New Studio Tour

Ciao

Dear hearts!!

I know it has been ages since I have been posting

here on my site..

but we have been very busy

unpacking...

painting..

planting..

and movie things around...

 

We finally have things a bit where we want them 

and 

my studio

is finally in working order..

so let's take a little tour!

As always 

Thank you so much for 

stopping by..

xox

That Portrait and Why I Am A YouTuber

Happy 2020!

I have had a long break,

but not been idle..

there is no rest for the creative..

I promised you photos of the portrait that I painted for my 

Daughter and SIL

it is actually 2 portraits

 and took me ages to paint.. 

I find it so challenging to paint

portraits of people I know..

and to accomplish it

in between all the other work

 I have going on..

I was determined to send it as a Christmas present....

and I just made it..

Whew!

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting, detail.

As I write this post,

I am also hard at work 

on my first Vlog post of the year

on YouTube..

and I thought I would write about 

WHY 

I am a YouTuber..

First of all, 

gentle reader, it was NOT my idea..

It was Don's idea..

He had been watching 

a lot of YouTube videos

and thought I should be on 

YouTube

well you can imagine how that went over..

however..

that handsome guy is very persuasive 

and as we were leaving for 

Italy

the first time, he said ...

imagine how fun it will be to document the trip 

for our friends and family..

OK..OK.. 

I finally capitulated ... 

this coincided with the reorganization of 

Stampington Magazines..

I had been a consistent contributor to their magazines

as a way of offering some inspiration

to others..

my way of giving back..

what I realized after a while on 

YouTube

was that

I could reach a 

much larger audience 

than the 

magazines had covered and

 so I decided to give it my attention..

Caterina Giglio, Mixed Media Painting, Kori and Kaden in the Grass. 12 x 12 cradled board.

There is in my humble opinion

a need..

a desperate need..

for people to be more creative..

I know that not everyone is an

 artist,

but everyone can create..

it may not be a GREAT work of art, 

but it creates a GREAT feeling when one is creating..

it opens the door to expansive thinking..

it allows the heart to express emotionally..

and the act of creation results in joy..

that child like feeling of loosing oneself in the color..

the abandonment of self in the form..

and a feeling of connection

that sparks kindness..

and now more than ever..

we so need kindness..

So meet me on Friday..

I will have a 

YouTube 

video 

for you

on 

Organizing Your Mixed Media

Studio Space

C4N!

Studio Tour and Works in Progress

Happy Weekend 

to you,

 dear viewers..

and this weekend I would love to

take you on a little studio tour..

and share all my works in Progress..

It will give you a little idea of how much

I juggle in the studio each day..

and right now, 

I have no deadlines to attend..

so ....

I am free to tackle large paintings and small

meditative stitches..

Thanks for viewing..

Thanks for reading..

Thanks for being such a wonderful support..

I so appreciate you all!

xox

Studio Tour

I tidied up a bit for your visit..

but all the projects and wips

are in place...

I hope you enjoyed the little tour..

and I realized later that you might want to know about the art on the walls..

as well..

so one day I will shoot some 

pics and share with you some of the art

that I have..

as well as my studio Goddess

reliquaries and talismans..

oh and by the way.. woohoo..

we made it to 100

subscribers!!

Thank you so much

dear readers and faithful viewers..

xo

Artist Shelfies

Just for something different..

I thought 

a studio tour

by way of 

shelfies

would be a nice change...

after all..

 we are all voyeurs..

aren't we?

we long to look..

to see into the soul..

we think that by viewing the things

a person attracts, 

Photo above by Neva Gagliano

we can know a person better...

Miss Kuhlins, Wood block encaustic sculpture, Caterina Giglio

but we would be wrong wouldn't we..?

The person I am today,

dear reader, is vastly different from the

person

who began blogging in 2008...

carved and smoothed by both love and loss..

separations..

and new beginnings..

and one cannot ever truly know another..

but still,

my shelves hold treasures that I

adore..

bird nests,

and eggs, real and handmade..

shells and found feathers..

antique bits and books..

jars filled with tiny shells..

metal boxes rusted with age..

all little shrines..

they remind me that it is all for us..

this marvelous world..

made just for us, to enjoy..

how blessed we are...

what's on your shelf?

ciao, ciao!

Studio Tour and Vignettes

we are 

all 

voyeurs...

there is just something about the nature of the human spirit

that desires to know

what goes on behind closed doors..

to see thru the windows of a house at night..

to know the untold story...

