Coming Home

If you've been reading my blog the past few weeks, then you know that my BFF from grade school, Amy Hill Dickerson and her sister-in-law Ashley have opened Wedding 101 in Franklin, Tennessee. Last week Valerie and I drove up to help put the finishing touches on the space and of course attend the super Preview Party! Valerie did a great blog post on the event, so I'll talk about the coming home! This is us being silly with the mannequins. Valerie did not have a traditional wedding dress she said. Here, she looks like a blushing bride, don't you think?

I worked on two bride paintings for the space. Amy and Ashley were thrilled with the final paintings. They look lovely in their new home.

I also made 6 cake toppers which now rest in a beautiful cabinet anxiously waiting for their bride to say, "that's the ONE." And then they get to sit a top a yummy cake for one evening.

For the trip home, we knew that many stops would be made....every junk shop, flea market, antique mall we saw a sign for would not be off limits! After our first stop however, we decided to venture over to Bell Buckle. A quaint little city that hosts a family fun weekend in September with Moonpies and RC Colas. They say it draws about 25,000 visitors. WOW. That's a lot of Moonpies being consumed.

We had a fabulous time in their antique malls, curious shops, soda fountain and cafe. I believe we stayed 4 hours. By the time we reached the interstate again, most of the other antiquing haunts were closed. We did however have to stop at an exit to purchase a certain beverage for a friend and found a great Goodwill. An hour later the van was piled up with chairs, statues, bubble gum machine, trinkets, dishes and more for both Valerie's shop and my little booth. It was a wonderful three day trip. And the company was the best!

Super cute town, a must see if you head to Nashville.

Now I am counting the weeks until show season starts. 7 weeks to be exact. I'll be posting lots about the process of getting ready. And of course giving you a sneak peek at my latest work!

"Here Comes the Bride(s)"

So here I am, painting. It's about hour 20 and I am going strong. It's strange how the hours flew by while painting these lovely ladies. Although the images were totally out of my comfort zone, I was able to find my way with ease. I even added some textured flowers. They are by far my favorite part of the entire composition of course. Here are Alyssa's flowers:

And here are Isabella's flowers. And folks, this is all I am showing you. Yep. I've decided that I want Amy and Ashley to get the whole effect when I bring them up to Nashville on August 12th. Photos really never truly show the texture and colors correctly I've found.

Speaking of working long hours, I really meant what I said above about the hours passing so quickly while painting. In fact, I am a little sad that the project is over. As much as I stressed over starting, once I got going the entire process flowed seamlessly. It's funny how when moving in the right direction, things can and will fall into place. When I spoke to Amy last night she said she was working all the time. It's good for you, I said. When I look at how far Valerie has taken the Flea over the past year on her own and now Amy and Ashley with starting the business, I just have to stand in their light and bask a little. These women have all taken a huge leap of faith and opened doors that have been along their life path, but waited to be opened at just the right time. It's funny how we travel, walking past the opportunities. We get married, have children, volunteer, play taxi, and all those other roles that follow with being a mother and wife. And some women are completely satisfied with never opening any more doors. But then there are women like Valerie, Amy, Ashley and myself who yearn for more. Who open the door and fall right in. And thrive on the successes and failures that come with turning the knob. I've closed some doors the past year that were so hard to do. But with those closings, opportunities have presented themselves I'd never had seen had I not been right here. And I am so very thankful that through it all these women mentioned above have been there by my side. And now I stand with them.

Isabella (The brides now have names)

You know how we are around this house about naming things. So if birds have names, then these ladies have to have names too. So I introduce to you Isabella. This photo is in the beginning stages. I got a bit panicked about the "Cinderella" blue background and sure enough, it had to be toned down. Ah, much better. Now all that is left are the flowers. I am off to tackle blondie for awhile before flowers. I wonder what Mailey will come up with for her name? I find that working on both at the same time gives them more of the same brush stroke.

Here's a close-up of the hair. I found a new texture medium that I LOVE! It dries in like 15 minutes as a opposed to my joint compound which is 24 hours.

I wanted her dress to look like fancy lace. I think the texture material, oil sticks and a little patience have gotten just that. Well, off to get the giant brush out and going again. See you later tonight..... maybe.

The Task Ahead

This is me and my BFF from childhood Amy Hill Dickerson below. I believe this picture was taken on our senior trip to Destin, FL. Anyhoo, why a picture of her on my arty blog? Well, here goes the short version of a long story. Growing up we were peas in a pod. We took piano from the same teacher, sang together (amazing I might add!), had show choir together, Star Spangled Girls together, amazing trips together, ate lunch everyday in the same spot together, even had the same boyfriends (not at the same time). You get the idea. For our class Who's Who I was voted "Most Creative" and she was voted "Most Likely to Succeed". Hummm...At the time I'd never had art and she was of course going to succeed, but at that point it was unclear as to the what and how. Our classmates saw something in the two of us that perhaps we didn't even see in ourselves. And those silly little who's stayed in the back of our minds and laid heavy on our hearts for quite sometime now. So fast forward almost 20 years and here's how those little who's have panned out for us both. I am now a full-time artist! "Wow" is what most of my classmates say that have found me on facebook. Most say, "I never knew you painted." And Amy, well she's starting a BUSINESS! Yipee, skippee! In Nashville, Tennessee along with her sister-in-law Ashley, they are starting Wedding 101. It's an amazing concept. As a bride you would go to their space where soon to be thousands of wedding oriented businesses are advertising through displays, binders and wall hangings. It's a virtual wedding library. All the leg work is done and waiting for you to plan your dream wedding. Wow. I know. It's been an exciting and yet overwhelming journey for them both. Having been a store owner myself at one point, I understand their anticipation and wanting to have it all just DONE. So here's my part of the business.

Yes, these are as ginormous as they look. And there are two of them. And they are going to have brides on them. OH my. You see, I paint birds and little flowers and happy things. not that brides aren't happy, but they are people. With skin and hair and big puffy dresses.

Yes, that is a big canvas going into my house. Lots of paint will be consumed by it as well.

Thank goodness I bought an overhead years ago when I painted murals. These chicks would have been totally unproportioned if not.

And of course Mailey is making here own bridal party right along side of me. I set both paintings up so I can work on them at the same time. They are going to hang flanking the door to their office. I'll be posting my progress, and Mailey's over the weekend. I will not be working on anything else until this is done. So just be prepared to be humming "Here comes the bride" when you visit me here!