I just finished decorating a wonderful chandelier for the holidays. I love “playing” in peoples’ homes and making holiday magic wherever I can. I especially love the wonderful shadows cast upon the ceiling.

My textured slab vases always have two sides.
A different pattern. A different color.
It’s like getting two vases for the price of one!!!

And with some beautiful ginger blossoms that I pilfered out of the dumpster at the “glitter gig”… I decided to use one of them in my studio.

The striking red blooms are a great accent & splash of color.
But which side is better? Which side shows off the flowers better?
Which side is YOUR favorite? The green side?…

Or the blue side?…

At this point, for now… I think the green side is my favorite.
At least for tonight. I may need to flip it back to blue tomorrow?

It was a beautiful setting in Amy Taylor’s backyard for the first “Art In The Garden”. Five artists sharing their art… only to be upstaged by Mother Nature herself with some of her beautiful handwork. Whether is was her beautiful flowers, the striking clouds or the shadows they provided… it was a wonderful weekend in the garden!!!

Another beautiful day in the Garden. The day started out a little warmer than Saturday, with a little less breeze. Expectations were that it might be a little hot & sticky, but luckily it turned out to be another incredible day. And again today, guests were welcomed into Amy Taylor’s backyard for the inaugural “Art In The Garden : A Grassroots Art Fair.”

And really, what art fair doesn’t “need” a groovy neon sign??? Thank you Cory…

And what Garden Party wouldn’t benefit from a refreshing batch of lemon water?!

The “Art In The Garden” Gang were all ready to tackle the day on Sunday… and were greeted with wonderful ribbons awards that Amy had created for us.

My ribbon was the “Sunshine Award”… enough said… And the rest of them were each uniquely appropriate for each artist. A very thoughtful & garden themed “thank you” for each of us from our host & incredible metalsmith Amy Taylor!!!

Cory McCrory – “Garden Hoe Award”

Carole Axium – “Blossom Award”

John Caruso – “Beefsteak Tomato Award”

Even Amy’s husband Tom received an award… “Weed Wacker Award”

It was fun to see even more people stopping by the Garden throughout the day on Sunday.  Day Two was a little bit slower, but Sundays typically are at every art fair. It gave each of us a little more time to hang out & chat with the customers… and do a little shopping & trading with our fellow artists.

It was also a lot of fun to see more of the collaboration pieces I did with Cory go off to good homes. Each of them so excited to have a whimsical piece of art for their homes!

Even our host Amy now has a Cory/Gary collaboration piece for her home… which has a striking resemblance to “Poison Ivy.” Coincidence?…

Plus, Cory and I each had to have one as a souvenir of our collaboration project. Cory and her husband chose “Queen Anne’s Lace”-y Panties… and I knew all along that I wanted “Foxglove” with the soda-fired tiles.

Day Two also gave us a chance to re-stock the shelves for the new customers.

Keeping with the garden theme, I had to bring a collection of ceramic flower pots. And some beautiful orange “props” to help demonstrate how pretty the flower pots would be with flowers in them!

Also, the weathered wooden fence in the backyard was the perfect place to show off some of my ceramic masks and tiled “ClayQuilts. Sadly, the masks don’t get to travel to art fairs very often as they are tough to hang on flappy tent sides. This fence worked out perfect… and these two masks are now SOLD and “playing” in someone else’s backyards!!!

The other artists were set-up and ready to go as well. Metalsmiths Amy Taylor & Carole Axium, as well as ceramic artist Cory McCrory and photographer John Caruso.

Cory McCrory had her share of gorgeous too… you now I’m a fan and already have quite the collection at home! I love her colors, textures & whimsy!!!

Including two “fresh out of the kiln” platters…

All in all, another wonderful weekend thanks to all of our friends, family and wonderful customers who stopped by to make the first “Art In The Garden” a hug success! So much fun for everyone… and a great art fair experience for each of the artists thanks to Amy & Tom’s wonderful hospitality! We’re hoping for a SECOND “Art In The Garden” next year… mark your calendars…

Fresh flowers always make any art fair booth prettier…
and a great way to show how my Wall Pocket Vases actually works.
Just hang it on the wall, add water and flowers. Done… and beautiful.

With “Art In The Garden” just about a month away, Cory McCrory and I are busy working on a few “Limited Edition” collaboration pieces. Here’s a quick insight (and a few hints) into our visual inspiration… courtesy of Mother Nature!

My friend & wonderful artist Cory McCrory has started to share a few sneak peeks into our collaboration project… she’s such a TEASE.

Colorful fun. An easy way to make your windowsill happy.