Aaahhhh!

A Lazy Susan - who says art work is just for the wall? Take it into the kitchen or use it on the table. Functional and fun!

This is my beach. This is where I go to regenerate. This is my sanctuary. I have been going to this beach since 1968. It is the beach which I measure all other beaches. I'm sure you have a place like this. . .I believe everyone needs a special escape pod.

At home, my escape pod is my studio. But when life hits that breakneck speed, and I feel like I just can't make it another day . . .this is where I go. I love to watch the storms in winter; I love to hear the waves constant rhythm; I love to smell the salt in the air.

Some of my best artwork is created at this beach. I walk through the door of our family beach house and my whole perspective changes. I feel the stress fall away and my creative brain jump starts.

And when I walk on the beach, I go back to my childhood and rock hunt. I can't help it. We used to look for agates - that was the treasure. Now it is sea glass and smooth stones. Sea glass is so hard to find now. I remember when we were kids, we thre the sea glass back - afterall, it was just glass. I mourn all the blue glass I tossed back. What was I thinking?

I love the look and feel of beach rocks - I have a whole collection of them. When I need to feel connected to the earth, I hold the rocks and rub them. There is power and magic in there simplicity.

Now for the advertisement portion of this post. At the end of the this month on the 25th of April I will participating in an Independent Sale called the Irvington Artisans Market. This is a show of some wonderful, talented and eclectic artisans. I participated in this last August and did some early Christmas shopping because of some of the wonderful, unique items that were there. This show will have the theme of Mother's Day. Yes - Mother's Day will be here before you know it and it would be wonderful to surprise your mom with something different - wouldn't it?

This show is held at the historic Irvinton Tennis Club in NE Portland. It is set in a wonderful old Portland neighborhood, in a great space. Check out the blogspot to sample a few of the participating artists and see all the details.

http://irvintonartisanmarket.blogspot.com/

Come and purchase one of my new vases to put those Mother's Day flowers in, or a custom mirror or plaque with a special message to convey your gratitude for Mom. I hope to see you there.

As a follow-up to the children's rocker . . .it has found a home. Here is sweet little Kacey Olivia, age 3 1/2. A few weeks ago, Kacey's mom visited the blog and saw the picture of the rocker. The last line of the post said that the rocker was "waiting for a little girl to rock her baby". Kacey's mom told me that was all that it took. She realized Kacey needed it to rock her baby. I understand Kacey has been spent many hours rocking back and forth sharing the love of the chair. Here's to many years of rocking Kacey . . .

Last week I posted the beginnings of a farm themed chair for a client in Washington. They wanted a chair that would reflect their life on a farm for the past 20 years. It's turning out pretty cute. There are a few more details left and then it will finished.

Another custom order - this chair will have an Asian theme. It will be paired with a large mirror (still to come). A few of the main colors have been laid in and this shows a few blocks where symbols and Asian themed images will be painted.

This shows the beginnings of some of the images - a bird, a kimono, some Chinese symbols and their English translations. Of course no details have been added yet - it will look entirely different by next week, but the basic foundation has been created. I'll keep you posted on it's progress.

And finally . . .what do you do with those clear glass, nondescript vases that flowers are delivered in? Evidently alot of them end up at GoodWill. I've always liked the lines of these vases, but they are so . . . boring! But not anymore. Coated with black first, and then a variety of colors laid down for the base. Then some three-dimensional detail. Finally, some sealer to give it a smooth finish and to protect all the color. It can be used to put in some fresh flowers or as a bright spot of color on a mantel. Come visit me at one of my sales this year, and you can check them out for yourself.

I have been working like crazy lately - and will continue to do so. We have some wonderful sales lined up for this next year. This weekend, we have finally had a taste of spring, with sun and warmer temperatures. Seeing the blue sky and feeling the warmth of the sun did a lot for my phyche. I welcome the spring - bring it on!

Projects in the works -

On a recent beach trip I did a little painting . . .It was nice to work on a canvas. I haven't painted a canvas for quite a while. This was a reflection of sharing the joy of music -

I began with a blank canvas a while ago. Many times when I am painting it drives me nuts to leaves puddles of unused color on my palette. Acrylic paints dry rather quickly and can't be rehydrated like watercolors - so they are "wasted" if you don't use them. So I started painting splotches of the color on a blank canvas. I had no idea what i would do with it - just that it would supply me with a great background for something. Then I laid in the vines and such. I wanted to do a tribute to my daughters and the love of the piano that we share . . .and this is what I came up with.

This is a new chair that will be donated to the Mt. Hood Community College Foundation Auction in April. I love the idea of donating a piece to benefit a good cause - and providing some worthy student the opportunity to better their lives through education is a great cause.

This is the beginning of a custom order for a family in Kalama, Wa. Living on a farm for 20 years, they wanted a chair that reflected that life. I have just begun laying in the pattern - I will show you an update in a day or two to see how this is progressing. A cow, some sheet, a pig and a few sunflowers . . .not many details yet - but there will be soon!

So many projects . . .so little time.

Tick Tock . . .

Here are some of my newest products - clocks to get you there on time . . .or at least, to give you something to count as the minutes tick by.

These are made from something that many of us have plenty of but aren't quite sure what to do with them. A perfect circle, made from durable vinyl - yup - these are made from old record albums. I painted the front but left the back in tact to preserve the integrity of the record. So there you have it, a new purpose to an old item.

On another note - Spring Break is here and the family is all "off" for the week. I miss the days when I could spend the week at home with my kids. Even though they are much older now and would prefer to spend there time with friends on most occasions, I would still like to be able to stop the roller coaster and enjoy the week with them.

