Halloween Movie Night

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I always watch a spooky movie on Halloween, and this year's choice is The Birds, which I've seen many times. Actually, the first time I saw it, I was really young and didn't think it was scary at all. I even thought the scene where the children get attacked at the birthday party was funny. (It still makes me laugh...perhaps that says more about me than about the movie though.) But overall, I love the atmosphere and cinematography in this film. And Suzanne Pleshette as Annie is my favorite.

I'm sure everyone has heard by now Tippi Hedren's account of how creepy Hitchcock's behavior toward her was during the making of this film and Marnie. It certainly wouldn't be the first time a director has become obsessed with his leading lady. Though I have to say, they look perfectly amiable in this photo. I didn't see the HBO movie, The Girl, which is all about their relationship. Anyone see it? Thoughts?

I am excited, however, to see the biopic coming out soon starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren; it looks promising.



Anyone else watching any scary movies tonight? What are your favorites?

Instant Art Collection

(Clockwise from top left: "Lost Little One" by Rushton Images; "Silhouette of Cypress" by Windy Lane Studio - Kai Samuels-Davis; "Wait for Me" by BokehEverAfter - Julie Parker-Garza; and "Paths 1" by Clara Lieu.)

Happy Halloween! In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd post a spooky collection this week. Each of these pieces is quite beautiful on its own and not necessarily sinister. But when you place them all together, they definitely take on a macabre mood (in a really good way), don't you think?

Also, I just wanted to say thank you to all the sweet folks who got in touch after Hurricane Sandy. It was definitely scary for a couple of days, but thankfully, we are fine and didn't have any damage. There were a lot of trees down in our area and flooding, so we feel very lucky. xo, Mary

Scenes from Life

It's been kind of a rough week, and it's not over yet. I've been carrying my camera in my bag every day and popping out to take photos of fall leaves whenever I get a chance. All that color and light is like therapy to me, giving my weary brain a moment's rest. I sometimes wish it looked like this year-round, but I guess it wouldn't have the same flash and brilliance. Perhaps, that honor falls only to beautiful things we know are fleeting.

40 Under 40

I finally went to see 40 Under 40 at The Renwick Gallery, an exhibit featuring 40 artists under the age of 40 who all work in various craft media. The exhibit explores the future of craft and the changing notions of craft in the art world. I won't go into a large discussion here about craft versus art; I wrote a bit on that topic here. But I do want to write that the main impression I took away from this exhibit was one of scale. Several of the pieces are large, very large installations in fact, and they reinforced something I've been thinking about a lot this past year. I realized I have a tendency to think "small" when working on craft projects, whether because of time constraints or financial constraints or some other self-imposed limits. Restrictions can push us to new discoveries, but they can also force us to be too narrow in our approach. I've been making an effort to think bigger, not just in literal terms of the scale of my projects, but the reach of my work, the intended audience, the potential imprint. These are all very big and potentially scary ideas but necessary if I'm to continue to grow as an artist and maker. After all, isn't that why we're all here?

Photos aren't allowed inside the exhibition, of course, so I borrowed these from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's flickr pool for the show. (Click on images to go directly to source.)



To find out more about the artists whose work is pictured, please visit the exhibition site; there are links to short videos on each artist that introduce them and show a bit about how they work--fascinating stuff.

Shop Update + Sneak Peek

Here are a couple of new brooches I added to My Hideaway:

Welsh Terrier

Owl in autumn colors

And here's an outtake from a photo shoot I did of a new necklace coming soon. I've got several of these in different sizes and colors in the works.

I'm working on about 10 different projects at the moment, which will hopefully be added to the shop in the next couple of weeks. I'm waiting on supplies to finish them; isn't that the most agonizing thing ever? The waiting, I mean. I wish there was some art supply/craft supply/jewelry supply store that really did stock everything. So many of them claim to but fall short. If anyone out there sees this post and can make this store happen, I promise to spend many dollars there and tell all my friends.

What are you making?

Scenes from Life

Here's part two from last week's walk. Through the woods we go!

The leaves are just starting to change here, and I love that mix of golden green, orange, and crimson. I'm sure I'll come back to this quiet walk in a week or two and find a completely different color palette.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! xo, Mary

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

Instead of Instant Art Collection this week, I thought I'd share a few things on my autumn wishlist right now. Etsy is so full of delicious color and cozy texture at the moment; I'm in love.

(Clockwise from top left: Odd Mittens 1 by Amy Blackwell; tiny forest 12 by ohchalet; hand knit grey wool socks by RGideas (they're having a 20% off sale on some styles right now); and vintage radio from the 1930s (it works!) from BeeJayKay.)

To see more fall finds, click here.

*post title is a quote from Henry David Thoreau.