This Week's Blog Post

Eyeglass Chain Sets
A customer requested a matching bracelet for 2 of my eyeglass chain. What cute sets they create!

Currier Museum of Art

TheCurrier Museum of Art is located in Manchester, NH. It is a small museum with a variety of works from the renaissance to present and even includes Monet and Picasso as well as a Frank Lloyd Wright house which the museum staff will bus patrons to. They allow cameras!

This was one of my favorite pieces. It is behind glass so please forgive the reflection! The Dutch artist is Joachim Wtewael. The approximate date on this one is 1600!!! I will not bore you with the details behind the story but I love the celebration this depicts. Imagine being a time and place where you can let loose listening to live music and dancing around naked! That is something we go to prison for these days.

I enjoy being in the presence of really old things (not something you experience too often in the United States)! This polychromed stucco on wood is by Italian artist Antonio Rossellino.  Its approximate date is 1475! It is amazing how intact it is but was recently conserved to stabilize it.

This perfect still life is by a local artist, James Aponovich. It is named Still Iife with Chocolates, dated 1985. Jim and I noticed it at the same time because we each purchased a French press like this recently! One of its best features is the reflection painted in the steel bowl. It was flawless!

This was Jim’s first experience standing in front of an actual Claude Monet painting so I had to photograph it for his memory. This is The Seine at Bougival dated 1869.

John Singer Sargent is one of my favorites. He was an American painter although he was born in Italy and died in England. His portraits are amazing. This is Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston, 1925. I love 1920s fashion so this one is particularly fabulous!

I always enjoy a good lithograph! These are by American artist John Stockton de Martelly. They capture a moment in time! This is Blue Valley Fox Hunt, 1937.

This is Old Moon, 1941. So sweet!

The museum also has wonderful old American furniture like this sideboard from approximately 1855 (maker unknown).

This chair has beautiful detail. It is carved from ebonized cherry by the Herter Brothers Decorating Company of NY in approximately 1880.

Here there is also a wonderful selection of Henry Melville paperweights that range from the 1980s into the 1990s.

It was a cold June day so I was dressed for fall!!!! This museum offers a live jazz brunch 1 Sunday a month so we may be back for that!

Manchester, NH has some neat relicts of the past that were never removed. This is one of them!!! I love that it reads “concerned”. Luckily these days it is quite acceptable for men to simply shave it all off if they are losing their hair!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a gret week!  ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Magnolia Inspired Necklace Giveaway
Blogging friend Lisa asked for a magnolia inspired necklace for a giveaway on her blog. I love how it came out! Gorgeous!

Custom orders are so fun since they usually have me working with something I have never worked with before. In this case it was purple pearls!

If you would like the opportunity to win this piece, stop by Lisa’s blog here.  The drawing will be Monday night April 23. Lisa's blog shows her stunning photographs which I am sure you will enjoy!!!

Birthday Bouquet

Jim gave me this beautiful bouquet for my birthday.

Bucket List Item 2

So I crossed off another item! Let me preface this by stating that I am in no way a violent person. I do not even think it is smart to own a gun for protection! However I have always been curious about what it feels like to shoot a gun!

So some friends and I went to the Manchester Firing Range in NH for some shooting fun. Here I am shooting an uzi machine gun!  Luckily there were no injuries and everyone had a good time!

This was a romantic moment between Jim and I. He is showing me how to use a 9 mm. There is a particular thumb placement that felt really strange to me.

Luckily there were 3 men in our group, all with experience! Otherwise this may have been a bit challenging for us ladies as far as loading, proper usage of the weapons, etc. We were showed how to use the guns in the lobby but we did not have a professional with our group when we were playing.

Here I am with an MP5 machine gun. When we were being showed how to use the machine guns I was a bit horrified. Surprisingly they were easier to handle than the handguns!

I am happy to check another thing off my list. Just like jumping out of a plane, this is something I do not care to do again!!!!

New End Studio

I received a wonderful surprise in the mail from blogging friend Gloria of New End Studio! This handmade pin reads “bravo” which I love since I adore theater!!!

Gloria is a mixed media artist who creates ACEOS. I love the humor here. This would be fun to put in guestroom.

This wishes theme ACEO is so sweet!

Stop by Gloria’s shop for more unique pieces or her blog here.

I wish eveyone a great, fulfilling week! Thank you for stopping by! ~Val