swallowfield

books i have known

here's a quick doodle-y drawing for you today, as i get ready to go away for a few days.

i've always loved books. the more that are stacked up around me, the better. i happily kept my nose inside a nancy drew book  or anything by lois duncan for a good chunk of my childhood. my girl* is the same way, and it is enough to secretly make a mother burst with pride. (i'm just saying.) she's outgrowing picture books and early chapter books for more substantial fare, but we sure did love reading anything by kevin henkes (lily and the purple plastic purse, owen, wemberly worried, chrysanthemum, julius, baby of the world, sheila ray the brave, etc - we both loved the illustrations a lot, too - and the catwings books by ursula k leguin. now she's loving judy blume, pippi longstocking, the little house books and some of the kate dicamillo books (the tale of despereaux.) if you have other recommendations, i would love to hear them.

* mr. 6 1/2, on the other hand, only wants to read star wars books and graphic novels when we go to the library. as far as i've been able to tell, there aren't too many graphic novels that are great for 6 1/2 year olds, though i'm thinking of breaking out my old calvin and hobbes and maybe a bit of tin tin for him soon. the only thing we've been able to agree on wholeheartedly is harry potter, and we're all huge, dorky, obsessed fans. even now.

here's some other good book related goodness for you from amongst my flickr favs:
#1: from one good bumblebee

#2: from broken press

#3: from designsponge

#4: from le train fantome

#5: from bugheart

#6: from bird in the hand  (and a suitcase maker near and dear to my heart)

 

i'll catch up with you all in a few days.

the distance from earth

thank you all so very much for the sweet birthday wishes.  what a treat to get those nice messages.
i had a sad bit of news today. my grandfather died last night. he was quite a gentleman, and i will miss him. i hope i am even close to as sharp as he was in my elder years.
i drew and made some gocco prints tonight while i thought about him; i didn't notice the text in the index on this one until i was done, but it says ' distance from earth.'i loved that.

sweet dreams, friends.

almost autumn

i've started putting my stuff together for the enormous tiny art show ii at nahcotta gallery opening in september, and i'm loving it so far. i love the idea of a fall show, and thinking about the changing season. fall is my favorite season for one major reason: cardigans. i could wear them every day and be happy; they're the coziest. (the leaves are pretty too.)
this is called it's cold outside - 2 4x4" mixed media collage panels on canvas.

and since it's friday - some friday flickr favorites for you:
souvenirs 3
as yet untitled
home of artist denyse schmidt
collection of bearded guys
one in ten
new curtains

i also want to send out a thank you to etsy seller annushKa designs, who featured one of my prints in her etsy poster contest entry and was one of the winners! thanks! didn't she come up with a lovely combination of stuff?

have a wonderful weekend!

a room of one's own

a room of one's own
Originally uploaded by swallowfield

want to come over and hang out with me? there's a nice view from the window.

25 things, roughly

i was tagged by pam at housemartin (a blog i love, by the way!) while i was on vacation - sorry for the delay in  responding.  and i feel i should  make some sort of disclaimer, because i am no good at these...but i'll try.

8 things i am enjoying looking at this week:
caitlyn keegan and julia rothman's stuff at sqft gallery. wow.
lisa congdon and diana fayt's new etsy shops
karen gelardi's groovy home on design*sponge
security envelope patterns on flickr. **swoon**
cathy nichol's painting for the enormous tiny art show II at nahcotta gallery this fall
smallstump's birch bark tubes
shari's botanical shadows - so lovely

8 things i am thinking about lately:
feeling... happy to be home in my house after vacation
dreaming... of art i want to start working on soon
gearing... up for the kids going back to school in a few weeks (it's bittersweet)
making...the most of the last few weeks of summer  with them  (our to-do list is long)
wanting... to reduce the amount of clutter and busyness in my house
hoping... to embrace my 38th birthday next week, but feeling a little bit down about it
realizing... no matter how old i am, i will still feel tentative and unsure at times (aka, grownups don't know everything)
imagining... elaborate meals i want to cook with all of the luscious local produce around right now! (i could eat tomato & basil salad salad every day.)

eight recent pictures i've taken and like a lot:


something i think at least eight times a day:
i am so grateful for connections i've made via the internet over the past few years. it's pretty amazing to think about what has happened in my life because of it.

join in and respond yourself if you'd like!

a place i like to visit: under the dogwood tree, southwest harbor, maine

once in awhile i like to write about great shops or places i see around maine. i think it could be difficult to take a fresh look at design and stick with a modern vision  in a summer destination spot where lots of shoppers are looking  for things like, say...lobster claw hats or blueberry  ceramic tiles or balsam smelling soap. not to knock those things,  but you know. when we were on vacation i got to take some pictures at my favorite store on mount desert island, a place with nary a lobster claw hat in sight.  under the dogwood tree (they don't have a  website yet - a lot of the island is still on dial up which makes fancy web-based shenanigans somewhat difficult) is on main street in southwest harbor, a town that i love for many reasons, one of which is the thriving year-round community.
if you are reading this blog because you and i seem to enjoy similar things in the world, i am pretty certain that you will love the stuff that owner linda stanley has picked out in her fabulous shop. i especially love her displays, which include lots of salvaged doors, windows, a clawfoot tub and other repurposed finds.
i spied lovely wares from working class studio at SCAD including square melamine plates, paper goodies from thomas paul, a selection from chronicle books including denyse schmidt, a new and great fabric  selection that included amy butler, alexander henry, kaffe fassett, moda and other great choices. there are wonderful stationary finds including cards by my local pal diane at ferdinand, smudge ink, imp press, amy ruppel postcards, beaumonde, cielo blu studios and lots of others. another great handmade find was hanging stained glass assemblages made with old bottles and beach finds made by laura fuller glass here in portland. i loved them!
under the dogwood tree is located at 326 main street in southwest harbor, maine. buy local and  say hi to linda for me if you stop by!

sea urchin mobile

you might remember that chase and i found lots of sea urchins on our vacation, and were trying to figure out what to do with them. we've been inspired by blair's post on mobile making (okay, i was inspired by it and said 'hey guys, doesn't this look cool to try?') so we decided to make an urchin mobile.
first step:
have some hummus and crackers (and a beer for mom) while working:
when done,

• photograph it a lot because it's (for lack of a better description) really, really pretty.
• feel pleased, and
• spend lots of time blowing at it and watching it twirl and swirl around.
• try not to worry about how fragile it is and how the heck you'll get it back to portland.
• when back in portland, feel glad you saved a few spare urchins in case of catastrophe.
• do a quick repair
• sit back and admire again, and finally
• remember vacation fondly.