WalnutBeachArtist

Hold on to Your Hats-Walnut Beach Springfest Arrived in a Whoosh!

May 3rd, 2008-Milford CT-The second annual Walnut Beach Springfest was met with intermittent  drops of rain and gusty winds blowing in from the sound. But the weather didn't dampen the spirits of our quaint New England community and the small businesses opening their doors to welcome visitors.

Local marine artist Al Lieper bravely answered the call to join our first "Paint Out"-this is where artists show up with canvas and French easel in hand and literally set up and paint. As you can see, Al's easel required a lot of roping to remain in place, but Mr. Lieper is no stranger to setting up camp during inclement weather, as I handed him a hot cup of java from one of our newest neighbor's THE NEW TOWN DELI-he recalled another time he set up to paint against mother nature's lively presence.

Al did retreat to the receptive warmth of the FIREHOUSE GALLERY, where docents invited  young artists to create a "fantasy" picture and hung the results for temporary viewing amid the FANTASY SHOW that is on display in the Gallery until March 15th.

I even checked my two entries. Gallery coordinator Colleen Reilly-Rees led me to a box of devine fabrics the gallery had left over from a textile show. As part of the Springfest fun, they were offering up boxes of rich, elaborately detailed textiles to visitors. I inwardly warned myself to be sensible but then Colleen invited me to look into the basement where more boxes flowing forth with more colorful assortments stood.Pawing through the boxes I found a corduroy leapard print swatch and other inspired goodies.


Working my way down Naugatuck Avenue, I stopped to take a picture of our place, and to check out the balloons waving furiously in the wind on top of our hybrid. I also couldn't help myself, I had to take a close up of the car magnet I designed for my husband's business, pretty nifty huh? All day neighbors filed in to say hello. We were pleasantly surprised to see our new neighbor John Williams and his wife. They purchased a town house across the street with a first floor gallery. John is a painter, and webdesigner. And musician extradonaire Mark Turko of the Bonesmen came by for a spell to. Mark is married to Julie Alexander-jeweler extraodinaire when in Walnut Beach make an appointment to seek out her studio to check her intricate chainmail designs.

Dean Fisher another neighborhood artist came by, Dean and his wife Josephine purchased one of the barns on the Stowe property around the corner and have turned this barn into a gorgeous home complete with two art studios.

Across the street the realtor who sold us our home, Wendy Weir was having an Open House with her partner Walt Nichols. Walt  and Wendy had set up their Open House in a new Business that's about to Open: THE WALNUT BEACH CAFE.

It turns out the owner Wil Rodriguez knows some people that I know-small world. This is possibly due to the fact that Will is a former NYC Art Director. Will also sells vintage cars which motivated me to run across the street drag my husband out of his shop and run him over to meet will to announce that urban-antiqueradio.com also restores vintage car radios. I'm excited about the new neighbors moving in on our block-can you tell? Wil-can't wait till your doors open! Your cafe already sounds exciting.

Walking out the back door of the cafe I found the realtor who sold us our home Wendy Weir showing one of the model homes. Wendy and Walt Nichols are representing the new development property here. I've been in this home before, and love the muted ocean color tones the designer chose for the environment-and most notably how cool to be able to walk across the street and enjoy a cup of java at a beautiful cafe or visit a neighbor's gallery, or to walk down to a beach voted one of the cleanest beaches in Connecticut.

I especially like the bedroom, very calming in feel.



My favorite shot, kind of nice to snuggle up in bed on a stormy night and read by this light. Speaking of reading, I wanted to check out another new neighbor in our "hood".

This is Susan, owner of Collected Stories a used book store featuring hard-to-find OOP books (that's out-of-print). Susan and her husband opened Collected Stories II here in Walnut Beach this past Spring. This store features historical books on Connecticut towns and art books and mysteries. My friend Sandy Morgan picked up some MC Beaton's (Agatha Raisin being my favorite MC Beaton mystery series) at the opening, had I known I would've beat her to the punch!. Collected Stories is situated next to THE LAZY LOBSTER and A FINE AFFAIR . Once you sample their clam chowder you pretty much don't go any where else to get some, it's that good.

If you visit Collected Stories be sure to check out their display of paintings by local marine painter and muralist Cathy Collins. Cathy was one of the artists participating in the Artists in the Station event last Fall.

I was about to leave when Jerry Blackwell president of the Walnut Beach Association and
co-owner-along with clay artist/wife Daphne-of CLAY NICKEL STUDIO strolled in with the fishy looking guy at left. Seems the Bluefish mascot arrived to meet and greet youngsters while parents wandered from shop to shop.

As you can see Clay Nickel and the WALNUT BEACH CREAMERY are just a stone's throw from Susan's bookstore.

Daphne was hosting a Rongoli demo in her gallery featuring artist Krishna who created the ornate design with colored sand. Rongoli is a meditative practice as well as an artistic one, and the mandela-styled designs are quite impressive. I wish we Americans had more creative rituals like Rongoli.

Both Krishna and her adorable daughter were dressed in native clothing, beautifully intricate embroidered clothing with sequins and that reflected the gallery lights. The Blackwells hosted a wine tasting last year at their gallery where Daphne gave a lecture on the history of clay art pottery using examples from the gallery. My hope is that they will do this again only sooner, February perhaps?

