another kitty post

could he be any cuter?

progress

now i am putting in circles, into the landscape.  more coming today, circles that is.

indoor garden

we have a great window and a great bench in our bedroom, for an indoor garden.  a jade plant, cacti, and a bonsai - so far.

funny flower

this is the arrangement for the week (we seem to always have one nowadays, now that we can walk to the farmers market so easily on Saturdays.)  weird flowers.

cantaloupe

i grew this!  i exclaimed to my husband this morning, as we quickly devoured our slices before work.  this was after i found it lying on the ground, totally ripe, ready for discovery.  my first minnesota midget.

plans

we have this really funky blank area around our fireplace where built-ins should go.  right now it is empty.  instead of cabinets and shelves, i just want shelves.  and because of that wierd space in the middle - where the fireplace is wider but the t.v. area is narrower - i was inspired by this months Martha Stewart - vertical dividers!  now, to find a carpenter ...

dining

alex the cat sitting on the dining room table.  with that small Danish tea cart we picked up at a mid-century modern store that was going out of business a few weeks ago.  and a rose on top. he says, "when are we eating?"

progress

i added more layers to this landscape. i realize that encaustic application needs to be more opaque than translucent - you don't want to see the wood.  i like drawing on top of the wax with oil pastels.  it gives it more depth.

mixing wax

i use pastels and natural powder pigments to mix in with the beeswax. i mix everything together with an animal hair brush. its better to be as opaque as you can - the white is key.

sunflower red

sunflowers from the farmers market at City Hall every Saturday morning.  these ones last for over a week.  the vendor always gives me a free rose, too.

sunrise

i was struck by the sun rising this morning, it happened so fast.  by the time i uploaded this photo minutes later, it was day outside.  a view from my home office.

berry bullies

i planted wild Alexandria strawberries.  they were cheap so i bought them.  they tend to take over like pests, but i can't really say no to a ripening wild strawberry ...

happy 4th

i made this one a few weeks back and decided to make it again.  it is so delectable - a berry cream brown betty from my favorite dessert cookbook.  how can you go wrong with - pastry cream, toasted challah chunks, and assorted berries, baked?

cukes

these are called Miniature Whites.  They don't get too big (good for the containers they are in), and are mild in flavor with no hard skins.

this is the beginning of an encaustic landscape.  when i mix the color into the wax, i use the cheap kind of oil pastels from the art store.  they work just fine - and it is so fun to run the pastel through the hot wax on the hot plate.  a rich dash of color before it gets mixed.