I'm not fooled...

...by these past few mild, sunshiney days. All it takes is a glimpse of my photos from last year, late March I believe, of snow on the tulips, to realize winter can (and probably will) pack a late punch any time in the next many weeks. That knowledge makes these rare days even more special; I'll take them as they come and make the most of them.


In art, my two pieces for "Money Talks, Art Walks" IAO benefit found homes during the auction, which makes me happy. As submissions are suppose to be anonymous, I didn't like to share them before the event, but now it's over, here they are.



Next, a few very different commissions, and working on possible pieces for "Oklahoma Friendly" and "Biting the Apple". Nothing but ideas and loose sketches so far, but canvases have been ordered, and deadlines are only a few weeks away, so I really should get busy. Right now.

I'm a sucker for an orphan...

Lonely cats, battered crumbly books, dingy, floppy-headed stuffed animals, and now it looks like my adoption services have been expanded to include shabby, holey, frayed quilts. I noticed it last week at the 'everything's half price' thrift shop, where it caught my eye with its look of those already-tattered childhood quilts I remember from the 60s and 70s. Still, it wasn't what I was after, and what would I do with it? I think the price then would have been $15, which could have been spent more wisely elsewhere, and probably was. Today, though, it was still on my mind, so when I passed that way again I gave in to the urge to stop in, just to see. I reckoned it would be long gone. It wasn't. There it hung in its "seen much, much better days" faded glory, and with a reduced price that meant I ended up giving $8 to bring it home.
What to do with it, I haven't a plan, but at least I can revel in its lovely fabrics, and Miss Blue made it feel right at home. A few more pictures can be found on my flickr page.







In productive news, 8 new pendants were completed and delivered to Istvan Gallery, in time for tonight's opening reception. Here are a few.

This Friday, Feb. 5, will be the debut of my newest batch of necklaces! Come see them at Studio Six, NW 30th and Paseo, Oklahoma City. The Friday event will run from 6 pm till 9 or 10 (depending on how long the gallery strollers choose to stick around), and Saturday's open house is from noon till 5 pm. The jewelry will remain in Studio Six through the month of February, so if you can't make it this weekend (though you'll want to for the best selection, as well as live music and tasty refreshments), feel free to pop in later in the month.
My copper jewelry can also be found at Istvan Gallery (1218 N. Western Ave.) in Oklahoma City, where some fresh, free form copper swirl pieces will be offered in time for Valentine's shopping.




In other news, my baby turned 18 Sunday, and made a party of the whole weekend, naturally. You can see she has a charming plethora of pals.

A little springlike weather, a little ice storm that hasn't (so far) quite turned out to be the end of civilization predicted by the Prophets of Doom weathermen, and a little creativity. Here's a partial sampling of the new necklaces I'll be offering next Friday, Feb. 5, in Studio Six on Paseo (NW 30th and Paseo, Oklahoma City).
Between moments of jewelry-making, I had a burst of cleaning frenzy, spending the better part of an afternoon clearing off and sorting out my desk. While it at first appeared to be a perfectly inviting creative space, it turned out to be a purrfectly inviting feline space.....

Just making the most of it

No reason to go on about the tragedies in the world. Everyone else is, and talk doesn't change things. We do what we can, where we can, and in the meantime make the most of what we're given.
For instance, a show of clever, artistic furniture stuff including a wall of flowers, held in place by heavy duty magnets. Isn't Klint Schor inventive? Yes. Yes he is. And a glass marble mosaic countertop, along the lines of something that's been in my head for years.


Now, I'm not a grrl with an infinite sum of moneys at my disposal, but that doesn't mean I can't find a near-constant array of amusements at my fingertips. If it's not a festive art opening, perhaps it's Ingrid's early on a Saturday afternoon, for the live band playing a fun, fine array of tunes to dance to. Not saying I can dance, because I can't, much. But I sure like pretending I can. For the price of a cup of coffee and a few delicious cookies, you can have one smile-inducing great date. Oh, and a few bucks into the band's tip jar when it comes around.





Art, Ingrid's, art, music, beautiful mild sunny afternoons, and maybe a little indulgent mail order shopping as well. (I'm only human...) Thanks to a tip on the Fedora Lounge, I learned of these stellar Diesel shoes offered on Amazon, for a fraction of their $100 plus price tag. I couldn't resist, and placed my order. Though tracking info told me they'd been en route for a few days, they didn't arrive Saturday, so a disappointed me reckoned I'd have to wait till Tuesday. Not so. Despite it being a holiday - no mail, no school, no bank, etc. - FedEx troopered on and delivered my shoes! Hooray. They happily arrived to coincide with the complimentary tickets Tony and I had been offered for an Oklahoma City Jazz Band concert. What timing. I put those gorgeous, two-toned babies on and headed up to the top of the Chase Tower, aka The Petroleum Club, for a swanky, evening with friends, a stellar skyline view of the city in all its sprawling glory, and some amazing jumping jive. You can have all the dvds, cds, music files, youtube videos you want, but nothing compares to the complex beauty of real live, played by humans music.
Yes, I adore live performance.
It was an educational night as well. I learned that the director/conductor/band leader fellow, from my angle of viewing his profile, sometimes looks like a mature Frank Sinatra, and sometimes looks like Mr. Roper from "Three's Company".
I also learned that even though you rinse and rinse and rinse a plastic juice bottle before you add a little cheap red wine with which to top up your $5 glass from the bar, it can still impart a curious Mango Naked flavor to the beverage.

