Sequins and a top hat!

We went to the local strip mall in Cape May looking for New Year's decorations but most of the stores were sold out.  We ended up at this little privately owned store, "Cindy's Cards & Gifts" located at 3845 Bayshore Road.  They graciously hosted us for a photo shoot.

Since we don't have any plans for tonight I decided to put on my tackiest sequin clothing and make my own party at the store by playing with all the toys and modeling all of their gorgeous paper apparel!

 So Happy New Year everyone

and don't forget to kiss the ones you love!

xoxoxox

penelope

What color should I wear today?

I love color, so dressing myself in all black is not something I usually do.  There are times, however, when it works perfectly.  Today I went to the The Magic Gardens in Philadelphia and the color was so vibrant there that any color I could have worn would have paled in comparison. I also like the way the black looks in contrast to this incredibly colorful fantasy world created by the artist Isaiah Zagar.  Fashion may be art but art definitely takes center stage here.  Maybe my next project should be a mosaic dress!

Bicycle wheels were used to create windows onto other parts of the mosaic landscape.

Small tunnels lead you to small rooms like going through a maze or a labyrinth, and every square inch is covered in mosaic. If you are ever in Philadelphia, The Magic Gardens is definitely a must see.

You never know what you will find...

After spotting this funky box in a corner of Etcetera Thrift Store in North Cape May, NJ I just had to open it...

... and voila!  Sensational vintage "Roller Derby" skates!  So of course I tried them on and they fit perfectly, only I almost fell on my butt immediately and knew that I was not destined for the rink.  Oh, did you see the price tag on the box?  $5!  I could at least use them for decor - maybe tuck a vase inside and display some pink roses.

But I did this instead...

...and then this!  What do you think of my new shoes?

Slow down and check out this outfit!

Shopping at the Goodwill during this season of goodwill is a really good thing to do!  Yesterday I went to their store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ and bought these fabulous suspender pants and a retro paisley shirt.

I upcycled these high top sneakers by cutting out the tongue and the top part of the rubber toe.  Then I laced them with black and white satin ribbons.  People always do a double take when I wear these shoes.  I love to catch them smiling or giggling.

I have these beautiful earrings which match the shirt perfectly that my friend Annie made.  I visited her last January and you can see a photo of us making art together in her amazing studio in Ben Lomond, CA  here.

Anyone want to go shopping with me next time?

My Best Christmas Outfit

This dress is like an old fashioned hoop skirt.  It swings when I walk and usually gets where I'm going before I do.  Sitting down in it takes a lot of practice.  It has a tendency to pop up and hit me in the face!  

This is the Christmas tree that my husband and I made out of an upside down garden trellis spray painted green.  I like to dress my trees almost as much as I like to dress myself. 

Merry Christmas everyone and have fun wearing something festive today!

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Christmas Coat

I

I bought this fantastic coat at a consignment shop in Wildwood, NJ called 

"Turn Around Boutique." 

The buttons have been upcycled with leopard fabric to match the collar.

I love red and green together.  Why do we limit ourselves to wearing it for only one month of the year?  Lets go wild and wear it next summer too!  Maybe a cherry red bathing suit and a bright green sarong?  But its too early to be thinking of summer yet.  Thank goodness I still have a lot of great winter outfits to carry me through!

We won!!

"Miss Metal" won first prize in the Individual/Family category at the Emlyn Physick Estate scarecrow contest in Cape May, NJ.  Jeffrey and I made her together.  We also put a scavenger hunt sign next to her with the following text.

CAN YOU FIND IT?

Ok, we'll start with a TEAPOT. I know, that was way too easy! How about some KNITTING NEEDLES? There are 5 of them. What about a CANDLE HOLDER? (Hint: its upside-down.) Two SCOURING PADS? The kind that you use for really dirty pots! A HEART? (aaaw...) A CIRCUIT PANEL? (In other words, that electronic looking thing.) A SOUP CAN? (What kind do you think she likes?) A LOCK and a few KEYS? Here's another easy one. A STARFISH. Oh my gosh, what's that THING hanging in the middle of her body? Ok, here's a really hard one. BEDSPRINGS! And how many SPOONS is she wearing? Its a good thing she always has her SEATBELT on to keep her safe. How about a little BIRD and a little FISH? She's even ready for Christmas with a JINGLE BELL and she has her hair done up in PINCURLS. (Ask your Grandma what those are.) I'm sure that you can find a lot more things that are not even on this list, but we'll end this game with the biggest ZIPPER PULL that you have ever seen! So what do you have around your house that you can make into ART?
  
 She is now living next to our front door to welcome you the next time you visit us! 

The doctor is in.

When the doctor entered the examining room he looked like he was wearing a children's costume. He had one of those large round reflector things on a strap around his forehead. I'm surprised that he didn't have a little triangular hammer to test my reflexes and a box of pink band-aids. He was completely full of himself - as all doctors are - more concerned with making an impression on me than doing anything to really help.

