Goodbye American Plum Tree~Sad Arbor Day

Arbor Day was officially on April 25th but this weekend I spent several hours on Sunday at the Mo. Co. Arbor Day events at the County Extension office giving tours of the Demo gardens there. I woke up on Sunday prepared to go to Yoga and then volunteer, then I looked out our back windows and sadly discovered our tree had come down! We didn't plant this American Plum but it seemed healthy enough despite a wicked drought last year (I did water the tree). The roots just came right up out of the ground in the heavy winds and the tree came over without breaking a branch. I asked my husband not to get the saw out just yet and I consulted with an Arborist on Sunday and it was as I thought, not a tree that could be saved. I said my good bye's, thanked the tree for it's shade and wildlife refuge. I picked out a tiny Eastern Redbud that I planted on Sunday and will replace this beautiful Plum with a beautiful Red Maple soon. I'm so glad I took lots of photo's of this beauty while in bloom this spring.

Collaborative Block Layers~Round 3

Yesterday I sent out Round 3 blocks for the "Collaborative Block Layers Project" that I'm hosting. These are really starting to be fun as more people are collaborating on them. Some of them I think could be "done" as they are. We have 2 more rounds to go before they will be ofically completed and will be distributed to each of the 10 artists participating. Each person will end up getting 12 blocks to do with whatever they wish (perhaps put into a book, frame separately or together, hang on a mobile etc).


1. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-5, 2. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-4, 3. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-11, 4. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-2 Front, 5. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-2 back, 6. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-1, 7. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-8, 8. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-10, 9. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-7, 10. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-9, 11. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-3, 12. Block Swap Round 3 Completed-6

Make Every Day Earth Day~Plastic recycling

Happy Earth day! I have the fondest of memories of this day going back to highschool. I remember my senior year skipping school to go down town DC and join with thousands of others to celebrate the Earth, listen to music, wade in the nasty reflecting pool on the mall and walk around visiting various vendors selling and educating about "environmental" practices and products. We have come along way but somehow today just feels like any other day since I couldn't "Skip" work to celebrate. I do try to celebrate the earth everyday by doing the smallest of things including recycling, composting, buying local/organic, using florescent bulbs, not using chemical cleaners and gardening products, you get the picture. I have dreams of someday owning a house that I can convert to solar/alternative power, use FSC Certified wood and other recycled and "green" products but for now I do the little things I can. Recently I have been trying to incorporate recycled objects into my art projects. I've been wanting to try this plastic bag fusing project now for months so I finally sat down to cutting and fusing a bunch all at once with open windows and a good movie. I don't know yet what I will use these for, they have endless possibilites and it was so easy and fun (other than the fumes). Give it a try, there is a great tutorial over at Etsy Labs.

I hope you will do what you can to give back to our mother earth.
Please~"Make Every Day Earth Day".

Mosaic Monday~Flowers

Mosaic Monday~Flowers
Originally uploaded by WeBees

This week because the flowers are blooming and it's so rainy and dreary I hope this virtual spring bouquet will pick you up.

Pink petals and clover

Pink petals and clover
Originally uploaded by WeBees

This little photo was selected to be published in Sierra Club's Daily Ray of Hope today along with the following quote.

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.

-- Leo F. Buscaglia

NYC Art Blitz~Part 1

I've been absent due to my recent 5 day whirlwind tour of lots of art in NYC. I had a business trip up last week and added a couple days on to that for my own art, shopping and food enjoyment. As usual I pushed myself to see as much as possible but this time I felt I made my choices wisely and the pace was enjoyable.
This entry is heavy on text but hopefully you will do more exploring of the visuals available through the links.

First I walked from my hotel to FIT and saw two exhibits the first of which was Sole Desire: The Shoes of Christian Louboutin. It doesn't cease to amaze me how timeless every pair of shoes on exhibit were! The exhibit chronicles his career, gives insight to his inspirations and influences and showcases some of his most spectacular designs.

The other FIT exhibit Exoticism also ongoing (hurry it ends May 7)at FIT is a fashion retrospective of the last 250 years with a focus on some of the most exotic clothing (and what makes it so) around the world. It was intreguing to see how the daily life and times of each culture was reflected in the garments that were worn. One of the most intresting aspects of this show to me is how increased global trade has influenced fashion and textiles and obviously early on only the more wealthy individuals could afford imported textiles and garments or replicas. Their were spectacular examples from France, Africa, India, Japan, India and other designers around the world.


