A VERY EXPENSIVE WORK OF ART...

The art of making

 lavender honey

January 31 was 

"Inspire Your Heart With Art" day.

I must warn that this post is quite long

 but I am hoping you will find it interesting

 and

 it will make you think of how art inspires your life 

and possibly you would enjoy putting a post out of your own.

Art, in any form, is very important in my life.

 There are the paintings on my walls,

 the hand-made articles that dot shelves,

 and the flowers that bloom in my garden.

  To me, everything that can be seen by the eye, and felt in the heart,

 is a form of art.

"The End of the Trail"

James Earle Fraser

While I most likely will never own a Picasso or a Van Gough,

 or even see one for that matter,

 what I consider the inspiration of art in my life is 

just as beautiful and fulfilling to me

 as an avid collector would feel 

owning one of the old masters.

"Love's Young Dream"

M. Goodman, 1904

This antique print hangs in the sitting room of the Cottage

 and was a gift to me from an elderly lady, whom I spent much time with years ago,

 and is a very special part of my collection.

"Little White Church in Soquel"

Mary Parsons

This water-color was done by a former neighbor

 who was thankful for a load of gravel that we added to her garden. 

 It is the little white church 

where my grandparents were married

 in the early 1900's.

"The Wayside Inn"

c. 1683

Sudbury, Massachusetts

P. Buckley Moss

An offset lithograph, signed and numbered, by the artist, P. Buckley Moss.

  I purchased this print in the late 1980's from a magazine add. 

 It was issued for $65 in the early 1980's.

  I paid $80 for it

 and the estimated current value is $650.

Artist, (center) P. Buckley Moss, her husband and Margaret Brown, gallery owner

Ms. Moss came to my friend, Margaret's, local art gallery 

and we were lucky enough to meet her.

Patricia Moss was born in 1933 in New York.

  In grade school she was perceived as a poor student 

probably due to dyslexia. 

 One of her teachers, however, determined that the little girl who was

 "Not Proficient in Anything"

 was artistically gifted. 

 In 1964, she and her family moved to Waynesboro in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 

 There she came to know, and incorporated into her art, the "plain" people of the Amish and the Mennonite. 

 She is still producing art

 and is active in her foundations

 that benefit the learning challenged.

After buying this initial piece, I continued collecting quite a few pieces of her art,

 but since I ran out of wall space,

 I have sold all but this one piece.

Here is an example of one needlewoman's handiwork. 

 The colors are so vibrant and it is beautifully done. 

 It always makes me smile to see it. 

 I think it was intended to be a pillow cover,

 but I have framed it and it hangs in the Captain's library...

...and another's work with ribbons.

This is a needlepoint piece I worked a few years ago. 

 I saw a picture in a needlework catalog and loved the country Victorian feel of it.

  At this time it hangs in our entry.

Another counted cross stitch 

that I worked 

and it adorns a wall in the guest room.

You have seen these paper mache pieces

 that I made throughout previous posts...

...some ceramics I made back in the day...

...and a few of the sweatshirts I painted..

Don't laugh,

 people really wore these back in the 80's!

 I sold a lot of them!

There are a number of people who produce works of art

 that we will never be aware of

 but who have ideas that could

 inspire and amaze

 the world.

This was a very special gift from grandson, Jake, to me on my birthday. 

He painted it as a sophomore in high school in his art class.

My father was an extraordinary man.

 He was a talented woodworker

 and could sit down with pencil and paper

 and make wonderful images,

 and he was all self-taught.

 Above is an Easter book that he drew in the first grade

 and a self-portrait he drew of himself,

 by looking in the mirror,

 at the age of 19.

My husband, whom you know as the Captain,

 is a machinist by trade

 and an artist in that field. 

 Before retiring he was foreman of the machine shop 

for a large electronic firm in the Bay Area

 and working in increments of 1/10 of one inch

 he was influential in producing important machined parts 

that were used in many medical devices, defense situations

 and sent out in space 

on the many endeavors that

 the United States was involved in.

One of the gentlemen that worked for the Captain was a very talented person in his own right. 

 He was an excellent woodworker as well as a talented furniture designer, 

all of which was helpful in his chosen field of being a machinist.

The Captain would order machinery to be used in the machine shop. 

 They all were expensive items that were needed in the building and running of the shop. 

 At one time, 

a milling machine was delivered 

and it came in on a large pallet of oak wood.

  It took six men to unload this machine.  This was a very large piece of machinery 

with a very large price tag.

 The gentleman who worked for my husband took this pallet,

 and using his special skills,

 turned it into something that I cherish to this day 

and have as part of the decor in the Cottage parlor.

The Captain,

 circa 1970-80,

 standing along side our very special gift, the plant stand.

This was a vision, changed from an ugly utilatarian piece

 into a beautiful work of art.

We laugh 

and, lovingly, 

call it our

$275,000 

fern stand!

Are any of you familiar with the work of Patience Brewster? 

 She has a one-artist company 

offering one of a kind ornaments and gifts.

  I have seen her work,

 which is beautiful and whimsical, 

and am inspired to own some of her pieces.

  You can see examples on her website:  http://www.patiencebrewster.com/ornaments.html

You might want to start another collection!  Her art is unique 

and very endearing.

This post was created for you today

 to honor all the artists

 that have enlightened our lives through their talents. 

 We are thankful for the beauty 

that they have

 inspired.

...Judy...

Sharing today at:

Amaze Me Mondays at Dwellings, The Heart of Your Home

Make It Pretty Mondays at The Dedicated House

***I have not been compensated in any way for the facts presented in this post. 

 They are just my humble opinions.