More Pics From My Show

I am from the Northwest...You won't hear me complain much about it...I have space, lots of trees, lakes and ocean, great smells, beautiful sounds, space, unique mountain trails that aren't packed with people or worn down, great food, healthy living, space, and most importantly, great family and friends...This art is influenced mostly from living in the northwest, or experiences I have drawn that were influenced from living in other cities.

I have had a weird, beautiful, interesting, and sometimes hard life. Please don't cry me a river, I am over it. (Although my left eye does still twitches compulsively at 3 o clock every day from the horror of 7th grade.)

These are drawings and linocuts from this/that life, and new images that have emerged from the remains.

 Above is my one of a kind wall, I painted these using watercolors or ink...

 Don't we all want to live by this rule? Maybe we should try harder...

I am so happy with the way it all turned out...

These are all at Velocity for your viewing pleasure, or not...

Have a great rest of your week...and I mean that..:)

All Photo's by the super talented Erik Simkins...Thank you Erik!

The Art of the Dead...

Hair flowers and shellwork in glass dome, possibly Wisconsin, 1880-1900, Langlade County Historical Society, Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database 

Who can resist getting creepy this month? Not me!  

Using loved ones hair as a decorative element after they had passed 
was very common back in the day.

This masterpiece was put together with some serious love of family. 

Sometimes I think it's hard for many of us to look at images that remind us of death this overtly, but I don't think it is that hard to see the beauty in the 

intricacy of this piece..

Old Master - Agnes Noyes Goodsir

A Letter from the Front/Girl on Couch, Agnes Noyes Goodsir

If you follow my blog at all, I am sure you have noticed how drawn
 I am to moody oil paintings from certain old masters. 
They evoke emotion unlike many modern day portrait paintings. 
Usually it is the ones that leave you wondering what is happening 

for that person or persons, but know on a visceral level 
that it is something pretty heavy.

The colors here are so beautiful, and the curtains behind her at the top?

 Someone has to make this wallpaper, with blues and golds for a library, or a bedroom? 

Encaustic LOVE...

 I have a few encaustic pieces in the works and hope to find a venue for a show soon, as I am kind of obsessed with the colors and forms in this series...Working with hot wax and a blow torch makes one feel slightly powerful, and dangerous, and because I usually feel like I am neither of those, maybe it is my form of self-help... Probably more like I just LOVE painting with wax, building layer upon layer, melting them into one another, and then scraping them away is sheer bliss...Very meditative...

 I LOVE this one...

I was thinking asteroids and pieces of stars shooting down from the sky..

 My hot plate with the melted wax...It is a messy sport lemmy tell ya...

Ouch, caught my shirt on fire....Just kidding....Maybe wax splashed in my eye...Just kidding again...


Have a good week!

A Few Party Pics

Here are just a few pics from my show, more will be coming next week. The party was so great, and I feel so thankful for all of the people that came out in the rain, masks or not! A big thanks to John, (The Owner of Velocity) for all of his support with the show, and for the lovely bottles of champagne! A great local event planner,  Renee Ryan Design helped me design the tables, and they looked amazing. The dahlia arrangements were INSANE. Beautiful job ladies. 

I created clusters of gallery walls, one being the idea of a N.Y.C. park avenue apartment from the 60's, a masculine nautical cluster, and a Boho 70's Topanga canyon cluster.

Accordion player Bonnie Birch was pumping out the serious parisian tunes all night.They were great.I would hire them again in a N.Y. minute...

I brought handmade artisanal chocolates with little bits of dried ginger, orange peel, apricots, cherries, and nuts, on the most delicious dark chocolate, and of course traditional french macaroons, (from Bakery Nouveau!) and they went a tad too quickly...Good thing I set one aside for later.. 

My friend Becky Atwell made these insanely beautiful masks for me and my husband...LOVE them...Thanks Becky.

Uncle Beefy from the bedlam of beefy (one of the BEST blogs ever!), came out to say hi, and I was so grateful.

 Cassandra LaValle from cocoandkelley, (another best blog EVER!), that for some reason I didn't get a picture of, came out in support. She is fast becoming another great friend. 

One of my best buds Stacy Kendall, from one of the most exciting magazine coming out of Seattle in a long time, Gray, online now, and going to print in a couple of months! Featuring all things amazing, beautiful, cool, or delicious, in, or around, Washington. 

And the end of the night we had a fabulous dinner with my buds, Laura Burkhart,(above),(who just revamped my new website, and it looks great!) and my constant dinner pals Leah Ball Steen, Kelie Grosso, who I also somehow didn't get photos of!?  And new bud Bradford...

Thanks for dinner lads and lasses...

More pics to come...

Hope you all have a great weekend...

Photo's by me

Video of the Week

Feathers and Masks, Masks and Feathers....

My show is this Wednesday night, and I'm nervous...Part of me wonders if it will be just me, and my friends who show up, sitting there with boxes of unopened bottles of champagne. The other part of me is ready to meet all of these new and amazing people, and friends I have collected here on this machine, and ready to throw a party where we can wear masks, and pretend we are from another planet and we can speak martian!(kidding about that part), but really... I can't wait to meet you and wear masks! Have I told you how I have always wanted to go to a party, where you are supposed to wear a mask? Maybe 200 times? 

