It never hurts to ask...

So, I don't normally do this, but (oh gosh, isn't that what all bloggers say before they hit you up with a pitch, ad, or favor?) nonetheless, it must be done. Because it's important.

Some of you might know that I work for a program called After School Art at the Oxford Community Arts Center. Earlier this year I applied for some funding through PNC Bank. They're running a program called Neighborhood Wishlist, which is aimed at providing communities with money to start and sustain programs in their area. It's pretty cool because it allows anyone out there to try and actually make something happen in their community. So I saw this and thought, "wow! With that money we could bring in another visiting artist for the kids! Also, we could buy special materials for them to do unique projects!" And so I sent in my proposal and (drumroll please...) it's a finalist!

So, what does that mean? Ok, here is where I do it. Here is where I ask for help. I'm just going to rip off the band-aid:
I need you to vote for my program on Facebook.

Whew! There. I said it. Yes, you have to log into Facebook. Yes, you have to add the PNC app to vote. But here's the thing: for every single vote, the After School Art program receives a dollar. That's literally like you donated a dollar out of your pocket to a worthy cause, except it costs nothing. Except maybe one minute of your time. So please (don't make me get desperate) please vote. It's legit. It's a huge help to us running this arts program. Plus, you get three votes for the Wishlist program to use for other worthy causes. There are tons of cool projects out there just waiting to happen in neighborhoods all around us, and you can help make them happen!

So all you have to do is click this link then click the "go to our Facebook app to vote" button. It will prompt you the whole way, and I'll be ever so thankful.

Seriously, how can you say no to those cute little faces? Ok, ok, I'll stop. Please vote for us. The end.

New York house + studio tour

Today I want to draw the veil back just a tad on Sean and I's time in New York. If you're just joining us, my husband and I recently had the opportunity to spend six weeks in the Hudson River Valley while he apprenticed with painter Garin Baker and I worked in my own studio developing products for my Etsy shop, HomewardHandmade. It was a productive and exciting summer for us both, and I thought the best way to fill you in would be to give you a little tour of the property on which we were staying.
Garin's home is an old revolutionary era farmhouse that has been fixed up and refurbished over the 20-odd years he's lived there. The house has an old carriage house in the back which has been renovated to become a large and beautiful studio, hence Garin has dubbed it Carriage House Art Studios. He works solo in the back section and holds workshops and open model sessions in the front. When he hosts larger workshops spanning a few days, he rents out the bedrooms in the top floor of the farm house, one of which we stayed in for the duration of the summer.

First, let's head back to the studio. You can see the original door still in place on the front of it, and much of the old wooden beams preserved inside. In the top shot you see the front of the studio where workshops are held with both Garin and Sean working away, and in the bottom shots the back portion of the carriage house.
Next, let's head inside the house. Join me after the jump!

Back in town

At long last, Sean and I are back in Oxford. New York flew by and now we're busying our little fingers preparing for the school year, unpacking our new home, and generally getting back into the swing of things. That, of course, includes this blog which has sat sad and neglected all summer long. Well no more, my dear friends. I have quite the slew of material saved up, including a house and studio tour of our New York adventure, thoughts and reviews on hunting down quality materials, and of course a new recipe or two.

Ah, life as I know it. It's good to back.

To get you caught up Cliffs Notes style, I'm just going to hook you up to my Instagram IV. A quick rundown: road tripping to NY, our attic room window, studio, NYC times, our live-in dog Lincoln, Sean painting (a model at the house + Grand Central at night), some new Homeward Handmade pieces, supplies, and home again. Enjoy! -hil

city painting

So, I may not be the best at updating lately, but as we all know it's hard to keep up on things when life isn't exactly, well, normal. So here's the scoop: we live in the attic of an old 18th century farmhouse in the Hudson River town of New Windsor with Garin (the artist with whom Sean is apprenticing) and his family. This includes a 2-year-old Weimeraner named Lincoln who keeps us busy with tug-of-war, stick throwing, and generally dreaming about having a dog of our own. Garin has a huge studio in the back of the house and some days Sean paints in there and models come at night, other times they do plain air. Well last week Sean got the privilege of painting with James Gurney, whose work you might recognize from Dinotopia or National Geographic, and he posted a video on his own blog. So to catch you all up, I thought I'd share it here. Enjoy! -hil

and...scene.

This past month has been saturated with the practical stresses of human life: moving, tying up loose ends, and generally preparing for a new chapter. Sean and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the beginning of this week. It was a welcomed period to the run-on sentence that was our move to a house on the other side of town, an unsavory activity that ate up our entire weekend. Sean is finishing his last bits of work today before summer vacation, and I am making sense of a house littered with cardboard boxes. The end of this week will send us on a long journey north where we will be spending 6 weeks in New York's Hudson River Valley. Basically, it's a busy/exciting/tiring time, which is good. It feels like our stage is being reset, and a whole new act is about to play out. I'm looking forward to devoting my attention to the etsy shop during our time there, while Sean apprentices with a master painter. The Hudson River Valley boasts an illustrious list of artists in it's history, chief among them being Thomas Cole, and a long tradition of plein air painting. We are thrilled to have the opportunity, and excited to get the moving done so we can get to the fun part.
Until then. -hil

photo by Chris Ramirez for the New York Times. Check out the article that goes with it here.

Confessions of a Lamp Tramp

If you were to come to our house, one of the first things you might notice, besides the seemingly eternal stack of laundry that endlessly needs conquering (today it is taunting me, half folded on the couch), is that we have a lot of lamps.

But seriously, an inordinate amount.

I've been this way since I can remember, shuddering at the thought of overhead lighting. When I was in high school I purchased lamps from thrift stores to place around my room. I still have one that is so beautiful I refuse to trash it, despite the fact that it flickers every time I step on the wrong floorboard in our living room. I buy good lamps when I see them, even if it means I have to ship them home, even if it means they sit in the basement for a year before we use them. Because a good lamp is hard to find, and I am a lighting fanatic.

That's why, when I stumbled across Radiance Lighting, a little artisan lamp store in the UK, I was immediately smitten.  I have never seen so many beautiful lamps and shades in one place! It's like a junkie's paradise. Especially these shades to the left. They are these old photographs of different neighborhoods superimposed with vintage floral fabrics. Gosh, I feel like they were made just for me.

On top of simply selling unique and beautiful products, I found Radiance's story inspiring to boot. Sean and I have dreamt many times of having a store with a studio or workshop in the back like the artisans of old, and that's exactly the model that founder Hannah Nunn used when opening her own lamp store. When a storefront opened up in her town, she jumped on it and transformed it into a space where she could work in the back and sell up front. Today she has enlisted other creative lighting geniuses who sell at the store and works alongside family and friends to run the operation. In 2010 Radiance moved to a larger location, and it you're into Before and Afters, you can find the entire process chronicled here.

more on Radiance Lighting after the jump!

Husband of mine...

This may be a bit non traditional for this blog, but my sweet husband did an interview for the high school newspaper where he works. Aside from making me smile, he also has some good insights about art and creativity, so I though I'd share with you today. Enjoy!-hil