that were made up as they went along, i would. but i can't find it online to share.

have a good week!

flower fun

The fluorescent light of the classroom with additional fourth grader shadows are special additions to this photo of an art project, inspired by the paper flowers I made over the weekend. This time, I showed a nine year old girl how to make her own, and she glued both of our flowers to pink construction paper. It couldn't have taken longer than fifteen minutes. So much fun, really!

this is so much fun!

layering these round flowery shapes makes me happy. it's like a culmination of most of what i love about arts and crafts:

*painting (of course)
*doodling
*mixed media
*bright colors
*cutting and gluing/decoupage
*paper punches
*even some glitter

this one would make a splendid blossom, don't you think?

flower doodles

i have more canvases than i can store right now.

i want to turn these flower doodles into paintings!

(look around...do you have a favorite?)