Making a Yard

Deck planter full of million bells and future zinnias

I haven't been at my computer much lately, mostly because, outside of work, I've been busy working on getting my new yard in order. With our new apartment we inherited a small (but big for us) yard. It was mostly just really hard, dry, dirt. The yard is too small to maneuver a lawn mower, so grass was out, and the dirt looked so neglected it seemed like more work than we had time for to make it suitable. So, we're going to make cunning use of pots, bricks, mulch and raised beds to get this yard in order. 

In case the potted flowers don't give it away, this will be the future dahlia garden. We'll heave in some more soil and I'll plant a bunch of seeds.

We've layed out brick and mulch over most of the back yard. It's not my best brick work but heck, it'll do. We made use of old stepping stones as potted plant stands (on the left) and I've planted sunflowers, daisies, and other wild flowers along the fence line.

This will become a pumpkin patch with corn along the fence and various herbs in the front.

And... more mulch, pots and stepping stones to finish off the back yard. We were gifted the green pots, already growing thyme, basil, tomatoes, mint and beans, so the whole yard doesn't look totally desolate. I planted some lavender in the clay pot on the left.

The side of the yard stays pretty shady but we'll put more succulents along the side of the house and I'll fill the cinder blocks with pansies. Not sure what will go in the pots that will cover the stepping stones.

The path from our deck to the driveway will be lined with potted poppies.

The side of the deck had an extra piece of wood as part of the structure so I decided to fill it with soil and plant some more poppies.

Once the yard is finished, we'll put a table where this bag of potting soil is, so we can sit and watch everything grow.

I was so excited this morning when I was greeting by the first of the zinnia's I planted. By the middle of the afternoon there was one more zinnia as well as the first sunflower and poppy peeking through the soil!

Images from the Constitution State

Roadside daisies

Here is the last round-up of images from my trip east. All of these images are from northwestern Connecticut.

 I spent a lot of time with my niece, which was really fun. She's only 2 though, and doesn't like to sit still for pictures.

 The clouds seemed so different, I guess because they are not fog clouds, which is what I usually see on this coast.

Studio Tour

My non-digital cameras on the work table, in easy reach should a photo present itself

I'm excited to share this round of images because, this past week I finally got my art making room set up. It may technically be a studio but I prefer 'art making room' because it really is more of a room (probably originally meant to be an office or child's bedroom) than a studio, which conjures up thoughts of a space where you can do whatever you want, make huge messes, have large equipment, etc. and my room is none of those things. If I ever want my security deposit back, I have to keep things relatively contained. Still, it's the first dedicated art making space I've ever had, and I'm happy to have it.

The view from my preferred spot at my work table (hopefully we'll have some plants and flowers in the yard soon, so the fence line is a little more comely)

There's this little nook in the room, and I have an 'arts and crafts books (instructions and zines)' book shelf

Some stuff on the work table (the light in this room is actually really good all day long, it's my exposure that was off- oops)

A drawer of tools and supplies with a bunch of collage material, magazines, and book making scraps organized on top (I spray painted the containers on the left)

I have precious little wall space that I want to save for hanging works in progress and the work of other artists I find inspiring, so I decided to hang my rulers between two of the windows

My reading/break chair, in the nook, surrounded by rolls of paper and other stuff

A little glimpse of downstairs and another box of collage material

As you can tell, I really like these wooden boxes I spray painted, mostly because of the spray paint

There is no closet in the room, 5 windows, and not much wall space, so I had to get creative about storing things. I got a bunch of these wooden boxes at Ikea. They are really hard to put together but handy.

My work in progress cube. Hopefully it'll continually rotate as I become a creating/art making monster!

The top of my art supply cabinet with my trusty sewing machine and some more of the wall cubes on the right

A better view of the cubes. I have Gocco printing supplies up top, paper in the middle, and books to collage with on top of the bottom most cube

American Museum of Natural History: A Bunch of Other Stuff

Here's the last American Museum of Natural History post, I swear! It was just so awesome, I couldn't stop taking photos!

 Lucy! I never realized how incomplete the skeleton was!