One can't miss the sweet smells wafting across the door way from the Creamery and owner Susan Patrick and Mayor Richetelli were serving up Susan's handcrafted artisan flavors to a hungry crowd. When people enter the creamery they seem to go into a trance. I recommend their Banana Bread flavor, they also carry sugar-free and a Hershey kiss is popped into the bottom of each cone.

Rounding back up to Naugatuck I visited a long awaited Deli, a place Mike and I waited a full year to open. The chicken salad was worth the wait. Owner's Ismael and Mazen Alkabani stock their store with EVERYTHING imaginable and made fast friends with many of us locals within days. I like to glance at their middleeastern offerings, (I love exotic food), even though most of their fare is American Deli, I highly recommend their rice rolled in grape leaves and my husband is happy that they carry Boars Head brand meats. But there's enough selection for the vegetarian diet too.

Due to the rain artist Gayle Caro couldn't demo her painted chalk mural art, but there's always another year, and right now Ms. Caro is bogged down with some portrait commissions-good for you Gayle!

Well I hope you all enjoyed my ether-tour guide, hope to see you back soon! or better here at Walnut Beach!

About the pics to left of post-©2008 Suzanne Urban Designs. Please click on picture for enlarged view.

My Santa with Teddy bear painting on eBay

Well, the Springfest is over at Walnut Beach and my first painting on eBay will now be transferred over to my ETSY shop. I'm hoping my little Santa painting will find favor with Santa and Bear collectors-two subjects that find favor in my art work.

Herewith the auction link for more info: Santa Knows Painting.

About the pic to left of post-click for enlargement, ©2008 Suzanne Urban copy and image.

My Devil FOOL-O-WEEN painting is done!

I am putting up my first ever painting on eBay, first ever meaning I haven't sold a painting on eBay before-except a small ACEO.

This is a mini-Chunky 5"x5" painting of the devil himself, he's my offering up for the EHAG (Eclectic Halloween Artist Group) challenge on eBay. He's late but at least this is a start. I'd been absent from posting my work on eBay for awhile, but now-I'm BACCCK!
He can be viewed here: Fool's Gold auction

I also have some excellent polymer clay books up for sale and hope you will check them out: Polymer Clay books

Yet again, my photos of my paintings don't look as finished as the paintings are-damn!

About the pics-©2008 Suzanne Urban Designs-Fool's Gold image and copy may not be reproduced in any shape or form with out artist's express permission. Thank you.

My First Halloween Painting

I will be going to Florida mid-week to visit Chuck and Norene (Dad + Stepmother) in West Palm Beach so I wanted to get something up to show even if it's a WIP-work in progress.

This little devil painting is only 5x5. He will be holding a black kitty candy container and my collage words will be flying over his head. This little guy will be up on eBay the Sunday after I get back. I plan to show the finished painting when I'm done.

In the meantime, I guess I'll hang up my "Gone Fishin" sign. But before I do I'd like to post the EHAG website for you all to see I am a member of EHAG-Eclectic Halloween Artists Group, it's a juried group of eBay artists who create Halloween Art-some terrific art on this site:www.ehaag.com

About the pic to left of post:©2008 Suzanne Urban, click on image for enlargement.

My little Fairy painting

I'm venturing into the realm of fairy-dom with this little painting. I plan to submit this painting plus another one to a local fantasy themed gallery show. Wish me luck.

She isn't quite done, as you can see there's no stem to her wine glass, and I haven't included one of my famous quotes: "As a fairy, she knew, the best nectar came from the humble honey bee."

Hope you like her-she's not as finished as I'd like, but herewith anyways.

For those of you kind folks leaving comments here, my apologies for not responding, been kind of busy lately-am going on vacation-first one in ten years-so I'm a little behind the eight ball these days. Thank you though for your input.

About the pic to the left of post: Click on pic for enlargement, ©2008 Suzanne Urban do not copy image nor written copy with out express permission of artist.

Finally done. . .I think my giraffe painting

And I finally finished my version of the school mascot for the Spring Market coming up on April 5th. She has a rather funky smile and I'm not that good at drawing glasses, finally I settled on Harry Potter style lens to make them really pop. I hope you like my efforts, this was a hard piece to work on. I plan to sell prints of this and offer to write a child's name in the large star. And the original signed painting will be up for sale as well.

About the pic to left of post: ©2008 Suzanne Urban Designs. Click on image for enlargement.

I will be participating in my school's Spring Market on April 5th. I have the honor of sharing my booth with Suzanne Propp- (www.cdbaby.com).

Suzanne and I grew up together in Westport Connecticut, in fact I was her babysitter. Today I work in our elementary school office and Suzanne is our music teacher extraodinaire, she even wrote and composed our school song.

Suzanne will be selling CD's of her music and I will be selling prints of some of my art work.

I created a couple of prints specifically for the Spring Market. The digital print to the left is my humorous take featuring a vintage postcard of Mill Beach in Westport. There are several odd happenings in this picture including a flying fish gliding through the air, a lighthouse with a realtor's sign and more, I thought it would be a fun surreal print for adults and children alike and I had a lot of fun creating it, despite all the layers I was building up in Photoshop!

The second digital print I used a vintage postcard of a happy couple cavorting in the sound, I added some collage visuals to enhance the image. I think this print would work well in a soft coloured frame, a terrific accent for the Compo Beach fan!

