Nicol Sayre

Home again!!

   Oh my goodness, when I read the responses to the previous post I nearly fell off my chair howling with laughter!!    I loved all of your guesses  ...picking apples... apple pies..apple-cheeked dollies and more!

    And I know it is nearing to Halloween but..."having a baby??!! "  now that is really frightening given my advanced age!!

   Several of you got it right!!  I was off to the  Big Apple with my oldest daughter! 

 We spent 5  lovely days strolling the city  with the  intent being to check out the grad programs at Columbia and NYU where my daughter would like to pursue her Masters degree in Global Affairs.

    We had a wonderful time!   Shopping and eating,lot's of walking and  dinner with friends!  With stops at the United Nations, the Met and the New York Public Library.  If you have not been to the Library..you must go!!!  It is spectacular! 

 

I did not know that the original stuffed animals from Winnie the Pooh books live there. When I saw them I was absolutely moved to tears! 

 

    We walked all over the city....last count was about 153 blocks in 3 days..    allover Greenwich Village and Soho , from Columbia University through the park to the Met and then down to Macys at 34th and back up to 57th. From the United Nations up through Times Square...oooh my aching feet! But NYC is so "walk-able"  compared to the ups and downs of  San Francisco!

    The windows of the Ralph Lauren store in Greenwich Village are so my kind of Halloween!

 

  Although  I never intended the post to be a game...I am so glad you made it so!!!  Perhaps we'll do it again sometime!  Maybe even with a prize!! What do you think?? xo N

 

the next adventure...

...... Care to take a guess???

Halloween!

Look how festive it was at Halloween and Vine!  This was right before the show opened and shortly afterward the aisles were thronged with shoppers. It was another great show!!!   The artists really outdid themselves with fabulous pieces!   With all of the hullabaloo  I had going on before the show I  can't believe I pulled it off.... I had ten more pieces than I did last year and sold nearly all of it!!....thank you so much to my wonderful customers!  I love you all!
   So now,  more wonderful Halloween pieces are winging their way to  Northville, MI  for the
Ghoultide Gathering! 
 I am so excited about this show .... the second time for me.  Set  in a wonderful  historic village  it is already  the talk of the  town.  So if you're in the Halloween  Spirit  come see   some amazing art by very talented artists!
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 ....if you thought my studio was a mess in the last post...you should see it now!!!!!! 

The real me.

 This is the brutal reality .    One event after another leads to this chaos and  no matter how much room you begin with it all becomes reduced to a twelve inch working space. Honestly ....ask any other artist you know  and they will relate.

  **** if you find these images disturbing and would like to perpetuate the fantasy please disregard this post ....( perhaps I will. ) ********

Let the bewitching begin......

    The witches have taken flight and are descending upon the Forbidden Castle
  this Friday Eve  Sept 11 from  7-9 pm
 Please join us at  American Harvest  for a bewitching good time!

Things are not as they seem.....

   tis the season for disguises and masquerades...
 Join us tomorrow night  Sept 2 at 9pm Est
    at The Best We Can Do

Call me old-fashioned...

         I wish to send a heartfelt  thank-you to  all of you who  have invited me to be your friend on FaceBook.   And truly...I want to be your friend.   But,  I tell you,  I  don't have the brain capacity these days to learn something new.   Not that I am  that technically challenged  mind you.... I do update the blog but sporadically, and I do have a  cell phone  and can text passably...a necessity when you have kids although it is laughably slow!   I try to spend less than an hour each day attached to this silly machine or else  I would never create anything. Not to mention that my family would completely  disown me if I took on anything else that took up more time.  So maybe when the  rush of the fall season is over you just  might see me there ...i'll let you know.   In the meantime... perhaps I will get out my pointed pen and ink you a verse

 Or I'll stitch you a sonnet

or perhaps even  spell out a message in pins on a silk cushion

   but until then...go ahead and call me old fashioned... I won't mind that a bit.

Cabinet of Curiosities

   At the entrance to the studio is my wonderful antique display case full of all manner of curiosities I've gathered from far and wide. Just gazing at all of the  little bits and bobs sparks my imagination and I can keep all of my treasures within easy reach and easy viewing. 

    I love my collection of antique velvet boxes and victorian autograph albums. Spilling from their depths are locks of antique hair tied up with silk ribbons.

  A  French ormolu box  showcases a trio of tiny bisque dolls  and  woven hair ornaments  share space with tinsel  bits, buttons and old steel-cut  buckles all laid out on a bed of 1860's french paper.

   Wee little doll shoes stand in pairs and  singly  amid doll parts and prints of long-ago fashions.
When I've gathered something new from the flea-market into the case it goes and I can arrange and re-arrange to my hearts content.   Some of the treasures will make their way into the arms of a doll and still others I may never be able to part with.  My little cabinet is a feast for the eyes and the senses.
 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
      Last week I spent at the Golden Glow of Christmas Past convention.  We exhibited as  The Best We can Do and  had a wonderful time.  Scott and Loriann came to stay with me afterward and  as I was scrambling at the last minute to get dolls made they saw the studio in it's frantic before-a-show state. We had some happy times in it brainstorming and talking and sifting through all of my treasures.   Fun!!!

It's here! It's here!

   The Fall issue of Where Women Create magazine just landed in my mailbox.  Thanks so much to Jo for including me!  We had so much fun!
      Let me tell you it's a miracle that I was able to pull it together in time for the shoot...I had shows scheduled and  orders to fill and  a studio that was nowhere near photo-ready. In fact it was pretty much uninhabitable with piles of stuff everywhere and  barely a trail to get from one end to the other. But thanks to the magic of Jo and Photographer extraordinaire Michael Garland  and lots of sweat and tears by my wonderful Mister  and me ( tears courtesy of me alone ! )  it actually happened.  I am so thrilled to be included with such a roster of fabulous artists,   Mary Engelbeit, Angela Cartwright, My dear friend Debbee Thibault,  Teresa Mcfayden , Nicole Bowen and many more.....I want to stay up all night and read it cover to cover!
    Here are a couple of shots I took the day of the shoot   after everyone left and I was giddy and dizzy and falling down from exhaustion!



        The issue hits the newsstands on Aug 1  or you can order  directly from Stampington.  If you can't find it at your local bookstore please ask them!! All other issues have sold out in a matter of weeks so please  support this wonderful magazine.
     I'll share more detail and before and after shots later....  Maybe not too many befores.. they will surely scare you!
    Thank you so much Jo!!

Patriotic!

     The dolls  have donned their patriotic costumes and are parading into stores waving their flags.   I've delivered dolls to  American Harvest and to Susans Storeroom so please  visit them or give a call.
    And Please, Please everyone support your independent retailers!!!!  If you love a store just go in and  spend a couple of dollars. Just telling them you love them doesn't keep their doors open. Spending 5 or 10 or 50 dollars will keep our favorite stores healthy and happy!  Every little bit helps!