My Creative Heart : )

One of my BFF's opened her dream shop Saturday!

My Creative Heart
411 Main Street 
 Rt 6A 
Yarmouthport, MA 02675
781-389-3968
Owner:  Susan Pasillo

I stopped by Friday night to help out and took some photos and then sprinkled in some from my other BFF friends photos on Saturday!
Sue and I have been friends for over 10 years working literally side by side in our classrooms.  She teaching Art to middle school students while I taught Family and Consumer Science.  She has talked about opening a store for years and with the help of her super supportive husband, her dream came true.  She is so talented and her shop has such a fun and inviting vibe!
She features her own creative work as well as other very talented local artists including my
 other good friend Sue's husband, who is a great photographer and now has a great place to show off his talent.
It was so much fun to see my friends again and share our love of creativity and share lots of laughs!!
I am hoping to be able to put some of my own wares in My Creative Heart soon!

Please stop by if you are ever on the Cape.
6A was always my idea of a mental vacation....I could drive and drive and drive and I would get so inspired by all the shops along the way!


Enjoy this nice picture getaway with a cup of hot coffee or tea on this beautiful Fall Sunday morning....

I am off to work at the farm, so I don't have time to post details right now, but will fill in more information tonight when I get home!!

A cozy site from outside looking in! 

My other friend Sue took these pictures on sunny Saturday!!  So cheery!!  : )

When you open the drawers to this country hutch you are suprised by a pretty red interior!

Friend Tom Rourke with some of his wonderful photograph!

Sue's written and illustrated books just in time for Fall!

Beautiful beachy themed furnishings : )

Sue's brother made these great fishing hooks....so creative!!

Sue's jewelry and paintings! : )

Sue's upcycled painted furniture matched with one of the shop's featured artists.

This is a collage portrait that Sue did....just beautiful!

This collage picture was one of my favorites  : )

Antique bottles to hang on the wall ready for fresh flowers!!  : )

Field Trip to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art : )

Inspired by my latest class at the Worcester Art Museum and our instructor Suzy Becker, I decided to take the opportunity to visit the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA.

I really enjoyed it!

They had an exhibit of Ezra Jack Keats, author and illustrator of "A Snowy Day".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEmBTYc7Ivo

On display were Ezra's sketches, journals and typed letters from Publishing Houses.  What I loved the most was the reading the correspondence between his readers and himself.

www.ezra-jack-keats.org/


The next exhibit was of the author and illustrator of "Maisy".

http://www.maisyfunclub.com/maisyframe.asp

The illustrations were adorable and it was great to see the original paintings and drawings.


The final exhibit is of the beloved Eric Carle.
One of my son's favorite books, given to him when he was  young, by his Grampy and Memere was  "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M2TvyR3_XE&feature=relmfu

I have to say out of all the museums I have visited in my life....(not many if I am honest)...but, I must say, I got the most inspiration from this one.
I loved being able to see the behind the scenes of how these artists and writers live and work!

Here are some other fun pictures from my visit!  : )

You would have to be in a good mood at all times in this car!!  : )

The tiles in the bathroom! : )

My favorite thing....the Library!

The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar

Paintings by Eric Carle

Art Studio....Here I come!!

Loved, Loved, Loved This!!  So creative, yet so simple!!  I could definitely picture this in a teenagers room or a dorm room!!  : )

I was given these supplies to make a city scene.

"Before"

"After"

Close up of my bike with kickstand!  : )

Maisy's books on display at the bookstore !

Lots of fun books and gifts!

And I even found my instructor Suzy's book!!

I felt like I had come full circle since she is the one who suggested we all check out this fun museum!!

A fun day trip for sure!!

To find out more....

www.carlemuseum.org/

Here is to a wonderful school year! : )

Press the button on this bottom right hand side to make it fill up your computer screen with happiness!

Field Trip to Salem : )

Yesterday I got the chance to go to Salem with a good teacher friend of mine.  We had lots of fun and laughs!  Missing many exits from talking so much with so much catching up to do!

