Artists are different.
Artists are in a perpetual search for inspiration... for beauty, joy, light, magic.
Artists are inventive, expressive, adventurous, and intuitive with an overwhelming desire to share their world.
I am such an artist.
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♥ Very Ralph Lauren
One of my very favorite people on the planet, let alone designer, is the iconic Ralph Lauren. He is the perfect example of the success that comes with authenticity.... knowing yourself and being yourself and if that fails, creating yourself. This man created a brand, a lifestyle, and became a social influencer long before the phrase was coined.
Is there any question why I adore him? His brand conjures images of the American flag and African Safari, faded flannel and old Hollywood glamour, vintage trucks and rare classic automobiles, ivy league and the American West, cotton and cashmere, rugged denim jackets and silk smoking jackets, rough shod Cowboy boots and calfskin driving slippers, summer camp canoes on a lake and vintage wooden speed boats in New England, picnics and state dinners, elegance and casualness, fantasy and artistry, but most of all Style. It's like The Great Gatsby meets Sunday morning.
I don't love Ralph Lauren for his contradictions. I love Ralph Lauren for his timeless mood creation and iconic character creation and his optimistic narratives of being American. That's a lot to credit a fashion designer, but is he? Ralph Lauren never studied design, tailoring or fashion. He can't even sketch his own ideas. But he is no less an artist. He tells a story visually. And I can't get enough.
If you have access to HBO and are a Laurenphile like me, tune in to a new documentary Very Lauren. You'll learn that this man created his own market due to necessity. In the 1960s when menswear consisted of the same boring suits and skinny ties, think Mad Men, Ralph Lauren longed for the dapper, double-breasted suits and pleated slacks of the movie heart throbs of the 1930s and 1940s.... Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable. He couldn't find the clothing he saw in the movies to purchase in any stores, so he started his own men's tie business creating wide ties made from quality fabrics and pitched his product to Bloomingdale's.
I don't want to spoil the documentary for you, but it's one that will inspire. And maybe even cast you in the starring role of the movie that is your life.
♥ Cooking with the First Ladies
A few weeks ago I was delighted to meet a new docent and fellow historophile at Rippavilla named Sarah. She is the most delightful lady who has studied each of the First Ladies and cooked a meal from that First Lady's recipes using the book First Ladies Cookbook. The day I met Sarah M, she was dressed as Jackie O.
If you would like to follow Sarah and her historic meals, she has documented everything on her Instagram account Cooking with the First Ladies(@cookingwiththefirstladies). If you'd like to purchase your own copy of First Ladies Cookbook, it is out of print but several used copies are available.
One of the Kennedy recipes that caught my eye is Boula-Boula (American Soup)
Boula-Boula (American Soup)
Ingredients
2 cups canned green turtle soup
1 cup sherry
1/2 cup whipped cream
1 tablespoon sweet butter
Directions:
Cook the green peas in boiling, salted water and strain through a fine sieve or an electric blender to get a puree. Reheat. Add 1 tablespoon sweet butter, salt, and white pepper to taste. Blend with the green turtle soup and 1 cup sherry. Heat to just under the boiling point. Put the soup into serving cups. Cover each cup with a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream and put the cups under the broiler to brown the topping. Serve immediately.
Now where does one find canned green turtle soup? Does it really contain turtle??
♥ Inglenooks
Only recently has this word even made my radar screen, and now I daydream about an inglenook of my own. If you don't know, as I didn't, an inglenook is a recessed sitting area that adjoins a hearth and fireplace. Inglenooks are not common in my neck of the woods or to this century really, but they do exist or can be created, and the world needs more of them.
Aren't they cozy? Inglenooks bring to mind intimate, cubbyhole hide-aways to enjoy the warmth of the fire, drink a cuppa tea, and read a good book. I don't know if they were written into the plot of Little Women or A Christmas Carol, but I can clearly see Jo March and Ebeneezer Scrooge sitting in one.
