Year End Stumblings…..

Nothing like going straight from the first post of the year directly to the last. It has been quite a year and I THINK I’m glad it is almost over.

Merry Christmas from Kitty Klaus

Aside from the miserable economy and the election hoopla I had a catastrophic hardware failure in February. All data was retrieved — at a cost! But lets just say, I am still trying to catch up with updating websites, getting art work completed, stalls cleaned, pastures mowed….

Snow Ponies!

We had one really nice snow (March, I think). Dakota and Danny did not know what to make of it.

The big news of the year was getting the long-worked-on CD “Soul Complete”…well…. COMPLETED! (Cagle & Nash, Soul Complete, available at iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, etc.) Husband, Rick, and his songwriting partner, Greg, had been working on this the last half of 2008. Several tracks are currently being playing on broadcast and internet radio throughout the world. Smooth Jazz and R&B….I’ll upload audio clips when I figure out how. Their second project – a single – is a holiday song “Celebrate the Holidays” which is available at iTunes etc. for download. (Anyone that wants a CD will have to contact us directly to buy it) And, to toot MY horn…I created all the artwork and did all the graphic design for both CDs. (bit of a pun as Rick is a trumpet player)

Greg and Rick setting up for the CD Release Party

Soul Complete CD Cover

Cover Art for “Celebrate the Holidays”

This year was a good one for watercolor commissions…I’ll post some AFTER Christmas and they have all been received — would hate to spoil a surprise. Did a couple of local artist markets and sold some jewelry and miniature sculptures. The Tree Twists were the biggest sellers! Currently I am working on polymer covered boxes…will add a page of those soon.

Maple Leaf Box

Here is one of the boxes. It is about 5-6 inches wide, a wood box covered with polymer clay. The leaves are all individually sculpted from polymer. There are endless possibilities with this technique. At one of the shows people kept thinking these, and some of the jewelry (mainly the leaf jewelry), were made of leather.

Below is the largest of the Tree Twists. It is about 3 inches high. These are perfect for miniature holiday scenes for those of us who like something a bit abstract.

May everyone have a wonderful holiday season and (if I don’t get back to this soon!) a very Happy New Year!

Tree Twist

New Year ramblings…

The year has started off bright and sunny, but cold cold cold. 

My 2009 started off early holding my horse for the farrier at 8:30 am. Best part of the cold was that the mud was frozen. The worst part was that my toes froze!  Mid-afternoon it was warm enough to venture out to ride. Dakota was a good girl in spite of the fact we haven’t worked much since the days got short (may the economy pick up so I can add a light near the arena).

My husband has been at the recording studio, working on final tracks and mixing for a new Cagle & Nash CD. My son, the drummer, went to Athens (GA) for New Years Eve. So I spent the rest of my New Years Day working on some neglected art projects…and I hope to add new pages with some paintings and photography soon.

May everyone have a….

 

from Stanley the Cat

Autumn Inspiration Post three

 

These are the last of the fall tree color pictures of this season. 

 

Crepe Myrtle late afternoon.

The next one depends on the gold of my dappled buckskin mare for color.

 

Gold horse, green tree, dark shadows.

 

 

Nandina

 

Crepe Myrtle

 

 

Autumn Color – Yellow Maple Leaves

All the leaves are on the ground now…but the big Maple in my front yard was brilliant this year! Here are some photos of them and of the new necklaces they inspired.

 

Yellow maple branch

 

Maple Leaf Pendant

Yellow Maple and Blue Sky

 

Double Leaf Pendant

The inspiration of autumn color

 

Some years ago I spent my lunch break at my day job sitting in my car — eating crackers and yogurt — and sketching in a small bound book. It was this time of year and the oaks were blazing red. All I had was a black pen. The notation next to the sketch reads “Oh, glorious pagan oak, nodding his flame red crown to God.” 

 

This year I recorded the oaks (and maples, and elms, and crepe myrtles, and…) with my camera. And then followed up with some jewelry designs.

One of the chestnut oaks in my front yard.

 

Oak inspired pendant and earring set.

 

Early morning trees at the edge of the front pasture.

 

Polymer jewelry in progress in the studio.