Farmers Market

Shop Local…Why

I love to shop local, and there are so many reasons why you should…

Why we all should make the effort to shop locally

If your anything like me you LOVE to shop! For years  I have tried to shop as local as possible 

1. PROTECT LOCAL CHARACTER AND PROSPERITY

New Orleans is unlike any other city in the world.  By choosing to  support locally  owned businesses, you help maintain New Orleans'  diversity and distinctive flavor.

2. COMMUNITY WELL-BEING

Locally owned businesses build strong neighborhoods by sustaining communities, linking neighbors, and by contributing more to local causes.

3. LOCAL DECISION MAKING

Local ownership means that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions.

4. KEEPING DOLLARS IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY

Your dollars spent in locally-owned businesses have three times the impact on your community as dollars spent at national chains. When shopping locally, you simultaneously create jobs, fund more city services through sales tax, invest in neighborhood improvement and promote community development.

5. JOB AND WAGES

Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.

6. ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship fuels America's economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.

7. PUBLIC BENEFITS AND COSTS

Local stores in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to big box stores and strip shopping malls.

8. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Local stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers-which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.

9. COMPETITION

A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

10. PRODUCT DIVERSITY

A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

 http://www.thebrownjug.com/about.htm   The Brown Jug

Playing Tourist

I had a few hours of free time today so I decided to play tourist, we have a beautiful Nature center 1 mile from us… It was such a pleasant morning to view the plant sale, take photos, and sit and paint for a whole hour! Luxury!

At the Green Briar Nature Center, you will find a quiet corner of Cape Cod - a sanctuary of peace and beauty in all seasons. Located on the shores of Smiling Pool and adjacent to the famous Briar Patch of Thornton Burgess’s stories, Green Briar offers interpreted nature trails and a spectacular wild flower garden. located at 6 Discovery Hill Road East Sandwich, MA 02537. It is a must if you visit Sandwich.

Natural history programs for children and adults are offered year-round and include classes, field trips, guided walks, and workshops on the natural sciences.  Outreach programs to area schools and other institutions are also an important part of Green Briar’s services to the community. Members of the education staff visit schools, nursing homes and clubs offering slide presentations, lectures and classes.

Green Briar is also home to the Robert S. Swain Natural History Library, which has a collection of books, periodicals and other materials on the natural history of the Northeast, particularly the eastern Massachusetts region. Adjacent to Green Briar is the 57-acre Briar Patch Conservation Area, home of Peter Rabbit and many of the other Thornton Burgess animal characters. Walking trails are open to the public.

I volunteer here every wed making crafty items to sell at the big holiday fair in December! It is truly a vintage town!

This is Teddy, Peter Rabbit was inside as he is very old now!

My Garden is a Pleasant Place

Today I was lucky enough to spend the entire day planting all my little seedlings I had grown through out march and April. I had some help from Jim Lough… thank goodness as I really have no idea what I am doing… just that I like playing in dirt!

When I settled down last night I was looking through one of my poetry books and the first page I randomly turned to was a poem by Louise Driscoll called "My Garden is a Pleasant Place". Here it is for your reading pleasure and perhaps some inspiration for art!

My Garden is a pleasant place

Of sun glory and leaf grace.

There is an ancient cherry tree

Where yellow warblers sing to me,

And an old grape arbor, where

A robin builds her nest, and there

Above the lima beans and peas

She croons her little melodies,

Her blue eggs hidden in the green

Fastness of that leafy screen.

Here are striped zinnias that bees

Fly far to visit; and sweet peas,

Like little butterflies newborn,

And over by the tasseled corn

Are sunflowers and hollyhocks,

And pink and yellow four-clocks.

Here are hummingbirds that come

To seek the tall delphinium —

Songless bird and scentless flower

Communing in a golden hour.

There is no blue like the blue cup

The tall delphinium holds up,

Not sky, nor distant hill, nor sea,

Sapphire, nor lapis lazuli.

My lilac trees are old and tall;

I cannot reach their bloom at all.

They send their perfume over trees

And roofs and streets, to find the bees.

I wish some power would touch my ear

With magic touch, and make me hear

What all the blossoms say, and so

I might know what the winged things know.

I'd hear the sunflower's mellow pipe,

"Goldfinch, goldfinch, my seeds are ripe!"

I'd hear the pale wistaria sing,

"Moon moth, moon moth, I'm blossoming!"

