A bit of this

A bit of that...

 gesso-ing tea bag tags,

 adhering rusted tea bags and

positioning rusted elements.

Just a few of the things happening in the studio today.

What are you up to?

Violet Revisited

The November Roy G Biv challenge was this past Thursday. The end has been reached with violet...sort of. There are other colors to explore - such as black, white or black & white. What do you think? What other colors would you like to help look for? Should metalics be on the list - gold, silver, copper. Ooh! Just imagine the patinas that copper could bring...

Back to violet...I happened to be in New York City yesterday and found myself wondering if there were purples to be discovered.

While strolling on the way to Japan Society to see Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hōitsu, I happened to glance up in time to see the sun shining on a corner of a house that had me wondering if my eyes and mind were playing a a trick on me. 

Purple cabbages graced the walkways and the market on Madison Avenue had its share of purple too.

 

I have to say that my favorite purple of the day was even more of a surprise than the house. On my way back to Grand Central Station, this vehicle passed by...and thankfully was stopped by a red light! Wonder who all those lovely balloons were for?

Searching for Roy G Biv - Violet - Updated

To me, violet = purple...a color I love. It's right up there with a bright, warm red as one of my favorites. Given that, you'd think a search for the perfect purple would have been conducted all year, wouldn't you? As with many things, I kept thinking that there would be time...to peruse the towns nearby, possibly even NYC, for many shades of purple.

Mother Nature had other plans. First a hurricane that nearly wiped out the east coast. That nasty bit was followed by 10" of snow the next week...

which, of course, my girls loved. That's Grace on the right, bending down in the purple coat. Snowball fight the morning after and just before boarding the bus to school.

Having daughters provides me with the perfect excuse to indulge in my love of purple.

From beads 

 to headbands,

 to cupcake papers,

 and holiday dresses...

even their comfy chairs which Meesha likes too.

I am not alone in my love of purple though. The most used paint in their tray?

Purple, of course.

Even the sunset agrees.

Julie has a delicious variety of violets while
Ersi's skies and fogs leave me breathless
and Fiona's Jacarandas have me dreaming of spring.

What about you? 

Does purple make your heart sing?

Purple definitely has Lisa's heart singing.
Stroll on over to Arzigogolare to peruse her finds.

The Altered Page

Seth Apter of The Altered Page is holding a charity auction to help those effected by Hurricane Sandy.  There are terrific bundles to bid on which include books and original art. Stroll on over to The Altered Page to peruse the goodies or to find out how to make a donation instead.

Indigo revisited

Once again, I find myself amazed and thankful for the friendships made via the blogging world. Your wishes for a happy birthday were appreciated. Your thoughts and prayers for my family's safety during Hurricane Sandy catch my heart and still leave me stunned at the power of friendship via cyberspace. You'd think I would have learned by now, wouldn't you?

There is a lot that could be dwelt on concerning the hurricane, however, I choose to move on with life as normal as possible and to be very thankful that this time my family was spared. Having little ones in the house really leaves one with no other choice.

With schools closed for the week...and, let's be honest, with a disgruntled heart at the week not going as planned...remember, Pam was to have been here until Thursday...my studio was the last place I could be or wanted to be. That's not to say that there is no work to be done. Just the opposite in fact.

A comment Ersi left on the Roy G Biv - Indigo post has stuck with me, so yesterday morning the indigo mono prints were unearthed and strewn across the work table,

with me oohing and aahing all the while

 and wondering just why I had put them away last year.

Acutally, I remember why.

 

The intersection of what next? 

  and how do I do that? had been reached.

I'd had a vision

of a long forgotten treasure box being found and opened

 Inside were remnants of a life -

pages torn from a well loved book,

bits of a painting,

stories written in another language,

maps and blueprints,

codes to be broken...

Ersi, I owe you a huge Thank You! for getting me back in the studio. Photographing the indigos was just the little push that was needed to get the momentum going again. School is back in session tomorrow. Can you guess where I'll be once the little urchins board the bus?