This past Sunday was a joyous and laughter filled reunion for part of our family in Athens, Georgia!
After my drive from Greenville, it was coffee at Gaby and Jesse's house with my sister Mary and husband John. Along with some lively conversation came the highlight and center of my visit. I was introduced to the newest member of our family, Alice!!!!!! And what a precious, petite, beautiful young lady she is! Her gentle, dark but bright and questioning eyes stole my heart immediately and completely! This joyous first meeting was followed by a short walk through their charming, eclectic neighborhood, a mix of old and high modern architecture, to Jesse and Gaby's incredible 4 star (5 in my book!) restaurant, Viva, home of the best Argentinian cuisine you will find anywhere. A wonderful little reunion took place with scrumptious foods with an assortment of subtle flavors of herbs and other interesting additions. Gaby and Jesse are masters of this.....All the while, little Alice captivated out attention, even as she slept. Again, the conversation brought on laughter and fun along with a few memories from long ago.... As you can tell, I adore my family and was so glad to be part of this gathering. It was, however, time to hit the road in time to miss the oncoming and much needed rainstorms that had been called for. One last siting that caught my eye was what I believe is a passion flower, just hanging in a tangle of vines full of bees... Thanks everybody for a wonderful visit!
John and Mary - Safe travels home to Fairfield, CO
My love to all of you!
Cam (my family nickname)
Life giving water sprinkling my beloved and thirsty garden...
So how did we manage to stay cool?????? Cleaning the goldfish pond, usually the favorite project if you can imagine, puppet shows, washing the car, going to the park at 7:00 AM, playing with wood, paint and cardboard boxes (inside) and finally, the pool after 5:00 PM. Thank you Ella, Lily, Charlie, Jaz, Rosie, Roger and oh yes, goldfish, for a busy, creative, crazy but fun 4 days filled with mostly laughter and only a couple of temper tantrums, even if the temperatures were sizzling!
Can you guess that they have 2 wonderful family dogs, Oden (a German Shepherd) and Lexi(a golden doodle)? I am in awe of 7 year old Lily's creativity and humor. I am also wondering what kind of dog her 4 year old brother Charlie happens to be. And by the way, I am still laughing every time I look at these. Lily, like all my 5th and 6th grade students, inspires me...
Thank you Lily!
love, Mimi
While walking with the grandkids in Falls Park on Friday morning, I was regretting the fact it was so hot and we didn't have a good place to set up the sprinkler at home, when all of a sudden!!!!! This is how a 4 year old and his sister solve the problem!
Just want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes, each and every one of them is mighty special!
Love,
me
The latest addition to my garden is this dahlia, a stunning blend of complementary colors! Thank you Jane...
It all started some months ago at an opening at Art & Light Gallery here in Greenville. Teresa Roche, the gallery owner/director of the gallery Teresa Roche <artandlightgallery.com/>invited Lesley Forager <lesley@artsyforager.com>, her web master, who is also a wonderful painter to have a show at Art & Light. She suggested that Lesley might consider giving a little seminar on the subject of social media while she was in Greenville.
Thankfully, Leslie said yes! The word must have traveled quickly because about 15 artists showed up to greet Lesley with great enthusiasm! The information she shared was excellent! She explained what social media is and how best to use it. She also explained which media works best for artists. I was so excited about all I learned that I asked Lesley if I could hire her to look at my relatively new site which was focused on my blog, "Day to Day", and make suggestions about how to now turn it into a site more focused on my work and on sales and commissions. She was genuinely enthusiastic about helping. About a week later a detailed report with excellent suggestions arrived by email.
I immediately forwarded Lesley's report to my son Ryan. It is Ryan who has empowered me since the beginning of this journey to learn how to take care of my own site! He felt it would free me from alway depending on others. He was also the one who suggested I might also like to start a blog. I knew he was right but was not sure at the ripe age of almost 72 that I could actually learn how to do it. He assured me he would be by my side every step of the way and so he has, with love and great patience I must say! Over time, I came to really enjoy posting different types of content to "Day To Day", but there was a problem. I enjoy writing and posting content about things that are important to me along with events happening in my life; however, I came to realize that if I was going to use a blog to focus on my work, I would need a 2nd one. Thus "From the Studio" was born.
I tell you this, because I want to give each of you a choice. You now have the option to receive weekly digest from either or both. If you like what you receive simply do nothing, except perhaps share with others that you think might enjoy it. If you want to stop receiving the digest, feel free to opt out. I promise it won't hurt my feelings!
