I was making necklaces for my etsy store several days in a row and had totally cluttered table as a result. You know that - something from this box, something from that string - and soon you push things in the morning to free a tiny spot to work on.
Finally you can't do it anymore and need to declutter...
It took me three hour, half an audio book and voila! It's ground zero, I have a table back! And all the tiny pieces went back to their containers.
Love this empty clean look, even if it doesn't stay long like this:)
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Jewelry store in SF Chinatown
I love this jewelry store! Its windows are always full of large statement necklaces with beads as big as eggs and pendants which could serve as pieces of armor. I never saw somebody buying them though. One day I will go on stakeout there and will wait for the person who will buy one of these!
My beader friend promised me that we will wear that kind of large, bold, tribal jewelry when we will be ninety years old.
My beader friend promised me that we will wear that kind of large, bold, tribal jewelry when we will be ninety years old.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Halloween cats
I painted some sinister smiling black cats for Halloween. Two of them are ceramic ornaments and the third one is a painted rock.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I went to a flea market with my daughter. We are not early risers so by the time we got there many of the sellers were already packing.
We had to run to and fro around the field to see the last booths. My daughter took a fancy to a kitschy and ridiculously expensive radio in the shape of an owl heavily painted in gold. I found some vintage music sheets for future art works and two funny little things at an old Chinese man's table: a teapot with bugs and a fat, bumpy and grumpy toad.
We had to run to and fro around the field to see the last booths. My daughter took a fancy to a kitschy and ridiculously expensive radio in the shape of an owl heavily painted in gold. I found some vintage music sheets for future art works and two funny little things at an old Chinese man's table: a teapot with bugs and a fat, bumpy and grumpy toad.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Giveaway
It's a giveaway!
My little painted stone fish magnet will be given to someone who leaves a comment here. I know that there is not a lot of people reading my blog so your chances are really huge:)
I will wait 24 hours and then somebody will be the winner ( or not)
Welcome-welcome:)
It's painted on a beach pebble with acrylic paints and coated with a glossy clear varnish. The back side is left unfinished so you can see color and texture of an original stone. A strong rare earth magnet is glued to the back side. It's ready to adorn any surface that can hold magnets. Will be mailed in a small gift box with a soft insert.
The stone is about 1-3/4" ( 4.5 cm) long.
( you can see my other painted stones? prints and jewelry at my etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/artalika)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
California Quail
I noticed these birds a couple of times in the thick intertwined rose branches above the neighbors' fence but didn't get a chance to look closer. It seemed to me that the birds were sitting there, each holding a small leaf in its beak. What a strange fashion!
But last autumn the neighbors cut all their rose bushes and the fence became empty. Recently I was washing dishes in front of the window facing the side yard when all of a sudden a string of funny fat birds busily marched on the edge of the fence before my eyes. It was my mysterious birds with the leaves in their beaks!
I grabbed my camera and rushed to the backyard. The birds had already done their parade and were now placing themselves on branches of the tall tree nearby. I started moving very slowly, freezing now and then when one of them looked at me suspiciously. Now I was close enough to take pictures and see more details. The funny "leaves" turned out to be little black feathers hanging from their heads. How they didn't become cross-eyed with the constant dangling in front of their faces, I don't know.
One plump fellow:)
They turned their backs to me but kept to be very suspicious. I was moving in small increments when they didn't look and was standing still and shooting when they were looking back.
#3 I think males have bigger and nicer feathers above the beak. The females' feathers look like they have a bad haircut.
Doesn't it look like fish scales?
But last autumn the neighbors cut all their rose bushes and the fence became empty. Recently I was washing dishes in front of the window facing the side yard when all of a sudden a string of funny fat birds busily marched on the edge of the fence before my eyes. It was my mysterious birds with the leaves in their beaks!
I grabbed my camera and rushed to the backyard. The birds had already done their parade and were now placing themselves on branches of the tall tree nearby. I started moving very slowly, freezing now and then when one of them looked at me suspiciously. Now I was close enough to take pictures and see more details. The funny "leaves" turned out to be little black feathers hanging from their heads. How they didn't become cross-eyed with the constant dangling in front of their faces, I don't know.
One plump fellow:)
They turned their backs to me but kept to be very suspicious. I was moving in small increments when they didn't look and was standing still and shooting when they were looking back.
#3 I think males have bigger and nicer feathers above the beak. The females' feathers look like they have a bad haircut.
Doesn't it look like fish scales?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Keys and ribbons
My illustration for the book about a mouse. Adorable Glikeriya the Mouse always loses her keys. Now she found a fix. She ordered a lot of new keys, attached ribbons from chocolate boxes to them and put them on her apple tree near the porch. Now she has a key every time she needs one:)
Original illustration is made in acrylic and pencil on Bristol paper.
I'm selling a print of this illustration ( and several others too!) at my Etsy shop Artalika.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Day of must - Day of wish.
I'm conducting an experiment. There are things that need to be done but I'm not eager to do them. And there are things that I love to do and will be happy to do - but I feel guilty doing them. Usually they mutually annihilate each other - I am not doing must-do things because it's not fun and I am not doing pleasant things because I "don't deserve" it.
So I divide and conquer. Every other day I do all necessary things - all day long without complain, and between them I spent days doing free-guilt pleasant things.
Results are awesome. I have finished a lot of things from my procrastination list. And I have done a lot of fun things that make me happy and relaxed.
It works for me perfectly because I'm not a multitasking person. One task for a day - to be busy and productive or to be relaxed and have fun -is ideal for me.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Red-eyed guinea pig
My daughter called me yesterday. She saw a guinea pig in the pet shop and she was sad. The white boy was already 5 months old and nobody wanted him. Everybody is buying small ones and this one is stuck. It was twice discounted and now was only 10 bucks instead of 35. She wanted us to have it. But our pig is quite grown up so I don't know how he would like another male companion. I think it will be stress for both of them:(
She sent me a photo of this guy...
Owls. Painted rocks (stones)
Once I painted almost all of known owls on the small rocks. Before that an owl for me was an abstract big-eyed bird which is able to turn its head to its back. But a good big book of birds breeds changed it.
You know that in Russian it's not all owls? The smaller ones are called "sova" and the big one with feathered "ears" on its head is "filin".
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