Have a great start to your week! 

Photo- Unknown

A Room In Barcelona

Beautiful use of color here from a home in Barcelona. If any of you get a chance, Barcelona is one of the coolest cities ever. This room and it's use of color reminds me of my trip there. A must see on your list of travels. 

Happy Monday...

Photo- Barcelona is all it said.

Don't Listen To The Critics

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

—	Theodore Roosevelt

"THE" Masked Ball of Masked Balls...

 I have always wanted to attend, or throw a party, where guests are asked to wear masks just like the fabulous masked ball in 1966, given by Truman Capote, as a celebratory bash upon completion of his his book, "In Cold Blood".  In a detailed, in depth, article in "The Independent", we are given an inside look at the event and all of the drama that went with it...


"They rolled off the assembly line like dolls," Enid Nemy wrote of the guests in The New York Times, "newly painted and freshly coiffed, packaged in silk, satin and jewels and addressed to Truman Capote, the Plaza Hotel."

Spectacular masks, such as the golden-curled unicorn head that Gene Moore created for the interior designer Billy Baldwin, received special praise from the appreciative host. "Oh, Billy, that's fantastic," Truman congratulated him. Isabella Eberstadt's fanciful black and white entwined swans, fashioned by the multi-talented milliner, writer, and photographer Bill Cunningham, created a sensation, as did the cartoonist Charles Addams's grim executioner's mask.

For the most part, women seemed to enjoy wearing their masks. Some dutiful ladies even complied with Truman's request to carry fans, although it was difficult to hold a mask and a fan at the same time. Predictably, most of the men were not as keen on covering their faces. Like disobedient children, they guiltily dispensed with their masks as soon as possible. "It itches and I can't see," grumbled Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt about his cat mask. George Plimpton, author of Paper Tiger, had a different complaint. The inside of his mask was covered with glue that gave off intoxicating fumes, and he was dizzy until it finally occurred to him to take it off before he passed out. Andy Warhol outsmarted everyone with his ingenious solution to the mask problem: he simply didn't wear one.

At about 2:45, Sinatra asked the people at his table if anyone wanted to join him at Jilly's, his favorite bar. Truman begged him not to leave the party, knowing that its high wattage would be diminished, but Sinatra was ready to move on. He tipped Joe Evangelista with a hundred-dollar bill, called on the Secret Service men for help, and made a speedy escape, leading Mia, the Haywards, and Herb and Theresa Caen through back passageways to the street below. As Joe cleared Sinatra's table, he vowed that he would save the bill to commemorate the wonderful night.

The chosen few: a selection from Capote's guest list

Mr and Mrs Gianni Agnelli, Count Umberto Agnelli, Edward Albee, Mrs W Vincent Astor, Mr and Mrs Richard Avedon, James Baldwin, Miss Tallulah Bankhead, Cecil Beaton, Mr and Mrs Harry Belafonte, Marisa Berenson, Candice Bergen, Mr and Mrs Irving Berlin, Sir Isaiah and Lady Berlin, Mr and Mrs Leonard Bernstein, Mr and Mrs Benjamin Bradlee, Mr and Mrs William Buckley, Mr and Mrs Richard Burton, Prince Carlo Caracciolo, Lord Chalfont, Dr and Mrs John Converse, Noël Coward, Mr and Mrs Walter Cronkite, Mr and Mrs Sammy Davis Jr, Oscar de la Renta, Marlene Dietrich, Elliott Erwitt, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Mrs Marshall Field, Mr and Mrs Henry Fonda, Joan Fontaine, Mr and Mrs Henry Ford 2nd, Mr and Mrs John Kenneth Galbraith, Greta Garbo, Ambassador and Mrs Arthur J Goldberg, Mr and Mrs Samuel Goldwyn, Henry Golightly, Hamish Hamilton, Ambassador and Mrs W Averell Harriman, Mr and Mrs William Randolph Hearst Jr, Mr and Mrs Henry J Heinz 2nd, Miss Lillian Hellman, Elizabeth Hilton, Horst P Horst, Christopher Isherwood, Maharajah and Maharani of Jaipur, Senator and Mrs Jacob K Javits, Lynda Bird Johnson, Philip Johnson, Senator and Mrs Edward M Kennedy, Mrs John F Kennedy, Mrs Joseph P Kennedy, Senator and Mrs Robert F Kennedy, Alfred Knopf, Mr and Mrs Joseph Kraft, Mrs Patricia Lawford, Mr and Mrs Irving Lazar, Harper Lee, Vivien Leigh, Mr and Mrs Jack Lemmon, Mr and Mrs Alan Jay Lerner, Mr and Mrs Alexander Lieberman, Mr and Mrs Robert Lowell, Mr and Mrs Henry Luce, Shirley MacLaine, Mr and Mrs Norman Mailer, Mr and Mrs Joseph Mankiewicz, Mr and Mrs Walter Matthau, Mr and Mrs Robert McNamara, Mr and Mrs Paul Mellon, Mr and Mrs James Michener, Mr and Mrs Arthur Miller, Mr and Mrs Vincent Minnelli, Mr and Mrs Samuel I Newhouse Sr, Mrs Stavros Niarchos, Mike Nichols, Lord and Lady David Ogilvy, Mr and Mrs Gregory Peck, George Plimpton, Prince and Princess Stanislas Radziwill, Mr and Mrs Jason Robards Jr, Governor and Mrs Nelson A Rockefeller, Philip Roth, Baroness Cecile de Rothschild, Baron and Baroness Guy de Rothschild, Theodore Rousseau, Mr and Mrs Arthur Schlesinger Jr, Mrs David O Selznick, Mr and Mrs Irwin Shaw, Mr and Mrs Frank Sinatra, Steve Sondheim, Sam Spiegel, Mr and Mrs John Steinbeck, Gloria Steinem, Mr and Mrs William Styron, Mr and Mrs Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Ambassador and Mrs Llewellyn E Thompson, Penelope Tree, Mr and Mrs Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, Mrs T Reed Vreeland, William Walton, Mr and Mrs Edward Warburg, Andy Warhol, Mr and Mrs Robert Penn Warren, Mr and Mrs John Hay Whitney, Mr and Mrs Billy Wilder, Tennessee Williams, Mr and Mrs Edmund Wilson, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Darryl Zanuck