Welcome to 2010. (That's "twenty-ten" in my head, not "two-thousand and ten", which seems and sounds like an unnecessary mouthful.)
There was the Christmas Eve blizzard, causing great inconvenience to many, many people. Fortunately for us, we had no big plans, plenty of food in store, and were happy to hide away in the 'hood for a few days. Fortunately, too, the Red Cup is only a mile or so away; a not-too-stressful stroll brings us the daily dose of coffee and socializing. And the cemetery along the way is an added bonus.


New Year's Eve was as usual for us. Sara and I had our annual gig of face painting downtown for Opening Night. Tony dropped us off (along with the other painters, Tina and Chandler), and returned to collect us at 11 pm, which goes a long way toward easing the potential hassle of finding and paying for a place to park. It was strange to arrive at our designated area, only to see a posse of clowns had invaded and taken over. They begrudgingly made room for us, in the back, and then proceeded to somewhat monopolize the crowd all evening. Now, we were being paid to do a job and help entertain the crowds, so a little wasteful thumb twiddling didn't sit well. Eventually some people found their way to our tables, including this charming couple who requested the kissy fish. Aren't they cute as they lock lips at midnight, under the rising ball?


And now the rush of festivities and parties has ebbed, and the real world beckons. Super duper brutal arctic air is supposedly headed our way (I heard something about 2 degrees F - yipes!). If tomorrow's last bit of warmth (38 degrees) can thaw that frozen hay bale in the front yard, I'll be parceling it out over the more delicate plants like lavender and pineapple sage, in hopes of preventing their total demise. The front path rosemary has been dying off over the past months, and looks completely finished now. :( Still, it's dead dry branches will smell lovely in the chimenea. My other, biggest, oldest rosemary is somewhat sheltered against the west side of the house. Let's hope that exposure, along with the matting of sycamore leaves tangled in the lower branches will help protect it.

While it's bitterly cold outdoors, I'll be working my little fingers off with the newest collection of text pendants. This batch incorporates more of the Jugenstil-esque wire designs, making them a bit more ornamental and versatile. See a small sampling here, and the entire collection at Studio Six on Paseo next month, when I'll be the featured guest artist for First Friday's Gallery Walk.
cheers gang, happy new year, and keep warm!

See No, Hear No, Speak No....

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Originally uploaded by joannacraddock

MJ, me, and Carolyn as the proverbial monkeys (only less hairy) at the Living Arts event in Tulsa.

'Tis the Season to Socialize

In November there was Champagne and Chocolate at Livings Arts, in Tulsa. MJ, Carolyn, and I made the trek for a lovely evening filled with - what else? - champagne and chocolate. And tasty savory food and much delightful art. Jenan was once again a ceramic corset model, and chocolate profferer.
The following day, Tony's folks arrived from Ireland to attend a real old-fashioned American Thanksgiving dinner, and Tony's graduation from medical school.



Somewhere along the way I had one of 'those' days, in which everything seemed a little awkward and off-kilter. These two spills happened within 10 minutes of each other.



So, in a nutshell, there was Thanksgiving in Duncan, Tony's graduation, Paseo Art Walk - cut short in order to get Tony to his surprise party at Istvan Gallery, where a fantastic assortment of friends and family had gathered to wish him well and congratulate him. After the initial shock (and venting by calling me a dirtbag (albeit with a smile)), he got into the swing of things and a grand, grand time was had by all. Photos here soon, perhaps, but already on fb. Then there was the Christmas parade in Stockyards City, featuring a herd of longhorns rumbling down the street; dancing to the divine, golden age music at Ingrid's Kitchen, and various other escapades that escape me at the moment.
Though the folks were here for Sara's winter orchestra concert at Classen SAS, they flew away early the next morning, no doubt to carry back to Eire tales of the rambunctious, party-a-minute lifestyle we're living out here in the wild west. ;)
They were not here for the Christmas Exhibition at Arctic Edge Ice Rink, in which Sara skated a lovely solo, and then teamed up with Jared for an enchanting duet, skated to "Once Upon A December."
They've taken the show on the road, so to speak, and have skated it twice at the outdoor, downtown ice rink. A few more performances may happen before the year ends.