Stone Crop Garden Break

We have been terribly busy in the studio and had to have a break to keep our sanity. We chose to go to one of the Garden Conservancy's 'Open Days' last weekend in Cold Spring, NY.  Twelve acres at 1,100 ft. elevation with Tudor buildings from the original estate, Stone Crop Gardens is in the Hudson Highlands about  an hour south of us. It is an educational facility where botanists train so there were lots of names and numbers but also a lot of beauty. See?

beautiful color!

beautiful patterns

whee!

water lilies

Magnolia. Umbrella type.

Me and my shadow

M&T Bank's Clothesline Festival in Rochester, NY

Steve and I have never been to Rochester, NY before and were delightfully surprised at the strong presence of cultural interest this small city has to offer. I wish we had taken more photos of the city
but time did not allow for it. The show we went to was the Clothesline Festival sponsored by the M&T Bank. It was a benefit for the Memorial Art Gallery. Originally part of the University of Rochester, the Memorial Art Gallery is a vibrant part of the community with over 300 volunteers, outreach creativity programs, a beautiful gallery store and two art shows. 16,000 people showed up on Saturday to see over 400 exhibitors.

We received one of the eleven Awards of Merit. Yea!

Our corner space

Who is talking to whom?

WOW.. a 6 box show!

Steve and I have returned from the Long's Park Art Craft Festival in Lancaster, PA over Labor Day Weekend exhausted but thrilled. We had not even expected to be juried into the show after not making it in '08 and '09 but as they say 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' Our reception was nothing short of fantastic! Here are some photos:

we're leaving home... bye bye

setting up

putting the pots out

finally ready!

the lake behind us

our aisle

you can see the tents across the lake
There were 200 wonderful exhibitors

going home
 

It was a very successful show for us and for the Long's Park Foundation which uses the gate proceeds to fund free entertainment all summer at the Amphitheatre in the park. 

We were grateful to be a part of it.

Getting ready for Long's Park Show Sept.3-6

Anxious to have a good variety of work for the Long's Park show in Lancaster, PA this weekend, we have been burning the midnight oil. We made and fired two kilns worth of pots over the last month. Here's some photos:

After the Stockbridge show, we repacked & stacked the boxes downstairs in our studio in preparation for the next show.

Unloading the first kiln load of pots

first kiln load

Second kiln load ready to fire

Second kiln load fired

stock of Classics for the show

unloaded and ready to pack

Catch us at the Long's Park Art & Craft Festival in Lancaster, PA Sept. 3-6 in space #290

Lotus vs. Water Lillies

white lotus

Many people confuse water lilies with lotuses but they are definitely different. Basically, Lotuses lift themselves above the water and have round leaves while water lilies float on the water and have heart shaped leaves. The lotuses also have those wonderful seed pods. When I first started putting these flowers on my pots, I two confused them so there are some pieces out there that could stump a botanist. At the beginning of my efforts I  sculpted water lilies and called them lotuses. I confess! I added to the confusion! My only saving grace is that I now know and promise to make those flower petals softer, the leaves round and the pods visible.

Here are a few photos of the water lily that we saw at the Fountain Pond Park on our way home from the Stockbridge, MA Arts & Crafts show last weekend.

with arrowroot and cattails

Water lilies

Saturday & Sunday at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens

Next!

Birch Forest

      This Saturday and Sunday, August 21 & 22, we will be showing our work in the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge, MA. Show hours are 10 am- 5pm on Saturday and 10 am-4pm on Sunday. It should be a beautiful setting for 90 artists. Come and join us for a lovely weekend in the Berkshires!

Willow Trees

Elm Trees

Dogwood

Laurel

Bleeding Hearts