Ship Wrecked

That's the theme of the new display I just pulled together over at the Pannikin. If you look at the large oval mirror in the background, I tried my luck at glass etching a clipper ship and some birds in the distance. So relieved it turned out the way I envisioned it. Would have been a bummer to destroy the mirror. I'll post a tutorial "how to" next week.
...Don't you just love the old chippy gold frame? Didn't have to do a thing to it except clean it up.
The gray dresser was painted in my "ship wreck" finish. A great way to salvage a solid dresser with a worn out finish. Look how gorgeous the drawers are inside. This baby's solid cherry, has nine drawers and weighs a ton! Enjoy, Karin

Down and Dirty

No, not that kind of dirty....I'm talking about gardening here people!

Today, I spent the entire day in the yard. Now that I'm sitting inside, I can feel my body temperature trying to acclimate. It makes my cheeks burn and brings me back to the days I worked at a flower stand...oh, 17 years ago. Wow, that makes me feel old!

Anyway, back to the yard shall we.
My main goal was to rebuild a new table display for my bonsai's and other planting creations. Its crazy how fast I outgrew my last set up. I went from taking care of my Dad's 45 year old bonsai to acquiring three more. I totally pretend to know what I'm doing with them, but I really don't. Just trying to make them look like the pictures. Maybe I should take a class? They teach one down at Balboa Park. Can you just picture me sitting amongst a group of old timers! (I totally could!) Anyone want to take it with me?
So here's my new set up along with some pictures of the vegetable garden. It's getting big!





Then Art helped me hang this vintage window screen with tillandsia's (air plants) from under the eaves right outside my studio door.

Go ahead...just say it. I'm a plant geek.

Here's a shot of Art's sweet peas this year. Note the angle of my camera. These bad boys are over six feet tall!


And I leave you with one last shot. Some boysenberries I picked that Miss Ruby tried to fly up and grab from my hands. Since you get a small handful every other day, I'm thinking of freezing them and eventually making jam or a pie when I have enough. Anyone have a good recipe?

June show at the Pannikin

As promised, here are a few more shots I took of this months group show going on now at the Pannikin.




Hanging fish made from recycled materials constructed by Matt Mahoney. His message is simple.... protect our oceans and the creatures that call it home..please recycle. You can check out his website for more examples of his work. I love the sculpture of the man on the horse. Pretty amazing!



Surfer Girl--by Steve Burrows
Sea Goddess and Swami's Beach--by Christina Zeller
Betta Fish--hand carved wood block prints by Jeremiah Miller



Whale Preserve--by me...I know, I know, you've already seen it.



Hand cut stencils and wood paintings--by John Finkbiner
Ceramic Fish--by Mary Fleener
Seascape--oil painting by Hannah Schoetz



Octopus Surfboard--by Martin Nasim

Other artists not shown here but contributed artwork: Kevin Farrell, Andrew Palmer, and Aaron Regan.

Still trying to catch up

The last few weeks, or maybe it's been months (I've lost track), have gone by so quickly I can barely remember where I left off here.
I really thought today would be my first real day off....Boy, was I wrong.
This week I'm really going to focus on getting back in the studio and painting, painting, painting. Next month is my show at the Pannikin and I have several paintings I'd like to finish to complete a few different series I've got mulling around in my head.

So I'm going to rewind the clock and share with you a few of my latest (fun) distractions.

~First off, my little nephew Healey posing in front of my painted street banner right before they auctioned it off. (I really love the hipstamatic app on the I-phone, but sometimes it's a bit too orangey on the skin)





~My Whale painting which I titled "Whale Preserve" is finished and just in time for the group show at the Pannikin. Last night was spent hanging all the artist's paintings and also having special guest Matt Mahoney who spent hours on a 15ft ladder hanging his giant fish sculptures made from recycled materials of cardboard and duct tape. They look so amazing swimming through the upstairs of the cafe. If you live close, you should go check it out! This is the Pannikin's first 3-d installation.





-Some fresh cupcakes I made for a very special girls sweet sixteen party.



-And lastly, the first annual Lavender Art Festival was last Saturday. An amazing plot of land belonging to my friend/host who thought it would be cool to gather her artist friends and share her garden to the locals in good ole' funky Leucadia (Encinitas). Can't wait to do it again next year.

Here's a lamp project I've been wanting to make for a while. I based this idea on one I had seen at West Elm that I think they still carry for $99.
Since I knew I had pretty much everything I needed in a cabinet of random dismantled objects and supplies that I've held onto for just this sort of thing. Its like having a giant junk drawer, only bigger.
-broken strands of a capiz shell curtain
-crimp beads (for attaching the fishing line holding the shells to the lamps frame
-a curly galvanized wire piece I made almost 20 years ago when I worked at a bead store. I hung onto this forever not knowing what to do with it but couldn't throw it out because it was such a pain to make.
-pliers
-light kit with a 15ft. cord

Voila! Behold my new beautiful light fixture! It puts off such a pretty glow.

p.s. I still have more strands of capiz shells if any of you want to try this yourself. Just let me know. Karin

Can you Guess?

Can you guess what I'm painting right now? I'm almost done with it and have plenty of time to keep tweaking it before the group show at the Pannikin next month. (more about that later)
....Anyway, This is a pretty big size painting measuring 48''x 24'' painted on birch wood.
On another note, Heather from ihartfelt on Etsy asked if I would do an interview for her blog, and you all know I love talking about myself (not), but I thought....what the hell. You can read it here

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Time?

Where did the time go?

I blame this guy pictured below. My nephew has consumed my days with his cuteness and sense of humor. I didn't know babies understood humor at only six months, but he was born a natural comedian. So if you see less of me here, I'm somewhere in town toting this chunk of a baby around like an accessory.


It looks like while my blog was taking a sabbatical, Blogger switched things around and I can't seem to format separate paragraphs here. Anyone out there figure out how to do it? (Fixed it thanks to Erica at Beyond Rubies!!!)



The second part of this post is about the incredible luck I've had recently on my scavenger hunts. The sunburst clock found for a mere $5 that instigated a whole new look for the mantle, and these two LARGE vintage maps for only $10 each!


Shut up!!!.....no, really..only $10 bucks each. Can you stand it? The frames needed to be painted over the ugly oak color but that's it.


I have a thing for old maps especially when they are of places I love. One is a map of Yosemite and the other Sequoia National Forest. I now call this room "California Road Trip."
The mosaic of mirrors that hung here before are now finding a new wall in my front room (a.k.a. "the Genie Bottle) and will take pictures as soon as its done. Am I the only dork out there who names her rooms? Don't you think it sounds more interesting than family room and living room?



p.s....for any of you local moms that want to come to the Pannikins free Spring craft day for kids. It's next Friday the 27th from 1-4pm. I have volunteered to help make garden bonbons. A mixture of clay and dirt with seeds tucked inside that are then taken home and tossed in the garden to grow. I've never tried these before so it should be interesting. ;)