I is for...

Still working, keeping it simple again tonight. I is for three more of  my dolls ISA, IDRIS amd IMANI. Good night all. 

 

F is for...

F is for my one of my other loves and that's fabric art. I love using printed fabrics to make quilts or taking plain white cotton muslin and painting my own patterns and designs. When I'm not making art dolls I make art quilts. These are a few of my quilted and fabric painted art pieces.

The Moon Watcher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

  Dreams Caught on the Wind

 

 





 

Kente Block Quilt

 

 

 

Fire On The Mountain





 

 

Looking Back

 

 

Talkin' To The Moon

 

 

 

Monterey Sunset

Sisters Under The Moon

"C" is for "Carrie", "Cher" & "Cindy"

My day has been a long one, so my post is going to be a short one. The good news is that my boss is back and I very happily turned over the keys to her. After working 13 days straight, I'm looking forward to taking four days off after tomorrow. The weather is going to be cold and rainy here but I'm going to get warm and cozy at home and of course, make dolls!! I found three new books about doll making on Amazon so when I'm not creating I will read and learn something new and of course, I'll be blogging.

"C" is for three of my dolls Carrie, Cindy and Cher...

This is Carrie, she was designed for the character Carrie Bradshaw on the movie and T.V. show "Sex In The City".

This is Cindy, she's my little cheerleader and she was designed or my niece Cynthia.

And last but not least, is my Cher doll. I was such a fan of Sonny and Cher when I was in high school and I'm still a Cher fan..

This is the end of my short, slightly incoherent A to Z blog for the day. Very tired, I'm going to sleep now, see you tomorrow.

"B" is for "Boss", "Brickhouse Gallery", "Batik" and "Charles Bibbs"

"B" is for "boss". This week I have a whole new appreciation for what my boss does every day. I covered for her while she was out of town. I have always admired her work ethic and her commitment to her business. The business is a very large antique store that also contains a large art gallery that displays the work of local artists. Our building holds approximately a half acre of art and merchandise. I've only been covering for her for a week, she's in the store 7 days a week, every week for 8 to 10 hours a day. I don't know how she does it.

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"B" is for the "Brickhouse" Gallery. I am grateful to them for giving some of my artwork a good home. It's a great place that nurtures both old and new artists.

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"B" is also for "batik", one of my favorite forms of fabric art. One of my favorite artists is Paul Nzalamba from Uganda. His watercolor images and batiks are an inspiration for me. Some of my African Ancestor Dolls are designed with his paintings in mind.

I love his work and was happy to find one of his framed prints in the store I work for. Can't wait to share it here when I bring it home.

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These are some of my batik pieces.

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 "B" is also for Charles Bibbs. Another favorite artist who I get my inspiration from. Sacramento was lucky enough to sponsor Mr. Bibbs and an exhibit of his work at the Evolve Gallery

I was so disappointed because I had to work all day and I didn't get to meet the artist but I was able to take my time and view the exhibit. His work is beautiful. His colors, details and patterns inspire me.

This one was my favorite piece.

"A" is for Art & Attitude & My Dolls Ashley, Adilah, Akili, Akiba & Adriana

I am happy to be a part of the A to Z Challenge again this year. Last year I had a lot of fun and met some new people and I look forward to meeting new people again this year.

At first I thought I must be crazy to do this again. There were days last year that I didn't think I could think of something to post every day and I have a bigger time crunch this year because I'm working more both on my job and at home with my own art.

Which is a good start for the first day. "Art", can't live without it because it is as much a part of me as my fingers and toes.

"Attitude" is important in my life because a positive "attitude" makes being creative and my life in general a much easier experience.

Ashley

Adriana

Adilah (Justice)

Akiba

Akili (Wisdom)

Lastly, "Ashley", "Adriana", "Adilah", "Akiba" and Akili are some of my creations, my dolls. I call all of my dolls "Gloria's Girls" or my ancestor dolls. "Ashley" was adopted last week by one of my clients. I am always sad to let one of my dolls go yet so happy when I know they are going to a good home.

"Z" is for zebra

I chose zebra as my last A to Z challenge word, not because it's an easy word but because zebras have always been my favorite lucky animal. The only thing about liking zebras is that birthday and holiday gifts always have a zebra theme. I have been the lucky recipient of zebra stationery, zebra socks and sweaters, zebra mugs and dishes, picture frames, pillows and pillow cases, towels and more. I have loved every gift I have received no matter how bizarre or outlandish it was because it came from someone who really thought about me and cared enough to give me something that was personal.

Anyway, "Z" is for zebra.

"Y" is for yellow

This morning I got a chance to watch part of the royal wedding. I'm always amused by the pomp and circumstance of this kind of event. Everyone tries to put on their best image of elegance for the occasion. Some do well to achieve this and some...not so much. Of course the queen is always perfectly put together and perfectly elegant. For some reason I expected to see her in some shade of blue or a soft lavender which would have been her style, elegant but conservative. I was very pleasantly surprised to see her in a lovely shade of yellow.



