Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 31 of 58

Artistic Endeavors

All Things Home

picture ledges for pigment bottles in the studio

My studio continually evolves as I use and finetune the space. A couple of weeks ago, I was doing some reorganizing and realized I could utilize the space to the left of the large hardware cabinet. Some picture ledges would give me a little more storage and would also be the perfect place to display my bottles of pigment. What was hanging there before was a pinboard with color swatches. While I enjoyed looking at them, I didn’t really use them, so changing it out made sense. Sienna Counterweight Studio Easel | | painted checkerboard floor | Hare art print I purchased shelves from Target for $15/each and hung them in that space. The dimensions were absolutely perfect for my collection of bottled pigments. | | antique palette I bought the bottles from Hobby Lobby, but I wasn’t able to find them on their website. They are in the glass

October 6, 2020 25 Comments

a slice of life

the work of gardening gnomes & painting peonies

My typical gardening routine each year is to start enthusiastically and then fizzle out as the weather gets hot and beds are overwhelmed with weeds. A part of that is I was battling beds filled with rocks, deteriorating weed-blocking fabric, and plants I didn’t like. There wasn’t a lot of incentive to care for it until we did an overhaul. This spring, we did a complete overhaul of the beds. It was a lot of work, but I’m enjoying gardening so much more now that I’m tending to plants that I like and we addressed some of the problem areas. We’ve even been giving our grass more attention! You can see how our garden beds have progressed in these posts… Front Garden Reveal Tending to the Back & Side Gardens (before & afters) Patio Makeover Reveal We planted a bunch of Annabelle Hydrangeas, I split and relocated some hostas, and

August 10, 2020 26 Comments

All Things Home

live painting class | grazing cow painting

Well, this is my last live painting class post for a while. I have enjoyed it so much, but I need to clear my plate to focus on some other projects for a while. It has been a learning experience for me and a great source of joy during these tough times! I really appreciate everyone who participated and sent me pictures of their work, notes, and e-mails telling me about their painting journey and how this class has been a bright spot for them, too. I can’t tell you how many people started painting along with me simply because they’ve always wanted to try it. I can tell from the work I’ve been receiving that there are a lot of people who found a talent they didn’t know they possessed. It makes my whole year to hear that! This isn’t the end, though. I’ll be back when my schedule

June 17, 2020 13 Comments

a slice of life

the antique french paint box

One of the things on my shopping wish-list when I went to Europe last fall was a paint box. Most of the items on my list were, in fact, art supplies… a silver ink well, a blotter, a tabletop easel, a fountain pen. As you may have noticed, antique and vintage art supplies have been a favorite of mine lately! I was really hoping to find a wooden artist’s pochade box in France or Italy, and I did come across a couple, but just not the right one. I almost talked myself into buying one particular box, but it really was too new. It didn’t have the soul and patina I wanted. So, I’ve been browsing Etsy and eBay now and then for antique and vintage pochade boxes. I’ve gotten so far as to put one in my cart only to abandon it. After all of my years of buying

June 10, 2020 49 Comments

All Things Home

live painting class | still life with flowers & glass

Last week was absolutely packed! Jeff took the week off, so I cleared my schedule as much as I could to take advantage of our time to work on projects together. We installed the picture frame molding and chair rail in both the sewing room and master bedroom and got a ton of work done in the yard. We did a “family workday” on Saturday to get all of the big stuff done (hauling mulch, edging the beds, putting down weed-blocking fabric, etc.) We have some small things to do when it cools off later this week, but the yard is really coming along. I also still have caulking, priming, and painting to do in the master bedroom and sewing room. I’ll be sharing my progress and process on these projects starting this week, but first, I wanted to post about the live art class from a couple of weeks

June 8, 2020 17 Comments

All Things Home

Sue’s Ironstone Palette

A few weeks ago, I spotted these amazing palettes on @whiteflowerfarmhouse feed and my heart started fluttering. It was a little hard to believe that I was looking past all of the ironstone pitchers, but my eyes made a beeline for those beauties. I immediately sent a message to inquire about purchasing one. As I was making the inquiry, Lori informed me that it wasn’t just a vintage palette, but it was made of ironstone! An ironstone paint palette!! Are you kidding me? It’s like it was made just for me. It’s unfortunate that The White Flower Farmhouse store (and so many other businesses) have to be closed, but I love that I’ve been able to shop from them online. I’ve been drooling over Lori’s shop for a long time! Anyway, I was able to claim the palette before anyone else and it was mine. I was over-the-moon. Let me

June 4, 2020 54 Comments

All Things Home

#happymailmovement giveaway | crocheted dishcloths

With the heaviness that’s hanging over our country right now, I thought offering up another #happymailmovement giveaway to my readers would be a nice way to kick off the week. It doesn’t make anything right or better, but it’s an itty-bitty way to spread a little happiness. I’ve been spending a lot of time while under the stay-at-home/safe-at-home orders working on projects around the house and in the garden. In the evenings, though, when I’m tired from the day, I’ve been crocheting dishcloths. I’ve even come up with a couple of new and simple patterns to share! But the point of adding to the growing stack was to give them away. So, I’ve accumulated ten crocheted dishcloths in a variety of patterns to offer up. They are all made of 100% cotton Sugar n’ Cream yarn in Ecru. I have found that these wash up nicely and are great to

June 1, 2020 685 Comments

a slice of life

this & that

Our weekend was mostly rainy, but it was much needed. I’m watching our grass green up and our front garden spring to life (along with weeds that need to be pulled) out of the drenched soil. I spent Sunday cleaning and making soup to get the week started off well. I did take some creative time when everyone else was occupied, though. I did prep for the next slipcovers I’ll be working on as well as some painting and drawing. I also sent out some more happy mail! I am taking another Jeanne Oliver class – The Working Art Journal with Pam Carriker and I’ve been making value scale charts with my pencils… I love making little tools for art and Pam has all sorts of fun suggestions for getting to know your art supplies and making pretty and functional reference materials. The bulk of the class is working on

May 20, 2020 43 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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