I've pulled a couple of prints off of my Epson R1800 on 100% cotton rag velvet smooth archival paper and am quite pleased with the results.

Last but not least I'm feverishly working on a whimsical painting of a giraffe-my version of our school's mascot  Patches-and  I will post the finished piece sometime this week.

The Spring Market is a juried show so the goods will be unique quality pieces. A couple of my colleagues will be present at this show and there will be some talented mom's also showcasing their artisan handwork.
Dawn Alice Rogers and Donna May Robinson.
Elizabeth Rubidge.

Come visit us! Suzanne will be playing her guitar, I will be working on another painting at our booth and the school's book fair will be on at the same time!

Click here for more info on the GFS April 5th Spring Market. 

Honoring the Easter Bunny, and an animal's life

This is our Nibbles or "Nibbleface" as he's commonly known, perhaps it's a supercilious name, but he isn't, he's all character and a charismatic house pet to boot.

We've been house rabbit owners for over ten years now. My first rabbit I met in an alleyway near my old apartment in Westport Connecticut. She was a small Silver fox Marten owned by a family who set her free to defend for herself among traffic, dogs and other life threatening consequences.

People forget, rabbits are prey animals.

I rescued "Potter" and thus began my journey into adopting Lagomorphs. I had to learn a lot along the way. I treated Potter like a dog-my only pet care reference not realizing she was chewing on my computer cords at the time.

I fed her the colorful fruity-tooty commercial kibble and Alfalfa Hay purchased at local pet stores, not realizing that Alfalfa Hay should only be fed to baby bunnies who need the protein and that tooty-fruity crap is as bad for bunnies as fast food crap is bad for your kids. Older rabbits should only be fed Timothy Hay and give 'em as much as they want plus Timothy pellets and an occasional treat like dried papaya cubes.

My lagomorph education came in drips and drabs, because Potter was a girl, I learned she should be spade as female bunnies are prone to uterine cancer if they aren't. So we had to find a vet who operated on "Exotics".

Rabbits are still classified as exotics  in the vet world even though they are fast becoming a popular household pet in America.

So Potter and another bunny I adopted, Pinky got spade. Pinky was a model patient-Potter was not. Potter had to wear one of those soft collars to protect her from chewing open her stitches-which she did anyway. When you looked at her head on, she looked like she was wearing a tutu.

Potter only lived for six years, her death was sudden to us–in her sleep–we were stunned. She rests in our garden now.

Pinky, a large white New Zealand found in a Norwalk park lived a little longer but soon suffered from a severe head tilt ear infection.

My husband and I woke up in the middle of the night to find our Pinky rolling around the floor, we thought she was dying. We raced her to the only clinic open. They suggested putting her down. We opted to wait till our vet's office opened only to find he was away that weekend. So we rushed her down the street to another vet who gave us better news, told us it was head tilt and curable and gave us pills and a syringe to shoot down her throat.

We left and administered the pills only to find out the following Monday by our vet that we could've choked her to death with this method.

IF YOU ADOPT A RABBIT FIND A VET WHO KNOWS EXOTICS.

Pinky lived for another year and a half, she could hop around but her head was tilted. I believe she got the infection from when she was found in a park, her ears were covered with mites at the time. I took her to the vet for the obligatory new pet owner check up  only to find out  she was  in severe pain as the mites were chewing on her skin; but because rabbits are prey animals they don't like to express weakness i.e. that they're hurt.

Because we came late learning about proper diet she suffered from wet tail i.e. runny poops. I regret our ignorance. Pinky was a lovely, gentle spirit. She too rests in our garden, she passed on in my husband's arms.

It's not that rabbit's are hard to care for, it's more that they take care like a dog or cat. For those considering buying a bunny for the Easter Holiday please think again, will you dump this animal when your gift recipient is done with it? Will it languish in the cold garage to soak up fumes? or live outside until it's water bottle freezes and the animal dies of dehydration?

Please, live rabbits are not disposable toys. This Easter why not honor these sweet creatures by adopting from a rabbit rescue organization and treating it with the same respect as you would your dog or cat. OR if you have no intention of adopting one, how about contributing in any way you can to a rabbit rescue organization, a neat way to honor the Easter Bunny in my book.

And for those joke-sters who laugh about eating rabbit, I can't stop your practice-it's your choice. But just for those of you who do-rabbits have a particular habit:

Rabbits excrete a very smelly, runny poop called Cecals-it's mucus-y. Rabbit's generally don't smell-even their pee has an herbal scent. But the cecal's have an unpleasantly diarhea-ish fragrance. The good news is-the rabbit immediately eats the excretion for the mineral content. Smell and mess are  gone-but for those who eat rabbit meat-you're ingesting that runny, smelly, mucus-y stuff. Bon appétit.

And for those who wear rabbit fur-I can excuse primitive tribes who wear fur for survival means-but in our culture I find it hedonistic. Again, it's your choice and I can't do anything about that. BTW, fake fur is easier to care for and clean.

Oh! and did you know that rabbit poop over any other poop in the animal kingdom has more nitrogen in it thus make it premium stuff for gardens and especially roses? Hey those of you who breed rabbits for meat-why not convert your business into a humane organic-fertilizer product instead?

