QUEEN OF TOAST

Chicago Pedway

2011-07-22T21:39:00.005-05:00

I was thinking about the underground tunnels that I used to take when I worked downtown in the early 70's. I googled it and came up with this great website Mark Spiegl's Chicago Pedway page. I used to take the Randolph St. pedway from Marshall Field's over to Michigan Ave. in the winter, and was able to get on the Illinois Central train from the underground. We only took them during rush hour when there were a lot of people around, because I remember them being pretty scary.

The picture on Mark's page shows a marked improvement to the look of the pedways. I remember them as damp and dark and creepy and they smelled of urine. Yuk. This great pedway map is from his page:

Here's another link to Gaper's block where you can read detailed information by Alice Maggio about the pedways. Part one and part two It's really interesting and most people probably don't even know they exist. Another good read is this Wikipedia article.

Mark Hampton books re-visited

2011-07-22T19:44:00.003-05:00

The books I mentioned in my previous post arrived and both of them looked like they had never been opened, much less read. Even the dust jackets looked practically brand new.

The biggest surprise was that Legendary Decorators of the Twentieth Century turned out to be a first edition signed by Mark Hampton! Remember, I paid a whopping $1.64 for this book and when I looked up a first edition on Amazon it was over $300, and that one didn't have an autograph. I don't know who Jane was, but she was lucky enough to have Mark sign her first edition.

It also has a publisher insert for an error on page 238, which could add to it's value even more. I can't wait to read this book and will share some of the amazing paintings in the future. I know this book was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which makes it even more special.

I have chosen some black and white paintings from the book because I'm fascinated with the color values he achieved from black paint and water, and working with positive/negative space.

The other book, Mark Hampton on Decorating, was also in pristine condition. I'm embarrassed to say that I was disappointed that my $0.15 book wasn't a first edition also, but I think I can live with it. Again, I can't wait to read it. This book has charming notes written in calligraphy by Mark.

Mark Hampton watercolor

2011-07-07T20:44:00.007-05:00

I ordered two used books from Amazon.com the other day featuring the designs and watercolors of Mark Hampton. I have always been fascinated by his room paintings and wanted to see more of them. Click on these pictures and view the genius of his technique.

I ordered Legendary Decorators of the Twentieth Century and Mark Hampton on Decorating, $1.64 and $0.15 respectively. Come on, fifteen cents for a $60 book? And what an odd price for the other- $1.64 -what is with that odd number? Can't complain though, $1.79 for both books! I bought them from Better World books and with those prices they sure made my world better. They supposedly have shipped, so I will post more pics when I get them.

This is the beauty of used books, they are so doggone cheap. There is nothing I support more than buying used books. I want to see a book, but I don't want to pay $60 for it. I love buying used anything, and buying a well worn book just reflects the joy that it brought to the previous owner. Anyway, here's a couple of samples of Hampton's work, so amazing. I would love to paint like this - but I tend to overwork my paintings so that's something I definitely have to work on.

Piet Mondrian

2011-07-01T12:21:00.006-05:00

1965. Yves St. Laurent. Based on designs created by Piet Mondrian, he created one of the most iconic dresses ever. I would love to re-create one of these but it looks REALLY HARD.

This lady did it. Read about it here: http://www.squidoo.com/the-mondrian-dress

And consequently, there were all kinds of things Mondrian:

http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2008/08/mondrian-madness-in-furniture-shoes.html

http://blog.lulusvintage.com/2006/08/piet_mondrian_s.html

Kara Ross Mondrian style clutch bag

Read about Piet Mondrian here.
And, last but not least, my favorite Yves cologne, Rive Gauche. I had a can of this for years, and I am thinking of trying to track it down. It's divine.

www.perfumezilla.com

Welcome Back, Colleen!

2011-06-30T18:51:00.001-05:00

So, it has been almost two years to the day that I posted on here. Time to catch up. I've sewn, made jewelry, painted, learned how to use an iphone, played my wii, worked, lost weight, loaded a kindle, watched movies and t.v. shows, and married off a daughter. I have forgotten to take photos of things I have made, which saddens me because I usually have complete amnesia that I've made something once I give it away. I haven't even taken pics of Buster and Molly!

I feel technology has made me disorganized because there is always a new photo storage site or a new way to store data and I have stuff all over the place. My old phone allowed me to remove the SD card and put it into my laptop to transfer pics and things, but now I have an iphone and am constantly struggling with transferring stuff. Apple portrays itself as so minimilist, but I find a lot of the ways that they have things set up are very confusing and more complicated than they have to be. I have pictures scattered on two phones, five computers, Walgreens.com, and a digital camera. What a mess.

