My Bedroom

Although I have posted photos of my bed on occasion, I really haven't photographed and shared my bedroom...I don't call it the "Master Bedroom", even though I do share it with my husband,it primarily reflects my taste, along with my mementos...We start out (mostly) in the same bed, but one of us eventually bails to their respective bedrooms - our guestroom has his family mementos in it...why, you ask? It's called snoring...sigh...After twenty-seven years of marriage, a good night's sleep supercedes sharing a bed through the night. Not that we don't have a good marriage, we do..okay..enough of that information. There was a time it bothered me, but I have the cats, and he gets to hog the covers...

Yesterday, I decided to circle the room from the bedwall and shoot in sequence of each wall...This is one of my photographs...It's a portrait of my husband's grandmother; they called her "Marm"..she was a beautiful woman. This was taken in the early 1920's (the picture in the picture, that is). The room only has two windows, that get the Western light, but the opposite end has french doors, that open onto our porch...so, I get East light in the morning, softened by sheers (photo to follow), and a porch with our ficus tree. Marm's portrait hangs over my glass night table...

The lampshade is temporary, and too short, as the other is a beautiful, pleated shade, with a liner that just crumbled in my hands one day, it was so old. I love the ivory lamp, sporting elephant heads on each side...trying to replace the liner...

I like the glass-topped metal based table because I have so many things I enjoy looking at when I awaken, and I need space for my magazines, books, glass of water, etc...The cherry bowl is one I painted, that I put my rings and earrings in upon going to sleep. The little, red-sequined shoes I bought for my grandaughter, Hannah, the day she was born...in Kansas..."Oz slippers"...I told her mother I wanted them back when she outgrew them, and I will give them back to her when she marries (she's fourteen, so that will be awhile.

The tarnished, silver-plated box sports a Rhino, and holds my jar of hand cream (okay vaseline, but it's great for hands and feet, just before going to sleep...)

If you double-click on the image, you can enlarge it...there are three, little, glass scotties, and one, cream-colored larger one...I picked them up separately, but was delighted when I found out the large, cream one glows in the dark!

I found this bookcase in a shop on sale for $40...it was bright blue, so I painted it black...I have so many family photographs, and I have tried to contain them mostly in the bedrooms..some, I've put away, and rotate them through...Last I counted, there were 75! Again, if you enlarge the photo, you can see a very funny photo of my mother, being held by two, whacky police officers...one has his cap on backwards. Mama was a police dispatcher (this was taken in the late fifties) On the back, was a caption saying: "Notice" Wanted: Escaped from 2 officers in Russell (Kansas) 2-13-55, W F 26 5/7" 125 lbs.

Black Hair - slender build

Wearing Green suit, black low shoes

Driving: 47 gray Nash 4 -door

My Mama died 20 years ago, at the age of 60, so I treasure this so. I still smile everytime I look at it.

My studio/office has two, large bookcases, filled with books, albums of magazine articles I've cut out and saved, but this one is my "night reading"..and magazines that I won't cut up... I love my floral settee...I bought it twenty years ago in a department store, and it has held up pretty well, considering several of our cats thought it was a scratching post...Thank God for "Fray Check" (you can get it at Jo Anne's Fabrics". Above it is the only piece of art in the house that is a reproduction..the rest are originals, mostly mine, along with family photos...

I hate exposed outlets...so, I put this box (Hobby Lobby), which holds old letters, etc., by my door, and put this rooster on it..He moves around alot...leftover from a photo shoot I styled for Springs/Graber Window Fashions...

Above him hangs, "Here a Chick"; a hand-colored black-and-white photo I did..I made the frame from leftover Waverly fabric, which were my window treatments, (sheets)...
Here, they are, between the door to the hallway and the French doors. When I found the house, it was three-quarters finished, and what made me fall in love with it (among other things) were the doors...and I did get to select the hardware.

The sheers on the French doors were some I made for a Parade home in Madison..I sewed crytals on the bottem to give them some weight...The box on the other side is my sewing box.

I love red...This silk, red robe is worn by my dressform..and the flower on the top is a "broach"

It stands in the corner on the other side of the French doors...scared the hell out of my Gussie the first time she strolled into the room and found it...she came running out of the room..It took a bit of convincing that it wasn't a headless person. Next to it is my "Rogue's Gallery. That's my very handsome husband and his first communion photo...The dog with the "Raindog Antler's" is our beloved "Lizzie"...gone for so long now...The baby playing with her foot is "Moi".