After  Pinky and  Potter  I experienced a form of the empty nest syndrome. Our home felt vacant to me. I kept bugging my husband who said wait until Christmas to adopt. The craving for a small being to inhabit our living space was incessant.

Finally we put feelers out-we wanted a White New Zealand because most people don't like to adopt pink-eyed rabbits. I made calls out to local rabbit rescues. I chatted with a gal willing to meet us on a Pennsylvania tpke on our way to my sister and brother-in-laws house with two New Zealands. I chatted with another gal in New Jersey who rescued abused rabbits in a slaughter house. This place has yet to be shut down.

But the arrangements and timing didn't work. Finally a local rescue organization Rabbit Allies of CT and
Hopalong Hollow pointed us here: Sweet Binks.

We now proudly co-exist with Nibbles and Puma two sixteen pound New Zealander's who are entertaining, exasperating, loving and all the things a pet should be.

They even accompany us on our Christmas trips to Pennslyvania-thanks to the generous spirit of my sister and brother-in-law.

Our nest is complete again, and the two large rabbits lolling about in the living room seem content to us.

For more info on rabbits please visit the House Rabbit Society:http://www.rabbit.org/

Herewith some entertaining rabbit videos one featuring comedian Amy Sedaris:

Amy Sedaris you-tube commercial

Funny Rabbit Video
And! a recent article on Hopalong Hollow in the New York Times:

Hopalong Hollow Article

Thank you for reading this post.

 

Suzanne and Mike and Nibs and Puma Urban

About the pics to left of post: Please click on image for adorable enlargement. 

My pig painting is done. . .almost

This is the painting from the previous sketch of the pig that was in yesterday's post. I'm kind of pleased with it as it didn't take me as long as some. However I still fret over my skin tones, should I tone her down a bit?

The collaged sayings over her head say: "Wanda knew, with a nip of sun-blessed Sangria, she could prove pigs, can indeed fly."

I plan to add some dimentional pieces like a necklace to dear Wanda's considerably large neck.

Hope you like her!

About the pic to left of post: ©2008 image and copy may not be reproduced or copied in any fashion without express permission of the artist. Click on image for enlargement.

On the board now. . .

I'm simultaneously working on–oh say let me run out the room and count-seven paintings in various stages of  not-quite-finished to  barely there.

When I get stuck I move on, then come back with fresh eyes and hopefully a solution to bring completion into the picture.

The fairy to the upper left is only a 6"x6" painting. I have to work small in order to get work done. This fairy will have collage words that say: "As a fairy, she knew the sweetest nectar came from the humble honey bee". I thought this concept would tie in well with my friend's work-she's a beekeeper-as we're doing a gallery show together in June.

I'm thinking of attaching wire antennae to the fairy's forehead.


The pig to the left is also a  6"x6". The copy I dreamed up for her will say: "Wanda knew with just a nip of sun-sweeten Sangria, she could prove that pigs actually can fly."

I'm behind in my ornament creating and on finishing paintings so bear with me folks!

About the pics to left of post: Click on image to enlarge. Copy and image ©2008 Suzanne Urban neither may be reproduced or copied with out express persmission of moi.

Revamping an early ACEO and a sketch

I re-worked the comely mermaid to the left. She was one of my first ACEO's and I painted her right onto flat watercolour paper and the end result was dull.  Now I prefer to put a little texture with modeling paste and gesso on my paper before transferring the sketch and laying down colour. So I dabbed on some paste as carefully as I could and re-painted her. The collage words say: "Champagne tickles my senses" and given the size of her nose, I'm sure it does.

The sketch to the left is based on one I did  back in '97. It's called "Welcome to my garden of earthly delights" and features a motley crew of sloshed looking insects. I created this drawing when I got interested in gardening. This sketch will be transferred to canvas soon, I hope to get it ready to submit to an upcoming show.

As always, when I create, humor leaks out.

About the pictures to left of post-©2008 Suzanne Urban, click on image for enlargement. Image may not be reproduced in part or in whole without artist's express permission.

What's on my drawing table now

I"ve been working and re-working this little piggy guy for the longest time. I have a tendency to fuss over my paintings because I'm new at this medium. This is an ACEO and I plan to add some words around him that will say: And this little piggy had cabernet.

I'm also working on a miniature painting of a catfish and again another one of my chubby citizens with "brainfood" popping out of the top of his heads.

Hope you like what you see.

Suzanne

About the pics to left of post: ©2008-words and painting Suzanne Urban Designs may not be reproduced or copied with out artist's express permission. Click on picture for enlargement. To inquire about price:suzanne1urban@optonline.net

The ODACT Bendi Challenge

Today my doll artist group here in Connecticut met at Dawn Alice's-(www.dawnalice.com) house.  I showed up with some paintings I've been working on  for our show and tell moment and a bag of paints as I planned to plunk myself down and finish some little ACEO's-(what are aceo's?) I started yesterday.  Not exactly doll art but we doll artists find we have issues with sticking with one particular art form. Donna May Robinson (www.donnamayrobinson.com) showed up with a luscious pile of textile eyeglass holders she's designing to sell at the next NIADA conference.

Dawn's had success with her whimsical painted wooden bendi-type dolls that she sells on her ETSY store-(Dawn Alice Designs). Her wonderful little handpainted wooden dolls are line up all over her house, many with their signature feather boa doo's, some with pensive faces some smiling all with adorable felt clothes handmade by the artist herself.

