Up Coming Shows

Here's a little update about a few upcoming shows...This coming Friday night I'm doing a wonderful Boutique with a few of my South Orange Ave. neighbors. We tried it last year and had such a great response we thought we'd try it again. If you get a chance and would like to stop by we'll have warm drinks & wine, hors'doeuvres and lots of great gifts to for your holiday shopping pleasure! More details are on the right sidebar.

Oh! and I found out that one of my neighbors is also a henna tattoo artist! I really know nothing about this beautiful art form but I've always wanted a little something on my hands and now I may get my chance! I can't wait.

(Bella wants one too, maybe just a bitty one :)

I wonder what the kids at work will say on Monday?

Wish me luck, I'll let you know how mine turns out. :)

Art Walk Tonight!

If you happen to be in town tonight stop by downtown Fullerton for first Friday Art Walk. Lots of the shops downtown will have some fabulous artists represented in their stores and I'm being represented by Lolo Boutique 305 N. Fullerton from 6-9pm. We'll have refreshments, fun and lots of new things to get your holiday shopping rolling! Ciao for now, Bridgette

Happy Dia de los Muertos

We didn't ever really "celebrate" Dia de Los Muertos when I was a kid... but my kids today are much more aware of it and maybe even comforted by the idea that we have a special day to remember those people in our lives that we've loved and have gone on to be with God

Some years we go to the cemetary but this past week we just didn't make it. While there are so many loved ones we often think of, the person I think of most is my Grandma. She was such a powerful force of strength to our family and myself. As I thought about all she meant and gave to me growing up, I'll always be so grateful for her inspiration so, so long ago,

when she bought me my first tiny stash of Peruvian beads
from a little vendor in San Juan Capistrano, a small loving gesture that would eventually lead to the beginning
of what is now Bella Luna Arts. Thank you Grandma, I love you.

American Pickin'

So what have I been doing when I'm not working, but should be? Well, sneaking off to a Flea Market or perhaps off to a series of fantastic Saturday rainy day yard sales with my favorite boy...

You see my eldest(and I), have recently been quite enamored with this little show on the History channel called American Pickers. Now I know that's a weird name for a show that conjures up all sorts of strange, even gross images, or at least it did for me but it's pretty cool, check it out. He even considered being one of these guys for Halloween. I love it! Anyhow, we had us some good clean fun last weekend! Here's a few of our "picks" some from the Flea Market and some from yard sales the week before. This Happy Halloween guy is one of six from a vintage -looking tin garland I first saw in a Disneyland window display almost two months ago. I asked about purchasing it and was told it was only for "display" (since when does Disneyland have something only for display...) anyhow I saw them at this booth of vintage Disney stuff at the Long Beach Flea market when I asked the gal if it was for sale... she said Yes.Ten bucks!Very cute.

Next up was this gorgeous old St. Francis of Assisi statue.
My Mom has been searching for a St. Francis for her patio for quite a while now. She's looked in garden stores and all the usual fountain stores, but none of them seemed right. The coloring and the face is very important. :) So when we saw this in Long Beach we had to stop. He was just perfect. Pretty big too, almost 3ft. tall and 9 1/2" at the base, solid cement all the way through. I'm not actually sure how the boy and I managed to get Francis into my car, but we did. I won't tell you how much, just in case Mom reads this....but know it was a great deal for it's age and the quality. And just look at his sweet, sweet face. My Mom's gonna love him!

