You haven’t heard much from me in February because I have been devoting my time to filling our Art Garden with the finest and most creative offering to be found anywhere.

And now, it’s my great pleasure to introduce some of these fabulous artists to you.

Kate Larsson is a master watercolorist from way up in the state of Washington.

“Blue Shutters”

One of the most beloved elements of watercolor is its brilliance. This results from the way professional watercolor paper holds the pigment on the surface, allowing light to reflect through it from the white of the paper behind.

When watercolors are reproduced, much of that brilliance is lost because the relationship between printers ink and paper is much different.

Kate has found a way to reproduce her watercolors that not only preserves their luminance, but actually enhances it. You have to see this to believe it, but the colors glow as if backlit.

The paintings are printed in the artist’s own studio using a dye-sublimation and heat technique that actually infuses the color into the glaze of a ceramic tile. The results are stunning.

Each 8″x10″ tile creates a window of light and color on your wall, and costs only $45. They also have an easel back and can stand on their own.

We currently have 8 paintings available. All will be in our Shopping Cart soon for our online audience, and can be appreciated now in the gallery.

Here are the other seven (All Images Copyright Karen Larsson)

“Seven Jars”

“Red Poppies”

“Dragonfly Revisited”

“Dahlia Bouquet”

“Three Geraniums”

“Rose Bowl”

“Iris”

Come and visit these pieces in person Tuesday – Saturday, 10-5

You won’t forget this color experience for a long time!

I love pewter. I have always loved silver too, but pewter keeps its shine and doesn’t tarnish.

Artists Bonnie Bond and John Caraberis worked for many years making sterling silver jewelry. They became fascinated with pewter because it lends itself to a multitude of things that are more difficult to make with silver.

In their large studio in Nova Scotia, they sculpt designs that are organic, whimsical, and inspirational, and then cast them into lead-free pewter right there in the studio.

They have been very successful and feel that it is only right to give back, so they donate 10% of their profits to various charities.

We have a large selection of jewelry, magnet sets, key rings, magic boxes, and beautiful hanging plaques.

Perfect Valentine gifts for ladies of all ages!

The windows of the gallery look out on the mountains, and when the Sculpture garden is finished, it will be our foreground view. So we have stunning views.

However, during the month of January, this has been our view:

Or, this one in the other window . . .

Not lovely, and very noisy, but the end result, paved parking in front of the gallery, will be well worth it.

January has been an exercise in positive thinking. Any retail store is compromised in January because the holidays are over, people are shopped out, the weather isn’t the best, etc. etc. A new store is even more compromised.

But we have had people in every day and we have been using this time to visualize the coming months, and to fill the gallery with the new and different creations that our customers love.

I will be able to do some photos soon, and get our online gallery rolling. It’s all a matter of time. In fact, it’s ALL a matter of time!

We have been open for 12 days and the experience has been amazing. Of course, the traffic and sales of the Grand Opening Day can’t happen everyday. Things are much quieter but customers come in and shop, enjoy, chat, compliment, and we feel very good about it all.

The devil is in the details, as they say (and why are “they” always right?). There are a million details, tags and signs, bookkeeping procedures to set up, etc.

Of course, when the six guest jewelers moved out on Day 2, we had to reconstruct the whole layout and scurry to “fill” the gallery again. We did it.

The Prayer Scrolls hanging on the metal tree are wonderful. The artist silkscreens the designs and quotes on natural silk and they are perfectly pressed and hemmed. Totally tasteful.

By last Friday night, we decided we had better do some more work after closing to be ready for the week-end. Because it was very cold outside, and the canine “children” might do who-knows-what if left inside the house, all three came with us to the gallery after dinner.

At first, after a good deal of smelling went on (remember that the Husky rescue event had happened on opening day), it seemed that the crew would settle down and be good.

Sky looked serene . . .

Teddy was smiling . . .

And Chevy explored the empty Greenhouse school . . . (can I get that done by next month??!!??)

It looked too much like a kennel to him and he is a freedom lover, so he came around and took the long view . . .

Mark got the fun jobs, of course . . .

There never seems to be enough light. But those icicle lights in the window have really helped get us noticed. They are the twinkle version. I got them at Michael’s and I love them.