As we sat at Dawn's expansive dining table showing and sharing and painting and sewing, Donna May and I were admiring the little blank wooden dolls with bending limbs that Dawn had purchased to paint and clothe-see above picture). Dawn graciously  gave one to Donna May and me and  instantly a challenge was born to see what we could possibly create with these blank wooden creatures.

Stay tuned. . .

My latest Halloween ACEO or ATC painting

I am going to be in a show this summer with a fellow colleague, it's at a local Connecticut vineyard so I've decided to create some art featuring fun sayings on the  joys of wine tasting.

The little devil ACEO or ATC is one of my 2.5"x3.5" paintings with collaged words. I did a detour from Dorothy Parker's quip and instead offered up: "Candy is dandy, but wine is sublime." I offer up the small paintings in 5x7 and 8x10 frames as an affordable alternative for some of my collectors.

Next miniature art will be something more children oriented as I try to create a painting using an elementary school's mascot-the giraffe. Wish me luck!

About the pic to the left of post: ©2008 Suzanne Urban Designs, please click on pic for enlargement.

About AI and some good news

I've joined stumbleupon.com and since then fascinating websites have surfaced upon my desktop when I click on the stumbleupon button in my browser.

The logo to the left stands for Amateur Illustrator a website that surfaced recently, it's not unlike the Drawn! blog or Illustration Friday only it's more of a gallery site for artists and illustrators seeking feedback on their art, or simply wanting to share what's on the drawing table. I must admit I cringe at the word amateur, but when I saw the quality of art at the site I was really impressed. And as the founder states, the true meaning of "amateur" means to create something you really love and when you create with passion it's often better than something made when one is lacking that inner fire. Feast your eyes on some of the galleries:amateurillustrator.com

A couple of days ago I found out my envelope art piece that I sent over to London was accepted (200 out of 600 pieces were chosen!) to be in the mailmeart book. I was flabbergasted to learn of this and thrilled that I now can say I'm "internationally published". I had so much fun decorating my envelope that I guess you could say I loved creating it with amateurish glee. Check out: mailmeart.

About the pics to left of post: ©2007 Suzanne Urban Designs Please click for enlargement.

What's new on my drawing board

I decided to work on a Santa character for one of my paintings since I am an ornament artist after all.

This painting is a about 2/3'rds finished. The moon needs a face and I will be adding a painted wooden star where one of our house-rabbits offered her toothy imprint. I plan to have one of my famous humorous lines swirling around santa and I will finish the glass of Merlot he is holding.

And speaking of being at the drawing table, I hope all artists reading this blog today will enter our AHAO contest for this month. For more details and the free pattern check here:www.ahao.com/contest

Winner will have their paper-art-doll ornament posted on the next ORNAMENTALLY YOURS newsletter AND will win a free AHAO tote bag!

About the pic to left of post-©2008 Suzanne Urban Designs-all rights reserved. Click on image for enlargement.

Saying Goodbye to Nancy; the Importance of Community.

My godchild’s mother passed away last weekend. I’ve known Janna’s mom since I was fourteen, I babysat all of Nancy's kids, but mostly Janna. I remember my first babysitting job over at her house, Cocoa their first dog with the bandaged foot, Jasper a chubby tortoiseshell, Tommy and Kerry's gymnastic exploits, baby Joanne's arrival and Janna and me watching Mr. Rogers; and most of all I remember the fact that the kids never whined or pouted when I burned the pre-fixed dinner Mom had laid out for me to heat up.

Nancy was always there for her kids, even when they reached adulthood. She babysat grandkids, took in cats and I believe-at one time-took in an unfortunate chicken her daughter Kerry found loose in a New York City park. Nancy’s heart extended beyond her own clan to the community of Westport.-she taught early childhood education in the Westport School District, she ran for RTM and without wasting paper on fliers-won a seat. She also raised seeing-eye dogs, usually made Janna's special Olympic swim meets, her plate was full but always had room for one more item. She volunteered and organized and even started a part time business upon retirement- housing nannies while these young women waited for placement. She helped nannies get out of difficult situations when placements didn’t work, her home was a safe haven.

I felt she was there for me too. Ten years ago after my apartment building went into foreclosure and I was healing from a session with Lyme disease-I needed placement too. I was just getting back on financial track since medical bills mounted during this time when I couldn't work. Not desiring or having the energy to seek out a stranger and a rental; I approached Nancy about rooming with her middle daughter-my godchild-Janna. I knew the family was looking for someone to split rent with Janna who is a special needs citizen. The plan worked out I got to know my grown godchild better, and I’d like to think Janna enjoyed and benefited from my stay too. So mounting the steps to the church was bittersweet for me, honoring a life well-lived but wishing it hadn't ended this soon.

I was pleased while sitting in the narrow pew to see the community turn out to say goodbye. I spoke with other mom’s whose kids I babysat, I saw people from the school district who I work with. Because my search for stability took a longer path than some, the presence of these long time local residents washed over me like the first sign of spring. As people poured in through the church doors I thought of that scene from the movie Witness, when the young Amish boy clangs the bell to alert the community for support. Support is sacred. Support is what Nancy always offered.

