Pacific Northwest Life

So I have finally settled in to the rhythm of my new life on a property in the Pacific Northwest, which means I had to battle mold and mildew to turn an old rotting shed into my shining new art studio. It is wet here but that means it’s green too! The sign on the door says Fantasize in dark blue glitter and that is just what I plan to do each time I step inside. After bleach scrubbing the walls and floor, rubbing everything down with rubbing alcohol and painting with Kills, I have deep river blue sponge dotted walls and a pacific blue epoxy floor (also sprinkled glitter into that mess). I set up a mannequin with the Renaissance Festival costume my Mom made for me in my 20’s to work at the Maryland Renaissance Festival as inspiration. I decorated the shelves with some of my past felt items, although several of them are still in the Celebration of Creativity in Portland, Oregon and have already begun a new series of short scarves or collars like the ones women wore in medieval times as you can see pictured in the accessories page in the shop. And in addition to basket making, the new thing in my repertoire is the fascinator, also worn by women in medieval times and by British women to formal events and ladies attending the Kentucky Derby in current times. I learned about this tiny hat/headband/hair clip phenomenon while seeing my favorite band Phish in Mexico last month. I wore a little feathered headband with sparkly adornments each night to match my outfit and was paid compliments by a number of women in the crowd, so I decided to spend some time creating this little goodies to sport and sell at festivals and concerts this summer. I have been inspired by the English designer Dauphne Guiness in the past as she was the basis of the character Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek who I emulated for at the Phish Shows in Vegas for Halloween 2021. I draw on her uniqueness again now as I begin to get really creative and costumey with these one of a kind head adornments. Some of what I’ve created so far are pictured in the Accessories page in the Shop section of this website and the Octopus set I made for my sister’s birthday is at the bottom of the Lookbook to give you ideas for commissioning something unique either for yourself or for a gift. I have found the coolest pair of sunglasses that comes in multiple colors including metallic gold and silver, brown, black, blue and clear pictured in the Accessories and Cookbook sections and am attaching little figurines like mini corn on the cobs for our Cornstock Festival this July and bubble tubes just in case the festival energy calls you to get involved. Also under the Lookbook section there is a picture of the studio display wall and the view I take in as I walk from the house down to the studio, sometimes in the wee, dark hours of the morning as I am up and at ‘em and so excited and grateful to be feeling this re-invigorated creativity just in time for the onset of spring. I am satisfied.