Monthly Archives: February 2010

and the queen bee is….

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Sarah Blank

I was going to put all of your names in my little house like I usually do but I was swamped this time! Thank you so very much (all 145 of you that entered!) I am completely touched and inspired by the thoughtfulness and beauty of your writing! And I must share what Fairy Filigree wrote:

Well my favourite Springtime memory belongs to many many years ago when, upon my insistence, mother convinced my father to take us off to the country for a picnic. We went to this new seaside place I’d never been to before & I was staggered at the beauty of the sea and the waves from what looked like cliffs to me. Years later, when I revisited the site, I recognised it immediately and realised it had all looked so huge and overwhelming to me because I had been so very little.

Stories of the sea are so inspiring, thank you! And isn’t it so true…how huge everything appears when one is so small.

I will post my fondest spring memory soon. I have a photograph to go along with it that I need to locate!

And speaking of spring, it is far, far from here in the northeast. It has been snowing since Wednesday and we have over a foot on the ground. Today I went for a long, snowy walk (which was so peaceful and calm among the lingering flurries), organized my oil paints (preparing for another painting session), and cheered up this old handmade sweater a bit with rick rack on it’s yoke. Recently I go crazy over anything golden.

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locket and tin giveaway

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Sarah Blank

I am so excited to offer this little treat to one lucky reader! It features my artwork…it’s a

And the exciting part is it has two parts! A vintage locket tied with a snippet of antique calico (adorned inside with little bits from my painting Honeybee Stories.) AND a sweet silver-toned vintage tin to match (with art also from Honeybee Stories.)

The inside of the tin contains the bee snippet clue from my last post.

To win my locket and tin, all you have to do is leave a comment here recalling your favorite spring memory. Yes, I have spring on my mind! And honeybees remind me of lush gardens, daisies and the smell of earth. Your memory can be about gardening, walking through the meadows, spotting little birds eggs, love…anything! On Friday, February 26th I will pull one random winner from my bonnet. Please, please leave a working email as well! PARTICIPANTS WHO DO NOT LEAVE A LINK TO THEIR EMAIL WILL NOT BE ENTERED IN THIS GIVEAWAY! Also, comments that are posted on the wrong entry (my “leave a comment” is UNDER the title at the beginning of the post, not at the end of the post) will not qualify.

Thanks so much and I look forward to hearing about SPRING!! The complete Honeybee Stories painting can be viewed in my shop.

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a bit of randomness

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Sarah Blank

The sweet Andrea, aka little big head from cider and faun posted a bit of randomness on her blog, and tagged me to post mine. I’ll start with my most exciting, I’ve been waiting to spill…

♥ I have front row tickets to see Joanna Newsom March 18th (thanks to my thoughtful husband.) We are super excited to see her and so psyched about the release of her new album February 23rd! I can’t even begin to express how inspirational her music has been to me.

♥ and today I have been dreaming of this:

I really don’t care about winter anymore. I’m tired of cracked hands.

♥ Today I bought a huge bag of old envelopes, complete with stamps and addresses. I think they will be fun to doodle on.

♥ I can’t stop buying old sewing machines. I don’t even use them all. My most recent machine was a vintage baby blue singer.

♥ I don’t have a television, nor do I plan on getting one ever again.

And a little heads up…tomorrow or Saturday I will post my giveaway!

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home all day

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Sarah Blank

As the snowflakes fall I have been spending some time sewing… bags mostly (although I have plans for other things). I have lots of fabrics and bits of lace and trim stashed away. I made this large tote out of pretty gray heavyweight floral fabric which I bought a few years ago and I have been admiring ever since. The fabric is heavy, a mix between canvas and denim.

It’s perfect for lugging my sketchbooks and whatnot around.

I am going to be doing a giveaway here in the next few days, to celebrate all my new readers (and “old” ones as well). Here’s a little snippet of fabric (which is a tiny hint to the theme of the giveaway)

Can you guess which painting will be featured? Another hint is that the giveaway will be wearable art. And the third hint is that it will be part vintage. Can you guess?

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sweet winter

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Sarah Blank

We had a sweet valentines day. I came home to beautiful winter white roses (to match the newly fallen snow).

Quiet corners.

Twilight, after the huge storm, beautiful.

Lace

Sewn of thread and absence,
lace belongs at the hem of a garment,
pinned to a collar, near the face,
or clinging to a tabletop amongst teacups.

Like frost, lace paints a pattern
on edges and surfaces. In lace, fine line
and space loop around one another.
It is true that skin under lace appears more

visible, that veils and drapes of lace
let in light, and yes, pull a viewer’s eye.
An ivory web of flowers does what?
Embellishes. Decorates. Even as it claims

to cover, to conceal, lace invites air
and sun and gazes. Place this
punctured shield wherever there is longing,
delicacy: table, skin, bed, window.

Poem by Hannah Stephenson from the Storialist.

Hannah writes poems inspired by found images. This poem was inspired by my painting, “We Come From a Delicate Place”

A snippet:

Thanks to all who commented on my feature in Artful Blogging. Much appreciated!

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mail

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Sarah Blank

I am super excited to announce the good news I mentioned awhile back. There is a 6 page article about my blog in the lovely Artful Blogging Magazine. The magazine hit the newstands at the beginning of the week and I was finally able to get my hands on one. I wrote an article about my process and inspirations, and features some of my favorite blog photos and artwork. This year my blog will be six years old (where has the time gone?) and I was completely honored to be asked to be in this publication! So here’s a little sneak peak (you’ll have to get your hands on a copy of the magazine to read the article).

i just love melting winter snow!