Art In Our Lives

I often look at the Obituary page of our newspaper and read about the lives of the people listed there. Many of them I wish I had known. One caught my eye this morning. Her name was Dina Vierny and she was a model for French Sculptor, Aristide Maillol. She also modeled for artists Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. Her life was interesting but the thing that really impressed me was what her sons said about her. They said, "she spent a lifetime passionately attached to art". Wow, what a statement - "Passionately attached to art"! They didn't say, devoted or interested. They said "passionately attached"! To me that means that art was so much a part of her being that she couldn't help but be passionate and she would never be separated from it.

What a wonderful thing for sons to say about their mother who not only was a model for artists but also a collector of art and a gallery owner. They understood how much art was a part of who she was as a person. And even more, they honored that with the wonderful descriptive phrase, "passionately attached to art".

As an artist I can understand that phrase completely. I've learned that I have always looked at things with an artist's eyes. I have not always known that about myself. Others who saw that in me made me take notice. There is a passion inside me for art that invades all I do and I cannot let go of it.

So I can relate to Dina Vierny even though I never met her. What a beautiful lady you were.

Inauguration Day

We now have a new President! Along with that we have new hopes and dreams and possibilities. It was a beautiful day and we celebrated. A group of friends came over for an inaugural luncheon, average style. You know cold cuts, potato chips, salad. And we watched together the swearing in of our 44th President of the United States. It was not without tears as we all realized the enormity of this day and what a great country we live in. Where else do you have this coming together every 4 years in peace to celebrate the wishes of the people. Sometimes we make mistakes but we can always correct them by electing someone else next time around. The key here is it is always in "Peace". As Americans we always come together whether we voted for the person or not.


Today we began the process of righting the awful history of prejudice. We still have a way to go but we have made a big step. In 2017 I hope it will be a woman! And I hope I am alive to see it! But for now, Barack Obama is the right person and he has brought the people of this nation together once again.


I am so proud of my country today. Now is the time for new direction, for change, and for renewing the way the world looks at us. We are truly an amazing nation! Let's show our better side with leadership, humility, and grace. Best wishes President Obama and Mrs Obama. May your time in the White House be the best years this country has seen.


Waiting with anticipation for the moment we can say, "President Obama"!





And what would a celebration be without food!

Thanks everyone for celebrating with me. It was a fun day! And we were inside and warm!

Snowy Day

Today was a beautiful day! The snow that fell last night was a heavy snow which hangs on the trees. As I was driving around doing errands today I was surrounded by a winter wonderland, the kind you see in Christmas Cards or on movie sets. The sky was a soft blue/pink grey and the white on the trees was a bright clean white. It was spectacular. Of course along with that kind of snow comes power outages! We have dealt with them on and off all day. You know the kind, you just get the clocks all set and then the power goes out and you have to start all over again! What fun! It is amazing how many appliances have to be reset!

When we lived in Rochester, NY, it snowed just about every day and I discovered that having white surround your environment influenced choices of color that you wore. I sold more white mohair scarves there then any place else! White with pastel blue and white with pastel pink were very popular. When we moved to the southern part of NJ where snow doesn't happen so often, I could not sell one white scarf! Interesting, huh?

I'm heading into a period of designing and producing new items. This will involve not only new designs in garments, I hope, but also new color choices and yarn. I haven't figured out whether that white/pastel combination works here or not. Do you think mohair will come back in style? I have a lot of it! I just might give it a shot.