"Living the Dream" in Granville, OH

I have known Amy Butler for a long time. We re-connected recently when she sent an e-mail about a workshop that she was giving in Granville. So....my friend, Paula Joerling and I decided to go and see what it was all about. We really did not have a good grasp of what we were going to take away...so it was a true adventure. We arrived in Granville on Friday and just hung out on the main street. Granville is like a little Norman Rockwell town...adorable.

That evening, we went to Amy's house and saw friends we knew (Margo Tantau) and made some new friends.

The next day was life-changing. Amy and her friend, Hildie Dunn, led a session of Intensati. It is a combination of dance, kickboxing and aerobics all done while repeating self affirming phrases. I surprised myself and actually kept up OK. Then, Hildie led us in some life coaching. The exchange all focused on how to create and live your dream in all areas of your life.


All of us shared our wishes and dreams and some of the challenges that hold us back. It was wonderfully thought provoking. The next day began with a yoga session and ended with another hour of Intensati with more discussion in between. The exercise kicked my butt, for sure.

Paula and I could barely get out of the car after we made the 3 hour drive back to Cincinnati. The experience was amazing. The place where the workshop was held was dreamy. We made a bunch of new friends. Best of all, we really spent time thinking about what to do next to achieve our dream lives. I will keep you all posted on this process.

A Millinery Adventure

I attended The Oaks, last year, and had NO idea that the ladies would be decked out "Derby" style for that event. I was enchanted with the variety of hats that paraded around us. So...this year...of course...I just HAD to make our hats. My friends sent photos of their dresses and shoes, so that I could coordinate the colors.

I don't know anything about hat making, so I cheated a bit. I hopped onto Etsy and found some wonderful vintage hats to use as the base hats. I also found some great feathers and millinery flowers to play with.

I had SO much fun playing with ribbons, feathers and flowers to create a one-of-kind creation for each of us to wear. We had an absolute ball! I wish that women wore hats more often.

Art Biz JAM!

I, along with two other artists (Paula Joerling & Phyllis Dobbs) and an incredible product development genius (Anne Brown), will be hosting an art business workshop in Destin, FL this September! It is called Art Biz Jam and all of us will be speakers at the event. Check out the flyer below for details! Stay tuned for more info...the Art Biz Jam website is coming soon! Click image to enlarge.

The Art of Food - Our Candy Couture

An artist friend of mine, Pam Kravetz (who is crazy wonderful), was asked to curate a fashion show for "The Art of Food" show at a local gallery. When she asked if I wanted to create a head-to-toe fashion look incorporating food somehow...HOW COULD I SAY "NO"?

So Kelly (who has worked with me in my studio for over 10 years) and I schemed out our plan. We created tons of candy flower appliques using Airheads, Mentos, licorice, peppermints and jellybeans.

We then applied them to a wonderful vintage coat (that I picked up at a flea market for $11.00!) We altered the coat to look kind of exaggerated hips Marie Antoinettish. We also created a huge, poofy tulle skirt (with the help of my talented sister-in-law.)

And of course, we HAD to make all of the candy accessories...jewelry, hat and shoes...and even a wine glass. At the opening, my gorgeous niece rocked it as our model. She did the hand-on-hip jut diva pose for 3 hours. It was a tremendously fun "Artful Adventure."