Via- The Independent

Dark and Dreamy....

This gorgeous, sleepy room is quite perfect for our first days of fall.

All I can think about right now are roaring fires, baking, eating, and feeling cozy, oh and did I say eating?...It is full on fall here in Seattle, and as much as I have been fighting it, I am feeling settled in quite comfortably now...

Photo-Wish I knew, if you know please let me know.

Felice Casorati 1883-1963

Felice Casorati, Girl on a red carpet, 1912

An Evening of Art and Disguise

I hope you will join me in celebration of a new season, and to check out 
some recent work of mine.I have always wanted to go to an event {big or small}, 
where you were asked to wear {Truman Capote party-esque} masks and here is my,
{our}, chance! And being an avid music lover, I could not get the idea of an 
accordion player out of my head, and so we added that to the mix. John Tusher 
from Velocity Art and Design, was kind enough to offer to throw an opening 
night party for the month-long exhibition of my work, 
and I hope to meet you there! 


P.S. My uber talented husband, Barry Ament, did the beautiful graphics on this invite for me. Thanks sweetie!

My Home, My fierce Brass Eagle...

One of the gems I brought back from Montana, has found it's place in my home, and I LOVE him...I am thinking of naming him Edgar, but I don't think it is fierce enough...Do you have any ideas? Help a loser who names her brass animals out will ya? xo

Video of the Week....

Falling into Tradition...

As fall quickly approaches, this photograph hits just the right note for my 
family, and our new weather here in Seattle. 
I have several different styles that I am drawn to, but in the 
fall and winter months, cozy, traditional homes with long histories, are the 
ideal place to lay my hat and head. I am in nesting mode suddenly, 
making soups, warm meals, and cozy atmospheres a priority for my family.

I hope you are feeling cozy too...

Image Via- Mantiques 

The Art of the Jewel...

Vintage Swan Necklace...What more could a girl want ?

Unknown Vintage piece Via - Tumblr

The Art of Humor in Photography

"Buyer's Remorse"

Andrew B. Myers Is a photographer and image maker who's work is often 

characterized by it's use of color and composition, and it's use of subject matter such as 

pop culture, nostalgia, and situational humor. 

There is nothing more unique to me than having a certain wall in your home that is 

dedicated to your unique sense of humor. 

See more here.

First saw Andrews work via- Beautiful Decay

Video of the Week- Band of Horses

Truman Capote

Truman Capote by Carl Van Vechten, 1948.

Video of the Week- Bon Iver

Liberty Plaza, New York, September 11, 2001

Susan Meiselas, Liberty Plaza, New York, September 11, 2001, 2001. Chromogenic print, 15 11/16 × 23 1/2 in. (39.8 × 59.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Photography Committee  2002.96

© Susan Meiselas, Magnum Pictures

I have friends who experienced it firsthand, 

describing to me, the horrors and heartbreak...

What I am trying to remember is the outpouring of support and love,

as this country came together. 

Why does it take this kind of disaster for us all to come together in support?

I think if we all remembered how precious life is, and how 

easily our lives can be taken away, we would all be less judgemental, and separated...

In love and remembrance...

I am having a party in October, and you All are invited...

I am having a show. The opening night party is October 5th, and you ALL are invited. Only caveat, you must wear a disguise over your eyes....Can't wait to see what you come up with. More info to come...

In the meantime have a great weekend.

Lair and Art

This painting, by one of my favorite artists, Iris Van Dongen, would look great in this space, but even more than that, I see this woman being the inhabitant.

Photo of Home-Unknown(Tumblr)

The Art of a Stylist...

As a lover of the talented stylist, this is styled so perfectly, imperfect. 

I especially like the toy monkey hanging off of the left wall...

Stylist Sara Sjögren for Residence magazine, Via- emmas designblogg