Nancy’s oldest daughter Kerry asked her mom what she would miss after leaving this life. Nancy replied: “Voting, what will happen to you kids and Spring.” In his homily the Reverend Danner asked all of us to honor Nancy in return by somehow practicing Nancy’s reliable spirit to others. Voting for one is a good start. And by all means be grateful for the bounty and beauty Spring offers, something Nancy appreciated till the very end of her life.

Goodbye Nancy, thank you for being here.

Why I wish I could be like Jessica Fletcher

My husband and I aren't huge TV aficionados-but then doesn't everyone claim that? But still, the writer's strike did leave us regretting the temporary loss of some favorite programs. We support the writers-as if it weren't for them we wouldn't have a need to sit down in front of our LCD "boob" tube for an evening of entertainment.

Fortunately we're the types who enjoy Foodnetwork, PBS and other programs not affected by the dispute. But we missed our favorites: Julie-Louis Dreyfuss's, Numb3rs Monk, Law and Order etc.

But much to our delight the Biography channel ran reruns of the 1984 series Murder She Wrote, featuring the popular grande dame of the theater, Angela Lansbury.

At first my husband Mike and I enjoyed pointing out all the name-brand actors and comedians in the episodes-some whom we'd forgotten about. But soon my attention was drawn to the eloquent way the protagonist Jessica Fletcher managed people, difficult ones, ditzy ones, liars and the wrongly accused.

Jessica had a  gracious response to the myriad of characters that crossed her path. When someone flung insults in her face, their remarks didn't faze her-she'd offer the impression of conceding to their pompous insult with a slight bow of her head, not unlike a kindly queen acknowledging her subjects. And more often than not, she returned the barbed favor, delivered softly and with a smile, leaving the offender with a perplexed expression.

Don't we all wish we had that ability?

Managing people with aplomb is Jessica's forté because she's a grounded woman, comfortable in her own walking Keds. She's a wise woman who earned the respect of local law enforcers as well as those in cities where she visited, as a crime cropped up wherever she landed, thus prompting my brother-in-law to refer to the show as "Murder She Caused". Usually the unfortunate victim was someone no one cared for- and the nice thing is-one didn't have to be privy to gratuitous gore in order to be sucked into the puzzling crime.

But that's what the shows focus was about, mystery and using one's steadfast, educated faculty to put the puzzle pieces back together again. The journey was about using one's noggin or rather seeing how an older woman used her considerable wits to bring home the verdict. Jessica celebrates all things good about being older: experience, a mental database of useful information stored over the years and understanding human quirks and failings.

Unfortunately, the re-runs ended and I find myself surfing for a Poirot or other mystery, one where the protagonist is older, wiser and … gracious to all while doggedly following their own intuitive path-despite the protestations of pompous pundits and un-informed uniformed officers, so the wrongly accused are saved and the case solved-even if nobody really liked that dead guy anyway.

New Mini-Art Bear Ornament on eBay

Starbuck is my creation up for auction this week on eBay for the AHAO STAR VALENTINE CHALLENGE! He's actually known as "Starbuck The Blur" as after a swig of his favorite caffeinated drink the village folks swear he's a blur, rushing from one daily chore to the next. If you want to read or see more of Starbuck, or bid on my OOAK needlefelted bear ornament click here: Starbuck

Take Starbuck home with you, he'll join you for every coffee break!

About the pic to left of post-©2007 Suzanne Urban Designs. Click on picture for enlarged view.

AHAO STAR VALENTINE CHALLENGE starts today

AHAO-American Holiday Artists Ornament Challenge begins today-my piece will be up for auction this evening.

The challenge runs from Feb. 3rd to Feb 14th. Artists will be offering art ornaments for auction with a star somewhere on their design.

The star symbol was selected because of the multitude of fascinating meanings that have been attached to it for centuries. The star also symbolizes quality and a collector can be assured of a quality handmade piece of art from AHAO artists and artisans.

We believe art ornaments are an art form in their own right and can be decoratively displayed all year round in one's interior space.

Please search "AHAO" or follow this link:AHAOauctions

About the pic to left of post-©2008 Banner design by Suzanne Urban Designs.

Love-my newest painting

Herewith my newest painting that I will be submitting at a local show. Wish me luck. The concept is LOVE and it's meant to explore the relationship between lovers, I guess. I plan to add some more collage elements but due to their dimension it would be hard to scan the image in.

This couple are clinking glasses and smiling but their though bubbles say something different. Ah, the simple joys of single-hood, together-hood is much easier trust me. Hope you like it too. Humor as I've said before is my main inspiration.

About the pic to left of post-©2007 Suzanne Urban-Click for enlargement.

Mail Me Art Illustration Show

I couldn't sleep last night, why? because I fell asleep too early and I think my exercising has changed my sleep cycle as well.

So I got up and did what I usually do, I surf the net, this time I'm studying the new artists on the illustration scene-as well as older ones, as I'm developing a new illustrative style to my art. I'm heartened to see that illustrators are taking the art world by storm again.

I checked out illustrationmundo.com

Through clicking on their banners I found this: http://mailmeart.com/

I have absolutely no time to do this, but I found the premise compelling. Draw or paint etc. an illustration on an envelope send it to the address listed (it's in England) and
your work will be sold at a gallery show, with 70% of the sale going to the artist. If it doesn't sell, they will post it on the MAILMEART.com website. They also will put some of the featured art envelopes in HOW magazine.