I don't think I have ever been to Salem before.

It was very interesting.

We went to see Ansel Adam's exhibit of pictures with water.  

Fascinating!

We then went browsing around and I found the most interesting bookshop.

I thought this looked like something from Harry Potter in Diagon Alley...

It only gets better inside....

I asked the man....(now try to picture this....piles of books on either side on a counter....about a 8"wide opening between very tall piles and the clerk (very nice by the way) sits behind the opening on the other side of the counter...

I asked him if I could take pictures.

He said if I made a purchase I could take all the pictures I wanted.

I only had 5 dollars in my pocket so I chose carefully.

I ended up buying a children's picture book to use as a reference for what I am working on.

After I made my purchase I asked, "Now can I take some pictures?" And he basically said, take all the pictures you want!  : )

Lots of people frequent this shop from what I could see.

It was amazing!

I just found this on Google......

https://plus.google.com/107615714618423195889/about?gl=us&hl=en

You can see a picture of the man behind the stack of books that I was trying to describe!  : )

Definitely worth a peek if you are ever in the area.  Just hold the top of the stack as you gently pull the book from the bottom....if that is where you favorite book is located!  : )

We ended the day going to a great place for lunch!
Thanks Maria for treating...since I only had 2 dollars left after my book purchase!

View from my seat!

O'Neils Pub - Delicious!!
http://www.oneillsofsalem.com/

Cajun Chicken wrap and coleslaw!!  : )

Oh and one more thing....
I discovered this wonderful artist at the gift shop at the Museum.
Loved this!!

KOCO New York
http://www.kocony.com/

Happy Sunday!!  : )

Must remember....

Love this!

Back of card is inspirational too!  : )

http://www.cardthartic.com/

sketching....

My new favorite place to hang out is Panera Bread... http://www.panerabread.com/.  They have great food, great coffee, and great lighting. It is so spacious that you don't feel like you are taking someone else's seat so you can settle in for a while....

I splurged and got a shake...they featured it with the salad....and .... it was low fat!  Delish!

working on my project....

This has been a wonderful diversion to the many things I need to be doing right now...

This kind of sums up how I feel this morning....

Betsy aka Life looks pretty friendly...I better start wrapping up some of current life situations...condo....finances....

Here I come Betsy!

Inspired....

I just finished a course, The Art of Picture Books, at the Worcester Art Museum with Suzy Becker, author and illustrator and New York Times bestseller of, All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat.  
 I loved it!!
I told Suzy that she was like a movie star and she had the answers on how to get to HOLLYWOOD!  

I learned so much in her class about writing a children's book and illustrating!

We had a wonderful group in our class and I hope to be able to catch up with all of them soon.
I felt so inspired and it gave me a goal to tuck into my pocket to work towards...

To be continued....

: )

Finding my passion....

This summer marks one year of being unemployed.

It has been a challenging year.

I remember as the year began, I imagined my life inside one of those plastic sifters you bring to the beach.

I was to begin the process of sifting.

What would remain?

I sifted through my condo...

I sifted through the reality of not being employed...

not being a teacher...

of being a mom...

of being a daughter....

of being a daughter who needed her mom....

of losing everything....

my home, my job, my beloved Rocky...

Things did slip away....

and I did feel lost...

and I must say, at times, like a bit of a loser.

But then....

What remained...

My funny, resilient, strong son

who means more to me than he will ever know.

Being his mom, has taught me some of my greatest life's lessons.

My mom.

My confidant, morning coffee maker, owner of Bernie's Bed and Breakfast.

Her home became my respite, as I was recovering from a few of life's blows.

My cat Rocky

My pet who taught me about unconditional love and second chances.

Slowly, I have sifted and I am finding... 

myself.

The girl who loves the Senior Citizens and helping them grocery shop.

The girl who loves books and loves to volunteer at the library to help find books for others to read.

The girl who loves to tell stories and illustrate them too...

What I am finding,

by sifting...

are my passions.

: )