I kind of appreciate the way Google has correlated their software and I have decided that I'm going to embrace their setup by sticking with gmail, chrome, blogger, picasa, etc. I use google docs all the time and it's great. I bought a picasa app for my phone that will automatically upload my pics to picasa and I can bypass the horrible itunes. I usually just email my music, pics, etc. to myself for easy storage, backup and access - gmail allows 20 mb. attachments, or something like that which is great. And no one is ever going to max out their storage, I don't know how they can offer so much.

So, enough of that - I don't even know why I'm writing all of this because no one is reading it anyway LOL. I guess I'm just making notes to myself. I liked my blog because it's a snapshot of what I work on and a nice archive of all the photos, many of which I don't know the present whereabouts of. My daughter, Meredith, just started a blog (http://onceuponatulip.blogspot.com/) and peaked my interest. So, I'm going to try to do it, once again.

Some pics that were on my phone

2009-07-05T10:48:00.003-05:00

My daughters works at Willis Tower. This was their department's entry into the office gingerbread contest. They didn't win. :(

This is a cute watercolor I just finished for Kelly.

Dentist

2009-07-05T10:29:00.001-05:00

This is the building at 71st and South Shore Drive where I went to the dentist. The last time I went there, I was in college (1973) - I imagine the dentist, Dr. Haskins, is dead now - he was a friend of my dad's and we always went to him. There was a Steinway drug on the bottom floor of this building that we used to go to also, and the South Shore country club is across the street (on the right in the photo).

South Shore Public Library

2009-07-05T10:24:00.001-05:00

This is the library I went to when I was a little kid. It was really small, but I loved it.

My sister's candles

2009-03-13T12:18:00.003-05:00

My sister has created a candle line that has really taken off. They are extremely high quality and smell delicious. You can fine them here: http://shopcoletteltd.com

8 months later, let's pretend this lapse didn't happen...

2009-03-13T11:33:00.011-05:00

I can't even remember what I have been doing since last July, but I'm still alive, so I must have been doing something.

I painted my sister's houses as a Christmas gift. Sorry about the quality, I forgot to take pics until after I had framed them.

I played with my grand-doggies.
I made some jewelry:

Plus, a lot more that I didn't photograph :( , but have already given away.
I think I need to regroup and organize my pictures - I have them on three different computers, my phone and my camera.

Long Time No Blog

2008-07-19T10:13:00.005-05:00

I kind of forgot about my blog, but I think I may pick it up again. Here's a painting I did for my daughter:

16x20 - Winsor & Newton water mixable oil colour paints - work just like oils, but can be thinned and cleaned with water. Plus, the drying time seems to be quicker, about 2 weeks as opposed to 4 weeks for regular oils. I also did mix them with some regular oil paint and the brushes still cleaned up with soap and water.

Watercolor-Art Institute of Chicago

2008-02-03T15:10:00.001-06:00

Illustrated letters

2008-01-26T18:23:00.001-06:00

BLOGGING WITH INK

2008-01-26T09:56:00.001-06:00

http://edholloway.com/archive/2006/09/26/Ink-Blog-Plugin-goes-Gold_2100_.aspx

Live Writer=Easy, unbelievably easy

2008-01-26T09:18:00.001-06:00

Yes, this is so easy. I compose in Live Writer, click publish and within 5 seconds my post was on my blog. So easy. This is what the screen in Live writer looks like, as I am composing this blog entry. When I'm finished, I just click on Publish and it's immediately published.

Windows Live Writer

2008-01-26T09:12:00.001-06:00

With Live writer I can compose my blog entries offliine and then upload them. It may be a little easier than having to do it within Blogger. It's worth a try. I can see that Live Writer has created a new folder called My weblog posts, so it will keep a copy of them on my computer.

You never know if Blogger is going to lose your posts. I used to save them every month, so I had a backup. I'll see if this works out better. Now I have to figure out how to use inking from my tablet on here. That's what my original plan was.

Molly and Buster update

2008-01-25T21:14:00.002-06:00

Shop Colette

2007-10-28T19:42:00.001-05:00

If you're in downtown Forest Park, stop by my sister's store, Shop Colette. She has skincare, bath & body, cosmetics plus other apothecary and gift items. It's at 7439 Madison.

http://www.shopcoletteltd.com/

Meet Buster

2007-10-14T19:26:00.001-05:00

Buster and Molly's parents, maltese and cock-a-poo

Buster is the newest member of my daughter's canine family. He is a true brother of Molly, born to the same parents on Aug. 29th. It was so hard for my daughter and her boyfriend to choose between the two male dogs, as they are identically adorable. In the video below, at the end you will see a sister, Daisy, who went home with my daughter's friend. It was a most exciting day.Molly is anxious to go meet Buster.