I worked on title cards and tweaking displays and such – the kind of jobs that don’t involve ladders.

All went well for quite awhile, but when you start to see this, you know trouble is coming . . .

Chevy is not fixed, so I thought I would spare you that visual treat. This is a family blog after all.

Before long, the natives were truly restless . . .

See me in the window?

I have to hand it to them (and us). We all lasted until ten o’clock!

Many of you want to see closer detail of the “stuff” in the gallery. I’ll share some close-ups next post.

Times flies and it is Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas, everyone!

We plan to collapse for Christmas!

I did not share with you the sleepless nights (the dog sneezes and wakes you up and your mind starts racing so you can’t find sleep again), or the carzy, crazy, craziness that is last minute details on the fly.

But I will share with you that yesterday was one of the best and most exciting days of our lives.

Opening was at 10am and by 9:30, the parking lots were beginning to fill. By 10, all 4 parking lots were full and people were parked along adjacent streets. For the next 10 hours, the gallery was never empty, and most of the time, there were a dozen or more customers at a time.

I was so busy that there was no chance to take photos, but I finally managed a few – not good photos, but they give you the idea.

We also sponsored an Adoption Event for the Siberian Husky Rescue of New Mexico - in the empty gallery space next door – so there were beautiful dogs walking around with people following and gushing over them. We think that they found homes for 3-4 of the Huskies.

Of course, I fell madly in love with one Husky (mix but mostly Husky) and I would bring him home if he loved cats and if my pack wasn’t so perfectly balanced. But I am taking up his cause and am determined to find him a forever home. Because I am so busy right now, I am turning the job over to Dear Me! for the moment.

SO, without further ado, here’s are some moments from yesterday . . .

The weather was clear and in the 40’s, but there was still snow on the mountains – as you can see in our wonderful view. We were sponsoring a jewelry trunk show, so there were 6 extra tables as well as our own permanent fixtures. Today, we will have to move everything around to fill in for the missing tables.

Here is a portion of the right wall when you come in the main entrance. An artist friend arranged the Blue Tiles we’ve shown you in a wave pattern. The jewelry in the foreground is by Richard and Jane Salley. That is a big article in Somerset Belle Amoire Jewelry magazine that called Richard a Master of Metal. We are happy Richard and Jane are friends and that they have moved to Santa Fe from California, and that they will be Teaching at the Art Garden Greenhouse in January. Watch for details.

You can see some framed prints by yours truly and some “Tuscan Herb Gardens” I grew for the gallery.

Remember how I have said that Sheer Heaven was developed to be “underwear” for my handmade paper Luminarias? Well, here’s a new batch. Batik paper. Pretty, yes?

This is a typical scene throughout the day – lots of people shopping!

Our wonderful fountain filled the space with the water sound I find so soothing. Several people tried to buy it, but that wasn’t going to happen!

See those fun paintings? The blouses are real! Stiffened with fabric stiffener. You would never guess who the artist is. It’s Richard Salley  and those blouses used to belong to Jane!

This was a rare quiet moment that didn’t come along until after 5 – just before the live music events started and the new crowds came through.

Just to the left of the main entrance, two of my favorite artist friends: Carla Sonheim does whimsical paintings of little girls (she says they are all self-portraits, and Judith Baker did these original oils in a classical style – and even made the wood panels they are painted on. Carla and Judy couldn’t be more different in style, and yet they make great neighbors.

Today, we will rearrange and rearrange to adjust for the lost tables and the sold art! Then I will take more pictures!

I am a real fan of rustic jewelry, and love these pieces from artist, Dena Goldman. Some pieces have a word engraved on the back as well.

The mix of the Sterling Silver with copper is just great.

The one above is called “Little Flower”.

This one is called “With Grace”. I love that name because it was my grandmother’s name.

and the back looks like this:

Then, I got carried away with the beauty of jewelry by Jackie Magyar, and had to have some of that too.

Here are a couple of her pieces . . .

I’m inspired by these pieces and can’t wait until I have the time to work on some jewelry of my own!

