Valentine's Day

We take holidays very seriously here and Valentine's Day is no exception.  We have baked heart shaped cookies and iced them since the kids were little and now the grandkids get to help.  It's a fun thing to do and you get to eat the results!  It's a win-win situation for all involved.  

We also make wonderful clay sculptures decorated with hearts and flowers that tenderly tug at the heart.  While they can't be eaten, they have a very long shelf life.  These little bunnies, pigs, chicks, dogs and a whole variety of animals make the perfect gift for that special someone in your life or add a bright spot of color in your kitchen or any room in the house.  

I love my dog Leon.  He is just the best.  And when I look at the dogs that Ben sculpts, I know that he gets it.  We are big dog lovers and these sweet little pups just say it all.  Perfect.

Birds.  Bunnies.  Hearts.  Just a bit of color and just a touch of love.

Because that is all we really need, right?
Love, cookies and ritabunnies!

My Little Shop Girl

It's a Gaga day.  And my grand-daughter has come to visit.  My grandson is now 6 and in first grade.  Pink (that's what I have called her from the first moment I saw her when she was born) loves to come and spend the day.  She's a very bright, vivacious, determined little child and she loves to help.  We do crafts, we feed the birds, we build with legos, we fold clothes, we play with the doll house, we do dishes.  But she really loves to be a shop girl and help Gaga in the studio.  This girl simply loves to paint.

She makes things out of the clay I use, and now that she is 3 and a big girl (no Gaga, I'm a little girl, I'm just not a baby) she makes things that look like what she wants them to look like.  Gaga fires them and then she paints them!  Oh the colors!  The pink and purple, the red and green...the blue.  She's a natural.  Mommy says Gaga is really patient and I say I am grooming my future helper.  And besides, I really enjoy her company.

 
She loves to help me when I ship things to "far away."  She loves to pop the bubble wrap, just like big brother and Mommy and Uncle Ben did when they were little.  She draws pictures on the notes  I tuck inside and she plays with the calculator.  But most of all, she loves to see what Gaga makes.  And hold it in her little hand.  Some special little someone has come to visit, and brighten Gaga's day.

Snowy Sunday Morning on Taft St.

I woke up to snow this morning.  It is February and winter has time left on the clock.  My daughter and grandkids were very excited at the prospect of more sledding, but I will admit my heart sank a little at the weather forecast last night.  The snow is lovely but the coming frigid temps don't sound too appealing.  Still, the studio is cozy and it is a great time for sculpting some orders and new ideas.  Watching the birds at the feeders prompts me to get to work.

Mrs. Cardinal stopped in for a snack.  She and the Mr. are regular visitors at my feeders and I love seeing their bright color against the snow.  She was joined by house sparrows, a chickadee, a downy woodpecker, house finches and a few starlings.

I have really been enjoying making these birds.  Like I said before, I keep making them smaller and in different forms.  These soft blue pocket birds will be wonderful and so tiny!  You can see that I have a little cardinal there too.  I am making a bigger size cardinal this morning.  Art imitates life.  And life is very good on Taft St.

My Little Art

I love sculpting things out of clay.  But I really love making little things.  Maybe they feel like tiny treasures.  Maybe they add a little bit of color that can brighten you day.  And maybe I just like tiny items.  My soft blue birds are really popular so my mind moves them from 3 dimensional pieces to a Christmas ornament and now a pin or magnet.

And these!  They are about an inch or less tall and so sweet.  They are simple but full of life and color.  My daughter has named them "Pocket ritas" and I think the name fits.  You can perch one of them on a window sill or a shelf.  I think I will try making one of the soft blue birds this size...

Ideas are running around in my head so I better get back to work!

A Lovely Visit with the Bluebirds

It's been a cold winter with quite a bit of snow up here by the Lake.  The temps warmed up this weekend, and the bluebirds came out in force.  I think they were as excited to feel the sunshine as I was.  Two pairs frolicked around my yard, checking out nesting sites and bird feeders.  

They were chattering and busy!  I had two successive nestings in one of my blue bird houses last summer, so I am hoping that they approve of the real estate and nest here again.  It's so interesting to watch the Mr. come and go, passing in worms and other little delights to the Mrs. on the nest, and then the babies when they hatch.