I think for artists, 

the studio is that personal place

that we most want to view..

we want to know, to see, to understand the creative process..

and though no photo can really give us that information...

we feel as though we can catch a glimpse of it

in viewing that sacred space..

 if you are like me, 

there is no studio that I do not like...

 I find each one most intriguing...

if you have not guessed by now, 

gentle reader, this will be a longer post...

so this is your libation warning...

if you have been following "the sweet life" for a while...

Before

 studio right after new carpet... August

you might remember that the moment we arrived at our new home..

we were lucky enough to stop a flood in progress in the room that was to be my new studio..

I had chosen the guest room with the pool bath..

and the leak in the bathroom

was pretty devastating..

the carpet was ruined but we managed to save the wood floors in the rest of the home...

.... it took months to restore

and so I have been shooting photos for you, over time..

different days and time periods, so you will see the growth...

After

After.....same shot as above but taken last week... this is the table where my art journal lives in the middle of the room, because I work on it continuously...

the movement of things... new shrines and collections...

some things are still in boxes and I have several things to frame...

but it is improving...

and changing...

of course the nature of the studio is change...

nothing is static in a place that must be comfortable in 
Chaos..

no matter how large the space...

I always seem to be able to fill it... 

it is amazing how 

I manage to collect things that speak to me...

and inspire me...

Pilar Pollock heart milage and Neva Gagliano's photograph...

I found a little grey flat file above that my studio goddess

watches over... it is nowhere near as functional as the old steel case file

that I had in Fort Collins, but it functions better than the old

chest of drawers in the other guest room that is also filled with papers...

and I finally found a large bookcase so I can start collecting books again..

I had to pare down my collection to what I absolutely needed...

and what I couldn't live without...

anything about Leonardo Da Vinci made the cut...

along with 

Sibella Court..

and anything old and crumbly

moved with me as well...

"this is the place of creative incubation.. At first you may find nothing happens here. But, if you have a sacred place and use it, take advantage of it, something will happen."

Joseph Campbell

Seth Apter's wonderful Pulse of Mixed Media on display..   "Muriel Babies,  Assemblage shrine, Caterina Giglio

the shelves are a magnet for treasures of course,

and one of my most precious pieces of art...

the little Dia De Los Muertos shrine 

above 

that I made a few years ago

for a collaborative show at 

TWO GRACES GALLERY

"every artist dips his own brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures"

Henry Ward Beecher

and a small dish filled with mini sea stars...

starfish,

heart rocks and an arrow...

small treasures..

because they 

live with tiny books...

about Joseph Cornell and the Book of Hours...

and a tiny glass book that I made a few years ago...

above

This photo above was taken a few weeks ago as I was working on

my latest article for Sew Somerset...

making collaged fabric quilts 

stay tuned for that...

and then...

There is the walk in closet...

at least one side is ready for a photo shoot...

well.... mostly...

this side houses my online shop..

the boxes and shelves keep the work from the light and safe from

harm in the studio...

of course I need little shrines here too..

and lots of storage..

which is all full by the way...

"the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."

Aristotle

a studio is more than just a functional space..

it is place where function intersects with creativity...

and creativity cannot thrive without inspiration...

"without the studio, however humble, the room where the imagination can enter, cannot exist.'

Anna Hansen

a shot below of my new painting shelf, which I love...

I captured the table below which is opposite the table with the large Fleur..

on a day when I had just put all my print making supplies away...

it seemed a good time for a photo...

This is the first time I have had a studio that is not painted white...

I know many of you like to work with color..

but I find it too distracting..

for me, I find that I live and work more productively in a serene environment...

My mind is constantly moving and I have way more ideas than I have time to work...

the studio is...

"space for the spirit to breathe"

Rainer Maria Rilke

Works in progress, on the painting wall..

 I can fit several boards on the shelf 

and hang them on the wall to work

more easily in series...

and there is ample room below to add another shelf unit for more paint

in larger quantities..

"my studio begins at the art store, I imagine all those paintings trapped inside the tubes of paint."

John Ferrie

and room for more rolled papers...

in my antique bin...

I know I have more papers packed somewhere!

which is next to the sliding glass door 

that takes up most of the wall on that side of the room...

and 

I would only put up with it...

the lack of wall space, that is ...

because...

I have a rather nice view...

even in the winter time...

I hope 

dear voyeur.. 

kind followers, favorite artists, friends and lurkers

that you have enjoyed the little tour...

perhaps you have seen something you remember ..

or something that inspired you too..

a tiny glimpse perhaps...

I am off again

for a little trip, this time to St. Augustine

....

thank you in advance of your kind remarks

and your faithful readership...

ciao, ciao...