How they make a Louis Vuitton trunk

2007-10-12T05:48:00.000-05:00

I don't know what language this is - Dutch? Anyway, a short tour of Louis Vuitton's home and how they make a Louis Vuitton trunk.

Molly in June 2007

2007-06-30T22:27:00.001-05:00

Trooper

2007-06-30T06:34:00.001-05:00

This is Trooper, my daughter's new dog. He's a husky/shepherd mix and has one blue eye and one brown eye. He's about 3 months old. Unfortunately he lives 2.5 hours away, but I hope to meet him soon, before he gets TOO big.

Women in Art

2007-06-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

This is amazing. How does one create something this amazing? Thank you, inventor of the Internet, for making it possible for us to see things that we would never be able to see anywhere else.

It was 40 (Twenty) years ago today

2007-06-09T20:36:00.001-05:00

Sgt. Pepper's was the first album I ever bought, in 1967. It was the summer I graduated from 8th grade. Best album they ever made. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling that none of their others did - nostalgic somehow, and after this they veered off into LaLaLand, eventually splitting up. Looking back, the Beatles weren't together very long, but they sure did alot in the time they had. I have it now on CD and listen to it at work on my computer.

Above is a short clip in which the Beatles talk about how it came about. It was meant to be heard in one sitting, which isn't hard because every song blends into the next, and before you know it, you've heard the whole thing. And then it's so easy to listen to it all over again, and again, and again.....most of us from that era still know all the words to all the songs.
A great link here, from thebeatles.com - a photo essay on how the cover was made and a better version of the clip: http://www.thebeatles.com/sgtpepper/

Another interesting site: http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/
youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheBeatlesOfficial

1. Sri Yukteswar Gigi (guru)

2. Aleister Crowley (dabbler in sex, drugs and magic)

3. Mae West (actress)

4. Lenny Bruce (comic)

5. Karlheinz Stockhausen (composer)

6. W.C. Fields (comic)

7. Carl Gustav Jung (psychologist)

8. Edgar Allen Poe (writer)

9. Fred Astaire (actor)

10. Richard Merkin (artist)

11. The Varga Girl (by artist Alberto Vargas)

12. *Leo Gorcey (Painted out because he requested a fee)

13. Huntz Hall (actor one of the Bowery Boys)

14. Simon Rodia (creator of Watts Towers)

15. Bob Dylan (musician)

16. Aubrey Beardsley (illustrator)

17. Sir Robert Peel (politician)

18. Aldous Huxley (writer)

19. Dylan Thomas (poet)

20. Terry Southern (writer)

21. Dion (di Mucci)(singer)

22. Tony Curtis (actor)

23. Wallace Berman (artist)

24. Tommy Handley (comic)

25. Marilyn Monroe (actress)

26. William Burroughs (writer)

27. Sri Mahavatara Babaji(guru)

28. Stan Laurel (comic)

29. Richard Lindner (artist)

30. Oliver Hardy (comic)

31. Karl Marx (philosopher/socialist)

32. H.G. Wells (writer)

33. Sri Paramahansa Yogananda (guru)

34. Anonymous (wax hairdresser's dummy)

35. Stuart Sutcliffe (artist/former Beatle)

36. Anonymous (wax hairdresser's dummy)

37. Max Miller (comic)

38. The Pretty Girl (by artist George Petty)

39. Marlon Brando (actor)

40. Tom Mix (actor)

41. Oscar Wilde (writer)

42. Tyrone Power (actor)

43. Larry Bell (artist)

44. Dr. David Livingston (missionary/explorer)

45. Johnny Weissmuller (swimmer/actor)

46. Stephen Crane (writer)

47. Issy Bonn (comic)

48. George Bernard Shaw (writer)

49. H.C. Westermann (sculptor)

50. Albert Stubbins (soccer player)

51. Sri lahiri Mahasaya (guru)

52. Lewis Carrol (writer)

53. T.E. Lawrence (soldier, aka Lawrence of Arabia)

54. Sonny Liston (boxer)

55. The Pretty Girl (by artist George Petty)

56. Wax model of George Harrison

57. Wax model of John Lennon

58. Shirley Temple (child actress)

59. Wax model of Ringo Starr

60. Wax model of Paul McCartney

61. Albert Einstein (physicist)

62. John Lennnon, holding a french horn

63. Ringo Starr, holding a trumpet

64. Paul McCartney, holding a cor anglais

65. George Harrison, holding a flute

66. Bobby Breen (singer)

67. Marlene Dietrich (actress)

68. Mohandas Ghandi (painted out at the request of EMI)

69. Legionaire from the order of the Buffalos

70. Diana Dors (actress)

71. Shirley Temple (child actress)

72. Cloth grandmother-figure by Jann Haworth

73. Cloth figure of Shirley Temple by Haworth

74. Mexican candlestick

75. Television set

76. Stone figure of girl

77. Stone figure

78. Statue from John Lennon's house

79. Trophy

80. Four-armed Indian Doll

81. Drum skin, designed by Joe Ephgrave

82. Hookah (water tobacco-pipe)

83. Velvet snake

84. Japanese stone figure

85. Stone figure of Snow White

86. Garden gnome

87. Tuba

picture and key courtesy of: http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~griff/sgtpepper/people.html