Continuing in my Art Blitz (Eastside)I decided to cancel my intended trip to the Whitney Biannual which I knew would include some wonderful, controversial, up and coming art but I had my heart set on seeing a couple of smaller exhibits. Off next to the Cooper Hewitt to see a few exhibits with my main interest being "Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product". As a student in college I became enthralled with a large sample book of textiles from the 1940's that I stumbled upon at the Chelsea Flea Market and now as an industry designer I understand what a valuable tool samples are too clients. This exhibit had samples of everything from textiles to paint, leather and wallpaper. A small but comprehensive show with some stunning examples such as the books of 18Th Century French buttons. I found it fascinating also to see how the format of these sample books, envelopes, sheets etc. evolved and were totally changed due to the requirements of the product being sold.

While there I also walked through both of the other current exhibits. Rococo: The Continuing Curve explores the style of Rococo from 1730–2008. The show highlights the immersion of this style in traditional decoration worldwide, as well how Rococo has influenced design and and styles such as Art Nouveau and the Pop Art movement. The exhibit from the permanent collection was curated by the Brazilian design duo The Campana Brothers. They wisely chose from a variety of medium to highlight pieces that showcased something about design, process and the way that materials speak to individuals. Every piece in this exhibit speaks to the process of a well designed object weather it be furniture, a book or a piece of jewelry. I am never disappointed in an exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt, head over to their site for more on these shows.


From here I walked along Central Park East on the warmest day so far of the year. It was beautiful, people were out in droves to soak up the warmth, walk their dogs and enjoy the first day that really felt like Spring. The Gustav Klimt exhibit at Neue Gallery is one I had wanted to see for the past month since I saw it mentioned on the CBS Sunday moring show. I've heard that this exhibit didn't get the best of reviews but I loved it! I knew that it would not include many of his paintings but it did included study drawings for many of his paintings and a replica of his studio set up. I was not disappointed. I admire him so much as a talented and traditionally trained artist and even more now that I have seen some of his earlier works. Many of his paintings can appear flat in areas with their heavily patterned layers of clothing. I have always loved the way with wich he contrasts between this stylistic approach and the ethereal lifelike faces of his subject matters. I feel I now have a better understanding of how he arrived to combine the two styles so successfully. A little gem of a show in my humble opinion.

NYC Art Blitz II will continue with my visit to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and some of it's current exhibits.

Mosaic Mondays

1. Le tour Eiffel, 2. Honey , 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. candle, 6. Earthshine, 7. Millennium clouds, 8. C365 / 215 - Pincushion tops, 9. four, 10. Untitled, 11. Spring Pond Lattice Nuno, 12. Untitled

Mosaic Monday

1. Bridge, 2. Blossoms, 3. here comes the sun, 4. Crafting 365 - Day 40, 5. masako onodera5, 6. YIP ~ Day 89, 7. Untitled, 8. crafting 365: 139 Lu Summers, 9. collections } teacups, 10. vintage button boutonnieres, 11. Lavender, 12. unexpected, 13. sketchbook.swatch, 14. green baby hat, 15. P3160031.JPG, 16. feijoas

Scottish Independance and Freedom

For as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom — for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.
From The Declaration of Arbroath 1320.

On this date in the year 1320 these words were addressed in Latin to Pope XXII from the people of Scotland. In essence it was Scotlands Declaration of Independence. Many of the words and thoughts of the rest of the declaration found their way into our own Declaration of Independence...

Several years ago, the Congress of the US declared April 6 National Tartan Day in honor of the Scots who declared their independence today.

The words above were shared with me and other family and friends by my grandfather today in his weekly email(his own "Blog"...if you will). Since my heritage is Scottish on both sides I will share this with any of you who may be Scot and all of us who honor our Freedom!

Spring Cleaning: Internal and External

I always like to start Spring by airing out the house, cleaning out the flower beds, cutting back dead materials in the garden and doing a good deep cleaning which I usually do over a 2-3 week period. This year I am extending that tradition to include a personal internal cleanse as well. There seems something symbolic about doing these routine cleanings. I know I feel better when my home is fresh and clean so I am treating my body to the same as my house. I've been eating healthy, taking an herbal cleanse formula and have abstained from Alcohol and so far it feels great. I hope this will become at least a 2 or even better 4x per year tradition and doing so as the seasons change seems a great time to go through a physical and spiritual cleanse as well. I hope this cleanse will help me to follow the path in front of me more easily as all the obstacles have been cleared away.