This has been a busy time, getting a one-person show ready to hang at the same time we continue to work on renovations for our mountain home. The living spaces are beginning to glow with the improvements we have made, and I look forward to the day when we unpack our art and books and lamps and the house really lives like home. The kitchen is shaping up just as I dreamed - a place to create meals to nurture our friends and family that is efficient and beautiful. I am not a "shiny spankin' new" sort of a girl, so the original bead board cabinets were restored, together with all the original hinges and thumb latches and knobs. The porcelain over cast iron farm sink with drainboards was restored and is a joy to work at with her new, albeit Victorian in style, single handle faucet. We took the doors off one cabinet, giving us 6 shelves to feature the things we use most often, and most enjoy looking at. The interior is painted a warm chocolate brown and is a striking foil for our collection of diner china. Some day I will tell you the story of our collection of Syracuse China...
The biggest challenge I faced was making art in a home where the studio has not yet been unpacked. It was an exercise in adaptability. My love placed a 4 ft by 8 ft sheet of 3/4 inch plywood over the base of our dining room table and viola! a studio. I continue to be amazed and intrigued to see the ways my paintings are evolving. There is a subtle change that I can see in this collection of 10 paintings - sharper contrasts and bolder lines. I see it especially in the painting above, and the one I posted on the 5th of April. You can visit my etsy shop to see the virtual collection. The exhibit hangs from April 6th through April 30th at the Madeleine Gallery at LaPorte Jewelers, 645 Harrisburg Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17601. Here's the link to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/composegrace