Floral skirt

2007-05-28T07:15:00.001-05:00

Grey Satin Skirt

2007-05-28T06:49:00.001-05:00

I'm sewing again, this time, summer skirts for my two daughters. This one is grey satin with an organdy underskirt trimmed with lace.

Thrifting find

2007-05-28T06:31:00.001-05:00

Thrifting at the Marklund, I came across this vintage Sunbeam mixmaster. Everything was 50% off, so I got it for $19. It was barely used and came with two original bowls, a set of beaters and a set of bread hooks. The mixer detaches into a hand mixer, and the motor hums quietly. Not a scratch on it, I can't wait to use it....I'm so excited! This thrift shop is huge, a big mish-mosh of good and bad, but I've found many treasures here, including 2 Coach purses for $3 each. There's so much stuff that it's hard to focus in on the good stuff, but it's worth the trouble.

Molly 4.28.07

2007-04-29T07:01:00.001-05:00

Welcome Molly!

2007-04-29T06:55:00.001-05:00

Kelly's new puppy, Molly, was received on 4.26.07. She's from a litter of 7, her mom is a cockapoo and her dad is a maltese. She's with a sister, Betty, above. They are too cute for words.

Shamrock is on vacation

2007-04-14T06:52:00.001-05:00

My sister's dog, Shamrock has been on vacation.
Shammie loves Sanjaya.
Shammie loves the Royal life.

Shammie loves London.

Rachel's studio blog

2007-04-01T07:20:00.001-05:00

I have Rachel in my favorites and check her blog from time to time. The colors that she achieves from watercolor paint is amazing. Her paintings are worth a browse, http://rachelsstudio.blogspot.com/ .

Painting on my tablet pc

2007-02-23T04:51:00.000-06:00

There's a great piece of software called Ink Art on the tablet pc. It's similar to a wacom tablet. You have choices of drawing with pencil, crayon, marker, paint or palette knife. The paint looks like real oil paint - blends, mixes just like oil paint. It's amazing. This is definitely something that I want to play with!

A couple of sketches

2007-02-04T06:41:00.001-06:00

Watercolor in Moleskine Sketchbook

UFO's Over O'Hare Airport

2007-01-28T10:21:00.002-06:00

I was going to write about this in November, when it happened, but I forgot. Quite a few O'Hare staff, including pilots, saw what they described as a UFO hovering over the United Airlines terminal for a few minutes, then it shot straight up into the sky, leaving a big hole in the clouds. What a great story. Here's a news clip:

Anyway, thinking of O'Hare led me to other thoughts. Most people in the U.S. don't live by a big airport like O'Hare, those of us that do forget about it, because it's just part of our surroundings. If you live west or south of Chicago, there's always an airplane overhead. When we lived in DesPlaines years ago, you could actually smell the jet fuel all the time, which was unpleasant, but you get used to it. Or if I was on the phone, I actually had to stop when the plane was overhead, because it was soooo loud.

When you look at the sky, you can see an average of 5-7 planes lined up, waiting to land. A large airplane passes over my house about every 2 minutes and I also get small planes that pass over, landing at the nearby Schaumburg airport. Then there's the news helicopters that cover the traffic on the nearby expressways, always early in the morning, flying low and loud.

O'Hare is surrounded by the city, and the streets that run around it. I put a red dot at the bottom of the picture, that's Irving Park Road, a heavily travelled road that I take when I go into Chicago to visit my sister.

First you smell the jet fuel, then when you are at the red dot, chances are that you will be directly under an airplane taking off to the south. Further up, at the blue star, is the landing strip. Planes usually go out over the lake and turn around and land on that strip from the east. I mean constantly taking off and landing, 24/7, every minute or so. It's kind of amazing.

If you hit that blue star spot at the right time, a plane is landing right over your head. It can be alarming to have a huge jet all of a sudden appear in front of you, so seasoned Irving Park drivers are used to looking to the east as we get to that spot. Years ago, before 9/11, people could park on the shoulder there and watch the planes land, but it isn't allowed anymore, the police are quick to make you move on.

As I'm rounding the curve on Irving Park, if I see a plane coming in for a landing, sometimes I can slow down or speed up so I get to that exact spot where it's over my car. It seems like it's only about 50 feet above. You don't hear anything at first, but about 5 seconds later you are blasted with a huge roar from the jet engines. It's quite a thrill.