♥ Hudson's Bay Point Blanket Stripe
Lately the Hudson's Bay Blanket iconic red, yellow, green, and blue stripe has been catching my eye. I love it! But will be the first to admit I don't own anything with this stripe. Hopefully I can rectify this situation soon, but only in a small way. I'm not really in need of a $600 wool blanket, and I don't think I cold pull off an off-white wool coat with bands of bold, horizontal stripes. But it might be fun to sport a tote bag, or mittens, or socks, or cell phone kickstand. It's not the item I'm in love with, it's the history of the design.
The Hudson's Bay Company may be the oldest company in North America, with roots dating back to 1670.
According to an article in the magazine Mental Floss,
"The Hudson's Bay Company was once under royal charter from England, operated as a fur trading business, pioneering the exploration and settling of Canada. In many of the farther regions, the Hudson’s Bay Company was the effective government of the vast territory, and was at one point the largest land owner in the world, controlling approximately 15 percent of North America."
The iconic striped pattern of the Hudson's Bay Blanket was commissioned in 1779 of the English textile mill of Thomas Empson in Oxfordshire. The blanket was not only prized at that time by the fur traders and miners in Canada, but also by the native tribes who found the wool to be warmer, easier to sew, and easier to wash, dry, and maintain than their blankets of bison hides and seal skins. Moreover, it was the indigenous people who first fashioned the blankets into coats, called Capotes. The Hudson's Bay Company didn't start making coats until 1922.
I was pleased to discover the Pendleton brand makes several items in this classic pattern. In fact a couple of years ago, I purchased for my family, the Pendleton Trail Log which was designed to commemorate the centennial of America's National Parks Service.
I wonder if Ralph Lauren was ever inspired by this pattern?
“I don't design clothes, I design dreams.”
– Ralph Lauren
“My eyes are on my life. They are my private camera. I extend all the experience from my private life into my work because living is my library.”
- Ralph Lauren
"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."
- Jackie Kennedy
"I think imagination is one of the greatest blessings of life."
- Edith Roosevelt
Note and full disclosure:
In some bullet points I may link to more information, related news, or to a product on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Originally the account was created years ago to benefit "Happy Tails" animal rescue,
but now it benefits my pack of rescue dogs and assorted fosters at Windy Acre Cottage.
Thank you!
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We have lots of Painting Classes coming up in December. Grab a friend or loved one and spend some time making masterpieces and making memories.
Adventure Awaits! Illustrated Travel Journaling Workshop in Nashville, TN
To register for classes or workshops, please call me at 615-668-8263.
Mark your calendar for the Adventure Awaits! Illustrated Travel Journaling Workshop in December. We will be visiting the Belmont Mansion at Christmastime for a special tour and peep behind the scenes on December 17 from 10-3:30.
To see the supplies list, click here.
And January 25, 2020, we will visit the Historic Polk Home in Columbia, Tennessee, the only standing residence besides the White House that was home to our 11th President James K. Polk.
Watercolor Paint-Along Classes in Spring Hill, TN
Or book a PRIVATE PAINTING LESSON for Instant Clarity and Results
Please call me if you have additional questions or would like to purchase a gift certificate or register for a class:
615-668-8263
And don't forget about the Kids
Santa's Workshop is December 21, 10am - 1pm in Spring Hill, TN
Contact Spring Hill Parks and Rec to register your child, ages 5+. Limited to the first 30 children registered. Eight projects to choose from. $5 per project or $20 for 5 projects. Great way to create special gifts for Grandma.
January 2020
Setting a Resolution to be more Creative in 2020? Have I got good news for you!
Many new weekly classes, workshops, and paint-along parties are in the works beginning January 2020, but they don't make you more creative unless you join. Call now to register! 615-668-8263
Creative Spirits Weekly Painting Classes, Supplies List for Creative Spirits Classes, Art Dates for Students of Creative Spirits Classes,
