Escaping the Heat

A vacation to the beach is always welcoming to escape the summer heat. It was about 30 degrees cooler than home which was so relaxing. So much to photograph with the walks on the beach and walks to town. 

 So many beautiful flowers along Main St.

Gifts from my Garden

I am so happy and grateful for all the gifts from my garden each year. 

Cherries! This year they are a little late usually the birds have them gone by the first of May.

Pears are growing they should be ready in a several weeks.

Wisteria blooming for the second time this season.

I just love the wisteria pods they are so cool soft life velvet and olive green!

Lots of plums even though we trimmed the tree down this past winter. 

Peach tree but I couldn't find any peaches yet.

Hello Poppy Petals

Black and white study of the poppy petal. One of my favorite things about poppies are their wrinkled petals when they first open up from the bud.

My Soul is an Artist

It was an incredible day being part of the live audience at Sue's new studio. The interview she did with Joyce Tennyson was captivating since she is one of my favorite flower photographers. It was so interesting to hear Joyce's journey and thoughts on photography and her appreciation for personal work. I have her flower photography books and love how she describes photographing flowers like people and that they are beautiful through all stages of life - it's so true. I can't say enough about spending time around Sue anytime I can get the chance to do that I will take it. Her energy is so beautiful I always learn so much about being a better photographer and more importantly about being a better person. The new studio is gorgeous!

Tulips in a Jar

I was shopping at Costco the week before Easter and really wanted some tulip bulbs to plant when I saw hydroponic tulips in a jar from Holland (Bloomakers.)  I hadn't thought about hydroponic plants since my days in college in my Botany class. Luckily there was a man next to me looking at the tulips as well and said he bought them last year and they were just beautiful so I trusted his review. They did not disappoint - they were flawless and so easy to take care of just keep the water level up to the roots so simple. It was incredible watching them develop and bloom right before my eyes. Now I have to decide whether to chill them for a few months to see if they will bloom again. Sometimes hydroponic plants don't have enough nutrients to bloom a second time but its worth a try I think.

French General with AugustWren

Persistence paid off for me with this workshop. I first saw the Creative Painting workshop with Jennifer Orkin Lewis (AugustWren) advertised in November and it filled up so fast I didn't make it in. And, everyday I would check their website and see the workshops were closed. One day I was getting my hair done and doing my daily checking when I noticed it didn't say closed and I was allowed to get in. I was thrilled there must have been a couple people that cancelled. The shop is so cute with vintage everywhere! So many cute embroidery projects and fabrics to choose from. I had a tough time deciding whether I wanted to paint, sew or take photographs.

Literally a whole wall filled with jars and different beads and buttons.

Lovely flowers for us to use to paint.

 All that beautiful fabric!

 The amazing AugustWren Jennifer Orkin Lewis! She taught such a great lesson about painting florals. She is so talented you can find her work at Anthropologie. 

We did some timed painting for practice.

 Jennifer's samples.

My final bouquet.