The day gifted us with lots of other small treasures along the way, but prepare to view my crown jewel of recent yard sale finds... the Leather Ottoman!Oh! and I'm obligated to mention that this was found at the last sale of our rainy Saturday, the one I didn't want to stop at, the one the boy pleaded for, saying "oh come on Mom, just one more..." so there it was hiding underneath this musty quilt on their driveway. The leather was firm, but supple and had lots of dirt and grime in the tooling , especially on the top where people either sat or propped up their feet. There seemed to be spilt milk or something on most sides and the bottom was stained wet from sitting outside in the rain/ mist for most of the morning. But I could tell this tooled all leather ottoman was beautiful and just needed to be cleaned up and loved again. I asked how much and the gal said $25.00, quick to follow her price with a firm "I don't want to sell it, but my husband hates it..." my hesitation came only from the fact I knew I had only $10.00 cash left. I asked her if she'd hold it for my ten $, while I went to get more. I gave her the ten, and we left for the ATM. As we got into the car Danny smiled at me knowing that it was his stopthat filled me glee. Staring at me with this"I told you so grin" I validated the boy's natural instinct of the hunt, with a "thank you" for making us stop. I spent the better part of that Saturday cleaning it. First I used an exacto knife to dig out the grime, dangerous I know, but I was careful and nothing else would work in the tiny crevices. Then I used a leather cleaner, dish soap and a toothbrush, leather cleaner again and finally, buffed with leather polish. It did take a long time....but I certainly think it was worth it. Oh! I almost forgot, stuffed inside the bottom of the stitching was this little tag... good "pick" huh!

I know it's crazy...

Wow! I've got another show this Saturday! Sorry about the late notice, but if you'd like more info. click on my sidebar. It's is a really nice little show with free admission and goodies. Check it out if you're in town this Sat. should be fun. Take care.

Ciao for now!

Gliiterfest was Grand Again!

Wow, what a show! Once again the gals out did themselves! Sheryl and Diane of Whimzy in Tustin did a great job with Glitterfest. Even with the heat, what a cool show it was. I'm always amazed at the wonderful work and people that come together to make this show the amazing event it is. I don't do a ton of shows each year and more and more due to time constraints, working and family I need to be really selective about what shows I do choose to do. But this show is a love for a few reasons.

First, because it stretches me. Makes me want to be a better artist. Ok, I know I sound like a movie or something, but there it is. It's true. Second is simply those girls. Sheryl and Diane do such a great job making me and all the artists feel welcome, respected and appreciated for what ever it is we bring to this wildly successful event. And finally it's my lovely customers. Some I've seen many times before and some brand new to my little creations. But I can't tell you what an honor it is, for someone to like my work enough to want to actually buy it.

So thank you, thank you,

to all of my wonderful customers and friends

for your continuous support and encouragement.

I appreciate you more than you know.

So here's a few little shots of my day.

I never seem to take enough pictures, but at least

I got a few this time!

Here's a picture of my space.

See the peacock feathers?

Those were the color inspiration for my new display here.

As was my new teal moon guy in the center.

My sweet friend Annie's idea.
She knows how much I love teal and brown

and thought the peacock idea would be perfect.

I loved it.

Me and my chica Robin Dudley Howes, oh so talented teacher

and artist extrodinaire!

My friend Lisa Loria's whimsical booth of lovelies!

But no picture of her!

(I'm a dork.)

More of Lisa's goodies.

Susan with some of her Charming Trinkets.

She had an awesome display,"spot on" for Glitterfest really:)

Loved it Susan!

A few great pieces from Susie Scott, who just opened her very own store in Arizona called the Shabby Red Door.

I'm going to have a few of my goodies there soon. So excited.

And finally, a cute shot of Sheryl and her adorable daughter at days end...

Well, that's all for now.

Ciao
Bella!

Getting Ready For Glitterfest

Busy, busy week ahead, but oh so exciting! I'm starting a new job this week teaching again...yep it's true. Only this time it's art.

And just in time for Glitterfest! WooHoo! Am I feeling crazy? A little. Can't believe it's all really happening. But it's good and I feel so blessed. Anyhow, I'll certainly tell you more about the art job later. But now, let's talk Glitterfest! It's this Saturday 10-4 in Santa Ana CA and I'd love for you all to be there! For some of you it might be a bit of a drive so maybe you should leave now, if you get here early, you can stay at my house. Just so long as you don't mind the mess that used to be my living room... Or Oliver...So go on, get packing. California 's great this time of year. I 've been working on so many new things. Lots of stuff I've never done before. Here's a little peek...
Found this gorgeous pewter hand cast heart shield from

Lynn Davis on Etsy.

Thanks Lynn!

Well I still had to make a few little ladies... :)

Hope to see you there... Ciao for now!