With that said, I also want to announce that my site has received a total makeover. It focuses on a lot more of my work and frankly is a lot more aesthetically pleasing. Ryan has spent countless hours making the changes required to transition to the new format and has done a beautiful job. He surprised me with images of my work I didn't know I had, along with videos and all kind of information about me on the internet that I had no earthly idea was out there. I must be one of the luckiest moms in the world to have a son willing to spend this kind of time to set me up and teach me what to do next. Of course this is ongoing, but what an exciting journey it has been for the two of us to get to know each other as adults! What is to special is that he has had the patience to teach me to fish and not just given me the fish. I must say that I am astonished at how much I have learned!!! I can hardly believe that I now know to resolve many problems I would have had to ask Ryan to fix for me only a few short months ago.
My appreciation extends to include my daughter in law, Jen, who had to entertain my two precious grandchildren Lily and Charlie so Ryan and I could work on the changes... Thank you Lily and Charlie for the time your dad gave to me to help give me a leg up in this world where technology rules and those over a certain age are challenged.
On my end I also want to thank Roger and our two dogs, Rosie and Jaz for their patience when Ryan and I were at work long distance on my computer. I love all of you starting with Teresa and Lesley who all played a part in getting the ball rolling toward the new look. Lastly, I'd like to sincerely thank all of you who have written to encourage me. Your support has helped me keep going though at times I wondered if anyone noticed...
I hope you enjoy the new website and blog formats. Please feel free to send me a message through the "Contact Me" section or by email with any feedback you might have on either the website or things you might like me to include in the blogs. I truly value your opinions.
I am going to post this but look for the next post on "From the Studio" with more details about what I hope to offer and accomplish with that blog.
Thanks everyone but most of all, I thank you Ryan...
Alice
Beautiful little nature-based art composition created by a young artist named Lily, my granddaughter!
Those of you in the workshop might want to know that along with the outline, I am also putting aside tools, examples of my work that show the techniques I will be sharing in demos, a few favorite books, "natural stuff" of course and my sketchbook/journal...
If you are coming from out of town and have to fly, remember the studio is extremely well equipped and those of us that are driving or live near by will have plenty of extra so do not worry about that.
I will plan to get up to the Bascom on Sunday mid-day to unpack and get set up. If you arrive on Sunday, feel free to drop by to to say hello and get the lay of the land. If you have time, go ahead and walk the trails and see what all the Bascom has to offer. If I don't see you Sunday, I look forward to seeing you Monday morning! The class will start at 10:00 on June 6 through June 10th.
Don't forget to spend some time looking at my Pinterest board on Ikebana! https://www.pinterest.com/alicerballard/ikebana-ideas/ It might help you think about the kinds of forms and containers that attract you the most. Even a few simple line drawings of the general forms you like notated in your journal/sketchbook might prove to be helpful.
See you soon!
Outdoor fun with the kids as they come up with creative and colorful ways to do their Initials and other messages with chalk.
A glimpse of my beloved garden as it comes to life...
My 2 grandchildren, Lily 7 and Charlie almost 4, were mesmerized, friends from outside of school were amazed and thoroughly entertained. We laughed, we cried, and we clapped until our hands were sore! My grandson and granddaughter joined in with spirit and at one point, Charlie was clapping on his head!!!! I was just bursting with pride for the students' hard and focused work with long hours, colleagues that I have always admired for their professionalism and creativity, are now super heroes and heroines! Last but anything but the least were all the parents who took ownership and with pride helped in every way imaginable, including making costumes and masks that were extraordinary. Never have I felt so much a part of a "creative happening" that yielded such astonishing results. Students, teachers, parents (of course those professionals behind the stage and new Performing Arts Center were a TEAM in the finest sense of the word.....Way to go everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It may be "the end" of an unforgettable performance but the spirit of all the animals remain with me, especially Joy the elephant....Autumn and Walter the giraffes will also be near and dear to my heart....along with those special students who through their own creative spirit brought these animals to life. With love to everyone, Alice
Last night Monte sent me this great picture with the message "They ROCKED"!!!!!!!!!!! That was just the dress rehearsal! Tonight, my whole family will attend. I can hardly wait to watch my grandchildren......
Check out the elephant feet and legs... Way to go Allison!