It made me smile to see this always stern and stoic, proper lady in such a happy sunny color.



"Y" is for yellow.

"U" is for unusual

U is for unusual as in this has been an unusual day for me and I almost didn't get a post in. It's not very clever but I'll have time to do better tomorrow. "U" is for an unusual day.

"T" is for time

"T" is for time. Tomorrow is a an opportunity for families to spend some quality time together. I know for myself, I usually have to get up, get out and get to work on Sundays but we will be closed for a change so I can slow down and even have breakfast with my grand kids.

Enjoy the time tomorrow how ever you and yours celebrate this spring day.

"S" is for Soup

"S" is for soup. I'm getting ready to do a food blog for my company so, I've testing some of my recipes. Both of my parents cooked, my father cooked for a restaurant many years ago in Baltimore, Maryland and my mother was a nutritionist for the school lunch program in San Jose, California. Food has always been an art for my family. My mother taught both of my sons to cook when they were very young and today, they are both very skilled and do very well in the kitchen.

Our store is enormous and amidst the paintings, sculptures, photography, custom jewelry, interior design and home improvement vendors we have also added a certified organic produce department. It has been doing very well since we added it the first weekend in February. I've learned a more about organic food in the last few months than I have in a lifetime. Something that comes up with our customers all of the time is how to prepare some of the items we carry. I find myself going back to the recipes my parents used and new recipes that I've tried and incorporated into my own cooking schedule. I am so surprised how quickly we sell out of basil, garlic and tomatoes when I talk customers through how simple it is to make bruchetta.

One of the first recipes I will be putting on the food blog is my recipe for Broccoli Cheddar soup. This dish is creamy, rich and satisfying, great for vegetarian diets and inexpensive, easy and quick to make. I will debut it here with you. It's absolutely delicious and rivals any restaurant's version. If you have a chance to try it I would love to hear your comments.

4-1/2 cups of fresh, washed, raw broccoli crowns well chopped (please don't use frozen)

1-1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup of finely chopped onion

1 single clove of garlic chopped fine

1 T. of olive oil

3 cups of light cream (half and half)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. of nutmeg

1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper

1 T all purpose flour

1 cup of mild cheddar cheese

1 to 2 tsp. of sugar

Heat broth in a 2 quart sauce pot, add chopped broccoli and simmer until the chopped stems are tender. Do not drain. Set broccoli, broth mixture aside.

In a 4 quart pot add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute onions and garlic until transparent, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir. Add 1 tablespoon of flour, stir together and let flour, garlic and onions cook together for about 0ne minute on low heat.

Add 3 cups of half and half and simmer on low until mixture begins to thicken. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (more or less to taste), 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, sugar, and black pepper. Stir well and add 1 cup of mild cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is blended and melted. Add the broccoli and broth mixture and stir well. More salt and pepper to taste if you need to adjust a bit.

Garnish with a basil leaf and a cherry or grape tomato. Serves four to six people.

I hope you like this soup as much as my family and I do.

"S" is for soup.

"R" is for river

"R" is for river. I am homesick everyday for the Bay Area in Northern California where I am from. But one of the things I have learned to love about Sacramento is how easily it is to just step into nature.

Even though the Sacramento area to me seems enormous, you are literally only minutes away from a river access or a nature preserve from any place in the city and county.

I have been here for almost three years and I am still discovering new places that amaze me.

When I was living in the Bay Area I could drive to the beach or the bay in a little over a half hour and I think I miss that the most. But the river has become a great substitute and I can walk their anytime I want in just a few minutes.

We have two major rivers here, The American River and The Sacramento River. Where ever you are, you are either close to one of the main rivers or one of the thousands of creeks, streams and canals.

I visited The Sacramento Bar River Access this week. These are some of my favorite photos of the day.

The river was deep and icy cold because of the snow melt that is flowing down from the mountains.

Very simply today, "R" is for river.

"Q" is for Quidam

Well it's "Q" day on the A to Z challenge. Wasn't looking forward to it. I thought of some of the "Q" words that I could use, 'question', 'quotient', 'quota', 'quill', 'quality' but nothing moved me.

Then, I saw this article about Cirque du Soleil and one of their latest shows "Quidam". I got a chance to see this show when it was first released in the 90's. It was my first time seeing a Cirque du Soleil performance.

It turned me into a five year old child again, I was so in awe. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, I felt like I had been transported to another world.
The stunts and the acrobatics seemed impossible.

The article was about the remake and return of this performance for a new audience.

"Quidam" was the word that I wanted to use. I even love the way it sounds. I looked up the translation and definition and it means: A nameless passer-by, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past, one who cries out, sings and dreams within us all. I love the last part "one who cries out, sings and dreams within us all"

"Q" is for Cirque du Soleil's Quidam