Tulips

2007-01-21T05:05:00.001-06:00

I painted this from a photo. I used a new paintbrush my sister gave me for Christmas and drew it from shapes, not using pencil beforehand. Isabey paintbrush and watercolor on sketch paper.

Paris Collage

2007-01-14T10:35:00.001-06:00

I made this collage for my daughter's kitchen. I love collage, it makes good use of bits and pieces of paper that you otherwise just put in a drawer or file away and forget about. It was too large to scan, so I had to take a photo of it, and I'm afraid it became a bit distorted. It looks crooked, but it isn't really crooked.

Gift Tag

2006-12-10T15:45:00.001-06:00

A gift tag I made for Secret Santa at work.

Everyday Matters #89 - Buttons

2006-12-03T08:28:00.001-06:00

I have a large cookie tin full of old buttons, hundreds of them. They have been passed down through the family, some of them are from the 1800's. There are tiny, tiny buttons from the time that a button hook was used (I also have several old button hooks), buttons from WWII, old Boy Scout buttons, jeweled buttons, and at least 100+ mother of pearl, which are my favorite. Most of the mother of pearl are real, carved from the shell, you can see the hand carved marks underneath them. Even the tiny ones are hand carved. Some of them are paper thin, due to years of use, I guess, they are almost transparent. I wish you could see them in person, they just glow - some of them have a silvery iridescence to them that cannot be described.

I never thought about how buttons were made before plastic was invented, they were either bone or leather or pearl or wood. Amazing craftsmanship. The size range is so extreme, from very tiny to very large, some so large that I can't imagine what they were used for. They seem too decorative for coats.

Apparently, in times past, nothing was discarded without removing the buttons first. I wish I had followed that practice, because I'm sure I have tossed away garments without giving a thought to the buttons on them. I've probably thrown away some great little treasures.

I only have one of these leaves, it is plastic, probably from the 50's. It's very unusual, again, I can't imagine what it was used for.

I'd like to thank everyone for their kind comments on my work. Looking at everyone else's work is very motivating and everyone has a different style, which is so wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing.

Sketch of a little girl

2006-11-24T06:25:00.000-06:00

My beautiful daughters gave me an aquash set and 4 additional Niji brushes for my birthday, what a great gift! The crayons are portable watercolors, absolutely wonderful, I used them in the drawing above.

EDM #90 Something with wings

2006-11-24T06:15:00.000-06:00

Angels are all around us - have you ever felt their presence?

71st & Jeffery essay

2006-10-29T18:21:00.000-06:00

I found this essay I had torn out from the Chicago Tribune Magazine, 4-25-1992. It is about the neighborhood I grew up in on the south side of Chicago. It is written by David Mamet.

Kelly's new house

2006-10-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

foyer

stairs

kitchen

living room

powder room

master bath

master bedroom

upstairs hall

2nd bath

2nd bedroom

Paris Tourist Brochure, 1961

2006-10-17T05:49:00.000-05:00

This brochure tells you everything you want to know about visiting Paris in 1961. It has about 10 pages of information, all folded up covering everything from must see to emergency numbers. It says that it was published by Comite de Tourisme de Paris et du departement de la Seine. Research and Text by Therese Bonney and cover by Dignimont.

Paris Tourist Bus Map, 1960

2006-10-17T05:41:00.000-05:00

This brochure has three maps showing transportation routes in Paris.

TWA Travel Brochure, 1960

2006-10-17T05:38:00.000-05:00

I found this old travel brochure among some old photos. I wonder whatever happened to Mary Gordon?

inside page

2006-10-17T05:30:00.000-05:00

Pen sketch

2006-10-17T05:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas Card, Paris, 1964

2006-10-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

This is one of the Christmas cards I found, sent by someone living in Paris in 1964.

Bird Sketch

2006-10-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

Alice in Wonderland, Rackham

2006-10-14T07:23:00.000-05:00

Rackham's daughter, Barbara, was the model for Alice and many others over the years.

I've always enjoyed illustrations of Alice in Wonderland, especially those drawn by Arthur Rackham, 1907. His drawings are so muted and dark, but aren't depressing to me, instead rather charming and perfectly executed. The limited color palette is just enough to make them interesting. I've never particularly enjoyed the story of Alice, but I like the characters, especially the Mad Hatter. These illustrations are from http://www.bugtown.com/Alice
The site has the original book scanned, and you can download it with the site owners permission.

Chicago Buildings

2006-10-09T15:45:00.000-05:00

1950's view from Wacker Drive. Pilot G-2 and waterbrush in Moleskine.