Tuesday, we went to Albuquerque, to a store of store fixtures and bought gridwall to create the screen between the Art Garden Gallery and the Greenhouse Creative Center. We wanted a wall that was not a wall so the spaces would still share energy, but there would be difference.

Wednesday, we spent the entire day in the space – starting for the first time to set out displays and products.

Though I don’t have prices figured out and can’t put these for sale online until after our opening, I can show and tell a few things . . .

I’ll start with the whimsical and wonderful ceramic art by K. D. Fullerton. We do not have this particular piece (wish we did) but we have a very nice selection which will take up a good piece of wall.

And I personally love these pieces . . . made of wood, copper, and glass . . .

Each piece is about  5.5″ x 8.5″ and heavy because it is based on a block of wood. The glass is fired onto the copper and then the pieces is formed to the word. A quote runs around the outside edges. This one says “May all your weeds be wildflowers.” We have 10 designs in the gallery to start with. The artist is Houston Llew from Georgia.

And how about these beautiful fused glass birds? We have them hanging on one of our metal trees in two sizes. They come from Bainbridge Island up in the Northwest and are handmade by Racquel Stanek . . .

So far, we are loving how things are beginning to shape up.

In the cointinuing evolution of the “extra space” at the Art Garden, the idea of creative workshops just keep coming up stronger and stronger. I keep waffling over whether I want to teach “live” on top of all the online teaching. I have a lot of very talented friends who do want to teach live.

So, I started playing with the idea of a different kind of “art school”. One that only explored creativity through new media (transfers, Panpastels, Sheer Heaven, etc.) and taught no-fail workshops where you could create something beautiful whether you are an accomplished artist or haven’t even thought about making art since first grade. Even accomplished artists would find the new media interesting.

We needed a name that would go with The Art Garden and express the idea of budding and growing creativity. My dear friend Sue Kloess came up with this one and I LOVE it:

The byline will be “Cultivating Creativity”.

The space will be divided from the gallery space with open gridwall panels, so it will be more of a psychological division than a “wall”. We will hold small workshops right there in the gallery, and for larger workshops/retreats, we will use an awesome classroom that is right there in the complex.

I am chatting with my good friend, Richard Salley about a jewelry workshop in mid January. Stay tuned and you will be the first to know!

I have another good friend wo works at Home Depot. Mark and I went in there looking for something like a counter for a coffeemaker. By the time we got done with possibilities, we decided on these 9 foot wall units – two of them. They are oak with a granite looking countertop. One will be for the Greenhouse section and one for the coffee bar in the gallery. We even fit a little refrigerator under that one.

It was amazing how my friend, Mary Gail, was able to mock up these counters on her Home Depot computer and show us exactly where they would go and how  much room they would take. I wish I could find those printouts to show you a comparison – maybe later.

But we put the real things together on Thanksgiving day and here is the coffee bar unit.

That is a toe-kick in the front which has to be cut and placed on either side of the refirgerator. In the Greenhouse unit, the two middle sections are 36″ wide each giving us nice big drawers and cabinets for storage. One of the resaons we did this is that the gallery space had *no* storage. These units will give us quite a bit.

And finally, here’s a funny, serendipitous story. Mark and I and Sue Kloess went to an art show on Friday. When you come in, they give you a raffle ticket to fill out. If you win a drawing, you choose from art donated by all the exibitors. Sue and I are jaded and just started to walk away. Mark said “Hey, what about these?” (He hasn’t gone to many shows with us because he was always working, you see.)

“Oh, we never do those,” Sue and I said in unison.

“Well, then, you’ll never win.”

That made sense, so Sue filled hers out. I left ours to Mark.

We had not gone down one half of an aisle before they called Mark’s name over the PA system. He won!

We got to pick from three tables full of wonderful artwork. Right off the bat, Mark liked this painting:

Gee – I wonder why? One more dog than we have, but the resemblance is there. I loved the title too:

“2 Dogs, 4 Dogs, Rescue More Dogs”

It is an original painting done on paper clay!

We had to go find the artist, Jill Flinn, and oh what a wonderful person. She paints to support the animal rescue she runs at her home in Wisconsin.

We loved her work and bought four more paintings for the gallery.

We all talked about how it must have been meant to be.

That’s all for the moment . . .