Bob, Why The Long Face? by Valerie Fuqua

This wonderful piece of art was created by Valerie Fuqua, a Chicago ,Ill. artist working in mosaic and mixed media art. This mask is named : "Bob, Why The Long Face".

When Valerie was a child she was quite taken with National Geographic magazine. She was struck with the fact that despite having so little in the way of material things, there were parts of the world where people were adorning their faces with "paint" in elaborate designs. Those memories have stayed with her and were the inspiration behind her ongoing series of mosaic masks.
I found Valerie's work on Etsy at:

www. mistflowerstudio.Etsy.com

More of her beautiful work can be seen at her website:

http://www.mistflowerstudio.com/index.html

The Cycling Artist

I found this artist on Etsy one day as I persused paintings for a future purchase (hopefully!).

Artist Tina Mammoser is a full-time artist working from her studio in Greenwich, London. All of her paintings are of or inspired by the sea and are part of an ongoing project (3 years so far!) to cycle the English Coast and paint it. She goes out to a point on the coast with the bike (by train), cycles for 3 or 4 days, then comes back and does lots of sketches, studies and finally big canvases.

This painting is of the Isle of Wight. During her trip she stayed at Thornness Bay on the northwest side of the island and so each day got to see the dramatic change in visible beach and sea as the tide changed. Lisa became slightly obsessed with the strips of sand, shallow water, exposed kelp and distance bay water.

Everything about this painting makes me happy.

Please visit Tina's shop to see more amazing art:

http://www.thecyclingartist.etsy.com/

Beautiful Objects Found on Etsy

I am going to use my blog to highlight some amazing artistic finds from Etsy,Artfire and 1000 Markets. The first is this Borosilicate Glass Heart Pendant. I was unfamiliar with the term Borosilicate so I searched and found that it is a type of glass which includes at least five percent boric oxide. Because borosilicate glass is stronger and more durable than conventional glass, it is very popular in the manufacture of scientific instruments. All I know if this pendant is charming!

This artist goes by the name of Firelily and can be found at:

http://www.firelily.etsy.com/

Pass the Lemonade

It has been over 90 degrees every day this week, so I am thinking about swimming pools. In my next life I am going to live here in Ubud, Bali. This will be my amazing view. If you are somewhere hot today, stay cool. If you are somewhere cool, lucky you.

Life Is A Beach

Winston went on his very first beach trip to Sullivan's island, S.C. recently. Sullivans Island is a dog lovers haven as they allow dogs to run free on the clean , sandy beaches from 5:00 AM until 10:00 AM during the summer months.

All dogs must have a $25 permit available at Town Hall in order to partake in the daily Beach Playdates! Here is the application if you plan to visit: http://tiny.cc/tWtaa