Blue Moon Art

Our New Kitties

Sadly we had to put our cat Spider to sleep last month and after that the house seemed so dead. So we decided to adopt 2 new cats from our local vet who has a room with several rescued cats to choose from. I wanted to take 2 at once because I loved the idea of having two who would get along and cuddle with each other so I decided to get 2 brothers, Herman and Otis. The only problem was that there was one other younger male (Linus) who, I was told, had a great bromance going with Herman. So how could I leave him behind? And I do love orange cats. So we adopted all three. They are loving all the extra space to run around and explore, They're still a bit skittish but not when the treat bag comes out! Then thyey gather around me and I get to pet them. I know it will take a while before there is complete trust between us. I have time. Oh, and their names are changed except for Linus. Herman is now Luca, and Otis is Lorenzo, Renzo for short. 

My GREAT-Grandfather

I have been scanning old family photos and sharing them with my grandmother's sister's grandaughter in Croatia. Apparently this is the only one that exists of my maternal grandmother's father, Nikola and now I just found out that he would have been 138 years old TODAY! Happy birthday Grandpa Nikola!! 

Rescued Kitty!

 

This little cat would greet everyone who was parked at the back of our town's commuter lot each evening, meowing and winding around legs, making it hard to walk and hard not to laugh. But it was getting dangerous for her to dodge the cars as they pulled out in a hurry, and being black and white, it was difficult for them to her to see her now that it gets dark early. One day she was limping and then I knew I had to rescue her and take her to a vet. The task was simple. She walked right into the carrier. She had a little bite wound and so she had to take antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory for a few days. That too was a simple task. She opened her mouth for her medicine. I think she would eat just about anything! My friend in town who feed these strays regularly has adopted her for now, trying to make peace between this one and her older cat. It gets better every day so we'll keep our fingers and paws crossed.

Rescued Butterfly

This morning I saw this butterfly crawling up our retaining wall with one wing flopped back, perilously close to a spider web. So I cupped my hands to capture him and he started walking up my arm. I tried to set him down on a plant a few times but he preferred my arm until I set him on the hydrangea. There he seemed to settle down quite happily. I ran in to get my camera and took several nice shots. After uploading them to my computer I went back out to check on him and he was gone. I guess he could fly after all! Yay!

 

St. Francis of the Gulf

I find it very hard to watch the news these days. It kills me to see these poor suffering animals in the Gulf of Mexico dying in the oil. It made me think of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals and inspired me to paint this. It's very small, about 2 x 4 inches.

 

Finished Mouse Sculpture

My mouse, as he looks after being fired. I love the natural color of the clay so I won't put a glaze on him. The cat however, looks a bit sickly right now and needs more glaze. 

 

Here is also a tile that I painted. The colors don't look as vivid as you're painting, and I wanted to give up on it. Bu it came out so much cleaner and brighter after firing that I want to try another one now. I was pleasantly surprised. I just wish I had better handwriting. 

 

I Can See the Light Now!

Our power went out last Saturday afternoon during a very bad storm. There were 70 mph winds and almost 5 inches of rain came down in a day. There were power lines down up the street and down the street from us. We didn't have any water damage but a lot of tree branches came down and not having heat or electricity for 6 days was no picnic. It was so cold in the house the other morning I could see my breath!

  
 

I Love Clay!

I haven't had time to attend very often but I intend to make time! My friend's mother-in-law has been going to a pottery class at Marymount in Tarrytown so I decided to try my hand at it. I had the best time! Unlike any other medium I've used it's so easy to correct mistakes and as long as you keep the clay wet you can work on it forever. Here is a mouse and cat I made in their earlier stages. I haven't seen them since they've been fired but I will post new photos when I do. I still have to glaze them and then they will go in the kiln for a second time.

  
  

A BLUE MOON TONIGHT! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  Watch for a rare New Year's Eve blue moon tonight! HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

Back from Turin and London!

We just took a short trip to London and Turin, Italy. The weather was sunny and perfect every single day and I finally had a working camera with me so I go some nice shots. On our last vacation I forgot the camera at home and the time before that my hubby dropped it on the first day of the trip so I was only able to take zoomed-in shots and even those were not always in focus. And no, I did not let him carry the camera this time. Notice how worried I look when he takes this picture of me.

 
 You can almost read my mind, can't you?

We are on our way to the Veneria Reale Palazzo. You can see it behind my big head. Here it is closer.

Here is a room inside called the Grande Gallerie.

It made me want to skip. In fact I did skip a bit when the guard turned her back. 

Now check out the bread in this shop window in the same town. 

Cool!

A Vintage Silk Chiffon Dress

This has been hanging in my closet since the day I bought it. It did fit me at that time (barely). It's very small at the waist, about 24 inches and I have gone up a few inches since then! I loved the fabric and the design so much that I couldn't bear to part with it. It did look so pretty hanging in my otherwise dreary closet. Being a New Yorker I have a lot of black clothes in there. Anyway, I feel that someone should really get to wear it. It's for sale in my etsy shop if you are a slender size 2. Or maybe you'd just like to hang it in your closet. . .

Decorating an Apron

I bought this plain white apron a few months ago with the intention of embroidering things on it. I finally got around to playing with it yesterday. I had such a good time, I went out to buy more aprons, but the store didn't carry the same kind anymore and I didn't like the new ones. There's a lesson learned. When you see it, buy it! Here's a photo and you'll find it in my etsy shop now.

Cat's Walk Felt Art

When I finished this piece I glued it onto a stretched canvas so it would be ready and simple to hang. Unfortunately that's when I realized I had forgotten to give the cat a tail!! I wasn't able to embroider around it because of the canvas so it's just glued on but that blue kitty is much happier now! Here are before and after shots:
  

Everything looks better in a mat or frame

This will be in my etsy shop shortly. It's so much nice in the double mat. I think it would be a cute addition in a little girl's room.

Embroidery Combined With Felt

I drew this Queen of Hearts on a piece of yellow cotton fabric with the intention of practicing my embroidery and learning new stitches. It was sitting around for almost a year and I finally picked it up a couple of days ago. The background is so yellow, I added felt pieces to a couple of the larger areas on the dress to balance it out. My stitching will probably never be perfect because I tend to sort of draw freehand with the needle and thread instead of planning out the design in advance. Ahh, if I could only learn to have more patience!