I'd hear the evening primrose cry,

"Oh, firefly! come, firefly!"

And I would learn the leweled word

The ruhy-throated hummingbird

Drops into cups of larkspur blue,

And I would sing them all for you!

My garden is a pleasant place

Of moon glory and wind grace.

O friend, wherever you may be,

Will you not come to visit me?

Over fields and streams and hills,

I'll pipe like yellow daffodils,

And every little wind that blows

Shall take my message as it goes.

A heart may travel very far

To come where its desires are,

Oh, may some power touch my ear,

And grant me grace, and make you hear!

Community Garden "Chives" will be my first harest for the farmers market

We are so lucky to have pigmy goats, a miniture horse and lots of chickes to keep us company while gardening!

What inspires you?

in·spi·ra·tion

Definition of INSPIRATION

1

a : a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation

b : the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions

c : the act of influencing or suggesting opinions

2

: the act of drawing in; specifically : the drawing of air into the lungs

3

a : the quality or state of being inspired

b : something that is inspired <a scheme that was pureinspiration>

4

: an inspiring agent or influence

— in·spi·ra·tion·al  adjective

— in·spi·ra·tion·al·ly adverb

Inspiration is what fuels our soul to create. For artists inspiration can come from just about anything. , it doesn't matter what medium you use as human beings we are inspired just by being alive to the delights of each day!

I am inspired by many things sometimes too many things. I have ADD and my brain is on full speed to grasp as many amazing things as I can in one day. Some times this back fires and I wind up freezing but usually when I take the time to be quiet and listen to my soul inspiration will sit right on my shoulder, wisper in my ear and take hold. 

The top 5 topics that inspire my creative side

1. People in my life. This can be people I know really well like my sisters and nieces or someone I meet in a class or new friend. People often inspire me to create something that I know they would like.

2. Colors. Sometimes I just let the colors inspire me by painting what ever color comes to mind, don't worry about how they will look together, just paint.

Farmers Market

3. Music. Art inspiring art like music or poetry can create pictures in your mind which sometimes just have to come out in another artistic form. My favorite musician is Trevor Hall, his lyrics are amazing! http://www.trevorhallmusic.com

Trevor Hall and my Husband Matt at the SanFrancisco Zoo!

4. Nature. I am so lucky to live in one of the most beautiful and quaint places (Cape Cod) in New England. I am inspired by the many beaches, creeks, wooded trails and walking through our town (SANDWICH) which is the oldest town on the Cape and has lovely architecture in the old fashioned homes and buildings.

5. Travel. Getting "out of dodge" so to speak, is a great way to fuel your creative side. Sometimes we can get stagnent with the same old, same old. I love to travel anywhere, even if it is just a day trip! recently we went to Culebra a small island off Puerto Rico. So lovely and it inspired me to paint every day! 

What inspires you?

Happy Mother's Day!

Fun Photos

Flat rock from Egypt beach… best beach for flat rocks!

Daytona says "Happy Spring"

Painted mermaid basket, just in time for the Farmers market!

It's in the details follow up

I chose a small part of the sea urchin and starfish to focus on in my detail painting. I will now take this painting, and use only parts of it for a bigger collage.
I am creating a childrens book with lots of small collages for the art work!

It's in the Details!

de·tail

  [n. dih-teyl, dee-teyl; v. dih-teyl or for 13, dee-teyl] 

noun

1.

an individual or minute part; an item or particular.

2.

particulars collectively; minutiae.

3.

attention to or treatment of a subject in individual or minuteparts: to postpone detail and concentrate on a subject as a whole.

4.

intricate, finely wrought decoration.

5.

Engineering , detail drawing.

I just returned from an amazing art retreat in Seaside, Oregon. 
Artist Alisa Burke taught the retreat you can find her here at http://www.alisaburke.blogspot.com. The class was called "You me and the Sea". 

We had a beautiful time creating in watercolors, black and white journal entries, and lots of old fashioned crafting (my favorite). 

On my trip I noticed all the beautiful details everywhere I went. Details in flowers, sea life, artwork, and even faces!

Details make life so interesting!

I challange you today to slow down and look for 10 details around you.
When you take the time to slow down and look, the...

details start poping out at you all over the place!

The next challenge will be to take one of these details from YOUR DAY and make some sort of art work. It can be a painting, small needle work, drawing, collage anything you choose! I will post something from the detail of one of these photos in a few days! Happy Creating!