Monday, August 23, 2010

Succulents Indoors on a Shelf

Make you own private garden space indoors: use various succelents as the base of intrigue.

Outside, about a dozen of my succulents will die during the next few months because of weather changes.  What a shame to lose those plants.  So I brought them inside, giving them new pots and a new growing space with light.

eHow says:
Cute Little Plants photo by Kristie Karns of eHow

Succulents are unusual and interesting plants. They come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors and they all store water in their wide leaves. Knowing how to take care of them as house plants is essential to helping them thrive in an inside environment. They are drought resistant plants but in certain climates they cannot be grown outdoors. Try picking out some of the more unusual looking specimens for your succulent collection, as they can be quite the conversation piece.
Alongside my computer space, at eye level when at the keyboard, is an old fiber board bookcase which has held life objects over the past thirty years. I cleaned it out this weekend, and now it contains only items which are used on a frequent basis (knitting books, a scanner, CDs and computer paraphernalia, to name a few).

On one shelf, attached to be underside of the shelf above, is a 22" inexpensive fluroescent light that gives illumination needed for the little plants to grow and give off oxygen.

If Kiki could be here to take photographs, she would show the true essence of the succulents.  Go over to her blog and look at objects she has captured with amazing charm and spirit.

Here are a few pictures of my new indoor succulent garden taken from plants that were growing outdoors until yesterday:


the oriental "mud man" was purchased at a local garden center

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Two Paintings Finished 8/19/10

Bragging or complaining: after 13 months and still needs work:


30" x 40", Oils, Gallery Wrap


Two Poppies, 8" x 10" Oils, Framed

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Sistene Chapel Ceiling in Cross Stitch

This cross stitch of the Sistene Chapel ceiling by Joanna Lopianowski-Roberts took 2868 hours to complete.
From Concept to Creation is the website where information can be obtained about the background of this amazing project.

Extreme Craft posts this:
Joanna Lopianowski-Roberts is clearly touched. Think of the craft project that you spent the longest on. I once spent a solid month doing a single ceramic piece, and felt preeeeeeetty pleased with myself. Ms. Lopianowski-Roberts, a resident of Junction, Texas, spent a whopping 2,800 hours (over ten years) working on a cross-stitch reproduction of Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling. That's almost 117 solid DAYS of work! The entire masterpiece measures 40 inches by 80 inches...