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About Me And My Hobbies
Welcome to my world! This section contains bits and pieces of my life. The purpose is to share these interests with you, and to invite comments from any of you who might find something here to talk about! So read on and feel free to E-mail me with your thoughts. And please be sure to sign my guest book! Let's begin with a quick-
I grew up in the very small town of Edgewater, Colorado, which borders the city limits of Denver and is surrounded by its suburbs. After graduating from Jefferson High School in Edgewater, I attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in piano pedagogy. I taught piano until a full time job became a financial necessity. Although I no longer teach, classical music remains a very important part of my life. I live in a rural area (another very small town) in southern Michigan. After working for the State of Michigan for 22 years, I took an early retirement in 1997. Now I'm free to pursue all the things I really like to do!
I "dabble" in various forms of arts and crafts. My interest in Celtic music led to a curiosity about Celtic art forms. Thanks to the Internet, I've discovered Celtic knotwork. I'm just a beginner at it, but it's fun. Each creation is something like a puzzle to be solved. The knot at the beginning of this paragraph is by Cari Buziak. For more examples of her lovely artwork, see "Celtic Art & Illumination".(Link below)
Last summer I was presented with a different sort of artistic challenge. Two years ago, we had a bumper crop of gourds in our pumpkin patch, resulting in a basement full of dried gourds to be dealt with. My husband suggested that I paint some in order to entice people to buy them. Once I got started, I couldn't seem to stop! I painted and woodburned gourd birdhouses, vases, anything I could think of. It's wonderful to see an old, ugly, moldy dried gourd evolve into a work of art! I've been painting a few pictures too. My favorite projects are dollhouse size pictures. My medium is usually acrylic on basswood.
Dollhouse miniatures have been one of my favorite hobbies for a long time, but I don't even have a "proper" dollhouse! My dollhouse is essentially a cabinet. I call it a townhouse because it has four floors, with two rooms on each floor. The style? Well, let's just call it eclectic modern, and partly Southwestern. Whenever I travel, I buy souvenirs that will go somewhere in the dollhouse. Several pieces of Native American art and pottery can be found throughout the house. Since needlework is another favorite pursuit, my dollhouse is also filled with various miniature needlework projects that I've completed over the years.
I love to crochet. One of my favorite projects is crocheted doll dresses. I've done a few dresses for fashion dolls and a whole series of costumes for tiny Imkins dolls. Right now I'm crocheting miniature afghans, just the right size for Beanies or fashion dolls. I don't have any patterns for them. I just adapt the designs from full size afghans, using a smaller hook and two ply yarn. I like small projects that can be finished within a few days. I get too bored before I finish a full-size afghan! After I've done a few more of the above size afghans, I intend to start a series of 1"/1' scale for dollhouses. Besides crochet, I've done some needlepoint, including everything from 32-count mesh to plastic canvas, and I've done some knitting and a bit of embroidery. Click on the buttons to see pictures of my gourds and doll crochet.
Genealogy My latest passion. With the help of a wealth of genealogical information on the Internet, I've begun a search for my ancestors. Click on the button to see the beginning of my family tree.
Some of my Other Interests It seems that the Internet has become a new and time-consuming interest. I've been spending far too much time at the computer! As you can probably guess , I also like to fool around with graphics and the desktop publishing programs. And I enjoy reading. My favorite books are mysteries. Lately I've been collecting books by Tony Hillerman. Being a cat lover, I've also read quite a few of the "Cat Who" mysteries by Lilian Jackson Braun. My house is filled with books. My kids think I should have a garage sale to get rid of some, but I just can't part with them! Some of my Favorite Hobby Links Celtic Art and Illumination - Very helpful Celtic knotwork tutorials and examples of the art of Cari Buziak. Paul's Celtic Art - More lessons in drawing Celtic art. Gourd Artist's Guild - contains a lot of information about gourds and gourd art. The Gourd Page - More gourd info, with emphasis on making Purple Martin houses. Crochet Cabana - Crochet patterns and helpful hints. In Stitches - More crochet patterns and information. Special Thanks to Destiny's Designs, whose lovely graphics enhance this section. Click on her logo to see more of her beautiful creations.  The background music I have chosen for this section is "Rustle of Spring" by Christian Sinding, MIDI sequence is by Jack Sirulnikoff. I found it at Midiworld.
This piece is something like a family tradition. The music was handed down to me by my mother. The original sheet music was so old that it was disintegrating and I had to replace it. |
Bio
Celtic Art
Miniatures
Needlework
