Back from the Fabulous Baltic Region!!
August 28, 2009 | Filed under: Uncategorized
This has been the year of trips for us. We have been in New York City, Chicago, the Dominican Republic and now have just returned from a cruise to the Baltics. We toured St. Petersburgh in Russia, Stockholm in Sweden, Copenhagen in Denmark, Helsinki in Finland, Gdansk in Poland plus several other places. What an amazing experience! The architecture in the old parts of these cities was wonderful to see. St. Petersburg with its palaces was incredible. So much richness, and obvious luxury in the homes of the nobility of Russia pre Bolshevik era. Malachite, lapis lazuli, marble, gold, agate and other wonderful materials were used to decorate the palaces as well as the furnishings. A sobering thought was the fact that many people were starving at the same time of the building of these glorious edifices. The availability of amber is astounding. The quality is excellent-not often available here. But also incredibley expensive. I was able to find some that I thought was affordable and am looking forward to working it into some of my designs. If nothing else, seeing all this amber was very inspiring.
There are many books out there with photos of everything that we saw. But until you see it in person, you really have no idea how glorious everything is. It was an experience that we will never forget.
And now back to reality. I will be participating in the Grimsby Festival of Art, on Sept. 12th. Check my events page for details. This is a one day event that is very worthwhile as there are many artists and artisans showcasing their work. My next event is at my home and studio–the Beyond the Valley Studio Tour in October — the week end after Thanksgiving. This is a 2 day tour, on a Saturday and Sunday. There are 7 studios open with 13 artists showing their work. My guest is Michelle Guitard who is a painter. Check out her website through the link on my home page.
As I am still recovering from jet lag, seems to take longer each time, it is taking me a bit of time to get working. I have lots of ideas and lots of sketches and I am looking forward to working the new amber into my collection. As well I have some large 14mm. freshwater pearls and some large flat ones as well that will be making an appearance. A brilliant blue agate is new to my inventory. It looks sensational with bright silver. Expect to see lots of new pieces with different stones that I have not used before.
I have also sent a new shipment to the Circle Arts Gallery in Tobermory. If you are able to get up there, this award winning gallery is a must visit. Check out their website for a listing of the artists that are represented.
Now back to work–I just have to do one small piece and then usually I am off and running (so to speak).