New colors, new glazes, new lines.

 
 I love new ideas.  I love when they come crashing at you like big snow balls and explode into your mind.  Bringing them out into the world is kind of like giving birth, just a lot more fun.  Thanks to my delightful and very patient sister Patti, I have new glazes.  And I have new ideas to go along with them.  Here are some of the first pieces I have made with them.  Having new colors has inspired several new lines for me and I am working hard to get them ready to roll out at my upcoming shows.

November will be a very busy month for me and I will be ready!   New Santas, bunnies, snowmen, pins, animals, ornaments.  New new.  I had better get back to work!  See you soon...please check www.ritabunny.com for my holiday show schedule.

 

A Perfectly Wonderful Day

waiting...

 They were waiting outside the door.  They wanted fall things, they wanted Christmas.  And I was happy to be back in Shelbyville, Indiana to see them...

I always knew I wanted to be an artist.  My wise and worried parents tried to steer me towards a sensible career like nursing or bookkeeping.  But I knew.  Every time we visited Nashville, Indiana the desire to be an artist and be a part of that grew stronger.  At age 18, I bravely walked into a small consignment shop called "The Stuffed Olive" and offered my wind chimes.  Thus began a life long passion and career.

talkin' old times!

 Happily years later, I ended up in Shelbyville, Indiana, sculpting and building my business, raising two kids and and a career.  I have fond memories and wonderful friendships from those 22 years, and I love coming back to visit.  Yesterday I held my Fall Show at The Horizon Center and with Team Rabbit, I presented my richly colored collection!  It was a wonderful homecoming, with a great turnout of eager customers and loving hugs from old friends!  This picture sums it up...my son Ben is chatting up two of his former teachers from Shelbyville Junior High and High School, Sandy Learned and Darlene McCaughey.  They loved him then and they enjoyed catching up!

 

fall wren on oak branch

We had a great show, we ate delicious refreshments provided by Team Rabbit and we visited!  Show was over, time to pack up and have lunch, The Chicken Inn of course, and then onto the next leg of our journey...

Susan Kehl's Cupcake Tree

Fall Ornaments

Here are some pictures of our fall collection!

Ben's Haunted Tree

Our collection at Ferrer Gallery

Ben and I arrived in Nashville, Indiana for the next exciting part of our busy day.  Ben, my sisters Rosey Bolte and Patti Beck are being  featured at the Ferrer Gallery this month!  Last night was the Second Saturday Art Walk, so Rosey, Ben and I attended the fun and festive event!!!  It was so exciting for me to be there, it has been 40 years since I walked into that little shop and stepped into my lifelong career.   I enjoyed the visits of my friends and customers, and the closeness of my family.  How wonderful to share our talent and our careers in such a perfect place!

yummy food of course!

Rosey Bolte and Barb Brooke Davis

Our own "Awesome" Autumn Baughman

  To say that I am blessed is an understatement.  I have had a very interesting and rewarding career.  Yesterday just seemed to be a crystal moment, a time capsule of all the experiences and steps that have brought me to this day, this hour.  So, on this beautiful fall morning, I feel at peace, whole and full.  Thanks to all the people who hugged me yesterday and wished me well.  Life is good on Rabbitville Road, and I for one, am thankful.  
         

The Ferrer Gallery is located at 61 West Main St, Nashville, IN.
Here is their website for more info:  http://www.ferrergallery.com

Busy, Busy October Day

Tomorrow will be a big day! I am presenting my Fall Collection at the Horizon Center in Shelbyville, Indiana. I met with Team Rabbit this evening, we unloaded and went for dinner at our favorite Mexican Restaurant. Later we set up the show and I must admit I loved every minute, every ooh and ahhh as my dear friends unpacked and placed each piece. My career really started while I lived in Shelbyville and I have so many good memories and good friends there. I am looking forward to tomorrow morning!

I hate to think beyond it, but after the show, my son Ben and I are heading to Nashville, IN to the Ferrer Gallery and the second Saturday Gallery Walk. This one will be special...along with my two sisters Patti Beck and Rosey Bolte, Ben and I are being featured in a gallery show called "All in the Family." This will be the first time my sisters and I will be in such a show together and adding Ben makes it even better! Can't wait!

The picture is of my latest and favorite ever Santa, a woodland one with three birds. He is inspired by my wonderful seven acres on Rabbitville Road, my studio in the woods. His robe has pine needles and cones stamped on it and I have added bright red berries for color. He reminds me of my Dad.

I have so many Santa ideas this year, I can't wait to get back in the studio. But first, some good times with my old friends, and some happy hours in beautiful Brown County and the gallery.

I had better get some rest...

It's Fall on Rabbitville Road!

I love fall. I am an October baby and I love when the air is crisp and dry and the leaves start to turn. I have been busy working on my fall collection and have been really enjoying my fall shows. Here are some new pins I have made...ravens are so cool!

I don't know about you, but I always get excited when I go looking for pumpkins. There is a pumpkin patch around the corner from me and they offer all different colors of pumpkins and gourds. They are amazing! I am loving those white ghost pumpkins but the green ones are so different and spooky looking. I found a glaze that comes close, so I painted some of my new batch in those colors. Fun!
Witches. spooky, funny, scary or just plain silly. But this witch, my "cow-witch" is over the top. Look at that skirt! Crazy with color. I love it! This is a rather unconventional view, but I wanted you to see her bright blue bloomers. Who says witches are dark and dreary? Not in my storybook!

My seven acres are full of inspiration! The sun wakes up and turns my yard all golden. The leaves are changing into their fall colors and I am drinking it up like a big cup of cider from Apples Acres. Turkeys chuck in the valley below my house. Mama deer and her twins visit the persimmon tree off and on all day, munching on the plump little purple fruit. Crows call and the holly berries are bright red on the strip of bushes out my studio door. It is sublime and it is rich and it fills me up. I have firewood stacked and ready for the coming winter, but for now, I will love this fall, I will enjoy deeply the colors. sweet!