i am quietly appreciating this one little corner this morning, amidst the chaos of last minute art projects, rolls of messy wrapping paper, scraps of duct tape, a sink full of dirty dishes and half finished baking projects. do you recognize the little bits of pink and blue?
okay, back at it. happy saturday.
good morning. it's cold, cold, cold here this week. i love these frosty patterns on our old windows. sometimes it's hard to leave the seat by the wood stove to go and take the pictures, though.
in between packing and shipping orders this week, i've been drawing magnolias for a spring wedding invitation. the juxtaposition between here and there has been making me happy.
two constants i look forward to each december: clementines and paperwhites.
i am loving this song a lot right now. i used to have mixed feelings about the song, in general, because ever since i was a little girl every time i ever heard it my mom would tell me to make sure and remember to sing it at her funeral, but i think i'm over that now she's still alive and kicking all these years later. and it is so beautiful, i can understand it.
i am feeling kind of quiet, but am going to try to be here a bit more in small ways over the next few weeks. i'm working on art for three upcoming shows, so i'll have some of that to show you soon, too.
thanks so much to everyone who came out for the sale on thursday night. the house was transformed into a mini art/craft sale with fabulous shoppers and it felt nice and festive all evening. i think we all had a great time, and it was a terrific excuse to clean and de-clutter my house. we'll definitely do it again next year, i think. read more about it and see a few photos here.
during the sale we got a chance to play guy capecelatro iii's new holiday cd, this time of year, which is pretty fantastic. i had the pleasure of working with guy to draw the cover for it, and i love how it turned out.
now that shows and sales are behind me for 2009 and i'm just working on etsy orders, i am trying to keep things simple and easy as far as gift giving goes. i'm dreaming of making molly's caramel corn, and giving a few gift subscriptions to maine magazine. i've bought a lot of other local and handmade goodies, too, but i think surprises could be spoiled if i talk about them here. what are you making + giving this year?
i love this song. it's been in my holiday rotation for several years, but i always look forward to hearing it at this time of year.
we had our first no-school snow day today. it started out rather nicely, but has since turned into windy, icy rain, with deceptive and menacing puddles of yuck everywhere you step. i am not letting it get me down, though - too much, anyway. we have a nice fire in the woodstove to keep us cozy. and i've been busy getting ready for tomorrow night's sale. if you need more details, please feel free to email me - link is on the left of my blog. (thanks to everyone who came to the other sale i was a part of last weekend at space, too!)
it would be an understatement to say that deb and i are both very excited that the table mats i designed with modern twist for nahcotta are featured in dooce's holiday home goods guide for her today!
i have a new print in my shop, called endless rows of green, and it's one i love especially much. i drew it over a good chunk of the summer and it still makes me feel really happy every time i look at it. i hope you like it too.
field is having a holiday shop. i love, well, everything.
i've visited shari's photo many times in the past day. i think it is one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen.blair is guest blogging at design*sponge this week, and i've been loving her posts.
lines and shapes is having a holiday sale.
have a great day.
i was excited when stephanie levy invited me to be a part of her artist advent calendar this month!
writing this post for her started to get me into the holiday spirit, and more importantly, it gave me an excuse to make some gingerbread! (because i wanted to share our family's recipe in the post.) i thought that maybe a nice photo of the gingerbread all wrapped up would be enough for the blog post, but then stephanie emailed me to see if i had any photos of the gingerbread itself, and i had to sheepishly tell her it had all been eaten since then. ((when we're trying to convince ourselves around here that the gingerbread is decently healthy, we like to say that molasses has a good amount of iron in it. our logic has flaws.))
anyway, i'm really looking forward to seeing who else is featured in the artist advent calendar this month. thanks so much for including me, stephanie!
And here is our yummy gingerbread recipe for you:
Sacralicious Gingerbread
Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup sugar + a wee bit more for sprinkling
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 rounded tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
2 3/4 cup flour
optional: 1/2-3/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
Preheat
the oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg with sugar, add vegetable oil +
molasses and stir until smooth. Mix baking soda into the buttermilk
until slightly foamy then add to wet ingredients. Add in all the dry
ingredients and stir until smooth. Stir in crystallized ginger, if
desired. Dust the top of the batter with a small bit of sugar before
baking, if desired. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan and bake for 25-30
minutes. My family thinks this tastes best when it is still a bit soft
and chewy in the middle, but if you like it drier, bake it a bit
longer. Freezes well if you want to stock up for holiday gift giving.
Enjoy!
this friday and saturday, the 4th and 5th, i will be at space gallery's shop-a-do here in portland, coinciding with first friday art walk. this is one of my favorite shows to do each year!
and on thursday, 12/10 from 5-9pm, i am hosting s is for sale with a lovely assortment of talented pals, including little pink house, lulubeans, betsy thompson, bobbin, milo in maine, pixiegenne, and nicole chaison. stop by for some hot cider and cookies and do a little bit of shopping if the spirit moves you - it will be a fun night!
also, there is free worldwide shipping in my entire etsy shop for a few more days. (there are tons of sellers offering free shipping and other deals right now, so it's a good time to go and peek around.)
i'd like to offer the chance to special order your own iphone (or ipod touch) skin with one of my patterns - but i will only be accepting orders between now and november 30th at this point. here's how it will work: if you're interested in placing an order, email me directly at jjmcgee@gmailDOTcom. the cost for each skin will be $20 + shipping. i will reply to you with instructions for choosing a pattern, and once we've agreed on the one you like, i'll send you a paypal invoice. once you've paid, the skin will be mailed out to you within 10 days, tops. at this time i am only offering this to US residents. all orders must be placed and paid for by monday night, november 30th at midnight EST.
these skins are scratch resistant and also come with an optional clear, pattern-free coating for the screen. i make no promises about what happens if you drop your phone, but you should know i am extremely clumsy, have dropped my phone six times, and it is none the worse for wear.
these patterns are a few i think would work well, but i welcome your ideas too. email me if you're interested.
thanks!
sorry i kind of disappeared from this space for a little bit. it's that busy time of year again. i've been tweeting a bit more lately because it feels more manageable some days - mostly a collection of links i find + am appreciating. my jury was out on twitter for a long time, but there are definitely parts i like - especially small updates from far flung friends - i do not so much enjoy the people only trying to sell me things, though.
i took this picture yesterday on a long thanksgiving day walk with my family. i love how peaceful and still it feels. i hope you had a lovely day yesterday, if you were celebrating. i made this chocolate pie from smitten kitchen as a surprise for a southern uncle who enjoys bitching about our family's usual pumpkin pie. it was a hit. i always feel grateful to spend time with my family. (and i loved this thanksgiving toast in the new york times yesterday.)
i have more news and things to share with you in the next day or so. enjoy your weekend!
it's been awhile since i've shared any artwork.
a fine forest, a new drawing i made this weekend while recovering from the flu (!). prints will be in my shop soon, i think.
this, and my heart, and all the fields, a new mixed media collage
and tell each other how we sung, a new mixed media collage
the two collages are on their way to london for let's play, a group show i am in sponsored by the art group, opening on 12/1/09.
(and thank you so much for your kind comments on my last post. really.)