I've been working for three days, trying to put the photos up, and write, but I keep losing my Internet Server, so things are a bit out-of-order...Now, I am starting from the other side of the Bed...Windows flank either side of the bed, so this is the opposite wall. Bear with me (this is long, are you drooling out of the corner of your mouth yet? Maybe, we need to take a break? It is a large room, with a triple-tray ceiling, which has too many can lights in it..need to someday change them out...someday....

The cane chest on the opposite side of the bed has a black basket (belongs to Gussie), and is covered with a fun tapestry I bought at a garage sale on my latest trip back to Madison...It has two terriers, barking at a black cat. My Raisen is sleeping on it right now.

The hand-painted, black-and-white portrait is the only existing photograph of my family. My father is in his police uniform (he was shot in the line of duty not long after it was taken), I am on his lap, my Mama is sitting on one arm of the chair, and my sister is on the other....It's the first thing I look at every morning...I tell them I love them..and I miss them (even my sister, as I have no idea where she is).
The little mirror hanging from the ribbon is my "touch up makeup mirror"..the light is good there in the morning.

This is becoming tiresome, so I will fast-forward a bit..Photo by Moi...Bunnies I love, glass jewelry box, all on a marble-topped Queen Anne table.

This hangs over the settee...I treasure it so...It was done by my son, Shawn, when he was barely seven-years-old...It says:

SHAWN ALLEN (last name withheld)

MY MOTHER

My Mother is pretty. She helps me with my homework. She is a good cook.

As a matter of fact she is a beautiful cook. She is

a good artist too. I love her too. She loves me too.

If there is ever a reason (God forbid) to have to evacuate the house in a hurry, these are the things that would be going with me (along with the cats)...The rest can be replaced....

Illustrating children's books

My friend, Isabelle, told me about a publisher who is accepting submissions for illustrations for children's books...I am working on one of my own (bunnies, hand-painted black-and-white-someday....someday), but I decided to dig out a few of my drawings, and photograph them for submission..who knows...In today's economy, when noone is building high-end homes (which is what I specialize(d) in..(builders would buy my time, and give it to their clients to start their homes...saved a few marriages that way)..anyway, one has to diversify...In fact, on Tuesday, a woman is coming to interview me for a local magazine regarding my floorcloths...hey, free marketing...one never knows..but, I digress.
This pen-and-ink pointalistic drawing was fun...I like repetitive movement with my hands..it soothes the savage beast within me (funny, when I look in the mirror, I don't see a savage beast, but it's sometimes there..this calms me)...making little, teeny-tiny dots for hours on end is fun???

This cow was done in markers...I later did it on fabric and made a pillow out of it for a little friend of mine...He loved that cow pillow...wonder whatever happened to it...

Again with the details and repetitive movement..if you double-click on the image, you will see how much detail there is. One doesn't have to be obsessive-compulsive to be an artist/designer, but it helps...In real life..not so much..

I saw this photograph and just had to draw it....all these have been sitting in a portfolio in my closet for years...when I lived in North Carolina, I submitted these for a position with the state historical society as an illustrator..they lost their funding, and that was that (they had hired me)...such is life..maybe they will come in handy now..who knows? Maybe that's my new mantra: "Who Knows"????

This graphite drawing was from a postcard (okay, pencil), but now there are woodless, graphite pencils that I just love..in fact, I am finishing up a drawing of a nude, but think it might not be appropriate to submit for children's books??? Back to the drawing - I am one-quarter Cherokee, and the older I get, the more I am drawn to (no pun intended) my heritage....Funny, when we lived in Oklahoma on Indian Land, I was ashamed of it...now, very proud..Things change.

So, there it is...makes me want to do some more..but, I need to finish the nude first...

A Few of My Favorite Things....