Already they have some pretty cool examples on the website-hurry folks! Jan. 30th is the deadline but they do have a grace period.

I drew this lounge-singer mermaid entertaining the fish population because I live in a beach community I'm prone to draw water nymphs and such.

As you can see the inking job is done, I opted to put "OPEN" on my envelope to show that there was something inside. Inside there is a fish ornament holding my business card! Since I am an ornament artist I decided to get the word out on art ornaments this way!

Wish me luck, this was a good exercise today for my mind-oh and she's singing into an Elvis mike-the kind my husband has in his antique store:www.urban-antiqueradio.com


About the pics to left of post: 2007© Suzanne Urban Designs.Click on sketch and drawings for enlarged view.

Bakelite-Catalin buttersctch plate swirly design scarce

This week I have a non-OOAK art ornament up for auction. It's a Bakelite-Catalin piece of vintage plastic. It looks to be a faceplate of a radio, it's in excellent condition, my husband the vintage electronic dealer picked it up somewheres. He gave it to me because I recently created a batch of decorative brooches (these will be posted later here) from some polymer clay I had hanging around.

This shield of vintage plastic- a beautiful butterscotch colour with swirly cream/amber design is too daunting for me to grab my saw and carve into. So I'm offering it up for sale on eBay:suzanne.artist

I can only imagine the beautiful work that could emerge under the hands of a seasoned jewelry designer! And due to it's vintage allure I'm sure one could re-sell their design for a respectable sum; and the plate is large enough to create more than one piece. This is what I call the highest form of recycling.

My Newest Painting

In my quest to develop my "chubby" style I sometimes arrive at a standstill where I have trouble with color, or making the character charming with out being blandly cartoonish. This standstill is really a mental stand-off; I'm blocked and can't figure my way out of the four corners of even the smallest area of stretched canvas.

This little guy to the left is titled: "Brain food" the collaged writing says it all: "A dry, fruity White goes well with brain food." The brain food meaning fish and here I have the "food" popping right into his head! Talk about fast delivery!

This painting sat for a few months on my drawing table, I had trouble with the back ground color, I ended up layering on several different hues and arrived back at square one. The resulting layering created a nice effect with lots of texture and parts of the old colors peeking through. I plan to try this serendipitous technique in the near future.

This painting will be up on my website soon for $75.00.

About the pic to left of post-©2007 Suzanne Urban Designs-Smirking Goddess™ Studio. Click on image for enlarged view.

Writing funny and Playing in Photoshop

Writing's always been a passion of mine, even though I'm not sure what a sub-clause is or when one of my participles is dangling–as long as it's not something hanging off of me, I'm not so worried about my ignorance. I also was the queen of run-on sentences in school until I discovered the almighty semi-colon-(;!) I suspect my passion for writing is due partly to the fact that I grew up with two English majors (Mom and Sis) and two writers (Dad and Sis) and I'm a Gemini-the great communicator of the heavenly twelve zodiac-sign bunch.

My Dad freelances now writing articles for such magazines as Science Technology and Invention magazine. My sister writes erudite book reviews for a university magazine and Amazon.com. I say erudite because of the intelligent and thoughtful way she explores the contents between a book’s front and back cover. My work hasn't been widely published like them, possibly because of my style and possibly because I haven't pursued the vocation professionally.

Still I like to write funny. I love to email the staff at work in the hope of getting at least one person to fall off their chair laughing. I’d like to think I succeed at times. There’s no more powerful elixir one imbibes then having the ability to invoke laughter, if one could bottle this stuff we’d be a healthier nation. Writing funny is a serious challenge; it don't come easy.

But despite the intoxicating draw to write funny stuff, I don’t know where this mysterious implant derives from. At my doll artist-group meeting the other day, we were commenting on artist styles. I was telling member Amy that her sculpted characters have a long, elegant “El Greco” look to their form–just like Amy, and my work, my work is short and squat featuring characters with disheveled expressions. No matter how I try I can’t do serious seriously, humor leaks out.

Sometimes I question this intention with guilty reflection:  Am I the tiresome class clown seeking attention at every turn?” Other times I say: “What the #*&@!” and let the good line roll. I think the best lot in life is to be someone who can entertain oneself-after all there’s a lot of schlock on TV these days as well as on the printed page.

Last weekend I offered myself the opportunity to design some collage-art magnets– with a humorous edge. I hope these miniature collage prints will sell locally and earn a giggle or two from the customer so I can continue this indulgent practice.

Oh! I also created one for the husband, who puts up with me in my not-so-humorous moments. As soon as I can grab one out of his shop I'll toss it up here.

About the pictures to left of post: ©2007 Suzanne Urban Designs no image  or gag line may be reproduced or copied without artist/writer express permission. Click on picture for enlarged view. Suzanne Urban has sold gag lines to greeting card companies. If you ever purchase a post-it from Oatmeal Studios™ that says: "Please read before folding into a paper plane." that's Suzanne's.

