June 21, 2012

Welcome Summer!

It's here! It's finally here! Let's celebrate summer!


Summertime is full-bloom time here in northwest Oregon, which is exactly why the McMinnville Garden Club holds their annual Garden Tour and Garden Faire in June.  In fact, it's going to take place this coming Sunday, June 24, and I will be participating in the garden street fair which takes place downtown on 2nd Street and Cowls from 9 to 4 in McMinnville, Oregon. There will be booths filled with wonderful, lush garden plants of all kinds, garden art, and garden-related gift items!




To get ready for the Garden Faire, I've designed a dozen or so brand new floral pendants and earring sets for summer. But there's a twist.  Just for fun, I experimented with photography instead of watercolor paintings.

If there's anything I like as much as painting flora and fauna, it's photographing them!  So I've taken some of my favorite botanical digital photos, played around with a little artsy tweaking, and turned them into glass pendants (earrings are in progress...). 

I will "test market" them at the street fair on Sunday, and if they are a hit with the garden goddesses there, I just might have to make some more.  After all, I have about a gazillion nature photos saved on my computer, just waiting to be played with.

For example, I have one whole folder devoted to succulents. This photo was taken in my brother's front yard in Southern California.  He is replacing large areas of lawn with mostly drought-tolerant plants and drip irrigation and has created a beautiful succulent garden along the driveway.  

I'm also testing out the new pendants in my Etsy shop right now, just in case you can't make it to McMinnville on Sunday. Oh, and

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

3 comments:

Amy Sisson said...

Lovely work!

Have you done anything with tropical flowers? I'm a complete pushover for antheriums (sp?) and birds of paradise....

Unknown said...

Thanks Amy! It just so happens that I took pictures of my sister's bird of paradise when I visited her in March...Not sure if any of them are jewelry material but I'll have to give them a second look!

birdhouses said...

The pendants are darling. I do wish I were close enough to attend the garden faire. It sounds lovely.