Anyway, fast forward to the end of the exam.

The doctor took out a small hand held recording device and started to speak into it holding it closely to his mouth and waving it back and forth while he reported his notes. It was an incredibly absurd and obnoxious performance. He threw as many obscure medical terms around as he could, never looked at me even though I was sitting right in front of him, and talked faster than anyone I had ever heard.

I laughed out loud in the middle of it. I had started to imagine a dance. His recording would be the soundtrack and a dancer would move frantically and desperately around the stage, getting nowhere, and falling a lot.

When he was finished with his report, I asked him if I could have a copy of the recording for some choreography that I wanted to do. He didn't really answer me but looked quite perplexed. He had no idea what I was talking about. I laughed again, stood up, and offered to perform a piece of it right then and there, but I changed my mind when I saw the look of fear on his face and sat down again. Relieved, he handed me a useless prescription and left the room. I smiled to myself, and for once I was able to leave a doctor's examining room without feeling physically humiliated and psychologically eviscerated.  

I thought this poem today, and now I am writing it down...

 

I hear the wind

and imagine the trees 

are breathing.

The cicadas drone

like the music of India.

I sit with my dog

and our hearts beat

in synchronicity.

I think this may be

the poetry

of meditation.

Putting An Outfit Together

I like the way things go together when they don't go together but you put them together anyway.  Striped bike shorts, a white lace skirt, red polka dot belt, multicolored sports bra, a lacy translucent top, and sports adventure sandals to finish it all off.  I think of dressing in the morning as my first creative act everyday.  Its a good way to exercise my imagination and express myself.  And when I am out and about throughout the day, strangers often talk to me.  It is like an invitation to a 10 second party.  We exchange smiles, feel a momentary connection, and then go our separate ways.  

Hand Embroidery On Antique Photograph

This is the latest photograph in a series that I am hand embroidering.
I call her "Spider Baby."

Embroidery from the heart.

In my studio...

This weekend my old friend Jane came to visit us in Cape May with her two teenage children, Lucy and Leo.  I was thrilled that they wanted to make things in my studio and we spent a splendid afternoon together being creative.  It was so wonderful to be in the company of children who can appreciate this kind of experience.  Wouldn't it be great if all teenagers had access to supplies and a space like this to play in and express themselves?  What a different world we would all live in!

My latest embroidery project.

I have started embroidering on black and white photos.  The possibilities are endless...

Annie's Studio

THIS IS A MAGICAL PLACE. 

It is the studio of my friend Annie who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.  We met online two years ago and have been keeping an art journal together ever since then.  We usually send it back and forth to each other through the mail, but this time I visited her and got to pick it up in person!  We spent many hours working on all sorts of projects together and talked nonstop about our lives, our passions, and our dreams.  Here are some photos of a few of the pages in our journal.

 

  

Visit Annie's Etsy shop here:  oblations.etsy.com

Today's creation.

Today I made this watchband for my new watch by sewing buttons onto a piece of elastic.  One button is shaped like a little pocketbook, another one is from a girl scout uniform, and  there are rhinestone buttons throughout to add sparkle.  For once, I started and finished a project in one sitting.  It was just the right activity for a rainy day. 

But this is how my work table looked when I was finished.  Its hard to believe that anything cohesive came out of such a mess.  I guess it's all part of the creative process. Cleaning up will have to wait until tomorrow, though.  I will just switch to knitting for the rest of the evening!

Embroidered Gloves

This is becoming a signature design of mine; a curving, continuous, meandering line with lots of color.  It reminds me of a dance improvisation that I taught in my classes for many years.  Students were instructed to walk in curving pathways around the space without any sharp turns or stops.  The challenge was always to keep moving and cross each others paths smoothly, without bumping into each other.  It is an exercise to increase kinesthetic awareness and can be surprisingly difficult even though the only required movement is plain walking.  It is wonderful to be able to translate my dance experience into embroidery.

Greening the kitchen for the New Year.

I decided that our kitchen needed some reorganization in honor of the new year and wanted some shelf paper to add to the inside of the cabinets.  My goal this year, as it has been for a long time, is to make as many things as I can instead of buying them.  I had already been collecting brown paper grocery bags to use as wrapping paper for Christmas presents so I  had the supplies handy.  After I cut them open, I ironed them with steam so that they would lie flat.  Then I measured and cut them to fit the shelves.

 

I used pinking shears for a decorative edge.  I kept the first piece as a template and slipped the next one that I cut onto a shelf.  It fit perfectly!  Clean glasses were in the dishwasher awaiting their new home, so in they went.

There's only one problem.  There are more than 25 shelves to go before I finish the job!  Is that really how I want to spend my New Year's Day?

I've decided that I will take a nap and think about it later.  Maybe instead of doing it all at once I could do a little bit all year long.  I'll let you know next New Year's how its going!