St. Philip Neri

2006-10-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

Blogger Beta has finally fixed Picasa uploading so you can just click and automatically upload. Isn't it great that people actually figure stuff like this out for us and make everything so easy? They've also added a new web album auto-upload, which may be easier than Flickr for Picasa users. I've been going through my Picasa pics so I can experiment, here is a pic of the most beautiful church in the world, St. Philip Neri. It doesn't get much easier than this......one-click satisfaction.

Quick Flower Study

2006-10-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

I set out to make this a 10 minute study, but it probably took 20 minutes. Uniball Elite pen with Crayola watercolor markers in Moleskine sketchbook.

Baby announcement

2006-10-07T08:29:00.000-05:00

This is a copy of the baby announcement I made for a co-worker.

Lamp sketch

2006-09-24T13:33:00.000-05:00

I was testing the vintage pastels I found, added water to the color and it made an interesting background. Uniball pen and pastel in Moleskine.

Men's coat

2006-09-24T13:32:00.000-05:00

I keep finding different jackets in different magazines, same theme, but totally non-related. Here's a men's jacket. Uniball pen, colored pencil in Moleskine.

Chinese Fortune Cookie

2006-09-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

Some Sketches

2006-09-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

My moccasins

I keep my colored pencils and my paintbrushes in coffee mugs.

I found these Grumbacher pastels in with some old art supplies. You know, it's amazing, art supplies last forever. These are definitely old, I can't tell how old, but they look at least 40-50 years old. The price is on the box, Sherwin-Williams store, $1.30. They are the softest, creamiest pastels, and extremely dense and heavy. I wonder if they were my father-in-laws...I have no idea where they came from.

British mailbox, everyday matters sketch.

I bought these at Big Lots - chinese takeout boxes - they had all kinds of great colors!

Thrift Store Finds

2006-09-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

Lamp $2.50, pyrex casserole $3.00, salt dish .25, butter dish $3.00

Retro dishes: 6 cups, 11 plates, .25 each

Spoon rack: $2.00

Print from the California Institute of Design: $1.00

Needlepoint vintage purse and large satchel bag: $3.00 each

Hershey's mug: .25

My daughters and I went thrifting this weekend. I went with one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Although I normally don't post things like this, I'm experimenting with Picasa, which I just downloaded from Google. I finally was able to figure out how to connect my Kodak camera to my computer and upload photos without using the Easyshare software (so, so horrible). So now they just upload to Picasa, so much better. Plus, Picasa has an automatic uploading feature to Blogger, but it looks like it's not configured to upload to Blogger Beta yet. When everything is integrated, it should be very easy to do all of this.

Czech Pottery & Ave Maria

2006-08-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

Flowers

2006-08-17T18:46:00.000-05:00

Coats

2006-08-17T18:36:00.000-05:00

Mattias Adolfsson Goteborg

2006-08-14T06:06:00.000-05:00

This man is Swedish and draws pen and ink, mostly. His work is both whimsical and architectural. His English is excellent also. His blog is Mattias Inks, take an electronic trip to Sweden and visit him!

Thorne Rooms, Art Institute of Chicago

2006-08-13T09:33:00.001-05:00

I've always been interested in the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute in Chicago, down in the basement. I used to love going there as a child and I was fascinated by how perfect they were. It's not like a dollhouse, it's a huge room that's really dark, with individual rooms behind glass. You just move down the line and look at each room, and each one is better than the last.
I read a book about them once and Mrs. Thorne was able to create them so perfectly because she hired real architects and furniture craftsmen to make them. It was during the Great Depression and for lack of better work, these craftsmen created miniature furniture instead of real furniture. If you've never experienced them, they are a must see the next time you're downtown.

Faberge Imperial Eggs

2006-08-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

I've always been fascinated by the Faberge Imperial Eggs. They were created in the late 1800's by the House of Faberge for the Imperial Family of Russia, specifically, Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandria. These people created a new definition for the concept of material excess...the luxury in which they enveloped themselves is inconceivable to me....Wikipedia link for Faberge eggs..
Anyway, I love the eggs because they are so small and contain the most exquisite treasures. I had a bookmark for an online Faberge Egg book, I don't remember how I found it. If you have any interest in this, you must look at this book.
During and after WWII, most of them were put on the open market for sale because of the desperate financial state of the displaced royals all over Europe, as were many other priceless items. If it hadn't been for WWII, many art items that we enjoy today would still be in private collections, never seeing the light of day. Armand Hammer bought up most of the eggs, I think, and and there's only a few left in Russia today. photo courtesy of http://www.treasuresofimperialrussia.com

America's Test Kitchen

2006-08-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

I've been browsing this for a couple of days...it's a show on PBS called America's Test Kitchen. They have some great recipes on here, basic and simple, and they rate all kinds of kitchen gadgets, like Consumer Reports does. I especially like "which is the best plastic wrap" and "best ziploc baggies". There are great chicken recipes where they roast a chicken in the broiler pan that comes with your stove (the one that no one ever uses, and is all dusty and stained), anyway, they put sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan and roast the chicken on the top layer of the pan, so all the chicken juices crisp the potatoes. It looked yummy on t.v.