First sculpting class

I'm not sure why, but sculpting faces has always been a bit intimidating to me. I've always wanted to try it but just thought it would be too hard. I've worked in ceramics, made lots of tiny polymer clay things for fun (tiny food items mostly :)but never really tried faces. Well this past Saturday changed that.

Thanks to the always inspirational

Sherry of Got Art?

I happened upon a post she wrote about a sculpting class she was taking called The Sandman. When I saw the sculpted images I recognized them immediately as the work of

Keely Reichman, a fantastic artist and friend I'd taken a few jewelry classes with years ago.The class she mentioned was being held in someones home only about 30 minutes away from my house! There was one spot left. On a complete whim, I decided to call and snatched the spot.

Now I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to, but I did snap a few of my "Sandman Moon" guy in process. This is him before I added his mouth. Then what he looked like after his first coat of teal and lavender highlights. And finally, with his dark patina. I must say, I'm really happy with him. Working with paper clay was so forgiving and satisfying. And Keely is a patient and generous teacher. Thank you, thank you Keely for sharing your talent and designs with us! I loved it and can't wait to try it again!

This whimsical little crew is part of a collection I believe will be for sale at Keely's upcoming show next month in Fullerton. Every first Friday downtown Fullerton sponsors Artwalk where all sorts of shops feature various artists in their stores. It's a lot of fun. On Oct. 1st the Friday night before Glitterfest, Keely will be at Otto.If I can get myself together the night before my little show I'll be there too! Check it out if you get the chance.

Ciao for now!

Keys Keys ...

Remember these?

Well here's one of the things I decided to do with a few of them

for Glitterfest Fall!

More to come...

Ciao for now :)

A Lighter side of Yellow (part II)

So yes, today was more yellow...but in the most beautiful way yellow can be. As I gazed through the photos I posted yesterday, I thought today about how each yellow moment carried with it a truth for why that picture was taken in the first place. A story the picture was able to tell about a moment of joy or laughter, wonder or remembrance. So as a sort of part 2 of that post I thought that tonight I could give you a little more about the truth and beauty of a few of them.
Thanks for indulging me .


This first one with the daisy was taken by my
12 yr old son , who was 11 at the time. We were at the Fullerton Arboretum a place the kids & I go often. He had my camera and took an amazing set of flower shots, this one was one of his happy mistakes. He was so proud when I asked his permission to use his work.


Finneus had just enjoyed a romp in the Big Sur River with my kids and their cousin. He then then proceeded to shake, roll in the dirt and repeat. Good times indeed. :)



The Banana slug was fabulous! I'd never seen a banana slug up close and in person. This guy was at least seven inches long! It was so wild looking, with it's black spots contrasting against it's beautiful textured yellow. He was a lot brighter in person, as often we all are. :)








I think I've mentioned this Lemon cake before. I made that one for my Mom's B-day. I feel so blessed to have her.



Ernie took this great picture of her in Big Sur.

He also made me the wonderful breakfast of bacon and poached eggs.
Thanks sweetie!

I love them both.







Again on our way either to or from Healdsburg, I noticed the piggy crossing sign. Everyone in the car cracked up when we saw it, so my husband turned back around so I could get a quick pict. Still came out a bit blurry, but you get the idea. Loved that it showed a Mama pig and her baby. Someone added the red dot, I like it, reminds me of Christmas!


I absolutely love this artist. We saw this painting by Alma -Tadema at the Getty about a week ago. Talk about an overwhelming sense of truth and beauty...I almost always sort of loose it a little at museums. It's that too much, too good feeling that sends me reeling, almost unable to focus. This day was no different but I loved it.

This a picture of a a picture of my BFF Annie and her husband who live far, far away from me. I miss her terribly, but this picture reminds me of our last visit together a few years back. I took it the day before I left. The little Mexican dolls remind me of another wonderful time we shared with our families all together in Mexico, eating grilled lobster and drinking beer perched up on the roof over looking the ocean.


So I guess yellow's not that bad after all. Thanks again, for sticking with me through this, I'll post some art stuff soon, I promise. :)

Love, peace and yellow,

Bridgette