So my husband has taken the family down to the coast for the rest of the week. Although the weather here in our part of the country is not going to be "special" . . . they will have a wonderful time. The beach is always wonderful. And what a great time to hook up as a family - time to spend reading, watching movies, playing board games, napping, walking and best of all - listening to the waves crash.


I need to finish my week out here but will be able to join them shortly for the weekend. So in the meantime, I get to enjoy a little quiet time at home alone. I love having alone time to think, read, create some art, write in my journal and . . .of year, work.

What are your plans for Spring break? Do you get to partake in the week of relaxation, or do you continue life as normal. How do you celebrate the arrival of Spring? I would love to hear your thoughts.

The Garden Gate

Laurie Miller Designs can now be found in Kalama, WA at The Garden Gate Gift and Florals. Check out the website: http://gardengatekalama.com/ The Garden Gate carries wonderful floral designs that are unique - these are not your average cookie cutter flower arrangements. And now if you are in the area, you can stop by and pick up a piece of art work. This is the first of hopefully many retail locations that you will be able to find my art!

Stay tuned also for some of my newest creations. I have such a desire to be "responsible" with my art. I want to create things that are positive and happy and bright, but I also want to make sure to practice what I preach to my kids and reduce, reuse, and recycle. With that in mind, I love to give new life to items that others are ready to cast off. That is the heart of my chairs and furniture pieces. And now I am taking it to another level. Flower vases, clocks, treasure/jewelry boxes - all new products I am adding to my line and all created with reclaimed items. You will have to stay tuned to see what I come up with. Check back in a few days to see the clocks -

I am also in the final stages of booking into our art sales and shows for the rest of the year. I am really excited about all of the great places I will be this year. Next month I will be showing at the Irvington Artists Market in NE Portland; in May I will be down on the Coast in Oceanside, OR just outside of Tillamook; this summer you will be able to see me at The Sandy Mountain Days, The Gresham Art Walk and The Mt. Hood Festival of Jazz. Later in the fall I will be traveling over to Sisters, OR for their Harvest Faire and then to Hood River for their Harvest Fest. And finally we will finish out the year in Seattle at the Phinney Winterfest again. Yes! It will be busy - but I am so excited to meet new people, share my work, and be a part of all the festivities. I'll keep you posted as each of the events get closer. In the meantime - go find something bright and colorful to lift your spirit.

Being Grateful

Thanksgiving has come and gone; Christmas has come and gone; and we are stuck in the perpetual gray days of Winter. Small glimpses of sunshine peek out every once in a while - but the moments are short and the cold temperatures keep me stuck in bleakness. I've always had a struggle with this time of year. The days are too short and it feels like there is too little to look forward to. The novelty of the darkness of winter has long worn out and I crave the colors of spring in the flowers, the trees, the blue sky and the sunshine.

In the latter part of January, a friend of mine approached me with the idea of a Gratitude Group. An idea she had seen in a magazine around the Holidays, she found she couldn't shake the idea and wanted to try an experiment. Through an email invitation, she invited a diverse group of women. And those women were invited to invite one other friend. We met on a Friday night at her home, each bringing a component of a simple soup and salad dinner. We dished up, introduced ourselves and told each other a little bit about our lives. And then the fun began. We were each given a journal and told to regularly write down a few of the things that we were grateful for.

I made a committment to myself to do this. I have always been a journal writer - but I go through phases. I love journals. . .I have dozens of them - but very few that I have completely filled. I set my journal next to my bed with a pen so that it was ready to go. Many nights I crawl into bed, pick up the journal and think - there is nothing special about this day that is worth recording. But - that was not what this "assignment" was about - so I begin to think about what I am grateful for. And then the words begin to flow.

Many days the themes are the same - family, husband, home, talents, my art, color . . . nothing earth shattering. But for those brief moments before bed, I forget about the struggles of life. Our stuggles with money, or the needed house repairs, or the frustrations of the little things go away and I am reminded of all that I have. I am very, very grateful!

The Gratitude Group will meet again in March and we will share our revelations as to how this experiment has affected our lives. And I am sure, if the other women have felt as I have, that we will continue for months to come. To share with others in such a positive way is a blessing in and of itself. For those few hours we will not discuss the economy or our jobs or anything negative. We will left each other up with gratitude.

Here's to March

The finished stool . . .

Recently, we took some of my work to a professional photographer to have some portfolio shots done. What a great experience. It was so wonderful to see the work transformed into a 2 dimensional image with full color. The difference of using studio lighting, diffusers, and backdrops was well worth it. Now we have some great shots to use when we apply for the "big" sales that require some pretty heavy jurying.

Although March is only just beginning, it has been filled with frustration. Last year, I managed to stay realitively healthy. When considering all the people that come to work every day coughing and sniffling and sneezing - this was a miracle. This year I have not been so fortunate. I have once again caught the "crud" that everyone seems to be fighting. I was laid up for 3 days in February and felt that I had "served my time". But no . . .I have once again been hit with whatever this lovely stuff is and am flat . . .again.

I have never been very good at being "sick". I don't like lying around doing nothing. I get very tired of watching tv and movies but my brain is a little too soft for reading. By the end of the day, I am generally somewhat cranky and bored out of my mind. And feeling as if time is slipping away. I want to draw or paint or create something - but unfortunately, I am just too foggy in the head.

I will return with more interesting posts once I can conquer this beast. Here is to a wonderful March - hopefully full of Spring like days!