Monarch of the Glen

2006-08-06T06:42:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite show right now, Monarch of the Glen. The picture above doesn't show the new Laird and I think it's toward the end of the run, so I hope they start it all over again. I think it will go on my Christmas list for the DVD set. The only drawback is that their Scottish accents are so thick I have to really listen closely, or I can't understand what they're saying. It's on Saturday night at 9:00 on PBS (the Indiana one WYCC, I think, it's channel 20 by me) and it's re-run on Wednesday nights. If you like any kind of UK based, continuing story-type shows, this is the one for you.
(As an aside, I spilled coffee on my keyboard of my laptop a few weeks ago and now my question mark key doesn't work...now I have to make sure I don't word anything so it comes out like a question...the only solution I have is to keep a notepad file with a question mark on it that I can cut and paste in...what a pain, but it's my own fault. I'm sure eventually it will become unstuck and I can ask rhetorical questions again.)

Piedmont, W.V.

2006-07-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

My dad's family was from Piedmont, W.V. They settled there in 1857 and I don't think there's anyone left. They lived on Fairview Avenue. I think the last relative died about 10 years ago. All the men were railroad men, working on the B&O from before the Civil War.

We visited there as children, but I don't remember much, except the small bridge that linked Piedmont and Westernport, MD. I saw a show on PBS about African-American genealogy, the host was a man called Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It was a wonderful documentary. He was from Piedmont and he wrote this poignant essay about his home town.

It is a must read, about days past, and he's trying so hard to get his daughters to share the beauty of his childhood. I can emphasize with him, it is a difficult task, indeed.

Jackets

2006-07-26T18:24:00.000-05:00

This is a finished one, and one to show you what it looks like before I color it.

Glasses

2006-07-26T18:14:00.000-05:00

New Moleskine Sketchbook

2006-07-22T07:01:00.000-05:00

I have a new Moleskine sketchbook (the large one) that I absolutely love. It's great with my watercolor pencils. I found a uniball deluxe pen that has ink that doesn't bleed with water which is perfect for the watercolor washes. This is my second drawing, the cover of the fall L.L. Bean catalog. This one was done with just plain colored pencils. There isn't any tooth to the paper, but it's ok for quick coloring. My first drawing didn't scan correctly, so I'll re-do it and post it next week. I love my Moleskine, I now understand why everyone is so crazy about them.

Paula Deen's European Vacation

2006-07-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

Paula and Michael went to London and Paris, the show was on last night. Here's the schedule.
It was great, so different from seeing Ina Garten in Paris, who has an apartment there and has gone there for 30 years, and is married to a Harvard Administrator and has had a remarkable life overall. I felt that Paula and Michael truly were overwhelmed by their experience, they weren't just pretending for t.v. They visited some of the shops that Paris Breakfast talks about in her blog and from which she drew some wonderful pictures.

Lorna Brown

2006-07-09T08:47:00.000-05:00

I love Lorna's watercolors. She has clean lines and draws simply. Plus, she lives in London and has a different perspective on things. I like looking at blogs and websites of people in Europe because they have great links to things that I never would have discovered on my own.

My favorite part of blogs is the links, it gives a peek at the blogger's personality when you can see what they're interests are. I e-mailed Lorna once and she answered me back in about 5 minutes - e-mail is truly amazing, that you can send a note to someone in London, and they get it immediately and answer you back from thousands of miles away within a few minutes. Snail mail would have taken about a week. We are really spoiled by this instant communication and we really need to think about it once in awhile and appreciate how incredibly wonderful it is.

Here are some of her drawings, from her blog, Lorna's Thunks. Her website is called The Tailor.

French Heaven

2006-07-08T07:11:00.000-05:00

I have spent days on this woman's blog and looking at her flickr photos - Carol Gillot from New York was given an assignment to go to Paris and capture the feel of the Paris cafe's. She has dozens of beautiful watercolors and photos of every aspect of luxurious french cafe life...the afternoon teas, pastries, coffee, chocolate. Through her eyes, I feel I am almost there with her, the colors she captures with her camera are so right on target. It is a slice of heaven to browse her work. Check out her blog and her flickr pics - I keep going back again and again, I can't get enough!

Also, look at Laduree of Paris

and Fauchon for some exquisite French treats...all photos are from paris breakfast blog.