Another OOAK miniature Pig ornament on eBay

I have up for auction tonight at 8:30pm PST my newest needle-felted portrait head pig ornament. His name is Rainbow Harry. He is called so because–though diminutive in size–his personality is larger than the water tower that looms over Black Duck lake. Plain and simple Harry– who was often picked on as a kid because of his small stature–is a benevolent fellow who chooses to teach tolerance where ever he roams. His best teaching tool? why that rainbow colored cap of his, as the array of colors Harry says, symbolize the beauty of diversity; without differences there'd be no color in Harry's neck of the woods, or ours as a matter of fact.

Herewith the link to view Harry tonight:Rainbow Harry

About the pic to the left of post-please click to view enlargement, ©2007 Suzanne Urban.

Why readers might need to sign in for comments

Dear Viewer,
I got spammed today-or rather my blog did, someone or some robot input a link to a porno site in my blog. This is unsettling for one to view and the array of emotional disgust that permeated within wasn't a happy state for me.

I'm making some adjustments to my site, one will be have to sign in to leave a comment due to the fact that there's some seriously screwed up people manning said undiscriminating robots to input said web addresses into said innocent bystander's blogs. Some day job, eh?

And what a pithy job to have, how does someone who creates such websites–and digitally generates a viral marketing campaign to input their URL into scores of innocent sites–feel about their day job? Do they feel at all? Is their mother proud of them? Does she brag at her Bridge club? " You should see the humanly deprived sites my junior can design!"Are they able to pay the bills and then- some by ruining someone else's day or reputation? Are such people so destitute that they resort to skanky measures? Or have they become robotic too-automatically doing their job with out a conscious to lead the way?

Business-wise I'd think it wouldn't be a lucrative  practice for such people to associate with artists who create whimsical art-I mean what kind of dirt bag says: " I think I'll check out a whimsical artist's blog to see if I can view some dirty pictures? Maybe I'll find a link between some artist bears and charming mermaid paintings! "

Or are the maker's of porn sites so focused on their viral marketing campaign that they forget the very product they're marketing generates a serious human virus that's brought many a nation to it's knees?

In either case, the practice smacks of sheer desperation and stupidity. The individual's responsible are devoid of commonsense, common respect but mostly devoid of humanity. And you know, once you lose your humanity, you've lost your soul; I believe one shouldn't leave home without their soul as that's what connects you to the very heart of all that's right with this world. If one can't connect to that they're in bad shape.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience folks, but I hope this won't discourage a healthy if not happy dialog between me and my viewers in the future because one has to sign in to leave a comment.

Home For The Holidays

We weren’t home for the Holidays, we were in Pennsylvania visiting my sister and brother-in-law and his 90-something parents at Christmas. But it felt like we were home.

My sister Claudia and Brother–in-law Jim live in the historic section of Lewisburg, just a brisk walk away from the Bucknell University campus. So historic in flavor is this charming neighborhood filled with Victorian painted ladies and town houses, that Jim places electric candles in each tall window at night; this makes for a calming presence.

Also, calming is the absence of frenetic Connecticut traffic, loud motorcycles with illegal pipes and converted Victorian gas street lamps warm the night’s air instead of tall industrial sodium-hued lampposts. My husband and I always look forward to our holiday pilgrimage out to Claudia and Jim’s. We believe time does stand still in their neck of the woods, especially when watching yet another classic Christmas movie with the 90-somethings-Carl and Marge-both who can recall with out beckoning info about the actors, when they first saw the movie or even the kind of cars or products featured in the background.  And the best part of all is savoring the rich smells emanating from my sister’s kitchen. Claudia’s not only a good cook, but a healthy one too; she liberally doses her dishes with herbs from her summer garden and she’s not afraid to dress up a classic dish with her own twist. And please–don’t get me started on her artisan breads. All dishes are consumed with clinking glassfuls of red wine, German beer, hard cider or hand crafted margueritas (Jim's a master at these)–whatever the preference of the holiday indulger.

This is why Mike and I feel like we’re at home.  This is what home feels like to me; it’s bits and pieces from one’s childhood with added on improved-embellished parts introduced by our generation. It’s staring into my sister’s bathroom closet to view all the creams and potions lined up like soldiers in her collection of baskets. My sister doesn’t know it, but this is an odd gazing ritual I partake in. My mother’s linen closet held a variety of potions and creams too. Being privy to big sister’s linen pantry, food pantry and yes–refrigerator–all spilling forth with goods of all kinds, is comforting to me. And I didn’t even mention her personal library of books. And it's the Florida call from our Dad and step mom, always on time, always expected.

To further our comfort, Puma and Nibbleface are invited too. It’s hard to find sitters for two gigantic rabbits so the doors to this home are also open to our caged lagomorphs who settle into the guest room snuggled happily near a bright sunny window. Andy and Data, our host’s Maine coons, are always curious when the cage is carried up to the room. But feline curiosity subsides as their attention is focused on the human invaders; and Andy– a big red boy– tests out laps for his leisurely naps. We think he prefers Mike’s.

Outside are more cats, and a have a heart trap. Claudia and Jim diligently attend to the less fortunate felines, descendants of tossed pets by former university students. The homeless ones all have names, “Patches”, “Spark” etc. They peep out at Jim as he fills their water bowl and dumps more food into the communal tray.
Watching them is entertaining and knowing they’re humanely trapped, fixed and returned to their neighborhood haunts is comforting too. They sleep in a barn in the alleyway, but their host’s backyard garden sprouting herbs, vegetables, and yes, catnip too-is their heavenly home.