Art All Day!

So, what's the best thing to do the day after Christmas? Spend it with a good friend at her art studio, making art!

I went over to my good buddy Kate's studio -- She is an amazing artist -- I think she can do anything from paint magical cats to run her own graphic design firm to do extraordinary beadwork to you name it!

Look at what she did with her walls! It totally reflects her, with her art on the walls! It's filled with light -- perfect for creation!

I love how she made small canvases to hang on the pegboard. She has a huge canvas collage in her hall -- she said she turns them different ways on different days, but I found the pattern (or lack thereof!) is always art in itself.

We started by felting beads. I have a new-found respect for felted beadmakers. We worked hard for about a half-hour and came up with three beads apiece -- and not all that great, as beads go! I may give it another try, but don't hold great hope that this will be my favorite new art form!

The sun was out, it was about 50, and we couldn't let a day like that pass without celebrating the sun and seizing the day! Kate described the sun as the "unexpected guest at our table" -- so we took the table outside (you just don't do that in Michigan in December!) and "tailgated" in the driveway, enjoying roasted red pepper soup, terrific foccacia, wine and leftover raspberry trifle for dessert. Yum! We stayed out for a couple of hours, just savoring the sun and friendship!

But work awaited! For Kate it was painting papers with a technique to make them appear transluscent. They will become beads in their next life. (Paper beads, Kate believes, will be better than the felted ones!).

I painted, prepping a couple of canvases (you must remember, I don't paint as such, so this made me feel brave) and making a collage which is yet to be finished!

It was glorious to be surrounded with art, light and friends.

Then home to Rick's turkey soup. Yum!