Today is illustrator/writer Edward Gorey's birthday. I'm often reminded of his macabre sense of whimsy when watching Tim Burton movies. The most memborable of his illustrations for me are the short animations he did for the intro to PBS show, "Mystery!"
I love llamas. They are a funky looking animal who seem like they and their cousins the Alpaca are the nerds of the animal kingdom. I love their gangly legs, long necks, and soft fluffy coats, and I'm amazed by the amounts they carry while climbing the Andes mountains. Since I started painting tiny watercolor, llamas have frequently returned as subjects, but have recently been fairly absent from my work (Llamas--alpacas--I still love you guys!).
Como se Llama -- Flora & Fauna collection
In late fall, Laura Johnston of le animale and I made a llama pendant for our Flora & Fauna collection with his sweet, fluffy, dorky head poking into the scene over Machu Picchu. He's definitely my favorite of our little creations together. I've collected several of her own llama creations including 2 totems and 2 necklaces.
My Sea Elf (from another of Laura's collaborations) meeting my totems. See the lovely llamas!
Besides collection Laura's little creations, I've found myself gradually gathering more and more llama things.
Pinterest has made it even easier to bookmark and remember all of my llama finds! One of my favorite little boards to fill up is my Llamas! board. Filling the board and finding more llama images has had me extra inspired to paint them again lately. Maybe my New Things post tomorrow will include some...You'll have to check back and see!
What's your favorite animal to geek out about?
Pinterest has become one the sites I visit most in my free time, and I'm finding a lot of inspiration there! Since I'm finding so many new and wonderful things, I thought I'd start sharing a little bit of inpiration from Pinterest--Pinspiration--each week. Today, I'm inspired by a little sketch by artist Oliver Jeffers. If you haven't seen his illustrations, you should definitely go check them out! HE is one talented person. While I love seeing his finised works, his sketchbooks are my favorites.
I love this illustrative map. It reminds me of traveling and how much I love to journal while I'm adventuring. I always intend to sketch more in my journals, and then I reach the end and find that while there are a few sketches and doodle, it's mostly all text. Maybe next time I'll work harder to draw while away.
In May, I joined my husband in Monterey, California as he goes through training with the US Air Force. We won't be here for too long, so I've been trying my hardest to soak up as much of the beautiful scenery as I can. Fortunately, there's plenty of that to be had!
My favorite thing to see around here are the bright orange California Poppies, the state flower, growing every where. I was so pleased when I pulled up to the house we'd be living in for the first time in May and saw these beautiful little flowers growing all over our front yard! Even more delightful were the hummingbirds that zipped around feeding from them and other flowers right outside my own window. It's been a beautiful few months full of nature.
I get pretty inspired by these poppies. I love how their colors are so vibrant against the green around them and so brilliant when there is a clear blue sky.
I've especially enjoyed painting poppies since getting here. My most recent addition is the ornate brass locket pictured above. I've also done a few small necklaces which sold early in the summer as well as a compact mirror which can be found in my Etsy shop.
These are such lovely flowers. Seeing them everyday makes me happy and makes me think of them often. While painting the locket above, I kept thinking about the kind of outfit to wear with it. I tend to play it safe with clothing colors, but this locket just screams color! Unable to get the idea of lots of color out of my head, I put together this little ensemble which would be beautiful with my locket added to it. What do you think?
I'm so excited for today! This is the very first in my new series for Wednesdays titled, "How will You be adorned?" The title pretty much says it all, so I won't sport with your intelligence by elaborating too much. Every Wednesday, I'll share ideas for ways to wear and use my pieces as well as pictures of happy customers adorned there very own Sarah-Lambert creation.
Today, I'm pleased to bring you a bit of both! As wedding season draws to a close, I want to share with you this beautiful bridal bouquet adorned with one of my very own oval pendants.This beautiful bride requested I paint a custom piece for her of a pear with her wedding date below. The groom wore a matching pair of cuff links. I was so thrilled with the beauty and creativity of adding such a simple piece as a pendant to the bouquet! It really does make for an extra unique addition to the day.
With bridal season winding down comes the end of summer. I'm really not even remotely sad about it this year. Newly arrived to the Monterey Bay area of California as I am, I've spent most of the summer in sweaters and digging through my wardrobe for my fall clothes. Since we're missing the heat wave here, I really can't complain at all. Still, it's meant that summer just hasn't had that...summery feeling to it!
But it's not over just yet. August comes squeaking in for all of those last warm weather hurrahs. Inspired by the end of the season and the approaching fall, I've put together this adorable look featuring my "Le Ballon Rouge" necklace.
Looking for something a little more work-day friendly as the school year resumes? How about this simple back-to-basics look:
Want to follow more looks I've put together? You can find more How will You be adorned? posts here.