Teesha Moore

2006-07-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

This woman creates collage pages and then journals on them. They are amazing. Teeshamoore.com

My Purse

2006-07-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

My Dollhouse

2006-07-07T19:16:00.000-05:00

Candy

2006-07-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

Chair

2006-07-01T07:41:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, the gold gilting accents didn't show up too well on this scan, I'll have to re-do it. I like how it turned out, tho, a little mixed media.

For Kelly & Greg

2006-07-01T07:31:00.000-05:00

I totally overworked this, and I'm not happy with it, but I don't want to throw it out, so here it is...

Make your own gift bag

2006-06-25T07:33:00.000-05:00

Try it! They're from Meggiecat.
Templates here:
body
handle
Click on the body to make it larger for printing.

Illustrations I like

2006-06-24T07:58:00.000-05:00

This is from Lorna Brown Illustration.

This is from The Travelling Sketchbook.

This is from Meggiecat's Frankie File's - I think I'll color it with colored pencils. Meggiecat has loads of vintage patent templates on this site, very interesting stuff.

I had this very book when I was in grade school. The Lennon sisters were my favorites, we used to watch them on the Lawrence Welk show.

These are photos of my mom (top) and her sister, probably around 1938. The scans don't show the beautiful sepia tones.

Another favorite artist, from Michelle's Thoughts & Scribbles.

Princess Shamrock

2006-06-24T07:55:00.000-05:00

Artipantz

2006-06-11T05:45:00.000-05:00

This woman is an art teacher in NY state, and has a great blog. I love her illustrations. http://artipantz.typepad.com

Old Photos

2006-06-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

State & Madison, 1928
Chicago Daily News Photo Search
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cdnquery.html
State Street, 1911
Chicago Daily News Photo Search
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cdnquery.html

Bryn Mawr Bank, 2112 E. 72nd St., Chicago, 1924
Chicago Daily News Photo Search
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cdnquery.html

My family

2006-06-04T07:17:00.000-05:00

My Dad & Uncle Jim, about 1922

My Dad in his 20's

Mom, Dad, Celeste & Colleen, about 1959

Jaime Zollars

2006-06-04T06:33:00.000-05:00

I love this artist's work. Here is his interpretation of pampered dogs in L.A.
http://www.jaimezollars.blogspot.com/

Mothers Day

2006-05-15T05:24:00.000-05:00

Lunch, Free Gas, Roses and a Claddagh! It was a beautiful day. Thank you Kelly, Meredith & Greg for making my Mother's Day so wonderful.

My Grandpa

2006-05-08T20:18:00.000-05:00

James P. Gleeson, 1878-1954

Beautiful painting

2006-05-08T20:08:00.000-05:00

I saw this somewhere, saved it, but now I can't remember where I saw it. I think it's in a museum in London. The way the light is painted is amazing, isn't it?

Entrance to Marshall Fields, 1909

2006-04-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

Entrance to Marshall Fields, 1909, originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/32214002@N00/.

courtesy of http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cdnquery.html

Marshall Field's Entrance 1909

2006-04-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

Marshall Field's Entrance 1909, originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/32214002@N00/.

courtesy of http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cdnquery.html

Some more old photos of Marshall Field's I found.

The Walnut Room

2006-04-09T19:58:00.000-05:00

100_0546
Originally uploaded by minnaloushe232.

Every year my sisters and I were taken to lunch here to eat under the tree. We probably sat once at that very table. I always ordered an egg salad sandwich with bacon and we always had the same dessert, a scoop of ice cream with the cone on top of the scoop and it was decorated to look like a clown.

Marshall Fields Clock

2006-04-09T19:35:00.000-05:00

Marshall Fields Clock
Originally uploaded by jimfrazier.

Marshall Field's is changing it's name to Macy's by the end of next summer. Another Chicago landmark goes down.

Cead Mile Failte

2006-04-09T17:45:00.000-05:00

One hundred thousand welcomes!

I like toast. I eat toast every day. For me, a snack means toast. Especially toast made from any kind of crusty loaf. Or, toast from grainy bread like Natural Ovens. With peanut butter on it. The other day I was making toast and I said to myself, I am the Queen of Toast. So I decided that's what I would name my blog. I was leaning toward something Celtic, Gaelic, but that's too much maintenance. I'll throw some Gaelic phrases in here and there. My favorite parts of my favorite movie, The Quiet Man, are the parts where they're speaking the Irish.

I'd also like to post whatever I find interesting, kind of like an online scrapbook. Instead of cutting out pictures and pasting them in a book, like I used to, I'll put them here. That way, everyone can look at them without a bunch of e-mailing and attaching back and forth. I'm welcoming myself to the year 2006, it's about time!