Hmmmmmm hummmm hummm hummm...hummm hummmhm ...and whiskers on kittens, hummm m hummhmm, hummm hummm and mittens, bright paper packages, tied up in strings, these are a few of my favorite things.....I suppose I could Google the words to Julie Andrews, singing in "The Sound of Music"..but, I'm too lazy.
I have a lovely home...I have lovely things....and even though my life is far from perfect, I am a very fortunate woman. I am not a "status" person...no status McMansion, no fancy car (I drive Aunt Lily's big ol' Buick). I have pretty jewelry, but not diamonds and emeralds..I wear mostly my turquoise and silver (much of it passed down from my mother), and my clothes are nice, but I buy many of them at resale (albeit nice resale) shops...
All that said, I do have some things that I love..things that I shall never tire of (at least, I don't think so)..some things that bring me great pleasure.
I have inherited fine china, silver, crystal, and I love setting a lovely table. I stand to inherit more of the same...I can remember coveting such things, but I would much rather have the people from whom I inherit....
So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things...(okay, my darling Gussie is not a "thing", but the I couldn't resist the line from the song...) This is my girl as a baby...just "hanging out"...I cherish this photo... I love the pair of etched-crystal vases, circa 1930's, that were given to me by my mother-in-law..I love the lily...I love the set of gold-and-red embossed books of the classics, that I bought years ago, one a month, when my husband was in graduate school and we were broke...I love the photo (hand-colored, black-and-white, by moi)...

I love the sheep that hangs over my bed...it says on him, "carry an umbrella when you see this flying fella"...that's a vintage child's hat, with cherries on it, that I often put on my "subjects" during my portrait photography days...

The sheep hangs over my Country French, carved pine bed, and the wonderful, red reading lamp is a new aquisition from Tuesday Morning...paid all of fourteen dollars for it. I love to lie in bed at night and write my novel(s)...I have tried writing on the computer, but I need to put pen to paper for some reason...nightime is my writing time.

I love the feather-trimmed silk, red pillow....even though one of my precious cats has damaged the back a bit..sigh.

Speaking of precious cats damaging my things...this was one of my favorite, silk, plaid pillows...it was $75.00 a yard, and I loved it...cat killed it..don't ask how...
I love the faux-fur, red throw (read "woobie) I keep at the foot of the bed to pull over me during the night...ala "Target"..

When I went to New England School of Art and Design in Boston, I took a faux finishing course..this screen was my final project...(got an A)..This was back in the day, before all the synthetic materials (which are much better for you) came out...I learned the old-world methods, and am glad I did...It is in my dining room, hiding my sewing machine in the corner....

When I was doing a photo shoot for Springs/Graber Window Fashions, (I did the photostyling), I acquired this rooster...at the time, he was white resin, but I "tarted him up", so, he came home with me. On July 4th, he sports an American flag. The rest of the time, he's in my laundry room....

These two, antique bunnies (I think they are circa 1920's), are horse-hair, straw-stuffed, and I believe they have been much loved...Poor Rupert (I named them Rupert and Nora) only has one ear, and Nora's gown is bedraggled, but somehow, making her a new one just wouldn't be the same..Rupert sports such a fabulous outfit...When I was doing children's portraits, they were the secret I would pull out of the bag when the children melted down..worked every time...they are the subject of my children's book in progress (okay, it's been in progress for way too long)..The smaller bunnie is Peter Rabbit..belonged to my husband when he was a baby. The cloche is always changing...and I love my fun, little Easter animals...the duck's wings flap..

I love making herbed vinegars...steeping the herbs in vinegar, bottling them, and making hand-made tags, embellished with pressed pansies from the garden...

The photograph hangs in my bedroom ("Grace", hand-colored, black-and-white..again by "moi), and I used wall covering to cover the hat box...I have boxes everywhere...stashing photos, letters, and momentos...

Sunflowers in blue-and-white china....

Peonies in blue-and-white china....when I lived in Wisconsin, I had many bushes of them..the scent is heavenly, but look out for the ants!

I love using china platters on walls..this was one of my favorites in Wisconsin...note to self, do not try to use it as a bird feeder...shattered...sigh. Also, loved drying my PeeGee Hydrangeas...

This angel is in my kitchen...she's a blessed thing..again, she was white when I got her, but I used a "rusting" technique...She cradles the small bird in her arms...(and she hides the outlet on my granite kitchen counter)....

She and these silly "things" are things I cherish, that have wonderful memories, or just bring me pleasure.

What are some of your favorite things?