From the Bookshelf

I had forgotten about this lovely book, but then saw it in the museum store when we went to the Pulp Fashion exhibit last week. Full of beautiful paintings and sketches, Ms. de Borchgrave's spirit of colour and elan are evident on every page. Commissioned to replace the Fortuny fabric wall coverings in the Hotel Cipriani with painted facsimiles, she spent time in Venice during one winter and that's the basis for this charming volume.

Spring Fling!

These lovely frocks were on display at "Little Black Dress"
on Main Street in Tiburon.

They all looked so filmy and gauzy and lovely.

Ready for a tea party on the lawn at Blenheim Palace

Or summer cocktails with Jay Gatsby and Daisy
on the North shore of Long Island.

Cigar Box Wednesday

The label on this box reads - "Everything that won't categorize - small". Yup, there's a locker basket with the same label only "big".


And it's just what it says, bits and bobs, this and that, stuff that didn't fit elsewhere and there wasn't enough to give it its own box.

Who knows when or where it will turn up - but you know it will!

Jetson/Beach/Retro

Due to a mix-up, instead of staying at the Sir Frances Drake on our SF trip last week (renovations, etc) we were moved to the Sheraton at Fisherman's Wharf. It was a bit of culture shock


Having expected vintage traditional, classic San Francisco, we landed in a combination of Jetsons, Beachtime and Retro.


I did love these club chairs though - too bad they were just too big to fit in the back of the car!

And the beds were comfy - albeit adorned with a total of 14 pillows!

Decayed Despair

These are shots that I took from the ferry across San Francisco Bay last week as we passed Alcatraz Island.
I've never had any desire to take the tour and actually visit the island, I would imagine it would be awash in feelings of despair and hopelessness.

That said, I did capture these views of some of the
decaying buildings and rusty metal.

Even from across the water, there seemed an air of
old unhappiness and gloom.

Life on the Coast

Looking back to San Francisco from the deck of the Tiburon Ferry
on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Cemetery Saturday

photo courtesy of QT Luong

Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Francisco overlooking the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

photo courtesy of parksconservancy.com

Each marker inscribed with the name of a brave man or woman who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Rank & File 10x20"

Gazing out across these graves brought to mind the piece I did for The Pity of War. So many lives lost, so many crosses, so many gravestones.

From the Bookshelf

It's Friday the 13th!! So I thought this would be an appropriate volume for today's post. I have long loved the "little big book" format and have quite a collection of them. I guess my fascination started back in the '50's when we had "big little books" - I amassed a collection of those too, back in the day.
The above book is stuffed full of spooky stories, poems, legends and tales. You'll find out how to cast a spell, learn about superstitions (including Friday the 13th) and be able to master a few magic tricks by the time you've finished. As these chunky tomes always are, it is lavishly illustrated with vintage prints, etchings and paintings. A feast for the eye and a shiver for the spine!!

Teapots/Petals & Palettes

Yesteryears 9x12"

During the lovely month of May Cambria's Allied Arts Gallery is hosting a show called Teapots/Petals & Palettes. This springtime juried exhibit is dedicated to flowers, tea parties and all things Spring. I had two pieces accepted - Yesteryears - a collage of vintage doll clothes, bookcovers, a frozen Charlotte, silk and velvet blooms and petals and an illustration from an 80 year old children's book printed on linen. This piece won honorable mention and sold the opening weekend!

Les souvenirs d'Ete 5.5x10"

And Les souvenirs d'Ete, a vintage tin flower cone filled with velvet leaves, silk flowers and curly willow and a fleur di lys mounted on a weathered spring green board.
The show runs through June 5 at the Cambria Center for the Arts Gallery, 1350 Main Street. Come enjoy the springtime!

Cigar Box Wednesday

Rubber bands - but not the kind that come wrapped around the daily news. These are big thick, juicy journal rubber bands. Some are from 7 Gypsies, some from The ARTbar, a few from bunches of broccoli or asparagus. Use them when that journal gets so full of ephemera it just won't close on its own!

My favourite is the Book Bra (from 7 Gypsies) -
made of elastic with two
hook and eye closures in the back.