The males check on the birdhouses first, with the females also giving their opinion.   The females are a duller gray, but still beautiful in my opinion.   They do have some blue on their feathers, and the same rusty breast.





This photo is blurry, but you can see Mr. Bluebird surveying the real estate.  Mrs. Bluebird looked it over soon after this.  One couple would swoop in, and the other couple would brush them away, chattering the whole time with their opinions.  Then they would land on the overhead wire and talk things over some more.

I feed the birds year round.  I put dried meal worms in this lovely turquoise feeder and the blue birds love it.  Last summer I had 4 bluebirds (probably some of them juveniles) sitting on the feeder having a snack.  They also eat from the shelf feeder and the suet cakes.

This bit of bright sunshine, warmer weather and colorful bluebirds has really raised my spirits.  I suspect there will be more snow before spring arrives completely, but I am thrilled for this respite!  And I certainly enjoy the inspiration of these beautiful blue birds.

Goodbye Old Man

A very good dog died today. He belonged to my daughter and son-in-law and had guarded them with grace and love for 18 years. He came to them as a stray and quickly settled into their lives. He was a regular in my studio, enjoying time with his “cousins” and not seeming to mind being low man on the totem pole. They went out, he went out. They ran, he ran. And they all slept in a heap, arguing over who got the best bed. 

He became a Dunes dog when they moved up to Northwest Indiana. He learned to love the sand and kick it up while he ran. When a boxer mix named Zia joined his family, he was thrilled. Then babies came and he grew to be the elder statesman in this family, watching over all of them and loving them as only a loyal dog can. 

 

He will be missed. His grace and dignity as age took away his strength has touched us. The pup we loved still shone in his eyes and he still got excited for treats. Godspeed Indigo, we love you.

Taft and Washington

I love my neighborhood.  I have not lived in town for over 26 years.  But my house on Taft Street sits on two lots so I have breathing room.  The house has been well loved and wonderfully landscaped with so many flowers and exotic trees that it was "The envy of the neighborhood" according to my neighbor who lives on the west side of me. She is the one who invited me to have Memorial Day dinner with her and her interesting family. I have been working on the yard, weeding, moving flowers and mulching.  Apparently this makes my neighbors happy.

A young man and his father live across the street to the south of me.  The son is a nice, helpful young man who helped me plow out my driveway last winter.  He also brought me mushrooms this spring.  This picture is of a deer that visits their yard every evening.  I was missing my deer something awful last week and I looked up and saw this doe grazing on the clover in their back yard!  When I told the father about it, he said that he has a fox that comes at 4 am every morning too.  My animals have found me I thought...

A few days ago a nice young man was walking down the street with his very blond and curly little girl  I asked how old she was and he replied  in the thick Irish brogue I remember from Catholic school as a girl!  I told him about my grandson, anything, to keep hearing that lilt and accent.  I love the diversity here right down the street.  I have a single mom who lives catty corner from me too.  She and I really relate and have great conversations about our lives, kids and all the craziness that goes on in the world.  I like her.  She is friendly and down to earth.  And the most amazing woman lives across the alley.  She is larger than life and has a huge white, pet rabbit.  Naturally we bonded easily.

I started mowing my yard this evening.  Lovely time to do it, still warm, still sunny.  A jogger ran past, I waved, so did he.  Then a neighbor lady came walking up with her very "chatty" little dog.  She stopped and wanted to visit!  She always worries that her dog barks too much, but he stopped and calmed down as I petted him.  She chatted away, and told me that she misses her grandkids.  She asked if  I mow to get some sun, "No, it is part of my work out" I replied...I like her.  I think she lives in the house with the beautiful roses out front so I should try to visit sometime.  She is nice.  I started mowing again.  The father who has the fox in his yard came over and motioned me to stop.  Now he worked as a greens keeper at a golf course so he knows grass and lawnmowers.   He had something to give me which was a jug of flower fertilizer.  He said, "I don't need this but you do.  It is awful heavy, but you can use it on those flowers.  You are really making this place look nice." I liked hearing that.  I like knowing it even more.   I like the people I have met here and I like that it is quiet and people are nice to one another.  I like that rabbits are everywhere, that deer wander about and foxes slip silently through at about 4 am.   Sweet little neighborhood, my new place to live.