Golden Twilight

Also painted by our PO also it gives an idea of the scope of her work.
This light and airy impressionsistic landscape is framed and linen lined. It is oil on canvas and measures 12" X 16". It dates from about 1980. It is in excellent condition.

The painting has a label on the back indicating it was entry in the 1981 Society of the Four Arts Contemporary Exhibition Show in New York City.

Florence Hutchinson Lonsford (1914-2001) was born in Lebanon, Indiana but spent most of her adult life in New York City. (She maintained a studio in Indiana until the end of her life). She was a painter, sculptor, printmaker and lithographer.

She is listed in Davenports, Who's Who in American Artists and Directory of American Portrait Artists. She was also a member of NYC's prestigious art society the Salmagundi Club and the National Artists League, as well as the American Art Professional League and the National Academy of Fine Arts. She studied at the Art Student League under John Howard Sanden.

Her prizes include: Finalist in Deauville and Cannes, France and Prix d' Honneur in the Exposition Intercontinentale, Monaco.

She exhibited widely in galleries in Indiana, Michigan, and in New York City at Marcoleo and Artists Space. Also, her work is in the Coast Guard Artists Galleries in Indiana.

Maple Tree

Note: This was painted by our PO and is for sale here. I wonder if she used the large maple tree in the back yard as inspiration?

This light and airy impressionsistic landscape is framed and linen lined. It is oil on canvas and measures 14" X 18". It dates from about 1985. It is in excellent condition.

The painting has labels on the back indicating it was an entry in the 1986 American Art Professional League Show at Lever House (NYC), the 1986 Salmagundi Club's Oils and Watercolors Show (NYC) and the Indiana State Fair Professional Arts Division Exhibit

Florence Hutchinson Lonsford (1914-2001) was born in Lebanon, Indiana but spent most of her adult life in New York City. (She did maintain a studio in Indiana until the end of her life). She was a painter, sculptor, printmaker and lithographer.

She is listed in Davenports, Who's Who in American Artists and Directory of American Portrait Artists. She was also a member of NYC's prestigious art society the Salmagundi Club, National Artist League, as well as the American Art Professional League and National Academy of Fine Arts. She studied at the Art Student League under John Howard Sanden.

Her prizes include: Finalist in Deuaville and Cannes, France and Prix d' Honneur at the Exposition Intercontentale, Monaco.

She exhibited widely in galleries in Indiana, Michigan, and in New York City at Marcoleo and Artists Space. Also, her work is in the Coast Guard Artists Galleries in Indiana.

Santa's Work

As promised, here are a couple pictures of the toys Santa made this year. It's been a busy season and so there was more creativity needed than actual labor. This first item is called a Marble Run or Roller Coaster.
Basically it's a plastic storage box filled with "T" and elbow fittings and various lengths of 1" PVC pipe. It's been interesting to watch the kids come up with outlandish designs that defy all laws of physics and then modify their designs until the marbles complete their descent.
The second picture is of the through mortise joint used on a pair of stilts. A couple bolts would have been easy enough, but I wanted to try without any hardware and so glue and a couple dowel pins are all that hold it together. So far it's held up to them.
The last couple items were not as involved. For the Mrs. I cleaned up three old wooden shutters she had found at a garage sale this past summer and hinged them together to create a screen. A strip if window felt along the bottom assures it won't scratch the hardwood floors.
And then the youngest is at a stage where she wants to display all her schoolwork on the walls of her room and the plaster has begun to suffer. So she received a 3'x2' cork bulletin board which I painted the frame pink to match her room.

Christmas Story

beforeafter

Nick of Time

It just wouldn't be the holidays if I didn't cut myself in the workshop while making the kids' presents. This year it was a mild abrasion. While using a chisel I got a little impatient and nicked the inside of my left thumb. Of course the first priority is to not get any blood on the woodwork, that would be a pain to sand out. And then the closest bathroom was off limits until after company arrives since it had been recently cleaned. So I trekked up three flights of stairs to wash up and bandage the wound.
I'm sure you are all just dying to find out what I made this year, but you'll just have to wait until after Christmas. I will say this though, with a busier schedule at work, I've had less time to build BIG presents.

Caught In A Jamb

Sometimes the minor damages are the most frustrating. I had to glue the splintered remains from a ding in the closet door jamb. It seems that someones coat zipper was accidentally left in the way and when they tried to shut the door, the zipper pull smashed a notch in the jamb. Fortunately I found most of the splinters and glued them back on. So now it's not immediately noticeable, but still visible if you're looking for it :-(

Woo Woo!

Nothing much happening around here, house-wise. We just haven't made a trip to the big box for supplies. Did put a small loop of track around the tree. Usually put up HO scale but went with the Marx, three rail tin train this year.

 

Big Boxes

This time next year there just might be a new shopping destination in town. It appears that Lowe's has been approved for the new upscale subdivision. Read the article here.

For years the tension in our county has been farming vs development, what is the best use of our land? I'm still not sure where I fall on all the issues but having a Lowe's nearby would certainly cut down on the delivery charges.

Copper Tree Topper

We decorated the Christmas tree tonight and I had to contrive a way to attach the topper. Amy picked up several copper stars from somewhere in a variety of sizes. The medium was about right for the tree topper but presented a couple problems. It was too heavy, bending the top over and the opening wasn't quite wide enough to stuff the tree into.
The solution? Stuff some left over copper wire into the star and wrap the tail end around a pipe shaping it into a spring. Then just slide the spring over the tree top and adjust until it sits nicely.
So now the tree is mostly finished. Clumps of ornaments congregate along the lower branches while the higher altitudes remain less populated; the results of decorating from a five year old's perspective, but the overall effect is pleasant. And we all had fun together.

 

Electrical Nightmare

Yep, put the lights on the tree today. I can think of a lot more attractive things I'd rather have been doing. Ended up throwing out five strands of busted lights but amazingly did come up with enough to fill the tree.
We put the tree in a different location this year, on the short span of wall between the stairs and french doors to the dining room. This meant rearranging the entire room but so far it seems to work.
Here's a close-up of the window decorating Amy put up. It's just a flimsy garland accented with pinecones and berries. Not overbearing, but festive. She's been decorating a lot with pinecones this year, so much that she commented that it almost felt like outdoors. I told her we were just going for the California Arts & Crafts look like the National Parks lodges.

 

Sash-A In

Finally finished the kitchen window sashes. I'm still not 100% satisfied with the stain color. As you can see from the picture it's rosier than the trim but that's still covered with the semi-opaque varnish. I like the quality of the finish, just not convinced on the color.
While reinstalling the sashes I had to replace one of the sash cords broke and the weight came crashing down inside the wall. Not a difficult job, just unplanned. I still need to install the hardware but at least with the freezing temps there's another pane between the coffee pot and snow;)